Holy hell, how did we end up here?
/Checks previous rankings
/remembers DMQ ranked South Carolina 23rd
The Oklahoma State Evil Western Vikings were your prototypical Big 12 team in 2012. Explosive offense with a great QB and stud WR and a porous defense at times.
OSU returns a ton of talent on offense, most importantly 55 year old quarterback Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon. The only position heading into 2011 that is lacking experience is running back but both new running backs did log some playing time during 2010. The only reason one wouldn’t expect Oklahoma State to repeat their performance from 2011 is the fact that the mastermind of the offense is currently the head coach at West Virginia.
The defense, while not as abysmal as the basic stats would show, was not nearly good enough for Oklahoma State to compete seriously for a BCS game and/or national title.
For the season, the numbers suggest that Oklahoma State is a pretty good test case for the use of opponent adjustments. The Cowboys ranked 88th in Total Defense last year, but they placed 30th in Def. S&P+ because when they did get lit up, it was probably by a pretty good offense (i.e. one that would light up most teams)
(via Football Study Hall)
A moderate improvement for the defense coupled with the offense remaining where it was last season could lead to special things for Oklahoma State in 2011.
So, while I would not ideally rank OSU top 5 (I see them in the 6-10 range), here we are.
Now, stop reading this half-assed preview and go watch North Korea’s First CFB Broadcast (link) which is last season’s insane Bedlam game in Stillwater.
Much Better Previews
Football Study Hall: Link
PreSnapRead: Link
…
4. Oklahoma State (PootND)
5. Oregon (DMQ)
6. Texas A&M (Biscuit)
7. Boise State (PootND)
8. BYU (DMQ)
9. Arkansas (Biscuit)
10. Wisconsin (Grantland-X)
11. Nebraska (DMQ)
12. LSU (Biscuit)
13. Virginia Tech (PootND)
14. Stanford (DMQ)
15. Florida (Biscuit)
16. Notre Dame (PootND)
17. TCU (DMQ)
18. Georgia (Biscuit)
19. Michigan State (PootND)
20. Texas (DMQ)
21. Ole Miss (Biscuit)
22. Mississippi State (PootND)
23. South Carolina (DMQ)
24. Ohio State (Biscuit)
25. Arizona State (PootND)
- Florida State 18, Notre Dame 14: A Quick Recap - December 29, 2011
- Stanford 28, Notre Dame 14: A Quick Recap - November 27, 2011
- Notre Dame 16, Boston College 14: A Quick Recap - November 21, 2011
In case you were wondering, this leaves Oklahoma, Alabama, LSU and Florida State for three spots. I know what team I’d leave out (it’s got State in the name).
LSU was already ranked 12th by Biscuit.