The light at the end of the tunnel

And no, it's not a train coming this time.  We're now about a week away from my favorite time of the year.  It's almost football season.  Pretty soon we'll be reading endless articles about the new offensive strategy at Texas Tech now that they are without the pirate; why Nebraska will have a better defense even though they lost the best tackle in college football, and if Blaine Gabbert will be able to function without the security blanket known as Danario Alexander.   And I, for one am going to love every minute of it.  It's time for for uninformed fans such as myself to begin looking at depth charts, schedules and injury reports to make baseless predictions on how the season will play out.  In other words, I'm getting back into my element.
Today I'm going to talk about the southern division of the Big XII which is in it's final year of division play and offer a few useless predictions based on schedule and returning players.  Since I usually go from last to first, let's start out in Waco with the perennial last place team, the Baylor Bears.

The Bears will return quarterback Robert Griffin to the team as well as the purest cheerleaders in the conference.  I expected them to end their bowl drought last season but the injury to Griffin changed that.  The non con schedule should provide them with 3 wins, minus a Sept. 18th trip to TCU.  The challenge is finding 3 more wins during the conference season.  Home games against kansas, K State and Oklahoma State give them a reasonable chance and with a road trip to Colorado, I believe this is the year they earn their first bowl bid since 1994.
Oklahoma State had a great 2 year run, but now faces a major rebuilding job and now Mike Gundy gets a chance to prove he really is a man.  Their schedule is about as soft as it gets with the big name in the non con being Washington State which has won a whopping 3 games over the last few seasons.  They also get kansas, Kansas State and Baylor at home so they definitely have a punchers chance at making a bowl game.

In Lubbock, the Red Raiders enter the post Mike Leach era.  They return a lot of experience on the offensive side of the ball, where new coach Tommy Tuberville will have to find a way to utilize their talents in a manner he's really not used to.  Tommy is more of a defensive specialist and the Red Raiders don't return a lot of talent there.  I think Tuberville was a really good hire and the schedule breaks nicely for them.  I expect the Red Raiders to make a bowl game, but they aren't going to be world beaters this year.
At College Station, the Aggies of Texas A&M enter the season with high expectations and I'm really not sure why.  They went 6-7 last year and now, with an experienced quarterback their fans expect them to challenge for a division title since Texas and OU both lost a lot from last year.  Sorry Aggies, but I just don't see it.  The schedule is not terrible, but imo Mike Sherman has never shown himself to be a dominant coach.  I think the Aggies have a good chance at a bowl game, but it will be a disappointing season to a fan base that is 2nd only to Nebraska when it comes to overestimating their talent.

So let's get into the only 2 teams that really matter.  The University of Texas played in the national championship game last year, falling to Alabama.  They could argue, (with good reason) that the game could have ended differently had they not lost Colt McCoy early.  I personally watched them literally dismantle my Tigers in Columbia and they were nothing short of a machine.  They lost a lot of talent, but hell, it's Texas.  They always have talent.  I expect the division to come down to the Red River shootout, just like always.  The horns will make a nice bowl game but the season will fall a bit short of their expectations.  The fans will bitch, yada, yada, yada.  I hate Texas.
But if you think I hate Texas, believe me, I struggle writing about the cocksuckers from Norman.  "Big Game" Bob Stoops and the Sooners had something of a non OU season last year, and all world quarterback Sam Bradford will soon be making St. Louis Rams fans wishing they had drafted someone else with their first round draft choice but they are loaded again this year.  I see people picking them to go undefeated.  I'm not that sold on them, but I believe they return to the double digit win type of season they are used to this year, and a return to the NC game certainly isn't out of the question.

So, my early prediction for the south finish goes like this.  I expect OU to return to what they consider to be their rightful place as south champions.  I think the Longhorns will finish 2nd and both teams will make very good bowl games.  However, I think neither will make the national championship game as someone from the ACC or Big East will sneak into the championship game against whoever wins the SEC.  After that you could probably draw straws, but the final 4, in my opinion will probably be Texas Tech, A&M, Baylor and Okie Lite.  All 6 teams may make bowl games and once again we'll hear about how the north does nothing more than drag the conference down.       
If you're familiar with the term SSDD, then you know exactly what I'm talking about.  Next week we'll take a look at the north, or the "have nots" if you prefer.   Stay cool folks.