That's the status of Big-12 football as conference play begins this weekend according to Jon Wilner in his Hotline article today...
He says that the Big-12 cannot match the star power (players or programs) of either the B1G or SEC but the Big-12 should lead the way in "frayed nerves and shredded fingernails" during the season...
Why..??
Because the difference between the best and worst isn't all that significant, especially when you get to the middle tier of teams in the conference...
Right now, Utah, K-State and Oklahoma St appear to be in the top tier but Utah plays Oklahoma St this weekend in Stillwater, so one of those teams is going to come away with a loss to start the season...
Regarding our Sun Devils, who he ranks them 9th in the conference right now, but says they could finish anywhere from 6th to as low as 14th in the Big-12...
The same basically goes for Texas Tech, a team he rates # 12 in the conference entering their game against us tomorrow...
All he knows about ASU, thus far, is that Cam Skattebo is one of the most entertaining running-backs in the country...
All he knows about the Red Raiders is that if they lose tomorrow they might be headed much lower in his Big-12 team projections...
In any event, we'll find out a lot about both programs tomorrow, perhaps, more about Tech than ASU, I guess because they are playing at home and have been very inconsistent as a team, so far...
So, aside from the top tier that includes Utah (provided Cam stays healthy) and K-State provided they get past BYU tomorrow and Oklahoma St provided they don't lose more than a couple of games, the rest of the conference is wide open from tier 2 to tier 4...
He also thinks that AU, Iowa St and UCF are pretty solid bets for a Tier Two status and that UCF has a lot of people riding on the "Gus Bus" these days...
Well, I hear the conductor shouting "All Aboard" as the Dilly Devils narrow gauge (no room for mistakes) locomotive takes on the Red Raider train robbers tomorrow in Lubbock...
I don't know about you but I'm all set to "enjoy the upcoming mayhem" in the Big-12 and hope and trust we survive it in one piece and in a higher tier than the bottom one...
Go Devils and Beat the Red Raiders!!!
