Texas A&M Aggies
This is the best team Head Coach Dennis Franchione has had in his three year tenure in Aggieland and solid improvement each year since his arrival has many around the country thinking that this might one of the teams to lookout for in 2005. Last season the Ags were on a roll until they had a wheel fall off in an embarrassing 35-34 loss to Baylor after which they seemed to lose their composure as well as three of their four final games. Then the team had the misfortune of drawing Tennessee in the Cotton Bowl only to get blown out by the Vols.
Again this year, as QB Reggie McNeil goes, so will go the Aggies. In 2004 McNeil was responsible for nearly 68% of A&M?s offensive production and led this team to accumulate 428 yards of offense per game which was good enough to be ranked 20th in the nation. Nine starters from last season are back in 2005 including four of five offensive linemen. McNeal lost his go-to receiver, Terrence Murphy who is now playing for the Packers, but he may still have the best trio of receivers in the Big 12 to throw to and last season he threw 22 touchdowns and only four interceptions all year. Courtney Lewis will have to step up as the tailback if this team is to achieve any balance offensively.
The defense of last year began the year with cautious comparisons to the old Aggie ?Wrecking Crew? of years gone by allowing six points or less in three of their first five games, but after that nice start, the Aggies collapsed on defense and allowed a whopping 30.3 points per game down the stretch. This year they get eight starters returning including three up front but the linebackers are lacking in speed and the secondary is again suspect. This defense will have to improve as they go, and quickly if A&M hopes to compete in the Big 12 South.
Texas A&M opens the 2005 season by going on the road to take on Clemson and there are no easy games in the remainder of their road games against Colorado, Kansas St., Texas Tech and Oklahoma. The home schedule on the other hand is relatively easy until they face Texas in what is always the last game of the regular season. This team ought to better their record from last year with at least eight wins.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Texas Tech is the only Big 12 school to post a winning record in every season since the Big 12's inception and HC Mike Leach looks poised to add to that record with another year of incredible passing statistics. Last year the Raiders led the nation with 399.7 passing yards per game which was over 61 yards more than Hawaii averaged in 2nd place. This success has been not just against Tech?s Big 12 opponents but in three straight bowl victories, three different signal callers have completing 72 percent of their passes for 1,392 yards. Over the last three seasons Leach?s quarterbacks have led the nation in passing and it sure has been fun to watch.
Based primarily on the system Brigham Young employed throughout the 1980s, Leach?s offense also incorporates principles of the West Coast and run-and-shoot offenses. Believe it or not, there is no playbook, according to Cody Hodges who will likely be this year?s beneficiary of the wide open passing game they play in Lubbock. Instead, Leach diagrams plays on a grease board at the onset of summer practice, expecting quarterbacks to store the information over the course of camp. In all, Hodges says, there are no more than 25 primary passing plays, but each can be run using five different formations. The challenge is for the quarterback to know when to switch plays at the line of scrimmage.
Running back Taurean Henderson has to earn 12 summer credits to in order to maintain his eligibility and if he is unsuccessful, Hodges will have to live up to the accomplishments of the three quarterbacks who came before him if Tech is to continue with tradition they have started in recent years. Hodges is green with only 14 career passes, but he has the raw talent necessary to flourish in this system. The receivers are key to this system and as you might imagine, Leach has recruited what is maybe the best corps in the conference. The offensive line is a inexperienced but will probably be fine in this type of offense.
The Red Raiders were ranked 77th against the run in 2004, yielding an average of 176 yards per game but a continually improving secondary allowed the fewest passing yards since 2000 and by the end of the season, were one of the best in the Big 12. Look for more improvement in each area again this year as the Red Raiders return seven starters from a defense that ranked 46th in the nation by yielding 357 yards per game.
A look at the Raiders? schedule gives them a favorable chance of going into Austin to play Texas with a 6-0 record but Tech has to be careful about getting too comfortable dishing in out blowouts in the early going. This team may still be riding high after putting a whining California team in their place in last season?s Holiday Bowl but should be wary in traveling to Nebraska for their first road game. Last year Leach dropped 70 points on Big Red in Lubbock and afterward was accused of running up the score by the Huskers? AD and Cornholio will surely be looking to extract some revenge.
Colorado Buffaloes
With all of the attention given to off the field shenanigans proceeding last season, HC Gary Barnett was still able to take his team to the Big 12 Championship for the third time in four years. Barnett himself was spared disciplinary action from the league or university but watched the Athletic Director, Chancellor and University President all leave Colorado at some point during the hoopla surrounding some questionable activities during trips to Boulder by recruits.
On offense last season, the Buffs scored 30 or more points in four games while and they were held to 14 points or less in another four games. That lack of consistency will not be helped by the loss of RB Bobby Purify who ran for 1,097 yards and 9 touchdowns last year leaving a void in the backfield and it will be tough for senior Lawrence Vickers to fill his shoes. Joel Klatt is back at quarterback but he was responsible for passing for 11 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 2004 and he will be joined by six other starters from last year including four receivers.
The defense last year seemingly got it done with smoke and mirrors as the Buffs were outgained by more than 80 yards per game and the secondary allowed 254.6 passing yards per game as well as 16 passing touchdowns. That secondary is back almost intact and will be shored up by what Barnett calls the best linebacker corps he has had at Colorado.
The schedules for the schools in the North Division of the Big 12 are relatively tame since the teams are all fairly average but from the South, Colorado draws Texas A&M at Boulder but has to travel to Texas, and Oklahoma State and out of conference games include Colorado State, New Mexico and Miami. This team has as good of a chance as any of four others to win the North again.
Iowa State Cyclones
Dan McCarney was rewarded for his team?s efforts by being chosen as the ESPN Big 12 Coach of the Year last season and in the interest of fairness, has indeed lead his team to a bowl game four of the past five seasons. However, a close look at the Cyclones? 2004 season reveals more that just a little luck was involved in the success they experienced. While you can certainly attribute it to heads up defensive and special teams play, the fact remains that Iowa State was second in the nation in points scored while the offense was on the sideline.
Bret Meyer had a good year at quarterback for a freshman and while he only threw six interceptions, he completed just 52% of his passes and to further confuse matters, RB Stevie Hicks was somehow able to rush for 1,062 yards while averaging only 3.9 yards per carry. Meyer will have to do better at putting points on the board this year as the Cyclones ranked 97th in that category in 2004 and while he will have an experienced group of receivers returning this season, the offensive line is young.
The defense will again be solid but it is probably not wise to count on them to duplicate their +10 turnover ratio from last season or to expect them to score seven defensive touchdowns again. However, the crew from last season did limited opposing teams to 3.5 yards per carry and 139.2 rushing yards per game. Eight starters return from 2004 and the secondary should be extraordinary again this year while the defensive line will hold their own in stiff Big 12 competition. Last year, the Clones allowed 34 or more points three times in their first five games but they didn?t allow a team to score more than 25 the rest of the way. That defensive strength should be at the forefront again throughout their 2005 campaign.
In non-conference play, the Cyclones get a break facing the likes of Illinois St. and Army and their annual intrastate rivalry game with Iowa is at home. Three of their five North games are on the road but the toughest is at home against Colorado. In their three match-ups with teams from the South Division, they have to travel to Texas A&M but have Baylor and Oklahoma State at home and neither Oklahoma or Texas are on their slate.
This is the best team Head Coach Dennis Franchione has had in his three year tenure in Aggieland and solid improvement each year since his arrival has many around the country thinking that this might one of the teams to lookout for in 2005. Last season the Ags were on a roll until they had a wheel fall off in an embarrassing 35-34 loss to Baylor after which they seemed to lose their composure as well as three of their four final games. Then the team had the misfortune of drawing Tennessee in the Cotton Bowl only to get blown out by the Vols.
Again this year, as QB Reggie McNeil goes, so will go the Aggies. In 2004 McNeil was responsible for nearly 68% of A&M?s offensive production and led this team to accumulate 428 yards of offense per game which was good enough to be ranked 20th in the nation. Nine starters from last season are back in 2005 including four of five offensive linemen. McNeal lost his go-to receiver, Terrence Murphy who is now playing for the Packers, but he may still have the best trio of receivers in the Big 12 to throw to and last season he threw 22 touchdowns and only four interceptions all year. Courtney Lewis will have to step up as the tailback if this team is to achieve any balance offensively.
The defense of last year began the year with cautious comparisons to the old Aggie ?Wrecking Crew? of years gone by allowing six points or less in three of their first five games, but after that nice start, the Aggies collapsed on defense and allowed a whopping 30.3 points per game down the stretch. This year they get eight starters returning including three up front but the linebackers are lacking in speed and the secondary is again suspect. This defense will have to improve as they go, and quickly if A&M hopes to compete in the Big 12 South.
Texas A&M opens the 2005 season by going on the road to take on Clemson and there are no easy games in the remainder of their road games against Colorado, Kansas St., Texas Tech and Oklahoma. The home schedule on the other hand is relatively easy until they face Texas in what is always the last game of the regular season. This team ought to better their record from last year with at least eight wins.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Texas Tech is the only Big 12 school to post a winning record in every season since the Big 12's inception and HC Mike Leach looks poised to add to that record with another year of incredible passing statistics. Last year the Raiders led the nation with 399.7 passing yards per game which was over 61 yards more than Hawaii averaged in 2nd place. This success has been not just against Tech?s Big 12 opponents but in three straight bowl victories, three different signal callers have completing 72 percent of their passes for 1,392 yards. Over the last three seasons Leach?s quarterbacks have led the nation in passing and it sure has been fun to watch.
Based primarily on the system Brigham Young employed throughout the 1980s, Leach?s offense also incorporates principles of the West Coast and run-and-shoot offenses. Believe it or not, there is no playbook, according to Cody Hodges who will likely be this year?s beneficiary of the wide open passing game they play in Lubbock. Instead, Leach diagrams plays on a grease board at the onset of summer practice, expecting quarterbacks to store the information over the course of camp. In all, Hodges says, there are no more than 25 primary passing plays, but each can be run using five different formations. The challenge is for the quarterback to know when to switch plays at the line of scrimmage.
Running back Taurean Henderson has to earn 12 summer credits to in order to maintain his eligibility and if he is unsuccessful, Hodges will have to live up to the accomplishments of the three quarterbacks who came before him if Tech is to continue with tradition they have started in recent years. Hodges is green with only 14 career passes, but he has the raw talent necessary to flourish in this system. The receivers are key to this system and as you might imagine, Leach has recruited what is maybe the best corps in the conference. The offensive line is a inexperienced but will probably be fine in this type of offense.
The Red Raiders were ranked 77th against the run in 2004, yielding an average of 176 yards per game but a continually improving secondary allowed the fewest passing yards since 2000 and by the end of the season, were one of the best in the Big 12. Look for more improvement in each area again this year as the Red Raiders return seven starters from a defense that ranked 46th in the nation by yielding 357 yards per game.
A look at the Raiders? schedule gives them a favorable chance of going into Austin to play Texas with a 6-0 record but Tech has to be careful about getting too comfortable dishing in out blowouts in the early going. This team may still be riding high after putting a whining California team in their place in last season?s Holiday Bowl but should be wary in traveling to Nebraska for their first road game. Last year Leach dropped 70 points on Big Red in Lubbock and afterward was accused of running up the score by the Huskers? AD and Cornholio will surely be looking to extract some revenge.
Colorado Buffaloes
With all of the attention given to off the field shenanigans proceeding last season, HC Gary Barnett was still able to take his team to the Big 12 Championship for the third time in four years. Barnett himself was spared disciplinary action from the league or university but watched the Athletic Director, Chancellor and University President all leave Colorado at some point during the hoopla surrounding some questionable activities during trips to Boulder by recruits.
On offense last season, the Buffs scored 30 or more points in four games while and they were held to 14 points or less in another four games. That lack of consistency will not be helped by the loss of RB Bobby Purify who ran for 1,097 yards and 9 touchdowns last year leaving a void in the backfield and it will be tough for senior Lawrence Vickers to fill his shoes. Joel Klatt is back at quarterback but he was responsible for passing for 11 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 2004 and he will be joined by six other starters from last year including four receivers.
The defense last year seemingly got it done with smoke and mirrors as the Buffs were outgained by more than 80 yards per game and the secondary allowed 254.6 passing yards per game as well as 16 passing touchdowns. That secondary is back almost intact and will be shored up by what Barnett calls the best linebacker corps he has had at Colorado.
The schedules for the schools in the North Division of the Big 12 are relatively tame since the teams are all fairly average but from the South, Colorado draws Texas A&M at Boulder but has to travel to Texas, and Oklahoma State and out of conference games include Colorado State, New Mexico and Miami. This team has as good of a chance as any of four others to win the North again.
Iowa State Cyclones
Dan McCarney was rewarded for his team?s efforts by being chosen as the ESPN Big 12 Coach of the Year last season and in the interest of fairness, has indeed lead his team to a bowl game four of the past five seasons. However, a close look at the Cyclones? 2004 season reveals more that just a little luck was involved in the success they experienced. While you can certainly attribute it to heads up defensive and special teams play, the fact remains that Iowa State was second in the nation in points scored while the offense was on the sideline.
Bret Meyer had a good year at quarterback for a freshman and while he only threw six interceptions, he completed just 52% of his passes and to further confuse matters, RB Stevie Hicks was somehow able to rush for 1,062 yards while averaging only 3.9 yards per carry. Meyer will have to do better at putting points on the board this year as the Cyclones ranked 97th in that category in 2004 and while he will have an experienced group of receivers returning this season, the offensive line is young.
The defense will again be solid but it is probably not wise to count on them to duplicate their +10 turnover ratio from last season or to expect them to score seven defensive touchdowns again. However, the crew from last season did limited opposing teams to 3.5 yards per carry and 139.2 rushing yards per game. Eight starters return from 2004 and the secondary should be extraordinary again this year while the defensive line will hold their own in stiff Big 12 competition. Last year, the Clones allowed 34 or more points three times in their first five games but they didn?t allow a team to score more than 25 the rest of the way. That defensive strength should be at the forefront again throughout their 2005 campaign.
In non-conference play, the Cyclones get a break facing the likes of Illinois St. and Army and their annual intrastate rivalry game with Iowa is at home. Three of their five North games are on the road but the toughest is at home against Colorado. In their three match-ups with teams from the South Division, they have to travel to Texas A&M but have Baylor and Oklahoma State at home and neither Oklahoma or Texas are on their slate.
