Stormin in Norman
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ESPN Ranks OU Football the Best in the Big 12 in 2016 at Four Positions

By Chip Rouse

Sep 5, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; The Oklahoma Sooners celebrate after a touchdown against the Akron Zips during the third quarter at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 5, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; The Oklahoma Sooners celebrate after a touchdown against the Akron Zips during the third quarter at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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With summer upon us – officially in about a week – the world of college athletics goes into a semi-hiatus state for a month or so until college football revs up its engine for the 2016 season. And from the looks of things, fans of OU football have plenty to look forward to this fall.

Dec 31, 2015; Miami Gardens, FL, USA;Clemson Tigers and Oklahoma Sooners line up in the first quarter of the 2015 CFP Semifinal at the Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2015; Miami Gardens, FL, USA;Clemson Tigers and Oklahoma Sooners line up in the first quarter of the 2015 CFP Semifinal at the Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Call it what you will, but we have unofficially entered the post-spring silly season in college football. For the uninitiated, that is the time of the year, typically from late June till late August, when we start seeing all the preseason watch lists for the coming season’s individual national award categories, as well as a flood of preseason top-25 polls and so-called power rankings of all the teams by positions and just about every other category imaginable.

It’s all because sports writers, talk radio hosts and bloggers, like yours truly, need to have something to write and rail about during the offseason, but from the fan’s perspective, it serves to whet the appetite and get us ready in a slow-boil sort of way for the opening kickoff of the 2016 college football season. Oh, and by the way, that’s less than 80 days away.

Over the course of the next week, I will be breaking down the 2016 edition of the Oklahoma football Sooners, looking first at the offensive unit, then the Sooner defensive unit and finally special teams. I’ll examine where Oklahoma is expected to be strong this coming season as well as the positions where the defending Big 12 champions show the most vulnerability, at least heading into the new season.

Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners safety Steven Parker (10) deflects the pass attempt by TCU Horned Frogs quarterback Bram Kohlhausen (6) on a two point conversion try during the fourth quarter at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners safety Steven Parker (10) deflects the pass attempt by TCU Horned Frogs quarterback Bram Kohlhausen (6) on a two point conversion try during the fourth quarter at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

Ahead of that, though, I wanted to share with you a post-spring analysis done by ESPN, ranking each Big 12 team on how it stacks up against the rest of the Big12 at each offensive and defensive position as well as on special teams. The rankings, according to ESPN staff writer Brandon Chatmon, who writes about the Big 12, are based on past performance, potential and overall depth at each position.

According to ESPN, the Sooners are the best in the Big 12 at quarterback, running back, the defensive line and in the defensive secondary.

Oklahoma ranks sixth out of the 10 Big 12 schools going into the 2016 season at wide receiver and at the linebacker position, No. 5 on the offensive line and No. 3 on special teams.

The Sooners average ranking for all eight positions/units was 3.0, best in the conference.

Baylor was rated as having the best wide-receiver corps and best offensive line. Oklahoma State was No. 1 in special teams and No. 2 at wide receiver and the defensive line.

Texas ranked second best in the Big 12 at linebacker; Kansas State was No. 1 at linebacker and No. 2 on special teams and West Virginia was rated the second-best offensive line.

Here is how ESPN ranked the Big 12 teams based on the average score for all eight positions:

  1. Oklahoma – 3.0 (No. 1 at QB, RB, DL, DB)
  2. TCU – 3.6
  3. Baylor – 3.8 (No. 1 at WR, OL)
  4. Oklahoma State – 4.0 (No. 1 special teams)
  5. Texas – 5.1
  6. Kansas State – 5.9 (No. 1 at LB)
  7. West Virginia – 5.9
  8. Iowa State – 6.8
  9. Texas Tech – 7.4
  10. Kansas – 9.6
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