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Oklahoma football: Sooners picked to win Big 12 in preseason media poll

By Chip Rouse

NORMAN, OK - DECEMBER 3: The Oklahoma Sooners pose for photos after the game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys December 3, 2016 at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma defeated Oklahoma State 38-20 to become Big XII champions. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - DECEMBER 3: The Oklahoma Sooners pose for photos after the game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys December 3, 2016 at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma defeated Oklahoma State 38-20 to become Big XII champions. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /
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Oklahoma football will begin the 2017 season the same way it has in five of the past seven years: as the pick of media representatives who cover the conference to win yet another Big 12 football crown.

The Sooners, who will be playing the first season under new head coach Lincoln Riley, received 19 of a possible 32 first-place votes in edging out Bedlam rival Oklahoma State in the annual preseason media poll. OU received a total of 303 points, while Oklahoma State picked up 294 points to finish second.

The final first-place vote went to Kansas State, which finished third in the preseason poll.

In the 22 seasons that the Big 12 Preseason Media Poll has been conducted, Oklahoma has been voted to win its division or the conference championship 15 times (eight times as a division winner and seven as the preseason choice as conference champion.

Between 1996, the inaugural season for the Big 12, and 2010, the last year a conference championship was played between the two division winners, the Sooners have been picked to win the league crown four times (not counting this season) and completed the task in three of the six seasons, two outright and one shared (with Kansas State in 2012).

The Sooners are coming off of a season, the final one under head coach Bob Stoops, in which they finished with an 11-2 record, including wins in 10 consecutive games to close out the season. Sixteen starters return from that team.

Oklahoma ended the 2016 season as the No. 3 team in the country in the Coaches Poll and No. 5 in the Associated Press Top 25.

On Wednesday, the Big 12 announced its Preseason All-Big 12 Team, which included five Oklahoma Sooners (three on offense and two on defense). For the second year in a row, OU quarterback Baker Mayfield was the preseason choice of the media as the Offensive Player of the Year in the conference. Tight-end Mark Andrews, offensive tackle Orlando Brown, linebacker Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and cornerback Jordan Thomas were also named to the All-Big 12 Team.

All of this serves as a lead-in to Big 12 Football Media Days, scheduled for next week in Dallas, and the unofficial kickoff to the 2017 college football season..

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