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Oklahoma football: How Big 12 race will shake out in 2022

By Chip Rouse

Oct 23, 2021; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; A general view of the Big 12 Conference logo on the field after the game between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Oklahoma Sooners at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 23, 2021; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; A general view of the Big 12 Conference logo on the field after the game between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Oklahoma Sooners at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 6, 2021; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys quarterback Spencer Sanders (3) throws a pass during the first quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 6, 2021; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys quarterback Spencer Sanders (3) throws a pass during the first quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 4 — Oklahoma State Cowboys (9-3 overall, 6-3 in Big 12)

With 17 years at the helm, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy is now the dean of Big 12 head coaches. Gundy’s may be the current patriarch of Big 12 coaches, but he has only one conference title (2011) to show for it.

Offensively, the Cowboys should be just fine in the coming season and might even be a little better with Spencer Sanders returning at quarterback for his senior season. The Pokes are going to need some help on the offensive line and at running back where they took some hits in players moving on, but three of the top five receivers are back, giving Oklahoma State the big-play threat it seems to regularly possess.

Defense is the biggest concern, with the Cowboys losing six of their top eight tacklers from a defensive unit that lead the Big 12 a year ago.

The 2021 schedule set up favorably for OSU last season with home games against Baylor, TCU, Kansas State and Oklahoma. That schedule flips in 2022, and the Cowboys have to go to all four of those schools, all of which are tough places to play for a visiting team. I have Oklahoma State losing three of those four road tests (at Baylor, at TCU and at Oklahoma), which accounts for the three projected season losses.

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