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The Big 12 has released its preseason media poll, and Nebraska was the unanimous pick to repeat as North champions. Oklahoma was voted to unseat the Longhorns as Big 12 South champion.* Here's the full results, with first-place votes in parentheses and total points after. Big 12 North
1. Nebraska (26) - 156
2. Missouri - 125
3. Kansas State - 79
4. Kansas - 70
5. Colorado - 61
6. Iowa State - 55
Looks pretty good to me. In my post-spring power rankings, I ordered them Iowa State, Kansas and Colorado, but with Iowa State's schedule, the Cyclones at sixth is reasonable. Kansas State is somewhat of a polarizing team among the media. I've read at least a few pollsters who have picked them last in the North, but clearly, the media as a whole has a lot of faith in both coach Bill Snyder and running back Daniel Thomas, who are both among the best at their positions in the conference. No arguments here against Nebraska being the unanimous favorites, but Missouri will be right there to challenge, hinging on that game in Lincoln on Oct. 30.
Big 12 South
1. Oklahoma (16) - 146
2. Texas (10) - 140
3. Texas A&M - 97
4. Texas Tech - 68
5. Oklahoma State - 53
6. Baylor - 42
I switched Texas and Oklahoma in my post-spring rankings, but that's how I ordered the bottom four teams. The ceiling for Oklahoma's offense is higher than Texas', but like we've mentioned here before, it's all going to hinge on the offensive line for the Sooners. Texas' defense should be slightly better, but they should be very, very close to the top nationally, and Nebraska should be, too. I'm a little surprised at the distribution of first-place votes here. If pressed for a guess, I would have expected a similar breakdown, but with the teams flipped. Texas A&M was solidly voted third in the conference. I'd be interested to see how many--if any--gave the Aggies a second-place vote.
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