Bleacher Report release their pre-Spring Practice top 25 rankings for the 2017 college football season today, where did Big 12 teams fall?
Bleacher Report released their annual pre-Spring Game top 25 college football rankings this morning. The Oklahoma State football team floated between no. 8 and 12 in most sources top 25 rankings way ahead of the 2017 college football season. It is one of the highest rankings seen for the Pokes among any pre-Spring Practice or Spring Game top 25 ranking, which shows the Cowboys’ stock and hype is growing.
The hype surrounding OK State’s offense due to the return of quarterback Mason Rudolph and wide receiver James Washington is real. However, many sources raise questions about the Cowboy defense and if it can stop anyone in the Big 12. Yet, if the offense is as good as it gets hyped to be, then the defense will have to give up roughly more than 35 points per game this season to lose games their not supposed to.
B/R’s rankings were also one of the few that had the Pokes ranked ahead of the Oklahoma Sooners. OU came in at no. 8 in the rankings, three behind the Cowboys. Baker Mayfield’s arrest brought up concerns for the Sooners’ immediate future as well as a tough schedule.
Other Big 12 teams in the rankings included the no. 24 Texas Longhorns, no. 24 West Virginia Mountaineers, and no. 18 TCU Horned Frogs. The Kansas State Wildcats are another team to watch in the conference that have floated in and out of early top 25 rankings.
Good news for the Cowboys is that they catch OU, TCU, and K-State, all at home this season. That played into the ranking for putting the Cowboys into the top 5.
OK State kicks off Spring Practice on March 6 and the Spring Game is scheduled for April 15 at Boone Pickens Stadium. Some teams have already kicked off their Spring Practices around the country.
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The actual season for OK State stars on Sep. 2 against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at BPS. With the season still more than five months away, it’s nice to see hype building around the program for head coach Mike Gundy to gain some confidence entering the 2017 season.