2006 Big 12 North College Football Predictions & Season Preview
June 5, 2008
Now you can read our 2007 Big 12 Football Predictions!
We are taking a look at the weaker of the two divisions when the 2006 Big 12 North preview is posted. Don’t expect any national champions out of this bunch, or even a team that will be less than a double digit underdog when taking on the South champion. This is a side that is really up in the air with three legit teams that could contend for the Big 12 title game appearance.
Nebraska is the only team gaining any attention for a national title at Pinnacle with odds currently set at +6800. Bodog thinks that they have the best chance of any team in the North as well with 5 to 1 odds posted in their favor, so let’s take a look at what they have on the schedule. The first big game is going to be a loss at USC on September 12th, but that won’t cost them the conference. The Big 12 matchups to watch for are October 7th at Iowa State, which will go a long way to crowning the division’s representative as these two are the early favorites. When they face teams from the South they do have a home game against Texas on October 21st, which will probably be more than this team can handle, and a trip to visit the Aggies on November 11th. If they can sneak away with a win against A&M then the team could post a pretty respectable record.
The Cyclones have blown the North title the last two seasons and want to make amends this season. The problem is a brutal schedule that will feature a couple of almost sure thing losses at Texas, at Oklahoma, and a visit to Ames from Texas Tech. There are four games that Iowa State must win in order to call this season a success, outside of the in-state rivalry game against Iowa, and those are when Nebraska visits on October 7th, when Kansas comes into town on November 4th, and the next two weeks when they visit Colorado and Missouri heads to their place. This team isn’t likely to win the North due to the scheduling difficulties with the South, but if they can pull off a miracle or two, Bret Meyer will need to be looked at for Heisman. Bodog has them at an unrealistic 7 to 1.
Next up on our list is the Kansas Jayhawks, who should be carrying some momentum into this season after beating Iowa State in their last regular season game, a win that prevented the Cyclones from capturing the Big 12 North title. Bodog is currently listing the team as a 15 to 1 favorite to win the conference and is the best value out of this side. The team goes to Nebraska on September 30th, which will hurt because heading to Lincoln hasn’t treated this team well in the past. The team also has tough home games against Texas A&M and Colorado, but got lucky in missing both Oklahoma and Texas out of the South. If they can perform well when travelling to Iowa State and Missouri then this team should finish ranked highly in the Big 12 and earn themselves a bowl bid.
