2024 Big 12 College Football Preview: Cam Rising Returns
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00And Joe, I think from a betting perspective, the Big 12 stands out to me the most.
00:05First, the realignment, the new teams that enter the fold, the four corner schools,
00:09Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah, now joining the Big 12 Conference.
00:16But this league is stacked, or at least stacked in a competitive way.
00:20Eight teams with a 12 to 1 price to win the conference crown, that is half of the 16 schools
00:27now in this conference, by far the most at that number or shorter to win a conference
00:33championship this year. And all separated by less than $9. And it starts with Utah,
00:38the newcomer, but the betting favorites to win the Big 12 title at a plus 310 price.
00:42And Cam Rising, their star quarterback, does return. How does he return from the ACL
00:48injury that he sustained about a year, a year and a half ago? That will really tell how successful
00:54Utah is. Because from an offensive perspective, Ben, only 15 touchdowns through the year,
00:5911 interceptions. As a team, they only threw for 1,550 yards. They were one-dimensional in
01:05multiple ballgames. And that put their defense in terms of a disadvantage. So Cam Rising is
01:11the key to this offense this year. Again, there's a lot of pressure on Kyle Winningham. On paper,
01:16they look like the most physical and most complete team. But this conference could be the most
01:21competitive throughout the Power Four this year. And the odds ever-changing, of course,
01:25here in the offseason, plus 310, plus 290, around three bucks, wherever you get the number. And
01:31that's the big thing for the Utah Utes in making this move to the Big 12. The retention of Cam
01:38Rising, the fact that he's staying in college football. Tore his ACL, the knee injury against
01:42Penn State, in the 2023 Rose Bowl. That was two Januarys ago. It is almost going to be 18 calendar
01:50months since we have seen Cam Rising take his last college football snap. But he is back as the
01:56quarterback for the Utes. I mentioned Avery Johnson and K-State, second-best price to win the Big
02:0312 title. If Kyle Winningham is consistency, as one of the longest-tenured head coaches
02:09in college football, Chris Clyman is starting to build that in the Little Apple in Manhattan,
02:13Kansas. A lot to like this year with Avery Johnson, DJ Giddens, and a stout rushing attack
02:19that is featured with a good defense as well. Absolutely, and you look at Avery Johnson, he
02:23abused the Texas Tech Red Raiders for multiple touchdown runs in terms of that victory last
02:29season. If he can elevate in terms of the passing attack, take over for where Will Howard was, and
02:34even produce better, they're going to be right there. Chris Clyman, much like Dan Landing,
02:39it coaches it from the inside out. They're very physical in terms of the defensive front seven,
02:44only allowed basically less than 25 points per game over the last month and a half of the regular
02:49season. Again, a very physical team that likes to run it. As they run it, they win ballgames, so we'll
02:54see how this plays out. They deserve to be there right there in regards to number two overall,
02:59but keep an eye out for Matt Campbell and Iowa State. They're lurking in the background with
03:04Rocco Beck. They lost the ballgame, but this team has a bunch of returning starters along with
03:09Oklahoma State. 85% of the returning production from a season ago is back in Aims. That is the
03:17most at the power conference level. That is the most in all of FBS college football across the
03:24entirety of the country. Rocco Beck, because of the gambling situation with Hunter Deckers entering
03:30last year for Iowa State, was thrust into that position, but learned from it and gained invaluable
03:37experience. His two top targets are back for Iowa State's offense as well. His entire offensive line
03:43returns. So much returning production. I love the Cyclones to go over seven and a half. Joe,
03:49if I think Iowa State can go over seven and a half to speak to the competitive balance of the
03:54Big 12, you see those eight teams that we listed at a 12 to 1 price or shorter. That includes
04:00Central Florida. That's half the league. UCF's win total is seven and a half, and the juice is
04:05pretty evenly distributed. It means the ceiling in this conference might not be all that high,
04:12but the floor not all that low either. No, and think about the quarterback play in this
04:16conference. Potentially, they have the most dynamic quarterbacks maybe from top to bottom.
04:21You got KJ Jefferson that transfers in from UCF. Garrett Green that came on for West Virginia.
04:26Jalen Daniels returns for Kansas. We saw and talked about Cam Rising and Avery Johnson. I mean,
04:32Brennan Morton for Texas Tech. I mean, Noah Fafita. I mean, the list goes on and on in regards to the
04:38depth at the quarterback position, and that's why I think there's a number of teams that could come
04:42out in regards to a Big 12 championship. I love the job that Joey McGuire has done in terms of
04:48a culture perspective in Lubbock. Right now, their win total is seven and a half. He returns 18
04:53starters as well. Taj Brooks, one of the most productive rushing leaders in all FBS, comes back.
05:00He can run it. He can catch it, and that defense showed that they were physical one back-to-back
05:04bowl games. If they get stored fast, keep an eye out for Joey McGuire and the Red Raiders this year.
05:10West Virginia and Kansas both won nine games with a bowl victory a season ago. The Mountaineers' win
05:16total is six and a half. He over has the juice. Kansas, Kansas, not basketball. Kansas football
05:24in Lawrence has the third best price to win the Big 12 championship this season. Entering this
05:30year, it speaks to what Lance Leipold, the program builder, has built for KAU. Nine victories a
05:37season ago, and that was in large part without maybe one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in
05:42all of the Big 12 in all of the country, Jalen Daniels, who should be healthy this year.
05:48No Frosted Flakes commercials for you, Jalen Daniels, this offseason.