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The Oklahoma Sooners earned the right to represent the Big 12 in the College Football Playoff by winning the Big 12 outright. The No. 4 Sooners, however, didn't give No. 1 Clemson, widely cast as the underdog in their national semifinal, much of a fight.
And upon closer inspection, OU's Big 12 championship, its first since sharing the title with Kansas State in 2012, came with a few breaks. The Sooners' 44-34 win at Baylor was just true freshman quarterback Jarrett Stidham's second career start, and wallop to the back early on kept him wincing throughout a game the Bears had chances to seize.
The victory that vaulted OU from No. 7 in the CFP rankings and into the top four at No. 3 was a shaky 30-29 escape at home against TCU, which was a failed two-point conversion away from ruining the Sooners' season. The Horned Frogs played that game without senior quarterback Trevone Boykin or star receiver Josh Doctson.
While OU did seal the Big 12 title and a playoff berth with a decisive win over Oklahoma State, its two triumphs over 2014's co-champions, TCU and Baylor, certainly shouldn't get anybody outside of Norman thinking that the Sooners are back to running the show.
So who will win the Big 12 in 2016? Here's a quick glance at our top four contenders (in order of 2015 finish), two dark horses and two really dark horses:
Oklahoma -- Quarterback Baker Mayfield and running backs Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon will be back, but Clemson showed that OU's offensive line must toughen up. The defense also loses key players such as Eric Striker, Zach Sanchez and Charles Tapper.
Oklahoma State -- The offense should fly with all but one starter returning. QB Mason Rudolph has a full season under his belt and WR James Washington is a budding playmaker. Defense takes a hit with dominant DE Emmanuel Ogbah declaring for the NFL Draft.
TCU -- The silver lining to all those injuries is an experienced group for 2016, particularly on defense. The Horned Frogs' co-offensive coordinators passed on other jobs and will have to scheme around a new quarterback, new RB and develop a new star WR to replace Josh Doctson.
Baylor -- Biletnikoff-winning WR Corey Coleman and RB Shock Linwood are gone, but Baylor has shown it has no shortage of skill personnel. Replacing All-America OT Spencer Drango might prove toughest. QB Seth Russell returns and could be pushed by Stidham.
Dark horses: Texas Tech -- Kliff Kingsbury has his QB in Patrick Mahomes and a hot offense, so if Tech can finally make strides on defense it could scare some folks; Texas -- The youthful Longhorns are getting an overhaul on offense and could see quick returns like TCU and OU did when each made the move to the Air Raid. Really dark horses: West Virginia -- It seems every season could be the one Dana Holgorsen's team emerges from the middle of the pack. Maybe after a big bowl win, 2016 will be the year; Kansas State -- Injuries killed the Wildcats from the opener in 2015, and if 2016 is going to be Bill Snyder's final season (it's possible), expect K-State to scratch and claw to stay in the race.
