The Big 12 preseason poll has been released, and though I won't be revealing my personal ballot until later, here's a few thoughts (some longer than others, of course) on where each team was slotted by a panel of 41 media members.

1. Oklahoma -- The Sooners were placed where most figured, and checked in as a solid No. 1. I'll end any suspense: I was one of the 32 voters who had Oklahoma at No. 1. They're not a runaway favorite, and the five teams behind them could dethrone the Sooners in the fall, but no surprises at the top.

2. West Virginia -- Few surprises here, either. WVU has the league's best offense on paper, and I don't think the Mountaineers will have trouble scoring at all in the Big 12. Defending, though? That may be a problem. The defense will decide how good WVU is. Otherwise, it won't be much more than Baylor in 2011. A good team, and a 10-game winner, but hardly a serious threat to win it all.

3. Texas -- This was a modest surprise for me, but clearly, folks are buying into the Longhorns as a team on the rise back to Big 12 contention. That said, not a single voter picked the Longhorns to win the league. That itself is notable. Folks are buying in to a degree with the Longhorns, but it doesn't seem like anybody's all in.

4. Oklahoma State -- Speaking of buying in, folks are taking notice of the talent Oklahoma State has left behind without Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon. I didn't have OSU this high, but anything between third and seventh is very realistic for the Pokes.

5. TCU -- Without all the offseason distractions, you might have seen TCU at third or fourth. The fact of the matter: The Horned Frogs are razor-thin at linebacker and have big, big questions in the secondary. No Deryck Gildon and no Tanner Brock is huge, and the loss of Ed Wesley doesn't help, either.

6. Kansas State -- This was the biggest injustice of all, but look a bit closer at the point totals. K-State was only 10 points behind fourth-place Oklahoma State, so if say, three or four voters put K-State at third or fourth instead of sixth, you'd see them in fourth place, a much more respectable spot for the 10-game winners a year ago. These SnyderCats don't play a sexy brand of Big 12 football, and they won a lot of close games last year. As a result, you're seeing a healthy bit of skepticism toward this crew. Where did I vote them? Well, you'll just have to wait to find out.

7. Baylor -- The Bears, however, are nearly 100 points behind K-State, which signifies a pretty big dropoff, and it's one that's deserved. I see Baylor as a bowl team, but to put them among the contenders with no RG3, no Kendall Wright and no Terrance Ganaway? Not gonna happen.

8. Iowa State -- Movin' on up. This is what two Texas Tech spankings and an upset of No. 2 Oklahoma State gets the Cyclones. There's still a long way to go (that shellacking at the hands of Rutgers didn't help) for ISU to earn more respect, but they finished five points ahead of Tech and 41 behind Baylor. ISU brings back the core of its team, but the core of that team was unimpressive for long stretches in 2011.

9. Texas Tech -- Outside of Kansas State, this was the biggest shocker for me to see. Texas Tech had a solid offense last year, even without its leading rusher and tons of injuries along the offensive line. The Red Raiders have a lot of potential coming off a disappointing 2011 campaign, but I expect Tech to stay healthy, and if that happens, they'll be in a bowl game. Ninth place? We'll see about that.

10. Kansas -- Nothing to see here. Win two games and leave the cupboard largely bare for your successor? Up is the only way to go for the Jayhawks. Could expect anything different in the preseason poll. Kansas received just 46 points, meaning just five of the 41 voters had them anything other than last place.