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We did it last year, and it's time to rev up the engines one more time.

The Big 12 had five passers top 3,000 yards in 2011. WVU's Geno Smith also topped 3,000 yards, but Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill did, too. The league breaks even in that sense.

College football had 39 passers top 3,000 yards last year, up from 27 in 2010.

Which ones will crack the mark in the Big 12 next year? I'm glad you asked.

Remember: This isn't so much a ranking of the Big 12's best quarterbacks, but the QBs with the best chance to break the benchmark for a great season.

1. Geno Smith, West Virginia: Smith had his first season over 3,000 yards last year, and did it by a long ways, racking up 4,385 yards, which was 1,781 more than any other Big East QB. That's nuts. He may throw for more yards than any Big 12 QB this year, but it won't be that wide of a margin. He's got one of the best receiving corps in the league. Injury would be the only thing that could keep him under 3,000.

2. Landry Jones, Oklahoma: Jones has big question marks at receiver. Three of his top four returning targets are currently suspended. Still, he has Kenny Stills and hyped newcomer Trey Metoyer headlining the best class of incoming receivers in the country. He'll top 4,000 yards for the third consecutive season, and 3,000 for the fourth.

3. Seth Doege, Texas Tech: Doege took his place as the next in a long line of successful Tech QBs, throwing for 4,004 yards despite losing the heart of his running game and his two most talented receivers. Tech will throw it enough as always to make this one a no-doubter.

4. Nick Florence, Baylor: Florence will top 3,000 yards in his first full year as a starter with time to prepare for becoming one. He earned seven sudden starts when Robert Griffin III tore his ACL in 2009, Florence's true freshman season. He's got more experience now and arguably the best receiving corps in the league. That's a heck of a combo.

5. Wes Lunt, Oklahoma State: Lunt is a true freshman who better brace for growing pains, but he'll have plenty of great moments in OSU's loaded, pass-first offense. He'll top 3,000 yards by a narrow margin, but the biggest key for Lunt will be keeping his interception total low. If he does that, OSU could be scary.

6. Casey Pachall, TCU: Pachall will have to balance out TCU's running game, which should take advantage of some Big 12 defenses' weak interiors. He'll need to chuck it a whole lot more this season if TCU gets into shootouts or needs to come from behind. That'll happen a lot more in the Big 12 than in the Mountain West.

Just missed: Dayne Crist, Kansas. (Simply put, not enough offensive weapons to top 3,000 yards.)

Baylor picked up a nationally televised road game with NCAA champion Kentucky, adding again to the Bears' solid schedule for the 2012-13 season. Bears coach Scott Drew said Baylor will also play at Gonzaga in a return game from two years ago in Dallas, and also will host Northwestern and BYU.

The Bears are one of the marquee teams in the Charleston Classic with Murray State, Colorado, St. John’s and Dayton. Auburn, Boston College and the College of Charleston are also in the field.

Baylor will get plenty of power-rating pop for this schedule, especially with the addition of Kentucky. No one should be surprised that the return game is in a neutral setting at Cowboys Stadium as part of a unique doubleheader with the schools' women's programs in December 2013.

The Big 12 season is approaching, and there's no league in which the quarterback position is more important. Want success? Experience is a good place to start. How do the QBs rank in experience? Let's take a look.

1. Landry Jones, Oklahoma (37 starts): Jones is the league's elder statesman by a long, long ways. He took over as a redshirt freshman in 2009 when Sam Bradford injured his shoulder, and didn't miss any of his 27 starts in 2010 and 2011.

2. Geno Smith, West Virginia (26 starts): Smith has been the team's unquestioned starter for each of the past two seasons, and should be ready for a big 2012 after topping 4,000 yards in 2011.

3. Collin Klein, Kansas State (15 starts): Klein had two more starts at receiver earlier in his career, but we're not counting those. Klein was a gadget QB in 2010, but took over as the team's offensive workhorse in 2011, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the team's total offense.

4. Casey Pachall, TCU (13 starts): Pachall played well in his first year as a starter, but often relied on his three star running backs in the offense and didn't top 3,000 yards. He's ready for more responsibility if necessary this year.

5. Seth Doege, Texas Tech (13 starts): Doege earned one start all the way back in 2009, but ceded that spot by the end of the game. He did no such thing in a strong 2011 season, though Tech missed a bowl game and had a losing season (5-7) for the first time in almost two decades.

6. Dayne Crist, Kansas (10 starts): Crist's 10 starts all came at Notre Dame, but there doesn't look to be much challenge from any other QBs on the roster this season. Does he have the offensive weapons to be productive?

7. Nick Florence, Baylor (seven starts): Florence started seven games in 2009 when Robert Griffin III suffered a knee injury, and earned a half of playing time last season against Texas Tech that cost him his redshirt season.

8. Steele Jantz, Iowa State (seven starts): Jantz got off to a strong start, but never figured out his very serious turnover issues. That cost him his starting job in midseason, despite three fourth-quarter comebacks to begin the 2011 season 3-0.

9. David Ash, Texas (six starts): Ash was the fourth-string QB last summer, but when Garrett Gilbert and Connor Wood transferred, it was up to him and Case McCoy to carry the load. By season's end, Ash had established himself as the future at the position, at least immediately, but Texas' coaches haven't given him the official designation yet.

10. Jared Barnett, Iowa State (six starts): Barnett took over for Jantz in the middle of the season and engineered wins over Texas Tech, Kansas and a historic win over No. 2 Oklahoma State, but struggled with inconsistency late and opened up the competition to Jantz in a Pinstripe Bowl loss to Rutgers. There's no assurance for either to be the starter after the spring.

11. Case McCoy, Texas (five starts): McCoy's gutsiest performance came in a comeback win over Texas A&M, but his lack of arm strength limited what the Longhorns could do in 2011. McCoy's got all the heart you could ask for, but his physical attributes bring about plenty of questions about his ability to carry the team over the course of his career.

12. Wes Lunt, Oklahoma State (zero starts): Lunt shocked even his own offensive coordinator by beating out junior Clint Chelf and redshirt freshman J.W. Walsh in the spring to earn the starting job. He still has to validate that spot in the fall, but Lunt is in a class of his own at the bottom of the Big 12 when it comes to experience. He's a big, NFL-sized QB with a big arm, though. Can his mind catch up fast enough to help the Cowboys defend a Big 12 title?

College football guru Phil Steele is previewing his must-read offseason magazine, and with it, he's releasing his all-conference and All-America teams.

Here's who he slated as his first-team All-Big 12 squad:

OFFENSE

QB: Landry Jones, Oklahoma
RB: Joseph Randle, Oklahoma State
RB: Malcolm Brown, Texas
WR: Tavon Austin, West Virginia
WR: Kenny Stills, Oklahoma
WR: Stedman Bailey, West Virginia
TE: Jordan Najvar, Baylor
C: Ben Habern, Oklahoma
OL: Lane Taylor, Oklahoma State
OL: Gabe Ikard, Oklahoma
OL: LaAdrian Waddle, Texas Tech
OL: Cyril Richardson, Baylor

• I'd probably go with Geno Smith ahead of Jones, but it's close. You could definitely make a compelling case for both.
• I'd also lean more toward Terrance Williams at Baylor for that third receiver spot ahead of Stills. Stills' upside is still really high, but again, it's close between those two.
• Good grief, the tight end spot in the Big 12 is a rough. Navjar is a good selection. Travis Tannahill at Kansas State could grab that spot, too. You're almost better off picking a sixth offensive lineman or a fullback like Trey Millard at Oklahoma, who's more valuable than any of the league's tight ends.

DEFENSE

DL: Alex Okafor, Texas
DL: Stansly Maponga, TCU
DL: Jackson Jeffcoat, Texas
DL: Jamarkus McFarland, Oklahoma
LB: Jake Knott, Iowa State
LB: Tom Wort, Oklahoma
LB: A.J. Klein, Iowa State
LB: Arthur Brown, Kansas State
CB: Nigel Malone, Kansas State
CB: Brodrick Brown, Oklahoma State
S: Kenny Vaccaro, Texas
S: Tony Jefferson, Oklahoma

SPECIALISTS

P: Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State
K: Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State
PR: Tavon Austin, West Virginia
KR: Tyler Lockett, Kansas State

• No complaints among the specialists, but I'd definitely have kept a more traditional three linebackers. You could afford to leave Tom Wort off that list. Not so with the other three.
• After a sad group of cornerbacks in 2011, the position looks pretty loaded this year. There's no fewer than five guys in my book who deserve strong consideration and probably a spot on the first team. It's too bad there are only two spots. Clearly, Malone and Brown are deserving, but so are Justin Gilbert, Carrington Byndom and Quandre Diggs.
• Safeties are both loaded. Maybe two of the best defenders in the league.

Here's who Steele tabbed as All-Americans, too.

FIRST TEAM

• Alex Okafor, DE, Texas

SECOND TEAM

• Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma
• Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia
• Arthur Brown, LB, Kansas State
• Quinn Sharp, K, Oklahoma State

THIRD TEAM

• Kenny Stills, WR, Oklahoma
• Stedman Bailey, WR, West Virginia
• Lane Taylor, OL, Oklahoma State
• Quinn Sharp, P, Oklahoma State
• Tyler Lockett, KR, Kansas State

FOURTH TEAM

• Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia
• Joseph Randle, RB, Oklahoma State
• Terrance Williams, WR, Baylor
• Gabe Ikard, OL, Oklahoma
• Jackson Jeffcoat, DE, Texas
• A.J. Klein, LB, Iowa State
• Tony Jefferson, S, Oklahoma
• Tavon Austin, KR, West Virginia

Texas will be starting from around the top 20 this season, and is coming off an eight-win season, but are the Longhorns a BCS title contender?

We're breaking down 20 teams' chances this year, and the Longhorns are first on the list.

The knee-jerk reaction to the Longhorns' chances is no, but I recall a team all the way back in 1999 that went 7-5 and all of a sudden, racked up a 13-0 record the following year to win a national title.

Texans, you may have heard of them. Most refer to them as the "Sooners."

But what about Texas? Let's dig in.

The first reason Texas could win it: A defense that could be "truly elite."

Seven of 11 starters are back on what was the No. 11 defense nationally in 2011. In fact, for a five-game stretch of the schedule from Kansas through Texas A&M, only Alabama and LSU proved to be tougher when it came to yielding yards than Texas. The Horns were by many metrics the best defense in the Big 12 over the course of the season, and they ranked second in Football Outsiders' defensive efficiency numbers, behind only Oklahoma State.

Like the Tide and the Tigers, only twice did the Longhorns allow a touchdown pass of 20 or more yards. For Texas, both came against Baylor in the final regular-season game, with defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat playing sparingly due to a shoulder injury that would eventually require surgery.

The other reason? The running game could be one of the nation's best.

There's no escaping the biggest reason why Texas may not win the title: quarterback play.

For Texas to win in 2012, the quarterback play has to provide at least a modicum of production. Game management has become the catch phrase among the coaches, especially given the potential of the team's running game (for more on that, see above). Similar to 2011, they will run the ball on at least 65 percent of their plays in order to showcase this talent and hide the aforementioned deficiency.

Here's the good news: While still not having the confidence to name Ash the starter, the coaching staff has praised the rising sophomore's understanding of the offense as well as his increased maturity in the pocket. Ash no longer throws the ball just for the purpose of throwing it, but instead throws it with purpose. Couple that with an increased awareness of when to throw the ball away and Texas believes it might have a quarterback who can manage the game.

The piece from Carter Strickland and Football Outsiders' Brian Fremeau takes a long look at some advanced statistics, and I'd encourage you all to give it a read.

Do that before you answer the question I pose to you: Is Texas a BCS title contender?

As part of “College Football Live’s” 100 Days Till Kickoff countdown, here’s a look at the top 10 players in the Big 12.

Note: This is a separate list from our preseason top 25 players. We'll tackle that later. It might be a lot different. It might be much of the same.

1. Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia: Geno's a newcomer to the Big 12, but putting up big numbers is nothing new for the senior, who threw for 4,385 yards last season. Only one quarterback threw for more, but Smith had two more touchdown passes and eight fewer interceptions than the No. 2 quarterback on this list. Smith also completed nearly 3 percent more of his passes.

2. Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma: Jones checks in at No. 2 as the Big 12's leading returning passer, and will try to climb back in 2012 to give the Sooners another Big 12 title. Jones is the Big 12's most experienced quarterback, which should pay off the fall.

3. Collin Klein, QB, Kansas State: Klein was the league's No. 4 rusher and threw for 1,900 yards? You can't argue with that production, and Klein accounted for 69.8 percent of the Wildcats' offense. That's insane. His importance to K-State can't be understated.

4. Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia: Austin's the most dangerous playmaker in the Big 12, a true triple threat as a receiver, runner and kick/punt returner. He's the Big 12's No. 2 returning receiver, but he also returned two kicks for touchdowns in 2011, joining two other Big 12 returners who duplicated that feat last season.

5. Jake Knott, LB, Iowa State: Knott was outplayed by teammate A.J. Klein last season, but not by much. Knott was also playing through injuries. He's a superior talent, and like Klein, there's no arguing with his production. He's made 244 tackles in the past two seasons.

6. Joseph Randle, RB, Oklahoma State: Randle is the Big 12's leading returning rusher and should see an increased workload from his 208 carries last season. He turned those into 24 touchdowns to come three short of the Big 12 record.

7. Arthur Brown, LB, Kansas State: Brown's one of the league's most impressive freak athletes, a cruise missile of a linebacker who doesn't miss tackles in the open field and gets there faster than any true linebacker in the league. (You nickelbacks don't count.)

8. Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas: Vaccaro's the most versatile talent on a loaded Texas defense, and as a roaming nickelback, offenses must account for where he is on every snap. He's also got a case as the hardest hitter in the Big 12.

9. Jackson Jeffcoat, DE, Texas: Who has two last names and is the Big 12's returning sack leader? This guy. His 8.5 sacks were 1.5 more than any other returner in the Big 12, and he made four more tackles for loss (17) than any other returner, too.

10. Stedman Bailey, WR, West Virginia: Bailey's a more traditional receiver in WVU's offense and he's taken advantage. He's the league's leading returning receiver and offers the Mountaineers a steady, dangerous target with sure hands who will help make WVU arguably the league's most dangerous offense.

Hey, you stay at the top long enough, people get tired of seeing you there.

Such is life as Mack Brown and Bob Stoops.

This year, we asked who got you fired up the most, and Brown and Stoops ran away with the poll.

Stoops hauled in 39 percent of the vote, while Brown checked in with 37 percent.

They couldn't be any more different in personality, but they have one big thing in common: They win. If a coach kept beating your team, you wouldn't like it much, either.

Stoops got the OSU faithful fired up last season when he needled them for recognizing a co-Big 12 South title in 2010. He's won the biggest of any coach in the Big 12, and until the past two seasons, Brown had won with the most consistency.

That streak of nine consecutive 10-win seasons came to a screeching halt with a 5-7 campaign in 2010, leading more than a few to question Brown's coaching prowess. Could he be as effective at another school? What if you plopped him right in the middle of Ames? Would you still be impressed?

And at Texas, which has all the resources -- both financial and recruiting -- anyone could ever want, shouldn't a coach win more than one national title in 14 seasons?

Maybe that's fair. Maybe it's not. Only eight coaches currently coaching college football even have one national title. Stoops and Brown are both in that group.

The duo has outlasted every other Big 12 coach. No one in the league has been at their current schools longer. (Yes, Bill Snyder's three-year sabbatical disqualifies him.)

Before last season, Snyder was the only coach to swipe a Big 12 title from Brown and Stoops since 2001.

Hate them if you must. Pardon them if they don't stop winning long enough to notice.

We're moving on in our series on the Big 12 blog pegging the single player each team in the Big 12 can't afford to lose. He's also the player who will be most responsible for the team's ultimate success.

Texas beats Northwestern in two games to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals.

The Longhorn Network's Greg Swindell and Kevin Dunn discuss Texas' 2-1 win over Baylor and preview the Big 12 Tournament.

With the news that the Big 12 and SEC have agreed to have its conference champions -- or it's No. 2 teams should the champions be in the mix for any revamped BCS system starting in the 2014 season -- in a bowl game, you can bet the Cotton Bowl will doing all it can to host that game. Maybe it becomes a fight between the Sugar and Cotton Bowls?

If that's the case, most in college football might argue the Cotton Bowl is the underdog. After all, the SEC is still the top conference in college football and has the tradition of going to the Sugar Bowl and living it up on Bourbon Street. But the Cotton Bowl has some things in its favor, too. And I know college football fans here would love to see that game every New Year's Day night in Dallas' own version of the Rose Bowl. A few things to consider:

* JerryWorld. It's a palace and a stadium that certainly attracts attention. Jerry Jones' football home gives the Cotton Bowl a first-class venue to host that game and a place where SEC and Big 12 teams already have met not only in the Cotton Bowl itself, but in the regular season. One other note: There's a thought out there that Jerry Jones won't let the Sugar Bowl outbid his stadium. But, of course, this is the Cotton Bowl's bid, not Jerry's bid. I'm sure Jones would want that game in his stadium and he'll do what he can to help the Cotton Bowl, but don't assume it's simply just Jerry vs. the Sugar Bowl.

* Location. The Cotton Bowl is in the middle of the country, making it an easy destination for fans of both conferences wanting to attend the game. And with the footprint now even closer to SEC country -- Texas A&M's arrival in the SEC makes that true -- it can say it's in the middle of both conferences.

* Tradition of SEC-Big 12. Since 1999, the Cotton Bowl has had an agreement to host both conferences in its game. So it wouldn't be a change from the Cotton Bowl's current setup. In fact, last year would have been an example of what could happen. The Cotton Bowl hosted Kansas State and Arkansas, neither of which won its conference title, but were both ranked in the top-10. Those types of matchups would be commonplace in this game.

* Better SEC team for Cotton. One benefit to the Cotton Bowl should it get the game is that it'd have a better chance to get a higher-ranked SEC team. Right now, the Cotton picks after the Capital One Bowl and then has first right on the next SEC West team. If the Cotton Bowl wants an SEC East team, they have to wait for the Outback Bowl to pick. That's why only two times has an SEC East team played in the Cotton Bowl since 1999 -- Tennessee twice.

* Money. A big sponsor like AT&T certainly won't hurt as the Cotton Bowl makes this bid. The Sugar Bowl has plenty of money, too, but don't think the Cotton Bowl won't come in ready to spend to get this game.

It should be really interesting to see how this all shakes out. There's still time to get that figured out. Remember, this game isn't played until 2015.

Trent Blank and the Baylor Bears shut down Texas, 4-0.

Texas head coach Mack Brown discusses his thoughts on the announcement that the Big 12 and SEC will meet in a bowl game.

The champions of the Big 12 and SEC conferences will meet in a bowl game annually, sources have told ESPN.com.

The agreement will begin with the 2014 season, with the champions of each conference meeting provided that neither team is in the BCS national championship game.

An announcement is set for noon ET later today.

For more on this story, go here.

Colleague Mark Schlabach uncorked his post-spring top 25 on Friday, which included six Big 12 teams. Here's a look at how he slotted them.

1. LSU
2. USC
3. Alabama
4. Oregon
5. Georgia
6. Oklahoma
7. FSU
8. West Virginia
9. Michigan
10. South Carolina
11. Michigan State
12. Stanford
13. Arkansas
14. TCU
15. Wisconsin
16. Clemson
17. Ohio State
18. Kansas State
19. Texas
20. Florida
21. Washington
22. Oklahoma State
23. Virginia Tech
24. Nebraska
25. Georgia Tech

A few thoughts:

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Peter G. Aiken/Getty ImagesWith an experienced QB in Landry Jones, Oklahoma looks primed for a successful 2012 season.
• It's crazy to me just how different OU feels this year from last year, and yet, it's only five spots lower in the preseason. Last year's band of Sooners was as loaded as any we've seen in a long time (Can I mention the 2009 team without getting punched?), but was obviously undone by a rough night against Texas Tech and injuries. This year's team doesn't feel like a juggernaut, but it's solid, and looking around at the teams below it, Oklahoma's right where it belongs. These Sooners aren't as scary as some, but they're fully capable of winning big in 2012.
• I like where West Virginia's slotted. I had the Mountaineers at No. 11 on my pre-spring top 25, but I wanted to move them up a few spots after seeing them up close. No. 8 is about right. How the defense handles the Big 12 will decide how successful WVU is in Big 12 play. I've got zero questions about the offense, outside of wanting to see some more consistency in Year 2 under Dana Holgorsen.
• TCU's right where it should be, too. There doesn't seem to be a lot of disagreement on the Frogs this offseason. I had them at No. 14. Our ESPN experts poll had them at an average of 14. There they are again on Schlabach's ballot.
• Meanwhile, poor K-State. Folks are all over the map on these guys. Phil Steele had K-State well outside his top 25, and you could certainly talk me into that. You could also talk me into K-State as a top-10 team, too. I had it at No. 10 on my poll, but I'm not going to begrudge anyone for putting K-State at No. 18. That's probably about where it will land, maybe a little lower. I'm just higher on the SnyderCats than most.
• Meanwhile, I'm sort of talking myself into Texas the more I see and read about the team. The defense legitimately will be terrifying. The numbers won't show it in the Big 12, but at season's end, I predict Texas will have a legit claim as the nation's best defense. Just absolutely loaded. The offense will be better, but how much better? Let me get a look at the new David Ash in action before I commit one way or the other on the Horns. For now, anything between 15-25 is reasonable. UT deserves a top-25 spot for sure, though.
• My biggest beef is on Oklahoma State. The Cowboys lose Brandon Weeden, Justin Blackmon and Josh Cooper. Those are huge losses. There's no denying that. However, OSU brings back just about everyone else, outside of safety Markelle Martin, who was a big hitter, but left me wanting a whole lot in terms of his cover skills. He's a loss in leadership, but OSU can replace him on the field. I'm definitely higher on OSU than most. I'd put them inside the top 20 for sure, even with a true freshman at QB.