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You've got to love NFL draft season. After players finish their performances at the combine and their respective pro days, their stocks can still fluctuate as opinions sway and NFL teams jockey for position.

The Big 12? Its best prospects are trending upward in colleague Todd McShay's latest mock draft.

Not long ago, the Big 12 looked like it might not land a single player in the top 15. McShay has four Big 12 players in his top 18. You'll need Insider to see the rest of his mock draft through the second round, too.

West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith is as high as I've seen him on any mock draft, checking in at No. 3 on McShay's mock, where he would head to Oakland and become an Oakland Raider (shudder). He thinks the Raiders could send Carson Palmer packing and build up Smith's weakness with his strong work ethic, even though he only grades out as a late first-rounder.

Oklahoma offensive tackle Lane Johnson has bubbled up into McShay's top 10 for the first time, checking in at No. 7 to the Arizona Cardinals. That pick is contingent upon Smith being off the board, but with Johnson, his biggest plus is his upside as a talented prospect who has little experience at his current position.

West Virginia WR Tavon Austin's impressive combine performance and follow-up show at the WVU pro day shot him all the way up to No. 13, where he'd go to the Tampa Bay Bucs. McShay likes that Austin can do what far too few in the NFL can these days: create space and make plays after getting the ball in his hands.

Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro may not have to go far to find his new pro home. He's been a popular pick in this spot lately, and McShay agrees: He makes sense at No. 18 to the in-state Dallas Cowboys. Vaccaro's only concern is his straight-line speed, but McShay loves his toughness in run support and his cover skills. I couldn't agree more. He's a complete player at the position and has a great football IQ.

The NFL draft is a humorous exercise in public opinion and haranguing, but we'll see who's for real and who's bluffing when the draft takes place on April 25.

Oklahoma's defense made it through the second week of November and had given up more than 21 points just twice. The Sooners lost both games, but any good Big 12 offense can feel good about its chances if its defense gives up just 24 and 30 points, especially at home.

New defensive coordinator Mike Stoops looked like he'd made an impact, but after beating Iowa State in Ames, the streak of strong defensive play from the Sooners stopped. It survived 34 points from Baylor and big plays late from quarterback Landry Jones helped the Sooners beat West Virginia and rival Oklahoma State despite giving up 49 and 48 points, respectively.

Jones' heroics overshadowed the defensive struggles a bit, but there was no hiding from an embarrassing 41-13 blowout loss at the hand of ex-Big 12 rival Texas A&M, lowlighted by 229 rushing yards and 287 passing yards from Heisman winner Johnny Manziel, who also accounted for four touchdowns.

"You can’t give up that many yards and that many points and expect to win. We’ve got to find ways to be better against those kinds of teams. That’s what we’re concentrating on [this spring]," Stoops said. "A lot of teams you can go out there and it doesn’t matter what you play, you can beat a lot of teams, but when you go up against the top-level teams, you’ve got to come up with something a little different and variations and that’s where we came up short, those kinds of games."

There's no excusing the points, but how much of those struggles were the Sooners playing poorly, and how much of it was going head-to-head with four teams that ranked in the top 10 in total offense and scoring offense?

"Our plan was off against Tavon Austin, they kind of caught us with our pants down, and we didn’t have really an answer. Structrually, you’ve got to be better than that," Stoops said. "A&M, I think that was probably one of the hardest teams we’ve had to defend here ever, maybe."

Austin spent almost all his time at West Virginia as a receiver, but the Mountaineers moved him to running back against the Sooners. He promptly racked up a school-record 344 rushing yards and had 572 all-purpose yards, seven short of the NCAA record. Against the Aggies, the Sooners' pass rush went absent and the linebackers and secondary consistently lost contain on Manziel, who turned broken plays into big plays on countless occasions in the Aggies' romp.

"Those three teams average more than 550 yards a game so that’s their average. You’ve got to look at it, but certainly we want to have our expectations," Stoops said of the Aggies, Cowboys and Mountaineers. "It’s a little bit of us not being good enough schematically and position by positon. When you get stressed like that when you play good teams, you get stressed across the board, and we have to be better than we were a year ago, and that’s individually and schematically."

We're continuing our march across Big 12 country with your dream trek for 2013. Want to see the best of the best in the Big 12 this season? Come along with us.

PODCAST
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby joins Fizsimmons & Durrett to discuss Cowboys Stadium as a venue, the state of Big 12 basketball, the new 2014 college football format, why there's no hurry to have a Big 12 football championship and much more. Listen

We don't make the final decisions about where we spend our fall Saturdays, but I'm walking week by week through the 2013 season and forecasting where I'd like to be each week of the season. Circumstances change as games happen of course, but here's how I'd project the season. Road nonconference games count. Let's move on with the next week.

More 2013 Ultimate Big 12 Road Trip.

Here's the Week 3 schedule in the Big 12:

• TCU at Texas Tech (Thursday)
• Oklahoma State vs. Lamar
• Iowa State vs. Iowa
• Texas vs. Ole Miss
• Kansas State vs. UMass
• Oklahoma vs. Tulsa
• Kansas at Rice
• West Virginia vs. Georgia State

My pick: TCU at Texas Tech

What a great week of games in Week 3 in the Big 12. I hate missing out on what could be another classic in Ames, Iowa, with a fantastic atmosphere, and I'd love to see Texas take on Ole Miss' headline-making recruiting class early on in its career. I've done two games in one week a few times before, and this week might be a good time to do it, following up on my first pick with a trip north to Ames to see a great in-state rivalry.

If we're picking one game, though, I've got to go with a great Big 12 rivalry that's picked right back up where it left off when TCU joined the Big 12 last season. There's no love lost between these two programs, and they played a classic a year ago, with Seth Doege clinching the triple-overtime win with his seventh touchdown pass of the game. These should be two great teams with a ton to prove in this game, but depending on how TCU's game with LSU goes, the onus might be on Tech a bit more in this one.

TCU could re-establish itself as a Big 12 front-runner with a solid win in Lubbock if it loses the Cowboys Stadium opener, but the impact of the win over Tech would be lessened a bit if the Frogs knock off LSU in the season opener.

Tech, meanwhile, will be completely untested before this game. If TCU beats LSU in the opener, this one will be gigantic. TCU might be as high as a top-five team, but even with a loss, the Frogs are likely to be a top-20 team while Tech is probably just outside the Top 25. The Kliff Kingsbury era would get a huge start with a win over the Frogs, who many (yours truly included) consider one of the Big 12 title favorites.

Tech fans can create some of the best atmospheres in the entire Big 12, and you can believe they'll have a ton of energy in this one for the first big test for Kingsbury and the Red Raiders. I'd love to be there to see it.

Honorable mention: Iowa State vs. Iowa, Texas vs. Ole Miss

Before the Sweet 16 gets under way, our experts offer their predictions for all four regions:

EAST REGION (Washington, D.C.)

Eamonn Brennan: Indiana over Marquette
Fran Fraschilla: Indiana over Miami
John Gasaway: Indiana over Miami
Seth Greenberg: Miami over Indiana
Andy Katz: Indiana over Miami
Jason King: Indiana over Miami
Myron Medcalf: Miami over Indiana
Dana O'Neil: Indiana over Miami
Bruce Pearl: Miami over Syracuse
Robbi Pickeral: Miami over Indiana
Dick Vitale: Indiana over Miami

WEST REGION (Los Angeles)

Eamonn Brennan: Ohio State over La Salle
Fran Fraschilla: Ohio State over Wichita State
John Gasaway: Ohio State over Wichita State
Seth Greenberg: Ohio State over Wichita State
Andy Katz: Ohio State over Wichita State
Jason King: Arizona over Wichita State
Myron Medcalf: Ohio State over Wichita State
Dana O'Neil: Ohio State over La Salle
Bruce Pearl: Arizona over Ohio State
Robbi Pickeral: Ohio State over Wichita State
Dick Vitale: Ohio State over Wichita State

SOUTH REGION (North Texas)

Eamonn Brennan: Florida over Michigan
Fran Fraschilla: Florida over Kansas
John Gasaway: Kansas over Florida
Seth Greenberg: Kansas over Florida
Andy Katz: Michigan over Florida
Jason King: Kansas over Florida
Myron Medcalf: Michigan over Florida Gulf Coast
Dana O'Neil: Michigan over Florida Gulf Coast
Bruce Pearl: Kansas over Florida
Robbi Pickeral: Florida over Kansas
Dick Vitale: Michigan over Florida

MIDWEST REGION (Indianapolis)

Eamonn Brennan: Louisville over Michigan State
Fran Fraschilla: Louisville over Michigan State
John Gasaway: Louisville over Duke
Seth Greenberg: Louisville over Michigan State
Andy Katz: Louisville over Michigan State
Jason King: Louisville over Duke
Myron Medcalf: Louisville over Michigan State
Dana O'Neil: Louisville over Michigan State
Bruce Pearl: Louisville over Duke
Robbi Pickeral: Louisville over Duke
Dick Vitale: Louisville over Michigan State

Man, oh man. Mike Gundy was right. When I asked for your vote, I told you about Gundy saying winning the Big 12 title changed the league's perception of his orange-loving program.

The people watched Oklahoma State win the Big 12 title back in 2011, and with a solid team coming back after an eight-win 2012, Big 12 fans don't find it hard at all to envision the Pokes winning a second Big 12 title in three years.

By an emphatic margin, blog readers voted Oklahoma State a Big 12 title contender. Sixty-seven percent of you voted for the Pokes, while just 33 percent say Oklahoma State is a title "pretender." That's the highest percentage any team has received since we opened these polls.

OSU is a solid team, and this poll won't do much for OSU in the standings come fall, but I do think it points directly to what Gundy was talking about. OSU has had teams that might have boasted more talent than the 2013 team. The 2009 squad with Zac Robinson, Dez Bryant, Russell Okung and Kendall Hunter immediately springs to mind, but it never seemed like that team inspired this kind of true belief in its title chance. Texas and Oklahoma being considerably down compared to the 2009 preseason is a factor, sure, but the Pokes have significantly altered the way they're viewed throughout the league.

What will that change on the field? Football isn't best played by folks scared of a reputation, so if anything, it might make the road a little harder with a bunch of teams gunning to beat a team everybody says is great. I don't believe beating Oklahoma State provides the kind of satisfaction Big 12 teams earn from beating national powers like Oklahoma or Texas (even when they're down), but the Pokes are moving up the ladder.

We'll see if the fans are right come fall. But for folks around Stillwater, that kind of respect from around the league has to feel good.

We've heard from a few of you on teams across the Big 12, but today's poll will focus on another dark horse looming in the Big 12 title race.

Texas Tech bounced back from a frustrating five-win season in 2011 to win eight games in 2012 and return 13 starters from that team. Tommy Tuberville recruited well but traded in his headset for some Cincinnati gear. Texas Tech responded by bringing hometown hero and college football coaching wunderkind Kliff Kingsbury, a 33-year-old first-time coach aboard to try to get Texas Tech over the Big 12 title hump.

His coach, Mike Leach, was never able to do it, but Kingsbury finds himself in a much more level Big 12 with lots of potential and a talented team capable of making some noise this season, likely led by quarterback Michael Brewer.

The defense is a bit of a question mark after losing safeties Cody Davis and D.J. Johnson, but it should be strong up front with pass-rushers Kerry Hyder and Dartwan Bush, who combined for 26 tackles for loss a season ago.

Receiver Eric Ward and Jace Amaro should make Brewer's transition a bit easier, but the running game has been inconsistent for a long time in Lubbock. Will that change in Kingsbury's still-developing offensive philosophy with personnel he's still getting used to being around?

What do you make of Year 1 of the Kingsbury era? Do you believe the Red Raiders can contend? Vote in our poll. Don't think so? Vote pretender.

Let's see how it goes.

We're continuing our march across Big 12 country with your dream trek for 2013. Want to see the best of the best in the Big 12 this season? Come along with us.

PODCAST
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby joins Fizsimmons & Durrett to discuss Cowboys Stadium as a venue, the state of Big 12 basketball, the new 2014 college football format, why there's no hurry to have a Big 12 football championship and much more. Listen

We don't make the final decisions about where we spend our fall Saturdays, but I'm walking week by week through the 2013 season and forecasting where I'd like to be each week of the season. Circumstances change as games happen of course, but here's how I'd project the season. Road nonconference games count. Let's move on with the next week.

More 2013 Ultimate Big 12 Road Trip.

Here's the Week 2 schedule in the Big 12:

• Texas San-Antonio vs. Oklahoma State at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas
• Southeastern Louisiana vs. TCU
• Baylor vs. Buffalo
• Kansas State vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
• West Virginia at Oklahoma
• Texas Tech vs. Stephen F. Austin
• Kansas vs. South Dakota
• Texas at BYU

My pick: West Virginia at Oklahoma

No contest here. I love early-season conference games that break up the monotony of terrible nonconference blowouts, which we'll see plenty of elsewhere in the league this week in 2013. West Virginia is in position to struggle a bit this season, and even Oklahoma looks like it may be somewhat average by Sooners standards this season, but there's no competition for conference play, even when teams elsewhere in the league play teams who could compete in a major conference.

These two teams played a classic a year ago, but they both have a little to prove in this game. A win for West Virginia would be monumental and give plenty of reason for optimism and shifted expectations for the Mountaineers, who can't feel great about coming into Year 2 in the Big 12 with a still-leaky defense and an offense that lost three of the five best players in the Big 12 from last year.

It'll be the first of many big games for two new quarterbacks in Oklahoma's Blake Bell and either Paul Millard or Ford Childress, and Oklahoma could make a statement with a blowout.

On the flip side, a close loss for West Virginia might be reason for encouragement, too. Either way, in a month usually devoid of quality matchups for the Big 12, the Mountaineers' trip to Norman will be a welcome break from the usual boredom of September.

Honorable mention: Texas at BYU

Nobody collects Big 12 title crystal bowls more than Oklahoma. The Sooners got another one last season (debate the merits of it all you want, but it resides in the Switzer Center no matter how much you complain) when it shared a Big 12 title with Kansas State.

That gave Oklahoma eight Big 12 titles since 2000, five more than any other team in the league. The Sooners have done that with a bunch of different quarterbacks, and they'll have to add another name to that list this year if Oklahoma is going to win its ninth Big 12 title.

Do you believe the Sooners can reload and win the Big 12 yet again with several players who are far from household names this spring?

Oklahoma returns just four starters from the defense that got off to a strong start but struggled late last season, never more so than in the loss to Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. Landry Jones quarterbacked an offense that bailed out the defense in dramatic wins against West Virginia and Oklahoma State. Without an experienced quarterback, any defensive shortcomings might be more exposed this season. Even with the personnel losses, though, could those defensive shortcomings be fewer in Year 2 in Mike Stoops' defense? The defensive line needs a lot of work, and there is a lot of turnover there, but the offensive line will be a strength.

What do you think of the Sooners' chances? Do you buy that Oklahoma will be in the mix yet again, despite all the turnover? Or will Oklahoma come up short and settle for an average season that doesn't come with a Big 12 title trophy?

Vote in our poll.

I spent Monday in Norman, Okla., where the Sooners are looking for a new starting quarterback, receivers and a few defensive linemen in spring practice.

I sat down with OU coach Bob Stoops and a few players. Here are some notes and videos from those conversations.

Roughly 90 percent of college football programs would be thrilled to win 10 games in a season. Oklahoma is not one of those programs.

Sharing a Big 12 title? That trophy is a whole lot less satisfying when there are seven others waiting in the trophy case since 2000 that weren't shared with anybody.

"Our expectations are different than everybody else. Everybody’s not Oklahoma," defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said. "When you have Oklahoma across your chest, you expect to win championships, and that’s never going to change here."

He knows firsthand. Stoops helped his brother, coach Bob Stoops, win Oklahoma's seventh national title back in 2000, and the Sooners came up short two more times, once losing in the title game with Mike Stoops in 2003 and again a year later with Stoops coaching at Arizona. Without him coordinating the defense, the Sooners gave up 55 points to USC, more points than any team has ever scored in the BCS National Championship Game.

Arizona fired Mike Stoops six games into the 2011 season, and the Sooners' struggling defense needed an offseason jolt, despite winning 10 games that same season. Mike Stoops returned and brought assistant Tim Kish with him to coach linebackers and help coordinate the defense.

"Sometimes change is good, new ideas are good always, and change is good sometimes," Mike Stoops said. "That happens for whatever reason, and whether it’s complacency or just being stagnant, those things occur. Just trying to reinvent ourselves is something we need to do."

In 2012, there were more late-season defensive struggles after a strong start, but yet again, a 10-win season and a shared Big 12 title weren't enough. Losing three games isn't good enough, and nobody wants to hear that all three losses came to teams that spent time in the top five last season. The Sooners want to get back to competing for national titles, and Bob Stoops went the route of coaching changes to help get Oklahoma back there.

Assistant coaches Jackie Shipp and Bruce Kittle were shown the door, along with offensive line coach James Patton. The Sooners scooped up Bill Bedenbaugh from West Virginia to replace Patton and brought in Jerry Montgomery from Michigan to coach the defensive line. Jay Boulware filled Kittle's spot on the staff after coaching tight ends at Auburn. The Sooners' reboot was complete, and they're working toward results in the spring.

"[They bring] a new perspective in some areas, new ideas. They’re not drastic changes," Mike Stoops said. "Obviously, the coaches we had in here were involved and knew our systems well, but there’s always little changes in technique and little things schematically that can help you, so we’re always looking for fresh ideas."

Ten wins tastes bitter when you're used to winning 11 or 12, which can be the difference between proving yourself as a very good team and a great team. Oklahoma won at least 12 games six times since 2000 and 11 games on three more occasions. Ten wins isn't good enough, and a few former players and one famed coach were more than willing to speak up about it, echoing fan concerns.

Barry Switzer started it in September when he told one local paper that the Sooners "just don't have the talent."

"We’re not as good as we have been," Switzer said. "We don’t have the Tommie Harrises or Gerald McCoys squatting down there in the middle [of the defensive line]."

Offensive lineman Jammal Brown, an All-American who played in Norman from 2000 to '04, said he was "mad as hell" about the Sooners' 28-point Cotton Bowl loss to Texas A&M to cap the 10-win season, calling the Sooners "soft." CBS analyst Spencer Tillman, a Sooners running back in the '80s, said Oklahoma lost concentration on what made the program great in the first place.

Considering the Sooners let Shipp go at the end of the season, it's hard to believe Bob Stoops didn't agree in part with what Switzer had to say. As for the rest of it?

"We may not be as skilled at some of the positions as we want to be, but our toughness and pride is what made Oklahoma what it is, whether it was Bud Wilkinson or Barry Switzer or Bob Stoops, I think that’s the common thread that goes to being a great team," Mike Stoops said.

"Some of those, from the outside, may have felt like we didn’t have that common thread between us. I never felt that; I always thought our teams played hard and together. They’re certainly entitled to their opinions, you know. We’ve got to look at ourselves, and if it’s true, we need to change it. The things we needed to change, we’re working on changing, and nobody knows our program like we do.

"There’s areas we certainly need to get better at, and we’re aware of those. Some of those take time. Some of those take adjustments each day to get better."

The Sooners lose a four-year starter at quarterback in Landry Jones from last year's team, along with seven starters from Mike Stoops' defense. The task of winning more than 10 games seems difficult in a Big 12 that's deeper than it has ever been.

"We just need to get better, again, individually and schematically and play better across the board and come up with better ideas and a better scheme. We’re not far off when you look at the big picture," Mike Stoops said. "We had a chance to win 12 games, we lost them all late in the game and down the stretch and didn’t make the plays we needed to, but again, we’re not that far off."

Baylor's never won the Big 12, and really, it's never quite come close. A magical close to the 2011 season to reach 10 wins and capture the program's Heisman Trophy is as close as the Bears have come, but even a six-game winning streak to close the season meant finishing two games behind league champ Oklahoma State, who thrashed Baylor by five touchdowns earlier in the season.

The 2013 schedule sets up Baylor for success early in the season, but the readers are absolutely not buying Baylor's chances as a Big 12 title contender.

The votes are in, and 64 percent of readers say Baylor is a Big 12 title "pretender," compared to just 36 percent of you who could see the Bears truly contending come fall.

I'd say the odds are definitely in favor of the former group, but it wouldn't really shock me to see Baylor make a run. The defense is experienced and made huge strides late in the season, much bigger than the baby steps it took to help fuel that six-game winning streak at the end of 2011.

If that can continue and the offense can find a few receivers to help Bryce Petty look like the quarterback Art Briles and Baylor believe he is, the Bears have a recipe for some major success in 2013.

As far as factors outside of the Bears' control, I see one major helper and one major deterrent to their true chances. The biggest help is the Big 12 is wide open yet again this season. It looked that way last season, too, so you never know. But back in 2011, Baylor was chasing a national title contender who fell victim to a late-season upset. That was the case again in 2012, but it's hard to see any Big 12 team truly eyeing a 12-0 record in 2013. Two losses might be enough to win a share of the Big 12 this season. Getting to 7-2 in conference play won't be easy, but it's a lot more realistic when you think about it in those terms rather than expecting Baylor to go 9-0 in order to win the league.

The biggest thing working against them, though? In consecutive weeks, the Bears have to go on the road to face the two teams I project as the Big 12's best this season: Oklahoma State and TCU. Cap that off with one final game at Floyd Casey Stadium against Texas before opening their new stadium on the banks of the Brazos, and you have a heck of a finish to the season.

Can Baylor make it happen and make history? The fans say no, but fortunately for the Bears, they'll have the last word on whether the answer is "yes" or "no."

Baylor senior Brittney Griner had 33 points and a career-high 22 rebounds to go with her three dunks to lead the defending champion Bears to an 85-47 win over Florida State on Tuesday to advance to the NCAA round of 16.

Griner played her final home game in front of 9,652 fans at the Ferrell Center -- including former president George W. Bush. You can read more about observations from the game here.

Griner reflects on her final game at home after a dominating performance in the Bears' win over Florida State. Watch here.

Beth Mowins and Stephanie White break down Baylor's dominant win over Florida State and look ahead to the Sweet 16 matchup with Louisville. Watch here.

Kara Lawson, Carolyn Peck and Kevin Negandhi explore the impact Griner and Delle Donne have had on the tourney so far and what's ahead. Watch here.

In order to help limit distractions, Johnny Manziel is temporarily leaving Twitter. With all the fun pictures that have shown up on his account in the past few months, Johnny Football certainly will be missed in the Twitterverse.

Texas A&M's gun-slinging quarterback has been the talk of the country for months and months, and every little thing that he does has been scrutinized. With photos of him at NBA games, Mardi Gras, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and the Super Bowl, Manziel's Twitter timeline has been busy, and it was gaining too much popularity.

"I've kind of just shut it all off," Manziel told ESPN's Mark Schlabach. "With how the media has been with me for a while, I just shut everything off. As of [Monday], I said I was done with [Twitter] for however long. It's fun to have, but it can get to be distracting at points."

Fun Twitter time has ended, and Manziel is trying another approach to limit distractions and focus more on football. Some might consider this a minor way of shielding yourself from trouble, but it's like Manziel can't win when it comes to the whole distractions subject.

First, he was ridiculed for flashing his fun all over the Internet. Then, people chastised him for trying to limit the circus feel when he's on campus by staying out of the classroom and taking all online classes this semester. Now, his plan to stay away from our favorite narcissistic social-media platform has people saying he isn't doing enough.

Apparently, Manziel can do no right.

But whatever steps he feels are necessary for him to devote his attention to being a student-athlete, so be it. Should we even care that Manziel won't be on Twitter? Do our lives revolve around him that much?

Sure, his off-field adventures are fun to follow, but his decision to stay away from Twitter is probably a good thing for Manziel. Everything he does (like shoving a graduate assistant during practice) gets overblown and overanalyzed. Whatever he posts receives a truckload of responses -- good and bad, but probably mostly bad.

So why not just be proactive, shut things down and not risk things? It's not throwing your social card away, but it is keeping your business away from strangers. Manziel doesn't need everyone monitoring him.

Keeping his personal life to himself for a while isn't a bad thing for college football's most popular/interesting man.

A lot can (and will) change before we get into the teeth of the 2013 season, but who would you take right now as the top receiving duo in the SEC?

The most productive receiving tandem in the league a year ago was the Vanderbilt combo of Jordan Matthews and Chris Boyd. They combined for 2,097 receiving yards, 144 catches and 13 touchdown receptions.

The good news for the Commodores is that they’re both back.

It’s tough to pick against a proven twosome like Matthews and Boyd, but Texas A&M also has a tandem to watch next season.

Mike Evans/Malcome Kennedy (Texas A&M): The Aggies also signed a trio of talented freshmen who will be on campus this summer. Evans has built off a terrific redshirt freshman season and has been a force this spring. He had more than 200 yards receiving in the scrimmage last weekend. Kennedy had the big catch against Alabama last season and is one of those guys who could really blossom as a fourth-year junior.

The polls are still open on Baylor, but today, we'll take a look at another team in the Big 12 eyeing a title.

I remember talking with Mike Gundy last spring, just a few months removed from bringing a Big 12 and a Fiesta Bowl trophy, and he touched on the new feeling and attitude toward Oklahoma State.

In essence, his argument was this: Everyone looks at you differently once you've done it. By "it," of course, he meant win and win big. Win enough to prove that no one else in the conference could field a team as good as yours. Oklahoma State did exactly that in 2011, and this year, will field another team that could be in the mix to do it again and bring a Big 12 title to Stillwater twice in three years.

Do you believe they can do it? Vote in our poll.

The Pokes have that whole "quarterback dilemma" to sort out this spring: Will Clint Chelf keep his job? Will Wes Lunt reclaim the one he won last spring? Will J.W. Walsh win the job and prove he means more to Oklahoma State's offense than a mere short-yardage package?

PODCAST
Brett McMurphy joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss college football's national championship game coming to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. Listen

The defense was a bit underrated last season, but Bill Young was shown the door in favor of linebackers coach Glenn Spencer, who received a promotion. The Pokes have to find a pass rush, but the linebackers and secondary should be solid, as should the receivers. Josh Stewart leads that group and the rest of the Big 12's returning receivers in receiving yardage, and senior Jeremy Smith is in position to fill in well for Joseph Randle, who left early for the NFL.

So, was Mike Gundy right? Did Oklahoma State definitively proving it could win a Big 12 title make you believe in these guys as a contender? Are you in on the Pokes' chances this season? Or are they just pretending?

Vote away, friends.