Here’s a quick and dirty look at how I see things playing out in the Big 12 this season:

#1 Oklahoma
In Sam Bradford, Gerald McCoy, Trent Williams, Jermaine Gresham, Keenan Clayton, Brody Eldridge and Dominique Franks, there’s no doubt that the Sooners lost a ton of talent from last year. However, this season is all about two names: Landry Jones and DeMarco Murray. Jones filled in admirably when Bradford went down last season, throwing 26 touchdown passes and gaining valuable experience throughout the year. Murray’s health history is a major concern, but if he can stay upright he’s scary good. He’s more versatile than Adrian Peterson was in that he can catch the ball out of the backfield or beat teams as a rusher. He’s big, he’s fast and he can get north and south in a hurry. He’s also going to get a ton of opportunities to shine this year as both a runner and a pass-catcher and again, if he can stay healthy he has the ability to be one of the best backs in college football. Defensively, Bob Stoops’ team has good depth and while the loss of McCoy hurts, don’t forget that Jeremy Beal was fifth on the team in tackles last season and first in sacks with 11. The linebacker corps has a chance to be special thanks to redshirt freshman Tom Wort and sophomore Ronnell Lewis. I know many pundits still like Texas in the South, but with Landry, Murray and nine starters returning on offense, I think Oklahoma reclaims the conference this season.

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Just three days after firing offensive coordinator Tony Franklin due to their inept offense, Auburn managed just 193 yards of total offense in a 25-22 loss to Arkansas on Saturday. The Tigers had just 137 passing yards and 56 rushing, while also turning the ball over three times and finished just 4 for 15 on third downs.

After firing Franklin, Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville said that his team’s offensive philosophy wasn’t going to change because it “is a good offense”, the players like it and that they are “getting better at it.”

Here’s a thought: If you don’t have the personal to run the spread offense, don’t run it. You don’t just fire a guy and think that all of a sudden your players are going to magically fit into the system. Maybe Franklin wasn’t the problem after all. Or maybe he was. But you can’t fit square pegs into round holes.

On a related note, isn’t it about time for Bobby Petrino to bolt Arkansas? My God, it’s been six games. Considering Petrino used to be the former offensive coordinator at Auburn, maybe he can leave Arkansas, become the new OC for the Tigers and eventually weasel his way into AU’s head coaching spot when Tuberville is eventually shown the door. That seems like the Bobby Petrino path to success.