Revisiting The Preseason Offensive Position Rankings - Where We Went Wrong

The college football season has reached the halfway point so I thought it would be fun to go back an revisiting our preseason position rankings to see how close we were to being right and in some cases how wrong we were. Here we go! Let the debating begin. 

Quarterbacks

Obviously the big shock here is Kansas at #2. You could very well make the case that I'm completely crazy for having the Jayhawks that high and I think I would almost have to agree with you. However, that doesn't remove the fact that the KU offense is pretty good and Jordan Webb has a lot to do with that. He's a cool customer who directs the Jayhawks to 31.7 points per game by completing 65.5% of his passes. His 8.7 yards per pass attempt average is second in the conference only to Baylor's Robert Griffin and his QB rating of 157.2 is again the second best in the conference behind Griffin. So go ahead and tell me I'm wrong.  

The next biggest miss was Texas. The Longhorns have only themselves to blame for being last in the conference. Their season starter is no longer on campus, the dual quarterback system seems to have broken down and a true freshman is now at the helm. Texas quarterbacks have thrown six touchdowns to six interceptions and current starter David Ash has four of them. Ash is completing 58% of his passes for an average of 76.5 yards per game. 

Baylor's Robert Griffin has been absolutely amazing through the first six games of the season. His QB rating of 205.7 is out of this world and he's completing a video game like 78% of his passes. His 22 touchdowns to 2 interceptions is out of this world as well. 

Everyone else is pretty close to where we projected them to be. I say we get a pat on the back. 

Receivers

Kendall Wright is benefiting from Robert Griffin's phenomenal season. His 55 receptions are second in the conference to Ryan Broyles and his 9 touchdowns tie Broyles for conference tops. What catapults Baylor to the top of the list is the depth at receiver. Tevin Reese is averaging 17.5 yards per catch, Terrance Williams has four receiving touchdowns and Lanear Sampson is no slouch either at 42.5 receiving yards per game. 

Oklahoma's Ryan Broyles is the best receiver in the country, much less the conference, and Kenny Stills is quickly becoming one of the premier targets around as well. However, across the board OU's depth hasn't been as solid as Baylor's or Oklahoma State's to this point of the season, thus the drop. Jaz Reynolds is quickly emerging as a great third option and will most likely move the Sooner receiving corps up the list. 

Ryan Swope has legitimately been the Big 12's third best receiver this year and could very well be the second coming of Wes Welker...well...except for the fact that Welker played for Tech but then again A&M doesn't have a Welker receiver to make a reference to so we either have to say that or he's the first coming of Ryan Swope which just doesn't carry the same weight. Jeff Fuller and Uzoma Nwachukwu have been adequate second and third options but if I were to say before the season started that they'd average less than less than 11 catches per game combined then lots of people would be disappointed.

Texas is a work in progress and has potential in Mike Williams and Jaxon Shipley but struggles at quarterback have hurt the receiving rankings as well.

Running Backs

Obviously I undervalued Oklahoma State's duo of Joseph Randle and Jeremy Smith. The Cowboy running backs average 146 rushing yards per game which is the second highest in the conference behind the A&M backs. Dominique Whaley has been the Big 12's biggest surprise and is second in the conference in rushing yards and third in average per game. However, the failure to establish a second set of wheels for the Sooners has once again resulted in a drop. 

Baylor's Terrance Ganaway has been much better than I expected and has proven that he can be a next level back. I would also expect to see Texas Tech drop and Baylor move up with the Red Raiders loss of Eric Stephens. 

I'm a huge fan of Kansas' James Sims but his 73.5 yards per game just aren't up to the preseason hype. I guess he was pretty much on the radar on Big 12 defenses as well and Jordan Webb is reaping the benefits.