With the news this week of Landry Jones' decision to return for his senior season, we thought it would be interesting to put together our rankings for the Big 12 QBs and the 2012 season. As you'll see after the jump, there was a lot of agreement on the top half of the league. The bottom half, not so much.
CCMachine's rankings
1. Oklahoma
2. West Virginia
3. Kansas State
4. TCU
5. Baylor
6. Texas
7. Iowa State
8. Texas Tech
9. Oklahoma State
10. Kansas
OnlyOneOU's rankings
1. Oklahoma
2. Kansas St.
3. West Virginia
4. TCU
5. Texas Tech
6. Kansas
7. Baylor
8. Oklahoma St.
9. Iowa St.
10. Texas
jtesooner's rankings
1. Oklahoma
2. West Virginia
3. Kansas State
4. TCU
5. Texas Tech
6. Kansas
7. Iowa State
8. Baylor
9. Texas
10. Oklahoma State
I can't speak to how/why the other guys put their rankings together, so I'm sure they'll add to the conversation in the comments. I can give you a quick recap on why I had mine in the order that I did.
1. OU - With Landry coming back, this was a no-brainer IMO. He's got his issues no doubt, but he'll easily be the most experienced returning QB and that has to count for something.
2. WVU - If you watched it, you saw what Geno Smith is capable of in the Orange Bowl. If WVU can make it into the Big 12 next year, they'd be entering at about the perfect time with no real consensus favorite in the Big 12 next year.
3. KSU - I'll be honest. I've got a serious man crush on Collin Klein. How can you not love the way this kid plays the game? If he was a better passer, he'd have easily been #2 on my list.
4. TCU - Casey Pachall is just a gamer IMO. He's not the most polished QB, but he just has a knack for making big plays. It's not at all inconceivable that he could be the under center for the Big 12 favorite next year.
5. TTU - Seth Doege knows the Tech offense and given time can pick defenses apart. Just ask OU fans.
6. KU - The Jayhawks scored big when they got both Dayne Crist (formerly with Notre Dame) and Jake Heaps (formerly with BYU) this offseason. Crist will be eligible to play next season since he's already graduated and Heaps will be waiting in the wings for 2013.
7. ISU - Jared Barnett showed a ton of potential in 2011, obviously none more so than the upset of Okie State in primetime.
8. BU - RGIII's likely departure will be a monumental loss for the Bears. Nick Florence will have the unenviable task of trying to do so and while far from terrible, there is just no chance Baylor doesn't take a considerable backwards offensively.
9. UT - You won't have to tell any regular here just how bad the Texas QBs were in 2011 and there is no reason to expect any difference in 2012.
10. OSU - Well, I hope you enjoyed that run you had this year fellas. The Cowboys have zero experience returning at QB and could likely be choosing between a redshirt freshman or true freshman. Yikes.