The Big 12 earned its first College Football Playoff berth last season when Oklahoma went 8-1 in conference play and emerged from a strong group of contenders as a legitimate national title threat. Expectations are high for the Sooners again heading in to 2016, but repeating as Big 12 champions won’t be easy with Oklahoma State, TCU and Baylor all looking to take them down. All four of those teams are loaded with talent, but they also each have at least one key weakness that they will need to overcome in order to win a conference title. Here is a look at the biggest Achilles heel for the top four teams in the Big 12.
Oklahoma Sooners
Achilles Heel: Replacing Sterling Shepard
There has been a lot of talk about how the Sooners will replace Sterling Shepard’s production at wide receiver, but the reality is that he is only one player. The bigger concern for Oklahoma is at linebacker where they have to replace Eric Striker, Frank Shannon, Dominique Alexander and Devante Bond. Those four players combined for 260 tackles last season and the Sooners will be in tough to replace that kind of production at one position. Jordan Evans is back, but it will be left to Tay Evans, Curtis Bolton, Ogbonnia Okorokwo, Ricky DeBerry and Caleb Kelly to seize the other starting jobs. None of those players have significant experience and that could be a major concern with September games against Houston and Ohio State. Oklahoma is loaded with talent on both sides of the football, but right now the linebacker position appears to be their biggest Achilles heel heading in to next season.
Baylor Bears
Achilles Heel: Offensive Line
Baylor will welcome back star quarterback Seth Russell with the hope that he can carry them to a Big 12 title in 2016. There is no doubt that he will be a major upgrade for the Bears if he can stay healthy, but protecting him could be a concern. Baylor lost four starters along the offensive line and even with some talented young players in line to step up it will take time to develop their chemistry as a unit. Art Briles’ system is fast-paced and gets the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly, but with Russell coming off a significant injury there has to be some concern about how fast the Bears’ offensive line can come together.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Achilles Heel: Pass Rush
The Cowboys defense finished with 40 sacks last season, but half of that production was lost this past offseason with the departure of two key players. Emmanuel Ogbah recorded 13 sacks while Jimmy Bean registered 5.5. Both of those players have since moved on. Oklahoma State will be in tough to replace that production with Jarrell Owens and Jordan Brailford the favorites to succeed Ogbah and Bean. Defensive tackle Vincent Taylor is back in the middle of the defensive line after he finished with five sacks last year and it will really help if he can remain a disruptive force. However, the Cowboys will still have to find ways to generate pressure off the edge and it will be that much more difficult without Ogbah and Bean in the mix.
TCU Horned Frogs
Achilles Heel: Quarterback
Gary Patterson has done an outstanding job bringing in young talent over the years, but he will enter next season with the biggest question mark on his roster at the most important position on the field. The Horned Frogs brought in Kenny Hill from Texas A&M to replace Trevone Boykin, but that move looks like a significant downgrade after Hill failed to hold down the starting job for the Aggies. Co-offensive coordinators Doug Meacham and Sonny Combie already have to deal with the losses of star receivers Josh Doctson and Kolby Listenbee and that won’t make the transition at quarterback any easier to overcome. TCU’s offense relies heavily on efficiency at the quarterback position and right now it appears to be the team’s biggest Achilles heel heading in to next season.
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