Kansas

2009: 5-7 (1-7)

This week: vs. North Dakota State

New head coach Turner Gil’s job is to turn the football culture at Kansas around. This will be a tough task as Todd Reesing, who passed for 3,616 yards last year has moved on along with receivers Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe who combined for 17 touchdowns last season. The Jayhawks do return running back Toben Opurum, who tallied nine TD’s for the Jayhawks last season. The KU defense was ranked eighth against the rush and ninth against the pass last season.

Nebraska

2009: 10-4 (6-2)

This week: vs. Western Kentucky

The Cornhuskers are coming off a successful 10-4 season under head coach Bo Pelini. With defensive monster Ndamukong Suh off to the NFL, the Huskers will now look to junior defensive tackle Jared Crick to anchor the defense. Pelini has been silent on the quarterback battle, but Zach Lee appears to be the overall leading candidate. Sophomore Rex Burkehead and senior Roy Helu Jr. will make up a two-headed monster at running back.

Texas

2009: 13-1 (8-0)

This Week: vs. Rice

Garrett Gilbert’s shoes are only as big as he wants them to be.

The Longhorns’ heir apparent quarterback got a scary taste of the Alabama defense in the National Championship loss.

However he recuperated and gave the rest of the Big 12 a scary taste of the arm strength and passing IQ they’ll be facing all season.

Texas A&M

2009: 6-7 (3-5)

This Week: vs. Stephen F. Austin

The Aggies became rightfully known for high-scoring shootouts last season, but for all the talk quarterback Jerrod Johnson has gotten this offseason, the defense in College Station will need to stop someone.

Allowing 30 points eight times in 2009, Johnson can only run and pass for so many points before coach Mike Sherman’s prowess gets questioned.

The season starts inconspicuously for this squad, but the Big 12 South hasn’t been kind to A&M in the last few years, and No. 17 Arkansas blew their doors off last season.

Johnson’s hype should put some pre-game fear into defenses, as the 6-foot-5, 245 pound thoroughbred runner will look to top the 38 trips to the endzone he found last year.

A repeat of 6-7 would be a disappoint with this roster.

Kansas State

2009: 6-6 (4-4)

This Week: vs. UCLA

Two things Wildcat fans could count on going into this 2010 campaign: coach Bill Snyder handling the reins and running back Daniel Thomas getting plenty of carries. In a quarterback competition best described as precarious, Thomas will be the constant after rushing for 1,265 yards and 11 TD’s in 2009. A playmaker would be handy for this squad, as do-it-all speedster Brandon Banks has moved to the next level, but the Wildcats should remain a team that is difficult to put points on, and that will keep them competitive.

Colorado

2009: 3-9 (2-6)

This week: @ Colorado State

The Buffaloes’ offense has running back Rodney Stewart coming off of an 804-yard, nine-touchdown sophomore season. After that? The quarterback position was decided between two guys that combined for 18 touchdowns, 18 interceptions and 2,700 yards. The Buffaloes were minus-6 in turnover differential. Year 2009 was a rough year in Boulder. But in 2010, Colorado fans can take heart in Stewart and top returning receiver Scotty McKnight on an offense that was last in the Big 12 in 2009. Along with Stewart, McKnight and starting quarterback Tyler Hansen, the Buffaloes bring back nine starters from that same offense. The defense returns seven starters to a unit that was seventh in the Big 12. Eighteen of Colorado’s 22 starters are juniors or seniors, meaning that the Buffaloes are one of the most experienced teams in the Big 12.

Missouri

2009: 8-5 (4-4)

This week: vs. Illinois (in St. Louis)

If Missouri wanted to bounce back from its up-and-down 8-5 campaign in 2009, the Tigers sure picked a good non-conference schedule to do it. The Tigers’ annual matchup with Big Ten rival Illinois kicks off the season, then they play McNeese State, San Diego State and Miami (OH), all at home.

The big news from the offseason in Columbia, though, was the indefinite suspension of running back Derrick Washington. Washington, the Tigers’ leading rusher in 2009, was charged with felony sexual assault and is absent from Missouri’s preseason depth chart.

Returning to the team, though, is the head of the Big 12’s fourth-best pass offense, quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Gabbert was the understudy of Chase Daniel for a season before taking over the offense last season and he piled up 3,593 yards and 24 touchdowns in his first season as Missouri’s starter. Gabbert will be without wideout Denario Alexander who accounted for 1,700 yards through the air last season.

Missouri plays just two ranked teams – No. 7 Oklahoma and No. 8 Nebraska – on their schedule this season.

No. 7 Oklahoma

2009: 8-5 (5-3)

This week: vs. Utah State

The Oklahoma offense finished the 2009 season 11th in passing and scored 30.1 points per game. With then-freshman Landry Jones at quarterback after Sam Bradford went down with a shoulder injury. Jones is now a year older and is now the guy for coach Bob Stoops’ high-flying offense. Oh, and the Sooners return their second-leading rusher – DeMarco Murray – and their top three receivers from 2009. Yeah, the offense will be OK.

Defensively, the Sooners will be trying to replicate their efforts in 2009, when they held opponents to just 14.5 per game. With Oklahoma’s non-conference schedule, though, that could challenge the defense with games against No. 20 Florida State and 2009 Big East Champion Cincinnati.

Baylor

2009: 4-8 (1-7)

This Week: vs. Sam Houston State

2008 could have been the year. Unfortunately the schedule was too tough and the youth hurt the Bears in the fourth quarter of games. Last season was supposed to be the year. Then quarterback/track star/super hero Robert Griffin went down with a torn ACL, and the season rode waves to misery. Griffin is back, the defense over-achieved last season, and coach Art Briles is putting all his chips in on the blazing quarterback.

Oklahoma State

2009: 9-4 (6-2)

This week: vs. Washington State

USA Today has picked Oklahoma State to finish second in the Big 12 South to once again go 9-4 and 6-2 in the conference. The Cowboys are under the direction of new offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen. Running back Kendall Hunter led the Big 12 in rushing in 2008 and will try to do that again after an injury plagued 2009 season. Junior Brandon Weeden is stepping into the starting quarterback role.

Texas Tech

2009: 9-4 (5-3)

This week: vs. SMU

With Tommy Tuberville now at the helm of one of the nation’s top passing attacks, Tuberville is working new quarterbacks in Seth Doege and Jacob Karam. Tuberville is instilling a no-huddle, fast-paced offense that also features more than capable running backs in Baron Batch and Eric Stephens. The Red Raiders defense features returning linebacker Brian Duncantackle and defensive tackle Donald Langley.