Big 12 Media Days Are Here: Here's a Primer for Oklahoma Fans

We’re still six weeks from actual football, but Big 12 Media Days opens what coaches now call “talking season” none too soon.

The Big 12 — with 14 teams this time — kicks off conference media days on Wednesday and Thursday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, and of the myriad topics broached by the press this week, some may actually have to do with the 2023 football season.

The configuration for this week's event was initially going to deviate from the norm. The original plan was to have representatives of all 14 institutions on site for both days. But coaches are busy this time of year either self-scouting, recruiting or squeezing in one last respite with the family, and so time is precious. So this year’s format is the same as usual: half the teams on one day, the other half on the next.

It’s the unofficial start to the college football season and there are endless topics to discuss once the doors open and the microphones turn on — most notably, this being the final Big 12 Media Days for Oklahoma and Texas. How do you feel about that?

AllSooners has three reporters in Arlington and four total providing wall-to-wall coverage of the event, including press conference videos, breakout interviews, feature stories, team previews and video analysis of all things Big 12, plus of course, blanket coverage of the Oklahoma Sooners.

Here is a primer ahead of this week’s festivities in DFW:

This Week’s Schedule

Wednesday

Press conferences with TCU coach Sonny Dykes (1:15 p.m.), Houston coach Dana Holgorsen (1:45 p.m.), Kansas coach Lance Leipold (2:10 p.m.), Baylor coach Dave Aranda (2:35 p.m.), Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy (3 p.m.), Texas coach Steve Sarkisian (3:25 p.m.) and BYU coach Kalani Sitake (3:50 p.m.).

Thursday

Press conferences with Kansas State coach Chris Klieman (9:15 a.m.), UCF coach Gus Malzahn (9:45 a.m.), Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire (10:10 a.m.), Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield (10:35 a.m.), West Virginia coach Neal Brown (11 a.m.), Iowa State coach Matt Campbell (11:25 a.m.) and Oklahoma coach Brent Venables (11:50 a.m.).

Breakout interviews with the coach and players take place from 4-5 p.m. Wednesday and from 1-2 p.m. Thursday, but those won’t be seen live anywhere.

ESPNU and Big 12 Now on ESPN+ will carry coach and player interviews each day. Additional coverage includes Commissioner Brett Yormark’s press conference at noon on Wednesday. A separate feed from the press conference dais will be available on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

The New Guys

At least Houston doesn’t have far to go.

The Cougars are only a 3 1/2-hour drive from JerryWorld — they’ll be on a 65-minute flight, of course — and will feel practically at home at their first official function in their new conference.

Everyone else has to travel a little further.

BYU will fly 989 miles (that’s 1,295 in a car). UCF is in for 985 miles in the air (1,113 highway). Cincinnati is 810 miles by jet (940 by car).

This isn’t your big brother’s Big 12.

The Bearcats were 9-4 under first-year coach Scott Satterfield in the American Athletic Conference last year after making a run to the College Football Playoff — the first from a Group of 5 team — under Luke Fickell in 2021.

Under former WVU coach Dana Holgorsen, Houston went 8-5 in its final season in The American last year. UH has five 10-win seasons since 2006, a couple of 13-1 seasons in 2011 and 2015 and a 12-2 campaign in 2021.

Another AAC transfer, Central Florida was 9-5 under Gus Malzahn. UCF has seven 10-win seasons since 2007, including a 13-0 record in 2017 under Scott Frost and 12-1 in 2018 under Josh Heupel.

BYU’s final season as an independent under Kalani Sitake went much like the other three: the Cougars were 8-5 last year. BYU went 11-1 in 2020 and 10-3 in 2021 and have had a winning record in six of seven seasons under Sitake.

How long will it take for the new guys to be competitive in football? They already are. That will show week in and week out as “shocking” upsets become less shocking. But how long will it take before they can win a title?

Remember, Big 12 bully Oklahoma will be gone, and the rest of the Big 12 won’t have to ask if Texas is back or not every summer. So, count on at least one of the newbies winning the trophy within the first five years. Which one makes the biggest commitment and makes the greatest strides the soonest?

The pick here is UCF.

No New Coaches

Aside from the four newcomers, there are exactly zero new head coaches in the Big 12 this year. No coaches were fired, and no new head coaches were hired. That’s remarkable.

In fact, that’s only the second time in the Big 12’s 27-year history that every coach at last year’s media day is back the following year. It also happened in 2018.

Before then, since the league formed in 1996, he previous record low for head coaching changes was one — in 2000 (Mike Leach), 2002 (Mark Mangino), 2004 (Bill Callahan), 2007 (Gene Chizik), 2011 (Tim DeRuyter), 2013 (Kliff Kingsbury), 2015 (David Beaty) and 2020 (Dave Aranda).

OU-Texas

What kind of reception will the Sooners and Longhorns get from their peers at their final Big 12 Media Day? Remember last year when the outgoing commissioner himself, Bob Bowlsby, called out Joe Castiglione, saying he felt betrayed by a friend?

Will there be open animosity toward those who had nothing to do with making that decision?

Maybe the temperature in the room cools off by a few degrees. One of the players will probably let out a slip of the tongue — or maybe he’ll just say what’s on his mind. There will be playful banter and just a touch of friendly trash talk.

But no, players and coaches won’t be showing any hostility toward the crimson or burnt orange. It’ll be cordial as ever.

Is Texas Finally Back?

There’s always unwarranted hype about Texas. Not this year.

This year it seems the Longhorns have not only the best odds to win the league (+100, according to Caesar’s; that’s compared to OU with the second-best odds at +300), but they actually have the best collection of talent.

Texas has the Big 12’s best offensive line and best wide receiver corps. That’s indisputable, and will go a long way toward shoring up the performance of one Quinn Ewers. UT also has the Big 12’s best linebackers and brings back some studs in the secondary and up front. That’s a roster that can win.

Now, can Steve Sarkisian — who’s won more than eight games in his career just one time in nine seasons as a head coach — do his part?

Expect vast improvements from Oklahoma, who lost all five games that came down to one possession last year. Brent Venables will get better, and it needs to be evident against the league’s easiest schedule. OU can win big if Dillon Gabriel can reach his potential.

What about defending Big 12 champ Kansas State? There ought to be some dropoff, although Chris Klieman is the Big 12’s most fundamentally sound football coach. Can Sonny Dykes keep the pace at TCU? Not without Heisman finalist Max Duggan. Are Baylor and Dave Aranda on the way back up after winning it two years ago? Will Mike Gundy regain his form of 2021, when Oklahoma State went 12-2, or will his run of seven- and eight-win seasons continue? Has Joey McGuire fixed Texas Tech for good? Can Lance Leipold pull off another miracle season at Kansas? Has Matt Campbell, just 4-8 last year, hit his ceiling at Iowa State? Will Neal Brown make it another year at West Virginia?

Most of those questions won’t be answered this week.

But they should be asked.

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