2022 Big 12 Football: Las Vegas releases updated win totals

The folks over at Vegas Insider have released the over/under win totals for the Big 12 football teams in 2022. No surprises as to who leads the way, though the middle of the standings project to be very balanced in the eyes of the sharps out in the desert. Take a look at each Big 12 team’s projected win total and where they stack up compared to their intra-conference foes.

Big 12 win totals

1. Oklahoma: 9.5
2. Oklahoma State: 8.5
3. Texas: 8.5
4. Baylor: 7.5
5. Iowa State: 6.5
6. TCU: 6.5
7. Kansas State: 6.5
8. Texas Tech: 5.5
9. West Virginia: 5.5
10. Kansas: 2.5

So there you have it. Oklahoma leads the way at 9.5 projected wins. Isn’t that a little low, though? Sure, the Sooners lost their coach and both quarterbacks, but they’ve only finished 9-3 or worse in a regular season once in the last 12 years. Meanwhile, in that same span of 12 years, Texas — who is projected to win 8.5 games — has finished better than 8-4 just one time. That brand recognition is really coming through for a Texas team that finished 5-7 in 2021 and recorded four losing seasons in their last eight years.

Baylor feels a little bit disrespected at just 7.5. Dave Aranda turned the Bears around from 2-7 in 2020 to 12-2 and Big 12 champions. Now the Bears are projected to win just 7.5 games? Hammer that over. What evidence suggests Texas should win more games than Baylor? Perhaps none. That program underwent quite the coaching carousel ever since the whole Art Briles scandal. But whether under Briles, Matt Rhule (now with the Carolina Panthers) or Dave Aranda, that ball club has found a way to post extremely successful seasons on the football field.

Speaking of a club that has not been able to have success: poor Kansas. It’s been nothing but disappointment and embarrassment since that magical 2007 season where they very well would have made the College Football Playoff if it existed. How bizarre does that sound? Kansas Football in the CFP. Anyway, they went 12-1 that season and won the Orange Bowl. Well, in their last seven seasons, the Jayhawks have won just 11 TOTAL games. Hey, at least there’s that ’22 hoops title to hang your hat on as an Athletic Department. Oh, and KU nearly knocked off Oklahoma last season, so there’s that. 2.5 wins this season? That may be asking too much for Lance Leipold in year two.