Andy Staples: Who will break through first in newly expanded Big 12?

Today is a big day for the Big 12, with four new members — BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF — joining the league. And it leads to a pertinent question: Which of the four newcomers could be first to breakthrough and win the league?

It’s a quandary On3’s Andy Staples attempted to tackle, considering how each team fares in the new-look league. All four have a reasonable case to make for how being in the Big 12 makes them better.

“What’s interesting about this, these particular additions, it feels like all four of these programs could build to the point where they are year-in, year-out Big 12 contenders. I don’t know if it’s going to happen immediately. This is one of those things where a lot of times you find out depth was not what you thought it was once you took a step up in competition, when the week-in, week-out competition got tougher,” Staples said.

He noted that three of the new Big 12 members — Cincinnati, Houston and UCF — are already geographically positioned around talent, and can use the Power 5 label to lure in even better prospects.

As for BYU, the school has a history of recruiting nationally as the flagship college for Mormons around the country.

“And I think it was very good selection by the Big 12 to get these particular four. Because it’s going to be a really fun conference. I think going forward there are going to be a lot of years where, of the 12 that are going to be in the league once Texas and Oklahoma leave, seven, eight, nine have legitimate chances to win the Big 12 title and make the playoff,” Staples said.

And ultimately, Staples isn’t really sure who of the four new Big 12 members will breakthrough. As he alluded to, each one has a distinct case to make as to why they will be breaking through first in the league.

Cincinnati has a recent track record of high-level success. UCF was undefeated not too long before that and has a former SEC coach on board. Houston is amid one of the strongest recruiting regions in the sport. And BYU has already won a national championship, albeit back in the mid 1980s.

“Is it going to be Cincinnati, that was the first Group of 5 program to make the playoff? Is it going to be UCF, that has a lot of really good recruits considering it, has Gus Malzahn, who has coached at the highest of high levels? Is it going to be Houston, situated right there around all that talent? Is it going to be BYU? It’s had a national championship in 1984, remember that? Who knows if the Cougars come back to that level. We’ll see. But this a very exciting day,” Staples said.