Iowa State has been picked to finish 8th in the Big 12 football race this season.DALLAS, Tex. -- -
Iowa State will see a brand-new Big 12 when the football season starts. Missouri and Texas A&M are now in the SEC, and West Virginia and TCU have moved in. That means the Cyclones will be the underdog in most of their conference games.
Iowa State was 6-7 last year, with a 3-6 record in the Big 12. The Cyclones had big home wins over Iowa and Oklahoma State, and won at Texas Tech when they were ranked.
Iowa State had the second toughest schedule in the country last year, and this year it's the third toughest.
At the Big 12 media days, new commissioner Bob Bowlsby says the conference will benefit from having just ten teams.
"At the end of the season, not only do we identify a true champion, but our true champion is going to have a great chance to get to that four team playoff," said Bowlsby. "That is obviously a valuable pathway, given the playoff structure going forward. We've seen lots of times where the two best teams in the league come together and one of them is damaged goods after the game is over."
Iowa State opens the season on September 1st at home against Tulsa. The Cyclones then go to Iowa on September 8th for a 2:30 game on the Big Ten Network.
Oklahoma has been picked to win its eighth Big 12 championship in the Preseason Poll, voted on by media members.
The Sooners grabbed 32 of 41 first-place votes. West Virginia was chosen second with seven first-place votes. TCU got a first place vote and finished fifth.
Kansas State also took a first-place vote and was sixth. Baylor, Iowa State, Texas Tech and Kansas rounded out the poll. West Virginia and TCU each won conference titles last year in their previous conferences.
