What if.....(Big 12)

Conference realignment has really changed a lot in college football.  Ever conference has either added or lost member schools.  One of the conferences that has lost the most is the Big 12.  The Big 12 was created from an odd marriage of the Big 8 and four schools from the Southwest Conference.

The conference enjoyed a lot of success with Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas all playing in National Title Games.  However it all came crumbling down in 2010 when Colorado left to the Pac 10 and then Nebraska moving to the Big 10.  A year later Missouri and Texas A&M left for the SEC.  TCU and West Virginia were eventually added, but what you see now is nothing to what it was at it once was.

However with Texas A&M and Missouri's success in the SEC it gives us a chance to look back and see what if the Big 12 never disbanded.  Where would everybody fit?  Who would be playing in the Conference Title Game. Here is a look at each division and where each team would fit.  (Teams current record is listed in parenthesis)

North
1.  Missouri Tigers (7-1)
*The Tigers are playing like one of the top teams in the SEC and should go through this division with ease.

2.  Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-2)
*Nebraska has a ton of issues this year but talent alone put them here.  Pelini was always great against Missouri so that game could provide an upset.

3.  Kansas State Wildcats (3-4)
*They aren't horrible and have been competitive in all their games, but the Wildcats aren't very good either.  Not having to play all the South Teams would help them become bowl eligible, but that's about it.

4.  Colorado Buffaloes (3-4)
*So far under Mike MacIntrye the Buffaloes are vastly better than the past two years under Emery.  But they have a long ways to go.

5.  Iowa State Cyclones (1-6)
*Moving back to divisions would really help the Cyclones who just don't have the talent of previous years.

6.  Kansas Jayhawks (2-5)
*Being in the North still wouldn't help the Jayhawks who are just flat out awful.

South
1.  Baylor Bears (7-0)
*Baylor is on a different world right now and even in this division could easily run the table.

2.  Texas A&M Aggies (6-2)
*Could you imagine Manziel's numbers against these poor defenses?

3.  Oklahoma Sooners (7-1)
*How often would Oklahoma be the third ranked team in their division.  Heck they could even be fourth.

4.   Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-1)
*Ranked as a top ten team earlier this year might not even be in the top three of their division.

5.  Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-1)
*Yet another ranked team at the bottom the division.  The depth is just sick.

6.  Texas Longhorns (5-2)
*If losing to Ole Miss and BYU doesn't get Mack Brown fired, finishing last in their division would. 

Just looking at the divisions it's clear that the South is loaded.  They'd easily been in contention with the SEC West and Pac 12 North.  The depth is just amazing.  But that was always one of the tough parts about this conference with the North being top heavy an the South being so tough.  A conference title game of Missouri vs Baylor would be a must watch.