Big 12 newcomers struggled in debuts. Now they're getting ready for the league to change again
Big 12 Conference newcomers struggled in their league debuts, even after all brought winning programs into the league.
BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF all had losing records and were in the bottom half of the Big 12 standings last season. They won only eight conference games combined, and half of those came in games they played against each other.
Now after a second spring for the Big 12, that quartet is getting ready for another significant transition in the league, while all have changes of their own. There will be four more new teams this fall and the departure of two championship-winning programs.
There will be new starting quarterbacks at BYU, Cincinnati and UCF. Houston returns QB Donovan Smith, but is the only of the league’s returning schools with a new coach after Willie Fritz replaced the fired Dana Holgorsen.
Smith, a former Texas Tech starter, had surgery in the offseason to repair a labrum tear in his throwing shoulder after completing 64.5% of his passes for 2,801 yards and 22 touchdowns in his Cougars debut. While limited on the field during spring drills, he spent a lot of time learning Fritz’s offense and is expected to be ready for fall camp.