It's a season of transition in the Big 12 with Brigham Young, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston entering the league and Oklahoma and Texas playing their final seasons before departing for the Southeastern Conference.
The Sooners and Longhorns would love to ride off into the sunset with a final conference championship. History is working against them.
While Oklahoma has won or shared 14 championships in the 27 seasons since the Big 12 was established, they've failed to reach the championship game the past two years. Texas hasn't won the league since 2009.
The reigning champion is are Kansas State, and other contenders lurk in what is probably the most-balanced Power Five conference.