We are mere weeks away from flipping the calendar to 2023. With the end of each year comes an opportunity to look back and see what went right, what went wrong, and what was just truly unexpected. Much like Spotify Wrapped, I will look back on 2022 to see what transpired and which devy assets had their managers singing along to their favorite tunes.
No league was more unpredictable than the Big 12 in 2022. The league’s regular season champion – TCU – was placed seventh in the preseason media poll. The team who won the conference championship game – Kansas State – was placed fifth. Few expected these two programs to be the class of the league. To some degree, it is understandable. The Horned Frogs were welcoming a new head coach after Gary Patterson roamed the sideline for seemingly 47 years. Sonny Dykes quickly established his system and catered it to his talent, rewarding the TCU’s brass faith with a College Football Playoff appearance in his first year.
Kansas State gets a date with Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, a big step for a program led by former North Dakota State head man Chris Klieman. This is an extremely well-coached and tough team that could give the Tide fits despite calls for Alabama to sneak into the playoff. Nobody in this league appears interested in giving Texas or Oklahoma a kind sendoff, as neither the Horns nor the Sooners made a strong push for the league title.
WHAT WENT RIGHT
EVERYTHING FOR TCU
As mentioned, the Horned Frogs are in the College Football Playoff. Even the biggest TCU homers could not have seen this coming. Max Duggan become a Heisman finalist. Kendre Miller built on his 2021 ascent to become a flat-out star. Quinten Johnston shook off a sluggish start to become dominant down the stretch, perhaps positioning himself to be the first receiver off the board. The offensive pieces all meshed well, creating a dominant unit that finished 15th in total offense and tenth in yards per play.
