The 2016 Big 12 Conference football season was the 21st season of Big 12 Conference football, taking place during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season began with non-conference play on September 2, 2016, with Kansas State playing Stanford. Big 12 Conference play began on September 17, 2016, with Iowa State playing TCU.
The 2016 season was the fifth for the Big 12 since the 2010–13 Big 12 Conference realignment brought the Big 12 membership to its current form. The conference has ten members: Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech and West Virginia. The Big 12 was a Power Five conference under the College Football Playoff format, along with the ACC, the Big Ten, the Pac-12 and the SEC. As a 10-team league, the Big 12 will play a 9-game, round-robin conference schedule and each member will play 3 non-conference games–one of which must be against another Power Five conference foe. The conference championship will be awarded to the team with the highest conference winning percentage at the conclusion of league play. In the event of a tie atop the standings, the conference tiebreaker shall determine the champion.
The Big 12 Champion earned a berth to the 2017 Sugar Bowl, playing the SEC Champion at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, on January 2, 2017. If the Big 12 Champion or SEC Champion are selected for the College Football Playoff, then a replacement team from the league will be designated to represent its conference in the Sugar Bowl according to the league's rules.
Preseason
Recruiting + National rankings Team ESPN Rivals Scout 24/7 Total signeesBaylor #17* #55 #47 #36 15Iowa State #54 #53 #45 #52 29Kansas NR #100 #94 #81 19Kansas State #70 #76 #73 #71 21Oklahoma #21 #16 #19 #22 22Oklahoma State #46 #48 #42 #43 21TCU #23 #20 #13 #18 24Texas #10 #7 #3 #9 28Texas Tech #42 #46 #31 #47 25West Virginia #37 #38 #36 #41 28 ESPN has not updated its class rankings since National Signing Day. In May–July, 2016, Baylor lost a significant number of signees as a result of the school's sexual assault scandal, which led to the firing of many university employees, including head coach Art Briles. Several of Baylor's top-ranked signees re-signed with other Big 12 schools, including Texas, TCU, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
Preseason poll Team ranking First-place votes Raw points 1. Oklahoma (24) 258 2. TCU (2) 222 3. Oklahoma State (0) 202 4. Baylor (0) 156 5. Texas (0) 151 6. Texas Tech (0) 141 7. West Virginia (0) 126 8. Kansas State (0) 88 9. Iowa State (0) 59 10. Kansas (0) 27
Preseason awards 2016 Preseason All-Big 12
Offensive Player of the Year: Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma, QB Defensive Player of the Year: Malik Jefferson, Texas, LB Newcomer of the Year: Kenny Hill, TCU, QB
+ All-Big 12 Offense Position Player Class Team QB Baker Mayfield Junior Oklahoma RB Mike Warren Sophomore Iowa State RB Samaje Perine Junior Oklahoma FB Winston Dimel Sophomore Kansas State WR K. D. Cannon Junior Baylor WR Allen Lazard Junior Iowa State WR James Washington Junior Oklahoma State TE Mark Andrews Sophomore Oklahoma OL Spencer Drango Senior Baylor OL Kyle Fuller Senior Baylor OL Orlando Brown Sophomore Oklahoma OL Patrick Vahe Sophomore Texas OL Connor Williams Sophomore Texas OL Tyler Orlosky Senior West Virginia PK Clayton Hatfield Sophomore Texas Tech KR/PR KaVontae Turpin Sophomore TCU + All-Big 12 Defense Position Player Class Team DL Will Geary Junior Kansas State DL Jordan Willis Senior Kansas State DL Charles Walker Junior Oklahoma DL Vincent Taylor Junior Oklahoma State DL Josh Carraway Senior TCU DL James McFarland Senior TCU DL Noble Nwachukwu Senior West Virginia LB Elijah Lee Junior Kansas State LB Jordan Evans Senior Oklahoma LB Malik Jefferson Sophomore Texas DB Dante Barnett Senior Kansas State DB Steven Parker Junior Oklahoma DB Jordan Thomas Junior Oklahoma DB Jordan Sterns Senior Oklahoma State DB Davante Davis Sophomore Texas P Austin Seibert Sophomore Oklahoma
Regular season Week 1 Schedule and results: Date Time (CT) Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 2 6:30 p.m. Northwestern State #23 Baylor McLane Stadium • Waco, Texas FSN W 55−7 44,849 September 2 8:00 p.m. Kansas State #8 Stanford Stanford Stadium • Stanford, California FS1 L 13−26 46,147 September 3 11:00 a.m. Missouri West Virginia Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, West Virginia FS1 W 26−11 60,125 September 3 11:00 a.m. #3 Oklahoma #14 Houston NRG Stadium • Houston ABC L 23–33 71,016 September 3 2:30 p.m. Southeastern Louisiana #23 Oklahoma State Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, Oklahoma FSN W 61−7 50,079 September 3 6:00 p.m. Rhode Island Kansas Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, Kansas ESPN3 W 55−6 28,864 September 3 7:00 p.m. #14 (FCS) South Dakota State #13 TCU Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, Texas FSN W 59−41 43,450 September 3 7:00 p.m. Stephen F. Austin Texas Tech Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, Texas FSN W 69−17 60,097 September 3 7:00 p.m. #5 (FCS) Northern Iowa Iowa State Jack Trice Stadium • Ames, Iowa Cyclones.TV L 20−25 60,629 September 4 6:30 p.m. #10 Notre Dame Texas Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, Texas ABC W 50–472OT 102,315
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special Teams Newcomer Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team Kenny Hill (QB)Tyrone Swoopes (QB) TCUTexas Chris Nelson (DT) Texas KaVontae Turpin (WR/PR) TCU Shane Buechele (QB) TexasReference: Big 12 Conference
Week 2 Schedule and results: Date Time (CT) Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 10 11:00 a.m. Central Michigan #22 Oklahoma State Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, Oklahoma FS1 L 27−30 52,523 September 10 1:00 p.m. #22 (FCS) Youngstown State West Virginia Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, West Virginia RTPT W 38−21 56,261 September 10 1:30 p.m. Ohio Kansas Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, Kansas FSN L 21−37 28,467 September 10 2:30 p.m. SMU #23 Baylor McLane Stadium • Waco, Texas FS1 W 40−13 45,499 September 10 6:00 p.m. Arkansas #15 TCU Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, Texas ESPN L 38−412OT 48,091 September 10 6:00 p.m. UTEP #11 Texas Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, Texas LHN W 41−7 92,863 September 10 6:00 p.m. Louisiana–Monroe #14 Oklahoma Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma FSN W 59−17 87,037 September 10 6:30 p.m. Iowa State #16 Iowa Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, Iowa BTN L 3−42 70,585 September 10 9:00 p.m. Texas Tech Arizona State Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, Arizona FS1 L 55−68 44,511
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Newcomer Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team Patrick Mahomes (QB) Texas Tech Orion Stewart (S) Baylor KaVontae Turpin (WR/KR) (2) TCU Shane Buechele (QB) (2) TexasReference: Big 12 Conference
Week 3 Schedule and results: Date Time (CT) Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 16 7:00 p.m. #21 Baylor Rice Rice Stadium • Houston, Texas ESPN W 38–10 27,047 September 17 11:00 a.m. Kansas Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, Tennessee ESPNU L 7–43 34,448 September 17 11:00 a.m. Iowa State TCU Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, Texas FS1 TCU 41–20 45,119 September 17 1:30 p.m. Florida Atlantic Kansas State Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium • Manhattan, Kansas FSN W 63−7 50,871 September 17 2:30 p.m. Pittsburgh Oklahoma State Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, Oklahoma ESPN W 45–38 53,514 September 17 6:00 p.m. Louisiana Tech Texas Tech Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, Texas FSN W 59–45 57,515 September 17 6:30 p.m. #3 Ohio State #14 Oklahoma Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma FOX L 24–45 87,979 September 17 9:30 p.m. #11 Texas California California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, California ESPN L 43–50 50,448
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special Teams Newcomer Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team James Washington (WR) Oklahoma State Ty Summers (LB) TCU Dominique Heath (WR/PR)Zach Sinor (P) Kansas StateOklahoma State JaMycal Hasty (RB) BaylorReference: Big 12 Conference
Week 4 Schedule and results: Date Time (CT) Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 23 7:00 p.m. TCU SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, Texas ESPN W 33–3 30,987 September 24 11:00 a.m. San Jose State Iowa State Jack Trice Stadium • Ames, Iowa FSN W 44–10 50,851 September 24 2:30 p.m. BYU West Virginia FedExField • Landover, Maryland ESPN2 W 35–32 38,207 September 24 6:00 p.m. Missouri State Kansas State Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium • Manhattan, Kansas K-StateHD.tv W 35–0 51,686 September 24 6:30 p.m. Oklahoma State #16 Baylor McLane Stadium • Waco, Texas FOX BU 35–24 45,373
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Newcomer Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team Seth Russell (QB) Baylor Travon Blanchard (NB) Baylor Byron Pringle (WR/PR)Desmon White (WR/PR) Kansas StateTCU Justice Hill (RB) Oklahoma StateReference: Big 12 Conference
Week 5 Schedule and results: Date Time (CT) Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance September 29 7:30 p.m. Kansas Texas Tech Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, Texas FS1 TTU 55–19 56,494 October 1 11:00 a.m. #22 Texas Oklahoma State Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, Oklahoma ABC OSU 49–31 53,468 October 1 11:00 a.m. #13 Baylor Iowa State Jack Trice Stadium • Ames, Iowa FS1 BU 45–42 50,842 October 1 2:30 p.m. Kansas State West Virginia Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, West Virginia ESPNU WVU 17–16 61,701 October 1 4:00 p.m. Oklahoma #21 TCU Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, Texas FOX OU 52–46 47,851
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Newcomer Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team Shock Linwood (RB) Baylor Elijah Lee (LB) Kansas State Austin Seibert (K/P) Oklahoma Justice Hill (RB) (2) Oklahoma StateReference: Big 12 Conference
Week 6 Schedule and results: Date Time (CT) Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 8 11:00 a.m. Texas #20 Oklahoma Cotton Bowl • Dallas, Texas FS1 OU 45–40 92,100 October 8 11:00 a.m. TCU Kansas Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, Kansas ESPNU TCU 24–23 23,946 October 8 2:30 p.m. Iowa State Oklahoma State Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, Oklahoma ESPNU OSU 38–31 53,239 October 8 6:00 p.m. Texas Tech Kansas State Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium • Manhattan, Kansas ESPNU KSU 44–38 51,540
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Newcomer Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team Dede Westbrook (WR) Oklahoma Josh Carraway (DE) TCU Byron Pringle (KR/WR) (2) Kansas State D. J. Reed (DB) Kansas StateReference: Big 12 Conference
Week 7 Schedule and results: Date Time (CT) Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 15 11:00 a.m. Kansas State #19 Oklahoma Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma ESPN OU 38–17 86,049 October 15 11:00 a.m. #20 West Virginia Texas Tech Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, Texas FS1 WVU 48–17 54,111 October 15 2:30 p.m. Kansas #11 Baylor McLane Stadium • Waco, Texas FS1 BU 49–7 47,598 October 15 6:00 p.m. Iowa State Texas Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, Texas LHN/CyTV TEX 27–6 96,851
Players of the week: Offensive Defensive Special teams Newcomer Player Team Player Team Player Team Player Team Skyler Howard (QB) West Virginia Ryan Reid (CB) Baylor Cole Moos (P) Kansas Devin Duvernay (WR) TexasReference: Big 12 Conference
Week 8 Schedule and results: Date Time (CT) Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance October 22 11:00 a.m. Oklahoma State Kansas Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, Kansas FS1 OSU 44–20 26,262 October 22 11:00 a.m. Texas Kansas State Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium • Manhattan, Kansas ESPN2 KSU 24–21 52,328 October 22 2:30 p.m. TCU #12 West Virginia Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, West Virginia ESPN2 WVU 34–10 61,780 October 22 7:00 p.m. #16 Oklahoma Texas Tech Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, Texas FOX OU 66–59 60,478
Players of the week: