Big 12 football power rankings after spring portal closes: Did Buffaloes get better?

Coach Prime and his family have talked a big game out all offseason in Boulder, but where do the Buffs realistically stack up in the new-look Big 12? It might not be as high as Sanders and Colorado fans hope.

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) / Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

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Head Coach: Mike Gundy. . Oklahoma State . 465. . . . Last Year: 10-4 Texas Bowl W. 4.

Key losses: DJ McKinney, Jaden Bray Key additions: Obi Ezeigbo, Tyler Foster

Mike Gundy has gone through several evolutions as the head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys and currently he’s in his ground-and-pound era. Gundy refused to decide on a starting quarterback at the start of last season and it cost his team early with losses to South Alabama and Iowa State, but once he settled on Alan Bowman, who is returning, and built the offense around Ollie Gordon II, the Cowboys took off.

Ollie Gordon won the Doak Walker Award last season as the nation’s top running back with 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns on 285 carries and 10 years ago could have won the Heisman Trophy with those numbers.

Bowman is a solid enough quarterback to operate the offense as a veteran, so as long as the defense is competent, Oklahoma State will have a shot to win the conference.

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