Big 12 Championship Betting 2022: Can Oklahoma Win Fifth Title in Six Years?

We are officially less than a month away from the 2022 NCAA college football season and fans couldn’t be more pumped. One conference that never sees a shortage of excitement is the Big 12. With schools like Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma in the mix, there’s plenty of action to keep fans on their toes.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys finished atop the Big 12 last fall, going 8-1 against the conference while achieving an overall record of 12-2. The Baylor Bears and Oklahoma Sooners bother finished with identical 7-2 conference records, however, it was Baylor that had the tiebreaker.

Ultimately, Baylor went on to surprise some people by defeating Oklahoma State, 21-16, in the Big 12 Championship game. It marked the school’s first conference title since 2014, leaving them hungry for another banner in 2022.

Having said that, there’s still plenty of football to be played before the next conference champion is crowned. Until then, here’s a look at the latest Big 12 winner odds from BetOnline Sportsbook, along with a prediction.

Big 12 Conference Betting Odds 2022

• Oklahoma (+200)
• Texas (+250)
• Oklahoma State (+600)
• Baylor (+600)
• Kansas State (+1400)
• TCU (+1400)
• Iowa State (+2000)
• West Virginia (+2000)
• Texas Tech (+5000)
• Kansas (+2500)

All odds are via BetOnline Sportsbook as of 8:04 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 2.

Big 12 Conference Betting Favorites

Oklahoma (+200)

More often than not, Oklahoma is a threat to winning the conference championship. In fact, the Sooners lead their rivals with 14 Big 12 Championships, while Baylor is the next closest team with three. That just proves the kind of dominance that OU has displayed over the years.

In fact, it’s unsurprising to see Oklahoma as the favorite here considering that the Sooners have won eight of the last 10 conference championships. Furthermore, they actually won it five consecutive times before Oklahoma State and Baylor stopped that streak last year.

A big part of any success that Oklahoma sees this year will depend on quarterback Dillon Gabriel. He transferred to the Sooners after spending three seasons at UCF where he recorded 554 completions, 8,037 passing yards and 70 touchdowns to 14 interceptions in 26 career games.

Gabriel, who’s a top-six pick in the Heisman Trophy odds race, is also coming off of a season-ending broken clavicle injury. All signs indicate that he’s made a full recovery, but only time will tell if it affects him in the long run.

The Sooners did lose a lot of players over the offseason — such as Nik Bonitto and Caleb Williams — so it’ll be up to new head coach Brent Venables to bring this group together. If he can successfully get his players to buy in, it could be another year at the top of the mountain for Oklahoma.

Texas (+250)

While Oklahoma is BetOnline’s Big 12 favorite this fall, the Texas Longhorns are right behind the Sooners at +250 odds.

It’s safe to say that the 2021 NCAAF campaign was largely forgettable for Texas. Going 3-6 against their conference rivals, the Longhorns finished in a three-way tie for the second-worst spot in the standings.

Like the Sooners, the Longhorns have a new QB in the form of Quinn Ewers. A former five-star prospect, Ewers has yet to play a single collegiate snap, leaving fans wondering if he can live up to the hype that comes with his potential. The good news is that Texas has built one of the best offensive lines in the nation around him, so there’s no excuse for Ewers not to succeed.

If the Longhorns want to go on a deep run, their defense must be better than it was last year. Texas surrendered 31.1 points per game in 2021, ranking 93rd across the nation. Regardless of how good the offense could be, it won’t mean anything unless the defense steps up.

Oklahoma State, Baylor +600

It’s a bit ironic that the two schools that duked it out for the Big 12 Championship last year are in a tie for the somewhat distant third-place odds in 2022.

For Baylor, Blake Shapen will take over the starting QB duties as he hopes to guide the Bears to back-to-back titles. He appeared in five contests last year, throwing for 596 yards and five TDs without an interception. Baylor also has one of the best offensive lines in the league and if Shapen can reach his potential early on, another championship could be in the cards.

Meanwhile, you can’t count out Oklahoma State just yet. Yes, they lost several key players this spring, but head coach Mike Gundy is hungry after tying his career-high with 12 victories last year.

Nevertheless, the Cowboys lost several defensive starters, which will hurt a unit that gave up only 18.2 PPG (No. 10) in 2021. If the offense can step up and help balance things out, the defensive losses won’t sting as much.

Big 12 Championship 2022 Prediction

The Big 12 is certainly one of the more wide-open conferences out there in 2022. Most of the top teams can make a legitimate case to be the winner, however, I’m siding with the Oklahoma Sooners as +200 favorites.

Venables had an impact on the dominant Clemson defenses that fans have witnessed in recent years and I believe that he can help the Sooners in the same regard. Several of the other Big 12 defensive units are in flux and if Oklahoma can show stability on that side of the ball early on, another conference championship for OU could be right around the corner.

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