Baylor picked ahead of OU, OSU in Big 12 preseason football poll
Baylor picked ahead of OU, OSU in Big 12 preseason poll
Defending Big 12 champion Baylor has been tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the conference title again, based on a poll of media who cover the league.
It is the first time Baylor has been favored in the preseason vote. Coach Dave Aranda's Bears got 17 of the 41 first-place votes in the poll released Thursday.
Oklahoma was picked second ahead of Oklahoma State, which lost 21-16 to Baylor in the Big 12 championship game last December. Baylor and Oklahoma State were both 12-2 last season, while the Sooners were 11-2.
Texas junior running back Bijan Robinson, who ran for 1,127 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, was named the preseason offensive player of the year in the media vote.
Kansas State junior linebacker Felix Anudike-Uzomah was picked as the top defender and Oklahoma junior quarterback Dillon Gabriel the best newcomer.
Anudike-Uzomah had 11 sacks and 14 1/2 tackles for loss last year. Gabriel transferred from UCF to Oklahoma after throwing for 8,037 yards and 70 touchdowns in 26 games with the Golden Knights.
The Sooners were picked as the preseason favorite each of the past six years. They saw their run of six consecutive conference titles end last season when they didn't make the Big 12 title game.
Oklahoma got 12 first-place votes. Oklahoma State got nine and Texas, picked fourth, got two. Kansas State, Iowa State, TCU, West Virginia, Texas Tech and Kansas rounded out the poll. Iowa State got the final first-place vote.
The Big 12 will be the first Power Five conference to conduct its football media days this summer. Its two-day session begins Wednesday with the introductory news conference for Brett Yormark, the conference's incoming commissioner.
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Community Christian defensive lineman Bai Jobe announced on Twitter that he will play college football at Michigan State. The 6-foot-5, 215-pounder chose the Spartans over offers from Arkansas, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Penn State and Wisconsin.
Jobe came to Oklahoma from Senegal, Africa. While he continues to learn the game of American football, he has blossomed into one of the nation's top defensive line prospects. Last season, he finished with 56 tackles, 16.5 sacks and 16 more tackles for loss.
Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon due to injury
Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from Wimbledon a day before he was supposed to play in the semifinals because of a torn abdominal muscle. The 22-time Grand Slam champion was scheduled to face Nick Kyrgios for a berth in the final on Friday. Kyrgios advanced to his first final at a major tournament. He will meet either Novak Djokovic or Cam Norrie for the championship on Sunday. ...
Ons Jabeur has reached her first Grand Slam final with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 victory over good friend Tatjana Maria at Wimbledon. Jabeur is a 27-year-old from Tunisia who is the first African woman and Arab woman to get to the title match at a major tennis tournament. The third-seeded Jabeur next will face 17th-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan for the championship on Saturday.
Funeral services for Green scheduled
A funeral service for former Cashion High football star Brexten Green is scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday in the school's gymnasium. Green, 20, died Saturday from a cliff diving accident at Grand Lake. He was currently a wide receiver at Emporia State University in Kansas. As a senior, Green helped Cashion's football program win its first 11-man state title.
Dodgers snap skid, Noda hits two homers
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Extra points
COLLEGES: Garrett Bayliff has joined the Oklahoma State baseball staff as the strength and conditioning/sports performance coach. Bayliff, a Tuttle native, comes to Stillwater from Wichita State, where he was the associate head of strength and conditioning/director of health and wellness.
AUTO RACING: NASCAR has penalized Noah Gragson for a deliberate and dangerous crash he caused in the Xfinity Series race at Road America. Gragson has been docked 30 points and fined $35,000 by NASCAR for intentionally crashing into Sage Karam on Saturday at the road course in Wisconsin.
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Staff and wire reports
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Baylor picked ahead of OU, OSU in Big 12 preseason football poll
