Way too early Big 12 championship prediction

The Big 12 has gone through some major growing pains recently as a new era has arrived with eight newcomers over the past two years plus the departure of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC.

Who will now claim this year's title? Here are some way to early takes on what to expect.

Quick fall offs

After a rough .500 start for the well-anticipated Buffalos, Coach Deion Sanders and his team's Big 12 championship dreams are back to looking like they might just stay dreams.

This isn’t the case for all teams though as nine enter into week three 2-0 thus far, so who will do it? Which team will go on to be crowned this season's Big 12 championship, and get an automatic bye to the first-ever 12-team college football playoffs bracket?

Last season the Texas Longhorns concluded their stay in the league by claiming the conference's latest football title. Making it their program's fourth Big 12 trophy before they left for the Southern Eastern Conference.

With the remaining champs no more the more realistic and potential champions are begging to separate from the crowd. The two current leaders are the Utah Utes and the Kansas State Wildcats.

No. 12 Utah’s chance at the title:

The Utah Utes are primed to make a significant impact in their inaugural year in the Big 12 Conference, looking to take it by storm. The Utes’ transition from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 has come with high expectations.

Head coach Kyle Whittingham has been with Utah’s football program for over two decades, allowing him to grab a feel of how to transition the program into success.

This season, the defense is what looks to remain one of their biggest weapons, returning many key players from a unit that shut down opponents.

The Utes do have a long schedule ahead of them, with notable matchups including No. 20 Arizona and No. 21 Iowa State with both matchups creating Top 25 matchups. Arizona in particular will bring evocative feelings to the Utes as their matchup last fall ended in a 42-18 Wildcats win.

No. 14 Kansas State’s chance at the title:

Speaking of Wildcats, Kansas State is another high contender Big 12 champion title-worthy team this early end of the season.

The Wildcats remained the Top 20 favorites for all of last season but walked away with nothing more than a Pop-Tarts Bowl victory stuck in last year.

Excitement began to stir with four-star recruit sophomore quarterback, Avery Johnson now having a year under his belt with the team. Johnson collected multiple accolades throughout his first year including being named Pop-Tarts Bowl MVP in the team's victory over North Carolina State.

While the team has had a confident start to this new year, Johnson and the team cannot get spooked this Friday the 13th, as they have their first big test facing the No. 20 Arizona Wildcats. This game will determine a lot for the conference as one team will walk away with their first loss of the season.

So who will win?

Ultimately, breaking down the upcoming seasons ahead it seems that Utah will take their inaugural year all the way to the championship, or at least the Big 12 championship that is.

Only time will tell until more football is played and conference championships are made. That will actually determine the Big 12 champion.

Bronwyn Liber is a second-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email brl5354@psu.edu.