-by Patrick Snow (@AthlonSnowman on twitter)

By Steven Lassan (@AthlonSteven on Twitter)

It's never too early to start thinking about next season. Spring practice will kick off for some teams in late February and before we know it, the 2012 Athlon Sports' preseason college football annuals will be hitting newsstands across the nation. 

Athlon's updated top 25 for 2012 reflects the coaching changes and early entries into the NFL Draft, but expect several tweaks before our official preseason poll is released in May.

By Steven Lassan (@AthlonSteven on Twitter)

Very Early 2012 Big 12 Predictions

1. Oklahoma

Key Returnees: QB Landry Jones, RB Roy Finch, FB Trey Millard, RB Dominique Whaley, WR Kenny Stills, LG Gabe Ikard, RG Tyler Evans, LB Corey Nelson, LB Tom Wort, CB Demontre Hurst, S/LB Tony Jefferson, K Michael Hunnicutt

It's never too early to start thinking about 2012. Alabama claimed its second national title in three years by dominating LSU 21-0 on Monday night, and both teams are expected to be back in the national title mix next season. 

Athlon's official preseason top 25 won't come out until May, but here's a very early top 25 for 2012.

By Steven Lassan (@AthlonSteven on Twitter)

It's never too early to start thinking about next season, and Athlon kicked off our lookahead to 2012 with a very, very early top 25. Of course, a lot is going to change between now and when our official preseason poll is released in May, but we are taking an early glimpse of how things could look.

by Patrick Snow (@AthlonSnowman on Twitter)

Cotton Bowl  
Kansas State vs. Arkansas
Date: Jan. 6, 8:00 PM ET 
Location: Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas

By Steven Lassan (@AthlonSteven on Twitter)

It's never too early to start thinking about next season, and Athlon kicked off our lookahead to 2012 with a very, very early top 25. Of course, a lot is going to change between now and when our official preseason poll is released in May, but we are taking an early glimpse of how things could look.

by Nathan Rush

Fiesta Bowl
Oklahoma State (11–1) vs. Stanford (11–1)
Date: Jan. 2, 2012 at 8:30 p.m. ET
Location: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.

The No. 3 and No. 4 teams in the country — Oklahoma State and Stanford — go toe-to-toe in this year’s Fiesta Bowl, which features two of the three one-loss teams remaining from BCS conferences (with Alabama being the third one-loss squad and LSU, of course, the lone undefeated).

-by Braden Gall (follow at @BradenGall)

There is no doubt this is the Era of the Quarterback.

-by Braden Gall (follow at @BradenGall)

Alamo Bowl
Baylor Bears (9-3) vs. Washington Huskies (7-5)
Date: Dec. 29 at 9 p.m. ET
Location: The Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas