The case for 3 schools to win the NCAA men’s cross country title

It's almost time for the DI men's cross country championships. Here's why three schools have the best shot at winning the team title.

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Northern Arizona

The favorite to win the men's cross country title has to be Northern Arizona, a program that has won six of the last seven titles. The Lumberjacks return star runners Nico Young and Drew Bosley; either could win the individual title. Behind those two Aaron Las Heras and Theo Quax figure to be the next point scorers.

What makes NAU special is its depth at its fifth point-scoring runner as Kang Nyoak, Brodey Hasty, Santiago Gomez-Prosser or Corey Gorgas could cross the finish line to add points in the top 25. NAU's top-end talent plus its depth of runners makes the Lumberjacks hard to beat and it could see the first four-peat since 1993.

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Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State tied for the men's cross country title last year but finished second after the tiebreaker. The Cowboys have been on a mission this fall, winning every race since the Cowboy Jamboree. Denis Kipngetich, Brian Musau, Fouad Messaoudi and Alex Maier give Oklahoma State a quartet of runners that few — if any — programs can match. All four will surely of finishing low on their best days. If the Cowboys can get their fifth runner to join their top four inside of the top 30 finishers, Oklahoma State could win a national title for the first time since 2012.

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BYU

BYU is the most recent men's cross country program to win a title that wasn't NAU. However, BYU has been behind NAU all year long whether it's in the rankings, at the Nuttycombe or at the Mountain Regional. Yet, runners like Creed Thompson, Joey Nokes and Kenneth Rooks are talented enough to keep the Cougars afloat as a darkhorse title threat. If NAU or Oklahoma State slip up and don't live up to expectations, don't be surprised if BYU sneaks in a close finish to take the team title.