While Big 12 teams like Arizona State, Iowa State, and Kansas State have shown up on the majority of way-too-early Top 25 college football rankings lists, several teams from the league have left voters stumped.
Three teams from the Big 12 Conference were recently mentioned on 247Sports’ Carter Bahns’ list, ranking 15 teams that could earn Preseason Top 25 honors ahead of the start of the 2025 season.
BYU, Baylor, and Utah were mentioned in the article alongside Texas A&M, Louisville, Iowa, Missouri, Georgie Tech, Boise State, UNLV, Navy, Vanderbilt, Duke, Washington, and North Carolina.
BYU COUGARS
“Most of the key pieces that sparked the breakout 2024 season at BYU return for another year, giving the Cougars hope that they can finish the job after falling just short of a Big 12 crown and playoff berth,” Bahns said. “Jake Retzlaff will be one of the league’s top quarterbacks, LJ Martin is back as the lead ballcarrier, and standout linebacker Jack Kelly confirmed that he will anchor the defense again in 2025. Nobody saw BYU’s surge coming in its second year as a Power Four program, but it will not fly under the radar next fall.”
BYU has earned spots among the Top 25 in most major lists, however, the trio mentioned above has shown up in a few more placements. The Cougars return the bulk of their production on both sides of the ball in 2025 and should have a solid shot at following up their 11-2 campaign with more success.
BAYLOR
“Dave Aranda likely saved his job with a midseason surge, and it was the pairing of offensive coordinator Jake Spavital with quarterback Sawyer Robertson that sparked the six-game winning streak over the latter half of the regular season,” Bahns wrote. “Robertson ran away with the job after he took the reins in mid-September and flourished as one of college football’s top quarterbacks, throwing for at least 200 yards in all but one game and closing the year with a 445-yard explosion in the Texas Bowl. His return, plus a favorable schedule, puts higher expectations on Baylor.”
The development of star quarterback Sawyer Robertson was crucial for Dave Aranda in 2024, with the junior signal-caller beating out Toledo transfer Dequan Finn for the starting job in Waco. He threw for 3,071 yards and a touchdown to interception ratio of 28-8 en route to an 8-5 season.
UTAH
“Utah is a dark-horse pick to crack the rankings, and while it feels wrong to label the Utes as an under-the-radar squad, that is the reality after a five-win season,” Bahns said. “The quarterback issues were what limited them in 2024 and should be a non-factor next season with Devon Dampier following his offensive coordinator, Jason Beck, from New Mexico. Dampier amassed an incredible 1,166 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns in Beck’s system a year ago and has far more talent around him at Utah. This has “bounce-back season” written all over it for the Utes.”
The addition of New Mexico transfer Devon Dampier has been one of the sneakier additions in the 2025 transfer portal after the former Lobos quarterback elected to follow his offensive coordinator to Utah. The team made the change after yet another season-ending injury to Cam Rising, which brings in a new youth of experience at the quarterback position for the first time since the 2020 season.
