On Sunday, On3’s Ari Wasserman released his picks for which teams in college football are primed to have a breakout season this fall.
Three Big 12 teams were included on the list, including Kansas State, BYU, and the Iowa State Cyclones.
Kansas State Wildcats
“Chris Klieman has done a phenomenal job in Manhattan,” Wasserman said. “Need proof? The Wildcats have won at least nine games in three consecutive seasons. Kansas State was really humming a year ago, but it lost three of its final four regular-season games. This year is a chance to improve. Kansas State brings back quarterback Avery Johnson, who put up almost 3,500 yards of total offense and 32 touchdowns while not yet reaching his ceiling as a player. It loses running back DJ Giddens, but it returns Dylan Edwards — who is electric with the football in his hands — and added three receiver transfers in Jerand Bradley (Boston College), Jaron Tibbs (Purdue), and Caleb Medford (New Mexico). Navigating the Big 12 is always difficult given it feels like 10 teams could win that conference in a given year, but Kansas State has been consistent and it has big pieces in place to make a run.”
Kansas State enters the 2025 season as the co-favorite to win the league, receiving +550 odds to win the title alongside Arizona State. They did some solid work in player retention as well as bolstered depth through the transfer portal. If Avery Johnson can take another step forward this fall, Kansas State could be a legit College Football Playoff threat.
BYU Cougars
“Speaking of the Big 12, don’t forget about BYU,” Wasserman continued. “Kalani Sitaki is one of the most underrated head coaches in college football, and he had this Cougars team on the brink of the College Football Playoff a year ago. BYU came out of nowhere and raced out to a 9-0 start before finishing 11-2. Quarterback Jake Retzlaff and all of the top playmakers on offense are coming back. BYU also returns four of its five top tacklers from an awesome defense, including linebackers Harrison Taggart, Isaiah Glasker, and Jack Kelly. BYU should absolutely be the favorite to win the Big 12 this year and will likely be in the CFP race come November.”
The BYU Cougars were one of the nation’s most slept on teams last fall, finishing with an 11-2 overall record. The Cougars retained the bulk of their roster from the previous season and should contend for a Big 12 title yet again in 2025.
Iowa State Cyclones
“Iowa State coach Matt Campbell has consistently gotten more with less,” Wasserman wrote. “The Cyclones won 11 games last year and were in the College Football Playoff discussion in November. Not enough people realize how difficult that has been, and yet, there still seems like there’s more in the tank. What does that look like? How about winning a conference title for the first time in 113 years? Iowa State brings back quarterback Rocco Becht, which is a good starting point. And despite losing big-time receivers Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins, Iowa State brought in some transfers to help reinforce the offensive skill in Xavier Townsend from UCF and Chase Sowell from East Carolina. There are some holes to fill on both sides of the ball, but Iowa State should be very good again in 2025.”
Is there anything in college sports more consistent than Matt Campbell? Likely not, and this year is no different. Despite losing both of the team’s top two targets in the passing game, the Cyclones should have another successful year under rising star quarterback Rocco Becht.
