While the 2025 College Football Playoff is many, many months away from taking shape, that won’t stop experts from taking a shot at what the field may look like.
On Monday, On3’s Andy Staples stepped up to the plate with a new list and included the BYU Cougars as the Big 12 Champion in 2025.
No. 5 Ohio State at No. 4 BYU in the Cotton Bowl
Cotton Bowl: No. 5 Ohio State at No. 4 BYU
“Picking the Big 12 champ this far out is almost as difficult as choosing the highest-ranked Group of 5 champ,” Staples said. “I’m going with the team that was good in 2024 that brings back the most. The Cougars lived dangerously for a lot of the season. Still, they won 11 games and brought back quarterback Jake Retzlaff and at least three starters in the linebacker, secondary, offensive line, and receiver groups. I’m not picking them to beat Ohio State, though.”
Despite being drastically overlooked by the majority of college football fans, the BYU Cougars were one of the Big 12’s best teams in 2024. They compiled an 11-2 record with wins against multiple Top 25 teams, No. 13 Kansas State and No. 23 Colorado, as well as a win over College Football Playoff participant SMU. Not only did BYU win those games, they were dominant, with a margin of victory of 54 points, on a total of 92-38.
They return the majority of their 2024 roster with big names like Jake Retzlaff, LJ Martin, Chase Roberts, Jack Kelly, and more, all heading back to Provo to compete this fall.
While BYU will have to continue to build on its solid roster in an already tough league, they will likely enter the 2025 season as a Preseason Top 25 team and one of the Big 12’s best units.
