The Big 12 Conference football has been restructured, adding Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State, adding depth across the board.
But where does the Texas Tech football team fit into this new league? Let’s find out with our preseason power rankings.
The complete preseason poll will be released at the Big 12 Media Days event scheduled for July 9-10 in Las Vegas.
1. Oklahoma State Cowboys
Besides All-American running back Ollie Gordon, the Cowboys return quarterback Alan Bowman, two highly productive receivers in Brennan Pressley and Rashaud Owens and all five starting offensive linemen. The offense alone could be worthy of a playoff berth.
2. Utah Utes
With Cam Rising back at quarterback, Utah’s offense should be more active than it was last season, and Utah also has a defense loaded with returning starters that should help the team have a successful first year in the Big 12.
3. Kansas State Wildcats
The Wildcats have Avery Johnson at quarterback, adding another dimension to an offense that was 10th in the country in scoring last season, and combined with one of the best defenses in the conference last year, K-State is a threat.
4. Arizona Wildcats
The conference’s wild card. Arizona came out of nowhere, winning 10 games and beating Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl in 2023, but head coach Jedd Fisch has moved on to Washington. Still, the Wildcats return breakout performers Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan as a dynamic quarterback-receiver duo.
5. Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas has been pretty solid without him, but much of the Jayhawks’ potential hinges on quarterback Jarron Daniels staying healthy. Keeping Daniels on the field and adding running back Devin Neal would add depth to a dominant offense that was fourth in the nation in scoring in 2023.
6. Iowa State Cyclones
The Cyclones were hovering in “how good are they, actually?” territory after beating Oklahoma State last year, with Rocco Becht establishing himself as a quality quarterback (3,120 yards, 23 touchdowns) at the expense of Hunter Deckers’ suspension (betting investigation).
7. West Virginia Mountaineers
Neal Brown may have been the hottest prospect at his position in the country last year, but the Mountaineers finished with a 9-4 record, and bringing back two-way quarterback Garrett Green, who will bring back most of last year’s rushing and receiving production for the team, is an intriguing prospect.
8. Texas Tech Red Raiders
The Red Raiders are bolstering their offensive line primarily through the transfer portal, but the league’s second-leading rusher Taj Brooks returns, and Tech hasn’t had a season at quarterback that wasn’t interrupted by injury in about a decade, so all eyes will be on Beren Morton.
9. Colorado Buffaloes
Coach Prime (this is the first time I’ve ever called him that) has Shader Sanders at quarterback and Travis Hunter at receiver/defensive back…? 9th place might be too high, but we’ll see.
10. UCF Knights
The Knights return running back RJ Harvey and also bring in KJ Jefferson at the quarterback position after using the transfer portal to transfer from Arkansas, making UCF once again an intriguing team to at least watch.
11. TCU Horned Frogs
The Horned Frogs, a College Football Playoff finalist, have had a disastrous 2023 season, starting with a season-opening loss to Colorado. Sonny Dykes’ squad needs to bounce back, but that will be very difficult given their schedule.
12. Baylor Bears
Few teams in the country have had a worse slump than Baylor, and Dave Aranda is spot on. Many projected the Bears to be a top-tier threat, but Baylor is limping along at 3-9 after losing their past five games in a row.
13. BYU Cougars
The Cougars’ lone conference win in 2023 came against a third-string true freshman quarterback from Texas Tech and Cincinnati, which had won one Big 12 game.
14. Houston Cougars
Quarterback Donovan Smith is in Year 1 under Willie Fritz in Houston and is a hot prospect for the 2025 NFL Draft, and that rating will likely increase if the team wins at least two Big 12 games.
15. Arizona State Sun Devils
Last season was just brutal for Kenny Dillingham and the Sun Devils, and there’s no easy solution to turn things around other than just playing games and seeing what happens.
16. Cincinnati Bearcats
The old saying goes “the only way is up,” but with the Bearcats finishing last in the Big 12 Conference last season and the conference now having 16 teams, that doesn’t necessarily apply to this year’s Scott Satterfield-led squad.
