Week 0 of College Football action is just two weeks away! Multiple Big 12 Conference teams will take the field for that first weekend of games. The Big 12 has no changes this year, rolling with the same 16-team alignment they had in 2024. Let’s take a look at this College Football 2025 Big 12 preview and best bets.
Arizona State was the surprising team last season, projected to be one of the worst in the conference. They won the Big 12 championship and found themselves in the College Football Playoff. They were the lone representatives from the conference. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark thinks that’ll change this year. “I believe we will be the deepest football conference in America,” Yormark said. “No league offers the competitive balance that we do. … I fully expect the Big 12 to earn multiple College Football Playoff bids this year and to show once again that we can compete.”
Arizona State once again tops the teams in the projected preseason AP Top 25 Poll, with a rank of 12th. Kansas State is 15. Texas Tech is 21, while Iowa State is 24. All four teams also rank top 25 in the coaches poll, with Baylor, Colorado, Utah, and Kansas checking in as “others receiving votes.”
College Football 2025: Big 12 Preview and Best Bets
Odds to Win the 2025 Big 12 Championships
Kansas State +550
Arizona State +550
Texas Tech +550
Utah +550
Baylor +650
TCU +900
Iowa State +1300
Kansas +1400
BYU +2500
Colorado +3000
Cincinnati +3000
Houston +3300
Arizona +3500
West Virginia +4500
Oklahoma State +5500
UCF +8000
UCF Golden Knights Under 5.5 Wins (-125)
Arizona State shocked everyone last year, coming from the bottom of the league to win it. This doesn’t look like that type of situation. Scott Frost returns to the school where he once won a make-believe National Championship. Frost proved he’s good at one thing at Nebraska: losing winnable big conference games. This isn’t the small conference UCF he once coached.
Their offense line ranks 14th out of 16 teams in the Big 12, and they are unproven at quarterback and in most of their skill positions. Their schedule is a tough one, including a non-conference matchup with Bill Belichick before diving into conference play. This looks a lot more like a two-win team that could maybe get to four or five. But six wins feel like way too many for clearly the worst team in the conference.
Colorado Buffaloes Under 5.5 wins (-105)
Not to be a Negative Nancy, starting out with two under win totals, but here we are. Deion Sanders impressed last year, leading his team to seven wins. But that was with the Heisman Trophy winner, and a quarterback so amazing they retired his jersey. If that was the peak of your program, and you only got to seven conference wins, and nine wins overall. How are you going to repeat that?
On a more serious note, they lost a ton of talent and production that will be hard to replace this season. Their offensive line was bad last year, and it doesn’t look like it’ll be much better this year. Then their schedule, well, it’s brutal. Their conference schedule kicks off with BYU, TCU, Iowa State, and Utah. Then they end the season facing Arizona State and Kansas State. Don’t be surprised when Deion quickly finds a way out of town after the season.
Utah Utes to Win the Big 12 (+550)
The top of the board in the Big 12 is as competitive as any conference in the country. Utah is a team that stands out to me among the favorites. It’s largely in part because of their defense, which returns seven starters. They only allowed 22.5 points per game in 2024. New Mexico transfer quarterback Devon Dampier will be key if the Utes can make a run.
It was a tough first year in the Big 12 for the team, but I expect them to bounce back in the season. Their schedule is no walk in the park, but it sets up nicely for them to make a run to the title game. Under the leadership of Kyle Whittingham, this Utes team is one to watch out for.
Iowa State Cyclones to Win the Big 12 (+1300)
Iowa State is the team I’m the most excited to bet on in the Big 12. Rocco Becht returns as a veteran starter looking to lead his team on a revenge tour after getting obliterated in last year’s Big 12 Conference Championship Game. They have two strong running backs, and the ground game should be solid. The biggest question on offense is replacing their talented wide receivers who went in the 2025 NFL Draft’s first few rounds. Iowa State is a disciplined team on defense, and Matt Campbell has proven to be a great leader. The question now is, can he lead Iowa State to its first conference title since 1912?
