We just finished celebrating America’s big 250, and now it’s time to turn our attention to one of America’s greatest pastimes, College Football! Week 0 kicks things off Saturday, August 29th; that’s next month, friends. First up, we’ll dive into the Big 12 preview and best bets to kick off our look at every College Football conference in 2026.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders claimed the 2025 Big 12 conference championship. They took down the shocking underdog BYU Cougars, who were a bit of a surprise reaching the title game 35-7 and earned the automatic bid to the College Football Playoffs. They have, of course, now lost their quarterback, Brendan Sorsby, after a long offseason battle. It was an exciting regular season with no one “run away” team, and constant competition at the top of the standings. Oklahoma State had a notably bad season, which led to the firing of longtime head coach Mike Gundy.
Arizona State came into 2025 as the favorites to win the conference, but took a major step backwards. The Sun Devils finished the season just 8-5, 6-3 in Big 12 play. The Colorado Buffaloes were a major disappointment (unless you read this article last year and bet the under!), winning just three games on the year and going 1-8 in Big 12 play after losing Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and Buffaloes Hall of Famer Shedeur Sanders.
The official AP poll isn’t out yet, but ESPN has five Big 12 schools ranked in their initial top 25 poll. Led by the Texas Tech Red Raiders at #11, the Cougars of BYU check in at #12. Utah’s Utes are #18 after an 11-2 season in 2025. The Horned Frogs of TCU are #23, and at #24 the Houston Cougars are the final Big 12 team to make the ESPN top 25 ranking ahead of the season.
Odds to Win Big 12 Championship
Texas Tech +100
BYU +600
Utah +800
Kansas State +1500
Arizona State +1600
Houston +1600
TCU +2000
Arizona +2500
Baylor +3000
Kansas +3000
Oklahoma State +3000
UCF +4000
West Virginia +4000
Cincinnati +7500
Iowa State +7500
Colorado +10000
| SGP BIG 12 PART 1 | SGP BIG 12 PART 2 |
| ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS | ARIZONA WILDCATS |
| BYU COUGARS | BAYLOR BEARS |
| CINCINNATI BEARCATS | COLORADO BUFFALOES |
| HOUSTON COUGARS | IOWA STATE CYLCONES |
| KANSAS JAYHAWKS | KANSAS STATE WILDCATS |
| OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS | TCU HORNED FROGS |
| TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS | UCF KNIGHTS |
| UTAH UTES | WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS |
Big 12 Best Bets
Arizona State Over 6.5 Regular Season Wins (-115)
After being picked to win the conference last season, the mighty have certainly fallen in their expectations. It’s understandable; they have quite a bit of star power to replace. The Sun Devils lost star quarterback Sam Leavitt, first-round NFL Draft pick wide receiver Jordan Tyson, along with many key defensive contributors. They won’t be easy to replace, but Kenny Dillingham will get the job done. The team could have lost their head coach to Michigan, which tried wooing the 36-year-old. But Dillingham chose to stay in Tempe, and he didn’t do that to win six or fewer games. He’s building a team, and he’s a coach that can be trusted.
The biggest question for the Devils is sophomore quarterback Cutter Boley. What a name first off, but he’s also a stud. The Kentucky transfer stands 6-5 and is a pro-style passer. He also has sneaky athleticism. As long as Boley isn’t a flop, this Devil defense is powerful. Behind CJ Fite on the defensive line, the team scored big in the transfer portal with Jalen Thompson and Emar’rion Winston to crank up the pass rush. Dillingham is the big difference here; this team wins at least seven games. Don’t be shocked if they win 10.
Kansas Over 5.5 Regular Season Wins (-160)
Last season was a disappointing one for the Kansas Jayhawks. They finished the year at 5-7, just 3-6 in Big 12 play. It marked back-to-back down seasons after the promise the program showed in 2023. But this is another case of betting on a team whose coach I can trust. Lance Leipold is one of those guys. The Jayhawks had a lot of promise last year, but just couldn’t close out games. They constantly let games slip out of their grasp. That sets them up for what is hopefully some good positive regression in 2026.
They have a two-headed monster at running back with the explosive Dylan Edwards returning. They added Syracuse transfer Yasin William to be the physical complement to Edwards. The rest of their efforts in the portal went to focus on their defense. That’s where the Jayhawks needed the most help. It’ll also depend on who wins the quarterback job, but the upgraded trenches should push the Jayhawks into a bowl game.
BYU to Win Big 12 Championship (+600)
The Cougar revenge tour starts now. With Texas Tech’s quarterback situation, I expected the Cougars to be more favored than 6/1 odds. The team is coming off a 12-2 season that saw them get slaughtered by the Red Raiders. But it was back-to-back 11+ wins, and gave them a taste of that College Football Playoff. This team is full of strengths and loaded with talent. The offensive line is one of the best in the country; it will allow them to control games. Their defensive line has gotten much improved. The best part, they avoided the huge transfer portal losses and kept the core of this team intact. Bear Bachmeier should be much improved in year two as the Cougars’ quarterback, and this team will be dangerous on a national level.
