Spring ball is getting underway across college football, and hope springs eternal for teams across the Big 12. The conference is the most upwardly mobile of the power leagues, and everyone will have Arizona State’s magical run from worst-to-first in mind as they prepare for the season.
After a hyper-competitive race for the Big 12 title game in 2024, even more is expected in 2025. According to FanDuel, no team in the league has better than even +500 odds to win the conference. Six are between +550 and +800 with more close behind.
However, teams will have to do it without departing superstars like Colorado’s Travis Hunter, Arizona State’s Cameron Skattebo and Iowa State’s Jayden Higgins. A new generation now enters during this cycle.
Here are the biggest questions facing each of the 16 league members as spring practice starts.
What will a Brent Brennan team look like?
The Wildcats made a bold gamble by hiring Brennan to lead an existing roster, an attempt to get the most out of star wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan before he declared for the NFL. Simply put, it failed. Brennan didn’t have the answers. Now, Arizona is Brennan’s program. Offensive coordinator Seth Doege came in from Marshall. Danny Gonzalez was promoted to defensive coordinator. Fifty-three new scholarship players entered the program, while Arizona managed to hang onto quarterback Noah Fifita. The Wildcats won’t have a player of McMillan’s talent for a very long time; regardless, can Brennan put his stamp on the program this offseason?
Arizona State
Can the Sun Devils replace Cam Skattebo?
Skattebo was the breakout player in college football last season after exploding for 2,300 all-purpose yards, the most by any power conference player. Now, he’s off to the NFL, leaving a gaping hole. The good news? There’s serious talent in the pipeline. Kyson Brown and Raleek Brown are former blue-chip recruits with serious upside. Alton McCaskill didn’t play much as he recovered from an injury, but he rushed for nearly 1,000 yards as a freshman at Houston. Army running back Kanye Udoh also transferred in after clearing 1,100 yards and 10 touchdowns with the Black Knights. Can the group replace Skattebo in the aggregate? We’ll see.
Will the Bears continue to grow in the secondary?
Baylor ended the 2024 regular season on a six-game winning streak and are poised to enter 2025 among the preseason favorites. But for all the excitement about the offense, the passing defense still remains an issue. LSU exposed the deficiency in the Texas Bowl behind 313 yards passing from Garrett Nussmeier and a pair of 100-yard receivers. The Bears ranked No. 94 nationally in passing defense. Most of the key secondary contributors are back, and the Bears added defensive back contributors Devin Turner (Northwestern), Tyler Turner (Oregon) and Calvin Simpson-Hunt (Ohio State) in the portal. Along with the addition of defensive passing game coordinator Paul Gonzalez from TCU, the Bears have high expectations for the unit.
Do the Cougars have another gear?
Despite a breakout 11-2 season, BYU still remains shockingly under the radar. If not for a November hiccup, the Cougars may have been in the College Football Playoff. Now, the vast majority of contributors are back on both sides of the ball, including quarterback Jake Retzlaff, linebacker Jack Kelly and wide receiver Chase Roberts. Both coordinators are back. The program added a few key transfers, including tight end Carsen Ryan and defensive lineman Keanu Tanuvasa from rival Utah. BYU is positioned for a national run, but it starts in spring camp.
Can Cincinnati stop the run?
The Bearcats boast one of the nation’s best defensive linemen in tackle Dontay Corleone, but the unit as a whole has been lackluster in each of Scott Satterfield’s first two seasons. Cincinnati allowed 4.7 yards per carry to rank among the worst in the Big 12, which was only accentuated by a 3-3-5 defense that lacked consistent playmakers. Transfer Jaylon White-McClain (Old Dominion) will compete for playing time and multiple others are back from injury. The linebacker room remains largely intact. In seven losses, the Bearcats allowed more than 4.9 yards per carry. Simply put, that’s just not good enough to compete in a major conference.
Colorado
What does Phase 2 look like?
Several teams across the Big 12 are going through roster changes. The Buffaloes are going through a wholesale identity change. Heisman winner Travis Hunter is off to the NFL. Coach Deion Sanders will coach college ball without his son, Shedeur, at quarterback for the first time in his career. While the program added quarterbacks Kaidon Salter (Liberty) and Julian Lewis (freshman), it’s highly unlikely they can just count on 300 yards of efficient passing per game heading forward. There are still some serious stars around, including left tackle Jordan Seaton and wide receiver Drelon Miller. The defense, coordinated by up-and-coming Robert Livingstone, could be a solid unit. But replicating the breakout nine-win season of 2024 will require taking on a new identity.
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Houston
How far along is the offense?
After fielding a bottom 10 national offense, Willie Fritz went straight back to the drawing board to start over. Thanks to a wave of high-profile transfers, the unit will look much different in 2025. Quarterback Conner Weigman returns to Houston after starting at Texas A&M and reunites with lineman Matthew Wykoff. Running back Dean Connors (Rice) and receiver Amare Thomas (UAB) also sit as potential starters. Fritz led Tulane to the New Year’s Six and is the perfect coach to tie together all the pieces, especially if the trenches come along.
Iowa State
What’s the future at receiver?
The Cyclones quietly had the best wide receiver combo in college football last season — seriously. Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins were the only pairing to cross 1,000 yards in the regular season and both will go way higher than people realize in the 2025 NFL Draft. While quarterback Rocco Becht is back, the ‘Clones don’t have a returning receiver with more than 150 yards. East Carolina transfer Chase Sowell is a big-time player and UCF transfer Xavier Townsend has upside, but both have to transition to Ames well for the Cyclones to stay in the Big 12 title conversation.
Can the Jayhawks get up to speed at DB?
Kansas boasted All-Big 12 performers Mello Dotson and Cobee Bryant at defensive back last season, but both are off to the NFL. The Jayhawks quickly moved to restock with four transfers in the defensive backfield alone, including Alabama’s Jahlil Hurley and Oklahoma State’s Lyrik Rawls. Even with the talent last season, KU was a bottom-half passing defense unit in the conference. Especially after the loss of running back Devin Neal, the defense will have to paper over some holes.
What steps can Avery Johnson take as a passer?
Johnson ranks among the highest-rated recruits in K-State history and flashed massive potential in several games. He scored four touchdowns in a bowl win over Rutgers, completed 66% of his passes with three touchdowns on the road against West Virginia and rushed for 100 yards against Arizona. However, he failed to clear 60% completion in his last six games and hit just 58.3% of passes on the season. Johnson’s athletic gifts are known, but Kansas State needs more from him as a passer. During a two-game losing streak against Houston and ASU, he threw one touchdown to four interceptions.
Oklahoma State
Does Mike Gundy have any answers left?
When times are lowest, Gundy has a knack for pulling out a miracle. Over the last 15 seasons, Oklahoma State has reached 10 wins on eight occasions. That said, the 3-9 season was the first losing season under Gundy and worst winning percentage since 1991. Nearly everything will be different in Stillwater heading into 2025, from new quarterbacks to a new offensive line to new coordinators on both sides of the ball. The Cowboys didn’t have a single all-conference player in 2024, There certainly aren’t surefire candidates to reach the mark next season.
TCU
Can any run game be found?
The Horned Frogs put together one of the quietest nine-win campaigns in the country last year and have a few exciting pieces in quarterback Josh Hoover and a senior-heavy defense. However, the Frogs rushing offense ranked No. 113 nationally and averaged only 3.7 yards per carry, a miserable number that cost them multiple games. Trent Battle should step into a bigger role after dealing with injuries and most of the offensive line is back, but modest improvements aren’t enough. When Hoover has time, he’s one of the best in the Big 12. Without a complementary running game, the offense won’t work.
Is Behren Morton ready for the moment?
Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire reeled in a sensational transfer class to complement a strong roster, which should quickly make the Red Raiders conference contenders. Both coordinators are flipping out, but Mack Leftwich (Texas State) and Shiel Woods (Houston) are quick studies. Now, the final piece is Morton, a former blue-chip recruit out of Eastland, Texas. Morton was prolific, throwing for 3,335 yards and 27 touchdowns. Still, he has to be more consistent and stay healthy for the Red Raiders to have a chance for a special season. This is the moment Texas Tech has been building towards since McGuire got to campus.
UCF
Does Scott Frost still have it?
Once upon a time, Frost was the hottest coaching candidate in the country after leading UCF from 0-12 to a 13-0 record in 2017. Two years after getting fired from a disastrous run at Nebraska, Frost is back in Orlando with a chance to make things right. The Knights have underwhelmed in two Big 12 seasons with a combined 10-15 record, but Frost brings a high-flying, dynamic offense with him. He has talent to work with, but is he cut out for this level? The new expectations at UCF are sky high.
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Utah
Is the offense ready for primetime?
After the departure of longtime offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig and quarterback Cameron Rising, coach Kyle Whittingham is turning the page. Instead of looking to the pro-style world, Whittingham reeled in RPO-friendly coach Jason Beck from New Mexico to run the offense. Beck also brought quarterback Devon Dampier from UNM, one of the most exciting underclassmen in the country. However, the offense ranked bottom-two in the conference each of the past two seasons. Can Beck save the offense in time?
West Virginia
What can Rich Rod accomplish in Year 1?
The Mountaineers surprisingly brought Rich Rodriguez back to the program more than 15 years after he left for Michigan. Rodriguez bounced around for years before leading Jacksonville State to wild success as a transitioning program, but WVU is a tougher job the second time around. The Mountaineers only have one seven-win season since 2018 and lost their only two players to reach an all-conference team. Running back Jahiem White should fit perfectly within a Rich Rod offense, but almost every other projected contributor is brand new to campus.
