The Big 12 was arguably the most exciting conference from a championship perspective; it seemed like there were two different teams favored to make the championship every week and there's plenty of reason to think this will be the case this year as well. The championship game will be held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX between the teams with the top two conference records. This conference has the honor of kicking off the 2025 season when Iowa St takes on Kansas St in Dublin, Ireland on August 23.

Arizona finished last year in the lower half of the conference in scoring offense and rushing defense (hasn't finished in the top half since 2010 [Pac 10]). However they bring back 16 starters, have a second year coach, and 5 of their first 6 games are at home, so momentum may be their friend. A bowl game could be in their future, but I wouldn't count on the championship.

Arizona St was expected to finish at or near the bottom last year by nearly every party that does such things and wound up winning and making the playoffs. They have 16 returning starters from that team, so the +14 net turnovers may not be a big dropoff. They are definitely a favorite for the Big 12, but after last year, is that really a good thing?

Baylor may have had the best offensive line in the Big 12 (allowed less than 1.5 sacks per game in a conference where the 2nd lowest def. sacks per game was over 1.5) and all 5 starters are back this year. Coach Dave Aranda has a well earned reputation as a defensive coach and he has 8 starters returning on that side of the ball. The fans have reason to be thinking of a conference championship game and a playoff run.

BYU was 11-2 last year, but won't catch anybody by surprise this time. Half of their games, including both losses, were by 6 or fewer points. With a few key losses in personnel, they will likely fail to repeat last year's double digit wins

Cincinnati brings back 15 starters from a team a win shy of bowl eligibility. Their first 6 games include only one away game (one neutral sight). With a conference as tightly packed as the Big 12, they could make a lot of noise as far as who goes to the championship, but it probably won't be them.

Colorado brings back 11 starters from a team with +12 net turnovers on a team that included the Heisman winner (not returning). But this is still a very talented team with a coach who is a proven winner as a player, a coach, and a cancer survivor- in his third year, which is usually a step up. It's hard to think that Coach Deion Sanders will be satisfied by anything short of a championship, but he may have to live with dissatisfaction this year.

Houston has 16 starters returning in Willie Fritz's second year. Their greatest strength talent wise may be their special teams, which can make an average offense and/or defense look above average on the scoreboard. Fritz has won at every level, but he may need another year or two before he'll make it to to Arlington.

Iowa St is the conference runner-up after a few upsets got them to their first double digit win season in school history. This year they bring back 13 starters and may be even more talented, particularly in the running offense portion of the game. There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic in Ames in 2025.

Kansas may have hit the portal harder than any other team in the conference and with 10 starters returning, they needed to. They get their home stadium back after last year's construction kept them out, which should be helpful as they have 7 home games (5 conference games) this year. Their defense may remain a liability that could keep them from getting back to bowl eligibility; that awaits to be seen.

Kansas St brings back 10 starters from a team that went 5-4 in conference. They have a favorable schedule, getting Iowa St at a neutral location and not playing another team tied for the best record until the last game of the season. They might be a few upsets away from a December date in Arlington and shouldn't need any upsets to go bowling.

Oklahoma St won their first three games by a combined 77 points (including a 2OT game) then proceeded to lose the next 9, giving the team their first losing season since 2005, Mike Gundy's first year as head coach. With so many new faces in the locker room, this could be a tough team to forecast, but I have faith in the Million Dollar Mullet to get his team back to bowl eligibility.

TCU may have an issue at running back, but the rest of the team looks solid. If they can overcome that hurdle, they also have a problem in the scheduling department: they play every team that finished tied for the best record in the conference last year and get three of those games on the road. They have the talent to have a great season, but if they get to Arlington, the Horned Frogs will have earned it.

Texas Tech brings back a whopping 21 starters from last year's 8-5 team. The Red Raiders are taking it easier than most in the nonconference schedule (3 home games vs. teams that combined for 8 wins, including an FCS team) and may be able to ride that momentum and experience to the Big 12 Championship game.

UCF has a whopping 67 new faces in the locker room this year after last year's 4-8 season. New coach Scott Frost has succeeded beyond any reasonable expectations at this school before (2016/2017), but may need some time before this team has the ability to equal that success. Of course, they don't need that level of success to reach a bowl this year and that could be a matter of how quickly Coach Frost can get his team to gel.

Utah had their first losing season since 2013 last year. They won their first 4 games then fell off. They apparently thought the problem was on offense as they parted ways with their OC midway through the season and have replaced him with a much more uptempo coordinator to operate their 10 returning offensive starters. They could be a contender for the conference championship this year and should go bowling if they live up to their potential.

West Virginia gets their successful coach Rich Rodriguez back after he nearly led the team to the BCS National Championship in 2007. With only 10 returning starters, Rodriguez may need some time to rebuild before he gets the team anywhere near that level of success and possibly a year or two before he gets them back to a bowl as this looks like a rebuilding year for the Mountaineers.

The ACC put two teams into the playoffs last year and I'm sure they'd love to repeat that performance. The championship, aka the Clemson Invitational (won 8 of the last 10), will be contested between the teams with the best conference records in Charlotte, NC.

Boston College has two great weaknesses: special teams and their schedule. They play three playoff teams at home, which means they'll probably need to win a few on the road to match last year's 7 win total.

California lost 7 games last year and 4 of them were by 5 or fewer points. They avoid three of the recent powers in the conference and have the defense to go back to a bowl game. We'll have to see if the offense can be a little more clutch this year than last.

Clemson returns 17 starters from a team that won the conference and made the playoffs last year. I don't see how many further details are necessary to call this team an obvious playoff contender even if they lost three season games last year.

Duke has been going beyond expectations for a few years and with a more experienced team, the big difference could be that the expectations are higher. 6 of their 9 wins were by 7 or fewer points (including an OT win), which is far too many for it to be a fluke. We'll see what coach Manny Diaz can do in his second year with 13 returning starters.

Florida St went 2-10 last year, in what I still choose to believe was a season-long protest after their undefeated team was snubbed from the playoffs 2 years ago. With 16 starters returning, but a practically new coaches' room (except head coach Mike Norvell), I am not qualified to speculate.

Georgia Tech went 7-6 last year and among those losses were Georgia (overtime) and their bowl game, so it may have been better than it looked. This year, they avoid some of the heavier hitters in the conference, so they should be favored in more games. They're a dark horse contender for the ACC Championship Game.

Louisville has the talent to make the conference championship with 16 starters from last year's 4th place (tied) team. They look like a high scoring team that may have a liability in special teams. The schedule isn't their best friend, playing the top three finishers from last year and two of them at home, so they'll earn anything they'll get this year.

Miami (FL) has the odd distinction of not leaving their home state until November. They won 10 games last year and return 15 starters. They are well above average on a national level by in all three aspects of the game, which makes them a conference contender and a playoff contender.

North Carolina St. has 15 starters from last year's 6-7 team. that was also 3-3 in games decided by <10 points. They will likely be a step up from last year's squad talentwise, but the schedule may be likewise with some of their toughest opponents being road games. How a team does against them may be what separates the top from the bottom of the ACC. They have two new coordinators.

Pittsburgh apparently had their practices on the injury bugs' nest last year. Despite that, they finished with a 7-6 record. This would likely suggest more wins this year, but they face the toughest schedule in the conference. They'll need to get some momentum early, which is certainly possible.

SMU was the conference runner-up last year and brings back 15 starters. Two of their three losses were by 3 points (3rd one was in the playoffs). Short of a Seminole-like collapse, they will be contenders for the conference and the playoffs, again.

Stanford brings back 14 starters from a 3-9 team. With a new coach, anything is possible, but with their level of talent and the schedule, including over 26,000 miles of travel (they voluntarily joined the conference and one of their games is at Hawaii; they brought that on themselves). They've been 3-9 for the past four years and I don't see that improving this year.

Syracuse defied all expectations last year getting 10 wins with a new coach. They bring back only 8 starters, but have all the confidence in the world in coach Fran Brown. If they can get the offense to click, there's probably another bowl game in their future, but double digit wins is far beyond what fans should expect.

UNC is bringing in new coach Bill Belichick. There is no question that this is the biggest headline from this school and he is as secretive as he has always been. With 12 returning starters and a multiple times Super Bowl winning coach, this team is capable of beating anybody, but may have to wait a few years before they're capable of beating everybody.

Virginia brings back 15 starters from a 5-7 team (2-1 in games decided by <10 points). They avoid most of the favorites in the ACC, which may not get them to the championship game, but should be enough for their first bowl since 2019 (2021 Fenway Bowl was cancelled).

Virginia Tech lost 7 games last year, but only 2 of them (including the bowl game) were by more than 7 points. The defense should hold their own and if the offense can remain healthy, the Hokies can be a major player in the ACC.

Wake Forest brings in an entirely new coaching staff, but Jake Dickert has earned a reputation for being able to do more with less, which he'll have to do if he's going to win here. Even with the Deacons' favorable nonconference schedule and avoiding some (not all) of the favorites in the conference, a bowl game may be out of the question this year.

The SEC put 3 teams into the playoffs last year and a few others felt snubbed. The championship puts the teams with the two best records against each other in Atlanta and with 8 conference games and 16 teams, they may have to dig deep into the tiebreakers this year.

Alabama may be taking a step back at QB, but in seemingly every other position group, they have more talent, more experience or both compared to last year's 9-4 team. Second year coach Kalen Doboer made it to the CFP Championship in his second year at Washington and won the NAIA Championship in his second year at Sioux Falls, so this could be his year.

Arkansas is poised to get upsets and they'll have to if they want to get back to last year's 7 wins. They play 3 teams that made the playoffs a year ago and, surprisingly, will have their first game against Arkansas St this year.

Auburn has a returning quarterback who looks like a great fit for Hugh Freeze's system and it looks like he may have an O-line to match. They had -9 net turnovers and benefit from what looks like a slightly softer schedule.

Florida finished last year on a 4 game winning streak (including the bowl), which is probably as much momentum as Billy Napier has had since he got to Gainsville. The road gets very bumpy at the end of September with two road games against teams in the Coaches' Poll preseason top 10. We'll find out what these Gators are made of fairly quickly.

Georgia won the conference championship and made the playoffs a year ago. They have made improvements in the running game and get their toughest opponents at home, where they haven't lost in five years. They seem to be favorites to get back to Atlanta.

Kentucky brings back just 8 starters from a 4-8 team. They have the unfortunate luck of drawing all three of the playoff teams from the SEC in back-to-back-to-back games. This looks to be another rebuilding year.

LSU lost 8 linemen to the NFL Draft (4 OL, 4 DL), but brings back darn near everybody else from a 9-4 team. The Tigers play their toughest opponents on the road, so if they're going to Atlanta, they'll have to scratch and claw their way there.

Mississippi St has an uphill battle this year. Not only were they 2-10 last year and have some major DL problems, but they also play 4 of their 7 home games against teams that made the playoffs last year. This isn't a rebuilding year (16 returning starters keeps that from being the case), but maybe it's time to tear it down.

Missouri should have trouble replicating last year's success, because they had so much of it. Despite having a great defense and a favorable schedule (first 6 games at home and avoid most of the heaviest hitters), they will likely come short of the double digit wins they've had the last two seasons, unless the offense is better than they look on paper.

Oklahoma managed to underachieve on the whole last year and still keep Alabama out of the playoffs (for which I am thankful). This year, they're a little older and a little wiser, which is bad news for their opponents. They may have the best running game in the conference and they have arguably a championship caliber defense. They were 6-7 a year ago and still can't be counted out of the playoffs this year.

Ole Miss returns only 12 starters from a team that went 10-3. The three losses were by a combined 13 points (including 1 OT game). They have a manageable schedule, but losing so much experience could impact them early in the season. Lane Kiffin has a reputation of not being able to finish the job, but he could shed that reputation if a few balls bounce his way.

South Carolina returns 12 starters from a team that went 9-4. They are still a fairly experienced offense, but they've lost a lot on defense and their key elements of special teams. This could be a make or break season for Shane Beamer as a Gamecock.

Tennessee takes a small step back in experience, but a step forward in scheduling. A year ago they were a playoff team and that's going to be very difficult to replicate for anybody, especially a team that lost most of their skill position players. They're a contender, but the schedule helps them in that regard.

Texas lost to Georgia twice last year (and Ohio St once) and has the favorite to win the Heisman at quarterback. They have the unenviable task of playing at Ohio St and at Georgia this year. This could be the most talented team in the country; they are one of the favorites to win the conference and national championship.

Texas A&M is one of the most experienced teams in the country. None of their 5 losses (bowl included) were by more than 10 points. 2 of their losses were to teams that made the playoffs and they play the same two teams this year, except now these are road games. Double digit wins, a playoff berth, and the conference championship game are not out of the question.

Vanderbilt brings back 17 starters from a 7-6 team. All but one of their losses was by 7 or fewer points. After taking to Missouri to overtime, losing to playoff teams by a combined 6 points, and upsetting Alabama, this team is certainly capable of beating anybody, but probably not everybody.