Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark made a bold promise for 2024.
"We will be the deepest conference in America, and every week will matter," Yormark said at Big 12 Media Days on July 9.
The Big 12 will have a bold new look with the departure of Oklahoma and Texas in 2024. The conference has added eight schools in two years in response, and there is a new-found competitive depth in the conference. Utah, Kansas State, Arizona, Oklahoma State and Kansas were all ranked in Sporting News Preseason Top 25. The Big 12 should have parity, and there are a handful of Heisman Trophy contenders – including the Colorado tandem of Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter.
How will those teams stack up in the race for the 12-team College Football Playoff? That is another layer to the additions. TCU was the only Big 12 team to win a CFP game in the four-team era. Oklahoma and Texas combined for an 0-5 record in the semifinals.
Who has the edge in the Big 12 this season? Here is a closer look at the Big 12, with predictions, defining games, Heisman Trophy contenders and more.
MORE: Sporting News Preseason Top 25 | Composite preseason Top 25
What's new in the Big 12 in 2024?
The Big 12 will have 16 teams in 2024. The conference added Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah from the Pac-12. The Big 12 will not have divisions, and the top two teams will play in the Big 12 championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 7.
Here is a look at the 16 teams in the Big 12 in 2024:
| Arizona | Kansas |
| Arizona State | Kansas State |
| Baylor | Oklahoma State |
| BYU | TCU |
| Colorado | Texas Tech |
| Cincinnati | UCF |
| Houston | Utah |
| Iowa State | West Virginia |
2024 Big 12 predicted order of finish
- Utah
- Kansas State
- Oklahoma State
- Arizona
- Kansas
- West Virginia
- Iowa State
- Texas Tech
- UCF
- TCU
- Baylor
- Colorado
- BYU
- Cincinnati
- Houston
- Arizona State
Utah enters the conference as the preseason favorite, and that is a safe pick. Utes coach Kyle Whittingham is entering his 20th season, and seventh-year quarterback Cam Rising is back after missing last season. The Utes also do not have Kansas State or Kansas on their schedule. How does that mesh against Oklahoma State – the top-remaining program from the old Big 12? Mike Gundy brings back a veteran team led by Doak Walker Award winner Ollie Gordon and seventh-year quarterback Alan Bowman.
Kansas State and Kansas have built excitement around their programs with respective coaches Chris Klieman and Lance Leipold. Quarterbacks Avery Johnson and Jalon Daniels also should put up huge numbers. The Oct. 26 showdown at Kansas State will be huge.
Arizona hired San Jose State's Brent Brennan to replace Jedd Fisch, and the Wildcats were among the hottest teams in the FBS at the end of last season. Early-season tests at Kansas State and Utah won't be easy.
Who is the sleeper in the second tier who could make a run to the championship game? Iowa State, West Virginia and Texas Tech will fight for that spot. Rocco Becht, Garrett Greene and Morton Behren are returning starting quarterbacks for those respective teams.
BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF combined for an 18-31 overall record and 8-28 league mark as first-year members of the Big 12. Houston hired Willie Fritz from Tulane, and UCF added Arkansas transfer quarterback KJ Jefferson. The bottom half also features TCU – which played in the CFP championship in 2022 under Sonny Dykes – and Colorado – which is looking for improvement in Year 2 under Deion Sanders.
Top storyline: What will Coach Prime do in Year 2?
The Buffaloes are back in the Big 12 with second-year coach Deion Sanders, and that will need more exposure, at least early in the season. Colorado's September games against Colorado State and Oregon were among the five most watched games of the 2023 season. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way star Travis Hunter are back, and another transfer portal roster flip improved the offensive and defensive lines. Colorado allowed 56 sacks last season and ranked last in the FBS in rushing yards per game (68.9). If those two trends don't change, Colorado will not make it to a bowl game.
MORE: Top 25 QBs for 2024 | Ranking FBS coaches 1-134
MORE: SN sits down with Coach Prime to preview season 2
Big 12 Heisman Trophy contenders
Here are the top four Heisman Trophy candidates in the Big 12 heading into the 2024 season:
Avery Johnson, QB, Kansas State
Johnson has the best odds in the Big 12 to start the season, and he offered a glimpse of that talent with 178 passing yards, 71 rushing yards and three total TDs in the Pop-Tarts Bowl victory against NC State. He could easily be among the Big 12 leaders in total offense, and the Wildcats are among the favorites.
Jalon Daniels, QB, Kansas
Daniels is amazing when healthy – and the Jayhawks are a threat to win the conference if he can piece together a full season. Daniels had a 74.7% completion percentage through three games last season – and Kansas was averaging 34.3 points per game. This could be the break-through year for the Jayhawks, and that makes Daniels a perfect Heisman sleeper.
Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
Sanders does have star power, and he totaled 3,230 yards, 27 TDs and three interceptions without a running game or reliable pass protection last season. He also had 11 TDs and one interception on passes of 20 yards or more. Sanders is the conversation to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. That alone will keep him in the Heisman conversation.
Ollie Gordon, RB, Oklahoma State
Gordon– a first-team SN Preseason All-American – finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting last season. He won the Doak Walker Award after rushing for 1,732 yards and 21 TDs in 2023. It's inherently difficult for running backs to win the award – Alabama running backs Derrick Henry (2015) and Mark Ingram (2009) are the last two — but Gordon could get in the mix if the Cowboys win the Big 12.
Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
Noah Fifita also is a candidate, but McMillan – a first-team SN Preseason All-American – is 6-foot-5, 250 pounds and can make the contested catch. He had 90 catches, 1,402 yards and 10 TDs last season. McMillan is the kind of player who can take over games – but the stats have to be astronomical.
MORE: Sporting News 2024 preseason All-America team
Who is the top Big 12 impact transfer?
KJ Jefferson, QB, UCF
Baylor's DeQuan Finn could go here too given his prolific totals at Toledo, but Jefferson has played five seasons and totaled 67 TDs and 18 interceptions at Arkansas. He averaged 584 rushing yards the last three seasons. He will fit with UCF coach Gus Malzahn, and that adds to the sleeper appeal of the Knights in their second year in the conference.
Big 12 freshman to watch
Jordan Seaton, T, Colorado
We mentioned Colorado's problems up front. Seaton – a 6-5, 285-pound five-star tackle from IMG Academy – was the highest recruit among a small class that Sanders brought in for 2024. He will start as a freshman – and that makes him one of the most-impactful players in the conference from Day 1.
Big 12's top five games of 2024
A look at the five best games on the Big 12 schedule for 2024:
Utah at Oklahoma State (Sept. 21)
The Big 12 schedule is front-loaded, and this will be the first barometer to see how those new Pac-12 additions will fare in the conference. These schools have not played since 1945.
BUY NOW: Cheapest Oklahoma State tickets available on StubHub for every game
Oklahoma State at Kansas State (Sept. 28)
The Cowboys have won four of the last six in this series, but both of those losses were in Manhattan. The two schools that stand to gain the most from Oklahoma and Texas leaving the Big 12 have a chance to close September with a huge victory.
BUY NOW: Cheapest Kansas State tickets available on StubHub for every game
Kansas at Kansas State (Oct. 26)
Both teams have high hopes around the quarterbacks, and Chris Klieman and Lance Leipold have put their successful models from the FCS into action in the Sunflower State. The Wildcats have won the last 15 meetings in this series. Will the Jayhawks put an end to that streak?
Arizona at Utah (Sept. 28)
Arizona beat Utah 42-18 last season, which broke a six-game losing streak to the Utes. Fifita and Rising should put on a show here, and the winner will have a leg up in the conference race in October.
BUY NOW: Cheapest Utah tickets available on StubHub for every game
West Virginia at Texas Tech (Nov. 30)
These Big 12 sleepers clash late in the season, and the Mountaineers broke a four-game losing streak to Texas Tech last season. Will Greene have a chance to push the Mountaineers into the Big 12 championship game? Or will Brooks and Texas Tech prove that the Big 12 does indeed run through Lubbock?
Big 12 stat that matters
While the Big 12 has a reputation for a wide-open passing conference, it is worth knowing that the top five leading rushers from last season return.
| PLAYER | SCHOOL | ATT | YARDS | YPC | TDS |
| Ollie Gordon II | Oklahoma State | 285 | 1,732 | 6.1 | 21 |
| Tahj Brooks | Texas Tech | 290 | 1,541 | 5.3 | 10 |
| RJ Harvey | UCF | 226 | 1,416 | 6.3 | 16 |
| Devin Neal | Kansas | 203 | 1,280 | 6.3 | 16 |
| DJ Giddens | Kansas State | 223 | 1,226 | 5.5 | 10 |
Last season, Texas running back Jonathon Brooks finished seventh with 1,139 yards. He was the first running back selected in the 2024 NFL Draft. This is a conference where the star running back can – and will – flourish.
Big 12 champion: Utah
It's a safe pick. Maybe too safe, but that's been the experience with Kyle Whittingham, who enters his 20th season with another team that should be physical on both sides of the line of scrimmage. USC receiver Dorian Singer and Georgia Tech defensive back Kenan Johnson were shrewd additions, and the Utes were 49-12 at Rice-Eccles Stadium the last 10 seasons. Other Big 12 teams are about to find out just how difficult it is to win there. Utah wins the conference, but will the Big 12 get a second playoff team? That is the real drama.