The Big XII Conference has undergone one of the most dramatic transformations in college football, reshaping its identity with a fresh mix of historical programs and exciting new arrivals. Once rooted primarily in the Southwest and Plains, the league now spans from Florida to Utah—thanks to its recent wave of realignment. With schools like Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah now in the fold from the Pac-12, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF from the American Conference, and BYU joining a conference after remaining independent for years, the Big XII enters 2025 as one of the sport’s most intriguing power conferences, boasting regional diversity, growing fanbases, and a competitive balance that makes predicting outcomes all the more compelling. As the season draws closer, I’ll be previewing each team in the conference and offering my predictions along the way. In this article, I will reveal the first part of my Big XII predictions and previews consisting of the following teams: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, and BYU.

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Arizona Wildcats

8/30 – vs. Hawaii – Win

9/6 – vs. Weber State – Win

9/12 – vs. Kansas State – Loss

9/20 – BYE

9/27 – @ Iowa State – Loss

10/4 – vs. Oklahoma State – Win

10/11 – vs. BYU – Loss

10/18 – @ Houston – Loss

10/25 – BYE

11/1 – @ Colorado – Loss

11/8 – vs. Kansas – Loss

11/15 – @ Cincinnati – Win

11/22 – vs. Baylor – Loss

11/28 – @ Arizona State – Loss

Final Record: 4-8 (2-7)

Arizona begins their second season as a member of the Big XII, and their first season was one they’d like to forget after finishing 4-8 and regressing from their final Pac-12 season that saw ten wins. Head coach Brent Brennan is also back for his second season in Tucson as well, and he decided to go a new direction with Seth Doege to prepare a pass-heavy offense and defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales to turn the defense back into the top-100 coverage and run-stopping unit.

At quarterback, Noah Fifita is back, but after a year that saw him regress, he’ll look for a big rebound. Quali Conley is now gone at running back, Texas State’s Ismail Mahdi arrives to improve the room even more after running for almost 1,000 yards in 2024. Most of the Wildcats’ offensive production was created by Tetairoa McMillan, who was the top true wideout taken in the NFL Draft, but two transfers in Washington State’s Kris Hutson and New Mexico’s Luke Wysong will be a great combination along with returning wideout Chris Hunter, especially if they have to make up the tight end production that lacked last season. The offensive line will be another area that has to get better if Arizona’s new-look tempo offense wants to see overall production, and while losing Jonah Savaiinaea and only bringing one starter is back, there is a decent amount of transfer help to plug in if needed.

Although Arizona’s defense could’ve been much better last year as well, it was a pretty banged up unit that should hopefully be much healthier this year. Tre Smith is back at edge after leading the Wildcats in sacks, and while he won’t have Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei and Stanley Ta’ufo’ou working the other side, there will be added athleticism and depth there as well as the interior. Losing linebacker Jacob Manu is also tough, but Taye Brown and Chase Kennedy still have enough experience for the staff to have confidence in them. The best unit will be the secondary, who has cornerback Marquis Groves-Killebrew and star safeties Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith all back as well as a healthy Treydan Stukes, and Jay’Vion Cole arrives from Texas to replace Tacario Davis, who left for Washington to reunite with former Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch.

If they want to regroup and make it back to bowl season, they’ll have to do so with a more difficult schedule than last year. They’ll face Kansas State at home early in a non-conference matchup, and while they face solid programs like Iowa State and BYU in October, their toughest stretch is in their final two weeks against Baylor at home and then Arizona State on the road.

I think it’s possible that Arizona will be better and more productive, but I don’t think they’ll improve hardly at all record-wise, putting Brennan on the hot seat.

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Arizona State Sun Devils

8/30 – vs. Northern Arizona – Win

9/6 – @ Mississippi State – Win

9/13 – vs. Texas State – Win

9/20 – @ Baylor – Win

9/26 – vs. TCU – Win

10/4 – BYE

10/11 – @ Utah – Loss

10/18 – vs. Texas Tech – Win

10/25 – vs. Houston – Win

11/1 – @ Iowa State – Loss

11/8 – BYE

11/15 – vs. West Virginia – Win

11/22 – @ Colorado – Win

11/28 – vs. Arizona – Win

Final Record: 10-2 (7-2)

The Arizona State Sun Devils, under second-year head coach Kenny Dillingham, might’ve been college football’s biggest surprise in 2024 after going from the bottom of the Big XII’s preseason poll to winning the conference title in just their first year to earn a bye slot in last year’s College Football Playoff. Even after losing a heartbreaking double-overtime game against Texas in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and losing one of college football’s best running backs in Cam Skattebo, there’s a lot more to look forward to.

Offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo has Sam Leavitt back at quarterback, who will be the new star of the unit and potentially one of the best signal callers in the conference, and Army’s Kanye Udoh should be Skattebo’s replacement at running back with Kyson Brown and Raleek Brown both seeing the field as well. At wide receiver, they’ll have another star back in Jordyn Tyson after hauling in 75 catches for 1,101 yards and ten touchdowns, and in addition, they’ll bring in Fresno State transfer Jalen Moss as Xavier Guillory’s replacement and increase Malik McClain’s workload. Chamon Metayer is another solid pass-catching option at tight end that should improve as a run blocker as well, and the offensive line brings back four starters, including All-Big XII interior linemen Ben Coleman.

The defense was overshadowed by the offensive talent, but coordinator Brian Ward doesn’t get enough credit as his unit was very solid as well. It will be headlined by linebacker Keyshaun Elliott after his 100-tackle season, and inside linebacker Jordan Crook, if he stays healthy, could also hit the same mark as well with his talent. Their secondary was very stingy as the group brought in a total of 13 picks and forced five fumbles, and eight of those interceptions came from four starters that are all back with Purdue transfer Kyndrich Breedlove at the nickel position. Even with how productive the defensive line was, it needs to be more consistent in the pass rush, which should happen with five guys back that combined for 16.5 total sacks.

Looking into their upcoming schedule, it’s another slate that the Sun Devils could roll through. They will play a vulnerable Mississippi squad on the road early, and they have a few bigger road games within their conference against Baylor, Utah, and Iowa State. Their biggest game, however, could just be a possible Big XII Championship preview at home against a Texas Tech team that had one of the best transfer classes nationally.

I think that Arizona State, as arguably the favorite to win back-to-back conference titles in December, should get to ten wins, and they’ll look to make a second-straight College Football Playoff appearance that solidifies as Kenny Dillingham as one of college football’s top coaches.

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Baylor Bears

8/29 – vs. Auburn – Win

9/6 – @ SMU – Loss

9/13 – vs. Samford – Win

9/20 – vs. Arizona State – Loss

9/27 – @ Oklahoma State – Win

10/3 – vs. Kansas State – Win

10/11 – BYE

10/18 – @ TCU – Loss

10/25 – @ Cincinnati – Win

11/1 – vs. UCF – Win

11/8 – BYE

11/15 – vs. Utah – Win

11/22 – @ Arizona – Win

11/29 – vs. Houston – Win

Final Record: 9-3 (7-2)

After losing to 17 of their last 20 FBS opponents dating back to 2022, Baylor was on the verge of letting Dave Aranda go, but the Bears began a six-game win streak that led to a Texas Bowl appearance against Aranda’s former team, LSU. Now, they’re looking to continue this turnaround into 2025, and they’re quietly remaining under-the-radar as a legitimate darkhorse to win the Big XII and make the College Football Playoff.

Jake Spavital was a big reason for this as his offense turned up the heat in a big way late, and Sawyer Robertson finished as and will continue to be one of the more underrated quarterbacks nationally. He’ll throw the ball to at least one top returning wideout in Josh Cameron, and Kobe Prentice has also arrived from Alabama to join the fun in the passing game. Robertson will also have tight end Michael Trigg back as well, who made a big jump last season, but the big question for the pass-catching group will be if Baylor can convince the NCAA to grant one final year of eligibility to 2024 leading receiver Ashtyn Hawkins. Even with how great the passing game is, the run game might be even stronger as 1,000-yard rusher Bryson Washington is back in green and gold, and with Dawson Pendergrass set to miss the 2025 season, Washington’s increased workload could quietly make him one of college football’s best under-the-radar backs. The offensive line will even have four starters back as well, a group led by guard Omar Aigbedion.

On defense, Matt Powledge is back for Year Three, and his defense has work to do after struggling against several high-powered offenses. The defensive line wasn’t particularly brilliant at stopping the run, but they have the size and the depth to make the stops, especially from a 380-pound tackle in Samu Taumanupepe from Texas A&M. Most impact linebackers will come from the transfer portal excluding leading tackler Keaton Thomas, but the outside guys in the middle of the field will be solid pass rushers in place for the run stoppers in the trenches. The secondary will be much better with the returns of safety Devyn Bobby and corner Caden Jenkins, and they even bring in Northwestern’s Devin Turner to be the main coverage man in deep zone coverage.

They have a challenging non-conference slate starting with Auburn’s arrival to Waco and then following with a date in Dallas against ACC runner-up SMU. Outside of TCU, their conference road opponents are pretty easy, but a home slate against Arizona State, Kansas State, and Utah won’t be.

In the end, Baylor will have some early bumps in the road, and while they will ultimately find themselves falling just short of a Big XII Championship Game appearance, it’ll still be a fantastic season with the Bears finishing as a top five team in the conference.

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BYU Cougars

8/30 – vs. Portland State – Win

9/6 – vs. Stanford – Win

9/13 – BYE

9/20 – @ East Carolina – Win

9/27 – @ Colorado – Loss

10/4 – vs. West Virginia – Win

10/11 – @ Arizona – Win

10/18 – vs. Utah – Loss

10/25 – @ Iowa State – Loss

11/1 – BYE

11/8 – @ Texas Tech – Loss

11/15 – vs. TCU – Loss

11/22 – @ Cincinnati – Win

11/29 – vs. UCF – Win

Final Record: 7-5 (4-5)

Although Arizona State might’ve been the biggest surprise out of the Big XII last year, the second-biggest surprise was BYU, who was one of the hottest teams in the country for a while that finished with a final record of 11-2 and defeated SMU, Kansas State, Baylor, and Colorado.

For a while this offseason, many even thought Kalani Sitake’s Cougars could have another fantastic regular season and a Big XII Championship appearance in December, but controversy struck after quarterback Jake Retzlaff was involved in a civil lawsuit accusing him of rape that was ultimately dismissed and led to him entering the transfer portal after being given a team suspension for violating the school’s Honor Code. Because of this, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick will oversee a three-man battle for Retzlaff’s spot between McCae Hillstead, Treyson Bourguet, and Stanford transfer Bear Bachmeier. LJ Martin is back at running back after running for 718 yards in just ten games, and he’ll look to break the century mark this year. Another offensive weapon in Chase Roberts is back at receiver, but without Darius Lassiter and Keelan Marion, the room will turn to wideout Jojo Phillips and either Cody Hagen or Parker Kingston in the slot. Utah transfer Carsen Ryan will be great blocking help from the tight end position, and the offensive line, while losing a couple of top blockers, should be alright with time and development.

The defense has Jay Hall back for his third season as coordinator, and he had one of the Big XII’s best scoring and total defenses last season after forcing 29 total turnovers. It’ll be interesting to see if the unit follow suit this year, but it can be even better with a much stronger pass rush up front. A couple of new transfers should help on the outside, but the returners need to find more ways to get to the quarterback. That was something the linebackers were instead capable of with leading sackers Jack Kelly and Isaiah Glasker both back, and Siale Esera will be tasked with controlling the middle of the field. Even though the secondary will see a couple of changes, Tanner Wall is back at safety after co-leading the team in interceptions, and corners Evan Johnson and Mory Bamba will take on bigger roles as well.

Their non-conference schedule isn’t bad having to play Stanford and then East Carolina on the road, and their conference slate is also not too hard either outside of a couple of away games against Iowa State and Texas Tech as well as home games against in-state rival Utah and TCU.

Without the Jake Retzlaff issue this offseason, BYU would’ve been one of my two teams in the Big XII Championship and one of my twelve in the College Football Playoff, but losing a great signal caller this late in the offseason will hurt them mentally.