The Big XII has weathered more change over the past few years than just about any other Power Five league, yet somehow, it’s emerged with a renewed sense of identity—and momentum. Once rocked by the high-profile departures of Texas and Oklahoma, the conference has rebounded by leaning into bold expansion, adding a mix of rising programs and familiar names that bring both historical pedigree and fresh energy. The conference enters their third year following the first wave of their new additions, which were not just stable—but surprisingly deep. What it lacks in superstar brands, it now makes up for in parity and passion, and there’s a growing sense that this league is finding its own unique path forward in the Playoff era. In this article, I will reveal the second part of my Big XII predictions and previews consisting of the following teams: Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, and Iowa State.

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Cincinnati Bearcats

8/28 – vs. Nebraska (in Kansas City, MO) – Loss

9/6 – vs. Bowling Green – Win

9/13 – vs. Northwestern State – Win

9/20 – BYE

9/27 – @ Kansas – Loss

10/4 – vs. Iowa State – Loss

10/11 – vs. UCF – Win

10/18 – @ Oklahoma State – Win

10/25 – vs. Baylor – Loss

11/1 – @ Utah – Loss

11/8 – BYE

11/15 – vs. Arizona – Loss

11/22 – vs. BYU – Loss

11/29 – @ TCU – Loss

Final Record: 4-8 (2-7)

It seems like a long time ago when Cincinnati had a five-season span where they went a combined 53-11 with a College Football Playoff in 2021. Now, Luke Fickell is in Wisconsin, Scott Satterfield has taken over the program, and the Bearcats are now members of the Big XII, but while many thought they’d have a smoother transition to the Power Four than the other three third-year members, it has actually been the roughest. They’ve been 8-16 in two seasons, and it’s a mystery how much better they’ll become in 2025.

Offensive coordinator Brad Glenn will have Brendan Sorsby back under center, and while he is a solid quarterback to have, he needs to show a lot more consistency as a passer. They lose their top runner in Corey Kiner, but Wisconsin transfer Tawee Walker and second-string back Evan Pryor might be able to make it up. They also lose their top wideouts Xzavier Henderson, Tony Johnson, and Jamoi Mayes, but Joe Royer had a really nice year at tight end and will work alongside several receiver transfers from all over the FBS and FCS levels, including Texas A&M’s Cyrus Allen. The offensive line will be another concern as it lacks depth and didn’t look great last year, but the offensive staff is hopeful the new transfers there should make those problems nonexistent.

Defensive coordinator Tyson Veidt will have a much better unit if it can stay healthy, and that starts with their superstar up front finally back in defensive tackle Dontay Corleone, who could be an All-American by the end of the season. He will be joined by a new-looking defensive line that will need to win out in the trenches to be effective. At linebacker, they’ll be without leading sacker Jared Bartlett, but the group will be just fine as the trio of Jake Golday, Jack Dingle, and Jonathan Thompson are primed for big years ahead. The secondary group, on the other hand, will be all about the transfers after adding MTSU safety Xavier Williams and corners Matthew McDoom from Coastal Carolina and Christian Harrison from Tennessee.

Their schedule starts out tough with a neutral site game in Kansas City against Nebraska, and the majority of their conference slate won’t be any easier with home games against Iowa State, Baylor, and BYU as well as road games against Kansas, Utah, and TCU.

Although there is some improvement on this team, I think one of the biggest concerns that they’ll have is consistency out of the gate, and their roster will run completely out of gas in the second half of the season as their lack of depth will come back to haunt them.

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Colorado Buffaloes

8/29 – vs. Georgia Tech – Loss

9/6 – vs. Delaware – Win

9/12 – @ Houston – Win

9/20 – vs. Wyoming – Win

9/27 – vs. BYU – Loss

10/4 – @ TCU – Loss

10/11 – vs. Iowa State – Win

10/18 – BYE

10/25 – @ Utah – Win

11/1 – vs. Arizona – Win

11/8 – @ West Virginia – Loss

11/15 – BYE

11/22 – vs. Arizona State – Loss

11/29 – @ Kansas State – Loss

Final Record: 6-6 (4-5)

The culture has completely changed at the University of Colorado ever since Coach Prime’s arrival, and he has taken a team that went 1-11 in 2022 to a 9-4 record two years later. This will now be a completely different season for Deion as his son will not be his starting quarterback for the first time in his collegiate head coaching career, and there’s almost no way he’ll be able to replace a player like Travis Hunter, who was dominant as both a wide receiver and cornerback.

Former NFL head coach Pat Shurmur has full control of the offense for a second year, and a huge reason for the Buffaloes’ rising success was one of the most explosive pass offenses over two years with Shedeur Sanders throwing all over Pac-12 and Big XII defenses. In other words, former Liberty star quarterback Kaidon Salter will have large shoes to fill with five-star prodigy Julian Lewis waiting in the wings. Dallan Hayden should get the nod at running back with Incarnate Word transfer DeKalon Taylor also receiving plenty of reps as well. The receiver room, other than Travis Hunter, will also be without Jimmy Horn Jr. and LaJohntay Wester, but both Omarion and Drelon Miller return and will be joined by five potential impact transfers. Sav’ell Smalls is in his second year as a tight end after transitioning from linebacker, but he needs more time to produce as both a pass catcher and run blocker. The offensive line has been horrible for two straight years now, but it will improve with four transfers joining former five-star Jordan Seaton.

While the offensive side of the trenches needs improvement, Robert Livingston’s defense saw a massive jump after leading the conference in both sacks and tackles for loss and finishing second in takeaways. Sack leader BJ Green II might be gone, but the unit now has size with big Alabama nose tackle transfer Jeheim Oatis. The linebacker room is really solid as well with Samuel Okunlola and Arden Walker back and joined by UTSA’s Martavius French and Jacksonville State’s Reginald Hughes. The secondary has to be good, especially considering who their head coach is, and it will be with Preston Hodge, DJ McKinney, and Carter Stoutmire back as well as USF transfer Tawfiq Byard.

They have a tough home opener to start the year against Georgia Tech, and while home games against BYU and Iowa State at home and at TCU and Utah will all be challenging, the biggest obstacles to overcome will be their final two games against Arizona State at home and Kansas State on the road.

This might be Deion’s most balanced team yet, and while I think they will find themselves bowl eligible at the end of the year, the losses in the passing game are just way too much to match or top their nine wins from last year.

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Houston Cougars

8/28 – vs. Stephen F. Austin – Win

9/6 – @ Rice – Win

9/12 – vs. Colorado – Loss

9/20 – BYE

9/26 – @ Oregon State – Win

10/4 – vs. Texas Tech – Loss

10/11 – @ Oklahoma State – Loss

10/18 – vs. Arizona – Win

10/25 – @ Arizona State – Loss

11/1 – vs. West Virginia – Win

11/7 – @ UCF – Loss

11/15 – BYE

11/22 – vs. TCU – Win

11/29 – @ Baylor – Loss

Final Record: 6-6 (3-6)

Willie Fritz is back for Year Two at Houston, and given his past track record in both the Group of Five and the FCS, he’s a proven winner that’ll look to finally see some progression in his squad after the Cougars finished 4-8 in each of their first two seasons in the Big XII.

He hired former Tulane offensive coordinator, Sean Nagle, at the same position, and his first-team unit will consist almost entirely of transfers, starting with former Texas A&M quarterback Connor Weigman, who’s a highly-talented player that’s been plagued by injuries throughout his career and is looking to finally break out into the five-star prospect that everyone thought he could be out of high school. He’ll throw the ball to one of the only three returning starters on the offense in leading receiver Stephon Johnson, who will line up alongside Louisiana transfer Harvey Broussard III and UAB transfer Amare Thomas to boost that room in a big way. The tight end room is strong as well with two more transfers in Tulsa’s Luke McGary and most recently Ball State’s Tanner Koziol, who initially committed to Wisconsin before ultimately choosing Houston. Leading rusher Re’Shaun Sanford II is also back, but he’ll be splitting carries with former Rice two-way back Dean Connors. They’ll both surely progress the run game along with an improved offensive line that returns two starters who could be replaced by transfer talent, making the group very deep.

The offense might be overcoming its past struggles, but new defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong’s unit has a lot of work to do to repeat their performances against both the run and the pass from last season. The defensive line, specifically, will have some ground to make up after a rough year for the pass rush, but it’ll bulk up significantly in size as tackle Carlos Allen Jr. is set to move to the end with two bigger defensive tackle transfers in Appalachian State’s Joshua Donald and Washington State’s Khalil Laufau. The linebacker room, however, will be the most experienced with Jalen Garner back and Louisiana transfer Carmycah Glass joining the Cougars. The secondary was great last year, but it’ll also need its transfers to step up with Jeremiah Wilson and AJ Haulcy off to new schools.

Houston’s non-conference schedule was a big reason for missing a bowl game last year, but outside of a trip to Oregon State, there’s not much to worry about in this year’s slate. They even have an easier conference schedule too, but they’ll be tested every now and then against solid teams such as Texas Tech, Arizona State, and Baylor.

The easier schedule and more talented roster both help, but it’s the coaching genius of Willie Fritz that I think does just enough to get Houston to their first bowl game as both a Big XII member and Power Four program.

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Iowa State Cyclones

8/23 – vs. Kansas State (in Dublin, Ireland) – Loss

8/30 – vs. South Dakota – Win

9/6 – vs. Iowa – Win

9/13 – @ Arkansas State – Win

9/20 – BYE

9/27 – vs. Arizona – Win

10/4 – @ Cincinnati – Win

10/11 – @ Colorado – Loss

10/18 – BYE

10/25 – vs. BYU – Win

11/1 – vs. Arizona State – Win

11/8 – @ TCU – Loss

11/15 – BYE

11/22 – vs. Kansas – Win

11/29 – @ Oklahoma State – Win

Final Record: 9-3 (6-3)

One program that was absolutely terrific in the Big XII last season was Iowa State, and they finally achieved something that they and two other Power Four programs had never achieved before, which was finally reaching a double-digit-win season, leaving Vanderbilt as the lone program without one after Indiana also accomplished the same feat. Head coach Matt Campbell now begins his eleventh season in Ames as the school’s most accomplished coach in over a century.

He brings back Taylor Mouser for his second season, and outside of the wide receiver position, there’s a lot of returning experience offensively. That starts with quarterback Rocco Becht, who was stellar in his first two seasons at the starting position, and although he won’t have his superstar receiver duo of Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, he will have tall East Carolina transfer Chase Sowell, a healthy Daniel Jackson, and UCF’s Xavier Townsend as a possible end-around option. The top two tight ends, Gabe Burkle and Benjamin Brahmer, are both back, and Tyler Moore is another player within the room that’s a great extra blocker for the returning running back duo of Charlie Hansen and Abu Sama III, a tandem that could combine for well over 1,500 yards. The offensive line is also losing production out of three starters, but unlike the wide receiver room, they’re trusting their depth pieces to improve and effectively block for the backfield.

On defense, coordinator Jon Heacock is preparing for his tenth season, and while boasting one of the best pass defenses in the country last year, he’ll have some pieces there that will have to be replaced with safeties Beau Freyler and Malik Verdon both gone. Jeremiah Cooper should fill in nicely there, and cornerback Jontez Williams is back after his four-pick season to pair up with lengthy Lindenwood transfer Tre Bell. The linebacker room has the chance to be amazing this year with Caleb Bacon and Will McLaughlin finally both healthy and on the field again. The defensive line struggled to stop the run and get to the quarterback last year, but while it’ll be up to the ends to find a way to get better, the interior should be really solid this year with Domonique Orange back as a presence that won’t be missed.

Unlike previous seasons, they’ll open the season with Farmageddon against Kansas State, but they’ll be across the pond in Dublin, Ireland for this year’s edition. They also get in-state rival Iowa at home, and their home conference slate will be just as good with matchups against BYU, Arizona State, and Kansas in Ames.

It’s not a bad schedule at all, and I think they’ll pull off some big wins. However, they’ll have a couple of slip-ups along the way, which will keep them out of Arlington in their quest to avenge last season’s Big XII Championship loss to Arizona State.