The Big XII’s identity has shifted significantly in recent years, moving beyond its old narrative centered on Texas and Oklahoma. With those longtime powerhouses gone, the conference now thrives on unpredictability and competitiveness. While new members like Arizona State and BYU have made early impacts, teams such as Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, and Texas Tech have stepped up, carving out moments of success and challenging for the top spot. This new balance has made the Big XII one of college football’s most intriguing power conferences, with fresh rivalries and storylines emerging every season. As the league continues to evolve, it remains fertile ground for breakout performances and surprises. Looking ahead to 2025, the conference promises another exciting campaign with a wide-open race for supremacy. In this article, I will reveal the third part of my Big XII predictions and previews consisting of the following teams: Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and TCU.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

Kansas Jayhawks

8/23 – vs. Fresno State – Win

8/29 – vs. Wagner – Win

9/6 – @ Missouri – Loss

9/13 – BYE

9/20 – vs. West Virginia – Win

9/27 – vs. Cincinnati – Win

10/4 – @ UCF – Win

10/11 – @ Texas Tech – Loss

10/18 – BYE

10/25 – vs. Kansas State – Loss

11/1 – vs. Oklahoma State – Win

11/8 – @ Arizona – Win

11/15 – BYE

11/22 – @ Iowa State – Loss

11/28 – vs. Utah – Loss

Final Record: 7-5 (5-4)

Kansas football fans can finally say their team underperformed with a 5-7 record, which seems like a great year compared to their 23 total wins in a twelve-year span from 2010 through 2021.

What head coach Lance Leipold has done in Lawrence is absolutely phenomenal, and while he’s a big reason for this revival, senior quarterback Jalon Daniels has played just as much of a role as well. He’ll be under the fresh guidance of new offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski, setting himself up for a phenomenal season, but it won’t be easy without star running back Devin Neal in the backfield with him. Instead, he’ll have Daniel Hishaw Jr. back with Iowa transfer Leshon Williams, and they’ll both be looking for rebound seasons as well. Daniels also loses each of his top three wideouts including Luke Grimm and Quincy Skinner, but the portal made up for that lost production with Alabama’s Emmanuel Henderson Jr., Ball State’s Cam Pickett, and Columbia’s Bryson Canty. The tight ends don’t have any previous experience as receiving weapons, but they have the size to be solid run blockers, an area needing to remain strong with the losses of three starters on the offensive line.

DK McDonald now has full control of the defense following co-coordinator Brian Borland’s retirement, and key pieces will be coming and going on that side as well. The defensive line is set for a nice year with Dean Miller back on the end after a six-sack season, Texas edge transfer Justice Finkley back in the Big XII, and the interior back with solid size and strength once again. Their linebackers all come from the transfer portal with South Carolina’s Bangally Kamara and West Virginia’s Trey Lathan taking over the outside and Bowling Green’s Joseph Sipp Jr. in the middle. Their pass defense underperformed last year and will have to replace the solid corner pair of Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson, but safety Taylor Davis should be better in coverage with help arriving in former Utah State cornerback DJ Graham II and former Oklahoma State safety Lyrik Rawls.

They had a very tough non-conference slate last year, and while this year’s won’t be as challenging, it’ll still feature former Big XII rival Missouri on the road after a home opener against Fresno State. While avoiding Arizona State and Baylor on their conference opponent lineup, they’ll have Texas Tech, Kansas State, Iowa State, and Utah on a schedule that gradually becomes harder as the season progresses.

After September and October featured several close, heartbreaking losses, people believed Kansas might’ve lost their mojo, but they then won three straight games against top-25 teams, proving they were still as skilled as many thought they were. Lance Leipold has the Jayhawks believing in themselves once again, and that belief should carry them into another nice bounce-back season and their third bowl game in four years.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

Kansas State Wildcats

8/23 – vs. Iowa State (in Dublin, Ireland) – Win

8/30 – vs. North Dakota – Win

9/6 – vs. Army – Win

9/12 – @ Arizona – Win

9/20 – BYE

9/27 – vs. UCF – Win

10/4 – @ Baylor – Loss

10/11 – vs. TCU – Win

10/18 – BYE

10/25 – @ Kansas – Win

11/1 – vs. Texas Tech – Win

11/8 – BYE

11/15 – @ Oklahoma State – Win

11/22 – @ Utah – Win

11/29 – vs. Colorado – Win

Final Record: 11-1 (8-1)

In the six seasons following Bill Snyder’s retirement, Chris Klieman has led Kansas State to eight or more wins five times with a Big XII Championship victory in 2022, making his program a consistent threat around the top of the conference.

They’re expected to be up there once again, and it’s thanks to a solid offense that’ll have new leadership this season in Matt Wells after former coordinator Conor Riley left for the Dallas Cowboys. Quarterback Avery Johnson is back for his second full season as the starter, and while he has a decent arm, it’s his scrambling ability that makes him such a threat. He won’t be running alongside DJ Giddens this season, but Dylan Edwards is a short and speedy do-it-all back while Joe Jackson plays more of a power back role, which is a solid 1-2 punch that can open up their offensive playbook even more. Leading receiver Jayce Brown is also back, and while the rest of their production behind Brown is gone, they’re bringing in Purdue’s Jaron Tibbs and Boston College’s Jerand Bradley to add some height onto the outside receiver spots. The tight ends will be even better with Garrett Oakley and Brayden Loftin back, and five-star freshman Linkon Cure adds great depth to the room. The offensive line lost Carver Willis, but it’ll be solid once again as the transfer talent is there.

Joe Klanderman will be serving his seventh season as defensive coordinator, and he had the second-best run defense in the conference thanks to a great front. It should be very well-rounded again with a line while, although sack leader Brendan Mott is gone on the end, the production is still there from four returners that likely rotate in and out, and Damian Ilalio is a fantastic inside run stuffer. The linebacker group will be even better this year with tackle leader Austin Romaine and Desmond Purnell back and joined by Ohio State transfer Gabe Powers. The defensive backs will also see improvement this year with safeties VJ Payne and Colby McCalister back and joined by Arizona’s Gunner Maldonado, who’s fantastic when healthy. If the corners step up, the defense might be the most complete in the conference.

They’ll have an earlier start to the season than most with a Week Zero Farmageddon matchup against Iowa State in Ireland’s Aer Lingus Classic, and that’ll be followed by non-conference games against Army at home and Arizona in Tucson. While they do get a much improved Texas Tech team at home, it’ll be their road slate against Baylor, Kansas, and Utah that determines their conference title and Playoff fate.

If the defense finds more consistency in pass coverage and the offense maintains its own rhythm, which I believe will happen, this might be the best team in the conference and the Big XII’s representative in the College Football Playoff.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

Oklahoma State Cowboys

8/28 – vs. UT Martin – Win

9/6 – @ Oregon – Loss

9/13 – BYE

9/19 – vs. Tulsa – Win

9/27 – vs. Baylor – Loss

10/4 – @ Arizona – Loss

10/11 – vs. Houston – Win

10/18 – vs. Cincinnati – Loss

10/25 – @ Texas Tech – Loss

11/1 – @ Kansas – Loss

11/8 – BYE

11/15 – vs. Kansas State – Loss

11/22 – @ UCF – Loss

11/29 – vs. Iowa State – Loss

Final Record: 3-9 (1-8)

Oklahoma State hadn’t won less than seven games in a season since Mike Gundy’s first season in 2005. After eighteen consecutive winning records, the Cowboys, who began 2024 as the third-ranked team in the Big XII’s preseason poll, finished dead last in the final standings with a 3-9 final record and without a single conference victory.

Doug Meacham has been hired to come back to Stillwater as the offensive coordinator, and with the amount of roster turnover this unit had, who knows how good it’ll be. The quarterback situation will hopefully be resolved by either Zane Flores or TCU transfer Hauss Hejny, who need to protect the football better after the room combined for 17 picks last year. The top three receivers are all gone as well, and while top returning wideout Talyn Shettron recovers from an injury, they’ll turn to a large transfer group to step in. The tight end room will also be somewhat fresh with North Texas transfer Oscar Hammond and sophomore Josh Ford, who has plenty of size to be a great run blocker. 2023 Doak Walker Award winner Ollie Gordon II is gone after a finishing last season with just over half of what he was able to pump out the year before, and it’s hard to imagine the new options will even be able to hit those numbers. Part of the reason why Gordon struggled might’ve been how bad the offensive line was at creating holes up the middle, but all five starters are being replaced by transfers.

On defense, Todd Grantham takes over for Bryan Nardo, whose defense was one of the worst in the country last year against both the pass and run. However, the pass rush wasn’t bad, but there will be transfer help on the way in edge rusher Kyran Duhon from UTEP and defensive tackle Michael Diatta from Virginia to make it the best part of their lineup. The linebacker group will look different after losing Nick Martin and Collin Oliver, who was injured almost all of last season, but outside of a solid tackle transfer in Akron’s Bryan McCoy, they decided to go with speed out of the portal creating a lot more versatility from guys who can either rush the quarterback or drop back into coverage. The secondary had a few productive pieces last year in leading tackler Trey Rucker, leading sacker Kendal Daniels, and leading interceptor Korie Black, but now that they’re all gone, it’ll be time for corner Cam Smith to shine alongside UCLA transfer Jaylin Davies and former Charlotte safety Mordecai McDaniel.

They have a very tough schedule too, starting with an early trip to Oregon before the conference slate, which includes Baylor and then Texas Tech, Kansas, Kansas State, and Iowa State late in the season.

Oklahoma State will struggle again, and Mike Gundy’s magic will continue to run out and diminish.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

TCU Horned Frogs

9/1 – @ North Carolina – Win

9/6 – BYE

9/13 – vs. Abilene Christian – Win

9/20 – vs. SMU – Win

9/26 – @ Arizona State – Loss

10/4 – vs. Colorado – Win

10/11 – @ Kansas State – Loss

10/18 – vs. Baylor – Win

10/25 – @ West Virginia – Loss

11/1 – BYE

11/8 – vs. Iowa State – Win

11/15 – @ BYU – Win

11/22 – @ Houston – Loss

11/29 – vs. Cincinnati – Win

Final Record: 8-4 (5-4)

Sonny Dykes’s tenure at TCU has been a wild roller coaster ride. It began with a dream 2022 season with an undefeated regular season and a National Championship appearance followed by a rough 5-7 season in 2023, and then they started getting themselves back on track in 2024 after winning nine games.

If Kendal Briles continues building onto his Air Raid attack, the offense could be even better in 2025, especially if quarterback Josh Hoover has less turnovers and hits the 4,000-yard mark. He’ll have to do so without three of his weapons that left for the NFL, including 1,000-yard receiver Jack Bech, but it helps that his second-best weapon, Eric McAlister, is back and that both Joseph Manjack IV and Jordan Dwyer come in from Houston and Idaho to round out another dangerous trio. DJ Rogers will be the featured tight end now that Drake Dabney is gone, and LSU transfer Ka’Morreun Pimpton should be a solid second option. First-string running back Cam Cook transferred down to the Group of Five, so Jeremy Payne and Trent Battle will split reps although the offense will mainly focus on the passing attack. The offensive line was very good in pass protection last year, and with three starters back, it’ll probably be just as solid.

Andy Avalos’s defense, however, was pretty similar in its own right as it was great in pass coverage but horrible against the run. Markis Deal is a giant nose tackle who had a pretty solid year last year, and with Ansel Din-Mbuh arriving from Washington State and other transfer depth pieces coming in, the interior will be just fine at stopping the run. Leading sacker Devean Deal is back at defensive end, but someone else needs to step up on the other side. Linebacker Johnny Hodges is gone, but Namdi Obiazor was great last year and will be even better this year as well as Kaleb Elarms-Orr. The most productive position will be safety with both Bud Clark and Jamel Johnson back as one of the conference’s top deep zone duos, and Washington transfer Elijah Jackson will be the top corner after missing most of last season with the Huskies.

They open the season on Labor Day in Chapel Hill against North Carolina, where the Horned Frogs will welcome Bill Belichick to college football, and they’ll host another ACC team a couple of weeks later when they play SMU for the Iron Skillet. They’ll follow that with a plethora of tough conference road matchups against Arizona State, Kansas State, and BYU as well as home games against Baylor and Iowa State.

Unlike what we’ve seen out of TCU from the last three years, this season will be much more predictable as the Horned Frogs will be more of the same, which isn’t a bad thing since they were very exciting to watch in 2024.