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Big 12 football has been flipped upside down, proving preseason rankings mean nothing

By Frank Sciarroni

Head coach Kalani Sitake of the Brigham Young Cougars reacts to a call agaisnt the Oklahoma State Cowboys during the second half of their game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on October 18, 2024 in Provo, Utah.
Head coach Kalani Sitake of the Brigham Young Cougars reacts to a call agaisnt the Oklahoma State Cowboys during the second half of their game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on October 18, 2024 in Provo, Utah. / Chris Gardner/GettyImages
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There has been no conference as surprising and exciting as the Big 12 this college football season. In the conference's first year with 16 teams and without Texas and Oklahoma, the on field product has not disappointed.

One thing we can learn from what has transpired in this conference through nine weeks of the season: Rankings and polls do not matter, especially ones in the preseason.

With that being said, I now present to you the Big 12 Football Media Preseason Poll:

  1. Utah
  2. Kansas State
  3. Oklahoma State
  4. Kansas
  5. Arizona
  6. Iowa State
  7. West Virginia
  8. UCF
  9. Texas Tech
  10. TCU
  11. Colorado
  12. Baylor
  13. BYU
  14. Cincinnati 
  15. Houston
  16. Arizona State

Compared to the current Big 12 standings:

Here are some noteworthy observations:

  • 4 of the top 5 teams in the preseason poll are currently last or tied for second to last in the conference
  • 5 of the current top 8 teams were in the bottom half of the preseason poll
  • Two teams teams that are currently undefeated: preseason Big 12 poll No. 13 BYU (8-0) and No. 6 Iowa State (7-0)
  • Kansas State is the only team to receive a 1st place vote in the preseason poll that currently has a winning record
  • BYU’s schedule before the season (having to play every preseason poll top 5 team in a 7 game span) looked much more difficult than it is panning out to be

While these preseason rankings were very wrong, it is hard to blame the voters as I myself saw the conference in a similar way prior to the season.

I mean who could have predicted Oklahoma State to start 0-5 in conference play with 20 returning starters from a team that made it to the conference championship just a year ago. Or Cam Rising to only play in two and a half games for Utah after once again being sidelined due to injury. Or BYU to go from 2-7, to the top of the conference in just their second year in the Big 12. Or Deion Sanders to have this Colorado program years ahead of schedule for his rebuild in Boulder. That has been the Big 12 for you.

With how things currently stand and the schedules that remain, BYU has the best chance to be playing in the Big 12 Championship at the end of season. 

The other spot up for grabs will likely come down to Iowa State and Kansas State. These two teams will meet in the season finale on November 30th for what could be a Big 12 Championship “semifinal”.

In this first year of the 12 team playoff format the Big 12 does receive one automatic bid and first round bye, which is awarded to the winner of the conference championship game.

The Big 12 Championship game will take place on December 7th at AT&T Stadium, and we will likely see two teams that no one would have ever guessed before the season, competing for a title.

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