The Big 12 has been the conference of turnover and chaos over the past decade and this season has been no different.
There are four Big 12 teams that are currently ranked in the AP Top 25. Texas Tech (12), Iowa State (14), TCU (24) and BYU (25)
Three other programs are receiving votes including Utah, Arizona State and UCF. There are 11 teams who are undefeated or have one loss.
I believe that there is room for one of the more overlooked teams in the conference to maneuver their way into the Big 12 Championship Game at AT&T Stadium on December 6th and potentially spoil the playoff chances for some of the teams at the top of the conference.
Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas was a little bit of a relative unknown heading into the 2025 season with a star quarterback in Jalon Daniels but having to replace all of their starting receivers, an all-time great Jayhawk at running back in Devin Neal and having to rely on transfer additions in key spots on the defensive side of the ball forced Jayhawk fans to be a little cautious to start the campaign.
The Jayhawks opened the renovated David Booth Memorial Stadium with a duo of early season victories including a 31-7 takedown of Fresno State and a 46-7 beatdown over Wagner.
Kansas did fall on the road in the Border Showdown to Missouri 42-31 but bounced back in a massive way this past weekend with a 41-10 win over West Virgina in the conference opener.
Jalon Daniels has been the straw that stirs the drink for the Jayhawks offense so far this season. In their first four games of the season Daniels has thrown for 817 yards alongside 12 total touchdowns.
If the Jayhawks are able to work their way into the CFP mix the final three games are going to be big ones where they face Arizona and Utah on the road and host Iowa State in the regular season finale.
UCF Knights
UCF went back to the well with their newest head coaching hire. Scott Frost made his way back to Central Florida after spending the past five seasons with Nebraska and the LA Rams.
The Big 12 did not do a preseason bowl but if they did, I would bet that a lot of the media experts would have projected the Knights to be near the bottom of the conference after a 4-8 record in 2024.
If the Knights win one more contest they will tie their win total from last season.
The teams that UCF have defeated haven't been among the top of the top of college football, but you can see the rejuvenation of the program that has occurred over the last couple of months.
UCF has scored 119 points in their first three games and are coming off of a 34-9 drubbing of North Carolina,
The Knights take on Kansas State, Kansas and Cincinnati in their next three games and if they can make it through that stretch with a 5-1 or 6-0 record, they are going to be a team to watch to claim their spot in Arlington.
Houston Cougars
Houston is a program that many people believe could be a sleeping giant in the new age of college football.
They have their head coach in Willie Fritz and historically his teams break out in year three in his system. In year three at Sam Houston State the Bearkats made their way to the FCS championship. In his third season at Tulane in 2012 he pulled a team that was consistently near the bottom of college football into a team in who was appearing in bowl games and started the development into the team they are today.
Connor Weigman and Dean Connors are both massive transfer additions from Texas A&M and Rice who have been excellent additions for the Cougars.
Houston took down Colorado and have one of the tougher conference slates with road trips to Arizona State, Baylor and UCF. The home slate does not get much any easier with home games against Texas Tech, TCU and a pesty West Virginia team who took down the Cougars two seasons ago.
If Houston is going to make their way to the Big 12 championship game they are going to have to claw and fight their way for a chance at the CFP.
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