2024 post-spring, post-portal Big 12 Power Rankings: Who claims the top-spot between Utah, Kansas State and Oklahoma State?
With spring football and the second transfer portal window (essentially) in the rearview mirror, we’re officially entered the doldrums of the college football offseason.
Or have we?
Although the spring transfer window wasn’t the dizzying carousel many anticipated, so much has changed since the Early Signing Period in December now is the perfect time to asses where teams stand entering the summer before the 2024 season. We debuted the series with the post-portal, post-spring Power Rankings series with SEC and then followed that up with the Big Ten and ACC.
Today, it’s a look at the most wide-open conference in the country in 2024. The Big 12 — with newcomers Utah, Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado — has as many as 6-7 (???) teams who legitimately believe they can compete for a league title (and with it a College Football Playoff berth). Some nine teams have preseason win-totals between 9.5-and-7.5, so it should make for a fascinatingly fun (and probably silly and dumb) fall.
Here’s how I think the league stacks up entering the summer with the 2024 post-spring, post-portal Big 12 Rankings:
1. Utah
Easily, the best news out of Salt Lake City this spring were the glowing reports around seventh-year senior starting quarterback Cam Rising’s health. Same for tight end Brant Kuithe and tailback Micah Bernard. With the added firepower from guys like Dorian Singer, Traeshaun Lyons and Damien Alford, Utah’s offense should be more prolific in 2024. The Utes also go some Rising insurance by landing former 5-star Sam Huard, once a Washington signee, out of the portal. Kyle Whittingham has some spots to sort out in the secondary, but overall, Utah projects to have one of the best defenses in the Big 12 and should contend for a new conference championship in Year 1.
2. Kansas State
The Wildcats offense is in major transition, as former 5-star quarterback Avery Johnson takes over as the full-time starter after earning MVP honors in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. KSU is also breaking in a new offensive coordinator (former Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells), a trio of starters on the offensive line, and this spring, added Colorado playmaker Dylan Edwards to a backfield that returns DJ Giddens, who had over 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2023. Kansas State returns six starters off a defense that led the Big 12 in takeaways last season, and Chris Klieman signed a pair of portal pieces over the spring to supplement depth at linebacker and corner.
3. Oklahoma State
The Pokes rode star tailback Ollie Gordon to the Big 12 Championship in 2023, and the plan is to run it back this fall with a roster that ranks near the top nationally in returning production (85%). Seventh-year quarterback Alan Bowman and wideouts Brennan Presley and Rashod Owens are back, and in the spring, OSU plucked Gavin Freeman away from formal in-state rival Oklahoma. In addition to Arkansas transfer AJ Green, who they signed in January, they also added further backfield depth with Indiana transfer Trent Howland, who led the Hoosiers in rushing in 2023. The Cowboys’ linebacker unit ranks among the best nationally, and the entire defense should be better under second-year coordinator Bryan Nardo. Can the Pokes avoid the one-score regression monster (5-1 in 2023) that has befallen other recent Big 12 finalists? Time will tell.
4. Arizona
Brent Brennan takes over a program that probably would’ve been favored to win the Big 12 this fall if it hadn’t experienced so much upheaval since last season. While Jedd Fisch and a slew of signees are now at Washington, Brennan was able to hold onto star quarterback Noah Fifita, wideout Tetairoa McMillan and corner Tacario Davis. The former San Jose State head coach also restocked the roster with some key reinforcements — from New Mexico tailback Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who had 1,100 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2023, and defensive tackle Chubba Mae in the winter window, and another 11 transfer this spring. Notably, Arizona did lose a pair of potential starting lineman, as well as defensive end/tackle Bill Norton to Texas.
5. Kansas
Quarterback Jalon Daniels has missed more than a dozen games the last two seasons, yet his talent is undeniable, which is why so many are excited about the Jayhawks’ prospects in 2024 coming off the program’s best season in recent memory. Lance Leipold has staked his claim as one of the best coaches in America, and he returns a roster, along with Daniels, that brings back key starters like tailbacks Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw and All-Big 12 corner Cobe Bryant. The Jayhawks aren’t major players in the portal, but they did make a couple solid adds this spring in Michigan State edge Bai Jobe and Michigan guard Amir Herring.
6. West Virginia
A year after getting picked to finish last in the Big 12, the Mountaineers are now seen as a fringe conference contender in 2024. Neal Brown not only saved his job but received a reworked contract and extension, and he spent the offseason plugging holes all over WVU’s roster. Jaheim White and CJ Donaldson return to lead a lethal 1-2 punch in the backfield, and quarterback Garrett Greene, perhaps one of the best in the Big 12, is back as well. But the offensive line last multiple starters (including Zach Frazier) and the defense needed major reworking, so Brown inked seven transfers during the winter window and another three this spring — all cornerbacks. WVU recently landed former Georgia and Mississippi State wideout Justin Robinson, who is at worst a decent depth piece.
7. Iowa State
Matt Campbell’s teams are typically pretty feisty when they’re old and experienced, and that’s exactly what Iowa State has to work with this fall. The Cyclones rank No. 1 nationally in returning production, bringing back at least nine defensive starters off a unit that led the Big 12 in yards per play allowed (5.2) and promising quarterback Rocco Becht. In addition, ISU’s entire starting OL returns, as does tailback Abu Sama and the team’s top three pass catchers. Iowa State spent the spring breaking in new offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser, as the former tight ends coach is now the team’s playmaker after Nate Scheelhaase left for a job with the Los Angeles Rams.
8. UCF
Of all the Big 12 newcomers last season, the Knights proved to be the most-ready program for the jump to the Power 5, and then Gus Malzahn went on a portal spending spree to totally upgrade the roster this offseason. UCF was one of the big spring window winners, adding the likes of tailback Peny Boone, corner Tre’quon Fegons, edge Nyjalik Kelly and wideout Ja’Varrius Johnson. That was in addition to landing key targets like quarterback KJ Jefferson, tailback Myles Montgomery and safety Deshawn Pace over the winter. With Jefferson and a deep stable of ‘backs, the Knights should have one of the best rushing attacks in the nation in 2024. Can they get enough stops, and did they land the right mix of transfers on defense (at least seven new starters) will determine their ceiling, though.
9. Texas Tech
The Red Raiders were considered a darkhorse threat in 2023, but a slow start to the season spoiled any chance to seriously contend for a conference title. Perhaps they can make amends this fall. They ended the season winning four of five, and Joey McGuire’s team has a solid foundation with quarterback Behren Morton, and star tailback Tahj Brooks (1,538 yards, 10 touchdowns). The offense looks to be better this year with the additions of 5-star freshman wideout Micah Hudson and transfers Josh Kelly, Washington State’s No. 1 wideout, and Arizona State tight end Jalin Conyers.
10. TCU
Coming off a stunning appearance in the 2022 national title game, TCU failed to even make a bowl last season — nose-diving to a 5-7 finish and just 3-6 in the Big 12. Sonny Dykes has looked to make the necessary changes to make sure that’s not repeatable in 2024, moving on from quarterback Chandler Morris in favor of Josh Hoover, who started the last six games of the year. Dykes hired ex-Boise State head coach Andy Avalos as his new defensive coordinator, and reshaped the roster with 20-some transfers. Notables include defensive back Austin Jordan from Texas, who was a spring signee, and Notre Dame wideout Braylon James and edge Nana Osafo-Mensah. The issue is TCU also lost several top players to transfer (tackle Dominic Williams chief among them), and Hoover missed all of spring practice with an injury.
11. Colorado
Once again, the eyes of college football have been on Colorado this offseason, as Deion Sanders has done his latest roster culling by adding some 28 newcomers to the roster. The team returns two of the faces of the sport in two-way star Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and the focus this spring was to make wholesale changes along the offensive and defensive lines. In the last month, the Buffs added Pitt’s top edge Dayon Hayes, Texas offensive tackle Payton Kirkland, Clemson tackle Zechariah Owens and Michigan State lineman Ethan Boyd, among others. They also traded Dylan Edwards, now at Kansas State, for Ohio State tailback Dallan Hayden. But the sheer volume of turnover means depth remains a real problem. Nearly as many guys left the program this offseason than joined it, and the staff amassed a ton of changes, too. As was the case in 2023, Coach Prime’s is wholly unpredictable.
12. Baylor
Dave Aranda sits on one of the hottest seats in the country, and after a second-straight losing season (3-9), he made all sorts of changes to his program in hopes of keeping his job beyond 2024. The Bears have two new coordinators, with Aranda now overseeing the defense himself, and former Cal OC Jake Spavital in to fix a broken offense. Both units were among the worst in all of Power Conference football in 2023, ranking last in the Big 12 in scoring offense and scoring defense. Baylor inked Toledo transfer quarterback Dequan Finn out of the portal, and they spent the spring window addressing needs on the offensive and defensive lines (two signees, each). Did they do enough, though? Probably not.
13. Cincinnati
The Bearcats flipped over 70% of their roster before the 2024 season, with over 60 players coming or out of the program. The Bearcats suffered some significant attrition (namely safety Deshawn Page, tailback Myles Montgomery), but second-year head coach Scott Satterfield also signed a slew of upgrades at multiple spots — headlined by new starting quarterback Brendan Sorsby from Indiana, who should provide more punch for an offense that averaged just 24 points per game in 2023. Cincy also returns leading rushing Corey Kiner, top wideout Xzavier Henderson and all five starters on the offensive line. Defensively, new coordinator Tyson Veidt has his hands full to fix a unit that was among the worst in the Big 12 last season. Still, although the Bearcats won’t be expected to finish in the top half of the league this fall, they should be much more competitive in their second season in the league.
14. BYU
The Cougars were awful offensively in 2023, ranking near the bottom of nearly every metric in the Big 12. So what did Kalani Sitake do? He brought in three transfer quarterbacks, including former Baylor and USF quarterback Gerry Bohanon. Coming of the spring, the QB1 job is down to either Bohanon or Jake Retzlaff, but the rest of the offense remains much of the same. BYU added a pair of offensive linemen in the portal, but that’s it. They’re counting on big leaps in production from the likes of freshman tailback LJ Martin and sophomore wideout Chase Roberts. The Cougs struggled defensively with first-year coordinator Jay Hill, but the ex-Weber State coach brought in one of his former players to improve the team’s pass rusher — top FCS edge Jack Kelly.
15. Arizona State
It’s been more offseason upheaval in Tempe, as quarterbacks Jaden Rashada and Drew Pyne were among the 21 players to leave the program as head coach Kenny Dillingham continues to battle lingering issues leftover from the failed Herm Edwards regime. ASU also suffered departures from top wideout Elijhah Badger (now at Florida), cornerback Ed Woods (Michigan State) and edge BJ Green II (Colorado), but all is not lost, as Dillingham was able to hold onto star tailback Cam Skattebo, and add more than 20 transfers to the roster. Former Michigan State quarterback Sam Leavitt is the odds-on favorite to start Week 1 for the Sun Devils, but ASU made an interesting late add at the position in the spring by inking Nebraska transfer Jeff Sims.
16. Houston
The Cougars have the lowest preseason win total in the league this fall (4.5) and with good reason — Dana Holgerson didn’t leave Willie Fritz a whole lot to work with. Many of Houston’s best players bounced this offseason, including top wideouts Sam Brown (Miami) and Matthew Golden (Texas) and linemen Chidozie Nwankwo (Colorado), Reuben Unjie (Louisville) and Ja’Maree Caldwell (Oregon). Fritz did bring in 26 new transfers, with former Louisiana quarterback Zeon Chriss set to push Donovan Smith, who missed all spring with an injury. Fritz did wonders at Tulane, and he waited a long time to get a chance to be a Power Conference head coach, but he has his work cut out for him inheriting a 4-8 team with just six returning starters.