College Football Rankings: CBS Sports ranks every Big 12 team for 2025

The Big 12 is going to have the same set of teams in 2025 as it did in 2024. That’s the first time that’s been the case since the 2022 season. Even with that improved stability, it’s almost impossible to predict what’s going to happen in the Big 12.

Despite that parity, CBS Sports has shared its ranking for every Big 12 college football team ahead of the 2025 season. Still, it’s worth trying to put together an outlook for the conference going into the 2025 season. That’s with plenty of returning stars and newcomers joining the conference for what should be another excellent season.

These are a power ranking of Big 12 teams, which is different from a pure prediction of where teams will finish in the conference standings. Essentially, a good team could play a tougher schedule than a worse team and end with a worse result because of that. So, with that in mind, here is how CBS Sports power ranked all 16 Big 12 teams.

1. Arizona State Sun Devils

2024 season: 11-3 (7-2), Big 12 Champion, lost College Football Playoff quarterfinals
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Arizona State headlines the Big 12 rankings. Coming off a conference championship and a trip to the College Football Playoff, and with quarterback Sam Leavitt returning, it’s relatively easy to have some high expectations for the Sun Devils. The biggest challenge is going to be finding a way to replace star running back Cam Skattebo. His production was phenomenal and a key reason why Arizona State had the success it did.

2. Texas Tech Red Raiders

2024 season: 8-5 (6-3), lost Liberty Bowl
This offseason, Texas Tech made the decision to get aggressive in both NIL and the Transfer Portal. In fact, Texas Tech is ranked first in the 2025 transfer cycle, according to the On3 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings. There’s going to be some hit and miss within that class, but it’s likely there will be plenty of helpful players joining Texas Tech for 2025. That’s made it easy to get excited about the Red Raiders in 2025 and has raised the bar in Lubbock to competing not just for the Big 12 but for a trip to the CFP.

3. BYU Cougars

2024 season: 11-2 (7-2), won Alamo Bowl
BYU was a bit of a surprise among Big 12 teams in 2024. Still, it’s hard to ignore how they got to the edge of the CFP last season. On top of that, it appears that the Cougars have found their long-term answer at quarterback Jake Retzlaff. He returns and should be ready to take another step forward. The one thing that could be holding BYU back is some turnover at positions outside of quarterback, but BYU has a track record of replacing those talented players in the past.

4. Baylor Bears

2024 season: 8-5 (6-3), lost Texas Bowl
Baylor Bears head coach Dave Aranda entered the 2024 season on the hot seat after a disastrous 2023. By the end of the season, he appeared to be firmly off it, in no small part thanks to finding quarterback Sawyer Robertson. His breakout was massive for the Bears. After finishing 2024 strong and returning most of their talent from last season, Baylor is in a good spot to compete for the Big 12 again.

5. Kansas State Wildcats

2024 season: 9-4 (5-4), won Rate Bowl
Under head coach Chris Kleiman, Kansas State has consistently been good and won the Big 12 in 2022. It’s safe to expect that they’re going to once again be competitive. Another boost is going to come from the return of quarterback Avery Johnson. There were rumors this offseason that teams were potentially trying to get him to transfer, but he’s remaining in Manhattan for the 2025 season, and with another year of experience should be one of the best quarterbacks in the conference.

6. TCU Horned Frogs

2024 season: 9-4 (6-3), won New Mexico Bowl
When Sonny Dykes first landed at TCU in 2022, he made the Horned Frogs immediate contenders, going to the College Football Playoff. Since then, TCU has been looking to get back there and appears to be trending in the right direction after going 9-4 last season. That includes winning four straight games to end the season. If quarterback Josh Hoover can get a little more consistent, then the Horned Frogs are potentially serious Big 12 contenders.

7. Iowa State Cyclones

2024 season: 11-3 (7-2), Big 12 runner-up, won Pop-Tarts Bowl
It’s sometimes easy to take for granted how consistently good Iowa State has been under head coach Matt Campbell. However, after once again playing in the Big 12 Championship Game in 2024, it’s hard to overlook the Cyclones. If the Cyclones properly replaced some key wide receivers in the Transfer Portal, it’s easy to see how they could avoid too much regression on offense. Outside of that, there are a couple of other gaps to fill, but Iowa State should be in good shape overall.

8. Kansas Jayhawks

2024 season: 5-7 (4-5)
The Kansas Jayhawks are the highest-ranked team from CBS that missed out on going to a bowl game last season. Part of that likely comes from the Jayhawks having underperformed a season ago. Another part is probably because they return veteran quarterback Jalon Daniels. He’s proven more than capable when healthy throughout his career. Now, with a third offensive coordinator change in as many seasons, there’s hope that he can hit his stride once again.

9. Utah Utes

2024 season: 5-7 (2-7)
The Utah Utes had a severely disappointing first season in the Big 12, missing out on a bowl game. Now, they’re hoping to have addressed some of their issues, particularly on the offensive side of the ball and at the quarterback position. The Utes brought in Jason Beck as offensive coordinator, along with transfer quarterback Devon Dampier. Besides that, however, the Utes are dealing with plenty of turnover on both sides of the ball.

10. Colorado Buffaloes

2024 season: 9-4 (7-2), lost Alamo Bowl
The Colorado Buffaloes proved to be one of the best teams in the Big 12 last season. Now, they’re going to need to overcome relatively low expectations again. Those expectations have taken a hit due to the roster turnover with the Buffaloes notably losing quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way star Travis Hunter. Of course, if head coach Deion Sanders can replace that production, then Colorado should end up in decent shape.

11. Cincinnati Bearcats

2024 season: 5-7 (3-6)
Since head coach Scott Satterfield took over at Cincinnati, the Bearcats are just 8-16 overall and 4-14 in Big 12 play. Still, they showed some improvement in his second season, even if they did miss out on a bowl game by losing five straight games to end the season. The hope is that the players lost to the portal won’t be missed, and those who came in can be an improvement, and that the Bearcats can get back to a bowl game.

12. West Virginia Mountaineers

2024 season: 6-7 (5-4), lost Frisco Bowl
The West Virginia Mountaineers went to a bowl game for the fourth time in six seasons under Neal Brown. However, it was still a step in the wrong direction overall, and with the Mountaineers not competing for a Big 12 Championship, they moved on and brought back Rich Rodriguez. One of the best coaches in program history, there is hope he can now have similar success to what he had when West Virginia was in the Big East.

13. Houston Cougars

2024 season: 4-8 (3-6)
The Houston Cougars hit the reset button in 2024 with the beginning of a rebuild under head coach Willie Fritz. The hope for 2025 is to take another step forward. However, CBS Sports clearly doesn’t have overly high expectations for the Cougars next year. Much of their season will hang on the arm of transfer quarterback Conner Weigman. If he works out, then there is a good chance that the Cougars could quickly shoot up these rankings.

14. Arizona Wildcats

2024 season: 4-8 (2-7)
It can be difficult to know how a team is going to transition to a new conference. In Arizona’s case, it was a difficult transition to the Big 12 under new head coach Brent Brennan. Despite a good amount of offensive talent, they only found four wins on the season. Now, the Wildcats are going through a mass exodus of portal talent with 37 scholarship players hitting the portal. With any luck, however, their replacements can also be improvements for next season.

15. Oklahoma State Cowboys

2024 season: 3-9 (0-9)
The 2024 season was the worst for head coach Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State. That led to an awkward offseason where there was a standoff over his contract and the potential he’d lose his job. In the end, the assistants underwent several major changes. The roster itself is also turning over in the Transfer Portal. So, it’s a little difficult to say exactly what kind of team Oklahoma State is going to have in 2025.

16. UCF Knights

2024 season: 4-8 (2-7)
Following a disappointing 2024 season, head coach Gus Malzahn left to become the offensive coordinator at Florida State. He’d be replaced by Scott Frost, who led the Knights to their unbeaten season in 2017. Now, Frost is looking to bounce back in his career as a head coach. To do that, he’s looking at a complete rebuild at UCF, which, after inheriting a winless team in his first stint in Orlando, is something he’s proven capable of doing.