Another great college football season has come and gone faster than you can blink. Before we know it, July will have come around and we will all be picking our preseason Big 12 teams for next year.
However, before we get into the offseason, I wanted to look back at some of my picks before the season and see how they played out. Here was my preseason poll before the year started.
Derek Duke Preseason Poll
#1 Arizona State
#2 Kansas State
#3 Texas Tech
#4 Baylor
#5 Iowa State
#6 TCU
#7 Utah
#8 Kansas
#9 Colorado
#10 Cincinnati
#11 BYU
#12 Houston
#13 Arizona
#14 Oklahoma State
#15 UCF
#16 West Virginia
Where I Was Right
Texas Tech
Even though I didn’t pick the Red Raiders to win the conference, I was close enough to call it a good pick. Texas Tech was clearly head and shoulders above everyone else in the Big 12 and I should have had a little more faith in Joey McGuire and his staff to make all that talent come together.
Iowa State
I was a few spots off with the Cyclones, but I am going to consider it a win for me. Iowa State started off strong, but then fell off a cliff towards the back half of the year. Rocco Becht dealt with some injuries and that played a big factor. But now with Matt Campbell gone, this past season seems very forgettable.
TCU
Even though their schedule was brutal, I knew TCU had the talent to compete with anyone in the conference. I expected Josh Hoover to take that next step and it never really happened. Plus, their losses to Kansas State and Iowa State were back-breaking for this team.
Cincinnati
At first, I thought I was going to be dead wrong about Cincinnati after they got off to a 5-0 start in conference play. But then the month of November came around, and they went 0-4 for the second-straight season. What is the deal with this team and the month of November? I guess you could say that I saw it coming.
Oklahoma State
While I wasn’t high on Oklahoma State coming into the year, I did think they would win at least one game this season in conference play. But for the second straight season, they couldn’t even do that. By the time next season rolls around, they will have gone over 1,000 days since their last conference win. The good news is that they should be better in 2026 under Eric Morris.
UCF
It was the same story as last season. Where is the offense? For three straight years, this team has been hard to watch offensively. Hopefully things will change as they were able to land a quarterback in the portal.
West Virginia
Honestly, I didn’t think this team would win a single Big 12 game this year but they ended up winning two of them. While they still weren’t very good, I thought Rich Rod did great job with them because they were clearly better as the season went on.
Where I Was Wrong
Arizona State
The Sun Devils were the consensus favorites coming into the year and I had them repeating as Big 12 champs. Between Sam Leavitt and that defense coming back, I felt like I had to put them at the top. Unfortunately, Leavitt got injured and they weren’t quite the same with Jeff Simms at quarterback.
Kansas State
Out of all the picks this may have been my worst one. Not only did I have Avery Johnson having a breakout season and winning Big 12 player of the year, but I also had the Wildcats going to Arlington this season. Who is stupid? I am.
Baylor
Coming into the season, I was extremely high on Baylor and looking back, maybe I was just high in general. Sawyer Robertson didn’t get better but neither did the team around him. Baylor had one of the worst defenses in the Big 12 and now it feels like it’s only a matter of time when Dave Aranda gets let go by some point next season.
Utah
I knew Utah’s defense would be legit, but I never bought into Devon Dampier at quarterback. I should have. He was perfect for that offense which was arguably the most physical in the Big 12. Outside of Texas Tech, nobody was better in the trenches than Utah.
Kansas
The only reason I picked Kansas to finish in the top ten was because of Jalon Daniels. While he was better in 2025 than the previous season, he still never got back to where he once was. On top of that, their defense was atrocious to the point where they couldn’t keep up with teams.
Colorado
Speaking of being high, what was I thinking of putting Colorado at No. 9? Replacing Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter was unlikely and they could never settle on a quarterback. To make matters worse, their defense wasn’t much better.
BYU
For the second straight year, I couldn’t have been more wrong about BYU. Bear Bachmeier turned out to be fantastic as a freshman and their defense didn’t skip a beat at all. Behind Texas Tech, they were clearly the second-best team in the Big 12. I should go to Provo and let BYU fans throw things at me for doubting them again. Maybe next year I will learn my lesson.
Houston
I don’t feel too bad about myself because how many people had Houston winning nine games in the regular season? They were by far the biggest surprise in the Big 12 outside of Arizona. All I have to say is that Willie Fritz knows how to build a program and moving forward, I won’t take them lightly anymore.
Arizona
Much like Houston, the Wildcats had a great season of their own by also winning nine games this year. Noah Fifita looked like the guy we saw two years ago and their defense took a huge step up. Maybe Brent Brennan is a good coach and I didn’t give him a fair shake after the way 2024 ended.
