All summer long, Last Word has been highlighting all of the top players returning for the Big 12 in 2024. Whether it was the best quarterbacks, running backs, offensive linemen, defensive backs, or even specialists, Last Word had them all in its sights. Now, with just two weeks left before the season begins, the writers have spoken out again. With the gap between the top and bottom of the league narrow, these Big 12 predictions for the 2024 season have given a voice to many teams.
2024 LWOS Big 12 Predictions
Expected final ranking
After input from 11 writers, Last Word came up with the following Big 12 predictions (first place votes are in parentheses):
- Utah (7)
- State of Oklahoma (1)
- State of Kansas
- Kansas (1)
- Arizona- (1)
- State of Iowa
- Virginia (1)
- UCF
- Texas Tech
- TCU
- Colorado
- Baylor
- BYU
- Cincinnati
- Houston
- State of Arizona
25% of the league received a vote for first place
Utah is a team ready to compete for the Big 12 title from day one. They received an overwhelming number of first-place votes. But while Utah has shown tremendous consistency, it is far from a surefire winner of the Big 12. Oklahoma State has basically its entire team back, including possibly the best running back in college football. Assuming quarterback Jalon Daniels stays healthy, Kansas has enough firepower to compete. Arizona could have the best quarterback-wide receiver duo in the country in Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan. And West Virginia is a good, experienced team with a well-staffed backfield and one of the best offensive lines in the conference.
Fear the Farmegedon winner
Kansas State received no first-place votes but topped the Big 12 projections with five second-place votes. That shouldn’t be a surprise considering star quarterback Avery Johnson and the two-headed monster in the backfield with DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards. Meanwhile, Iowa State is fielding its most talented team since Brock Purdy and Breece Hall led the program to historic heights. The only thing that could keep Iowa State from breaking through is one of the toughest schedules of any Big 12 team.
Three teams are too close to each other to separate
In making these Big 12 projections, all writers were asked to assign each team a spot between 1 and 16. All selections were then added together and the teams with the lowest totals were at the top and those with the highest totals were at the bottom. UCF, Texas Tech and TCU essentially finished in a three-way tie for eighth place with totals of 92, 94 and 95, respectively. These three teams are all in a position where they can ruin one of the favorites’ chances at a Big 12 title. The Knights hope Gus Malzahn is right when he says KJ Jefferson is really the closest thing to Cam Newton. Texas Tech has its best offensive weapons since Joey McGuire took over, most notably running back Tahj Brooks. TCU is starting over on defense but expects quarterback Josh Hoover to bolster and stabilize the Horned Frogs’ offense.
Colorado not quite ready for prime time
The Buffs seemingly rank 11th in their own category of 2024 Big 12 projections. Colorado received a vote for third from one of the LWOS writers. However, they had one vote for 10th and six votes for 11th, with the rest of the writers picking them to finish even further back. It’s clear that Colorado has two skill-position players who are among the best in all of college football and future NFL draft picks. But after seeing the results of portaling an entire first-year offensive line, the writers aren’t confident it will lead to significant improvement for a second year in a row.
The remaining Big 12 forecasts do not bode well for five programs
The final five teams in LWOS’ Big 12 projections combined to receive just six of a possible 55 selections, finishing better than No. 10. Some voters see a potential turnaround season for Dave Aranda, who tries to imitate Neal Brown as best as he can and coach himself out of the firing line. But for the most part, LWOS projects Baylor, BYU, Houston, Cincinnati and Arizona State all have long seasons ahead of them.
BYU and Cincinnati appear to need at least another year to adjust from G5 to P4 schedules. Although Arizona State is entering its second year under Kenny Dillingham, he and Willie Fritz are essentially going through a first season in Houston. Both coaches still need to build competitive rosters to compete in the Big 12 on a weekly basis. However, if a Big 12 team decides to overlook those teams, it could be their undoing in the race for the Big 12 Conference championship.
