Big 12 Preview Round up: My favorite teams, wildcards, and betting ideas

BIG 12

What I love about doing the deep dives is that as you go through each time, you start to put together the pieces of the conference outlook. You get more intrigued by one team, and the outlooks of others become grimmer. The Big 12 will be absolutely fascinating this year; the reality is this could be decided by the finest of margins. Will it be a quarterback taking an incremental step into stardom somewhere like TCU or K-State? Could special teams play a crucial role, as Baylor has a punter with a cannon for a leg, or Ferrin at BYU, one of the best kickers in the nation? Could transfers play pivotal roles for Texas Tech, Utah, or Colorado, or will it just be the case that Arizona State and coach Dillingham have become the league's standard bearers? Anyone who tells you they know what will play out is fooling themselves, but nothing ventured, nothing gained!

My three favorites (in particular order)

3) Baylor- QB with a howitzer for an arm and some serious skill position talent and offensive continuity, if and it's a big IF the Bears' secondary holds up, they will be in contention. https://www.firstandgol.com/baylor-2025-football-preview-prediction/

2) TCU- I would be pounding the table as my Big 12 champ if not for road trips to ASU, K-State, BYU, and 7 games on the bounce with no bye. A team that will have a ton of continuity, a rock-solid defense, and a QB who can sling it with weapons. TCU winning the Big 12 wouldn't surprise me one bit. https://www.firstandgol.com/tcu-football-2025-preview-prediction/

1) Utah—Whittingham wins the Big 12 and rides off into the sunset. Something feels right about that. He got the quarterback and his coordinator to sort the offense, and his defense brings a different level of physicality to this league, not to mention the home field advantage in Salt Lake City. https://www.firstandgol.com/utah-2025-college-football-preview/

WILD CARDS (They could win the league, or finish 4-8)

3) Colorado- If Salter hits and the transfers lost on defense are replaced, this team will be extremely tough to beat. A salty secondary and good young receivers, alongside a coach who knows how to get his players to play with belief, don't let the Buffs get hot. https://www.firstandgol.com/colorado-buffaloes-2025-preview-prediction/

2) Cincinnati—This team could be solid all around if the quarterback takes a step and the transfer receivers show up. Maybe they have an insane DL-OL combo, and Satterfield gets the breakthrough Bearcat fans are hoping for. https://www.firstandgol.com/cincinnati-bearcats-2025-college/

1) Kansas- The Jalon Daniels experience! What if Leipold's men have an insane D-line and the secondary is better than expected? I won't bet on it, but the potential is there for the Jayhawks. https://www.firstandgol.com/kansas-jayhawks-2025-college-football/

My favorite betting ideas

1) TCU Over 6.5 wins (-150 DK) I love the Horned Frogs, I'm talking Big 12 title for this team, so this is a no-brainer.

2) Baylor to make the playoff (+590 FD) What I love is two paths for this team, Auburn and SMU in the non con imagine they beat both?? Even just Auburn. If not, they will be seriously battle tested going into the conference and can make a run to Arlington. An 11-2 Baylor if they happened to lose in the title game with a win over Auburn is going to be considered by the committee.

3) Bryson Washington Doak Walker—I have not seen odds for this yet, so keep your eyes peeled. But the man rushed for more yards than any freshman in Baylor history and only played 11 games. Continued improvement on the offense will see this guy become a superstar.

4) Houston under 6.5 wins (-140DK)- I don't want to bet against Willie Fritz, quite honestly, but jeez, they got ravaged. One of the best secondaries in the country is gone via the transfer portal and coordinator to boot. They will undoubtedly improve throughout the year, but 6 would be a fantastic achievement for this group, and 6 is a winner for us also!

5) THE HAIL MARY! Arizona to win Big 12 (+7000 DK)—Will this happen? Almost certainly not! But gosh, I love a cultural reboot and a new coordinator who's going to inspire a group of young men to be great! Let's see the 2023 version of Fifita show up, and let's see Savea emerge as a game-wrecking D lineman coming over from the SEC. You may as well have one cheeky flyer in this conference, and maybe the Wildcats could do something special!

Thank you for reading! If you'd like to dive deeper, subscribe to my Substack and comment below on what conference you'd like next!