Big 12 Power Rankings after Brendan Sorsby's split from Texas Tech
- David Howman
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
The last couple of weeks have sent shockwaves through the Big 12 and, on the whole, college football. After some legal maneuvering and political posturing, Texas Tech officially parted ways with their high-priced transfer quarterback, Brendan Sorsby, who will enter the NFL's supplemental draft.
That changes things in a major way for the reigning Big 12 champions, and it also breaks the door wide open in the conference. Here's where the conference's current hierarchy now stands.
BYU Cougars
Last year's runner up stands to gain the most from Texas Tech's dramatic unraveling. BYU finished with the same record as the Red Raiders - 12-2 overall and 8-1 in the conference - but both losses came against Texas Tech, including the conference title game.
The Cougars return most of that team, notably quarterback Bear Bachmeier and running back LJ Martin. They lost defensive coordinator Jay Hill to Michigan, but Kelly Poppinga was in Provo for Hill's entire tenure and should be able to keep the defense strong after being promoted to coordinator. BYU is the early frontrunner now, and for good reason.
Houston Cougars
Willie Fritz is the turnaround king, and he did it again in 2025. After going 4-8 in his first year in Houston, Fritz took the Cougars to a 10-3 finish capped off with a win over LSU in the Texas Bowl.
Quarterback Conner Weigman is back after finding his groove last year, as is star receiver Amare Thomas. Fritz has also brought in former Tulane stud rusher Makhi Hughes, who put up consecutive 1,300+ rushing yard seasons under Fritz with the Green Wave.
Arizona State Sun Devils
Arizona State returned more starters from their Big 12 championship run than any other program in college football, but injuries to stars Sam Leavitt and Jordyn Tyson derailed their repeat attempt. Now, both are gone following the 8-5 season.
In their place, though, Kenny Dillingham has retooled his roster. Kentucky quarterback Cutter Boley, teeming with potential but needing refinement, has transferred in. He's joined by three elite receiver transfers: Reed Harris, Omarion Miller, and Raiden Vines-Bright. Together with a defense that was better than expected last year, the Sun Devils have what it takes to win the Big
Arizona Wildcats.
Coming into last year, many had the Wildcats near the bottom of their power rankings. Brent Brennan's inaugural year in Tucson was a disaster, especially with quarterback Noah Fifita's huge step back. But a staffing overhaul righted the ship, and Arizona won nine games last year.
Fifita now enters his final year of eligibility hoping to go out with a bang. The defense added some talent via the transfer portal, and Fifita's second season in this new scheme should only help him grow more.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
As the reigning Big 12 champs, Texas Tech had the biggest target painted on them. But their portal acquisition of Brendan Sorsby seemingly set them up to be the conference's first repeat champion since 2020.
Sorsby's sudden and messy departure complicates things. Will Hammond becomes the starter now after eight games and two starts last year, when he went 1-1. That's a big blow, as is losing six defensive starters, including their leading tackler and top two pass rushers. That's a lot of production to have to replace in one year.
TCU Horned Frogs
After managing to hold onto star quarterback Josh Hoover last year amidst the musical chairs in the portal, TCU didn't have the same luck, watching Hoover leave for Indiana. Hoover's offensive coordinator was also fired after a disappointing 9-4 campaign.
In their places are former UConn offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis and Harvard star Jaden Craig. Neither one wins the offseason headlines, but both have produced at lower levels. Head coach Sonny Dykes has 9+ wins in three of his four years at TCU; is this the year he finally wins the Big 12?
Utah Utes
Utah was supposed to dominate the Big 12 when they joined, but it's been nothing but rocky seas. Injuries plagued their first two years and last season - a strong 11-2 record that just missed out on the College Football Playoff - ended with Kyle Whittingham being unceremoniously shoved out the building.
Longtime head coach in waiting Morgan Scalley has now taken over, though a bulk of the staff left to follow Whittingham to Michigan. Stud quarterback Devon Dampier and downhill runner Wayshawn Parker are still in Salt Lake City, though. That should give Scalley enough firepower to seriously contend for the Big 12, even if the Utes won't be betting favorites.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
If you're looking for a dark horse in the Big 12 race this year, the Cowboys are it. The bottom finally fell out for Mike Gundy, who went 4-11 with zero Big 12 wins in his final two seasons at his alma mater. Gundy is still the winningest coach in program history, but it was clearly time for a change.
Eric Morris figures to be just that. The Texas native went 11-2 with North Texas last year, his third leading the program. He brought a bulk of that roster to Stillwater, including stud quarterback Drew Mestemaker. If nothing else, the Cowboys should at least get back to playing entertaining football this year.
Baylor Bears
Dave Aranda is unkillable. In 2024, he ripped off six straight wins to avoid the axe; last year, he followed it up with a 5-7 campaign that featured four one-score losses. If it weren't for Baylor literally not having an AD at the time, Aranda may have been let go.
Instead, he enters his seventh season with the Bears, and expectations are high. Former 5-star quarterback DJ Lagway is in town, and Aranda poached defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman from Kansas State to shore up that side of the ball. Baylor needs to win now, and the way this team handles the pressure will determine a lot.
UCF Knights
Scott Frost's return to UCF wasn't an immediate success, but it was hardly a failure either. They went 5-7 and lost four of those games by one score. One of those was nearly an upset win over Houston; the Knights were more competitive than they had any business being last year.
They figure to be better this year, returning a healthy amount of starters, especially on defense. Frost also lured quarterback Alonza Barnett, who just went 12-2 with a trip to the College Football Playoff as the starter for James Madison.
Kansas State Wildcats
The last few years for Kansas State have been a cautionary tale in hype machines. Avery Johnson's freshman year gave Wildcats fans outsized expectations, and he never lived up to them.
Chris Klieman retired after going 6-6 last year, which led former quarterback and offensive coordinator Collin Klein back as the new head coach. Klein is the only rookie head coach in the Big 12 this year, which is a daunting challenge, but he did help Marcel Reed take Texas A&M to the College Football Playoff last year; can he do the same for Johnson?
West Virginia Mountaineers
Rich Rodriguez's first year back at West Virginia didn't go according to plan, but his program started to show some life down the stretch. The Mountaineers went 2-3 to finish the season, with an upset over Houston and near upsets against both TCU and Arizona State, losing to both by a combined eight points.
Rodriguez invested heavily in the transfer portal this year, especially on offense, while counting on returning starters and developing underclassmen to make improvements on defense. It might be too much to expect serious contention this year, but the Mountaineers should be a tough out any given Saturday.
Kansas Jayhawks
The Jalon Daniels era felt like it lasted forever at Kansas, and yet it was largely filled with untapped potential. Consecutive 5-7 seasons would've been cause for celebration at Kansas not too long ago, but Lance Leipold has raised the bar.
This year, though, looks to be a bit of a rebuilding year. The Jayhawks lost 15 starters, many of whom started for multiple seasons. Dual threat quarterback Chase Jenkins came over from Rice, and running back Dylan Edwards defected from Kansas State, but this may be a transition year for Leipold's program.
Cincinnati Bearcats
For a while, it looked like Scott Satterfield was breaking through with the Bearcats last year. After two losing seasons in as many years at Cincinnati, Satterfield's offense was taking flight with Sorsby, and the Bearcats started out 7-1. But a rough stretch against Utah, Arizona, and BYU derailed things, and they finished 7-6.
Now, Sorsby is gone too, and Satterfield lost multiple starters outside of the quarterback. He also overhauled his staff, with two new co-offensive coordinators (though Satterfield calls the plays) and a new defensive coordinator. Can Satterfield survive a third losing season in four years? Because Cincinnati might be on pace for just that.
Colorado Buffaloes
The 2024 season feels like ages ago for Coach Prime. Deion Sanders' second season at Colorado saw the Buffaloes go 9-4 and nab a Heisman for Travis Hunter. Outside of that, though, Sanders is 7-17 with just two Big 12 wins.
Colorado once again saw a mass exodus through the portal, and they also lost seven coaches, including all three coordinators. Brennan Marion and his patented Go Go offense may be able to reinvigorate that side of the ball, but the Buffaloes are not well-equipped to compete this year.
Iowa State Cyclones
For a long time, Iowa State was a perennial doormat program. Then, Matt Campbell came along and changed that. His 72 wins over a decade are the most in program history, as are his eight winning seasons. Two years ago, Campbell also delivered the program its first ever double-digit win season.
Now, Campbell is at Penn State, and he brought most of his team - players and coaches - with him. Jimmy Rogers came over after one 6-6 season at Washington State, which came after going 27-3 in two years at FCS powerhouse South Dakota State. Rogers may be able to build something in Ames, but he's inheriting a program right now that's been reduced down to the studs. Expectations should be managed accordingly.
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