2023 Big 12 Post-Spring Power Rankings: Texas tops a crowed field of conference contenders

With spring football in the rearview mirror, the transfer portal activity slowly — albeit not totally — starting to slow down, and coaches on the road out recruiting their next wave of future signees, now is a great time to assess where teams stand entering the summer before the 2023 season. 

On Monday, we debuted the series with the 2023 SEC post-spring power rankings, and yesterday we continued the series with the nation’s second-best conference in the Big Ten. 

Today we take a look at the Big 12, which might be the most competitive conference in all of college football in 2023. Texas is the frontrunner to win the league, but when have we heard that before?

Here’s how I see the league stacking up in the 2023 Big 12 post-spring power rankings.

1. Texas 

Can Steve Sarkisian finally win 10 games? Can Texas stop squandering second-half leads? Will the Longhorns write their Big 12 swan song and win the league in their final season in the conference?

They should. 

Texas is loaded, returning of the better offensive lines, tight ends and receiver rooms in the country, plus Sarkisian likes the development he’s seen from quarterback Quinn Ewers this offseason. They bring back six starters on defense, too, led by All-American linebacker Jaylan Ford.

2. Kansas State 

The Wildcats didn’t hold a spring game, but the reigning conference champs still look to have the makeup to win the league again in 2023, bringing back their mauling, veteran OL and quarterback Will Howard. 

FSU transfer Treshaun Ward replaces star tailback Deuce Vaughn, but there is some uncertainly about replicating the production from Felix Anudike-Uzomah, a 1st Round pick who led the team with 8.5 sacks, and corner JuJu Brents, who had four picks in 2022. The defense does return six starters and brought in several transfers, including Mississippi State DE Jevon Banks, to fill some holes. 

3. TCU  

Coming off a stunning run to the national championship, the Horned Frogs are looking to reload this offseason, as Sonny Dykes has a much different-looking roster (and coaching staff). 

Kendal Briles steps in as the OC for the departed Garrett Riley (now at Clemson), and Dykes brought in a bevy of transfers to replace stars like receiver Quentin Johnston, running back Kendre Miller, linebacker Dee Winters and cornerback Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson. Also gone is Heisman Trophy quarterback Max Duggan, with Chandler Morris, who was actually TCU’s 2022 starter before getting hurt early last season, set to be QB1 this fall. 

Despite losing some big pieces defensively, TCU still projects to be a solid group (especially in the secondary and at linebacker with star Johnny Hodges back). The Horned Frogs do need to have hit on several transfer playmakers (JoJo Earle from Alabama, John Paul Richardson from Ok. State, Jack Bech from LSU) if the offense is going to continue to light up the league.

4. Oklahoma 

Like Texas, the Sooners need a strong 2023 season to establish some program momentum before making the jump to the SEC. 

Unlike the Longhorns though, Brent Venables’ team has a few more question marks entering the fall. They do bring back QB Dillion Gabriel, and have a great insurance option in 5-star freshman Jackson Arnold. But are a young group of receivers ready to step up?

Has Venables & Co., fixed a defense that was a sieve in 2022 is the biggest uncertainty. The Sooners did sign a Top 5 recruiting class, with several freshmen pieces like 5-star safety Peyton Bowen expected to contribute early. They also added multiple likely starters via the portal, headlined by Indiana Freshman All-American Dasan McCullough — a Swiss Army hybrid linebacker/safety.

5. Texas Tech 

Despite losing 1st Round pass rusher Tyree Wilson to the NFL Draft, Joey McGuire should have one of the more experienced teams in the Big 12 this fall — with close to 10 seniors likely starting on defense. The Red Raiders also swiped a couple impact signees from the transfer portal, including Syracuse pass rusher Steve Linton, who projects to replace Wilson off the edge, as well as San Diego State safety CJ Baskerville, who had a big spring. 

The Red Raiders bring back quarterback Tyler Shough, who has yet to formally be named the starter but reportedly had a strong spring. They have a nice set of playmakers to surround the former Oregon QB (led by sophomore wideout Jerand Bradley) but they need to do a better job protecting the quarterback in 2023 after allowing a Big 12-most 41 sacks last season.

6. Baylor 

The Bears won the Big 12 in 2021 but took a major step backward last fall, going 6-7 as their defense really regressed (Top 10 nationally to No. 4 in the Big 12). Dave Aranda made a change at DC this offseason, bringing Matt Powledge over from Oregon to retool a unit that lost seven starters. The Bears went portal-heavy this offseason, bringing in five likely starters or rotational pieces. 

Offensively, Blake Shapen is back at QB, but Baylor brought in some competition with former 4-star recruit Sawyer Robertson from Mississippi State. Bears OC Jeff Grimes has the option of playing both QBs, considering their striking differences in skill sets. They also plucked Ok. State starting tailback Dominic Richardson away from Stillwater, and signed a pair of BYU transfers to shore up an OL that must replace three starters. 

7. UCF 

Among the newcomers to the Big 12, Gus Malzahn has the team most built to win now. The Knights should be good (to great) offensively, returning dual-threat QB John Rhys Plumlee and adding four potential OL starters from the portal. They also have former 5-star tailback Demarkcus Bowman, who may have finally found a home after stops at Clemson and Florida. 

Malzahn has a new DC after Travis Williams departed for the Arkansas job, hiring Addison Williams to take over. Georgia linebacker Rian Davis and Clemson corner Fred Davis were two marquee transfer additions.

8. Kansas Jayhawks 

Could Kansas go bowling for two straight seasons? Sure seems like it. Lance Leipold has totally transformed the Jayhawks’ program, and KU should have one of the best offenses in the Big 12 for the second straight season (No. 2 in scoring in 2022). 

The Jayhawks bring back 10 starters (the second-most returning offensive production in the country), including quarterback Jalon Daniels and 1,000-yard rusher Devin Neal. 

After allowing a Big 12-worst 35.5 points per game, there’s obvious room for improvement defensively — though the personnel doesn’t look all the different heading into the fall. 

9. Oklahoma State 

After ending last season with five straight losses, it’s been a brutal offseason for the Cowboys. Mike Gundy’s roster has been gutted by the transfer portal, with 18 players leaving the program (including 10 starters). Notable departures include All Big-12 linebacker Mason Cobb (USC), veteran QB Spencer Sanders (Ole Miss), WR Bryson Green (Wisconsin), CB Thomas Harper (Notre Dame), EDGE Trace Ford (Oklahoma), RB Richardson (Baylor), and Paul Richardson (TCU). 

Ok. State exited the spring with an ongoing QB battle between Gundy’s son Gunnar Gundy, Michigan transfer Alan Bowman, freshman Zane Flores and Garret Rangel, who started the Cowboys’ final two games in 2022. 

Bryan Nardo is an intriguing hire defensively, but the former Division II wunderkind inherits a unit with just two returning starters.

10. BYU 

For the first time in 12 years, the Cougars will be a member of a conference, and their move from Independent status will be among the storylines within the Big 12 this fall. 

To replace as many as six starters, BYU used the portal aggressively this spring, bringing in former Pitt starter Kedon Slovis at quarterback and adding five offensive linemen. They also signed former UNLV tailback Aidan Robbins, who projects to be the team’s top rusher in 2023. 

The Cougars are more experienced on defense (seven starters back), but it’s a group that wasn’t very good against an Indy schedule (99th in rushing, 29.1 points per game allowed) so it needs to be much improved if they’re going to make a bowl game in Year 1 in the league.

11. Iowa State 

The Cyclones return plenty of experience off of an offense that was dreadful last season (just 20.2 points per game) — so time will tell if that’s a good thing or not. Quarterback Brock Dekkers is back, as are eight other starters. They have a new OC, however, with Matt Campbell hiring Nathan Scheelhaase to jumpstart a unit that was plagued by turnovers (22, -7 margin, worst in the league). 

Iowa State was really good defensively last season (just 20 points per game allowed, best in the Big 12), but it lost pieces off all three levels via the NFL Draft (1st Round pass rusher Will McDonald) and the transfer portal (safety Anthony Johnson). 

12. Cincinnati 

Scott Satterfield takes over a Cincy program that shares little resemblance to the one that made the College Football Playoff just two seasons ago. Close to 25 players transferred this offseason, including several former Bearcat standouts joining Luke Fickell at Wisconsin.

Only two starters are back on an offense that will be led by former Florida and Arizona State QB Emory Jones. Despite some interesting portal additions, there are concerns at receiver and running back. 

There’s more depth defensively (six starters back), but the Bearcats need a couple of transfers like Florida corner Jordan Young and Louisville linebacker Dorian Jones to hit right away.

13. Houston 

Could this be Dana Holgorsen’s final season with the Cougars? The former West Virginia head coach bolted the Big 12 five years ago, and now he’s back — only with a worse roster that didn’t live up to expectations last season going 8-5.

Houston suffered all sorts of personnel losses this spring, from staff departures, to its entire starting OL entering the portal, to QB Clayton Tune and receiver Nathaniel Dell exhausting their collegiate eligibility. 

Holgorsen brought in Texas Tech transfer Donovan Smith to start at QB, while DC Doug Belk aims to improve a defense that allowed 32.4 points per game last season — including a record 77 points in a loss to SMU. 

14. West Virginia 

Neal Brown enters the summer with one of the more scorching hot seats in the country. The Mountaineers have just one winning season in four years under the former Troy coach, and Brown has openly acknowledged this spring that he must “win now.”

That looks rather challenging with a roster that lost 20 players to the portal, plus a schedule that includes nine conference games and out-of-conference matchups versus Penn State and Pitt.  

WVU will start fall camp with a QB battle between Garrett Greene and Nicco Marchiol, two guys who saw limited snaps in 2022.