College Football Rankings: ESPN ranks the offseason of every Big 12 team

The college football season is still a few months away. So, amid the wait for fall practice to start up, ESPN ranked the offseason of every Big 12 team.

It can be a little difficult to judge an offseason. For ESPN, there were a few different criteria to follow, though. First, they looked at how teams retained key players who weren’t draft-eligible. Second, they looked at coach retention and staff upgrades. Finally, the third thing they looked at player additions, especially through the Transfer Portal.

ESPN college football reporters Adam Rittenberg, Max Olson, Eli Lederman, and Bill Connelly teamed up to come up with these Big 12 offseason rankings. They also broke down exactly what led to those rankings.

1. Texas Tech Red Raiders

2024 season: 8-5 (6-3), lost Liberty Bowl
The Texas Tech Red Raiders loaded up in the Transfer Portal this offseason. In fact, Texas Tech is ranked first in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings. That’s included key pickups like Lee Hunter and Howard Sampson. There were very few players who head coach Joey McGuire wanted this offseason that he wasn’t able to land.

Notably, this offseason is coming with some coaching changes for Texas Tech. That includes Shiel Wood, who is going to be tasked with turning around the Red Raiders’ defense. Then, Mack Leftwich is coming in as the offensive coordinator. If those hires work out, there’s no reason why Texas Tech shouldn’t compete for the Big 12.

2. Arizona State Sun Devils

2024 season: 11-3 (7-2), Big 12 Champion, lost College Football Playoff quarterfinals
The Arizona State Wildcats are coming off a phenomenal season, winning the Big 12 and nearly upsetting Texas in the College Football Playoff. They’ll have to replace star running back Cam Skattebo, but do return quarterback Sam Leavitt. That, along with several additions to the offense like Jaren Hamilton and Jalen Moss, should make the Sun Devils a threat in 2025.

ESPN admitted that very little went wrong for Arizona State this offseason. For the most part, the Sun Devils were able to retain their talent. That should go a long way in preventing taking a step back next season.

3. Baylor Bears

2024 season: 8-5 (6-3), lost Texas Bowl
Baylor and head coach Dave Aranda needed to bounce back from a disastrous 2023 campaign last season. To do that, Aranda became the defensive play caller and redid his defensive staff to great success. Now, with 14 starters from last season returning, there is room for the Bears to become a Big 12 contender.

The major name lost to the Transfer Portal was defensive lineman Brendan Bett. Otherwise, they return key players like quarterback Sawyer Robertson while adding some help from the portal as well. On paper, this is a team that improved on both sides of the ball this offseason.

4. Iowa State Cyclones

2024 season: 11-3 (7-2), Big 12 runner-up, won Pop-Tarts Bowl
Wide receiver was a major question mark going into the offseason for Iowa State, given the losses the Cyclones suffered at that spot. It seems like Iowa State did a good job addressing that issue, though, bringing in Chase Sowell and Xavier Townsend. Other than that, the Cyclones avoided being portal heavy and should be replacing largely through their own depth.

Outside of losing wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, Iowa State lost a couple of other starters from last season. That included defensive lineman Tyler Onyedim and defensive back Malik Verdon. So, there are gaps to fill. For as confident as Iowa State is about how they did so, that will remain a question mark until the regular season.

5. Kansas State Wildcats

2024 season: 9-4 (5-4), won Rate Bowl
The Kansas State Wildcats are undergoing another change at offensive coordinator. They’ll now turn the reins over to Matt Wells, the third offensive coordinator in as many seasons. That’s now a question mark, but as the quarterbacks coach, he presumably is comfortable with Avery Johnson at quarterback. His return is a big deal, as are the additions that Kansas State brought in at wide receiver to help him.

Winning the Big 12 is often on Kansas State’s mind. Things aren’t going to be easy next season, though, in a highly competitive conference. That includes dealing with the House settlement and potential roster cuts that will limit their walk-on program. Meanwhile, star running back DJ Giddens has moved on from the program.

6. TCU Horned Frogs

2024 season: 9-4 (6-3), won New Mexico Bowl
While head coach Sonny Dykes has made a couple of changes along his coaching staff, both coordinators are returning for 2025. TCU also had to fend off tampering efforts around quarterback Josh Hoover, who returns excited to compete for the Big 12. Add in some key additions around him, and the Horned Frogs should be a strong offensive team next season.

After ending the season on a high note and retaining plenty of talent, it’s easy to get excited about TCU. If a couple of their transfer additions can fill the shoes of players like Jack Bech, who moved on, then there’s no reason why TCU can’t be dangerous again.

7. Utah Utes

2024 season: 5-7 (2-7)
2024 was the first season for Utah in the Big 12. It was also a major disappointment, as issues at quarterback contributed to the Utes missing a bowl. Looking to boost the offense, the Utes brought in Jason Beck to run the offense. Along with that, Utah is now turning its attention to transfer quarterback Devon Dampier to try and fix things on that side of the ball.

A major issue this offseason is the number of departures that Utah suffered. 27 players who started games, including 16 seniors and 11 transfers, are gone. In total, 30 scholarship players transferred out. That’s a lot of turnover, and there’s a lot of room to make mistakes when trying to address it. It can also make depth an issue.

8. Cincinnati Bearcats

2024 season: 5-7 (3-6)
After starting the 2024 season 5-2, things went sideways for Cincinnati, and the Bearcats missed out on bowl eligibility. This offseason, the Bearcats have gone on to lose 16 scholarship players to the Transfer Portal. However, the question comes down to whether or not head coach Scott Satterfield can find a way to replace those players with better options.

A positive is that it doesn’t seem like Cincinnati lost the players it truly wanted to keep. Quarterback Brendan Sorsby, defensive tackle Dontay Corleone, and tight end Joe Royer are all returning. From there, they added in the portal, and if a few under-the-radar players work out, then 2025 could be a good season for the Bearcats.

9. BYU Cougars

2024 season: 11-2 (7-2), won Alamo Bowl
The BYU Cougars were very competitive for the Big 12 in 2024 and expect to be in 2025 again. The problem, and why ESPN has them in the middle of the pack in these rankings, is that the Cougars are dealing with a lot of turnover. 12 of the 18 players who started nine or more games last season are gone. Kicker Will Ferrin is their only returning All-Big 12 performer.

One major boost comes from the return of quarterback Jake Retzlaff. Six other offensive starters from the Alamo Bowl return. Add in a few portal additions, especially along the defensive line, and there are reasons to still be positive about BYU.

10. Colorado Buffaloes

2024 season: 9-4 (7-2), lost Alamo Bowl
The Colorado Buffaloes have already retired the numbers of the two biggest names that they lost this offseason. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way star Travis Hunter are gone. It’s going to be a challenge, if not impossible, to replace them. Still, the Buffaloes have talent at receiver and brought in Kaidon Salter as a transfer at the quarterback position.

Perhaps most importantly, head coach Deion Sanders returned despite rumors he might be on the move as his sons moved on from the program. He’s a magnet to many transfers in the portal, and that has helped Colorado fill some of those gaps. Still, losing 17 starters overall is difficult to overcome.

11. Houston Cougars

2024 season: 4-8 (3-6)
In year one under head coach Willie Fritz, the Houston Cougars went through some growing pains. Now, Fritz needs to replace both of his coordinators on top of that. The defense, which was the stronger side of the ball for Houston, also got raided in the Transfer Portal. The hope is that an injection of talent can help to make up for that.

On offense, the Cougars interestingly made the decision to bring in Conner Weigman at quarterback. It remains to be seen how that works out, but it’s a major splash move. Other pickups to that side of the ball should fix a unit that had some major issues. Still, competing for a Big 12 Championship seems like a long way away.

12. Oklahoma State Cowboys

2024 season: 3-9 (0-9)
After the worst season for Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State, the offseason opened up with some issues. That, notably, included a standoff over his contract and the potential he’d lose his job. In the end, he’d retain it with major coaching staff changes, but it set the tone for a tough offseason.

26 scholarship players hit the portal for Oklahoma State. They then added 38 incoming transfers. So, it’s a completely new-looking roster in Stillwater. Getting that talent to mesh and work well in a new system won’t be easy, and it’s difficult to judge the success of a portal class. For now, though, there is still hope that fortunes will turn around.

13. West Virginia Mountaineers

2024 season: 6-7 (5-4), lost Frisco Bowl
Despite making a bowl game, 2024 ended up being the final season for Neal Brown at West Virginia. He’d be replaced by Rich Rodriguez, who fans in Morgantown remember fondly from his first tenure. He added some other old faces to the staff and completely flipped the roster in the Transfer Portal to try and get the Mountaineers Big 12 ready.

It’s almost impossible to predict what West Virginia looks like in 2025. With around 20 new starters, the team is just too full of question marks. Retaining quarterback Nicco Marchiol and running back Jahiem White was massive. On top of that, with the change comes some hope for fans during the offseason.

14. Kansas Jayhawks

2024 season: 5-7 (4-5)
Quarterback Jalon Daniels returns for the 2025 season, which, if he can stay healthy, will be important as the offensive coaching staff undergoes another major change. For the second straight season, Kansas is going to have a change at offensive coordinator. After a losing season where Kansas only flashed its potential, the hope is that shaking things up again will get Kansas back to winning.

With plenty of seniors moving on, retaining Daniels was massive. That’s especially true because the Jayhawks have 24 other transfers coming into the program. Finding a way to bounce back amid that much turnover won’t be easy in a competitive Big 12 conference.

15. Arizona Wildcats

2024 season: 4-8 (2-7)
At the bottom of the Big 12 offseason rankings is a group of teams coming off disappointing seasons. Arizona is no exception. In their first year under Brent Brennan, the Wildcats struggled to live up to expectations. Now, after Tetairoa McMillan moved onto the NFL, he’ll need to improve the results while also replacing the team’s best player. Part of that is coming in the form of a staff overhaul, while part is a roster overhaul.

Changes are coming to Tucson. Arizona had 37 scholarship players hit the portal. That includes some with experience moving onto other Power Four schools. The offensive line is also looking like a potential point of weakness. The hope is that transfers into the program can help fix that.

16. UCF Knights

2024 season: 4-8 (2-7)
Former UCF head coach Gus Malzahn left to become the offensive coordinator at Florida State amid diminishing returns since the Knights made it to the Big 12. He was replaced by old friend Scott Frost, who led the Knights to their unbeaten season in 2017. Several key players, like RJ Harvey and Lee Hunter, moved on, though, either to the NFL or the Transfer Portal. Replacing them, and finally finding a quarterback, is going to be a massive task.

UCF brought in three new transfers at quarterback this offseason, including Tayven Jackson, Davi Belfort, and Cam Fancher. That’s just a taste of the roster turnover UCF is dealing with and the questions that come with it. In total, 34 scholarship players, including 11 starters, moved on through the portal. That was from a team that had a large senior class, and the offensive line was hit particularly hard. The hope is that Frost hits on his transfers in, but for now, they’ve had a rough offseason compared to their Big 12 peers.