Making the case for why new-look Big 12 will be CFB's 'most fun' conference in 2024

Andy Staples was joined by J.D. PicKell for the latest episode of Andy Staples On3 on YouTube on Wednesday morning.

The On3 duo discussed the Big 12 on this edition of the show, where Staples stated his belief that the conference could be the most fun in the sport in 2024.

“Let’s move to the league I think, week to week, is going to be the most fun football product, the Big 12. Why do I think the Big 12 will be the most fun football product? Because I think, as I look at the membership of the Big 12 right now, I’m looking at this group of teams, I feel like I can name ten of them that might make the Big 12 Championship Game in 2024,” Staples stated.

Continuing, Staples named a couple teams to look out for in the Big 12 in 2024, even some new faces that aren’t normally associated with the conference.

“UCF could be big this year. Now, UCF was new to the Big 12 last year. The team I think probably has the best chance to win it is new to the Big 12 this year. So the Pac 12 disintegrates. Oregon and Washington go to the Big Ten. What happens to everybody else? Well, Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, Colorado. Colorado was actually the first to make the Big 12 move, and then everybody followed. But I think Utah walks into the Big 12 as one of the best teams in the Big 12,” Staples added. “I think Utah and Kansas State are probably the two teams that we should be looking at going into the Big 12 this season.”

Moreover, PicKell also highlighted the Arizona Wildcats as a contender in the Big 12, and agreed with Staples that the conference will be something to keep an eye on this season.

“We talked about this before all of the madness happened this offseason, but Arizona’s one of your teams where you’re saying, ‘Hey they could not just be a Big 12 title contender.’ You put them in that discussion as a national title contender, with this expanded Playoff. You did a great job on that piece, in different tiers to your national title contenders, but with Noah Fifita coming back, and the way they were able to kind of fend off the portal exodus we’ve seen some other place have, Arizona could be one of those teams that makes a huge splash their first year in the Big 12,” PicKell added. “So I think you saying it’s going to be an early, fun football product, it might be a different brand of fun then what we saw in the Pac 12, with it being Pac 12 after dark.

“But what last year’s Pac 12 was, where you had three or four teams that were just beating the heck out of each other every single week. I think that could be what we see with an Utah, Arizona, Kansas State. Heck, maybe Kansas if Jalon Daniels could stay healthy, and then UCF.”

Alas, it’s easy to see why the Big 12 will be a lot of fun in 2024. We can’t wait to see the product the conference puts on the field during this new era for the conference.