Docs Website

53 Years Strong! A Trusted Leader In Sports Picks, Best Bets and Predictions Since 1971.

Main Menu

2025 Big 12 Football Predictions with Odds and Expert Betting Advice

by Robert Ferringo - 8/19/2025

Big 12 football predictions Sawyer Robertson Baylor Bears

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

That might as well be the motto of the new Big 12. Last year’s preseason prediction debacle will go down in college football history. Five teams received first place votes in last year’s preseason media poll. Those five teams combined to go 13-32 in league play and only one of them finished with a winning conference record.

Also, last year’s consensus last-place team in the preseason poll, Arizona State, won the conference championship and the team predicted in 13th place (BYU) finished in a tie for the regular season crown.

The Big 12 media was so embarrassed by last year’s failed predictions that they didn’t even bother to produce a preseason poll this year.

I can’t say that I feel any more confident about surmising how this league will play out this year. With more questions than answers, and with parity throughout the league’s rosters, this conference really is anyone’s ballgame. There are too many teams in this league that can beat any team in the country or lose to any team in the country to feel confident projecting how things will sort themselves out.

We’ll give it a shot anyway, though! Here is my 2025 Big 12 conference football preview and predictions:

Doc’s Sports offers college football expert picks for every game on our college football predictions page.

The Favorite: Kansas State (+550)

If Kansas State is going to grab this conference by the throat it will be because junior Avery Johnson finally lives up to his pedigree. Johnson, one of the biggest quarterback recruits in school history, was a bit of a wild card last season, completing just 58% of his passes and throwing 10 interceptions despite setting a school-record with 32 touchdowns. Head coach Chris Klieman is a proven winner and is 28-12 straight up over the last three seasons. He hasn’t been able to elevate K-State to elite status, though, and this year’s team doesn’t feel like one that will dominate. Just like last year, the Wildcats seem like a soft conference favorite entering the campaign. They open the season with a crucial game against Iowa State in Ireland. A loss by the Wildcats to start the season could knock them off balance for the entire fall.

The Contender: Arizona State (+550)

Arizona State was one of the biggest surprises in the country last year, bludgeoning their way to a Big 12 championship and a spot in the college football playoffs. Hero back Cam Skattebo is gone. But the Sun Devils bring back 79 percent of their offensive production otherwise, including quarterback Sam Leavitt and four offensive line starters. ASU poached lead Army tailback Kanye Udoh to replace Skattebo and the Sun Devils will try to play with the same brutish edge that served them so well in 2024. Arizona State went 11-3 straight up and 12-2 against the spread last season, so there’s nowhere to go but down. I don’t think this team was as good as its record last year and regression in some key areas (particularly turnovers and close wins) could rear its head.

The Dark Horse: Utah (+600)

Last year’s Big 12 preseason favorite imploded thanks in large part to massive quarterback issues. Enter Devon Dampier, an explosive dual-threat quarterback from New Mexico. Dampier threw for 2,768 yards and rushed for 1,166 more last year with the Lobos, producing 31 touchdowns but also 12 interceptions. Utah had a Top 25 defense last season. If they can match that effort this season, and if Dampier and transfers at the offensive skill positions can step up then the Utes should be back with a vengeance. Head coach Kyle Whittingham only has three losing seasons in 21 years at the helm of this program. He has only suffered back-to-back losing seasons once and after his last sub-.500 record he responded with a nine-win campaign. There are rumors that Whittingham may retire after this season. That could galvanize this locker room to send him out a winner.

The Spoiler: Baylor (+700)

There is just one cupcake on Baylor’s schedule: Samford in Week 3. The Bears will take on 11 teams from major conferences this year, including Auburn and SMU outside of league play. They also host all three of the Big 12 favorites in Waco, meaning the Bears are going to have a major say in who wins the conference. Dave Aranda guided the Bears to 12 wins and a league championship in 2021 so he’s proven that he can get this program to the next level. Quarterback Sawyer Robertson has his top running back and top two receivers back. And if the defensive-minded Aranda can square away his stop unit (the Bears were No. 79 in scoring defense and No. 87 in total defense) then Baylor will be a team to reckon with.

The Overvalued Team: Texas Tech (+600)

Texas Tech wasn’t bashful about what the goal was this offseason. Their NIL collective cranked out the cash to stock the roster with experienced players on both sides of the ball. The Red Raiders welcomed a 21-person transfer class that ranked in the top five in the country. They also added new coordinators and several new position coaches, as well as opening a new football center. This program is trying to make a splash. We still don’t know how the players will gel or if Joey McGuire is the guy to get this group over the hump. Tech has seven losses as a favorite over the past two seasons and they still have to prove that they deserve their preseason Top 25 ranking.

The Undervalued Team: Cincinnati (+3000)

Last October the Bearcats were 5-2 with a win over Arizona State and two losses by a combined four points. The wheels came off after that with five straight defeats. However, I think that Scott Satterfield is a good coach whose team is going to be a sneaky underdog. Quarterback Brandon Sorsby can play. And the defense should improve after picking up some experienced reinforcements this offseason. The Bearcats have a more favorable schedule, their yards per point is in a positive regression range, and this is a team that I can see springing an upset or two throughout the fall and winter.

The Rest:

TCU (+850): Be careful. Sonny Dykes has proven that he is more than capable of sneaking up on everyone and erupting for an out-of-nowhere 10-win season. Dykes has a sneaky-good team heading into 2025, starting with proven quarterback Josh Hoover. TCU has eight returning starters on defense and five of his top seven tacklers back in the fold. If TCU can improve on that side of the ball, while maintaining its Top 25 offense, then they will have a shot at doing some serious Big 12 damage.

Iowa State (+1100): Matt Campbell has been so good at Iowa State, winning 56 percent of his games (99-66) over 14 years, that it is easy to forget just how moribund this program was before he came along. Quarterback Rocco Becht led the Cyclones on four game-winning drives last year and has savvy and experience. The Cyclones need to find a way to run the ball, though, and their No. 1 pass defense in 2024 was counterbalanced by the nation’s No. 109 rushing defense. This team returns a lot of production on both sides of the ball but are still probably too physically limited to win a league title.

Kansas (+1800): Despite his injury issues, I am still a big fan of quarterback Jalon Daniels. The Jayhawks seemed poised for a breakthrough heading into last season but couldn’t overcome a punishing schedule and a slew of closes losses. Lance Leipold has been Kansas’s best coach since Mark Mangino and the Jayhawks will christen their new stadium this season. Kansas doesn’t have the same level of talent or experience that they enjoyed the past two years, though, and I think lack of depth is going to hold this team back.

BYU (+2000): The Cougars are coming off a great 2024. They won their first nine games (covering seven) and played their way into the Top 10 before two close late-season losses cost them a shot at the conference title (and the playoffs). BYU lost quarterback Jake Retzlaff to an off-field controversy this summer and I don’t know if they are going to be able to replace his intangibles. I can see the Cougars getting off to a fast start before having an even bigger late season stumble this time around.

Colorado (+2800): Prime Time will have to rebuild after losing Shadeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, among others, from last year’s 9-4 squad. I expect Colorado to be more of a grinding team this year since they lost a lot of explosiveness at the skill positions. The Buffs were No. 133 in the country in rushing offense last year and before they land on a quarterback to replace Sanders they need to find a running game. We will see if the new Buffs can overcome a challenging schedule.

Houston (+3500): Willie Fritz took his lumps in his first year in Houston. Fritz welcomes back 16 returning starters and over 80 percent of his offensive production and could make a meaningful jump in Year 2. Fritz has been a miracle worker and a winner everywhere he has coached, including FCS titles at Sam Houston State, a Sun Belt title at Georgia Southern, and a Top 10 ranking at Tulane. It’s only a matter of time before the W’s start rolling in for the Cougars.

West Virginia (+4000): Rich Rodriguez is another coach that is going home again. He went 60-26 in his first stint with the Mountaineers and Rodriguez is being hailed as a prodigal son. The roster has been almost completely turned over in Morgantown and it will take Rich Rod a minute or two to get things going. Don’t be surprised to see this group spring an upset or two and a bowl game would be a significant accomplishment.

Arizona (+4500): Arizona won 10 games just two seasons ago. They also won just one game four seasons ago. This year’s team has a similarly wide range of possible outcomes. Quarterback Noah Fifita can play. He doesn’t have Tet McMillan to bail the offense out anymore, though, and the Wildcats saw their points per game drop from 34.6 in 2023 to 21.8 in 2024. Arizona opens the year with five of its six games at home. A fast start is crucial for second-year coach Brent Brennan after last season’s flop.

Central Florida (+5500): Scott Frost’s Nebraska misadventure is in the rear-view mirror. Frost landed back in Orlando where he made his bones (and won a national championship). Frost has 70 new players on the roster – not an exaggeration – and is trying to completely retrofit this program. UCF has a three-person quarterback battle going on that may not be resolved until the end of September. Frost has proven that he can win at The Bounce House but this group looks to be a long way from competing.

Oklahoma State (+5500): I am willing to give Mike Gundy the benefit of the doubt. Last season’s 3-9 mark was the worst in Gundy’s 20-year coaching career. In fact, Gundy has only had two losing seasons his entire career: his rookie season in 2005 and last year. Gundy cleaned house, bringing in 43 new scholarship players, and that’s led to a ton of uncertainty around this program. I don’t think the guy just forgot how to coach. The quarterback position needs to be solidified. If it is, an easier schedule should have the Cowboys back bowling.

Robert Ferringo has posted seven of 10 winning football seasons, including last year thanks to an astounding +10,830 three-month run. Robert banked nearly +40,000 in profit between 2010-2019 for a 10-year average profit of nearly +4,000. He has earned 11 of 16 overall winning years and 69 of 114 winning months while also going 23-9 with his football futures rated 5.0+ and earning 16 of 19 winning Super Bowls. He is a member of the Football Writers Association of America and he is set for another amazing football season. SIGN UP HERE TODAY AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR 3-FOR-1 FOOTBALL SPECIALS!

Get college football picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bet premium picks by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.

 

Most Recent College Football Handicapping

One E-mail A Week Is All You Need!
Our weekly newsletter is loaded with exclusive free picks,insight and advice from our expert handicappers