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26 for 2026: 26 Key Questions for the Big 12 Football Season
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- 26 for 2026: 26 Key Questions for the Big 12 Football Season
The Big 12 didn't receive enough attention last season, but that shouldn't be a problem this year.
Texas Tech will be a powerhouse, Arizona, BYU, and Utah are dangerous, Houston is loaded, and schools that struggled last year - Oklahoma State, Kansas State, West Virginia, and UCF, to name a few - are about to be a problem for the rest of the conference.
Here are the 26 biggest questions and storylines going into the Big 12 season, as the next part of CFN's 26 for 2026 series.
Nov 15, 2025; Lubbock, Texas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders wide receiver Coy Eakin (3), offensive lineman Haward Sampson (79) celebrate with running back Cameron Dickey (8) after a touchdown against the Central Florida Knights at Jones AT&T Stadium. © Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images
26 Key Questions Shaping the 2026 Big 12 Football Season
CFN 26 for 2026
26: Winningest Programs Yet To Make the CFP
25: ACC Key Questions
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26 How good is the Big 12 in 2026?
There's a solid chance that it's significantly stronger, mainly because the bottom will be better.
Ten of the 16 teams were bowl eligible last year, but two programs that were supposed to be players - Oklahoma State and Colorado - were miserable, and overall, there wasn't nearly enough respect for the league as a whole. (This plays a big role in the BYU section, coming in a moment.)
There was only one head coaching change - Oklahoma State - because of losing. The other 15 programs, including Utah and Kansas State, either have coaching stability or appear to have the potential to expand on what already works.
25 What's one early off-the-wall Big 12 prediction?
The expansion talk will start to heat up at some point.
The Big 12 has a solid base, and there isn't any talk of members moving out - even though the Big Ten would be insane not to figure out how to steal Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, and/or Utah - but there are a few strategic moves the conference can make.
Las Vegas has become a new epicenter of sports. If it seems strange that UNLV didn't move to the Pac-12, that's partly because it's a solid fit if the Big 12 tries to expand.
The other school to keep an eye on is San Diego State. Get a footprint in California, easy potential rivals with Arizona and ASU, basketball is a monster, and the school is quickly becoming a power overall.
Think of it this way. Do these moves, and the Big 12 could have vacation destination schools in Vegas, San Diego, Phoenix, Tempe, and Orlando, to go along with the skiing in Boulder and Salt Lake City.
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24 Can Arizona carry over the momentum?
The Wildcats got their groove back with a strong nine-win season under Brent Brennan. There's a great base of players still around, quarterback Noah Fifita is terrific, and there's depth.
So what's the problem? At BYU, at Texas Tech, at Kansas State, and the Cats don't miss Utah or - of course, because of the rivalry aspect - Arizona State.
- 2026 Arizona Schedule Analysis
23 Will Arizona State be back among the Big 12 elite?
Yes, but the offensive playmakers have to emerge.
The Sun Devils got by with quarterback Sam Leavitt (now at LSU) injured and Cam Skattebo
off to the Giants, but in the regular season, they were 8-0 when scoring more than 20 points, 0-4 when scoring that many or fewer.
Like Arizona, though, there's a problem - at BYU, at Texas Tech.
- 2026 Arizona State Schedule Analysis
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22 How will the new guys work at Baylor?
A big disappointment last year, Baylor should be stronger than 5-7 this time around if the portal parts come up large.
Florida transfer DJ Lagway should put up massive numbers in the Bears' offensive system, but the defense has to be far better in a hurry with Auburn to kick things off.
- 2026 Baylor Schedule Analysis
21 Can Deion Sanders recapture the Colorado magic?
Ehhhhhhh, a little bit, but it'll take a switch to flip on the lines.
The Colorado rise to its spot as the biggest thing in college sports came off a few fun games with heart-stopping finishes, a still
underrated career from Shedeur Sanders
- 2 pulled a whole slew of games out of the fire - and, of course, Coach Prime.
There's still an infrastructure problem. The run defense was the second-worst in the nation, and there wasn't any pass protection or run blocking consistency.
- 2026 Colorado Schedule Analysis
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20 Which Cincinnati team is for real?
The Bearcats started last season 7-1 - and should've beaten Nebraska - and closed 0-5. Why? All of the games against the nasty teams came af the end.
It'll be another good season, even with quarterback Brendan Sorsby
now at Texas Tech, and there are a few too many moving parts in personnel and the coaching staff, but it might be more of the same. The easier games are early on, and the second half of the slate is brutal
.
- 2026 Cincinnati Schedule Analysis
19 Does Houston have enough in place to be a true Big 12 Contender?
Winning ten games last season was a massive moment after two 4-8 seasons as a Big 12 program. This year's team should be even better.
There's plenty of talent back around quarterback Conner Weigman
, there are a few upgrades thanks to the portal, and the defense should be a problem for the rest of the league.
Best of all? No Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, or TCU, and the road game at Texas Tech is out of the way fast.
- 2026 Houston Schedule Analysis
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18 How bad will this get for Iowa State?
It's a total do-over under new head coach Jimmy Rogers.
That doesn't mean Iowa State will go in the tank, and plenty of transfers from Washington State to play for Rogers will help, but in a good Big 12 from top to bottom, this won't be an easy year.
On the plus side, there's no Arizona State, Houston, or Texas Tech to face.
- 2026 Iowa State Schedule Analysis
17 Can Kansas get its momentum back?
The 2025 Jayhawks couldn't get anything going. The offense wasn't consistent, the defense went bye-bye, and it was a strange 5-7 season despite the excitement of a refurbished stadium.
Lance Leipold is still a whale of a coach, but to win, it's all about the points. Kansas went 5-0 when scoring more than 21 points, and 0-7 when scoring that many or fewer.
- 2026 Kansas Schedule Analysis
Nov 22, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson (2) warms up before the game against the Utah Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium.© Rob Gray-Imagn Images
16 Is Collin Klein ready to make Kansas State a powerhouse?
Boom. More on this in a moment, but get in early on the Kansas State stock for this season.
It flew a bit under the national radar, but Klein is one of those should-be perfect fit coaches - still smarting from believing Scott Frost to Nebraska would rock - who can take what Kansas State does to another level.
The new guy doesn't have to do a lot. Kansas State was good, but the defense has to be stronger, and the offense has to be even more grinding.
- 2026 Kansas State Schedule Analysis
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15 How fast will Oklahoma State get going under Eric Morris?
This will flip on like a light switch.
In comes Eric Morris from North Texas, quarterback Drew Mestemaker, and seemingly all the stars from the nation's No. 1 offense, know what they're doing. The 130th-ranked Oklahoma State offense is about to go from no to go.
There won't be a Big 12 Championship run or anything, but this will be the team no one wants to deal with.
- 2026 Oklahoma State Schedule Analysis
14 Does TCU have the parts to improve the offense?
TCU won nine games, but it got lost in the Big 12 shuffle as last year went on. It's not exactly slow and steady wins the race, but it's close.
Now there's a big change in styles, looking to control games and win by scoring 30 points rather than 40. The points will be there, but it might not be as flashy.
The offense will be fine - Harvard transfer quarterback Jaden Craig will be solid with Josh Hoover leaving for Indiana. The defense will end up being the bigger fall camp focus.
- 2026 TCU Schedule Analysis
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13 Is it even possible for Scott Frost to rock again at UCF?
The 13-0 2017 season is what everyone remembers, but that season was magical for a variety of everything-clicked reasons. That's far easier to recreate in the American Conference than the Big 12.
The offense didn't go anywhere last season, scoring more than 21 points just twice in Big 12 play.
The quarterback situation is better, with Alonza Barrnett coming in from James Madison and Keyone Jenkins from FIU. And then there's the underplayed upside - the defense should be great.
- 2026 UCF Schedule Analysis
12 What is Morgan Scalley changing at Utah?
The personnel. Lots of new coaches, plenty of new players, and it's all with the energy of having a head coach in place who seems ready to settle in. Scalley is making the program his, with legend Kyle Whittingham now at Michigan.
The style won't change too much - there will be more tweaking than overhauling - all helped by the return of quarterback Devon Dampier. It's Utah; the big people up front are still going to blast away.
- 2026 Utah Schedule Analysis
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11 Will the Rich Rodriguez offense work now at West Virginia?
Yup.
Last year's attack wasn't bad, but it wasn't consistent. Rodriguez did what he could to get his style and system working - it was just 96th in the nation in yards - and now he upgraded with Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins and Jacksonville State running back Cam Cook about to be statistical superstars.
The defense will still be iffy, but this bunch will put points on the board.
- 2026 West Virginia Schedule Analysis
10 Does BYU have enough to push past Texas Tech?
BYU was totally ignored last season - it should've been in the College Football Playoff over Alabama, Or
, the exact same logic that put the Tide in should've been applied to the Cougars, and both should've been in over Miami and Notre Dame.
The Big 12 didn't receive enough respect. It shouldn't have been about BYU pushing past Texas Tech. It should've been that an 11-2 team that beat Utah, Arizona, and walloped TCU did enough to earn the Big 12 a second spot in the CFP.
This year's Cougar team should be a monster with a loaded defense, another hard-nosed offense around quarterback Bear Bachmeier, and this regular season ... no Texas Tech.
- 2026 BYU Schedule Analysis
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9 How does Texas Tech go from great to a true CFP contender?
Texas Tech did everything right in the modern age of college sports. It had a good nucleus, a strong infrastructure, and then it added a whole slew of fantastic transfers to take it all to another level.
And then it got rocked by Oregon 23-0 in the College Football Playoff.
It upgraded at quarterback by getting Brendan Sorsby off of Cincinnati, did a decent job of replacing the amazing pass rushers with stars like San Diego State's Trey White, and overall, it's talented enough to not just get back to the CFP, but do some damage.
- 2026 Texas Tech Schedule Analysis
8 Which Big 12 team will look better than it really is because of the schedule?
Texas Tech.This is sort of a tough one, because the Red Raiders really will be good enough to win the Big 12 again and get into the College Football Playoff, and we still won't know if they're really that
good.
The non-conference schedule - Abilene Christian, Sam Houston, and Oregon State - is creamy and puffy, and there's no BYU, Kansas State, or Utah on the Big 12 slate. Arizona and Houston have to come to Lubbock.
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7 Which Big 12 team will look worse than it really is because of the schedule?
Oklahoma State.The team will be way better, and the offense should be good enough to pull off a few upsets, but it'll be tough to make a big push with Oregon on the non-conference slate, and Big 12 road trips to Kansas State, Houston, Arizona State, West Virginia, and Iowa State.
6 Who is the best new Big 12 head coaching hire?
Collin Klein, Kansas State.Morgan Scalley was already in the Utah mix, Jimmy Rogers should work out fine in time at Iowa State, and Eric Morris was the instafun hire, but Klein is in the exact right spot at the right time.
His Wildcats won't be as flashy as Morris's Cowboys, but they'll be rock-solid great for the next several years.
Oct 11, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders before the game against the Iowa State Cyclones at Folsom Field. © Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
5 Which Big 12 coach is on the hottest seat?
Deion Sanders, Colorado.Dave Aranda had better win big at Baylor, and Cincinnati's Scott Satterfield and Lance Leipold at Kansas could use a nice season, but Colorado is 12-21 after the 3-0 start in 2023 that launched the phenomenon.
Sanders has done so much for the program and the school that all he needs to do is have a decent season. But if the brutal trend from last year continues - the Buffs lost their last five games by an average score of 40 to 15 - there will be some tough discussions.
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4 Which Big 12 team should be this year's surprise?
West Virginiawill be dangerous enough to make a push for a big season.
It might not have the overall chops to compete for the Big 12 title, but the offense should be a blast, the non-conference schedule isn't awful, and asking for the second winning season in five years isn't a stretch.
3 Will the Big 12 get two teams into the College Football Playoff?
Yes, but there's one problem.Texas Tech should be in, even if it doesn't win the Big 12, and it probably will.
Watch out for Kansas State. The schedule is favorable enough to shoot for ten wins. Utah will be a disappointment if it isn't knocking on the CFP at-large door, and BYU will be in the spotlight all year long.
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2 What are we missing when it comes to the upcoming Big 12 season?
This is easy ... the Big 12 itself.The Big Ten and SEC have sucked up so much of the oxygen in the college football room that there's not enough for everyone else. How do we know this?
Again, Alabama got into the College Football Playoff, and BYU didn't, and why? Coverage, exposure, branding, and that one big moment - everyone saw Bama beat Georgia, and BYU's big moment was beating Utah. That was buried among a loaded day of SEC games and Notre Dame's win over USC.
The Big 12 should be a blast with more offense, more strength, and more fun from top to bottom, even if Texas Tech runs away and hides with the Big 12 title.
No pressure, but it would be a really, really, really big national deal if Arizona State could pull off a win at Texas A&M, BYU could take down Notre Dame, and if Baylor could shock Auburn.
1 Who are the three best teams in the Big 12?
- Texas Tech.Better offense than last year, slightly lesser defense, and a schedule that screams 11-1, at worst.
- BYU.In a Big 12 season loaded with great offense, the Cougar defense should stand out.
- Arizona.Flip a coin between the Wildcats, Utah, and Kansas State for this spot. Arizona has the parts to come up with a great season if the lines can do a little bit more.
CFN 26 for 2026
26: Winningest Programs Yet To Make the CFP
25: ACC Key Questions
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Related: 26 for 2026: 26 Key Questions for the ACC Football Season
This story was originally published by College Football News on Apr 9, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
