Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman on quarterback Avery Johnson
Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman talks about quarterback Avery Johnson’s growth during the offseason at Big 12 Media Days in Frisco, Texas.
Big 12 Conference
- The USA TODAY Sports Network ranked the Big 12 football teams for the 2025 preseason.
- Kansas State is ranked first after their 9-4 season and Rate Bowl victory.
- Texas Tech is second due to a strong transfer portal performance.
The Big 12 Conference decided against releasing preseason football rankings for the 2025 season, but that didn’t stop the USA TODAY Sports Network from making its own.
Sports writers who cover the Big 12 throughout the Network voted on the predicted order of finish for all 16 teams.
Kansas State was voted the top team heading into the 2025 season. The Wildcats finished 9-4 last year and won the Rate Bowl in a 44-41 shootout against Rutgers.
Texas Tech enters at No. 2. The Red Raiders revamped their roster after an 8-5 season and made big moves in the transfer portal, securing the top-ranked transfer class in the nation according to On3.com. Defending Big 12 champion Arizona State, which returns 17 starters, is No. 3 in the USA TODAY Sports Network’s preseason Big 12 rankings.
USA TODAY Sports Network Big 12 preseason poll
- Kansas State
- Texas Tech
- Arizona State
- Iowa State
- Baylor
- TCU
- Utah
- BYU
- Kansas
- Colorado
- Cincinnati
- Oklahoma State
- Arizona
- Houston
- UCF
- West Virginia
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EraPay5.
This story was updated to add a gallery.
