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The Big 12 hit its next evolution in 2024 as former Pac-12 schools Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah joined the fray. With the additions, the league moved to 16 teams for the first time in conference history, creating a wildly competitive race.
Early on, it became clear that almost nothing was going to plan. Preseason favorites Utah and Oklahoma State dropped to the bottom of the conference. Arizona State, predicted to finish last, shocked the conference and rose to the top. The season ended with two teams picked in the middle experiencing coaching changes, only emphasizing the unpredictable season.
With all the unexpected turns, five teams were able to break into the “A” range, four of which were picked in the bottom half of the Big 12 poll. Conversely, four teams earned “Ds”, while one program got an “F” — and, boy, did it earn the grade.
Here’s how we grade each Big 12 team in 2024 based on their expectations, successes and failures.
Arizona
Expectations were high for the Wildcats after a 10-win season, even after a coaching change when Jedd Fisch was replaced by Brent Brennan. Unfortunately, things fell far below expectations. Arizona went only 4-8 and 2-7 in conference play, including losses in three of the last games by an average of 35.7 points per game. A 49-7 loss against rival Arizona State was the ultimate disrespect. Now, Brennan will have to move forward without receiver Tetairoa McMillan, among other NFL talents. Arizona really needed to have success this season. Grade: D
Arizona State
This is the easiest grade of the season. Arizona State was picked last place in the preseason Big 12 poll after a 3-9 season, but coach Kenny Dillingham is now the favorite for national Coach of the Year honors after leading the Sun Devils to 11 wins and an outright conference title for the first time since 1996. ASU got a boost from quarterback transfer Sam Leavitt (Michigan State), but running back Cam Skattebo will be remembered forever for his efforts in Tempe. Grade: A+
Bears coach Dave Aranda was on one of the hottest seats in college football heading into the season and appeared dead to rights after losing to Colorado in overtime. Instead, he adjusted on the fly and somehow fixed everything. The Bears ended the season as perhaps the hottest team in the Big 12 and on a six-game winning streak. The stretch included victories over eight-win TCU and Texas Tech, along with a 45-17 decimation of Kansas. Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital and quarterback Sawyer Robertson are locked in, which should make Baylor a popular Big 12 title pick in 2025. Grade: A
BYU was picked among the worst teams in the conference before the season, but ended up with a 10-win season, the third in five years for coach Kalani Sitake. The Cougars crushed Kansas State and shocked playoff-bound SMU before falling only feet short against Arizona State. This team won’t be remembered as much as it deserves nationally because of the slow finish, but hopefully Cougars fans appreciated the ride. Grade: A-
The Knights were a popular dark-horse pick to win the Big 12 in the preseason, but nothing quite went to plan. Quarterback KJ Jefferson got benched, setting off a bizarre string of four different players taking snaps for a team that ultimately finished 4-8 and saw coach Gus Malzahn bolt for the offensive coordinator job at Florida State. Despite a random offensive explosion in a 56-12 win over Arizona, the Knights lost eight of their last nine games and were completely uncompetitive in the conference. Grade: D
There’s good and bad to come from Cincinnati’s 2024 season. Quarterback Brendan Sorsby emerged as a serious playmaker and four losses came by one score, including a one-point shocking loss to Pittsburgh in Week 2. From an SP+ perspective, the Bearcats improved ratings wise by nearly a touchdown over last season, including from 30 to 24.6 points per game allowed. However, the Bearcats got worse as the season went along and seem stuck in mediocrity. Grade: C+
Colorado
The Buffaloes came into the season with an over/under set at 5.5 wins. Not only did Colorado make its first non-pandemic bowl since 2016, the program was playing for a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game in the final week of the season. The Buffs ultimately fell short due to a tiebreaker, but making it to the final stage was an incredible accomplishment for coach Deion Sanders. Star athlete Travis Hunter also had the kind of perfect storm season he needed to give himself a chance to win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday. And by the way, Colorado signing quarterback recruit Julian Lewis gives the program a second life after Shedeur Sanders leaves. This level of success was almost unthinkable heading into the year. Grade: A+
First-year coach Willie Fritz faced what appeared to be the most dire roster situation in the big 12 entering the season, but he always seems to find a way. The Cougars took Oklahoma to the wire in the nonconference portion of the schedule and pulled off a solid 3-6 Big 12 slate with wins over talented Kansas State and TCU teams. The offense was a mess, but that’s an aspect you trust Fritz will figure out long term, especially with promising quarterback Zeon Chriss back on campus. Grade: B-
Heading into the season, Iowa State had not won 10 games in the more- than-120-year history of the program. Under Matt Campbell, the Cyclones finally broke that barrier in 2024 after outlasting Kansas State to earn a trip to the Big 12 Championship Game. Iowa State fell far short on the big stage, losing 45-19 against Arizona State, but the season should still leave plenty to remember. Iowa State also now has a fun matchup in the Pop Tarts Bowl against Miami to send it off on a high note. Grade: A
Kansas
Programs like Kansas make me glad I’m not a teacher; how on earth do you grade this team? The Jayhawks wildly underperformed compared to its preseason expectations, missing a bowl game at 5-7 despite returning most of the roster. By Week 14, though, Kansas was arguably playing like a top-three team in the Big 12 with upsets over BYU, Colorado and Iowa State. Had KU beaten Baylor in the finale to make a bowl game, this could be seen as a successful year. Now, it can not. Grade: C
Kansas State
It’s a tremendous compliment to Kansas State that an 8-4 season is seen as a disappointment. That’s what it was, though, as the Wildcats lost three of their last four games to ruin a potential Big 12 and CFP case. A 24-19 road loss to Houston still remains inexplicable, but the Wildcats had to live with inconsistency from first-year quarterback Avery Johnson. Luckily, the program should only benefit from his experience heading forward, especially after signing five-star tight end Linkon Cure. Grade: C
Oklahoma State
It’s almost impossible to quantify how bad the 2024 season was in Stillwater. The Cowboys went from a preseason Big 12 favorite and 10 wins in 2023 to their first winless conference slate since going 0-6-1 in 1994 as members of the Big 8. The defense was arguably the worst unit in the entire nation. After the season, coach Mike Gundy was nearly forced out. It was an astonishing year for the program that will live in infamy. Grade: F
TCU
The 2024 season was a perfect storm of strong achievement and weird vibes. The Horned Frogs went 8-4, a nice bounce back after missing a bowl in 2023. At the same time, they lost by 24 points against rival SMU and lost to Baylor for the first time since 2019, while also losing to terrible UCF and Houston teams along the way. The development of quarterback Josh Hoover at least papers over some holes, but the Frogs need to come out stronger in the rivalry games in 2025. Grade: B-
Texas Tech
After a slow start to the season, including a three-touchdown loss against Washington State, Texas Tech recovered in a nice way. The Red Raiders were the only team to beat both Big 12 title game participants (Iowa State and Arizona State) and ended the year with back-to-back wins over Oklahoma State and West Virginia. The 6-3 conference record was the best since 2008 and running back Tahj Brooks proved himself as one of the best in Red Raider history. Grade: B+
Utah
The Utes were considered the overwhelming favorite to win the Big 12 after capturing two of the final three Pac-12 crowns. Instead, Utah was one of the worst teams in the league after quarterback Cameron Rising went out in Week 2. Utah was thrust into starting true freshman Isaac Wilson as the offense ranked only ahead of Houston in key metrics. The only thing that saves this from being a full-on F is the fact that it was driven by an injury. Next year, though, quarterback injuries won’t be accepted as an excuse. Grade: D-
West Virginia
The Mountaineers finally seemed to have their breakthrough in 2023 after winning nine games and had real expectations of contending for the Big 12 this season. Instead, West Virginia again was irrelevant. WVU lost its final 10 games of the Neal Brown era against ranked opponents and closed the year with a 52-15 disaster against Texas Tech that effectively cost Brown his job. Despite returning plenty of production, nearly every aspect of the team inexplicably got worse. Grade: D+
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