The Big 12 didn’t exactly get blindsided when the preseason AP Poll landed Monday. Texas Tech, BYU, Utah and Houston all showed up in the range plenty of people expected, while Arizona and TCU were left just outside the Top 25 at No. 30 and No. 31.
Texas Tech led the league at No. 12, followed by BYU at No. 14, Utah at No. 21 and Houston at No.
- For a conference that spent the offseason trying to sort out its pecking order, that’s a pretty clean first read.
Texas Tech’s spot stands out the most. The pollsters clearly still believe in the Red Raiders, even after the quarterback situation changed.
The source of that confidence was obvious: with Brendan Sorsby, Tech probably would have landed in the Top 10. Instead, with Sorsby out and Will Hammond coming off an injury, the Red Raiders settled at No.
- That still says a lot.
Not many teams can lose their starting quarterback and only slide a couple of spots in the preseason rankings.
And yes, the preseason poll is already setting itself up to be wrong about the Big 12 again.
That’s not exactly a daring call. Last year’s preseason AP Poll buried several teams that ended up finishing unranked, including three Big 12 programs: Arizona State at No.
11, Kansas State at No. 17 and Iowa State at No. 22.
The league’s preseason picture was shaky then, and the final picture barely resembled it. Texas Tech was the only Big 12 team in the 2025 preseason poll to finish the season ranked.
BYU, Utah and Baylor were the first three teams left out.
The same kind of shuffle feels likely this time, too. Some Big 12 teams sitting in the poll now won’t be there in December, and at least a couple of teams nobody is talking about yet will end up inside the Top 25.
The bigger national trend also looks familiar. The SEC placed nine teams in the preseason Top 25, the Big Ten had eight, the Big 12 had four, the ACC had three and Notre Dame represented the independents.
On paper, that’s a lot of power concentrated in the SEC and Big Ten. But the final rankings don’t always follow the preseason script.
Just look at 2025. The preseason poll had the SEC with 10 teams, the Big Ten with six, the Big 12 with four and the ACC with three.
By season’s end, the SEC had seven teams in the Top 25, the Big Ten had six, the Big 12 had five and the ACC had two. The Big 12 was the only conference that finished with more ranked teams than it had in the preseason.
How about that?
Associated Press preseason Top 25: 1.
Ohio State 2.
Oregon 3.
Georgia 4.
Notre Dame 5.
Texas 6.
Indiana 7.
Miami 8.
Texas A&M 9.
Ole Miss 10.
Oklahoma 11.
LSU 12.
Texas Tech 13.
Alabama 14.
BYU 14.
Southern Cal 16.
Michigan 17.
Washington 18.
Penn State 19.
SMU 20.
Tennessee 21.
Utah 22.
Iowa 23.
Houston 24.
Louisville 25.
Missouri
In Other News...
Joey McGuire Just Gave Texas Tech A New Edge For 2026
Joey McGuire used a recent podcast appearance to push back on the criticism that followed the Brendan Sorsby gambling controversy, and he didnt sound like a coach eager to move on quietly. Texas Techs head coach suggested that some of the loudest voices, especially in coaching and college sports administration, ought to think twice before piling on, since similar situations could eventually land in their own orbit.
For the Red Raiders, the bigger takeaway may be the tone McGuire has set heading toward the 2026 season. His comments framed the backlash as something his team can carry with it, turning outside noise into a source of motivation as Texas Tech keeps building for what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Is Emerging As The Big 12 Team Nobody Wants To Ignore
Texas Tech keeps popping up in the preseason conversation for the kind of reasons that matter in August: a roster that looks deeper, a program that has built real momentum, and a sense that the Red Raiders are no longer just another Big 12 team trying to hang around. In a field where Miami and Louisville also got nods as underrated national names, Texas Tech stands out because the buzz is tied to more than one splashy offseason talking point. It is about a group that has put itself in position to matter when the conference race starts to settle.
That is what makes the Red Raiders so interesting as the season approaches. The preseason rankings only tell part of the story, but Texas Tech is being framed as the kind of team that can move from overlooked to unavoidable if the early returns match the promise. The next question is whether that momentum can turn into the sort of run that puts the Big 12 title picture, and maybe even the College Football Playoff conversation, within reach. [Read more 🡒]