The Big 12 is back on the board, and the message from KSL Sports’ college crew is pretty clear: Texas Tech sits at the top of the league heading into Week 1.
With the conference now in its third year as a 16-team group, the Red Raiders are the unanimous No. 1 in the composite ranking from Steve Bartle, Josh Furlong, Mitch Harper and Sean Walker. It’s a strong early vote for Texas Tech as the team to beat, and the staff sees the Red Raiders as the first program in the league’s new era with a real shot to repeat as champion.
BYU checks in at No. 2, followed by Utah at No. 3. Houston lands at No. 4, while Arizona rounds out the top five.
The biggest move in the composite comes from UCF, which jumps three spots to No. 11 from its summer placement at No. 14. Arizona slips two spots from No. 3 to No. 5, and several other teams shuffle only slightly as the season begins.
Here’s the full composite order heading into Week 1: Texas Tech, BYU, Utah, Houston, Arizona, Arizona State, Kansas State, TCU, Oklahoma State, Baylor, UCF, Kansas, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Colorado and Iowa State.
Utah opens the season at home against Idaho on Thursday at 7 p.m. MT on ESPNU, while BYU is not listed with a game in the composite.
Houston hosts Oregon State on Saturday at 10 a.m. MT on ESPN, and Arizona welcomes Northern Arizona on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
MT on ESPN+.
Arizona State plays Morgan State on Saturday at 8 p.m. MT on ESPN+, Kansas State hosts Nicholls on Saturday at 5 p.m. MT on ESPN+, and TCU is on a bye after opening with a 15-10 loss to North Carolina in Ireland.
Oklahoma State travels to Tulsa on Saturday at 1:45 p.m. MT on ESPNU, Baylor meets Auburn in Atlanta on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
MT on ABC, and UCF hosts Bethune-Cookman on Thursday at 5 p.m. MT on ESPN+.
Kansas takes on LIU on Friday at 6 p.m. MT on ESPNU, Cincinnati hosts Boston College on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
MT on FOX, West Virginia faces Coastal Carolina on Saturday at 10 a.m. MT on TNT, Colorado plays at Georgia Tech on Thursday at 6 p.m.
MT on ESPN, and Iowa State opens against Southeast Missouri State on Saturday at 11 a.m. MT on ESPN+.
The individual ballots show a bit of variety behind the top spot, but not much disagreement at the top. Bartle, Furlong, Harper and Walker all had Texas Tech first and BYU second. Utah and Houston filled out the next two spots on each ballot, while Arizona, Arizona State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU and the rest shuffled in different order beneath them.
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