The 2024 college football season is right around the corner and it’s a time when die hard fans and casual fans come together and start perusing the college football landscape. The diehards have been “all in” for months, while the casual fans are just getting started with their magazine previews.
But here in the Big 12, it’s anybody’s guess who is going to win this league. It will be the craziest conference in the Power 4. So for the casual fans who might be stopping by, I decided to rank the Big 12 teams in order based on who is easiest to root for to who is hardest to root for.
1. West Virginia Mountaineers
If you love hard-nosed football with a program who has a major chip on its shoulder right now, West Virginia is your team. Heck, Neal Brown is calling out ESPN reporters and then talking about it on ESPN. WVU is coming off a 9-win season and is getting zero respect. This team is going to be on fire Week 1 vs. Penn State and the make up of this team and program will be so easy to root for.
2. Texas Tech Red Raiders
You’ve got a team led by a fan favorite in Joey McGuire, the old Texas high school ball coach who has risen the ranks to leading one of the biggest programs in his home state. He’s put together two solid campaigns and is now hoping to pop in 2024. McGuire might drive you nuts with by going for it on 4th down from his own 45-yard line once in a while, but you’ll be on the edge of your seat with this team, that is incredibly likable as well.
3. Iowa State Cyclones
Matt Campbell has now rebuilt this team from the Brock Purdy-Breece Hall era and is ready to fly under the radar (to some) and try and compete for a Big 12 Championship. It’s all about that 5-star culture in Ames and if you’re looking to combine that with watching a program build guys the old-fashioned way, look no further than Ames, Iowa.
4. Kansas Jayhawks
Here’s a program that was the worst of any power conference team for a decade. And in three and a half years Lance Leipold has turned it around to a Big 12 contender, which means this team could be in the College Football Playoff. What’s not to like? Plus, they’ll be playing some home games in Arrowhead Stadium this year. That’s easy to root for.
5. Kansas State Wildcats
There’s not much to dislike about Kansas State. They build programs the old-fashioned way, like Iowa State, by finding underrecruited players and helping them develop into championship contenders. Plus, the storyline of childhood friends Avery Johnson and Dylan Edwards coming together for some magic is going to be a great storyline to follow.
6. Houston Cougars
Dana Holgorsen was not easy to root for, or like. Willie Fritz is. He reminds me of Lance Leipold, since he’s getting his biggest break late in his career after winning everywhere he’s been. What’s not to like and root for here?
7. Arizona Wildcats
With Arizona, you’ll get the star power at quarterback and wide receiver, and a group of guys who hung together despite their head coach, Jedd Fisch, leaving them for the Washington Huskies. They could have followed their coach or just jumped ship, but they didn’t. That’s admirable in today’s college football. So rooting for the core of this team with the new head coach is a great storyline and likable.
8. Cincinnati Bearcats
If you’re looking for a program that has reached the mountain top (College Football Playoff), but has fallen off a cliff since, then the Cincinnati Bearcats are your team. It’s not obvious that Scott Satterfield is the guy to turn this thing around, but he’s likable enough to find yourself pulling for him, and this program, to turn things around and get back to Luke Fickell success, if possible.
9. Arizona State Sundevils
Arizona State finds itself here because they’re not really likable, but I wouldn’t call them unlikable either. What they have going for them is that this is a program that should be in a much better place than it is (Thanks, Herm). So if you want to see a young coach work on a rebuild, and get in the weeds of finding little wins, many that won’t show up in the box score, this is your team.
10. TCU Horned Frogs
TCU is two seasons removed from making the National Championship. They missed a bowl game last season. Sonny Dykes is one who likes to speak his mind, which we appreciate in the Big 12, but may rub some the wrong way. However, the storyline of seeing how Year 3 develops is worth following and could make this team one of those bounce-back stories that’s fun to watch.
11. Oklahoma State Cowboys
Mike Gundy. I love him. As do many. But some just don’t. The more controversial the coach, the further down the list you’re likely to go. Add in the Ollie Gordon offseason drama with the DUI, Gundy’s Big 12 media days comments, and the fact that OSU is now arguably the team to beat in the league without a true “blue blood” and the Pokes may begin taking on some of that “unlikable” factor.
12. UCF Knights
When you’re led by a former big-time SEC coach and you’re cleaning up on the recruiting trail, you’ll start to get some shade. That’s where I feel like Gus Malzahn is at. It’s not really deserved, but there will be some who take joy in watching UCF lose, especially knowing that Malzahn’s issue has never been recruiting well, it’s developing and then winning consistently on the field.
13. BYU Cougars
These next two teams are where they are, in large part, because of their rivalry being one of the best in college football. BYU itself is easy to like, as is Utah, but they are each vehemently despised (in a loving way, some may say), by the other. So automatically, their likability factor has to go down. Some will unfairly target BYU because of their religious element, which is completely ridiculous, but also becomes a lightning rod for some.
14. Utah Utes
Utah comes in hoping to be the “blue blood” of the Big 12 Conference. They have a legendary head coach who isn’t afraid to speak his mind, plus a fan base that is willing to talk. However, as I’ve noted several times, Utah fans have gotten a bad rap in Big 12 circles. Our HCS forums are filled with great Utah fans, they just have some big mouths on social media, and maybe a few more than the rest of the fan bases, but that’s neither here nor there. But the reality is this program is coming in to try and win, and win yearly.
15. Baylor Bears
Baylor’s history determines its spot on this list. Dave Aranda is wildly likable. He’s just a good man. There’s not much of an opinion, good or bad, to have on this team, at the moment. But the history of Baylor dating back to the Art Briles era still divides portions of this fan base, especially during tough times, and makes it harder for those on the outside, looking in, to find an easy-to-root-for product.
16. Colorado Buffaloes
Need I say more? I mean Deion Sanders is the most polarizing figure in the sport. You love him, as you should, if you’re a Colorado fan, but if you’re not, you probably don’t care much for Coach Prime. And this is how Deion probably likes it. He’s more than OK with the villain. So why should we be bothered by it?
