Big 12 College Football Preview: Teams to Watch, Breakout Players, and Best Bets for 2024

The 2024 college football season is right around the corner, and the Big 12 is among the conferences that had a massive shakeup following the 2023 campaign. The Big 12 now features 16 teams despite the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns departing for the SEC.

There are four newcomers in the Big 12, including the Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils, Colorado Buffaloes, and Utah Utes. All four new teams in the conference were in the Pac-12 a season ago, which now has only two schools entering the upcoming season.

Among the current Big 12 programs, only two of them have national championship odds (via FanDuel Sportsbook) of +8000 or shorter in 2024. With uncertainty surrounding the conference this year, let's dive into the Big 12 ahead of the 2024 season.

Big 12 Team Win Totals

Here's a preview of each team's win total, national championship odds, and College Football Playoff odds, via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Big 12 Championship Odds

And here are the live odds for the Big 12 Championship game winner.

Big 12 Teams to Watch

Utah Utes

Among the newcomers in the Big 12, the Utah Utes have somewhat high expectations entering the 2024 campaign. Head coach Kyle Whittingham is in his 21st year coaching the Utes, and Utah is coming off an 8-5 season in 2023 sans starting signal-caller Cameron Rising.

The last time we saw Rising on the field for Utah in 2022, he had the ninth-best QBR (82.9) and ninth-best total EPA (80.6) among quarterbacks in college football. Of players in the Big 12, Rising is tied for the second-shortest odds to win the Heisman with Jalon Daniels from the Kansas Jayhawks.

Along with getting Rising back, the Utes have Money Parks and transfer Dorian Singer as primary receiving targets in the passing attack. On the defensive side of the ball, Utah has plenty of returning players after allowing the 13th-fewest yards per game (307.2) and 5th-fewest total first downs (199) in 2023.

Colorado Buffaloes

The Colorado Buffaloes are naturally going to have the nation's attention with Deion Sanders coaching the team with plenty of bravado. In his first year at the helm in 2023, Sanders helped lead a Colorado team to a 4-8 record after the school had a dismal 1-11 output in 2022.

Shedeur Sanders (Deion's son) returns to quarterback the Buffaloes this season after posting the eighth-best adjusted completion percentage (79.2%) and 13th-most passing touchdowns (27) among college signal-callers with 200-plus drop backs in 2023, via PFF. With Sanders being sacked 49 times a season ago, Colorado is expected to have three new starters along the offensive line.

Along with landing Will Sheppard -- who was the 15th-best wideout in the transfer portal according to 247 Sports -- Travis Hunter returns to play both sides of the ball for the Buffaloes. Hunter produced a solid 2.17 yards per route run on a 12.6 average depth of target on offense in 2023 while he also notched 5 pass breakups and 3 interceptions at cornerback.

Sanders comes in at No. 2 and Hunter is listed at No. 8 in NFL Mock Draft Database's consensus big board for the 2025 NFL Draft. Despite making the move to the Big 12 in 2024, Colorado expects to take another step forward in their program's development.

Kansas State Wildcats

The Kansas State Wildcats are one of two teams in the Big 12 who have a win total set at 9.5 for the 2024 season. Chris Klieman is entering his sixth year as the head coach of the Wildcats, and the program has won eight-plus games in each of the last three years.

Under center, Avery Johnson is the leader in the clubhouse in the Big 12 when it comes to having the shortest odds to win the Heisman (+2500). Johnson is a sophomore quarterback who contributed 479 passing yards, 5 passing touchdowns, 296 rushing yards, and 7 rushing touchdowns as the backup to Will Howard -- who transferred to the Ohio State Buckeyes this offseason.

Along with Johnson being a dual-threat quarterback and DJ Giddens returning at running back following a 1,226-yard season in 2023, the Wildcats added Dylan Edwards -- a transfer from Colorado -- to their backfield. Kansas State averaged the 11th-most rushing yards per game (204.1) last year, and they should have a dynamic ground game again in 2024.

The Wildcats also return plenty of starters on defense after allowing the 26th-fewest points per game (21.0) and 28th-fewest total first downs (225) last season. Being one of the longest-tenured schools in the Big 12 could give Kansas State an advantage entering the upcoming campaign.

Heisman Odds: Big 12

Sanders and Hunter from Colorado are generating Heisman buzz while Johnson from Kansas State leads the way in the Big 12.

Sanders isn't a favorite to win the Heisman despite this year's class of quarterbacks having plenty of question marks attached to it. While Hunter is one of my favorite longshot picks to take home the hardware, the one factor that is working against him and Sanders are the fact the Buffaloes aren't expected to win many games.

The Arizona Wildcats have a pair of exciting Heisman hopefuls with quarterback Noah Fifita (+4000) and receiver Tetairoa McMillan (+15000) returning in 2024. McMillan is the second-best wideout and No. 10 overall player in NFL Mock Draft Database's consensus big board.

Big 12 Best Bets for 2024

Arizona Over 7.5 Wins (-122)

Having cohesion and stability at quarterback and wide receiver is crucial in college football, and Arizona will once again have Fifita targeting McMillan in the passing game this year. McMillan torched opposing defenses to the tune of a 2.79 yards per route run and 10 receiving touchdowns with Fifita throwing him the ball in 2023.

Jedd Fisch is no longer the head coach of the Wildcats following a three-year tenure that ended with a 10-3 record last year, but he's been replaced by Brent Brennan from the San Jose State Spartans. Brennan spent seven years with the Spartans, winning seven-plus games in three of the last four seasons.

The schedule is favorable for Arizona as they begin the year with two home games versus opponents (New Mexico and Northern Arizona) with losing records from a season ago. While the Wildcats face Kansas State and Utah on the road in Week 3 and 4, seven of their final eight opponents had seven or fewer wins in 2023.

Cincinnati Under 5.5 Wins (-110)

Could head coach Scott Satterfield already be on the hot seat for the Cincinnati Bearcats in 2024? Satterfield made the move from the Louisville Cardinals to Cincinnati in 2023, finishing with a dismal 3-9 record -- and 1-8 conference record -- in his first year heading the program.

After shaky quarterback play with Emory Jones under center last season, the Bearcats didn't instill more confidence at the position by adding Brendan Sorsby via the transfer portal. Sorsby struggled for the Indiana Hoosiers last year, completing only 57.0% of his passes for 1,587 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions.

Cincy's defense also fell flat in 2023, allowing 402.8 total yards and 30.0 points per game. Even with Texas and Oklahoma departing the Big 12, it's hard to envision a scenario where the Bearcats make a massive jump from their three-win output in 2023.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.