Big 12 Football: Football Media Preseason Poll

The media has submitted their picks for how they think the season will go, as well as their pre-season, all first team, with TCU getting snubbed in both categories.

Jan 1, 2022; Pasadena, CA, USA; Utah Utes head coach Kyle Wittingham looks on in the fourth quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the 2022 Rose Bowl college football game at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The first meaningful poll for the 2024-2025 football season has arrived, with the Big 12 Football Media Poll being released. The results are somewhat expected, and the media has picked the TCU Horned Frogs to finish tenth in the Big 12.

There are a lot of questions the Horned Frogs will have to answer after a disappointing five-win season in 2023. Still, the pieces are there for the team to make some noise in the conference this coming season with Josh Hoover at the helm with experience now and a backfield of Cam Cook who has impressed people from his time during fall camp.

The new four corner schools are well represented through the distribution of the rankings, with Utah projected to finish first with 20 first-place votes, Arizona was dubbed to finish fifth but did garner three first-place votes. The voting media does not buy the Colorado and Deion Sanders hype train as they were picked to finish 11th, and Arizona State was picked to finish last in their first season in the Big 12.

Other surprising results from the poll include Kansas, who, for the first time in school history, received first-place votes with five. Here is the entire list:

Team	Votes Received
Utah (20)	906
Kansas State (19)	889
Oklahoma State (14)	829
Kansas (5)	772
Arizona (3)	762
Iowa State	661
West Virginia	581
UCF	551
Texas Tech	532
TCU	436
Colorado	400
Baylor	268
BYU	215
Cincinnati	196
Houston	157
Arizona State	141

As for the pre-season awards, the media has voted on those as well and they are as follows:

Offensive Player of the Year: Ollie Gordon III, Oklahoma State, RB. The Freshman All-American from Forth Worth led the country in rushing yards with 1732 and finished the season with 21 touchdowns. Also, the Doak Walker Award winner and a seventh-place finish in the Heisman race will hope to have repeat success this upcoming season.

Defensive Player of the Year: Travis Hunter, Colorado, DB. The man who does it all on both sides of the ball has been picked to win the second award of his collegiate career after winning the Paul Hornung Award given to college football's most versatile player. Hunter finished the 2023 season with 30 tackles, three interceptions, and eight pass breakups. The most exciting part will be how much he is used on offense, which could limit his overall playing time as the season goes on due to the natural breakdown of the body. Regardless, he will be a particular player and one to watch this season.

Newcomer of the Year: KJ Jefferson, UCF, QB. The Arkansas transfer is hoping to be the big piece that UCF was looking for this coming season, and fans of the Knights are rightfully excited for him to play this season. In 2023, while playing for the Razorbacks, he finished with 2107 passing yards, 19 touchdowns with a completion rate of 64.2%, and 442 rushing yards to go along with it. The media has been calling for Jefferson to break out the last two seasons, and he just might after a new change of scenery.

The rest of the preseason All-Big 12 Football Team is below

Preseason All-Big 12 Football Team / Big 12 sports

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