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Three Teams That Will Compete With Utah for the 2024 Big 12 Championship

While Utah has good odds to come out as the Big 12 champion in 2024, here are three time that might worry the Utes on their way to a potential title

Austin Eames

Three Teams That Will Compete With Utah for the 2024 Big 12 Championship
Three Teams That Will Compete With Utah for the 2024 Big 12 Championship /
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After winning back-to-back Pac-12 Championships in 2021 and 2022, the Utah Utes will enter a new conference in 2024 with sights set on getting back to their winning ways.

The Utes had a “down year” in 2023 relative to the team’s high standard for success. The team had a 5-4 record in a conference filled to the brim with talented rosters like Arizona, Oregon, and the CFP runner-up Washington Huskies.

With the Pac-12 uttering its last breath after the culmination of the 2023 season, Utah jumped ship and sought greener pastures in a new conference, the Big 12.

Now a part of a reimagined 16-team field of competition in the Big 12, Utah will have to fight hard if they want to add another conference championship to their trophy case.

With teams like USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington out of the picture, here are three teams that might compete with Utah on their quest for a Big-12 Conference Championship

Arizona

John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona is another team from the Pac-12 joining the Big 12 in 2024. The Wildcats emerged as one of the best teams in college football in 2023 after ending the year on a seven-game win streak that included a win over Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

While Arizona has seen a significant amount of turnover following the departure of head coach Jedd Fisch to Washington, the team has been able to keep its core intact. Namely, the duo of Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan.

The two high school teammates from Servite HS in Southern California have shown they have an inseparable connection and can cause opposing teams a significant amount of headache if they get hot. With both returning in 2024, Arizona’s offense immediately becomes one of the most formidable in all the Big 12.

While the Wildcats didn't make too many big swings in the transfer portal, they do have several impact freshmen coming in. One of the most notable is four-star running back Jordan Washington, who has the potential to make an instant impact following the departure of Jonah Coleman to the transfer portal.

All in all, despite the departure of their talented head coach, the Wildcats enter the 2024 season alongside Utah as a front-runner for the Big 12 Championship.

Texas Tech

Texas Tech hosts a football practice, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, at the Sports Performance Center.
Annie Rice/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Texas Tech didn't wow anyone in 2023. Similar to Utah, the team went 5-4 in conference games, but had a worse overall record at 7-6, albeit winning three of their last four games including their bowl game against California.

However, no Big 12 team made a bigger impact in the offseason than the Red Raiders. Boasting the conference’s No.1 recruiting class and No.6 ranked transfer class, Texas Tech will enter the 2024 season with a completely new look.

What makes Texas Tech a contender for the 2024 Big 12 Championship is undoubtedly their offseason additions.

On the offensive side, the Red Raiders added a handful of pass-catching weapons for their quarterback. The most notable of which, Micah Hudson, is a five-star wide receiver and the No.25 player in the 2024 recruiting class. Additionally, the team added Washington State receiver Josh Kelly and Arizona State tight end Jalin Conyers by way of the transfer portal. Both Kelly and Conyers are four-star transfer additions.

While most of Texas Tech’s premier additions affected the offense, the team did sign two four-star defensive recruits. Edge Cheta Ofili (234th player nationally) and safety Peyton Morgan are two high school recruits who have the potential to make an instant impact on the Red Raiders' defense.

Despite a plethora of additions, Texas Tech also managed to retain some of their most pivotal playmakers. Fifth-year senior Tahj Brooks, one of the best running backs in the country, announced he would return in 2024. Moreover, Ben Roberts, the Big-12’s Co-Defensive Freshman of the Year, will also return and make a big impact playing linebacker for the team.

Oklahoma State

Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports

As the conference’s runner-up in 2023, the Oklahoma State Cowboys have their sights set on vengeance during the upcoming season.

With head coach Mike Gundy at their helm, the Cowboys have come close so many times, but have failed to win a conference title since 2011.

The Pokes 2024 Big 12 title hopes begin with one man; college football’s reigning Doak Walker winner, Ollie Gordon II.

Gordon is the definition of electric. In 2023, the sophomore running back led the nation with 1,732 rushing yards and finished second in the country with 21 touchdowns. While it remains to be seen if Gordon can repeat his 2023 production, the fact that Oklahoma State is returning all five of its starting offensive linemen sure does help.

The Cowboys also added Ohio transfer tight end Tyler Foster to have another blocking threat on the line. Foster is a 6 '7, 250 pound, brick wall of a tight end, that seems like an addition made with Gordon fully in mind.

Oklahoma State has yet to wow thus far in either the transfer portal or recruiting. The team has yet to add a four-star or higher recruit in either category. However, with a large sum of the 2023 roster returning, including production from game-changers like Gordon, it would be hard to bet against the Cowboys being fully out of the 2024 conference title race. 

Anytime you have a running back entering the year as a Heisman frontrunner, you're in good hands. 

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Austin Eames
AUSTIN EAMES

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