It was a topsy-turvy season in the Big 12 Conference in 2024. It was an upside-down season with a
number of teams picked to finish near the bottom of the conference in the preseason rising to the top of
the conference and shaking up the college football landscape—most notably the Arizona State Sun
Devils and BYU Cougars.
Picked to finish dead last in the conference by the media in the preseason, the Sun Devils were the
ultimate surprise after riding running back Cam Skattebo to a Big 12 Championship and a first-round bye
in the first season of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. While ASU had the opportunity to
play for a national championship at the end of the season, the Cougars were the best team in the
conference, and some argued the best team in the country, through the first nine games of the season.
Picked to finish 12th in the preseason, the Cougars took the Big 12 by storm by jumping out to a 9-0
start. With wins against CFP participant SMU Mustangs, the then No. 13 Kansas State Wildcats and Big
12 preseason No. 1 Utah Utes, BYU rose to No. 6 in the AP Top 25 and was in contention for making it to
the CFP before losing back-to-back games in November to the Kansas Jayhawks and Sun Devils
derailed their season.
The Sun Devils and Cougars dominated the headlines in 2024, but another Big 12 team picked to finish
near the bottom in the preseason quietly had a bounce-back season and could be lurking as a potential
conference championship contender in 2025. After finishing 3-9 in 2023, being picked No. 12 in the
preseason and with head coach Dave Aranda on the hot seat, the Baylor Bears overcame a 2-4 start in
2024 and rallied to finish the season 8-5 overall, and earn a berth to the Texas Bowl. Despite falling to
LSU in the bowl game, the Bears rattled off six consecutive wins to end the regular season, averaging
41.3 points per game during that span.
Embracing the transfer portal, NIL, bringing in new offensive coordinator
Jake Spavital and taking over the defensive play-calling duties last season, Aranda not only saved his job
with the team’s turnaround, but might have the makings of a dark horse championship-caliber squad in
2025.
Bears’ High Expectations in 2025
The reason expectations are high in Waco, Texas is because of the Bears’ markedly improved offense
under Spavital. After averaging just 23.1 ppg in 2023 (101st in FBS) the Bears were top-20 in the country
and second in the Big 12 in scoring, averaging 34.4 ppg, and were also top-20 in the nation and third in
the Big 12 in yards per game, averaging 440.1 last season.
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Leading Spavital’s offense was quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who will return for his senior season after
throwing for more than 3,000 yards, completing 62 percent of his passes, and throwing for 28 touchdowns
to eight interceptions. Also returning for Baylor will be wide receiver Josh Cameron (52 receptions, 754
yards, 10 touchdowns) and freshman breakout running back Bryson Washington, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards (5.9 yards per carry) and 13 total touchdowns.
New Weapons
Utilizing the transfer portal and NIL once again, Baylor bolstered its offense and gave Spavital some new
weapons in Alabama wide receiver transfer Kobe Prentice and Auburn transfer quarterback Walker White. Prentice (5–foot-9, 188 pounds) had just 11 catches and one touchdown last season for the Crimson Tide, but has played in 36 games, amassed 780 yards, and had five touchdowns in three
seasons for Alabama. The Calera, Ala. native was a three-star prospect in the portal excels at changing
direction at the receiver position.
White, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound native of Little Rock Ark., spent his freshman season at Auburn where he
appeared in just one game. White was the No. 3-ranked dual-threat quarterback in ESPN’s Class of 2023
Top 300 behind Florida’s D.J. Lagway and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin. White comes from an athletic family,
is considered a leader, and runs a 4.5 40-yard dash, according to On3.com.
Texas State transfer wide receiver Kole Wilson rounded out the offensive additions for Spavital for 2025.
Wilson had 43 receptions for 630 yards and four touchdowns for the Bobcats last season.
Aranda
and
the
Bears
will open
the
season at
home
against
Auburn on
Aug. 30th, followed
by
a
road
game against SMU on
Sept. 6.
