Utah, Kansas State Teams to Beat in Big 12

Big 12 Conference Championship Odds Trending Toward Newcomer

Kansas State Looks To Be the Best of the Holdovers In the New-Look Big 12

There will be a new champion in the Big 12 as reigning champion Texas joined Oklahoma in jumping to the SEC. Either Texas or Oklahoma (and sometimes both) played in the Big 12 Championship Game 18 times in the previous 22 seasons so it is a little harder to make sense out of the Big 12 Conference Championship odds.

A year after adding Brigham Young (BYU), Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF, the Big 12 brought in Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah from the Pac-12.

Kansas State, a two-time winner of the Big 12 title game, and conference newcomer Utah opened as co-favorites in the Big 12 odds but Utah is now priced at +275 followed by Kansas State. The Utes received 20 first-place votes and were first in the Big 12 preseason poll. Kansas State finished second in the poll after being picked first on 19 of the 61 ballots. Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Arizona also picked up first-place votes.

With the College Football Playoff field expanding from four to 12 teams, the champions of the top five conferences will earn invitations to the playoffs. The Big 12 winner figures to be one of those teams and that likely would not have happened in a four-team CFP field.

  • According to the CFP National Championship odds, Utah is 16th at +4000 and Kansas State is 20th at +6000 in the odds of winning the national title. There is a bit of a dropoff after that. Based on the projected regular-season win totals, there could be 12 teams in contention to be bowl-eligible out of the Big 12.
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Utah, Rising Trending In the Right Direction

The Utes are happy to get quarterback Cameron Rising back for another year. He shows in the Las Vegas odds among the Heisman Trophy candidates. Second-leading rusher Jaylon Glover also returns.

The Big 12 newcomer saw leading rusher Ja’Quinden Jackson transfer to Arkansas with receiver Mikey Matthews landing at Cal. Utah added UCLA tight end Carsen Ryan, USC receiver Dorian Singer, Washington receiver Taeshaun Lyons, Georgia Tech cornerback Kenan Johnson, Idaho running back Anthony Woods, and Michigan running back Cameron Calhoun but was not as active in the transfer portal as some Big 12 programs.

Utah and Kansas State, who are 1-2 in the Big 12 Conference Championship odds are not scheduled to meet during the regular season.

Wildcats Look To Return to the Top Of the Big 12 Title

Kansas State is two years removed from winning the Big 12 title and there are some holdovers from that team.
Running back DJ Giddens is one of the few known commodities on offense. Losing quarterback Will Howard to Ohio State is a big blow for the Wildcats. Adding Colorado running back Dylan Edwards and North Dakota offensive tackle Easton Kitty should help the offense.

Kansas State and Utah come in at +330 in the odds of winning the Big 12 title. For those who might be interested in seeing which team will get the upper hand in the regular-season meeting, we’re sorry to say they are not scheduled to meet during the 2024 NCAAF season. Perhaps they will clash in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Giddens returns after rushing for more than 1,200 yards but the top two pass catchers are off the NFL.

Kansas State did not have a player named to the preseason All-Big 12 team but defying the odds is nothing new to the Wildcats.

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What About the Other Contenders?

There is a bit of a gap between Utah and Kansas State with the other contenders in the Big 12 Conference Championship odds.

UCF has seen its Big 12 title odds move from +1200 to +750. However, the Knights came in just eighth in the preseason Big 12 poll. The addition of former Arkansas quarterback K.J. Jefferson is a big deal.

Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Arizona are the NCAAF teams that could step up and challenge Utah and Kansas State.

Kansas got off to a 5-1 start but lost three games in the second half of the season by seven points or less.
Devin Neal is back for Kansas after rushing for 1,280 yards and 16 touchdowns during the 2023 season. Top receiver Lawrence Arnold also returns for the Jayhawks. They must replace 2023 sack leader Austin Booker and leading tackler Kenny Logan Jr.

Arizona joins the Big 12 and comes in with one of the top quarterbacks in Noah Fifita. His top receiver Tetairoa McMillan is also returning. Arizona jumped into the deep end right away with the conference opener coming on the road against Kansas State.

Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon was named the Big 12 preseason Offensive Player of the Year with offensive linemen Dalton Cooper and Joe Michalski joining him on the All-Big 12 first team. Some key players transferred elsewhere.

What About the Buffaloes?

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders and defensive back Travis Hunter could be top picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. However, will the practice of turning over much of the roster by working the transfer portal pay off for head coach Deion Sanders and Colorado?

Colorado added 42 transfers but also lost quite a bit of talent via the transfer portal.

Ten teams have shorter odds of winning the Big 12 than Colorado as those who bet online are taking a wait-and-see approach with a Colorado team that should score plenty of points but also allow lots of points. Those looking at the NCAAF free picks should remember that Colorado was third in the Pac-12 in 2023 by covering against the spread in 64% of its games.

Texas Tech, priced at +950 to win the conference title, Texas Tech has quarterback Behren Morton, 1,500-yard rusher Tahj Brooks, and top tackler Ben Roberts all slated to return.

TCU and West Virginia are at +1400 in the Big 12 title odds. Baylor, Cincinnati, Houston, Arizona State, and BYU are well back in the Big 12 pecking order.

The most noteworthy games involving Big 12 teams during the first week of the college football season include West Virginia playing host to a Penn State team that figures to be ranked in the top 10 at the start of the season and TCU playing at Stanford. The college football point spreads list West Virginia as a 10.5-point underdog and TCU as the 8-point favorite.

For NCAAF betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.


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