Big 12 Media Preseason Poll Puts Utah at the Top

Few conferences will have as much parity and competition as the Big 12 this year it seems.

Only a season after adding BYU, Cincinnati, UCF and Houston, the Big 12 saw another influx of new teams in Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State.

With a mass gathering of fresh programs, and the departure of perennial powerhouses in Oklahoma (14 Big 12 championships) and Texas (4 Big 12 Championships), the Big 12 is wide open.

Waving goodbye to the Sooners and Longhorns, the Big 12 now see’s the Baylor Bears and the Kansas State Wildcats as the most winningest active organizations in Big 12 history with 3 conference titles apiece.

K- State brought one home last in 2022 and Baylor in 2021.

It is not obscene to see either of these schools as the next face of the Big 12.

After all, out of 30 years of Big 12 champions, 21 of those years have seen a team no longer in the Big 12 win the title. (Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Texas A & M).

It is officially time to see the next force, the new Oklahoma of the conference if you will, emerge.

Kansas State may be in the drivers seat based on this upcoming seasons projections with a potent defense and a dynamic quarterback.

Baylor, despite the three banners, witnessed an atrocious 3-9 season last year, their second consecutive year finishing below .500.

Hopes for the Bears this year may be a bit higher, but not much, and Baylor is currently no threat to grab the Big 12 reins.

Colorado, an old friend of the Big 12, won their lone title in 2001 and were in the conference from 1996-2010 before joining the Pac-12.

With the Buffaloes return, maybe they seek to reclaim that early 2000’s glory, something that makes for an intriguing storyline but lacks any real substance.

TCU and Oklahoma State fill in the rest of the blanks with Big 12 titles in 2014 for the Frogs and 2011 for the Cowboys.

TCU is littered with question marks ,but has the depth to make noise this year, whereas Oklahoma State will be a top tier threat to sit atop the standings this year with a experienced squad.

Whether you buy into preseason hype or not, it doesn’t take one skilled in the ways of analysis to understand that ultimately, this conference is anyone's to take, not only for this upcoming season but for years to come.

Being impossible to peg a preexisting member as the next Big 12 dynamo, fans may look at some of the newcomers as a potential fit for the new king of the conference.

If the preseason media polls are any indication, a lot of the Big 12 media representatives seem to lean that way, by selecting the Utah Utes to run the Big 12 in their very first season as a member.

Utah, a two time Pac-12 victor, just barely nudged Kansas State with a high of 20 first place votes, only one above the Wildcats.

Oklahoma State (14), Kansas (5) and Arizona (3), all received first place votes.

With 906 total points the Utes placed 17 points above K-State, 77 above Oklahoma State, 134 over Kansas and 144 over former Pac-12 foe, Arizona.

Utah has been given a unique opportunity to be the face of a power four program, and  media personalities seem to believe its entirely possible the Utes hit the ground running in that pursuit.

On paper, the Utes look primed to take the Big 12 by storm, but as we all know, the game isn't played on paper.

Oklahoma State, Kansas State, even Kansas or maybe a Texas Tech may have a thing or two to say in regards to who really runs the conference they've been a part of for decades.

Arizona is currently presented with the same opportunity Utah is, the Wildcats will be determined and hungry themselves as a powerful newcomer.

Any target on Utah’s back got significantly larger after the Media Poll, and fans from Salt Lake City to Morgantown cant wait to see how the Utes respond.