Big 12 preseason power rankings: Can Iowa State stop Oklahoma?

Change is imminent in the Big 12 football landscape, and the rest of the college football world is well aware of this.

With Texas and Oklahoma leaving for the SEC as late as 2025, possibly earlier if their lawyers can afford to pay a stiff media rights buyout, this might be the last season of Big 12 football as we know it. The good news is there are two teams with serious College Football Playoff aspirations playing in it, as well as a handful of other teams capable of finishing the season in the top 25.

Here are the Big 12 college football power rankings with the 2021 season right around the corner.

Preseason Big 12 football rankings

Lance Leipold takes over the worst Power Five program in the Kansas Jayhawks

No doubt about it. This will be a very tough year for the Kansas Jayhawks. While they managed to pry a head coach many people think very highly of in Lance Leipold out of Buffalo, this is still Kansas. Not only are the Jayhawks among the worst teams in the Power 5, but they are also dealing with the aftermath of a scandalous Les Miles era in Lawrence.

Matt Wells must get his Texas Tech Red Raiders to take the next step

This is Matt Wells’ third year leading the Texas Tech Red Raiders. While his program is in a far better place than what Leipold inherits at Kansas, Wells needs to have Texas Tech pushing towards bowl eligibility this season. Texas Tech has won a combined eight games over the last two seasons. Adding former Oregon quarterback Tyler Shough helps, but it still may not be enough.

Dave Aranda has a lot to prove in year two as the Baylor Bears head coach

You can blame last year’s failures on the global pandemic, but the Baylor Bears cannot go something like 2-7 under Dave Aranda during his second season in Waco. This is a Baylor program that has made it to New Year’s Six Bowls during the College Football Playoff era. Simply put, Aranda cannot be exposed as the worst head coach in the Big 12 this season. That would be bad.

Chris Klieman’s Kansas State Wildcats need to become more consistent in Big 12

In his two years leading the Kansas State Wildcats, we have seen Chris Klieman’s team beat excellent programs like Iowa State and Oklahoma, no problem. However, they cannot seem to get out of the lower middle of the Big 12 hierarchy under his watch. Historically, it has been hard to recruit at Kansas State, but Klieman did win national titles at the FCS level at North Dakota State.

We have not had a great Gary Patterson TCU Horned Frogs team in a while now

You know what? We are due for one of those good, old-fashioned great Gary Patterson TCU Horned Frogs teams. He is a hall-of-fame-level head coach for a reason. While the defense is usually stellar under his watch in Fort Worth, Patterson needs a few offensive playmakers to take that next step if TCU wants to potentially crack the top 25 and be in the conference title bout mix.

Here are the five most likely teams in the Big 12 to play for a conference championship in 2021.