Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormak has been in the job since July of 2022. Since then, the Big 12 has been represented in every College Football Playoff. In Yormaks inagural year, it was TCU who shocked the world and made it to the National Championship before crashing out to Georgia in what was a dominant 65-7 Bulldog win.
The year after, Texas was heartbroken thanks to a 37-31 loss to eventual runner-ups Washington in the semifinal stage.
But, last year things were a little different. the 2024/25 season saw the expansion to the 12-team playoff bracket and big-hitters Texas and Oklahoma jumped ship to the SEC, as the Big 12 welcomed four new teams. The likes of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah were each introduced.
Just one team from the Big 12 made the CFP, being Arizona State.
It would be harsh to say last season was a disappointment from the Big 12 standpoint. After all, having to deal with the massive blows of losing Texas and Oklahoma was patched with the Sun Devils compiling a six-game win streak that pushed Kenny Dillingham's team to the playoff.
Yet Yormak expects for this season to be different.
According to Shehan Jeyarajah of CBS Sports, Yormak was quoted at the Big 12 Media Days saying, "No league offers the competitive balance that we do. ... I fully expect the Big 12 to earn multiple College Football Playoff bids this year and to show once again that we can compete."
When looking at the current layout of the Big 12, this is an ambitious claim. According to college football analyst Phil Steele, 11 teams were ranked inside the top 50, including the Jayhawks.
Those teams include Arizona State (15), Baylor (18), Utah, Texas Tech (25), TCU (26), Iowa State (28), Kansas State (30), Brigham Young University (42), Cincinnati (42), and Houston (46), before Kansas reached the 49th spot.
As of today, star BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff withdrew from the program after likely being faced with a seven-game suspension, after breaking the BYU honor code, taking away a possible dark horse for some college football playoff drama. Combine that with the massive overhaul of Texas Tech, which has seen the Red Raiders reel in 21 of the nation's elite transfers and the world has yet to see thme fully mesh.
Dillingham's Arizona State is, of course, going to top the Big 12 schools after their remarkable 11-3 season last Fall.
For the Jayhawks, opinions are mixed, quarterback Jalon Daniels appears to still have a little bit of a question mark over his head from fans regarding his ability when fully fit after spells of injury holding him back. That, along with the recent promotions of assistants to full-time coordinator positions, has its ups and downs. But, a strong transfer class ranked 7th in the Big 12 according to 247Sports does pose hope.