Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Arizona State defied expectations, reaching the Big 12 title game after poor seasons.
- Utah struggled, missing postseason play for the first time since 2013, amid quarterback injuries.
- BYU exceeded predictions, finishing 10-2, but missed the championship game due to tiebreakers.
SALT LAKE CITY — All the proof that most preseason Big 12 predictions were wildly inaccurate can be summarized with one example: The favorite in the championship game was picked to finish last.
Coming off consecutive 3-9 seasons, Arizona State shocked the conference by winning a berth in the Big 12 title game against Iowa State. The Sun Devils entered the week as a 2.5-point favorite to earn the conference's automatic bid into the new 12-team playoff.
Kenny Dillingham, the second youngest FBS head coach at 34, needed only two seasons to transform a program left in shambles under Herm Edwards' grossly mismanaged leadership. Another win would culminate one of the greatest turnarounds in college football history.
Arizona State wasn't the only surprise team in the Big 12 this season. For better or worse, the conference was awash in unpredictability.
Starting at the top, the recent success Utah achieved in the Pac-12 was expected to carry over in the program's inaugural season in its new conference. The Utes were picked first in the official Big 12 preseason poll, a prediction that mirrored that of most national experts.
The tandem of quarterback Cam Rising and tight end Brant Kuithe, both of whom missed all of last season with injuries, along with the Utah staple of strong defense, had many expecting the Utes to contend for the national championship. Playing in the conference championship game was almost a foregone conclusion.
In retrospect, placing the entire team's fortunes on Rising led to the most disappointing season in Kyle Whittingham's 20 years as head coach. The often-injured player went down in the second game, effectively destroying all hope of fulfilling the preseason promise.
After sitting out a month, Rising started the sixth game against Arizona State only to suffer a second injury early in the first quarter. With Rising unable to plant his feet and put enough velocity on throws, the coaches inexplicably left him in to play the entire game only to announce his season-ending injury three days later.
The offense, which rarely is prolific, sputtered to embarrassing levels with inexperienced quarterbacks Isaac Wilson and Brandon Rose. After the offense scored only one touchdown in a loss to TCU in mid-October, coordinator Andy Ludwig resigned.
The second half of the season was a test of futility and frustration. Rose did show a hint of promise in his only start against BYU but also suffered a season-ending injury in the game. Wilson joined him on the injury list in the penultimate game of the season, at which time also assured Utah of no postseason for the first time since 2013.
In what could be a head-scratching decision, the Utes might let Rising return for an eighth year of eligibility. What's the definition of insanity again?
Bitter as Utah's season turned out, compared to Oklahoma State, it was sunshine and rainbows. Picked third with 14 first-place votes, the team was winless in conference play for the first time in 30 years.
For all the anguish with the Utes and Cowboys, BYU was on the opposite end of the spectrum. Picked 13th with bowl eligibility in question, the Cougars join Arizona State on the most surprising tier.
The November losses to Kansas and the Sun Devils, which came by a combined 9 points, did not detract from the 10-2 record. Convoluted tiebreakers in the 16-team conference left BYU, which was one of four teams to finish at 7-2, out of the championship game.
Colorado was the fourth team to post a 7-2 conference record. For all the hyperbolic attention Deion Sanders attracts, he deserves enormous respect for turning around the perpetual laughingstock program in his second season as coach.
The task going forward is to build upon the success without the services of his son, star quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and multi-talented Travis Hunter. Both players are expected to be top 10 draft picks in the next NFL draft.
