It’s no surprise that the Big 12 doesn’t have the best preseason strength of schedule, given the media bias toward the Big Ten and SEC ahead of the 2026 season. When a majority of the games are played against teams in your own conference, preconceived ideas about conference play factor into those preseason rankings and strength-of-schedule conversations.
These Big 12 strength of schedule rankings come from ESPN’s FPI (Football Power Index) rankings. The FPI is supposed to try to be the best predictor of how a season can play out. These projected results are based on 20,000 simulations. Ratings, standings, and projections will update each week throughout the season.
So how does the Big 12 line up initially in regard to strength of schedule? Let’s take a look.
Big 12 Strength of Schedule Rankings (2026)
No. 30 Arizona State Sun Devils
No. 42 Baylor Bears
No. 44 Oklahoma State Cowboys
No. 47 TCU Horned Frogs
No. 48 Colorado Buffaloes
No. 49 Cincinnati Bearcats
No. 52 West Virginia Mountaineers
No. 53 Arizona Wildcats
No. 55 BYU Cougars
No. 57 Iowa State Cyclones
No. 59 Houston Cougars
No. 60 Kansas Jayhawks
No. 63 Utah Utes
No. 64 University of Central Florida Knights
No. 68 Kansas State Wildcats
No. 71 Texas Tech Red Raiders
Big 12 SOS Reaction
At first glance, this looks about right from the outside looking in. The Big 12 is projected to be the third-best conference behind the Big Ten and the SEC, and that is reflected in this strength of schedule. The team projected to be the best in the conference, Texas Tech, has the worst strength of schedule because they can’t play themselves. Outside of conference play, scheduled games against Abilene Christian, Oregon State, and Sam Houston will not help their cause. Abilene Christian is not a D1 program, and Oregon State and Sam Houston have been terrible in recent years.
On the flip side, Arizona State has the toughest schedule in the conference. The Sun Devils have Texas Tech on the schedule this year as well as a non-conference game against Texas A&M. Both of those teams are coming off College Football Playoff appearances and expected to compete again this year. The Red Raiders and Aggies will both begin the season in the top 10.
These preseason rankings and strength of schedule projections are all a bit silly, to be honest. Looking back at the end of the season, these will most likely look completely different than how they look today. For now, this is the kind of stuff we have to get us through the summer. Anything to spark a conversation with a month to go until college football season kicks off. Week 0 can’t get here soon enough!
