Big 12 Bowl Projections for 2026
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With the start of the 2026 college football season less than 50 days away, it’s never too early to project bowl games and playoff contenders for the 16-team Big 12. Despite the departure of quarterback Brendan Sorsby, Texas Tech still enters ’26 as a heavy favorite to win the conference. However, BYU is 23-4 over the last two years and is positioned for another run at the Big 12 title and a College Football Playoff berth.
Outside of Texas Tech and BYU, Utah and Houston should be among the top contenders to reach the conference title game. But as usual in the Big 12, a surprise team (or two) can’t be ruled out. Quarterback Noah Fifita should have Arizona in the mix to finish in the top 25, and Kansas State will benefit from a favorable conference slate under new coach Collin Klein. Oklahoma State should show marked improvement under new coach Eric Morris, with Arizona State and TCU also capable of making a run to the top of the standings.
With fall practice just around the corner, where do Big 12 teams stack up in bowl projections for ’26? Athlon Sports projects Big 12 teams and bowls for this fall:
Big 12 ’26 Preview: Predictions | All-Conference Team | 138 Rankings
Coach Rankings | All-America Team | Bowl Projections
Big 12 Bowl Projections for 2026
Athlon Sports released its complete preseason bowl projections earlier this offseason, so let’s take a look at how the predictions stack up for where Big 12 teams will spend their postseason:
The Order of Selections for 2026
1. College Football Playoff
Note: Due to conference realignment, former Pac-12 teams will be selected for bowls previously tied to the league. This includes Alamo, Holiday, Las Vegas, Poinsettia and Sun Bowls.
BowlSelection Order After Playoff
2. Alamo
3. Pop-Tarts
4. Texas
5. Liberty
6. Cactus
7. Independence
8. Additional selections with ESPN Events Pool of Games
Related: Big 12 Coach Rankings for 2026
The Projections for 2026-27
College Football Playoff
The 12-team CFB Playoff field features five automatic bids to conference champions and seven at-large selections. The four champs from power conferences are guaranteed a spot. Also, the selection committee’s top four teams will receive a first-round bye.
Big 12 Teams Projected: Texas Tech (No. 11 seed)
Numbers indicate projected College Football Playoff seed
Independence Bowl: Big 12 vs. Conference USA (Dec. 22)
Projection: West Virginia vs. Kennesaw State
Armed Forces Bowl: Big 12 vs. American/MW/Sun Belt/Pac-12 (Dec. 23)
Projection: Arizona State vs. UNLV
Cactus Bowl: Big 12 vs. Big Ten (Dec. 26)
Projection: TCU vs. Illinois
Pop-Tarts Bowl: ACC vs. Big 12 (Dec. 29)
Projection: Louisville vs. Houston
Alamo Bowl: Big 12 vs. Pac-12 (Dec. 29)
Projection: BYU vs. USC
Sun Bowl: ACC vs. Pac-12 (Dec. 31)
Projection: Virginia vs. Utah
Las Vegas Bowl: SEC vs. Pac-12 (Dec. 31)
Projection: Tennessee vs. Arizona
Texas Bowl: Big 12 vs. SEC (Dec. 31)
Projection: Oklahoma State vs. Missouri
Liberty Bowl: Big 12 vs. SEC (Jan. 2)
Projection: Kansas State vs. Auburn
*Due to conference realignment, former Pac-12 teams will play in bowl games assigned to that league in ’26.
Related: Big 12 Football 2026 Predictions
Related: College Football Bowl Projections for 2026-27
Related: College Football Top 138 Team Rankings for 2026
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jul 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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