Welcome to the Big 12 Buzz! Things are going to look a little different during the offseason but that doesn’t mean I can’t share what’s on my mind this week in the Big 12.
We Aren’t in Kansas Anymore
As much as it pains me to say, football is officially in the books as we turn the page to basketball season. This is the only page I will willingly turn because I haven’t read a book since I was in middle school. It was certainly simpler times back then because now it feels like I barely even have enough time in the day to pee.
Typically, the state of Kansas has provided us with some great basketball over the years between Kansas and Kansas State. But the last three seasons, the Jayhawks have failed to make a sweet sixteen and haven’t finished in the top four in back-to-back years in the Big 12.
To make matters worse, Kansas has gotten off to a tough start in Big 12 play this season. After losing their conference opener against UCF in Orlando, it took the Jayhawks a miraculous overtime comeback against TCU at home to get their first win.
Meanwhile, Kansas State has fallen off a cliff since making an elite eight appearance back in 2023. In the last two years, they have had a losing record in Big 12 action and have yet to make another tournament appearance under Jerome Tang who may be the most annoying coach in the Big 12. To make matters worse, they were embarrassed by Arizona in a 25 point loss on Wednesday night.
By no means am I saying that basketball is dead in the sunflower state but even Dorthy would be willing to leave her home state if she had to watch these two basketball teams right now. It’s still early but so far, the state of Kansas and basketball go together about as well as me and eating pizza and ice cream. It sounds like fun but in the end, the toilet comes calling.
Texas Tech Isn’t Going Anywhere
Less than a week after their disappointing loss to Oregon in the Orange Bowl, Texas Tech is already looking to get better in 2026 They could have easily felt sorry for themselves but instead they took their ass kicking, got up, dusted themselves off and got back on the saddle.
With the transfer portal opening up last Friday, the Red Raiders are getting commits left and right. Most notably, they were able to get one of the top players in the poral with quarterback Brendan Sorsby who spent the last two seasons at Cincinnati.
Most of you already know who Brendan is and know how talented he is. He’s got the arm and the athleticism to beat you through the air and on the ground. If you watched the playoff game, then you probably realized that Texas Tech should have spent some of that oil money on a quarterback this past season.
Well, now they did and they also were able to beef up their defense as well with three defensive line commits headlined by Mateen Ibirogba from Wake Forest. Plus, they were able to land All-Big 12 linebacker Austin Romaine from Kansas State as well.
Texas Tech already has a championship caliber defense and now they are looking to turn their offense into the same thing. It’s way too early to be thinking about 2026 but it’s safe to say that Tech is committed to using all of their resources to get back on top of the Big 12 and get back into the college football playoff.
Let Jimmy Cook
I know that the portal wasn’t kind for Iowa State early on, and it was expected with Campbell leaving. The roster was absolutely decimated but remember folks that the transfer portal works both ways. When one guy leaves, it opens a spot for someone else to come in.
Not every player coming in is an upgrade from who they are replacing and it’s going to be a transition across the board but guess what? Out of these guys coming in, some of them are going to surprise some people and who knows, maybe some of them end up as an All-Big 12 caliber player.
I am not here to pump sunshine and rainbows because I realize next season is going to be a rebuild. But I am excited about all these new faces coming to Ames and seeing what they can bring to the table. It’s a new era of football at Iowa State and I say we let Jimmy F’n Rodgers do his thing and go to work. Trust the process.
