It was a fun and eventful Week 2 in college football’s Big 12 conference with Baylor making a comeback win in overtime against SMU, No. 12 Arizona State falling in Mississippi State, and Iowa State prevailed in the Cy-Hawk rivalry against Iowa. Missouri also outlasted Kansas in a 42-31 shootout and Deion Sanders got his first win this season for Colorado against Delaware.
With the help of OddsTrader, let’s look at some of the teams with the best Big 12 championship odds going into Week 3 where there are a couple of conference games this Friday:
2025-26 College Football Big 12 Championship Odds
Big 12 Contenders, Sleepers to Watch
Utah (+450)
There are 6 teams with +800 odds or better to win the Big 12 right now, but No. 20 Utah still stands ahead of the pack going into Week 3. The Utes were only 5-7 last year under coach Kyle Whittingham, but with over 20 years of experience at Utah, Whittingham knows how to win games with defense.
It’s the offense that fell off last year for the Utes, but so far, they are scoring 53.0 points per game with New Mexico transfer quarterback Devon Dampier completing 79.2% of his passes.
Look for Utah to cruise this week as a 22.5-point favorite against Wyoming, the last warmup before a showdown with No. 21 Texas Tech in Week 4.
Texas Tech (+550)
From the school that produced Patrick Mahomes, the Red Raiders are No. 2 in the nation by averaging 64.5 points per game. Scoring hasn’t been the issue for coach Jerry McGuire’s teams, but we’ll see if his offense can stay potent against Utah coming up in Week 4, and if his defense can stop another good team from scoring.
With Utah and Texas Tech both likely to move to 3-0 against easy opponents in Week 3, you may want to get your futures bet in now on the Red Raiders before the Utah game should you think they win that one to take the lead in the odds to win the conference.
Iowa State (+800)
The Cyclones are a good underdog in the conference coming off an 11-3 season under coach Matt Campbell. Iowa State has already defeated Kansas State in Ireland, smacked South Dakota 55-7, and outlasted the Hawkeyes in a 16-13 game last week in the Cy-Hawk rivalry.
Junior starting quarterback Rocco Becht is experienced with 54 touchdowns since 2023, and he has yet to throw an interception this season. The remaining regular-season schedule is also quite favorable for Iowa State as the team doesn’t have to play any teams currently ranked (no Utah, no Texas Tech), and the toughest road test may only be at TCU or Colorado.
With an experienced coach, quarterback, and quality defense, the Cyclones are one of the best sleeper picks right now to win the Big 12 this year.
Baylor (+800)
The Baylor Bears avoided an ugly 0-2 start with a 14-point comeback in the fourth quarter against ranked SMU to force overtime where the team won 48-45 in a thriller. Sawyer Robertson passed for 440 yards and 4 touchdowns as he is getting attention as one of the best quarterbacks in the nation at the moment.
But while Baylor is tied for the 5th-best odds to win the Big 12, you should fade them until they prove they can fix that defense, which ranks 132nd in the nation at 41.5 points per game allowed.
Robertson can keep them in games, but this defense is going to struggle by the time Baylor has to win on the road against TCU and Cincinnati. They also have a showdown with Utah in mid-November.
Bet on the 2025-26 Big 12 Championship Winner
Betting on a college football conference winner is a fun and potentially lucrative challenge for bettors. You’ll want to identify value in which teams draw a better schedule as not every team plays one another, and which team gets home-field advantage for these big rivalry games can be a huge determining factor.
The Big 12 doesn’t have the same draw of the SEC or Big Ten right now, but it looks to be a competitive race where any handful of teams could win it in the end — and you can find the latest odds at top-rated sportsbooks.
Check Out OddsTrader Turbo for College Football Betting
Whether you are looking to bet on Big 12 college football games or another Power 5 conference, you’ll want to check out the OddsTrader Turbo service that provides subscribers with expert picks, betting advice, live game alerts, and you can track important line movement while identifying the best prices for the games you want to bet on.
More Picks & Insights
Watch Jefe Picks’ full breakdown of this matchup and more NCAAF conference predictions on our YouTube channel!
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*The line and/or odds referenced in this article might have changed since the content was published. For the latest information on line movements, visit OddsTrader’s free betting odds tool.
