Editor’s note: This story is adapted from The Athletic’s preseason guide to all 138 FBS teams ahead of the 2026 season.Texas Tech loaded up in the portal again after winning its first Big 12 championship, though it will move forward without Cincinnati transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby as teams like BYU, Houston, TCU and Utah give chase.Who’s trending up and down in the Big 12 entering 2026? What do you need to know about all 16 teams? Here’s our guide to the league’s teams, coaches and top players, with rankings from Chris Vannini’s The Athletic 138, and Playoff and conference championship odds from Austin Mock’s predictor model.Read our guide to all 138 FBS teams here.Three storylines to watch: Indiana, Arch and KiffinStewart MandelArizona Wildcats2025 record: 9-4 (6-3 Big 12)
Location: Tucson, Ariz.
Odds to make the CFP: 11.3%
Odds to win the Big 12: 4.4%
The Athletic 138 ranking: 28thWill they be better, worse or the same this year? The same.Pedigree: Arizona won its only Pac-10 championship in 1993 and has played in 10 bowl games since 2008. The Wildcats have played in the Fiesta Bowl three times — most recently in 2014 — but no other major bowl games. Last year’s nine-win season was only the eighth in program history.Why they’re interesting: The Wildcats have the Big 12’s most experienced starting quarterback, but almost everything around him has changed. After a disastrous 4-8 season in 2024, the Wildcats improved to 9-4 last year, and another strong season would establish Brent Brennan’s turnaround as something more sustainable than a one-year rebound.Who is the coach? Brennan, 53, enters his third season at Arizona. He is 47-60 in nine years as an FBS head coach, including seven at San Jose State, where he led the Spartans to the 2020 Mountain West championship. Brennan was rewarded after last season with a contract extension, which pays him $4.7 million annually through 2030.Who is the QB? Noah Fifita (No. 10 in QB Tiers) returns for his fourth year as Arizona’s starter. He threw for 3,228 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2025, earning first-team All-Big 12 honors. Fifita owns Arizona’s single-season and career touchdown-pass records and enters 2026 within 828 yards of Nick Foles’ school career passing-yardage record.Key player: Linebacker Taye Brown. The third-team All-Big 12 selection was Arizona’s second-leading tackler (93) and is one of the few established veterans returning to a defense undergoing significant reconstruction. With four NFL Draft picks no longer in the secondary, Brown will be responsible for organizing a defense filled with transfers and inexperienced players.Game to circle: Nov. 28 vs. Arizona State. Arizona has won three out of four with a 23-7 victory for the Territorial Cup last season, but Kenny Dillingham’s program is still viewed as the big brother in-state, having won the Big 12 championship in 2024.— Manny NavarroArizona State Sun Devils2025 record: 8-5 (6-3 Big 12)
