BYU Football ranked top Big 12 team in preseason Top 25

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jeff Hauser | Last updated May 5, 2025 4:54 PM ET

BYU football hits the end of the 2025 spring period in great shape before the season. They also are starting to get some national recognition. FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt released his preseason top 25 rankings on Monday. The Cougars were the highest-ranked team in the Big 12 at No. 14.

"(BYU) is gonna be the best Big 12 team," Klatt said. "Jake Retzlaff is really, really good. He's a gamer. I love his game. I think a lot of people are gonna put Arizona State in this spot, maybe even Iowa State in this spot, but man, Retzlaff, watch out for them."

Overall, Klatt has five Big 12 teams in his too-early college football Top 25 rankings. Arizona State, Kansas State, Iowa State, and Baylor all made the cut with BYU.

As for the rest of Klatt's Top 25, Penn State, Texas, Ohio State, Oregon, and Clemson are the top five coming out of the spring. Here are the entire rankings.

1. Penn State

2. Texas

3. Ohio State

4. Oregon

5. Clemson

6. Notre Dame

7. LSU

8. Georgia

9. Alabama

10. Illinois

11. South Carolina

12. Michigan

13. Florida

14. BYU

15. Arizona State

16. Kansas State

17. Iowa State

18. Miami

19. Texas A&M

20. Ole Miss

21. Indiana

22. Auburn

23. Iowa

24. Baylor

25. Oklahoma

Kalani Sitake and his staff look to build off last year's Alamo Bowl victory over Colorado. Returning talent at key positions will put BYU ahead of other conference teams using the transfer portal to rebuild year after year.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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