Forget the old stereotypes of the Big 12 as a pass-happy, basketball-on-grass conference.
As the 2026 season kicks off, the road to the conference championship is being paved directly through the backfield. The Big 12 has quietly transformed into one of the most intriguing running back conferences in college football, boasting an elite mix of individual workhorses, explosive playmakers and deep backfield committees.
At one end of the spectrum, BYU’s reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year LJ Martin and West Virginia’s explosive Cam Cook give their teams legitimate stars capable of carrying an offense. On the other, Texas Tech has assembled a deep stable of backs that could wear down opposing defenses over the course of a season.
And then there is Colorado.
The Buffaloes are attempting to reinvent their running game under a new offensive philosophy, while Iowa State enters the season with perhaps the biggest question mark in the conference.
So where does each team stand?
To find out, Caleb, Matt and Zack each ranked all 16 Big 12 running back rooms. A first-place vote received 16 points, a second-place vote received 15 points, and so on down to one point for 16th place.
The result is a consensus ranking that combines all three ballots.
Big 12 Running Back Room Rankings
| Consensus | Team | Caleb | Matt | Zack | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas Tech | 2 | 1 | 1 | 47 |
| 2 | BYU | 1 | 2 | 2 | 46 |
| 3 | Utah | 3 | 5 | 7 | 36 |
| 3 | Kansas State | 4 | 6 | 5 | 36 |
| 3 | West Virginia | 8 | 3 | 4 | 36 |
| 6 | Houston | 5 | 7 | 6 | 33 |
| 6 | Oklahoma State | 11 | 4 | 3 | 33 |
| 8 | TCU | 6 | 8 | 8 | 29 |
| 9 | Kansas | 9 | 12 | 9 | 21 |
| 10 | Arizona | 7 | 14 | 10 | 20 |
| 11 | UCF | 10 | 11 | 11 | 19 |
| 12 | Baylor | 12 | 9 | 12 | 18 |
| 13 | Cincinnati | 13 | 10 | 13 | 15 |
| 14 | Arizona State | 14 | 15 | 14 | 8 |
| 15 | Iowa State | 16 | 13 | 16 | 6 |
| 16 | Colorado | 15 | 16 | 15 | 5 |
The Consensus Top Three
1. Texas Tech — 47 points
Texas Tech ultimately wins the consensus race, receiving two first-place votes and a second-place vote.
The Red Raiders’ biggest advantage is that nobody has to be the guy.
Cameron Dickey and J’Koby Williams combined for nearly 2,000 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns last season, while Quinten Joyner provides another high-upside option after missing the 2025 season with an injury.
That depth was enough to push Texas Tech past BYU in the final scoring.
2. BYU — 43 points
BYU came remarkably close to taking the top spot, finishing just four points behind Texas Tech.
The Cougars received one first-place vote and two second-place votes, making them the most consistently highly ranked team on the three ballots outside of Texas Tech.
The difference is LJ Martin.
The reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year returns after rushing for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2025. While the depth behind him isn’t viewed quite as favorably as Texas Tech’s, Martin gives BYU perhaps the conference’s most dominant individual weapon.
3. Houston — 35 points
Houston lands at No. 3, although the Cougars were not nearly as unanimous as the top two.
Caleb ranked Houston fifth, Zack sixth and Matt seventh. Still, all three had Houston comfortably inside the top seven.
That consistency matters in a consensus system, and the Cougars’ combination of proven production and depth was enough to put them ahead of Kansas State.
Where We Agreed
The strongest agreement came at the very top.
Texas Tech
Matt and Zack both put Texas Tech at No. 1, while Caleb had the Red Raiders No. 2.
That’s about as strong a consensus as a three-person ranking can produce.
BYU
The Cougars were another unanimous top-two selection. Caleb ranked them No. 1, while Matt and Zack both had them No. 2.
In other words, all three voters believe the Big 12’s two best running back rooms are Texas Tech and BYU. The only debate was which team deserved the top spot.
Kansas State
Kansas State finished fourth in the consensus rankings with ballots of fourth, sixth and fifth.
That’s another excellent example of agreement. Nobody had the Wildcats outside the top six.
TCU
TCU was ranked fifth, sixth, eighth and eighth across the three ballots, making the Horned Frogs another team where there was relatively little disagreement.
Where We Disagreed
The most interesting disagreements came with West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Utah and Arizona State.
West Virginia: From No. 3 to No. 8
This was one of the biggest differences on the entire ballot.
Matt ranked West Virginia third, Zack put the Mountaineers fourth, but Caleb dropped them all the way to 8th.
That massive difference is largely about how much weight each voter puts on Cam Cook versus the overall depth of the room.
Matt and Zack are willing to bet heavily on Cook’s elite production. Caleb is more skeptical about the supporting cast and overall proven depth.
The result? West Virginia finishes sixth in the consensus rankings despite being either a top-four team or a bottom-two team depending on the voter.
Oklahoma State: From No. 3 to No. 11
Oklahoma State generated another major disagreement.
Zack ranked the Cowboys third, Matt ranked them fourth, but Caleb had them 11th.
Zack and Matt are clearly buying into Caleb Hawkins, the sophomore transfer who produced a dominant freshman season at North Texas, while Caleb was much more concerned about Oklahoma State’s overall uncertainty.
That difference ultimately kept Oklahoma State from challenging for the top five despite receiving two top-four votes.
Utah: From No. 3 to No. 7
Utah also produced a sizable split.
Caleb was extremely high on the Utes, placing them third, while Matt ranked them fifth and Zack seventh.
Caleb’s enthusiasm centers around Wayshawn Parker, who finished just 19 yards shy of 1,000 rushing yards last season while averaging 6.6 yards per carry. The presence of quarterback Devon Dampier as another rushing threat further raises the ceiling.
The other two voters liked Utah but weren’t quite ready to put the Utes in the top three.
Caleb
1. BYU | BYU has the best running back room in the Big 12 because LJ Martin gives the Cougars an elite lead back while the rest of the room provides plenty of support. Martin is the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2025, and he was again selected as the conference’s preseason Offensive Player of the Year for 2026. His combination of size, vision, physicality, and consistency makes him one of the toughest backs in the conference. With Martin leading the way and BYU having enough depth behind him, this is the most complete backfield in the Big 12.
2. Texas Tech | Texas Tech has one of the deepest backfields in the conference. Cameron Dickey and J’Koby Williams combined for nearly 2,000 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns in 2025, giving the Red Raiders an extremely productive one-two punch. Both return for 2026, and Texas Tech also has additional options such as Kedrick Reescano and Quincy Craig. The biggest strength of this room is its depth Texas Tech can rotate multiple backs without losing much explosiveness or physicality.
3. Utah | Utah earns the No. 3 spot because Wayshawn Parker is one of the most explosive returning backs in the Big 12. Parker finished just 19 yards short of 1,000 rushing yards in 2025 while averaging an impressive 6.6 yards per carry. The Utes also have a quarterback in Devon Dampier who is a legitimate rushing threat, which makes the entire running game more difficult to defend. Utah’s combination of Parker’s big-play ability, quarterback mobility, and a physical offensive identity gives this room a very high ceiling.
4. Kansas State
5. Houston
6. TCU
7. Arizona
8. West Virginia
9. Kansas
10. UCF
11. Oklahoma State
12. Baylor
13. Cincinnati
14. Arizona State
15. Colorado | Colorado has talent in the backfield, but the room lacks the established production of most of the teams above it. Richard Young gives the Buffaloes an experienced option and was named to the Doak Walker Award watch list, but Colorado still has questions about overall depth.
16. Iowa State | Iowa State has the most uncertainty at running back entering 2026. The Cyclones are rebuilding much of their offense and don’t have the same combination of returning production and proven star power as the teams above them. This could change if a young back emerges, but entering the season, it’s the biggest question mark in the Big 12.
Matt
1. Texas Tech | The Red Raiders boast what seems to be the deepest, most stable three-man running back collective in the nation. This powerhouse unit is spearheaded by Cameron Dickey and J’Koby Williams. Adding a fully recovered, high-caliber dynamic weapon like Quinten Joyner back into the fold creates a relentless rotation that keeps opposing defenses completely off balance behind an experienced offensive line.
2. BYU | The Cougars ride high into 2026 strictly off the sheer dominance of LJ Martin, the reigning 2025 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. Martin carried the offense with a massive 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. Supported reliably by power-back Sione Moa, BYU possesses an identity-defining ground game that forces opposing defensive fronts to heavily stack the box.
3. West Virginia | The Mountaineers field a lethal ground assault spearheaded by explosive premier transfer Cam Cook. Cook set the college football landscape on fire in 2025 by leading the entire nation in rushing with 1,659 yards. Flanked by physical downhill runner Amri Latimer, West Virginia’s backfield remains built to perfectly complement their heavy, run-first blocking schemes.
4. Oklahoma State
5. Utah
6. Kansas State
7. Houston
8. TCU
9. Baylor
10. Cincinnati
11. UCF
12. Kansas
13. Iowa State
14. Arizona
15. Arizona State | The Sun Devils are undergoing a complete structural transition in their backfield. While Kyson Brown and Demarius Robinson possess fundamental speed, the unit enters 2026 with very little proven Power Four volume.
16. Colorado | Deion Sanders’ squad ranks at the bottom of the conference ground game due to years of severe static struggles, having finished dead last in the FBS in rushing in both 2023 and 2024. While new offensive coordinator Brennan Marion is introducing the multi-back “Go-Go” offense to change the narrative, the room—led by Richard Young and Micah Welch—is entirely unproven against elite Power Four defensive lines.
Zack
1. Texas Tech | The Red Raiders don’t have a clear top running back, but they have two proven backs in Cameron Dickey and J’Koby Williams. Last year as sophomores, the duo rushed for a combined 1,992 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground, plus another 612 receiving yards and 3 receiving touchdowns. Add Quinten Joyner, who has a lot of potential after missing the entire season last year with an injury, and Texas Tech should be a force to be reckoned with on the ground.
2. BYU | LJ Martin is the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, and it wouldn’t be crazy to see him repeat as a senior this season. The guys behind Martin aren’t particularly impressive, but he’s good enough to make the Cougars the most dangerous rushing attack in the conference.
3. Oklahoma State | The Cowboys have one of the top backs in the conference in sophomore transfer Caleb Hawkins. He put up a dominant freshman season last year at North Texas, and he’s one of the many Mean Green players that came over with new head coach Eric Morris who is expected to help get the program back to its winning ways. Backing him up is Ayo Adeyi, a redshirt senior transfer from James Madison who barely played the last couple of seasons due to a medical redshirt a regular redshirt year, but he’s expected to contribute in his final season of college football.
4. West Virginia
5. Kansas State
6. Houston
7. Utah
8. TCU
9. Kansas
10. Arizona
11. UCF
12. Baylor
13. Cincinnati
14. Arizona State
15. Colorado | The potential is there for the Buffaloes, but considering how awful they have been at running the ball in recent history, they’re going to need to prove it. Richard Young is a junior transfer from Alabama where he didn’t contribute much, but maybe his time spent there was just training for an opportunity elsewhere. Micah Welch returns after a sophomore season where showed some signs of playmaking ability, but he wasn’t consistent enough to earn a ton of touches.
16. Iowa State | Cameron Pettaway is a redshirt sophomore transfer from Bowling Green, where he was the MAC Freshman of the Year. He started in four games, and he appeared in nine, making an impact as a rusher and a kickoff returner. He could thrive as the featured back in Ames, but still, the Cyclones are very limited at this position.
Final Thoughts
The biggest takeaway from the rankings is that there isn’t a massive gap between the Big 12’s top running back rooms.
Texas Tech and BYU separated themselves, but Houston, Kansas State and TCU all received strong support. The consensus top five are particularly interesting because every one of those teams received multiple top-eight votes.
The middle of the conference is where things get fascinating.
West Virginia and Oklahoma State are the ultimate examples. Both received two top-four votes, yet Caleb’s skepticism pushed them down significantly. That demonstrates just how differently people can view a team when one elite running back is surrounded by varying levels of proven depth.
Utah is another fascinating case. Caleb’s belief in Wayshawn Parker pushed the Utes all the way to third, while Matt and Zack remained more conservative.
At the bottom, there was much more agreement.
Colorado and Iowa State were the only teams that failed to receive a single top-10 vote from all three evaluators, although Colorado finished 16th outright in the consensus standings and Iowa State finished 15th.
And that brings us back to the top.
Texas Tech didn’t win because one guy was wildly higher on the Red Raiders. It won because all three guys viewed the room as elite.
That’s what makes the Red Raiders the consensus No. 1.
BYU has the conference’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year. West Virginia has a national rushing leader. Oklahoma State has a potentially explosive young star. Utah has one of the conference’s most dangerous big-play backs.
But Texas Tech has something even more difficult to defend:
depth.
Over the course of the season, that may prove to be the difference.