Greg McElroy Names Sleeper Big 12 Program As College Football Playoff Contender

Conference realignment and the introduction of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff have created a race to the top of the new-look Big 12 ahead of the 2024 season.

Who will take the reigns of the conference with perennial powers Texas and Oklahoma entering their first year in the SEC?

The Sooners won six-straight Big 12 titles from 2015-20, while the Longhorns secured their first conference title since 2009 ahead of a playoff appearance last season.

Arizona, Arizona State and Utah will add to the competition following their addition from the Pac-12. The Wildcats would have been the second highest-ranked (No. 11) Big 12 squad behind Texas in 2023.

Oklahoma (No. 15), Oklahoma State (No. 16), Kansas State (No. 18) and Kansas (No. 23) rounded out the conference's selections in the final AP Poll of the season.

While the Jayhawks represented the last Big 12 team in the top-25, ESPN analyst Greg McElroy believes they deserve a closer look as a potential playoff contender.

Kansas was one of the better stories in the sport last year after starting out 4-0 for the second consecutive season. Just when the Jayhawks finally seemed like a Big-12 Championship contender, star quarterback Jalon Daniels was sidelined with a back injury that ultimately ended his season early.

Lance Leipold, who took the helm in 2021, steadied the ship and led Kansas to a 9-4 record with a win a win over UNLV in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, the program's first bowl win since 2008.

"Lance Leipold's Kansas Jayhawks are College Football Playoff contenders this year," McElroy said on 'Always College Football' . "If you don't believe me, look at the odds in the Big 12 to win the conference. You look at what Lance Leipold has done in the first three years, there's reason to believe this could be his best group."

Kansas is sixth in Big 12 Championship odds at +1000, per FanDuel.

The Jayhawks were the laughing stock of the conference for more than a decade, winning no more than three games in a single season from 2010-21. After finishing 2-10 in Leipold's first year, Kansas improved to 6-7 in 2022 before securing its first winning season since 2008 in 2023.

Leipold has shown steady improvement during his tenure. Pair that track record with the return of Daniels and the Jayhawks should provide plenty of issues for opposing teams in 2024.

“You do have Jalon Daniels, who last year would have been in contention, not just as top tier quarterback in the preseason Big 12 rankings, but as kind of a dark horse Hesiman," McElroy said. "This guy is electric, man.”

McElroy also likes what the Jayhawks bring back in the secondary, an experienced and talented group led by star cornerback Cobee Bryant.

"Defense is elite in the secondary in some ways," he said. "Really, really good."

The Jayhawks will kick off the 2024 season at home against Lindenwood on Thursday, August 29.

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