Media members have released their annual Big 12 preseason polls, and judging by the results, there will be some stiff competition at the top of the expansion conference power rankings.
Five teams received first-place votes, with just six votes separating the top three teams in the media rankings in the race for the league championship.
The Big 12, one of the most active conferences in this year's historic realignment effort, added Utah, Arizona, Colorado and Arizona State, which finished first and last among the league's newcomers in this year's media poll.
Read more: ESPN releases 2024 college football rankings
Utah State was the preseason favorite to win the Big 12 Conference, receiving 906 total votes and 20 first-place votes, followed by Kansas State with 19 first-place votes and Oklahoma State with 14 first-place votes.
Kansas State received five first-place votes to finish fourth overall, while Arizona State rounded out the top five with three first-place votes.
1. Utah (906, 20)
2. Kansas State University (889, 19)
3. Oklahoma State University (829, 14)
4. Kansas (772, 5)
5. Arizona (762, 3)
6. Iowa State University (661)
7. West Virginia (581)
8. UCF (551)
9. Texas Tech University (532)
10. TCU (436)
11. Colorado (400)
12. Baylor (268)
13. BYU (215)
14. Cincinnati (196)
15. Houston (157)
16. Arizona State University (141)
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