Fall camps are set to begin around the country, which means it is time to turn full focus toward the upcoming college football season. As of Thursday, July 23, only six weeks remain until Colorado kicks off its season against Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
Our offseason work to date has included a ranking of the Big 12’s 16 football stadiums and how the conference’s schools stack up academically. With focus now turning to the upcoming season, our preview work is shifting to the conference’s various position groups. The quarterback landscape has already been analyzed, and up next is the Big 12’s 16 running back rooms, ranked from worst to first.
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Ranking Big 12 Running Back Rooms in 2026
Dec 6, 2025; Arlington, TX, USA; BYU Cougars running back LJ Martin (4) runs with the ball during the first half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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UCF Knights – (Landon Chambers, Duke Watson)
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Baylor Bears – (Dawson Pendergrass, Caden Knighten)
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TCU Horned Frogs – (Jeremy Payne, Landon Walker)
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Utah Utes – (Wayshawn Parker, Daniel Bray)
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West Virginia Mountaineers – (Cam Cook, Amri Latimer)
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BYU Cougars – (LJ Martin, Sione Moa)
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Texas Tech Red Raiders – (Cameron Dickey, J’Koby Williams)
Similar to the quarterbacks, the Big 12 is not short on elite rushing talent. In fact, you could make a strong argument that the top four running backs in the conference (Martin, Cook and Hawkins) are three of the best in college football.
Keep in mind that for this exercise we ranked running back rooms, not individuals, which is the reason Texas Tech’s room beats out BYU, WVU and Oklahoma State even though those schools have a more talented lead back.
Martin, Cook, Hawkins, and to a lesser extent, Parker should be considered the favorites to lead the league in rushing. Three of the four rushed for over 1,300 yards last year, with Cook leading the nation in rushing with 1,659 yards.
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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Ranking all 16 Big 12 running back rooms from worst to first
