This past week wasn’t nearly as exciting in the Big 12 as half the league took on schools from the Mountain West Conference. In total, Big 12 teams went 11-4 overall, including a 6-1 record against the MWC — sorry Kansas!
Two of the biggest games this week were Big 12 matchups: (No. 14 Kansas State vs. No. 21 Arizona and TCU vs. UCF). Both games were in primetime on Friday and Saturday. If we factor those games out, the Big 12 went 9-2 overall.
Houston picked up their first win of the season and the Big 12 still has 7 teams undefeated on the year: BYU, Utah, UCF, Iowa State, Kansas State, Arizona State and Oklahoma State. That number will drop to at least 5 by the end of the week as BYU (3-0) hosts No. 13 Kansas State (3-0), and No. 12 Utah (3-0) travels to Stillwater, Oklahoma to take on No. 14 Oklahoma State (3-0).
Lastly, with Arizona falling out of the Top 25 this week, the Big 12 Conference now has four ranked teams, the third most from any league. The conference also has four teams receiving votes.
So, how does the Big 12 stack up in this week’s power rankings? Let’s take a look.
| Big 12 Week 4 Power Rankings | Big 12 Football Preseason Poll (Media) |
| 1. Kansas State (3-0) | 1. Utah |
| 2. Iowa State (2-0) | 2. Kansas State |
| 3. Utah (3-0) | 3. Oklahoma State |
| 4. Oklahoma State (3-0) | 4. Kansas |
| 5. UCF (3-0) | 5. Arizona |
| 6. Arizona State (3-0) | 6. Iowa State |
| 7. BYU (3-0) | 7. West Virginia |
| 8. TCU (2-1) | 8. UCF |
| 9. Arizona (2-1) | 9. Texas Tech |
| 10. Baylor (2-1) | 10. TCU |
| 11. Cincinnati (2-1) | 11. Colorado |
| 12. Texas Tech (2-1) | 12. Baylor |
| 13. Colorado (2-1) | 13. BYU |
| 14. Houston (1-2) | 14. Cincinnati |
| 15. West Virginia (1-2) | 15. Houston |
| 16. Kansas (1-2) | 16. Arizona State |
As a reminder, rankings are based on what teams have done so far this season. This is not a prediction of where they will end up.
No. 1 Kansas State (3-0)
Last Week Ranking: No. 4
Wins: UT Martin (41-6), Tulane (34-27), No. 20 Arizona (31-7)
Losses: None
Although it didn’t count officially as a conference game, No. 14 Kansas State made sure they gave No. 20 Arizona a nice welcome into the Big 12 Conference Friday night with a 31-7 blowout victory inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
In a top-20 matchup between Big 12 foes, the 14th ranked Wildcats scored 31 unanswered points to cruise to the victory. Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson was one of the stars of the night as the sophomore threw two touchdown passes, while Dylan Edwards added a spectacular 71-yard punt return for a score.
So far, Kansas State has the most impressive ranked win and combined with Tulane taking Oklahoma to the wire last week, that win looks a lot better now too.
Next up: @ BYU (3-0)
No. 2 Iowa State (2-0)
Last Week Ranking: No. 1
Wins: North Dakota (21-3), No. 21 Iowa (20-19)
Losses: None
Bye Week.
Next up: vs. Arkansas State (2-1)
No. 3 Utah (3-0)
Last Week Ranking: No. 2
Wins: Southern Utah (49-0), Baylor (23-12), Utah State (38-21)
Losses: None
Utah quarterback Isaac Wilson had 239 yards passing and three touchdowns in his first career start to lead No. 12 Utah to a 38-21 victory over Utah State on Saturday. Wilson started in place of Cam Rising, who sat out after injuring his throwing hand against Baylor last week. Nine players caught a pass from the true freshman in his first 200-yard game. Wilson was the first Utah quarterback to throw three touchdown passes in his first start as a true freshman.
Utah State jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the second quarter, before Utah outscored the Aggies 35-7 the rest of the way.
I’m bumping Utah down because Iowa State and Kansas state have wins over ranked opponents and the Utah State game was a lot closer than it should have been. The Utes will have a chance to get their first ranked win of the season against Oklahoma State.
Next up: @ No. 14 Oklahoma State (3-0)
No. 4 Oklahoma State (3-0)
Last Week Ranking: No. 3
Wins: South Dakota State (44-20), Arkansas (39-31, 2OT), Tulsa (45-10)
Losses: None
Alan Bowman matched a career high with five touchdown passes, and No. 13 Oklahoma State routed Tulsa 45-10 on Saturday to set up a Big 12 showdown against No. 12 Utah.
Bowman, completed 24 of 31 passes for 396 yards and one interception before sitting out the fourth quarter. Bowman’s favorite target was junior wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling who caught seven passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns.
The Cowboys can make a big statement with a win over Utah this weekend. The winner will have an inside track to the Big 12 title as both teams were voted in the Top 3 in the Big 12 preseason poll.
Next up: vs. No. 12 Utah (3-0)
No. 5 UCF (3-0)
Last Week Ranking: No. 8
Wins: New Hampshire (57-3), Sam Houston (45-0), TCU (35-34)
Losses: None
The first Big 12 game of the season lived up to the hype as UCF quarterback KJ Jefferson threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Kobe Hudson with 36 seconds left as the Knights overcame several blocked kicks and a three-touchdown deficit in the third quarter to stun TCU 35-34 on Saturday night.
At the moment, UCF is the darkhorse to win the Big 12 title, and if KJ Jefferson can stay healthy and keep improving, they have a great shot.
Next up: vs. Colorado (2-1)
No. 6 Arizona State (3-0)
Last Week Ranking: No. 5
Wins: Wyoming (48-7), Mississippi State (30-23), Texas State (31-28)
Losses: None
It wasn’t pretty, but Arizona State found a way to win on the road as the Sun Devils used a second half comeback to beat Texas State 31-28 Friday night. The offense managed just 347 yards of total offense, however, thanks to three turnovers from it’s defense, the Sun Devil offense didn’t have to go very far to score.
The Mississippi State win two weeks ago doesn’t look as good now after the Bulldogs lost to Toledo. Wyoming is also winless on the season too. Despite that, it’s been fun seeing Arizona State succeed after all the troubles last year.
The Sun Devils will look to keep its perfect season alive on the road against Texas Tech (2-1).
Next up: @ Texas Tech (2-1)
No. 7 BYU (3-0)
Last Week Ranking: No. 9
Wins: Southern Illinois (41-13), SMU (18-15), Wyoming (34-14)
Losses: None
BYU led from start to finish and cruised to a 34-14 road victory over Wyoming Saturday night at War Memorial Stadium. The win was BYU’s 10th consecutive in the series and gives the Cougars a perfect non-conference record (3-0) for the second straight season.
BYU QB Jake Retzlaff bounced back from his poor performance last week against SMU as he completed 22-of-36 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns.
BYU will look to keep its unbeaten season alive as the Cougars host the 13th ranked Wildcats at LaVell Edwards Stadium Saturday night in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
Next up: vs. No. 13 Kansas State (3-0)
No. 8 TCU (2-1)
Last Week Ranking: No. 7
Wins: Stanford (34-27), Long Island University (45-0)
Losses: UCF (34-35)
TCU had the game well in control up three touchdowns at home in the second half. But the Horned Frogs let it slip away in a 35-34 loss to UCF. TCU will look to bounce back in a road game at SMU. This will be the second Big 12 opponent for SMU as BYU won two weeks ago (18-15) in Dallas, Texas.
With BYU-TCU next to each other in the power rankings, this game will provide a good indicator of where both teams are at after facing SMU. ESPN’s FPI gives SMU a 54% chance of winning, however, oddsmakers have TCU as a 3-point favorite at the moment.
Next up: @ SMU (2-1)
No. 9 Arizona (2-1)
Last Week Ranking: No. 6
Wins: New Mexico (61-39), Northern Arizona (22-10)
Losses: No. 14 Kansas Sate (7-31)
The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time after getting blown out on the road last week. The Wildcats will look to rest up with the bye week and regroup as they travel to Utah in a battle of former Pac-12 foes.
Next up: @ Utah (3-0)
No. 10 Baylor (2-1)
Last Week Ranking: No. 11
Wins: Tarleton State (45-3), Air Force (31-3)
Losses: Utah (12-23)
Baylor bounced back from it’s loss to Utah and dominated Air Force at home. Next up for the Bears is a trip to Boulder to take on the Colorado Buffaloes. This game will be a good a good barometer of where these teams stand at the moment.
Next up: @ Colorado (2-1)
No. 11 Cincinnati (2-1)
Last Week Ranking: No. 13
Wins: Towson (38-20), Miami OH (27-16)
Losses: Pittsburgh (27-28)
Cincinnati took care of business on the road against Miami (Ohio) and are just two points away from being undefeated in the loss to Pittsburgh. The Panthers took down West Virginia this past week so the loss to the Panthers doesn’t look so bad as it once did.
Next up: vs. Houston (1-2)
No. 12 Texas Tech (2-1)
Last Week Ranking: No. 14
Wins: Abilene Christian (52-51), North Texas (66-21)
Losses: Washington State (16-37)
I’m moving the Red Raiders up a slot after they blasted North Texas at home. The Red Raiders loss at Washington State the week before doesn’t look so bad as the Cougars beat their in-state rival Washington.
Texas Tech will look to keep its winning streak going as it welcomes an undefeated Arizona State program to Jones AT&T Stadium.
Next up: vs. Arizona State (3-0)
No. 13 Colorado (2-1)
Last Week Ranking: No. 16
Wins: North Dakota State (31-26), Colorado State (28-9)
Losses: Nebraska (10-28)
Colorado needed to do what it needed to do as the Buffs took down rival Colorado State on the road. Travis Hunter was spectacular again and did something that hasn’t been done since Kansas State’s Kevin Lockett: 100 receiving yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
However, the Buffs remain a mystery based on the weak non-conference schedule. We’ll know more about them over the coming weeks, starting with Baylor on Saturday.
Next up: vs. Baylor (2-1)
No. 14 Houston (1-2)
Last Week Ranking: No. 15
Wins: Rice (33-7)
Losses: UNLV (7-27), Oklahoma (12-16)
Houston picked up it’s first win of the season with a 33-7 victory over Rice last week. We’ll get a good look at where Houston stands as they begin Big 12 play this week as the Cougars go on the road to face Cincinnati.
Next up: @ Cincinnati (2-1)
No. 15 West Virginia (1-2)
Last Week Ranking: No. 12
Wins: UAlbany (49-14)
Losses: No. 8 Penn State (12-34), Pittsburgh (34-38)
It was a tough choice on who should be ranked last, and this week, West Virginia edged out Kansas… barely. The Mountaineers lost a heartbreaking game against Pittsburgh (34-38 this weekend to drop to 1-2 so far this year.
The season has been a disappointment to say the least as West Virginia brought back a lot of experience, including talented quarterback Garrett Greene. The Mountaineers will look to regroup this week as they host Kansas (1-2) who is also struggling. The loser of this game might miss a bowl game based on how they are playing right now.
Next up: vs. Kansas (1-2)
No. 16 Kansas (1-2)
Last Week Ranking: No. 10
Wins: Lindenwood (48-3)
Losses: Illinois (23-17), UNLV (20-23)
Well this is a shocker that I didn’t expect to see this season.
Kansas is the newest member of the Big 12 basement after falling to UNLV (20-23) at home last Friday. The Jayhawks are committing way too many turnovers that if they can clean those up, they’ll win some games and move out of the basement.
Next up: @ West Virginia (1-2)
