It was almost five-alarm chaos time in the Big 12 between Friday and Saturday night. Instead, the picture is starting to clear up regarding which teams can actually win this conference. There are three clear-cut contenders, with one more knocking at the door. But where do all of the teams find themselves in the Big 12 week nine power rankings?
Big 12 Week Nine Power Rankings
16. Houston (Previous Ranking – 12)
Well, Houston, that was unexpected. This team had shown some positive signs over the last few weeks to suggest they wouldn’t be a pushover this year. So when playing the team camped out in the bottom spot of the Big 12 power rankings, a competitive game seemed to be the minimal expectation. Instead, the Jayhawks smacked around Houston by the score of 42-14. Houston was minus four in the turnover margin and was out of the game by the end of the first quarter. The Cougars are looking to rebound this week against a slumping Utah team.
15. Kansas (Previous Ranking – 16)
Speaking of Kansas, a quick congratulations to them for getting out of the lowest spot in the Big 12 week nine power rankings. Everything finally was clicking for Lance Leipold’s team against Houston. This was the type of performance many expected out of this team all season. Quarterback Jalon Daniels played his best game of the season, only having five incompletions, three touchdowns, and zero turnovers. Can they keep the good vibes going in the Sunflower Showdown this week?
14. West Virginia (Previous Ranking – 11)
It is tough to gauge who this Mountaineer team is truly. After another game in which Neal Brown’s team was uncompetitive, this time against Kansas State, they dropped to 3-4 on the season. However, their four losses are to teams ranked in the following spots in the top 25; three, 11, 16, and 19. The problem is their average margin of defeat in those four games is just over 16 points. Only one of those four losses did West Virginia look like they even had a remote chance of winning. The good news for the Mountaineers is they likely won’t face a top-25 team for the rest of the season. The bad news is they won’t play a home game again until November 16th.
13. Oklahoma State (Previous Ranking – 15)
For the first time in about a month, Mike Gundy’s team showed some life. It also turns out that Ollie Gordon still knows how to play football at a high level. He finished the game with 16 carries for 107 yards and two touchdowns, including a highlight reel-worthy hurdle during one of his touchdown runs. But it still wasn’t enough on a Provo Friday night. The Pokes remain winless in Big 12 play, but it was encouraging to see them play closer to the team we saw last year. They have a great chance to get their first Big 12 victory next week with the Baylor Bears coming to Stillwater.
12. Baylor (Previous Ranking – 14)
Speaking of those Bears, they finally broke through in Big 12 play last week in Lubbock. Dave Aranda turned down the heat on his seat for at least one week by dismantling his good friend Joey McGuire to the tune of 59-35. Baylor could do no wrong on Saturday against a Texas Tech team many anticipate to make a big statement coming off a bye week. Quarterback Sawyer Robertson, coming off a career game, looks to stay hot when they take on Oklahoma State this week.
11. Utah (Previous Ranking – 8)
No team is falling faster in the Big 12 week nine power rankings than the Utes. Offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig resigned on Monday after a 13-7 loss at home to TCU. Utah has failed to surpass 22 offensive points against any of the five Big 12 opponents (one non-conference game against Baylor) it has faced this season. Kyle Whittingham’s defense is still playing outstanding ball. But without any help from its offense, this team is now trying to fight for bowl contention. A road trip to Houston this week should have the Utes bouncing back on their feet.
10. TCU (Previous Ranking – 13)
In a game where two full quarters had zero points scored combined, it was not the easiest game on the eyes for any college football fan (especially after midnight). But someone had to win and kudos to TCU for being the team on the right side. TCU significantly outgained Utah (403-267 yards of offense) but wasn’t able to finish off drives. Sonny Dykes’ team had been sputtering most of the season and this win didn’t suggest that they have fixed a lot of their issues. But it still was a road win in a tough environment that deserves a hat tip. This week, they square off with a Texas Tech team that was wrecked on their homecoming weekend by Baylor.
9. Arizona (Previous Ranking – 7)
It is pretty clear that the Wildcats can only do one thing on offense. When it works, the offense goes BOOM. And it is quite spectacular to watch. But when wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan is kept in check, it gets ugly in a hurry for Arizona. So the final score of 34-7 in a defeat at the hands of Colorado shouldn’t be shocking when McMillan’s stat line was five receptions for 38 yards. That road win over Utah is again like moldy cheese each week, so there is no result Wildcat fans can hang their hat on confidently at this point in the season. It will be an interesting watch to see them face another struggling Big 12 team in West Virginia this week. Whoever loses that game, their fans will be officially punting on the season.
8. UCF (Previous Ranking – 10)
UCF got all the breaks it needed. It spiritually got two pick-sixes (one of them the defender dropped before crossing the goalline, UCF still scored a touchdown on the next play). Running back RJ Harvey got loose to the tune of 196 rushing yards and two touchdowns. And yet, the Knights still saw this game slip away in the final 30 seconds in a 38-35 loss to Iowa State. After starting the season 3-0, UCF has lost four straight. Can they try to bottle up some of that magic from last week and snap their losing streak against BYU this week?
7. Arizona State (Previous Ranking – 5)
When Cam Skattebo gets bottled up, the Arizona State offense stalls very quickly. Adding in the fact they were playing with a backup quarterback, their 24-14 loss comes into focus very quickly. However, the loss quickly took a back seat to the post-game press conference. For context, the Sun Devils have gone three straight games without a made field goal. With two misses late in the game, the frustrations finally boiled over for Kenny Dillingham.
“Our kicking game’s atrocious,” Dillingham said. “So, if you can kick and you’re at Arizona State, email me. We’re going to have kicking tryouts on Monday, so bring it on.” Once cooler head prevailed a few hours later, Dillingham apologized on X. Last Word has a question for coach Dillingham though. Your team was down 10 with nine minutes left to go in the game. You had the ball on Cincinnati’s 30-yard line on fourth and two. If you knew the kicking game was on this shaky ground, why not go for it?
6. Cincinnati (Previous Ranking – 9)
Locking down Skattebo to four-and-a-half yards per carry is no small feat. The Bearcats are just quietly plugging along at 5-2, with their two losses on the season by a combined four points. Transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby has been the exact upgrade the Bearcats needed to get this offense rolling. Scott Satterfield has done a good job of making the changes necessary to turn this team around from last season. If Cincinnati wants to truly announce itself as a late-rallying contender for this conference, they have a great opportunity to do so this week against Colorado.
5. Texas Tech (Previous Ranking – 4)
If Texas Tech didn’t hold head-to-head wins over the previous two teams, the Red Raiders would have slid much further down the Big 12 week nine power rankings. Their atrocious performance in a 24-point defeat against Baylor was shocking. This team was coming off a bye week and was as healthy as the team possibly could have been. When this team has fallen this season, which is only twice, they have crashed hard. Their margin of defeat in those two losses is a combined 45 points. With their four-game-winning streak snapped, can Texas Tech flush that putrid game and start a new win streak against TCU?
4. Colorado (Previous Ranking – 6)
We are now entering the portion of the Big 12 week nine power rankings where teams have demonstrated enough noteworthy performance to be recognized as a team capable of getting to the conference title game. Colorado is right on the edge of that category. This is not the same team that was dismantled by Nebraska in week two.
Quarterback Sheduer Sanders and company torched Arizona from the opening kickoff. The defense locked down one of the best wide receivers in the country. Coach Deion Sanders has this team rolling along in a business-like fashion. Over the next two weeks, the Buffalos play the two teams they are currently tied with for third in the conference. Separation one way or another is coming for this Colorado team.
3. Kansas State (Previous Ranking – 3)
Don’t look now, but the Wildcats are rolling. With the exception of the BYU game, Kansas State has scored at least 31 points in their six other games this season. Quarterback Avery Johnson continues to improve as a passer. Much of the Kansas State team hardly had to break a sweat with their 27-point victory over West Virginia. This team has enough recent history to believe they will only keep getting better. They are tracking on a collision course for Farmegedon to be a play-in game to the Big 12 championship game.
2. Iowa State (Previous Ranking – 2)
That Farmegedon train is still on the tracks only because Iowa State survived the upset bid by UCF. At one point in the game, Iowa State trailed 28-14 in the third quarter. But despite multiple turnovers and an inefficient day by quarterback Rocco Becht, Matt Campbell’s team moved to 7-0 for only the second time in program history. In a highly competitive Big 12, winning on days when the “A” game is missing is critical for anyone wanting to win this conference. The Cyclones are on their second and final bye-week to prepare for the last five weeks of the season.
1. BYU (Previous Ranking – 1)
Iowa State must have seen BYU’s Friday performance and said, “Wouldn’t that be fun to pull out a late-game victory for the home team?” BYU was pushed to the brink by Oklahoma State. But thanks to quarterback Jake Retzlaff’s 35-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to Darius Lassiter (aided by some horrific tackling by Oklahoma State) with 10 seconds remaining, BYU held on to its undefeated record. BYU has created more turnovers (16) than all but three defenses nationally. They survived this game in which they lost the turnover margin against the Pokes. Now, they travel down to Orlando to face a UCF team that refound its running game mojo.
