Big 12 Power Rankings: Don’t sleep on Houston, K-State or Utah late in the year
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Big 12 title race remains open; eight teams still hold realistic championship chances.
- BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and Tech lead the conference; upcoming games will sort order.
- Late-season schedules, health and head-to-head results will decide who reaches Arlington.
Here’s a stat worth remembering as we try to make sense of the Big 12 championship race over the final month of the season.
A team with at least two conference losses has played for a Big 12 title every year since 2020. Heck, both Arizona State and Iowa State flew to Arlington, Texas, with 7-2 conference records last year.
That means that eight teams, or half the conference, still have a realistic shot to win the league.
BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and Texas Tech are in the best position right now. But Arizona State, Kansas State, TCU and Utah can dream about crashing the party ... if they win out.
That gives us a lot to cover this week.
Let’s take some time to analyze everything we have seen up to this point — heading into Week 10 — and project what will happen in the future with a new edition of Big 12 Power Rankings.
Closing the gap on the Red Raiders
1. Texas Tech (7-1, 4-1 Big 12): Quarterback Behren Morton is expected to return to the starting lineup against Kansas State this week. That is good news for the Red Raiders. But they need to keep him healthy this time around, because backup Will Hammond is out for the season with a knee injury.
2. BYU (8-0, 5-0): The Cougars made a compelling case for the top spot by improving to 8-0 with a stirring comeback at Iowa State. But they remain here for at least one more week. BYU can prove it is the best team in the league soon with both Cincinnati and Texas Tech on the schedule.
3. Cincinnati (7-1, 5-0): Some will argue that the Bearcats haven’t been tested during Big 12 play, but that will change on Saturday when they head to Utah along with “College Gameday” for a high-stakes game against the Utes.
Getting hot at the right time
4. Houston (7-1, 4-1): The more I look at the Big 12 standings, the more I like the No. 22 Cougars. Even though they are ranked behind BYU (10), Texas Tech (13) and Cincinnati (17), they have the softest remaining schedule of all the conference contenders — West Virginia, at UCF, TCU, at Baylor.
5. Utah (6-2, 3-2): The Utes beat up on the Colorado Buffaloes in every way imaginable over the weekend. Not only did Utah win 53-7, but it produced some jaw-dropping stats. The Utes gained 587 yards and held the Buffs to just 140. The game was over at halftime with Utah leading 43-0.
6. Kansas State (4-4, 3-2): The Wildcats are playing like one of the best teams in the Big 12. They have won three of their past four games, and the loss came by a single point at Baylor. Chris Klieman was proven correct when he called his roster an “ascending team.”
7. TCU (6-2, 3-2): You never have to apologize for winning in the Big 12, but the Horned Frogs did not play their best game in a 23-17 victory over West Virginia.
Fading fast
8. Arizona State (5-3, 3-2): Without a healthy Jordyn Tyson at wide receiver or a healthy Sam Leavitt at quarterback, the Sun Devils don’t have much hope of staying in the Big 12 championship race.
9. Iowa State (5-3, 2-3): The Cyclones appeared on their way to a dream season when they started 5-0. But things are starting to feel like a nightmare after three straight losses. Rocco Becht tossing three interceptions against BYU led to the most recent defeat.
10. Baylor (4-4, 2-3): Is Dave Aranda on the hot seat? He may need another late-season surge to save his job.
11. Kansas (4-4, 2-3): A blowout loss in the Sunflower Showdown was the type of result that will make some question Lance Leipold. Yes, he has been a big improvement over Les Miles and some of the other KU coaches who came before him. But he only has one winning season with the Jayhawks and zero victories in rivalry games.
No more bye weeks
12. Arizona (4-3, 1-3): With Colorado, Kansas and Baylor still on the schedule, a bowl game remains within reach for the Wildcats.
13. UCF (4-3, 0-3): The Knights can play the role of spoiler down the stretch. They will play Houston, Texas Tech and BYU over the final month of the season.
The bad and the ugly
14. Colorado (3-5, 1-4): Here’s the most embarrassing thing about Colorado’s blowout loss at Utah — the Buffaloes had two weeks to prepare for the game and still lost 53-7.
15. West Virginia (2-6, 0-5): The Mountaineers have lost five in a row. On the bright side, they stayed within single digits against TCU. They hadn’t accomplished that since Big 12 play began.
16. Oklahoma State (1-7, 0-5): The Cowboys might be the worst road team in Big 12 history. So far this season, they have lost at Oregon 69-3, at Arizona 41-13 and at Texas Tech 42-0. No wonder they are 24.5-point underdogs at Kansas this week.
This story was originally published October 29, 2025 at 5:30 AM.