Big 12 Power Rankings: Arizona State, Cincinnati and Houston can play spoiler
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Big 12 cycle of upsets persists; Kansas could upset Iowa State at Jack Trice.
- Texas Tech can clinch a CFP spot with one win; Utah, BYU and Houston contest berths.
- Arizona State, Cincinnati and Houston can spoil title races while many teams chase bowls.
With Kansas heading to Iowa State this weekend, now seems like a good time to remind everyone that a game of rock, paper, scissors is once again playing out in the Big 12.
Around these parts, it’s called Cyclone, Jayhawk, Wildcat.
Here’s how it works. Cyclone beats Wildcat. Jayhawk beats Cyclone. Wildcat beats Jayhawk.
That’s how it has gone in recent years, anyway. Iowa State has won three straight football games against K-State. Kansas has won three straight against Iowa State. And K-State has won 17 straight against KU.
With that in mind, don’t be surprised if KU pulls off an upset Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium.
Let’s also take some time to analyze everything we have seen in the conference up to this point — heading into Week 13 — and project what will happen in the future with a new edition of Big 12 Power Rankings.
Taking aim at the College Football Playoff
1. Texas Tech (10-1, 7-1 Big 12): The Red Raiders always win with style points. All 10 of their victories have come by at least 22 points. They can clinch a playoff berth with one more win.
2. Utah (8-2, 5-2): Here’s hoping the Utes can earn an at-large berth into the College Football Playoff. The way they are playing right now, they look like a team that could make noise in the postseason.
3. BYU (9-1, 6-1): Remember when some were concerned about the BYU offense with Bear Bachmeier taking over at quarterback? He guided the Cougars to another big win on Saturday by throwing for 296 yards and a touchdown against TCU.
Potential Big 12 championship spoilers
4. Houston (8-2, 5-2): The Cougars have put together a good season. They can turn it into a great one by ending the year with a bang against in-state rivals TCU and Baylor. Two more wins, combined with two BYU losses and one loss from both Arizona State and Utah, would keep them alive in the Big 12 race.
5. Arizona State (7-3, 5-2): The Sun Devils should cheer hard for Cincinnati this weekend. If BYU goes down, and there is a tie for second place in the Big 12 standings, Arizona State holds all the tiebreakers because of its regular season win over Texas Tech. In other words, ASU will be heading to Arlington with two more wins and a BYU loss.
Bowl bound
6. Arizona (7-3, 4-3): It rarely looks pretty with the Wildcats, but you can’t argue with their results. Arizona is having a nice bounce-back season under Brent Brennan.
7. Cincinnati (7-3, 5-2): Quarterback Brendan Sorsby has thrown three interceptions in his past two games, and the Bearcats no longer look like one of the best teams in the conference. But Cincinnati can still make the Big 12 title game by winning its two final games and getting losses from Arizona State, Houston and Utah.
8. Iowa State (6-4, 3-4): The Cyclones could end up in a decent bowl game if they win their final two games against Kansas and Oklahoma State.
9. TCU (6-4, 3-4): What happened to Josh Hoover this season? The TCU quarterback has thrown two interceptions in all four of his team’s losses, including a 44-13 beatdown at BYU.
The .500 club
10. Kansas State (5-5, 4-3): A 14-6 victory at Oklahoma State will go down as one of the least exciting games of the entire conference season. But that won’t mean anything in the conference standings. The Wildcats are within one win of bowl eligibility.
11. Baylor (5-5, 3-4): It may be time for the Bears to part ways with head coach Dave Aranda. But things are complicated in Waco. Athletic director Mack Rhoades has taken a leave of absence.
12. Kansas (5-5, 3-4): The Jayhawks are running out of chances to clinch bowl eligibility.
They’re on to next season
13. West Virginia (4-7, 2-6): Rich Rodriguez deserves for credit for getting the Mountaineers to fight back from a 2-6 start. They have been a much improved team this month, and they pushed Arizona State in a 25-23 loss over the weekend.
14. UCF (4-6, 1-6): Road games have not been kind to the Knights this season. They have lost their four Big 12 road games by an average of 22 points. And they still have to go to BYU.
15. Colorado (3-7, 1-6): The Buffaloes didn’t play last week, but they did lose their athletic director.
16. Oklahoma State (1-9, 0-7): Baylor and Kansas have both produced some dreadful football teams during the Big 12 era. But this Oklahoma State squad is giving them a run for their money.