Big 12 Power Rankings updated after Week 3 of college football
The latest Big 12 Power Rankings from On3, utilizing the On3 Massey Ratings, are in after Week 1 of the college football regular season.
The On3 Massey Ratings – which were officially used during the BCS era and have generated high school sports team rankings since 1995 – rank sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule, and margin of victory.
Now, here’s how the 16 teams in the Big 12 currently stack up:
1. Kansas State Wildcats (3-0)
Kansas State played on Friday night against Arizona in what was technically a non-conference game. It’s a quirk of conference realignment. That means that it wasn’t going to help the Wildcats out in the conference standings but it certainly was a statement win over one of the teams expected to compete for a conference championship this season.
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In the end, Kansas State beat Arizona by 24 points in what ended up being a dominant defensive performance. It wasn’t a perfect performance from quarterback Avery Johnson, who made a clock-management mistake at the end of the first half and left points on the board. However, it was good enough and since he’s taken over it seems like all the Wildcats do is win.
2. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-0)
The Oklahoma State Cowboys jumped out to a fast start this season with a 3-0 start. The most recent of those was an easy win on the road against Tulsa. It was a game highlighted by the play of quarterback Alan Bowman, who had five touchdown passes on the day.
If there is a concern to this point in the season for Oklahoma State, it’s the play of running back Ollie Gordon. Teams know to gameplan to stop him and he’s becoming priority number one. Against Tulsa, he only rushed for 2.4 yards per carry. Through three games, he’s averaging 72 rushing yards per game, compared to 123.7 yards per game last season. If he gets going, then the Cowboys are going to be almost impossible to slow down.
3. Utah Utes (3-0)
The Utah Utes earned a win over rival Utah State in Week 3 by a score of 38-21. It was a relatively comfortable win on the road and to this point in the season, the Utes look like one of the best teams in the Big 12. They’re well-rounded, well-coached, and tough to beat.
If there is a concern for Utah, it’s the health of quarterback Cam Rising. He was unable to play against the Aggies after suffering an apparent hand injury in Week 2. This is after he missed the entire 2023 season with a knee injury that derailed the Utah offense at times. Getting him healthy and back on the field has to be a top priority.
4. Iowa State Cyclones (2-0)
The Iowa State Cyclones had an early bye week this offseason. With that, Iowa State was able to take some time to enjoy its win over Week 2 Iowa and improve in the areas that they’ve struggled early in the season. Now, in Week 4, the Cyclones will be back in action with another non-conference game against Arkansas State.
The defense has been a massive strength for Iowa State. Through this point in the season, their 11 points allowed per game makes the Cyclones the 21st-ranked scoring defense. Now, if Iowa State’s running game can improve on offense, and give quarterback Rocco Becht some help, the Cyclones could be ready to threaten to make a run at a conference championship.
5. UCF Knights (3-0, 1-0)
The UCF Knights won the first Big 12 conference game of the season in dramatic fashion. Trailing by 21 points in the third quarter, UCF came all the way back to take a last-minute lead. Their opponent, TCU, was able to set up a long field goal attempt as time expired but pushed it right and UCF completed the comeback win.
UCF’s clear strength is the running game. To this point, the Knights are averaging 375.67 yards per game rushing, which is second in rushing offense behind only Army. However, in the comeback, quarterback KJ Jefferson needed to prove he could throw the ball in this offense and he answered that call. Now, the Knights have a bye week to continue to build up their confidence.
6. BYU Cougars (3-0)
The BYU Cougars, now in their second Big 12 season, just keep taking care of business in their non-conference slate. That continued in Week 3, with the Cougars going into Wyoming and beating the Cowboys 34-14. In that game, BYU was sloppy at times, struggling on third downs and with penalties, but overcame that with its excellent passing attack.
Now, the Cougars are hoping to keep that success rolling as conference play gets underway. The problem is the schedule does get a bit tougher from here. That starts next week when BYU hosts Kansas State. A season after going 2-7 in conference play, BYU is hoping for a better result this year.
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7. Arizona State Sun Devils (3-0)
The Arizona State Sun Devils are supposed to be in just their second season of a rebuild under head coach Kenny Dillingham. To this point, however, it doesn’t seem like Arizona State is a rebuilding program. Instead, the Sun Devils look like they’ve taken a massive leap forward.
In Week 3, Arizona State had a midweek game on the road against Texas State. That’s a team that wants to compete for a Sun Belt Championship and maybe even a College Football Playoff berth. It was a close game for some time before the Sun Devils pulled away to move to 3-0 on the season. Now, the goal is to keep finding success in Big 12 play.
8. TCU Horned Frogs (2-1, 0-1)
For a little over a half, TCU looked to be in total control of its first Big 12 game this season. Then, everything went wrong. The UCF defense became much more difficult to move the ball on and the Knights offense wasn’t making any mistakes. Before long, the Horned Frogs suffered a frustrating home loss in a game they led by 21 points.
TCU has very little time to reset from the game. Wee 4 sees TCU travel to rival SMU for the Battle for the Iron Skillet. It’s one of the final times the two sides meet before a pause in the series and bouncing back with a win here is going to be vital.
9. Baylor Bears (2-1)
Coming into the season, there were concerns about the direction of the Baylor Bears program, particularly after a difficult 2023 season. However, after beating Air Force 31-3 even while making some mistakes, there has to be some amount of confidence in the program moving forward.
Of course, the schedule picks up in intensity from here as Big 12 play gets underway. That starts with Colorado, which means a lot of eyes will be on their Week 4 game. After that, Baylor has a pair of teams that are currently ranked to play by the end of October.
10. Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-1)
Coming off a frustrating loss in Week 2, the Texas Tech Red Raiders were looking to bounce back against North Texas. In the first half, it certainly seemed like the Red Raiders were working out some frustrations, going into halftime with a 52-7 lead. From there, the Red Raiders pulled off the gas but it was a dominant effort from start to finish.
Now, Big 12 play is ready to get underway for Texas Tech. That starts with a game against an Arizona State team ahead of the Red Raiders in these power rankings. On top of that, it’s another three weeks before Texas Tech gets a bye. So, if the Red Raiders want to make a run in the conference, it has to start now.
Rest of Big 12 Power Rankings
11. Arizona Wildcats (2-1)
12. West Virginia Mountaineers (1-2)
13. Cincinnati Bearcats (2-1)
14. Colorado Buffaloes (2-1)
15. Kansas Jayhawks (1-2)
16. Houston Cougars (1-2)
Big 12 play may have started with one conference game in Week 3 but that was just a small taste of what’s to come. There is expected to be a ton of parity in this conference and with the majority of teams playing conference games in Week 4, it looks like the competition is going to heat up. There are a couple of games in particular, like Utah at Oklahoma State and Kansas State at BYU that could have a major impact on the conference standings early.