Big 12 Power Rankings updated after Week 5 of college football

It was an exciting Week 5 in the Big 12 and around all of college football. Now, with that in the books, here’s a look at how the Big 12 stacks up in the Big 12 power rankings, with the help of the On3 Massey Ratings.

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.

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It’s still early in the season, but the Big 12 is already proving to be chaotic this season, with several shootouts and upsets amid a week that had some lopsided results in its marquee matchups. All of that naturally helped to shake up the power rankings.

1. Iowa State Cyclones (4-0, 1-0)

To this point in the season, the Iowa State Cyclones have been one of the best surprises in the conference. Now, after starting out Big 12 play on the right foot with a win, it looks like the Cyclones are going to be real contenders moving forward in the conference. Certainly, for the time being, they’re at the top of the conference power rankings.

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Coming off a 20-0 win over an admittedly struggling Houston team, what’s been most impressive about Iowa State is the team’s defense. In three of their first four games, the Cyclones have allowed seven or fewer points. The only time they’ve given up more than that was against rival Iowa. On top of that, the schedule feels manageable moving forward, starting with Baylor.

2. BYU Cougars (5-0, 2-0)

The BYU Cougars are the early surprise team of the season in the Big 12. After upsetting Kansas State at home, there was no hangover on the road when BYU went to play Baylor, dominating the early part of that game. Now, the question is how real of a contender are the Cougars?

An excellent defense has been BYU’s calling card this season. Now, if quarterback Jake Retzlaff can be a little more consistent, BYU will be in good shape. Next up will be another big test of that, though, as the Cougars are preparing to take on the Arizona Wildcats.

3. Kansas State Wildcats (4-1, 1-1)

The Kansas State Wildcats entered the week coming off a frustrating loss to BYU. That was a game they needed to bounce back from quickly to avoid starting 0-2 in conference play. However, it was a tough matchup against an Oklahoma State team in a similar situation. 

It ended up being a blowout win for the Wildcats and, with that, Kansas State reasserted itself as a dominant force in the conference. Running back DJ Giddens, in particular, was excellent rushing for 187 yards and a touchdown. That made for a phenomenal combination with Avery Johnson, who contributed five touchdowns of his own, passing and rushing.

4. Utah Utes (4-1, 1-1)

The Utah Utes dropped a game in Big 12 play against Arizona over the weekend, bringing one of the favorites to win the conference back to the pack. The Utes were still solid on defense, only giving up 23 to an explosive Arizona offense. However, Utah’s offense, and the quarterback position, in particular, has struggled since Cam Rising went down with an injury.

Utah has been unclear about how long Rising is going to be out moving forward. For multiple games now, he’s been a game-time decision but has been unable to go. One thing is clear, though, and that’s that the Utes need him back. Next up for Utah is a bye week before taking on Arizona State. So, the Utes have some time to get healthy.

5. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-2, 0-2)

Coming into the season, Oklahoma State was seen as a contender to win the Big 12. However, after back-to-back losses, it seems like the Cowboys are behind the eight ball as far as the standings are concerned. At the same time, those losses were against two of the conference’s top teams, so Oklahoma State is still fairly high in the power rankings.

The major concern for Oklahoma State has been the running game. Star running back Ollie Gordon averaged 123.7 yards per game and 6.1 yards per carry in 2023, but now he’s down to just 66.8 yards per game and 3.8 yards per carry in 2024. There’s a lot of reasons why that downturn in production may be occurring, but finding a way to fix it will go a long way toward Oklahoma State finding success this season.

6. Arizona Wildcats (3-1, 1-0)

The Arizona Wildcats pulled off an upset over the Utah Utes in Week 5. That was led by an impressive defensive effort from the Wildcats’ defense, which had previously been considered a point of concern this season. A key part of that was winning the turnover battle and forcing a pair of interceptions.

Moving forward, Arizona is a real contender in the Big 12 race. To stay alive, they’ll need to find a way to beat Texas Tech next week in what could be one of the most interesting conference games of Week 6. That’s going to be a home game that will help outline the conference race.

7. Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-1, 2-0)

The Texas Tech Red Raiders won a shootout over the weekend against Cincinnati, watching as the Bearcats missed a last-second field goal to force overtime. With that, the Red Raiders moved to 2-0 in Big 12 play and appear to be a very real threat despite a slow start in non-conference play this season.

A key piece of Texas Tech’s success has come down to the backfield’s success. Behren Morton is a talented quarterback while running back Tahj Brooks is one of the best in the entire conference. He put together a 172 yard and two touchdown game against Cincinnati. Now, the Red Raiders are turning their attention to Arizona.

8. TCU Horned Frogs (3-2, 1-1)

The TCU Horned Frogs needed a win to end a two-game losing streak and that’s exactly what they got against Kansas. It was a 38-27 win over the Jayhawks with star wide receiver Jack Bech once again dominating as he caught 10 passes for 131 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Now, the Horned Frogs have their first Big 12 win of the season.

There is plenty for TCU to clean up moving forward this season. In particular, the scoring defense has been an issue. TCU is giving up 31 points per game, which is 107th in the country. So, the defense has questions to answer. Luckily, for the Horned Frogs, their next game is against Houston, who has been shutout in its first two Big 12 games this season.

9. Colorado Buffaloes (4-1, 2-0)

The Colorado Buffaloes went into Orlando to play UCF as big underdogs but walked away with a convincing win. A major part of that was the star players on Colorado, like Travis Hunter, stepping up. Another part, and almost more importantly, the Buffaloes won the game in the trenches, running the ball better than they had at any point during the Deion Sanders era.

Now 4-1 on the season, Colorado looks well on its way to a bowl game and maybe even being a competitor in the Big 12. However, the Buffaloes will need to stay focused. After a bye week next week, Colorado will play Kansas State, one of the Big 12’s top teams. That game will help determine what type of season the Buffaloes are going to have.

10. UCF Knights (3-1, 1-1)

Colorado exposed some major issues for UCF over the weekend. The most notable was the gaps in the secondary defensively, which weren’t helped by a pass rush that struggled to get home. Then, there was the offense’s struggles to move the ball when the defense knew they were passing. Certainly, it gave head coach Gus Malzahn plenty to think about.

There isn’t much time to get those issues sorted, though. UCF has a non-conference game that’s very important to its fans next week, going to play the Florida Gators in The Swamp. After that, it’s a relatively unforgiving Big 12 schedule, with three teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll.

Rest of Big 12 Power Rankings

11. West Virginia Mountaineers (2-2, 1-1)
12. Arizona State Sun Devils (3-1, 0-1)
13. Cincinnati Bearcats (3-2, 1-1)
14. Baylor Bears (2-3, 0-2)
15. Kansas Jayhawks (1-4, 0-2)
16. Houston Cougars (1-4, 0-2)

That’s where the Big 12 stands right now. However, there is still plenty of time for that to change as the Big 12 continues play into October. That’s when conference play heats up and teams are going to have the chance to separate themselves.