Big 12 Power Rankings updated after Week 6 of college football
The Big 12 Power Rankings are back following Week 6 of play. This week, there’s finally a shakeup at the top of those Power Rankings, thanks to Red River. On top of that, trends are starting to from top to bottom through the conference.
These Big 12 Power Rankings are put together by several members of the staff at On3. Importantly, these are also not the same as standings and won’t be a perfect reflection of the standings. These also aren’t a prediction of the standings in the future. Instead, they’re designed to show where teams currently stand at this moment of time in the season.
So, here are those Big 12 Power Rankings, following Week 6 of college football action:
1. Oklahoma Sooners (6-0, 3-0) (+1)
For the first half of the season, there have been questions about Oklahoma that have kept the Sooners a step behind Texas in the Big 12 Power Rankings. In particular, the relatively weak strength of schedule has held Oklahoma back. Now, however, after winning Red River and quarterback Dillon Gabriel proving his toughness and poise in the face of immense pressure, the Sooners are sitting at the top of the Big 12.
In the end, it was a 34-30 win over Texas. Next week will be a well-deserved bye week before taking on UCF and the rest of the conference schedule. Oklahoma will be a heavy favorite throughout that schedule, likely on the way to the Big 12 Championship Game.
2. Texas Longhorns (5-1, 2-1) (-1)
Texas lost Red River in heartbreaking fashion and with plenty of regrets. Whether it was the turnover issues that the Longhorns dealt with throughout the game or the goal line stand that Texas failed to score on, the Longhorns had their opportunities. Still, after coming into the game in a position to make the College Football Playoff, Texas is now dealing with a loss.
With all of that being said, every one of Texas’ goals is still in front of them. The Longhorns are going to be the favorite to win every regular season game moving forward. There is a good chance that they get another shot at the Sooners in the Big 12 Championship game too.
3. Kansas Jayhawks (5-1, 2-1) (+2)
For a second week in a row, Kansas was without Jalon Daniels. It didn’t matter, as the Jayhawks dominated UCF 51-22. Ultimately, the quarterback position didn’t really matter. The Jayhawks ran all over UCF, with 399 rushing yards as a team. That includes multiple backs with more than 100 yards individually and five rushing touchdowns as a team.
Despite the loss to Texas, Kansas has proven to be one of the Big 12’s best teams this season. That’s no small feat for head coach Lance Leipold, considering what he inherited and how quickly he’s been able to do it. Now, the Jayhawks are going to turn their attention to Oklahoma State.
4. BYU Cougars (4-1, 1-1)
BYU had a bye week in Week 6. However, after getting off to a hot 4-1 start this season, the Cougars may have wanted to keep the good times rolling. After all, to this point, they’ve been by far the best of the new Big 12 teams.
Through Week 6, the four new Big 12 teams have one conference win. That was a game that BYU managed to win. Granted, that win was against fellow newcomer Cincinnati, but it’s still worth pointing out that they’re handling the transition best to this point. Next up, BYU will take on TCU.
5. West Virginia Mountaineers (4-1, 2-0) (+1)
Perhaps no team has been a bigger surprise this season than West Virginia. Head coach Neal Brown came into the season on the hot seat, opened with a road loss, and broke off four wins in a row since then. Now, the Mountaineers are getting hard to ignore in the Big 12 standings.
Next week, West Virginia plays Houston. Houston, of course, is the team that Dana Holgorsen left West Virginia for and the Mountaineers will be pretty big favorites in that game. A win would bump the Mountaineers up to an impressive 3-0 in conference play.
6. Kansas State Wildcats (3-2, 1-1) (-3)
After winning the Big 12 in 2022, the Kansas State Wildcats are difficult to judge in 2023. In one game, the Wildcats look like they could be as good as anyone in the conference. In other games, they lose to Oklahoma State, a team that many consider to have several major issues on both sides of the ball.
That loss to Oklahoma State came on Friday night. In the game, quarterback Will Howard struggled more than he has previously this season, throwing three interceptions in the loss. It’s going to be a tough game to bounce back from, but Kansas State needs to do that quickly before a trip to Texas Tech.
7. Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-3, 2-1) (+3)
At 3-3, Texas Tech isn’t where it hoped to be at this point in the season. Still, as time goes on, the loss to Wyoming seems more reasonable, Oregon has proven itself as one of the best teams in college football, and West Virginia is sitting at the top of the Big 12 standings. So, maybe, those three losses are more reasonable than previously thought.
Obviously, for Texas Tech, that’s a relatively small consolation, but big wins over Houston and Baylor don’t hurt. Next week, the Red Raiders get Kansas State. A win over the defending conference champions would be huge for building momentum going into the second half of the season.
8. Cincinnati Bearcats (2-3, 0-2)
Cincinnati started the season 2-0 with wins against an FCS school and a Pitt team that currently has one win. At the time, though, it seemed like head coach Scott Satterfield had things rolling early in his time at Cincinnati. After three straight losses, though, things are trending in the wrong direction.
The Bearcats desperately needed their bye week and they got it. Now, with seven games left, Satterfield needs to rally Cincinnati and bounce back from a tough start. That task starts next week against Iowa State.
9. Iowa State Cyclones (2-3, 2-1) (+2)
The Iowa State Cyclones wore uniforms designed to honor the legacy of Jack Trice on Saturday, and despite a slow start to their season, the Cyclones honored Trice’s legacy with a win. Now, at 2-3 overall, Iowa State has a winning record in conference play and has become one of the trickier teams to figure out in the entire conference.
There are still major questions to figure out at Iowa State, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Still, with a 2-1 record in conference the Cyclones are in a position to make a run into November if head coach Matt Campbell can capture Iowa State’s momentum. Whether or not that happens, though, remains to be seen.
10. TCU Horned Frogs (3-3, 1-2) (-3)
Last season, TCU played for the national championship. After beating Michigan in the College Football Playoff, there was nobody who didn’t think the Horned Frogs deserved to be there. Still, they were blown out. Now, halfway through the next season, TCU is 3-3, and that 2022 team seems a far way off.
Most recently, TCU lost to Iowa State. Worse than that, quarterback Chandler Morris left the game with an injury. Now, head coach Sonny Dykes needs to find a way to rally the team together without its leader on the field.
11. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-2, 1-1) (+1)
Oklahoma State still has a winning record at 3-2, but there are also clear issues that the team is dealing with this season. One question that Mike Gundy seems to have answered is the quarterback position. It looks like it’s Alan Bowman‘s job now, but he’s still only completing 53.3 percent of his passes and he has only two touchdowns to three interceptions.
Despite those issues on offense, Oklahoma State beat a good Kansas State team over the weekend. It was a game that caught a lot of people’s attention, but until the Cowboys string wins like that together, they will only move up so much in the Big 12 Power Rankings. They’ll have the chance to win another non-conference game next week, against a very good Kansas team.
12. UCF Knights (3-3, 0-3) (-3)
UCF quarterback John Rhys Plumlee tried to go against Kansas. He couldn’t, though, still dealing with a leg injury. So, Timmy McClain returned to the lineup in the first half as an out-of-sync Knights offense failed to keep up with the Jayhawks. Those issues at quarterback hurt UCF. Worse, however, has been their rushing defense, giving up 277.6 rushing yards per game in conference play.
Head coach Gus Malzahn gets a bye week to regroup after the third straight loss. One of the biggest things to figure out is going to fix that run defense and get healthy. However, playing Oklahoma on the other side of the bye is a bad sign if UCF is looking for an easy win.
13. Baylor Bears (2-4, 1-2)
Other than the insane fourth quarter comeback against UCF, it’s been a long and difficult season for head coach Dave Aranda and the Baylor Bears. Most recently, Baylor was blown out by Texas Tech. Even with quarterback Blake Shapen back in the lineup, it put a damper on things for the Bears.
In the second half of the season, Baylor will need to reverse its record from the first half and go 4-2 to get bowl eligible. That seems unlikely, given the Bears’ early season struggles. However, it’s not impossible and Baylor has a bye next week to regroup.
14. Houston Cougars (2-3, 0-2)
It took years after the Southwest Conference collapsed for Houston to make it to the Big 12. Now, in the Cougars’ first season there, things aren’t going well. Houston’s only two wins are against G5 non-conference opponents, while also adding a loss to Rice in the process. Then, Houston also started 0-2 in Big 12 play.
Head coach Dana Holgorsen needed a bye week in a major way and that’s exactly what he and Houston got in Week 6. Now, the Cougars are going to need to show their adjustments against a tough West Virginia team. After that, the schedule is only going to get more difficult.
Right now, it seems like the Big 12 Championship Game will be a rematch of Red River between the two teams getting ready to leave for the SEC. Still, behind those two are several interesting storylines, including how the new schools continue to adjust to the Big 12, TCU’s struggles after playing for a national championship, and West Virginia outperforming all expectations that anyone had for the Mountaineers.