Big 12 Power Rankings Going into Week 11

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The way I see it, there are now 3.5 tiers of Big 12 football entering Week 11, but that doesn’t mean a team from one tier can’t beat a team from another.

The half-tier belongs to Baylor, as the Bears are technically still in the Big 12 title hunt, but not really. Aside from that, the tiers are 1-6, 8-12 and 13-16. Here’s how I see the conference entering what looks to be another fun weekend.

1. Utah

Record: 9-0
Week 10 Result: W, 28-20 vs. BYU
Week 11 Matchup: at Arizona

The Utes won another back-and-forth Holy War. Utah remains the only unbeaten team in the conference, and thus the Utes remain in the top spot of these Power Rankings. Utah will have to stay locked in, as they have to travel to Tucson in a potential let-down spot.

2. BYU

Record: 7-2
Week 10 Result: L, 28-20 at Utah
Week 11 Matchup: vs. Baylor

BYU threw four interceptions and had 80 penalty yards and still had a shot at beating BYU late in Salt Lake City. I still think the Cougars have looked like the second-best team in the conference, but it should be noted they’ve now lost two of their past three.

3. Texas Tech

Record: 8-1
Week 10 Result: W, 53-48 vs. West Virginia
Week 11 Matchup: at Oklahoma State

The Red Raiders got dragged into a shootout with the Mountaineers but managed to hold WVU off in Lubbock.

The Tech offense has looked notably better under quarterback Thomas Castellanos, but the reigning champs have still looked more beatable than they did last season.

4. Houston

Record: 7-2
Week 10 Result: W, 31-24 vs. Cincinnati
Week 11 Matchup: at Colorado

Houston hosting Cincinnati for an early kick the week after an emotional loss in Salt Lake City felt like a trap, but the Cougars overcame it. There isn’t room for upward movement, however, given they’ve lost to two of the three teams above.

5. Arizona

Record: 7-2
Week 10 Result: W, 29-28 vs. TCU
Week 11 Matchup: vs. Utah

Arizona tried its darndest to lose to a suspect TCU team, but the Wildcats found a way — a way that took recovering a late pooch kick, but a way nonetheless.

Arizona narrowly stays ahead of OSU in my power rankings because of consistency. The Cowboys’ highs have been higher, but their lows have been much lower.

6. Oklahoma State

Record: 6-3
Week 10 Result: W, 66-28 at Kansas State
Week 11 Matchup: vs. Texas Tech

Speaking of those Cowboys, OSU thumped Kansas State on the road a week after losing a shootout to Iowa State (high highs and low lows).

The version of OSU we saw Saturday can beat anyone in the conference. We’ll see if that same team shows up to a massive game against Texas Tech this week.

7. Baylor

Record: 6-3
Week 10 Result: W, 42-31 vs. Iowa State
Week 11 Matchup: at BYU

Don’t look now, but the Bears are technically still in Big 12 title contention after beating ISU.

But the Bears close the year at BYU, vs. Texas Tech and at Houston. It could be the greatest run to the title game ever. It could see the Bears ruin someone else’s Big 12 title hopes. Or maybe they’ll lose all three of these games and tumble down the rankings.

8. Iowa State

Record: 4-5
Week 10 Result: L, 42-31 at Baylor
Week 11 Matchup: vs. Cincinnati

OK, so these next five teams are hard to pull apart from each other, but despite their loss last week, I’m giving Iowa State the nod in the rankings because the Cyclones are 1-0 among these next five schools (beating WVU) and have a win against a team above in Oklahoma State.

There are games upcoming that should separate this group before the end of the season, but right now it feels like a bunch of hypothetical resume comparison.

9. UCF (+2)

Record: 5-4
Week 10 Result: W, 33-32 at Kansas
Week 11 Matchup: vs. Arizona State

The Knights move up two spots with their road win against a Big 12 bottom feeder.

UCF hasn’t yet played anyone in this 8-12 cluster, but it does have that resume-boosting win against BYU doing a lot of heavy-lifting.

10. Arizona State (+2)

Record: 5-4
Week 10 Result: W, 20-10 vs. Colorado
Week 11 Matchup: at UCF

Of this 8-12 group, Arizona State is the trickiest to place because the Sun Devils haven’t played anyone in this pool. On top of that, ASU has beaten every team below this group and lost to every team above it.

So, the Sun Devils should be somewhere between 8-12, but where could be anyone’s guess.

UCF is in a similar spot, but the Knights have that key win against BYU, which gives them the nod. Luckily UCF and ASU play this week, so this picture could become a bit more clear.

11. West Virginia (-2)

Record: 5-4
Week 10 Result: L, 53-48 at Texas Tech
Week 11 Matchup: vs. Kansas

West Virginia remains must-see TV, but the Mountaineers lost another shootout this past weekend, putting the end to a two-game winning streak.

It’s another ranking I don’t feel great about, but I do feel confident in WVU being somewhere between 8 and 12.

12. Cincinnati (-2)

Record: 5-4
Week 10 Result: L, 31-24 at Houston
Week 11 Matchup: at Iowa State

Cincy drew the short straw on my 8-12 exercise.

The Bearcats are 0-1 (WVU) against teams in this cluster but have the high-caliber win of beating Texas Tech. Again, I don’t feel great but just assume rankings 8 through 12 are nearly all the same.

Cincy has a chance for upward mobility coming up with games at Iowa State and then home against Colorado.

13. TCU

Record: 4-5
Week 10 Result: L, 29-28 at Arizona
Week 11 Matchup: vs. Kansas State

TCU has simply not been very good this season, but despite that, the Horned Frogs almost pulled off a big road upset last week. But as things stand, TCU’s only wins this season are Grambling, Arkansas State, Baylor and Kansas.

14. Kansas State

Record: 4-5
Week 10 Result: L, 66-28 vs. Oklahoma State
Week 11 Matchup: at TCU

Boy, K-State, that wasn’t pretty.

The Wildcats are having some unforeseen QB issues, but giving up 49 first-half points on your homefield is hard to blame on QB injuries.

Bowl eligibility is still on the table, but it could be tricky. K-State closes the year at TCU, vs. Arizona and at Iowa State.

15. Kansas

Record: 3-6
Week 10 Result: L, 33-32 vs. UCF
Week 11 Matchup: at West Virginia

The Jayhawks are now 1-4 in their past five with the lone win being by a single point against Baylor. Meanwhile they’ve lost to Kansas State, TCU and UCF in that stretch — not exactly a murderer’s row.

16. Colorado

Record: 3-6
Week 10 Result: L, 20-10 at Arizona State
Week 11 Matchup: vs. Houston

Colorado is 1-6 in its past seven games. It hasn’t been good.