Big 12 Power Rankings Going into Week 5

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We’re getting more datapoints on these teams to know just how good they really are, but the chaos of college football leaves no prisoners.

Here’s a look at my Big 12 Power Rankings heading into the weekend.

1. Utah (+2)

Record: 4-0
Week 4 Result: W, 31-17 at Iowa State
Week 5 Matchup: Bye

After being up 24-3 at the half in Ames, Utah sorta downshifted and won 31-17, but with BYU being off and Texas Tech looking perhaps even more suspect at home to Sam Houston, I’m not going to punish the Utes for a controlled win in Jack Trice. But Iowa State fighting back shows that the Big 12 is ripe for chaos.

2. BYU (-1)

Record: 3-0
Week 4 Result: Bye
Week 5 Matchup: at TCU

The Cougars slide behind their Holy War rivals in an off week. With the Utes off this week, perhaps the Cougars do enough to yo-yo back in front.

3. Texas Tech (-1)

Record: 4-0
Week 4 Result: W, 49-14 vs. Sam Houston
Week 5 Matchup: at Colorado

So, Tech had a 21-14 halftime lead against Sam Houston, and two of those touchdowns were defensive.

The Red Raiders got right at halftime and were able to win in blowout fashion, but it’s another example of the Red Raiders not looking super clean in the early points of the year. Will Hammond has now thrown more interceptions than touchdowns.

4. Oklahoma State (+3)

Record: 3-1
Week 4 Result: W, 41-24 at West Virginia 
Week 5 Matchup: Bye

One of my big dilemmas this week was OSU-Houston. Houston has the prettier loss, being on the road to a team above in these rankings. Then the Cougars did something OSU failed to do this weekend, go on the road and beat a Group of Six team.

But in the end, I give Oklahoma State the nod because the Cowboys now have two better wins than the Cougars. The more datapoints the Cowboys put between themselves and that Tulsa loss, the better they’ve looked.

5. Houston (-1)

Record: 3-1
Week 4 Result: W, 42-28 at Georgia Southern
Week 5 Matchup: vs. UCF

For some reason, the Cougars went to Georgia Southern this weekend. Giving up 28 points to a Sun Belt team raises an eyebrow, but Conner Weigman completed 77% of his passes and threw four touchdowns.

Houston dropping has more to do with how good OSU has looked over recent weeks than what the Cougars have done.

6. Arizona (+3)

Record: 3-1
Week 4 Result: W, 34-24 at Washington State
Week 5 Matchup: vs. Cincinnati

The Wildcats’ trip to Wazzu wasn’t an overly impressive result, but surviving and winning went a long way this week.

Consider me a little worried that, with preseason All-Big 12 QB Noah Fifita, Arizona’s offense ranks 11th in the Big 12 in scoring and 10th in total offense.

7. Arizona State (+1)

Record: 2-1
Week 4 Result: Bye
Week 5 Matchup: vs. Baylor

The Sun Devils had a week off after playing Kansas in London. This week’s game against Baylor is a big one.

8. Cincinnati (+3)

Record: 4-0
Week 4 Result: W, 31-26 vs. Kansas State
Week 5 Matchup: at Arizona

A week after struggling with Miami (OH), the Bearcats beat Kansas State to remain unbeaten. It feels a little disrespectful having one of the league’s four undefeated teams down in eighth, but we’ll learn a ton about how legit the Bearcats are over the coming weeks. Their next five games at: at Arizona, at West Virginia, vs. Texas Tech, vs. Utah, at Houston.

9. West Virginia (-4)

Record: 3-1
Week 4 Result: L, 41-24 vs. Oklahoma State
Week 5 Matchup: at Iowa State

The Mountaineers are going to give plenty of teams trouble this season, but in the end, they were outmatched by the Cowboys. West Virginia’s trip to Ames ought to be a dogfight.

10. Kansas State (-4)

Record: 3-1
Week 4 Result: L, 31-26 at Cincinnati
Week 5 Matchup: Bye

Woof, Kansas State’s hot start came to a screeching halt in Cincinnati. Maybe the Bearcats end up being a solid group, but for now, K-State takes a hit in these rankings.

11. Baylor (-1)

Record: 3-1
Week 4 Result: W, 23-13 vs. Colorado
Week 5 Matchup: at Arizona State

The Bears took care of business against Colorado, and all things considered, their resume isn’t in too rough a shape with Baylor’s only loss being on a neutral field to Auburn.

Do the Bears have enough to compete with the perceived contenders in the league? We’ll find out this week.

12. UCF (+2)

Record: 3-1
Week 4 Result: W, 21-13 vs. TCU
Week 5 Matchup: at Houston

Without their starting quarterback, UCF beat TCU this past weekend. Similar to Cincinnati and Baylor, we’ll get a look at what UCF looks like against a team that everyone thinks is a contender this week to see just how legit the Knights are.

13. Iowa State

Record: 2-2
Week 4 Result: L, 31-17 vs. Utah
Week 5 Matchup: vs. West Virginia

Iowa State isn’t going to give up, we learned that this past weekend. Stingy is how I’d describe the Cyclones. Saturday’s game against West Virginia could have a combined 100 rush attempts, and I’m here for it.

14. Kansas (+1)

Record: 1-2
Week 4 Result: Bye
Week 5 Matchup: vs. Middle Tennessee State

Kansas was on a bye and has lost more games than they’ve won, and yet the Jayhawks climbed a spot this week? What happened?

15. TCU (-3)

Record: 2-2
Week 4 Result: L, 21-13 at UCF
Week 5 Matchup: vs. BYU

Oh, this is what happened. TCU going from making the national title game a few years ago to losing to UCF’s backup quarterback is certainly less than ideal for the Horned Frogs. But they could flip the season back on its head this week if they dare upset the Cougars.

16. Colorado

Record: 2-2
Week 4 Result: L, 23-13 at Baylor
Week 5 Matchup: vs. Texas Tech

Colorado’s past two weeks have seen the Buffaloes lose 41-7 at Northwestern, dismiss players from the team and then go lose 23-13 at Baylor. Not good.

Deion Sanders has made a quarterback change, as former Utah QB Isaac Wilson steps in for Julian Lewis. We’ll see if that provides the spark the Buffaloes need.