TCU’s national championship run in 2022 came out of nowhere. While the Horned Frogs believed, national experts and prognosticators — including Big 12 media members — didn’t see it coming.

That’s the beauty of college football.

With so much parity, any team can win on any given Saturday. Just ask Alabama about Vanderbilt, or Florida State, USC and Michigan’s epic fall from a Top 10 preseason ranking, to now being unranked.

Every year there are several college football darlings, and as was the case in 2022, it was Big 12 member TCU leading the way.

This year, the Big 12 is back in the spotlight as the conference has two remaining unbeaten teams. Iowa State (7-0, 4-0) is currently ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll and BYU (7-0, 4-0) is right behind at No. 11.

Big 12 Power Rankings: CU, Cincy, TCU Surge — BYU Stays No. 1 (Week 9)

BYU, Iowa State Not Ranked Preseason

Like TCU in 2022, both BYU and Iowa State were not ranked to start the season this year. They all ended up getting ranked after beating a Top 20 opponent.

Two years ago, TCU finally made it into the AP poll as the Horned Frogs had just beaten then-No. 18 Oklahoma 55-24, at home, to improve to 4-0 on the season.

Similarly, BYU didn’t get into the Top 25 until they were 4-0 as well and were coming off a big home win over then-No. 13 Kansas State 38-9.

BYU also beat SMU in week 2 this year, while TCU beat SMU in week 3 in 2022.

Iowa State joined the polls in Week 2 after taking down rival Iowa, which was ranked No. 20 at the time.

Big 12 Power Rankings: CU, Cincy, TCU Surge — BYU Stays No. 1 (Week 9)

BYU, Iowa State Close Games + Come From Behind Victories

During the 2022 season, TCU had six, one-score games, with three of those games coming during the first seven games. At 7-0, both BYU and Iowa State have played in several one-score games, with both having played in two of those down-to-the-wire contests. Iowa State came from behind to beat rival Iowa and UCF, while BYU escaped with wins over SMU and Oklahoma State.

The most notable finish for TCU in 2022 took place against Baylor as the Horned Frogs went on the road with their Top 5 ranking.

Without just over a minute to play and without any timeouts, TCU drove down the field to setup a 40-yard field goal attempt. After running the ball to center it for the game-winning field goal attempt, TCU did a hockey change as the offense ran off the field while the special teams unit ran on.

TCU kicker Griffin Kell didn’t have any time to line up his kick as the final seconds were ticking off the clock. Still, the junior kicker made the field goal to give TCU an improbable win. See the YouTube video below.

For BYU and Iowa State fans, they both had similar experiences last week as both teams needed touchdowns with less than a minute to go to complete the comeback.

BYU scored with 11 seconds left, while Iowa State scored with 30 seconds left. Ironically, both teams won by a final score of 38-35. To add to all the craziness, they were both down by the same score at halftime too (21-14).

BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff drove the Cougars down the field and on the second to last play of the game. The junior quarterback threw a strike to Darius Lassiter who beat his man and then followed it up with a nasty juke before jumping into the end zone as another Oklahoma State defender tried a shoe-string tackle at the goal line.

The eruption at LaVell Edwards Stadium was the loudest that I’ve ever heard it as the Cougars stayed undefeated and kept their Big 12 title and playoff chances alive.

For Iowa State, sophomore quarterback Rocco Becht marched the Cyclones down the field — without any timeouts — and then pulled off a quarterback sneak to get the go-ahead score to lead the Cyclones to an improbable 38-35 victory.

Just like TCU didn’t have any timeouts, it was the same with Iowa State, however, great teams and special players and seasons find a way to win and the Cyclones continue to do just that.

Like I said in the latest Big 12 Power Rankings this week, fate seems to have both BYU and Iowa State destined play in the Big 12 title game with the way things have played out so far this season.

Like any player or team in every sport, not everyone is going to be on their ‘A’ game — especially college students. There’s going to be some slip ups, however, great teams finds ways to win, no matter the score. Great teams and special seasons have one thing in common.

Winning.

It doesn’t matter how ugly it is — a win is a win.

Gutsy Road Wins For BYU And Iowa State

In addition to the Baylor road game, TCU also won at SMU, Texas, and Kansas that year — all of which were one-score games.

Iowa State already has two close wins, including the road win over in-state rival Iowa. It’s likely they’ll get a few more close games with matchups against Cincinnati, No. 16 Kansas State and Utah.

Meanwhile, BYU also has two close games with the first one taking place on the road as the Cougars hung on to beat SMU 18-15. It was the only loss for the Mustangs who are currently 6-1 on the season and ranked No. 22. BYU didn’t allow a touchdown in that game, which is incredible, considering SMU is one of the most potent offenses in all of college football as they average more than 45 points per game. BYU also held then No. 13 Kansas State without a touchdown as well.

Like Iowa State, BYU has several tough matchups remaining with UCF, Utah and Arizona State on the schedule. The Holy War showdown with Utah is always a close one. Like any rivalry, throw out the records as BYU-Utah almost always comes down to the last play of the game.

To sum up, BYU and Iowa State are following the path that TCU went in 2022. None of them were ranked in the preseason polls, they all got early Top 20 wins, gutsy road wins, and dramatic come-from behind victories where ESPN’s analytics said they had just a 1% chance of winning.

The confidence level of these two teams grows stronger with each passing game, which helps in close games — just like we saw last week. There’s no panic with the game on the line, both teams continue to step up and make big plays.

The formula is there for BYU and Iowa State. They are both on track, now let’s see if they can keep it going and make some noise as the Big 12 Conference looks to get at least two teams in the expanded College Football Playoff in the inaugural season.

Follow Justin Giles on Twitter and Fan Insider on Facebook.

Big 12 Power Rankings: CU, Cincy, TCU Surge — BYU Stays No. 1 (Week 9)

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR