Big 12 Football Power Rankings: BYU, Texas Tech, Baylor And West Virginia Make Big Moves

It was an interesting week in Big 12 play as there were several surprises with West Virginia upsetting TCU on the road and Baylor stunning UCF 36-35, after being down 35-7 in the third quarter. It was the largest comeback in school history.

Meanwhile, BYU became the first league newcomer to pick up a conference win in a 35-27 victory over Cincinnati in front of a sold out crowd at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Cincinnati, UCF and Houston are all 0-2 to start conference play.

Texas and Oklahoma continue to cruise through Big 12 play which sets up a big showdown this Saturday as the two go head-to-head in the Cotton Bowl in the Red River Rivalry.

So, how does the league stack up in this week’s Big 12 power rankings? Let’s take a look.

Week 5 Big 12 Power Rankings

**Rankings are based on what teams have done so far this season**

No. 1 Texas (5-0, 2-0)

Wins: No. 3 Alabama (34-24), Kansas (40-14), Baylor (38-6), Wyoming (31-10), Rice (37-10)

Jonathon Brooks rushed for 217 yards and two touchdowns as No. 3 Texas piled up more than 600 total yards of total offense in a dominating 40-14 win over No. 24 Kansas. The Jayhawks didn’t stand much of a chance after standout quarterback Jalon Daniels didn’t play due to back stiffness. The Longhorns used another balanced attack and didn’t even punt the ball either. As good as Texas is, the Longhorns do have a weakness: the kicking game. Bert Auburn is just 9 of 14 on the season and has struggled from long range too. It hasn’t hurt Texas yet, but it’s a big concern going into the big game this week.

Next up: vs. Oklahoma 

No. 2 Oklahoma (5-0, 2-0)

Wins: Iowa State (50-20), Cincinnati (20-6), SMU (28-11), Tulsa (66-17), Ark. St. (73-0)

After putting up just 20 points against Cincinnati last week, the Sooners bounced back in big way en route to a 50-20 victory at home. Dillon Gabriel passed for 366 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two scores in the win. Oklahoma freshman receiver Nic Anderson also caught another touchdown catch — his fifth of the year — making him the fastest Sooner to reach five touchdown grabs in a season since George Thomas Jr. had five scores on six catches in 1949.

The game against Iowa State has been a big challenge for the Sooners over the years as the Cyclones won in 2017 and 2020 and also had other close calls in recent years too. With the win, Oklahoma sets up a battle of unbeatens at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Saturday.

Next up: vs. Texas

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No. 3 West Virginia (4-1, 2-0)

Wins: TCU (24-21) Texas Tech (20-13), Pitt (17-6), Duquesne (56-17)
Losses: No. 7 Penn State (38-15)

Don’t look now but West Virginia is on a 4-game winning streak and has become a darkhorse in the Big 12 title race. What’s even more impressive is that not only did the Mountaineers beat TCU on the road, they did so without several players who went down with injuries. The Mountaineers showed their resilience all game long to improve to 4-1 on the year, and most importantly, 2-0 in conference play.

Next up: Bye

No. 4 BYU (4-1, 1-1)

Wins: Cincinnati (35-27), Arkansas (38-31), SUU (41-16), SHST (14-0)
Losses: Kansas (38-27)

Home sweet home! In front of a sold out crowd for BYU’s Big 12 home opener, the Cougars gave fans a treat with the programs first Big 12 conference win. With the home victory, BYU is now 20-3 at LaVell Edwards Stadium over the past 4 years.

Kedon Slovis continues to play well as the senior threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns. In fact, through five games at BYU, Slovis has thrown 10 touchdown passes, matching his season output at Pitt last year. Luckily for BYU fans, it appears the Cougars inherited the Slovis from USC and not the Slovis from Pitt.

Picked along with West Virginia to finish near the bottom in the Big 12 preseason poll, the Cougars and Mountaineers have experts eating crow so far this season. Next up for the Cougars is a bye week as they look to rest and get guys healthy before a tough slate of upcoming games: @TCU, Texas Tech, @Texas and @West Virginia.

Next up: Bye

No. 5 Kansas State (3-1, 1-0)

Wins: UCF (44-31), Troy (42-13), SE Missouri (45-0)
Losses: Missouri (30-27)

Bye week.

Next up: @ Oklahoma State

No. 6 Kansas (4-1, 1-1)

Wins: BYU (38-27), Nevada (31-24), Illinois (34-23), Missouri St. (48-17)
Losses: No. 3 Texas (40-14)

Not having Jalon Daniels — the Big 12 Preseason Player Of The Year — available against Texas dashed any hoped of an upset on the road. Kansas not only struggled moving the ball with the backup (260 yards), but the Jayhawks couldn’t stop anyone on defense either as the Texas racked up 661 yards of total offense.

Kansas will look to regroup at home against a good UCF team. If Daniels doesn’t play, I’m not sure the Jayhawks can keep up with the Knights’ high-powered offense.

Next up: vs. UCF

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No. 7 TCU (3-2, 1-1)

Wins: SMU (34-17), Houston (36-13), Nicholls (41-6)
Losses: West Virginia (24-21), Colorado (45-42)

It was a disappointing home loss for TCU on Saturday as the Horned Frogs were favored by nearly two touchdowns. The loss also ended TCU’s 10-game Big 12 regular-season winning streak.

TCU outgained West Virginia by 100 yards, but couldn’t turn that yardage into points as the Mountaineers stepped up and made big plays to sneak out with the win. TCU will look to get back on track as they go on the road to face an Iowa State that might be the worst team in the Big 12 this year.

Next up: @ Iowa State

No. 8 UCF (3-2, 0-2)

Wins: Boise State (18-16), Villanova (48-14), Kent State (56-6)
Losses: Baylor (36-35), Kansas State (44-31)

Playing at home in it’s first Big 12 home game, UCF looked fantastic and were well on their way to earning their first Big 12 win. The Knights had the ultimate choke job on Saturday as team went up 35-7 with 8 minutes left in the third quarter, yet somehow Baylor was able to rally for it’s biggest comeback in program history.

UCF will look to bounce back and shake off the bizarre ending as they travel to Kansas to take on the Jayhawks.

Next up: @ Kansas

No. 9 Baylor (2-3, 1-1)

Wins: UCF (36-35), Long Island (30-7)
Losses: No. 3 Texas (38-6), No. 12 Utah (20-13), Texas State (42-31)

Baylor erased a 35-7 third-quarter deficit, scoring 29 unanswered points to take the lead on a 25-yard field goal from Isaiah Hankins with 1:21 left to play to beat Big 12 newcomer UCF 36-35 in the Knights’ first conference home game.

The Bears will look to keep the momentum going at home against a Texas Tech team that also bounced back win a big win over Houston on Saturday.

Next up: vs. Texas Tech

No. 10 Texas Tech (2-3, 1-1)

Wins:  Houston (49-28), Tarleton State (41-3)
Losses: No. 13 Oregon (38-30), West Virginia (20-13), Wyoming (35-33)

After losing to West Virginia last week and losing starting quarterback Tyler Shough most likely for the season too, things looked bleak for the Red Raiders. Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, Teas Tech channeled that energy into last week’s game as they dismantled Houston at home, 49-28.

The Red Raiders will look to keep the momentum going as they travel to Waco to take on the Baylor Bears.

Next up: @ Baylor

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No. 11 Cincinnati (2-3, 0-2)

Wins: Pitt (27-21), E. Kentucky (66-13)
Losses: No. 16 Oklahoma (20-6), BYU (35-27), Miami Ohio (31-24)

Cincinnati’s outplayed BYU for much of the night, but couldn’t come away with the win. The offense rolled up 498 yards on the road, 200 more yards than BYU, yet, the Bearcats — like they have all season — couldn’t turn that into points. Cincinnati has a bye this week and will look to regroup before hosting Iowa State on Oct. 14.

Next up: Bye

No. 12 Oklahoma State (2-2, 0-1)

Wins: Arizona State (27-15), C. Arkansas (27-13)
Losses: Iowa State (34-27), South Alabama (33-7)

Bye week.

Next up: vs. Kansas State

No. 13 Iowa State (2-3, 1-1)

Wins: Oklahoma State (34-27), Northern Iowa (30-9)
Losses: No. 14 Oklahoma (50-20), No. 25 Iowa (20-13), Ohio (10-7)

On Iowa State’s third offensive play, Oklahoma’s Billy Bowman intercepted Iowa State’s Rocco Becht’s pass and took it 44 yards for a pick-6 just 57 seconds into the game. Yes, it was that kind of night (50-20 loss) and that kind of season for the Cyclones so far.

Up next are games against TCU and Cincinnati before the Cyclones finally get a bye week — which has been long overdue for a team that’s struggling mightily.

Next up: vs. TCU

No. 14 Houston (2-3, 0-2)

Wins: Sam Houston (38-7), UTSA (17-14)
Losses: Texas Tech (49-28), TCU (36-13), Rice (43-31)

A week after getting out of the basement, the Houston Cougars find themselves right back after getting blown out against a Texas Tech team that has been struggling and was without its starting quarterback.

The good news is that the Cougars have a bye week so they won’t be able to lose this week. Hopefully they can sort things out and makes some Big 12 games competitive.

Next up: Bye

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