Another week of Big 12 play is in the books. Texas Tech has cemented themselves at the top of the Big 12 after a 29-7 victory over BYU. The Cougars, along with Utah, Houston, and Cincinnati are still in the mix for the Big 12 championship.
Other teams in the Big 12 are still fighting for a chance to be in the top mix. Arizona State lost their starting quarterback in Sam Leavitt, but still has a 6-3 overall record. Teams such as Arizona, TCU, Baylor and Kansas State only have three conference losses and still have a chance, but will need a lot to go their way.
Here are our Big 12 Power Rankings entering Week 12 – and before you start in, make sure to check out last week's rankings as well.
#16: Oklahoma State (Record: 1-8, 0-6 in the Big 12)
The Cowboys are coming off their bye week without winning a game since their week one matchup against UT Martin. The last time Oklahoma State lost a game by only one score was in week three against Tulsa. In every other loss, the Cowboys have lost by two or more scores.
If Oklahoma State wants to end their losing streak, they will need freshman quarterback Zane Flores to continue to develop. Against Kansas, Flores completed 22 of his 28 passes, throwing for 235 yards and two touchdowns. Even if Flores can improve further, the Cowboys will need to find a way to contain opposing offenses. Since their loss to Tulsa, Oklahoma State has allowed 38 or more points in every game.
The Cowboys will look to get their first win in Big 12 play when they face Kansas State this weekend.
#15: Colorado (Record: 3-7, 1-6 in the Big 12)
The season is officially lost for the Buffaloes. Head coach Deion Sanders is now looking forward to the future of Colorado by playing freshman Julian Lewis at starting quarterback.
Against West Virginia, Lewis had a statistically impressive game, throwing for 299 yards and two touchdowns. The Colorado offensive line did not give Lewis much protection as he was sacked seven times and had eight of his passes deflected.
Lewis will have a chance to get his first win of the season when the Buffaloes face Arizona State after their bye week.
#14: UCF (Record: 4-5, 1-5 in the Big 12)
UCF had a chance to upset Houston and shake up the top of the Big 12. The Knights came close, only losing by a score of 30-27. With this loss, UCF is now 1-5 in Big 12 play.
The Knights’ defense was able to force multiple turnovers against Houston, intercepting quarterback Conner Weigman three times and recovering a fumble. All three interceptions were from senior defensive back Phillip Dunnam, with one of them being returned for a touchdown. The offense was unable to support the defense, as quarterback Tayven Jackson threw for only 136 yards and one interception.
UCF will have another chance to play spoiler in the Big 12 when they face Texas Tech this weekend.
#13: West Virginia (Record: 4-6, 2-5 in the Big 12)
The Mountaineers have their first winning streak of the season after winning their second straight game. After their upset win against Houston, WVU followed it up with a 29-22 victory over Colorado.
The offense continued to show consistency this past weekend. Freshman quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. started his third consecutive game and threw for 202 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Diore Hubbard showed his dual-threat ability by rushing for 64 yards and catching six passes for 94 yards. The WVU defense also stepped up by sacking Julian Lewis seven times, deflecting eight passes, and recovering a fumble.
The Mountaineers still have a chance to qualify for a bowl game if they can win their final two games. Their next opponent is Arizona State, a team that recently lost their starting quarterback for the rest of the season.
#12: Kansas (Record: 5-5, 3-4 in the Big 12)
The only teams Kansas beat in Big 12 play were already mentioned in the power rankings. The Jayhawks have yet to win a meaningful game in conference play and are now sitting on the outside of the conference.
The most recent loss for Kansas was against Arizona by a score of 24-20. Senior quarterback Jalon Daniels did all the scoring for the Jayhawks by throwing for 199 yards, rushing for 74 yards, and scoring two touchdowns. The Kansas defense was unable to create turnovers or slow down Arizona’s offense as they allowed three touchdowns and 323 total yards of offense.
Kansas will enter their bye week with two games remaining this season. Their next matchup will be against Iowa State on the road.
#11: Kansas State (Record: 4-5, 3-3 in the Big 12)
Kansas State is coming out of their bye week with a 3-3 Big 12 record. After defeating Kansas and TCU, the Wildcats lost to Texas Tech by a score of 43-20.
If the Wildcats want to finish their season strong and qualify for a bowl game, they will need a good stretch from quarterback Avery Johnson. Johnson had one of his worst games of the season against the Red Raiders as he threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. Despite his performance against Texas Tech, Johnson has thrown for 1,991 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions this season.
Kansas State will have a great chance to get their fifth win of the season when they face Oklahoma State this weekend.
#10: Arizona (Record: 6-3, 3-3 in the Big 12)
On paper, Arizona has had a decent season with a 6-3 record and are currently ranked seventh in the Big 12 standings, although they are tied with three other teams in the seven spot. The glaring hole in the Wildcats’ season is their inability to beat a team in the top of the conference. Against teams such as BYU and Houston, Arizona would give up at least 30 points and lose by one score.
The Wildcats recently got back on track with a victory against Kansas. Junior quarterback Noah Fifita continued his solid play by throwing for 158 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers. This season, Fifita has thrown for 2,200 yards, 23 touchdowns and only four interceptions.
Arizona will have a legitimate chance to move well up the rankings this weekend if they can defeat the 7-2 Cincinnati Bearcats on the road.
#9: Baylor (Record: 5-4, 3-3 in the Big 12)
Baylor is coming off their bye week with a 30-3 win against UCF. The Bears are 3-3 in Big 12 play with their most impressive win being against Kansas State.
To finish strong the rest of the season, Baylor’s defense will need to continue to improve. In their losses to TCU and Cincinnati, the Bears allowed more than 40 points per game. They did rebound well against UCF by holding the Knights to only three points. The Bears were able to force two turnovers as defensive backs DJ Coleman and Jacob Redding intercepted UCF’s quarterback.
Baylor’s long hopes of making the Big 12 championship will be on the line this weekend as they face Utah at home.
#8: TCU (Record: 6-3, 3-3 in the Big 12)
The Horned Frogs were having a quietly solid season in the Big 12 with wins against Baylor, Colorado, and WVU. They also won games against ACC opponents such as North Carolina and SMU. TCU’s chances of moving up the standings took a serious halt last weekend as the Horned Frogs lost to Iowa State at home by a score of 20-17.
On the stat sheet, TCU’s offense looked effective as quarterback Josh Hoover threw for 319 yards. Receivers Jordan Dwyer and Eric McAlister each had 11 receptions for over 100 yards each. The issue for the offense was that they only scored two touchdowns and one field goal, while Hoover threw two interceptions and running back Jeremy Payne lost a fumble. TCU’s defense forced two turnovers of their own, but they allowed 14 points in the fourth quarter to lose the game.
The Horned Frogs have one of the toughest remaining schedules left in the Big 12 as their next three opponents are BYU, Houston and Cincinnati.
#7: Iowa State (Record: 6-4, 3-4 in the Big 12)
After losing four straight games in conference play, the Cyclones finally got a much-needed victory against TCU. It may be too late though for Iowa State as they only have two games remaining and have a Big 12 record of 3-4.
The win against TCU was not a pretty win either. Quarterback Rocco Becht went 9/22 passing, throwing for 111 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The defense and special teams stepped up for the offense. Iowa State’s defense intercepted quarterback Josh Hoover twice, recovered a fumble, and deflected four passes. Punt returner Aiden Flora returned a punt for 79 yards and touchdown.
Iowa State still has a chance to finish their season with an 8-4 overall record. After their upcoming bye week, the Cyclones will face Kansas and Oklahoma State to end their season.
#6: Arizona State (Record: 6-3, 4-2 in the Big 12)
The Sun Devils are coming out of their bye week with a path to the Big 12 championship still possible. Despite losing starting quarterback Sam Leavitt for the rest of the season, backup quarterback Jeff Sims is proving he can lead his team to victory.
Against Iowa State, Sims threw for 177 yards and one touchdown in the air, but also rushed for 228 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. He will need to clean up his turnover issues as he threw one interception and lost two fumbles against the Cyclones.
Arizona State has a very favorable schedule coming up as their last three opponents are WVU, Colorado and Arizona. If they can win their last three games, they will need any of these next five teams to struggle.
#5: Houston (Record: 8-2, 5-2 in the Big 12)
Houston narrowly avoided their second straight upset loss by defeating UCF by a tight score of 30-27. The Cougars are 5-2 in Big 12 play and are fourth in the Big 12 standings. Houston no longer controls their own destiny as the three higher teams all only have one loss. They will also not play these three teams again for the rest of the regular season and they already lost to Texas Tech.
Quarterback Conner Weigman has struggled over the past two weeks with turnovers as he threw three interceptions against UCF. Despite the turnovers, Weigman still threw two touchdowns and led Houston in rushing yards with 82. The Houston defense also stepped up as linebacker Latreveon McCutchin returned an interception for a touchdown.
After their upcoming bye week, Houston will only need to win against TCU and Baylor. The Cougars will then hope the standings play out in their favor.
#4: Cincinnati (Record: 7-2, 5-1 in the Big 12)
Cincinnati is coming off their bye week with a chance to still win the Big 12. They are tied with BYU for second in the Big 12 standings, a team they will face in two weeks.
Before the bye week, the Bearcats suffered a blowout loss to Utah by a score of 45-14. Quarterback Brendan Sorsby had one of his worst games of the season as he completed only 11 of his 33 passing attempts, threw only one touchdown, two interceptions and lost a fumble. Despite one interception and one recovered fumble, the Cincinnati defense got dominated on the ground and in the air as they gave up 480 total yards of offense and five touchdowns.
With a matchup against BYU in the future, Cincinnati still controls their own destiny in making the Big 12 championship. Before that matchup, the Bearcats will face Arizona this weekend at home.
#3: Utah (Record: 7-2, 4-2 in the Big 12)
Despite being fifth in the Big 12 standings, Utah has impressive victories against teams such as Cincinnati and Arizona State. Coming out of their bye week, the Utes have plenty of momentum after scoring 45 or more points in each of their last two wins.
In order to win their last three games, Utah will need quarterback Devon Dampier to remain healthy and continue his solid dual-threat play. Against Cincinnati, Dampier threw for 213 yards and rushed for 78 yards, scoring two touchdowns as well.
Despite their dominant play over their last two games, Utah still does not control their own destiny to make the Big 12 championship. They are currently below four other teams in the standings and have lost to both BYU and Texas Tech. They will need help to make the championship game, but have a strong enough team to beat their final three opponents in Baylor, Kansas State and Kansas.
#2: BYU (Record: 8-1, 5-1 in the Big 12)
BYU has officially fallen from the top of the power rankings after suffering their first loss of the season to Texas Tech by a score of 29-7. The Cougars are now second in the Big 12 standings and likely need to win out to remain second.
Not much went BYU’s way last week on either side of the ball. The offense struggled to score any points all game until quarterback Bear Bachmeier threw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. Bachmeier also threw an interception and lost a fumble, both being costly for the Cougars. BYU’s offense also only managed to rush for only 67 yards. The defense forced zero turnovers and allowed Texas Tech to score on the ground and in the air.
BYU still has a difficult road ahead as their next two opponents are TCU at home and Cincinnati on the road.
#1: Texas Tech (Record: 9-1, 6-1 in the Big 12)
The Red Raiders are officially at the top of the power rankings and at the top of the Big 12 standings after defeating the formerly undefeated BYU by a score of 29-7. Texas Tech are 6-1 in conference play, a record that allows them to control their own destiny to make the Big 12 championship. Their only loss this season was against Arizona State, a game that starting quarterback Behren Morton did not play in.
It was a team victory for the Red Raiders last week against BYU. On offense, Morton threw for 219 yards and a touchdown while running backs Cameron Dickey and J’Koby Williams rushed for a combined total of 198 yards.
Texas Tech’s defense was led by senior linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, who had 14 total tackles, one interception, and one fumble recovery against BYU. Linebacker David Bailey, who leads college football in sacks with 11.5, had four tackles and one pass deflected against the Cougars.
The Red Raiders have the easiest remaining schedule as their last two opponents are UCF at home and West Virginia on the road in Morgantown.