The Big 12 is finally starting to take shape. There are three strong contenders at the top of the conference who are looking to battle it out for the two spots in the title game. Then there are three teams below them that could make some noise and get the nod should things bounce their way. Beyond that, everyone else is pretty much just in the role as the spoiler.
Our Week 9 Power Rankings pretty much reflect all of that, with Iowa State, BYU, and Kansas State in the top three spots and only separated by seven total points. The only thing that our staff agreed on across the board this week was that the Cyclones are in the top spot. So, you’ll want to make sure to check out our individual rankings below.
2024 Heartland Sports Big 12 Power Rankings, Week 9
| Ranking | Points |
| 1. Iowa State | 64 |
| 2. BYU | 59 |
| 3. Kansas State | 57 |
| 4. Cincinnati | 48 |
| 5. Colorado | 46 |
| 6. Texas Tech | 43 |
| 7. Arizona State | 38 |
| 8. Utah | 37 |
| 9. West Virginia | 33 |
| 10. TCU | 27 |
| 11. Arizona | 22 |
| 12. UCF | 21 |
| 13. Baylor | 16 |
| 14. Kansas | 14 |
| 15. Oklahoma State | 13 |
| 16. Houston | 6 |
Individual Rankings
Caleb
1. Iowa State | ISU was able to escape UCF Saturday. ISU is 7-0 on the season making a strong case for the big 12 championship and a spot in the CFP.
2. BYU | Did BYU get lucky with Rangel getting hurt? Either way you look at it BYU won a tough battle to improve to 7-0.
3. Kansas State:
4. Colorado
5. Cincinnati
6. Arizona State
7. Texas Tech
8. Utah
9. West Virginia
10. Arizona
11. UCF
12. TCU
13. Baylor
14. Kansas
15. Houston | Houston looked promising after beating TCU then they turn around and get blown out by Kansas
16. OSU | What is going on in Stillwater???
Craig
1. Iowa State | Iowa State barely escaped UCF, but a win is a win. Their offense continued to look great with 5 touchdowns on the game. It’s hard to argue against the 7-0 Cyclones.
2. BYU | The Cougars struggled against Oklahoma State, but ultimately came out with the win. Some might think they’re “pretenders”, but being undefeated at this point in the season isn’t easy to do.
3. Kansas State | The Wildcats only loss is to BYU. They’ve looked very good ever since. The Cougars and the Cyclones need to be careful, because Kansas State might not lose another game.
4. Colorado
5. Cincinnati
6. Arizona State
7. Texas Tech
8. Utah
9. West Virginia
10. TCU
11. Arizona
12. UCF
13. Baylor
14. Kansas
15. Houston | Getting throttled by one of the worst teams in the conference is never what you want right after coming off of a big win. Nowhere to go but up from here, right?
16. Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State put up a great fight against BYU, but it wasn’t enough and they fell to 0-4 in conference play. Is OSU better than Houston? Probably. But, Houston does have a conference win.
Matt
1. Iowa State | The Cyclones showed a weakness in stopping the run in their 38-35 win over UCF. They’re still very much in the driver’s seat to punch a ticket to the Big 12 championship game, but challengers have a new hope in attacking ISU now.
2. Kansas State | The Wildcats exploded in the second half to outscore West Virginia 28-8 and secure an easy victory after a hard-fought first half.
3. BYU | The Cougars needed a miracle to escape an Oklahoma State squad that played it’s best game since conference play began.
4. Arizona State
5. Texas Tech
6. Cincinnati
7. Utah
8. West Virginia
9. Colorado
10. Oklahoma State
11. Kansas
12. TCU
13. UCF
14. Baylor
15. Arizona | Arizona is searching for answers on both sides of the ball following its third straight loss.
16. Houston | The Cougars came into their game against Kansas ranked third in the Big 12 in total yards allowed per game at 295.0, and they gave up 284 of their 467 total yards allowed in the first half.
Zack
1. Iowa State | I have a hard time dropping a team after a win, so I’m going to keep the Cyclones here. They’re walking on thin ice with so many close calls, though.
2. BYU | The Cougars barely squeaked out a win at home against Oklahoma State, but a close win is still a win, so they stay at #2.
3. Kansas State | The Wildcats honestly look like the best team in the conference right now. As long as they keep winning, they’ll be in the Big 12 Championship.
4. Cincinnati
5. Colorado
6. Texas Tech
7. TCU
8. Utah
9. West Virginia
10. Arizona
11. UCF
12. Baylor
13. Oklahoma State
14. Arizona State
15. Kansas | The Jayhawks finally got a win, and it was by a large margin, but it came against Houston. Now they get to travel to the Little Apple to take on Kansas State.
16. Houston | The Cougars were trounced at home by Kansas. Not good.
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