Big 12 Power Rankings – Week 6: The Picture Starts to Take Shape

For the first time in a while our panel — Caleb, Craig, Matt and Zack — have an actual, clean 1-through-16 order with no ties. We’re unanimous at only two spots again this week, but they’re the same two as last week: Texas Tech still sits at No. 1 after a bye, and Oklahoma State remains cemented at No. 16 after another loss. Everything else continues to churn.

Our rankings are a composite of the four individual ballots below. Each voter ranks every team 1–16, we assign points to each slot, and then average the scores to produce the order you see here. It’s not a computer model — it’s four people weighing wins, losses, eye test and trajectory — but the process gives a clear snapshot of how the league stacks up.

This week produced some fascinating areas of agreement and disagreement. All four of us had Texas Tech first and Oklahoma State last, and we were also surprisingly close on BYU and Iowa State landing in the top tier and West Virginia sliding near the bottom. Where we’re far apart is just as interesting: Arizona State, Baylor, Cincinnati, and Houston generated the widest gaps, with some voters seeing upward momentum and others still skeptical.

Check out our full Week 6 Big 12 power rankings at the bottom of the page to see where every team landed — and how your favorite stacks up against the rest of the conference.

2025 Heartland Sports Big 12 Power Rankings – Week 6

Ranking	Points
1. Texas Tech	64
2. Iowa State	56
3. BYU	55
4. Arizona State	53
5. Utah	50
6. TCU	46
7. Cincinnati	34
8. Baylor	33
9. Houston	30
10. Arizona	28
11. Kansas	26
12. Kansas State	24
13. Colorado	16
14. UCF	15
15. West Virginia	10
16. Oklahoma State	4

Comparing Week 5 to Week 6

Texas Tech remains the clear-cut No. 1 team with a unanimous 64 points for the second straight week, but underneath the Red Raiders the board shifted. Iowa State strengthened its hold on the No. 2 spot, gaining a point, and BYU moved into third outright after sharing that slot with TCU in Week 5. Arizona State is the week’s biggest riser, climbing from sixth to fourth on the back of its win over TCU. Utah also inched up a point but slipped to fifth because of the Sun Devils’ surge. TCU took the brunt of the reshuffle, tumbling from a tie for third to sixth.

The middle of the rankings also reshuffled. Cincinnati jumped from a three-way tie for 10th all the way to seventh, while Baylor held steady at eighth and Houston crept up to ninth. Arizona slid from seventh to tenth, and Kansas dropped two spots to 11th after its loss to Cincinnati. At the bottom, Kansas State moved up slightly, UCF dipped a notch, and West Virginia fell even further after another blowout loss. Oklahoma State remains the unanimous No. 16 team for the second straight week, but everything else around it continues to churn.

Individual Rankings

Caleb

1. Texas Tech | The Red Raiders had the week off while they prepare for Houston coming up next.

2. Arizona State | The Sun Devils looked good against TCU. After a rough start to the season, with an early loss to Mississippi State, ASU has bounced back in a big way.

3. BYU | The Cougars have started off the season hot. Bear Bachmeier played good again vs Colorado and their defense looked really good as well.

4. Iowa State

5. TCU

6. Utah

7. Arizona 

8. Houston

9. Cincinnati

10. Kansas

11.  Baylor

12. Colorado

13. Kansas State

14. UCF

15. West Virginia | The Mountaineers have now been blown out by the two Big 12 teams they have played. They looked bad on both sides of the ball.

16.Oklahoma State | The Cowboys played with a little bit more of a spark on Saturday. While they looked better they still looked bad. 

Craig 

1. Texas Tech | No game this week for Texas Tech. They’ve got a big one coming up at Houston that will be a real test for this team. 

2. Iowa State | The Cyclones performed better than expected this week against Arizona. The Wildcats aren’t a cupcake of a team, but the Cyclones proved that they belong at the top of the pack. 

3. Arizona State | The Sun Devils also proved they belong in the top three after pulling out a close win over TCU. When it comes to beating a Top 25 opponent, you’ll take a win anyway you can get it. 

4. BYU

5. TCU

6. Utah 

7. Houston 

8. Arizona 

9. Baylor 

10. Cincinnati 

11. Kansas State 

12. Kansas 

13. UCF

14. West Virginia 

15. Colorado | The Buffs offense struggles to move the ball against good football teams. Things are not going well in Boulder. 

16. Oklahoma State | The Cowboys showed some signs of life at times against Baylor, but it wasn’t enough. The offense did look as good as it’s looked all season. 

Matt 

1. Texas Tech | Even with a bye week, no one did enough to knock the Red Raiders off the top line.

2. Utah | Exactly the bounce-back you want to see after the Texas Tech loss. A 34-point road conference win restores some of the shine.

3. BYU | Took care of business at home and remains one of the league’s steadier teams.

4. Iowa State

5. Arizona State

6. TCU

7. Baylor

8. Cincinnati

9. Kansas

10. Houston

11. Kansas State

12. UCF

13. Colorado

14. West Virginia

15. Arizona | Couldn’t replicate the fight it showed against Kansas State; Wildcats drop this week.

16. Oklahoma State | After the Tulsa loss, this was the last thing the Cowboys needed was to be lifeless. That certainly wasn’t the case in Stillwater on Saturday, but unfortunately the results didn’t change.

Zack 

1. Texas Tech | Bye week for the Red Raiders means they don’t move for me.

2. Iowa State | A convincing win over Arizona keeps the Cyclones firmly in the conversation for the top of the Big 12.

3. BYU | It took a 14-point comeback to defeat Colorado in Boulder, but the Cougars still got the win. They could use a convincing win on Friday night against West Virginia, though.

4. Utah

5. Arizona State

6. TCU

7. Cincinnati

8. Baylor

9. Kansas State

10. Arizona

11. Kansas

12. Colorado

13. Houston

14. UCF

15. West Virginia | Another blow out loss, albeit to a solid Utah team, keeps the Mountaineers down here in the rankings. They have another tough matchup on Friday night when they travel to Provo to take on BYU.

16. Oklahoma State | The Cowboys already look better in the post-Mike Gundy era, but they ran out of steam late against Baylor. Still, they MIGHT actually have a shot at winning a game or two at some point this season.

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