Stability at the Edges, Chaos in the Middle — Big 12 Power Rankings, Week 11

Once again, our Big 12 Power Rankings open and close with absolute clarity — BYU is still the unanimous No. 1, and Oklahoma State remains firmly at No. 16. Everything in between? Controlled mayhem. Texas Tech and Utah are still circling the top spot should the Cougars stumble, and Arizona State holds steady as the dangerous lurker in the top four. But the real story this week is how tightly grouped the rest of the league has become — after Cincinnati at No. 5 (48 points), the point totals fall off sharply, creating a packed mid-tier where one good (or bad) Saturday can swing momentum in dramatic fashion. It’s also the most unified we’ve been all season, with five unanimous slot placements across the 16-team field — proof that, at least on some fronts, the Big 12 picture is becoming clearer even as chaos brews just beneath the surface.

Of course, this wouldn’t be Big 12 football without ties — and this week we’ve got three of them. Houston and TCU share the No. 6 spot, Baylor and Kansas State are knotted at No. 8, and UCF and West Virginia sit together at No. 13. We’re very close to alignment on teams like Cincinnati (steady at No. 5), Arizona State (locked into No. 4 across the board), and the league’s bookends. But other programs remain polarizing. Kansas, Kansas State, and Arizona are still scattered across ballots depending on who you trust more this month — the eye test or the résumé. Meanwhile, Colorado continues its slide toward the bottom tier, while Houston, TCU, and Baylor live in that unpredictable middle where every vote feels like an argument waiting to happen. One thing is certain: while BYU and Oklahoma State give us stability at the poles, the rest of the Big 12 refuses to sit still — and Week 11 only tightened the squeeze.

2025 Heartland Sports Big 12 Power Rankings – Week 11

Ranking	Points
1. BYU	64
2. Texas Tech	59
3. Utah	57
4. Arizona State	52
5. Cincinnati	48
6. Houston	40
6. TCU	40
8. Baylor	31
8. Kansas State	31
10. Iowa State	29
11. Arizona	25
12. Kansas	24
13. UCF	16
13. West Virginia	16
15. Colorado	8
16. Oklahoma State	4

Comparing Week 10 to Week 11

Compared to Week 10, our Week 11 Big 12 Power Rankings show both stability at the top and major reshuffling in the middle. BYU remains a unanimous No. 1, but the gap behind them narrowed slightly as Texas Tech continued to strengthen its case at No. 2, picking up a point. The most notable shift comes with Utah, who surged into the No. 3 spot after impressing across our ballots, leapfrogging Cincinnati — who fell from third to fifth and saw a significant drop in total points. Arizona State held steady at No. 4, signaling continued respect for their consistency and upside. Overall, the top four are holding firm, but we now have a clearer two-team chase pack behind BYU, with Utah overtaking Cincinnati as Tech’s closest threat.

The middle of the conference, however, tightened dramatically. Houston slid back into a tie with TCU for sixth, while Baylor and Kansas State are now deadlocked at No. 8 — a sign of just how tightly connected this middle tier has become. Meanwhile, Iowa State continues to hover just inside the top 10, and Arizona and Kansas remain locked in that bubble zone, inching forward but unable to break into the upper half. UCF and West Virginia moved into a tie at 13th, creating three shared positions this week, while Colorado fell further into free-fall after another rough outing. And at the bottom, Oklahoma State remains stuck at No. 16, unable to generate momentum or votes. If Week 10 hinted at separation, Week 11 proved the opposite — the league’s middle is still a crowded traffic jam, and every game down the stretch will matter for positioning.

Individual Rankings

Caleb 

1. BYU | The Cougars got the week off as they prepare for their biggest game of the season against Texas Tech.

2. Texas Tech | The Red Raiders rolled KSU as they improved to 8-1.

3. Utah | The Utes looked really impressive as they rolled Cincinnati. Don’t let their two losses fool you into thinking they are push overs.

4. Arizona State 

5. Cincinnati 

6. Houston

7. Arizona 

8. TCU

9. Kansas State

10. Iowa State

11.  Kansas 

12. Baylor 

13. UCF 

14. West Virginia

15. Colorado | The Buffaloes got embarrassed by Arizona. Giving up over 400 total yards and 52 points.

16. Oklahoma State | The Cowboys lost their 15th straight Big12 game.

Craig 

1. BYU – No game this week for the Cougars. But, they’ve got a big game against Texas Tech with playoff implications coming up next. 

2. Texas Tech – The Red Raiders have responded well to their one loss. They’ve scored 40+ in back to back games and will go head to head with BYU next. 

3. Utah – The Utes earn their way back into the top three after absolutely dominating Cincinnati. 

4. Arizona State 

5. Cincinnati 

6. Kansas State 

7. TCU

8. Baylor

9. Houston 

10. Iowa State 

11. UCF 

12. Arizona 

13. Kansas 

14. West Virginia 

15. Colorado | The Buffaloes have lost their last two games by a combined 81 points. You gotta wonder how much is left in the Deion Sanders era. 

16. Oklahoma State | Well, they looked alright in the first half. 

Matt 

1. BYU | Still the league’s most consistent team — efficient offense, disciplined defense, and poise every week. Utah is charging hard, but BYU hasn’t done anything to lose the top spot.

2. Utah | A blowout win against Cincinnati keeps the Utes right on BYU’s heels. Best defense + power run game in the league right now.

3. Texas Tech | Red Raiders have responded emphatically after their loss. Offense rolling again, defense nasty. Still a playoff-caliber ceiling.

4. Arizona State 

5. Cincinnati 

6. TCU

7. Houston

8. Kansas

9. Baylor 

10. Iowa State 

11. West Virginia 

12. Kansas State 

13. Arizona 

14. UCF 

15. Colorado | Two straight blowout losses for the Buffs — team looks physically overmatched and the defense is collapsing.

16. Oklahoma State | Showed signs of life early but still overwhelmed. Remains last until they prove otherwise.

Zack 

1. BYU | A week off could not have come at a better time for the Cougars as they face Texas Tech this upcoming weekend in a top-10 matchup. The winner will likely eventually end up in the Big 12 Championship.

2. Texas Tech | The Red Raiders absolutely dominated a Kansas State team that had looked better as of late, and now Tech has to get ready to host BYU, the only undefeated team left in the Big 12.

3. Utah | The Utes were more than up for the challenge in hosting Cincinnati; they absolutely dominated. Utah still has a chance at making the Big 12 Championship, and they should be favored in their three remaining games.

4. Arizona State

5. Cincinnati

6. Houston

7. TCU

8. Baylor

9. Iowa State

10. Kansas State

11. Arizona

12. Kansas

13. West Virginia

14. UCF

15. Colorado | The team that kept it close with BYU and knocked off Iowa State is the same team that got utterly destroyed by Utah and Arizona in the last two weeks. The Buffaloes travel to Morgantown now, so maybe they can get back on track, but the Mountaineers are fresh off their first conference win of the season.

16. Oklahoma State | It’s looking pretty hopeless for the Cowboys. They get a bye week before hosting Kansas State, which isn’t likely to go well. At this point, a conference win just doesn’t seem possible.

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