Week 10 brings us one of the biggest games of the entire Big 12 season, and the conference hierarchy is beginning to take shape.
Utah continues to look like the team to beat after delivering a statement performance on the road against Cincinnati. The Utes didn’t just win; they dominated, building a 42-6 halftime lead on their way to a 49-25 victory. Meanwhile, BYU bounced back from its first loss with a hard-fought 27-20 win over Arizona State, and Texas Tech responded to its own setback by taking care of Arizona.
Now, all eyes turn toward Salt Lake City, where Utah and BYU will meet in a showdown with massive Big 12 Championship implications. Texas Tech remains firmly in the conversation, while Houston, Arizona and Oklahoma State continue to occupy the next tier.
At the other end of the standings, Colorado finally found a way to win, snapping its five-game losing streak with an overtime victory over Kansas State. The Wildcats are now in a freefall, while Kansas remains at the bottom after another conference loss.
With November underway and the stakes rising, here’s how our Week 10 Big 12 Power Rankings look.
Big 12 Week 10 Consensus Power Rankings
Each team receives 16 points for a first-place vote, 15 for second, and so on, down to one point for a 16th-place vote. With three ballots, the maximum possible score is 48 points.
| Rank | Team | Points | Caleb | Matt | Zack |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utah | 48 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | BYU | 44 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Texas Tech | 43 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 4 | Houston | 38 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | Arizona | 37 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| 6 | Oklahoma State | 33 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | Cincinnati | 28 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| 8 | Iowa State | 26 | 10 | 7 | 8 |
| T-9 | Baylor | 24 | 7 | 10 | 10 |
| T-9 | West Virginia | 24 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| 11 | Arizona State | 16 | 11 | 13 | 11 |
| 12 | UCF | 15 | 12 | 11 | 13 |
| 13 | TCU | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 |
| 14 | Colorado | 8 | 15 | 14 | 14 |
| 15 | Kansas State | 7 | 14 | 15 | 15 |
| 16 | Kansas | 3 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
The Top Tier: Utah Is the Team Everyone Has to Catch
There isn’t much debate at the top of this week’s rankings. Utah received all three first-place votes, earning a perfect 48 points and establishing itself as the clear consensus No. 1.
The Utes are playing their best football at the right time. Their 49-25 victory over Cincinnati was particularly impressive, especially considering they built a 42-6 lead by halftime. Morgan Scalley’s team has demonstrated the ability to win physically, create explosive plays and dominate opponents on both sides of the ball.
But the biggest test is still ahead.
BYU comes in at No. 2 with 44 points, just four behind Utah. The Cougars received two second-place votes and one third-place vote. Their 27-20 victory over Arizona State wasn’t necessarily pretty, but it was an important response after losing to UCF.
The Holy War now becomes the defining game of the Big 12 season to this point. Utah enters undefeated, while BYU has an opportunity to prove it can compete with the conference’s best.
Texas Tech sits third with 43 points, just one behind BYU. Zack is the highest on the Red Raiders, placing them second, while Caleb and Matt both have them third. Their victory over Arizona helped reestablish their position as one of the conference’s most dangerous teams.
The Red Raiders still have championship aspirations, but they’ll need to keep winning to stay in the conversation.
The Next Contenders: Houston, Arizona and Oklahoma State
Houston and Arizona are separated by just one point in the consensus rankings.
The Cougars sit fourth with 38 points, while Arizona follows at fifth with 37. All three of us have both teams inside the top five, making this one of the most consistent areas of our rankings.
Oklahoma State is sixth with 33 points. The Cowboys are another example of complete agreement, as all three of us placed them at No. 6. Their offensive production has made them one of the more dangerous teams in the conference, and they remain firmly in the upper tier.
Cincinnati follows at No. 7 after taking a significant hit from its loss to Utah. The Bearcats still have a respectable consensus position, but the performance against the Utes showed just how much separation exists between the conference’s top team and the rest of the field.
Iowa State comes in at No. 8 with 26 points. Matt is the highest on the Cyclones at seventh, Zack has them eighth, and Caleb puts them 10th.
The Middle of the Pack: Baylor and West Virginia Split the Vote
Baylor and West Virginia are tied at 24 points, creating a unique situation in the consensus rankings.
West Virginia is the more consistently ranked team, with all three of us placing the Mountaineers at No. 9. Baylor, however, receives a seventh-place ranking from Caleb and 10th-place rankings from both Matt and Zack.
The difference is worth noting. Caleb is considerably more optimistic about Baylor’s position in the conference than the other two.
Arizona State checks in at No. 11, followed by UCF and TCU. The Sun Devils received two 11th-place votes but dropped to 13th on Matt’s ballot.
UCF is 12th, while TCU sits 13th. Both teams have shown enough to remain ahead of the bottom three, but neither has generated much consensus support for a move into the conference’s upper half.
The Bottom: Colorado Gets a Win, Kansas State Takes a Fall
Colorado’s overtime victory over Kansas State changed the conversation at the bottom of the conference.
The Buffaloes finally snapped their five-game losing streak with a 27-24 win, giving the program a much-needed boost. That victory was enough to move Colorado ahead of Kansas State in the consensus rankings.
Kansas State is now 15th, with just seven points. Matt and Zack both have the Wildcats 15th, while Caleb places them 14th. The recent slide has clearly taken its toll.
Kansas remains at No. 16 with just three points. All three of us agree that the Jayhawks belong at the bottom after their 22-16 loss to TCU.
Individual Rankings
Here’s how each voter sees the conference heading into Week 10, including their explanations for the top three and bottom two teams.
Caleb
- Utah | The Utes look like the most complete team in the conference, and their combination of physical defense and explosive offense makes them a legitimate playoff contender. At this point, they’re the team everyone else in the Big 12 has to catch.
- BYU | BYU stays near the top after beating Arizona State 27-20. The Cougars continue to find ways to win, even when games get difficult. At 7-1, they’ve proven they belong among the best teams in the country.
- Texas Tech | Texas Tech gets a big win over Arizona, bouncing back after its loss to Cincinnati. The Red Raiders have one of the most talented rosters in the conference and still have championship potential. Their defense and overall talent make them one of the toughest teams to match up against.
- Houston
- Arizona
- Oklahoma State
- Baylor
- Cincinnati
- West Virginia
- Iowa State
- Arizona State
- UCF
- TCU
- Kansas State
- Colorado | Colorado finally gets back in the win column after snapping its five-game losing streak with a 27-24 overtime win over Kansas State. It’s a much-needed victory, but the Buffaloes still have plenty to prove. Their overall inconsistency and struggles in conference play keep them near the bottom.
- Kansas | Kansas has been one of the biggest disappointments in the Big 12. The Jayhawks continue to struggle to put together consistent performances, and their loss to TCU doesn’t help.
Matt
- Utah | The Utes tighten their death grip on the top spot after a 49–25 destruction of Cincinnati. Morgan Scalley’s group didn’t just survive this time—they went on the road and built a 42–6 halftime lead, flexing the kind of complete-game muscle that makes them the definitive playoff favorite in the conference.
- BYU | There was no second consecutive letdown for Kalani Sitake’s crew. Facing a gritty Arizona State squad, the Cougars ground out a 27–20 victory in Provo. It re-establishes their identity right ahead of a massive, legacy-defining Holy War showdown with Utah this weekend.
- Texas Tech | The Red Raiders probably have the strongest conference resume of any one-loss team in the Big 12. The Red Raiders have proven they possess the elite firepower and mental toughness required to separate themselves from the chaotic middle tier, cementing their status as the definitive top challenger looming directly behind unbeaten Utah and BYU.
- Houston
- Arizona
- Oklahoma State
- Iowa State
- Cincinnati
- West Virginia
- Baylor
- UCF
- TCU
- Arizona State
- Colorado
- Kansas State | The wheels have officially fallen off in Manhattan. Dropping an overtime heartbreaker to a struggling Colorado team confirms that the Wildcats are in a complete tailspin, plummeting them straight into my bottom two after their fourth conference loss.
- Kansas | Welcome to the bottom. Lance Leipold’s temporary relief was short-lived as the Jayhawks suffered a 22–16 setback against TCU. A total failure to execute in the fourth quarter anchors them back to the absolute bottom of my rankings.
Zack
- Utah | After dominating Cincinatti on the road, the Utes are clearly deserving of their top spot in the conference. They host BYU this weekend, though, and the winner will likely end up in the Big 12 Championship.
- Texas Tech | The Red Raiders trailed Arizona at halftime, but a solid second half earned them the win. They host a powerful West Virginia offense this weekend, and they cannot afford another loss if they want to play in the Big 12 Championship.
- BYU | A week after dropping their first loss of the season to UCF, the Cougars nearly lost to Arizona State at home. Now they have to travel to Utah to play the Utes in a game that has monster implications for the Big 12.
- Arizona
- Houston
- Oklahoma State
- Cincinnati
- Iowa State
- West Virginia
- Baylor
- Arizona State
- TCU
- UCF
- Colorado
- Kansas State | The Wildcats dropped to 1-4 in conference play after losing to the Buffaloes on the road. Now they host Oklahoma State, who touts one of the best offenses in the nation.
- Kansas | One week after upsetting Baylor, the lost to TCU, who hasn’t been great. Now they host UCF, who is coming off a blowout loss to Baylor, so maybe Kansas can get back in the win column.
Where We Agree — And Where We Don’t
The consensus rankings reveal that the top of the Big 12 is becoming increasingly clear, but there are still some significant differences in how we evaluate the conference’s middle tier.
The biggest areas of agreement
- Utah: No debate. All three of us have the Utes at No. 1, giving them a perfect 48 points.
- BYU and Texas Tech: All three of us have both teams inside the top three. The only difference is that Zack flips their order, putting Texas Tech second and BYU third.
- Houston and Arizona: All three of us have both teams inside the top five. Houston edges Arizona by one point in the consensus rankings.
- Oklahoma State: All three of us place the Cowboys at exactly No. 6. That’s complete agreement on the team’s position in the conference.
- West Virginia: All three of us have the Mountaineers at No. 9.
- Kansas: All three of us agree that the Jayhawks belong at No. 16.
Where we were way off
Baylor is the biggest point of disagreement in this week’s rankings. Caleb has the Bears seventh, while Matt and Zack both place them 10th. That’s a three-position difference and enough to create a tie with West Virginia in the consensus standings.
Iowa State is another interesting case. Matt has the Cyclones seventh, Zack puts them eighth, and Caleb drops them to 10th. There is a three-position gap between Caleb and Matt, although all three voters still have Iowa State in the top 10.
Arizona State also has some separation. Caleb and Zack both rank the Sun Devils 11th, while Matt puts them 13th. That suggests the two are a little more encouraged by Arizona State’s standing despite the loss to BYU.
UCF has a similar spread, with Matt placing the Knights 11th, Caleb 12th and Zack 13th. Meanwhile, TCU is relatively close across the ballots, with rankings of 13th, 12th and 12th.
The bottom of the rankings is also remarkably consistent. Colorado, Kansas State and Kansas all occupy the final three positions on every ballot, even though the order of Colorado and Kansas State changes slightly between voters.
Final Thoughts
The Big 12 is heading toward a defining weekend.
Utah and BYU have separated themselves from the pack, and their upcoming showdown could go a long way toward determining who controls the conference race. Texas Tech remains close behind, with Houston, Arizona and Oklahoma State forming a dangerous group of challengers.
The middle tier is still difficult to sort out, particularly with Baylor, Iowa State and West Virginia generating different levels of confidence from our voters. At the bottom, Colorado finally has something to build on, while Kansas State and Kansas are running out of time to turn their seasons around.
But this week’s rankings ultimately come down to one matchup.
Utah versus BYU. Undefeated versus one loss. A potential conference championship preview with enormous playoff implications.
The Big 12’s pecking order could look very different by this time next week.