Big 12 Football Power Rankings: Texas Tech jumps to front with impressive road win at Utah
Jeffrey D. Allred, AP Photo
Texas Tech quarterback Will Hammond smiles after beating Utah during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Salt Lake City, Utah.Here’s our weekly power rankings of Big 12 teams with a look at their schedules and matchups.
1. No. 12 Texas Tech (4-0, 1-0 Big 12)
Last results: Backup freshman quarterback Will Hammond replaced an injured Behren Morton in the second half and engineered four scoring drives to help No. 17 Texas Tech pull away from No. 16 Utah 34-10 in Salt Lake City.
Game On: Bye (Next game is Oct. 4 vs. Colorado)
What’s Up? Hammond threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 61 yards. … Texas Tech was flagged 14 times for 122 yards, half of those from false starts in front of a loud Utah crowd.
2. No. 14 Iowa State (4-0, 1-0 Big 12)
Last results: Defeated Arkansas State 24-16 on Sept. 13.
Game On: Saturday vs. Arizona (3-0, 0-0 Big 12), 5 p.m. MT (ESPN)
What’s Up? In four games Rocco Becht has completed 65% of his passes for 860 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception. … Iowa State’s only win in the series with Arizona came in 1958, a 14-0 victory in Tucson.
3. No. 25 BYU (2-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Last results: Evan Johnson had two interceptions, including a pick six near the end of the first half in a 34-13 BYU victory at East Carolina.
Game On: Saturday at Colorado (2-2, 0-1 Big 12), 8:15 p.m. MT (ESPN)
What’s Up? Bear Bachmeier 18 of 25 for 246 yards and a touchdown – completing 9 of 11 in the second half – and ran for another score. … BYU has won the past three meetings with Colorado, including a 36-14 victory in last year’s Alamo Bowl.
4. No. 24 TCU (3-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Last results: Eric McAlister had eight catches for 254 yards and three touchdowns to lead TCU to a 35-24 victory against SMU in the Battle for the Iron Skillet.
Game On: Friday at Arizona State (3-1, 1-0 Big 12), 7 p.m. MT (FOX)
What’s Up? Josh Hoover threw a career-high five touchdown passes on 22 of 40 for 379 yards. … McAlister’s 254 receiving yards is No. 2 in the all-time TCU record book to Jack Bech, who had 267 against Texas Tech in 2015.
5. Utah (3-1, 0-1 Big 12)
Last results: No. 16 Utah was held to 263 total yards and committed four turnovers in a 34-10 loss to No. 17 Texas Tech.
Game On: Saturday at West Virginia (2-2, 0-1 Big 12), 1:30 p.m. MT (FOX)
What’s Up? Devon Dampier threw for 162 yards and two interceptions for Utah. … The Utes lead the overall series with West Virginia 2-0, both victories in bowl games (32-6, Liberty Bowl, 1964 and 30-14, Heart of Dallas Bowl, 2017).
6. Arizona (3-0, 1-0 Big 12)
Last results: Defeated Kansas State 23-17 on Sept. 13.
Game On: Saturday at No. 14 Iowa State (4-0, 1-0 Big 12), 5 p.m. MT (ESPN)
What’s Up? Noah Fifita is 46 of 78 (59%) for 712 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions in three games. … Arizona leads the overall series with Iowa State 4-1-1 but the two schools haven’t played since 1968.
7. Arizona State (3-1, 1-0 Big 12)
Last results: Jesus Gomez kicked a 43-yard field goal on the game’s final play to give Arizona State a 27-24 victory against Baylor.
Game On: Friday vs. No. 24 TCU (3-0, 0-0 Big 12), 7 p.m. MT (FOX)
Arizona State scored on four of their final five drives against Baylor. … The Sun Devils are 2-0 all-time against TCU, winning at Tempe in 1974 (37-7) and at Fort Worth in 1975 (33-10).
8. Houston (3-0, 1-0 Big 12)
Last results: Defeated Colorado 36-20 on Sept. 13.
Game On: Friday at Oregon State (0-4, 0-0 Pac 12), 8:30 p.m. MT (ESPN)
What’s Up? Texas A&M transfer Conner Weigman has thrown for 569 yards and rushed for 142 while accounting for seven touchdowns (four passing, three rushing). … Houston is 2-1 all-time against Oregon State, beating the Beavers 19-16 at home in 1970.
9. Kansas (3-1, 1-0 Big 12)
Last results: Jalon Daniels threw three touchdown passes as Kansas opened Big 12 play with a 41-10 victory against West Virginia.
Game On: Saturday vs. Cincinnati (2-1, 0-0 Big 12), 10 a.m. MT (TNT)
What’s Up? Leshon Williams ran for 129 yards and another score for the Jayhawks. … Kansas leads the all-time series with Cincinnati 2-1, winning 49-16 at Cincinnati in 2023.
10. UCF (3-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Last results: UCF held North Carolina to 217 total yards and had a pair of interceptions in a dominating 34-9 victory.
Game On: Saturday at Kansas State (1-3, 0-1 Big 12), 10 a.m. MT (FS1)
What’s Up? UCF was 4 of 4 on fourth down against North Carolina. … Tayven Jackson was 25 of 32 for 223 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 66 yards and another score for the Knights.
11. Baylor (2-2, 0-1 Big 12)
Last results: Sawyer Robinson was 25 of 39 for 250 yards, three touchdowns and one interception as Baylor lost to Arizona State 27-24.
Game On: Saturday at Oklahoma State (1-2, 0-0 Big 12), 1:30 p.m. MT (ESPN2)
What’s Up? Baylor tied the game against Arizona State at 24-24 on a 33-yard touchdown strike from Sawyer Robinson to Michael Trigg with 1:52 to play. … The Bears’ beat Oklahoma State last season 38-28 at Waco.
12. Cincinnati (2-1, 0-0 Big 12)
Last results: Defeated Northwestern State 70-0 on Sept. 13.
Game On: Saturday at Kansas (3-1, 1-0 Big 12), 10 a.m. MT (TNT)
What’s Up? Cincinnati quarterback Brenden Sorsby has accounted for 830 yards (655 passing, 175 rushing) and 12 touchdowns (eight passing, four rushing). … The Bearcats’ last win in the three-game series with Kansas was in 1997, a 34-7 victory at home.
13. Colorado (2-2, 0-1 Big 12)
Last results: Kaidon Salter threw three touchdown passes and ran for a game-sealing score in his returning to the starting quarterback spot in Colorado’s 37-20 victory against Wyoming.
Game On: Saturday vs. No. 25 BYU (3-0, 0-0 Big 12), 8:15 p.m. MT (ESPN)
What’s Up? Salter threw for 304 yards and ran for 86 more. … Colorado leads the overall series with BYU 8-4-1, with its last victory a 9-7 win in Boulder in 1947.
14. West Virginia (2-2, 0-1 Big 12)
Last results: West Virginia was just 3 of 15 on third down in a 41-10 loss to Kansas to open Big 12 play.
Game On: Saturday vs. Utah (3-1, 0-1 Big 12), 1:30 p.m. MT (FOX)
What’s Up? Mountaineers quarterback Nicco Marchiol was 15 of 27 for 126 yards and an interception before being replaced by backup Jaylen Henderson, who scored on a 13-yard run in the fourth quarter. … West Virginia came into the game with 13 sacks (fourth in the NCAA) but didn’t sack Daniels once.
15. Kansas State (1-3, 0-2 Big 12)
Last results: lost to Arizona 23-17 on Sept. 13.
Game On: Saturday vs. UCF (3-0, 0-0 Big 12), 10 a.m. MT (FS1)
What’s Up? Kansas State has lost three games by a total of 12 points. … The Wildcats are 2-0 all-time against UCF, winning both games in Manhattan (17-13 in 2010 and 44-31 in 2023).
16. Oklahoma State (1-2, 0-0 Big 12)
Last results: Tulsa defeated Oklahoma State 19-12 on four Seth Morgan field goals, the first Hurricane win against the Cowboys in 27 years.
Game On: Saturday vs. Baylor (2-2, 0-1 Big 12), 1:30 p.m. MT (ESPN2)
What’s Up? On Tuesday, Oklahoma State fired head coach Mike Gundy after 21 seasons. The Cowboys made the Big 12 Championship Game in 2023 but have lost 11 of their past 12 games. … Oklahoma State leads the all-time series with Baylor 23-20, last winning 36-25 at Waco in 2022.
