Week Six Big 12 Power Rankings: Who’s Rising, Who’s Falling?

Week six Big 12 power rankings are here, and the conference is shifting face. But what else would we expect from the Big 12? The race to the top spot is still open, but are there a few more teams that need to be considered when compared to last week’s power rankings? This week’s rankings offer a new look at who’s rising, who’s falling, and who could be playing meaningful football in late November.

This team hasn’t quit on the season. It played its best game of the season so far. But Cowboys fans should start camping out in this bottom spot of the week six Big 12 power rankings. This team has surrendered the 2nd most points of all Big 12 teams. The offense has scored 41 fewer points than the 2nd worst scoring offense in the Big 12. This team is competing with UCLA as the worst team in the P4.

This is a beat-up team that was already lacking major talent on both sides of the ball. That was evident as Utah quickly took control of the game and made quick work of Rich Rodriguez’s team. It will not get any easier this week with a Friday night trip across country to play the other Utah team, BYU.

The Buffalo can’t block offensively. They are really missing their explosive wide receivers. Additionally, the defense is just average. But they had BYU on the ropes, going up 14-0 after the first quarter last Saturday night. Colorado was just unable to make any more significant plays the rest of the night, and eventually it caught up with them. The Buffs travel to TCU this week looking to notch their first conference win.

The final score of 34-20 makes their loss against Kansas State look worse than it was. UCF had 402 total yards of offense. But three turnovers were what doomed this team from having a chance to spring the road win. While the offense moved the ball plenty, the defense was steadily moved on all game, allowing 434 yards of offense to a struggling offense. Can the defense bounce back at The Bounce House with Kansas coming to Orlando this week?

The good news for Kansas State was that they were able to get a victory over a competent team in conference play. But that bad news is the defense still is not fixed. Avery Johnson, while he had flashes of what type of playmaking he is capable of, still appears to be doing more thinking than playing during the game. The other big piece of bad news is that this defense now has to try to tackle the high-powered Baylor offense in Waco this week.

If one were to just examine the box score of the Wildcats’ game against Iowa State, the basic stats show a fairly even game. But the start of the game tells the entire story. Arizona’s first five possessions included a missed field goal, three punts, and an interception. Digging themselves a hole that big was too much to overcome. But good news for Brent Brennan’s squad is that they are welcoming Oklahoma State to Tucson on Saturday.

For about three quarters, things were uneasy in Stillwater for Dave Aranda’s Bears. It was a one-score game heading into the fourth. However, it never felt like Oklahoma State could actually win the game, but this leaky Baylor defense kept allowing a bad offense to move and score the ball to keep the game within arm’s reach. Eventually, Baylor did pull away by a score of 45-27. When Baylor wins, they score at least 42 points. When they lose, they haven’t cleared 24. The formula seems clear in Waco for 2025: outscore the opponent or lose the game.

Every year, there are a few teams that are on the fringe of making a conference championship appearance. Those teams have one game during the course of the season where, in hindsight, they begin kicking themselves for not winning it. There is a good chance that Sonny Dykes and his TCU team will look at their loss to Arizona State in the same manner. A 3rdquarter interception on the Sun Devils’ seven-yard line and a fumble with under two minutes in the fourth quarter, with the game tied, are going to sting for a long time. The Horned Frogs will look to bounce back against Colorado on Saturday.

Lance Leipold’s team is going to be a tough out for anyone on their remaining schedule. That is largely because quarterback Jalon Daniels has returned to his elite playmaking status. He threw for 445 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions against Cincinnati. Daniels also added 55 yards rushing on 14 carries. But the defense will be the thing that keeps the Jayhawks from being a serious contender. In their two losses (including this past Saturday to Cincinnati), they have allowed at least 37 points and 595 yards. Everyone should just enjoy a team that has major vibes of a 2011 Big 12 team.

Scott Satterfield notched his best win during his brief stint as the head coach of the Bearcats. Quarterback Brendan Sorsbywas outstanding on the road. The talent on this roster was always something recognized by many. But the coaching is what many believed, Last Word included, was going to hold this team back. This week, Iowa State comes to Nippert Stadium. A win against the Cyclones this week would prove the Bearcats are a serious contender in the Big 12.

It was a sluggish start to the game for Kalani Sitake’s team in the late-night window. However, even without their best efforts, BYU did get out of Boulder with a win. The Cougars remain one of just four undefeated teams in the Big 12. So far, the schedule has been the biggest advantage for this team, so it’s hard to give them a big jump in the week six power rankings. If they continue to win, they will continue to climb. Plus, they have a three-game stretch in October with Utah, Iowa State, and Texas Tech. They will have plenty of opportunity to prove themselves.

If it were up to Last Word to schedule non-conference games, a trip to Corvallis on a Friday night is not anything we would sign up for. Even with how bad Oregon State has been this year, they dragged the Coogs into a beaver dam and almost snuck out the win. But Willie Fritz’s team did survive their trip to the Northwest. College football teams aren’t as good as they are on their best day or as bad as they are on their worst day. If this is Houston’s worst day of 2025, that means they will be prickly for anyone with Houston on their schedule.

It is becoming very clear that if anyone is going to defeat the defending Big 12 champs, it will be like defeating a zombie. One big blow will not take this team out. In back-to-back weeks, the Sun Devils have beaten Baylor and TCU by the exact same 27-24 score. This one required a 17-point comeback effort in front of the home crowd on a Friday night. Kenny Dillingham’s team is in a great position heading into their bye week.

Kyle Whittingham’s team did exactly what Last Word thought they would against West Virginia. A physically dominating 48-14 win over a very injury-riddled team was the type of bounce-back win anyone would expect from this program. They enter their bye week with two weeks to prepare for a visit from Arizona State.

The Red Raiders were on their first bye week last week. Joey McGuire’s team resumes action this week with a road trip down to Houston.

The only team currently 5-0 in the Big 12 retains its spot as the top team in the week six power rankings in the Big 12. The Cyclones welcomed a competent Big 12 opponent in Arizona to Ames and made quick work of them. They ran out to a 22-0 lead before cruising to a 39-14 win. And while they made it look easy, something noteworthy came out after this game. The line set by Vegas for their road trip to Cincinnati has Iowa State currently as a 2.5-point underdog. Will this be the last week we see the Cyclones in the top spot?

Main Photo: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images