With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Big 12 Week 13 power rankings have brought us the biggest shake-up to date. It is even more incredible considering the pre-season expectations from some teams near the top of the rankings. But with nine teams still mathematically alive for the Big 12 conference game, which teams should feel better about their chances?
Big 12 Week 13 Power Rankings
16. Oklahoma State (Previous Ranking – 16)
No one did anything egregious to kick Oklahoma State out of the basement of the Big 12 week 13 power rankings why the Pokes sat at home on their bye week. They have their home finale this week against Texas Tech.
15. Utah (Previous Ranking – 15)
When Isaac Wilson was announced as the starter for the Colorado game, everyone knew how the game would go. The offense in 2024 has been significantly worse than in 2023 under similar back quarterback situations. If one was casually following the score in the first half, it might have suggested the Utes were hanging tough with Colorado. In reality, the Utes never actually had a chance to win this game. There is a high likelihood that Iowa State will shut the door on Utah’s bid for a bowl this week. It would be the first non-COVID season Utah missed bowl season since 2013.
14. UCF (Previous Ranking – 13)
Gus Malzahn’s team looks to salvage the rest of the season after their second bye week. They travel to West Virginia with slim bowl hopes still intact.
13. Arizona (Previous Ranking – 14)
A lot has gone wrong in year one under Brent Brennan. Wildcat fans have to wonder how much they wasted some elite skill talent this year, mainly wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. But for this past Friday night, Arizona did get to see it all come together against Houston. The ‘Cats, on the backs of a dominating defensive effort, snapped a five-game losing streak with a 27-3 win. A bowl is not likely at this point, so enjoy this brief moment of joy from an otherwise disappointing 2024 season.
12. Houston (Previous Ranking – 9)
While Houston did suddenly revert to the offensive football we all saw in the first part of the season, they get to maintain one spot above Arizona in the Big 12 week 13 rankings. Houston’s overall body of work has been better to date. But with Baylor and BYU left on the schedule, Willie Fritz’s team could finish with the same losing record that Arizona does. However, this team has already greatly exceeded expectations for year one under Fritz.
11. TCU (Previous Ranking – 10)
The Horned Frogs had the week off last week. Sonny Dykes’ team resumes play this week against Arizona.
10. Cincinnati (Previous Ranking – 8)
Unless you are a service academy, it is hard to win a conference game with just 66 passing yards. That was the final total for Brendan Sorsby in a losing effort against Iowa State. Sorsby did contribute greatly on the ground with 141 yards of 287 total rushing yards for the Bearcats. Cincinnati did play tough with Iowa State in the first half. But they could not match the surge of the Cyclones after the break getting outscored 24-7. It doesn’t get any easier this week to secure bowl eligibility as they travel to Manhatten, Kansas to take on an angry Wildcat team.
9. West Virginia (Previous Ranking – 6)
Stop us if this one sounds familiar in 2024; West Virginia lost at home…again. Season ticket holders are going to be clamoring for a refund for a team that is 1-4 against P4 opponents this year in Morgantown. Quarterback Garrett Greene tried his best to keep his team in this one. He had a combined 366 yards of offense (237 passing) and four total touchdowns. But the defense had no answer for Baylor’s red-hot offense. This 14-point loss will only re-heat the seat of Neal Brown. But as long as Brown beats either UCF or Texas Tech in the last two games, he should return in 2025.
8. Kansas (Previous Ranking – 12)
Jayhawk fans are wondering if the second half of the season could just serve as the entire season. After starting 1-5 without a win over a FBS opponent, Kansas has now won three of their last four games. This latest victory is the biggest of the season for Lance Leipold. It took a pooch punt by their quarterback Jalon Daniels in the fourth quarter to set them up. It was that touchdown run by Devin Neal at the start of the fourth quarter that turned into the game-winner against BYU. Kansas has another chance this week to play the role of spoiler in their final “home” game of 2024.
7. Iowa State (Previous Ranking – 11)
Last Word wrote off the Cyclones after three straight games of sloppy football, which included back-to-back losses in their last two games. But thanks to some results around the conference, Matt Campbell’s team has new hope to still reach the Big 12 championship game. The 34-17 win over the Bearcats was not as dominant as the final might suggest. However, this is an 8-2 team that still has very winnable games to close out the season. They need to handle their business on the road this week against a beat-up Utah team.
6. Texas Tech (Previous Ranking – 5)
Joey McGuire’s team is coming off the bye week and travels to Stillwater for their final road trip of 2024.
5. Kansas State (Previous Ranking – 4)
Chris Klieman’s team picked a very bad time to string together two losses. This most recent one was very troubling. Kansas State was coming off a bye week and was in control of their Big 12 destiny. They welcomed Arizona State to Bill Synder Family Stadium and promptly found themselves down 24-0 in the third quarter. The Wildcats tried to mount a comeback, but could not figure out the Arizona State defense. They are still technically alive in the Big 12 race but need lots of help. Also, seeing them win two straight to close out the season appears no better than a coin flip chance.
4. Baylor (Previous Ranking – 7)
The teams at the top of the standings must be thanking their lucky stars they did not draw Baylor in the last month or in the next two weeks. Dave Aranda’s team has now won four straight games on the back of an offense that hasn’t been stopped. They have scored no less than 37 points during this winning streak. This team is playing with a noticeable confidence that they were lacking in the first half of the season. Houston has a tall task in trying to slow down one of the hottest teams in the conference this week.
3. BYU (Previous Ranking – 1)
“We present all of that to also recognize that BYU better not stub its toe at home against a Kansas team that has caught fire in the last few weeks.” This was the warning Last Word presented to BYU in the previous power rankings. College football has a funny way of giving the public hints of when a team is finally going to lose. Whether you like the cliche “play with fire” or “play with your food long enough”, when teams keep skating by in victories, they do eventually run out of luck. In the previous three weeks, BYU had won games against Oklahoma State by three and Utah by two. Both of which required some heavy lifting by the fourth-quarter luck gods. They finally took the night off and BYU lost its first game of the season. They are still in the driver’s seat to make it to the title game. But they face their toughest test of the season on the road this Saturday.
2. Arizona State (Previous Ranking – 3)
Arizona State is in the running with Indiana for the biggest surprise in all of college football. The Sun Devils program was nothing more than a smoldering pile of rubble when Kenny Dillingham took over. When meeting with the press on Sunday, he said “We were under NCAA sanctions. Most head coaches, to be brutally honest, get fired if they take a job under sanctions. You don’t survive.” Now, after dismantling Kansas State, his Sun Devils team hosts BYU on Saturday with conference title game ramifications. But no matter how this season ends, this team has exceeded everyone’s expectations (except for possibly three dudes who were full of Four Roses in a basement bar somewhere when they confidently proclaimed the Sun Devils would clear their Vegas win total before Halloween).
1. Colorado (Previous Ranking – 2)
It is officially Prime Time in the Big 12 week 13 power rankings. Colorado has the Heisman favorite in Travis Hunter. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders has been playing excellently as he has gone for at least 250+ passing yards and three offensive touchdowns in eight straight games. This offense makes no real attempt to run the football, and yet, they still cannot be slowed down. Since the play in the trenches finally got shored up, the elite skill talent has been able to thrive this season. But, just like we told BYU last week, the last real hurdle is this week for Colorado. The road environment won’t be the most hostile they have faced this season. But they must take down a surging Kansas team with plenty of playmakers and who would love nothing more than to see the clock strike midnight on Prime Time.
