Coming into week 13, Last Word hinted at some more chaos in the Big 12. But no one could have seen all of what we witnessed (or did they?). Now, with one week left in the season, no team is 100% in control of its destiny to reach the Big 12 championship game. So let’s see what teams are the most thankful to find themselves at the top of the Big 12 week 14 power rankings.
Big 12 Week 14 Power Rankings
16. Oklahoma State (Previous Ranking – 16)
Mike Gundy’s team is still winless. They provided some good fireworks against Texas Tech but still came up short. When you have occupied the bottom spot this long, there isn’t much more to say at this point other than the season will mercilessly end before Saturday.
15. Utah (Previous Ranking – 15)
Much like Oklahoma State, Utah has been running side-by-side with Oklahoma State for the worst team in the conference. As a reminder, Utah’s lone conference win came against Oklahoma State nearly two months ago. The Utes revolving door at quarterback would be hard to manage for even the deepest rosters. But credit to Kyle Whittingham’s team for fighting hard against Iowa State. It still wasn’t enough, but this team still hasn’t rolled over.
14. UCF (Previous Ranking – 14)
The team for Orlando likely had many of their roster experience snow for the first time when the team arrived on Friday. We didn’t get a snow globe in Morgantown for the game, but the Knights offense was still frozen. Gus Malzahn’s team has now lost seven of their last eight. He has already made changes to his coaching staff, but one has to imagine more will be coming this offseason. The Knights host the Utes on Saturday night in what will be the last game of 2024 for both teams.
13. Arizona (Previous Ranking – 13)
In a 49-28 defeat against TCU, the Wildcats still made some positive history. With nine catches for 115 yards, Tetairoa McMillan became the school’s all-time career-receiving leader. In addition, which shouldn’t be a massive surprise considering he returned after Jedd Fisch left for the Washington job, McMillan said in the post-game press conference that he was going to play the Duel in the Desert/Territorial Cup/in-state rivalry game against the surprising Sun Devils. Count on the Wildcats to do everything possible to spoil Arizona State’s season on Saturday.
12. Houston (Previous Ranking – 12)
This season has been a success for Willie Fritz in his first year. He would never admit that, but considering the shape of this program when he took over, he got them competitive in a hurry. Houston looked fabulous in their powder blue uniforms against Baylor. But the offense scored three points in a 20-10 loss to Baylor. Houston will conclude its season on the road against a slumping BYU team.
11. Cincinnati (Previous Ranking – 10)
We enter the part of the Big 12 week 14 power rankings where bowl eligibility is still on the table. Cincinnati is one of just two teams in this section that still has work to do to get to a sixth win. The Bearcats ran into a buzzsaw in Manhattan, Kansas last week. After getting to 5-2, Cincinnati has lost four straight. Certainly, five wins is an improvement from three for Scott Satterfield. But if they miss a bowl game by losing their last five, it will negate any positive momentum from the five wins. It will not be an easy task as they are hosting the team directly in front of them in the Big 12 week 14 power rankings.
10. TCU (Previous Ranking – 11)
The Horned Frogs are in a position, like a few other teams in the conference, to have a very “meh” 8-4 season. Sonny Dykes team left no doubt against Arizona in their home finale. After being extremely hungover from a national championship appearance in 2023, this season has been a nice bounce-back campaign. The 16-team Big 12 is going to have multiple teams like this a season that will lack marquee wins but will finish in the top half of the standings. TCU (or any team) shouldn’t apologize for their scheduled draw. But losses to UCF and Houston will leave a very sour “what if” taste in the mouths of Horned Frog fans.
9. West Virginia (Previous Ranking – 9)
Neal Brown’s team has avoided any bad losses this year. But they also have played well short of the best teams on their schedule. If Brown were to lose to Texas Tech on Saturday, it means that five of his six seasons in Morgantown will end with five or six regular season wins. This program is stuck in second gear. We know that this team will go bowling after getting win number six against UCF, but this team appears to have immediately reverted to what they were before 2023.
8. Texas Tech (Previous Ranking – 6)
Texas Tech is the first of three consecutive teams in the Big 12 week 14 power rankings that moved down in a victory. The Red Raiders found themselves in a traditional Big 12 shootout against Oklahoma State. Thanks to some timely plays by both the offense and defense, Texas Tech avoided the road upset in a 56-48 win. Joey McGuire continues to demonstrate his teams play their best ball in November and December. A win Saturday to close out the season would be the best regular season Texas Tech has had since 2009.
7. Iowa State (Previous Ranking – 7)
Iowa State, just three weeks ago, was left for dead in the Big 12 race. Now, thanks to surviving against Utah and the chaos ensuing around them, the Cyclones are in one of the best positions. If they win Farmegedon, they are all but guaranteed to play for the Big 12 championship. But they still hold this position in the Big 12 week 14 power rankings because the two teams they have beat in the last two weeks have won a combined record of 0-10 in their last 10 games. Matt Campbell’s team has to clear its tallest hurdle this season if they want to make history.
6. Kansas State (Previous Ranking – 5)
Kansas State took out its frustrations on the Bearcats after dropping their last two by the score of 41-15. The question for Chris Klieman’s team is was this effort a week too late? Just like the eight teams still mathematically alive in the conference race, the Wildcats have to defeat Iowa State and hope the right teams lose around them. The Wildcats, should they win and not get the help they need, will have a very unsatisfying 9-3 record in 2024.
5. BYU (Previous Ranking – 3)
BYU almost pulled an all-time rabbit out of the hat against Arizona State (more on that later). But the fact remains that the Cougars, who started 9-0, have now dropped their last two games. It took a second-half rally to close the gap, but a late Jake Retzlaff interception sealed their fate. BYU has one of the more winnable games to close out the season, but not to be a broken record, needs help from the right teams to play for the conference title. Whether they finish 10-2 or 9-3, the job Kalani Sitake has done this season has been remarkable.
4. Baylor (Previous Ranking – 4)
Another location of a remarkable coaching job is Dave Aranda’s mid-year turnaround. With their defeat of Houston, the winning streak by the Baylor Bears climbed up to five games. Their offense struggled against Houston as quarterback Sawyer Robertson threw three interceptions. But the defense did not allow any touchdowns as Baylor held on 20-10. For as uninspiring as some of the potential 8-4 records are for teams in the Big 12, if Baylor can finish on a six-game winning streak, this team will be feeling very good heading into the offseason.
3. Colorado (Previous Ranking – 1)
The Buffalos stood no chance against a scorching hot Kanas team. That’s not to say they were outmatched, but sometimes it just isn’t your day as a team. Colorado’s defense never had an answer for the Jayhawk offense. Coach Deion Sanders’ offensive playmakers still had moments where they made plays. His Heisman candidate Travis Hunter had eight receptions for 125 yards and two touchdowns. But with the loss, Colorado joins the log-jam atop the Big 12 race. The good news for Colorado? They will be hosting the 3-8 Oklahoma State Cowboys.
2. Kansas (Previous Ranking – 8)
When you make AP poll history, you deserve to make the biggest jump in the Big 12 week 14 power rankings. Kansas, who is still not bowl eligible, became the first team in AP poll history to defeat three consecutive top 25 ranked teams when not ranked. Plenty of teams will be doing some looking back on 2024 wondering would could have been. But no team might be scratching their head harder than this Kansas team. They close the road out against Baylor and will look to sing one more verse of “Wrecking Ball” to close out 2024.
1. Arizona State (Previous Ranking – 2)
Kenny Dillingham took an end-of-game sequence to a level the game of football had never seen before. Up 28-23, Arizona State had the ball on BYU’s seven-yard line with just 1:04 remaining in the game. When the Sun Devils took the field on fourth down, the ball was now on BYU’s 44. Arizona State attempted to throw the ball into the stands to drain the remaining seconds. Instead, after the field was stormed and the replay confirmed there was time still left, BYU got the ball back. They completed the Hail Mary attempt two yards short of the endzone. This victory should have gotten more of the spotlight for the Big 12’s coach of the year (at least from the vote of this correspondent). Coach, no more funny games against your rivals who would love to help the clock strike midnight on this Cinderella season.
