Look: Big 12 Well-Represented in Latest Edition of ESPN’s FPI
We’re heading into Week 8, which means that every team in the nation has played half its schedule we’ve got about six weeks of action left until it’s time for conference championship weekend.
The Big 12 race has been nearly impossible to predict behind Oklahoma and Texas, as teams like Iowa State and West Virginia have emerged as early contenders, while Kansas State and Oklahoma State are starting to pick up steam after slow starts.
This week saw some major changes in the Big 12’s standing according to ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI), as the conference is beginning to round into shape as a competitive and wild conference from week to week.
Take a look at how the Big 12 stacks up in the FPI heading into Week 8 of the action.
| TEAM | FPI | RANK | TREND |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 26.4 | 2 | — |
| Texas | 23.8 | 5 | ↑ 1 |
| Kansas State | 14.2 | 19 | ↑ 3 |
| TCU | 10.8 | 24 | ↑ 7 |
| Texas Tech | 8.0 | 32 | ↓ 5 |
| Iowa State | 6.2 | 39 | ↑ 5 |
| UCF | 5.9 | 40 | — |
| West Virginia | 4.9 | 42 | ↑ 1 |
| Kansas | 4.6 | 44 | ↓ 2 |
| Cincinnati | 4.0 | 45 | ↓ 6 |
| Oklahoma State | 3.6 | 47 | ↑ 5 |
| Houston | -0.1 | 66 | ↑ 4 |
| BYU | -0.5 | 68 | ↓ 15 |
| Baylor | -3.0 | 80 | ↓ 1 |
Oklahoma maintained its spot as the No. 2 overall team in FPI this week, while the Big 12 next three teams all moved up at least one spot. Texas moved up one spot to No. 5 this week despite being off, while Kansas State moved up three spots to No. 19 after its 38-21 win over Texas Tech. TCU was the biggest riser this week in the Big 12, moving seven spots all the way up to No. 24 after a 44-11 win over BYU.
After their lopsided loss to the Horned Frogs, BYU plummeted 15 spots to No. 68 in this week’s FPI, which also makes them the second-lowest-rated team in the conference. Baylor, who fell one spot to No. 80 this week, holds that distinction.
Oklahoma (2), Texas (5), Kansas State (19), and TCU (24) give the Big 12 four of the Top 25 teams in the FPI, while Texas Tech (32), Iowa State (39), UCF (40), West Virginia (42), Kansas (44), Cincinnati (45), and Oklahoma State (47) gives the conference 11 teams inside the Top 50. Houston (66), BYU (68), and Baylor (80) are still a ways back from that level, which brings down the league’s average substantially.
In reality, the teams from No. 3 to No. 9 have been relatively interchangeable from week-to-week in the conference power rankings, and that’s likely to continue deep into November as we push toward the postseason.
