Look: Major Shakeups to Big 12 FPI After Week 9
One thing has become very clear after Week 9 in the Big 12: The conference race is as wide open as we’ve maybe ever seen.
Heading into Week 10 (which is the biggest weekend of the season in the conference) there are not two, not three, not four, but five teams tied for first place in the Big 12 standings.
After Oklahoma’s shocking loss to Kansas, the Sooners are now tied with Texas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and Iowa State for the top spot, while Kansas and West Virginia are right in the mix at 3-2 in Big 12 play.
With all of that happening, there were some big movers in ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) this weekend.
| TEAM | FPI | RANK | TREND |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 22.6 | 8 | ↓ 4 |
| Texas | 22.4 | 9 | ↓ 2 |
| Kansas State | 18.9 | 12 | ↑ 2 |
| TCU | 9.2 | 28 | ↑ 2 |
| Oklahoma State | 8.5 | 30 | ↑ 9 |
| Kansas | 7.0 | 35 | ↑ 7 |
| Texas Tech | 7.0 | 36 | — |
| UCF | 6.5 | 37 | ↓ 6 |
| Iowa State | 6.4 | 38 | ↑ 2 |
| West Virginia | 4.7 | 42 | ↑ 9 |
| Cincinnati | 0.9 | 62 | ↓ 12 |
| BYU | 0.6 | 66 | ↓ 4 |
| Houston | -0.3 | 70 | ↓ 10 |
| Baylor | -3.7 | 83 | ↓ 5 |
After OU’s first loss of the season, the Sooners fell four spots to No. 8 in the FPI, holding just a one-spot lead on Texas, who is at No. 9 this week after their win over BYU.
Kansas State continues to climb after dominating its second-straight opponent, up to No. 12 this week and now at 6-2 overall. The Wildcats have beaten Houston and TCU by a combined score of 82-3 over the last two weeks.
TCU (28), Oklahoma State (30), and Kansas (35) all moved up this week and all find themselves in the top 35 of the FPI heading into Week 10, while Texas Tech (36) didn’t move during their bye. Iowa State (38) and West Virginia (42) both moved up as well, with the Mountaineers joining Oklahoma State as the biggest riser of the week, with both up nine spots.
The new four Big 12 schools all had a rough week in the FPI, with UCF (↓ 6), Cincinnati (↓ 12), BYU (↓ 4), and Houston (↓ 10) all down this week. Baylor continues to be the worst team in the conference, down five spots this week to No. 83 nationally.
Overall the Big 12 is well represented with nine teams inside the Top 40 and 10 teams inside the Top 50.
We seem to be getting some real answers as to who is going to push for a conference title this season and a group of seven teams has emerged through Week 9. In the latest Big 12 Power Rankings, Pete Mundo gives his take on which teams you should watch out for heading into Week 10.
