Unlike the other major sports of basketball, baseball, and softball, only two teams will get the chance to play for the Big 12 Football Championship in December.
Heading into Week 8, we will assess what we’ve seen through the first five weeks of the 2024 season and start to separate the contenders from the pretenders in the Big 12 race and, ultimately, the College Football Playoff.
Unlike Power Rankings, which are more prone to changing on a weekly basis, my intent with this weekly feature is to determine who the best five teams in the league are, regardless of their most recent result. Here are the top five teams in the Big 12 and a few squads on the bubble looking in.
1. BYU (6-0) – Last Week: 4
Going into last week, I treated BYU’s 38-9 win over Kansas State more as a fluke outcome than something that holds real weight. However, I just watched the Cougars do something very similar to an Arizona team that is better than its record suggests. Going to Provo appears to be a very tough task for anyone in the Big 12 this season, and if BYU can keep up their success at home from here on out, that would put them at nine wins on the year. Road trips to UCF, Utah, and Arizona State provide potential pitfalls, but defense travels and that’s been the strength of this team thus far. Right now, BYU gets the No. 1 spot thanks to the best win of anyone in the league and just edges out the other undefeated team remaining.
2. Iowa State (6-0) – Last Week: 2
Week 7: Iowa State 28, West Virginia 16
Iowa State went to Morgantown and took care of business against a rugged West Virginia team with an efficient, clean win. The Cyclones took care of the football, controlled the time of possession (33:03) and had 265 yards through the air to go with 130 yards on the ground. They were also 9-14 on third down and 2-2 on fourth down, which is key on the road. Carson Hansen has approached 100 yards on the ground in each of the last two weeks, and had three touchdowns against the Mountaineers. Iowa State becomes more dangerous as it continues to find balance, and the back half of the schedule sets up to challenge them nicely. This team looks destined to make it to Arlington right now, and I expect that to continue.
3. Kansas State (5-1) – Last Week: 1
Week 7: Kansas State 31, Colorado 28
Kansas State went to Boulder and had quite the scare against Shedeur Sanders and the Buffaloes. The Wildcats’ defense didn’t have an answer for Colorado’s passing attack, and it nearly cost them the game late. Avery Johnson shook off a late interception, returned, and delivered a dime for the game-winner on the next drive. It was a good sign from the young signal-caller, but I am starting to notice a trend with this team. When K-State goes on the road, things get dicey. They needed comebacks over Tulane and Colorado to escape with one-score wins, and their loss to BYU wasn’t competitive. They dropped to three in my rankings for that reason and because it felt necessary to have them behind a team that beat them by 29 points.
4. Colorado (4-2) – Last Week: 5
Week 7: Kansas State 31, Colorado 28
Colorado lost, yet they moved up in the rankings. How? A three-point loss to one of the prime contenders for a Big 12 title is nothing to be ashamed of, but it was how the Buffs were able to hang around. Despite Travis Hunter and Jimmy Horn Jr. leaving the game with injuries, Shedeur Sanders was still able to throw for 388 yards and keep CU in the game. The Buffs offense had -29 yards rushing on the night and still managed to stay in the game until the final minutes. That alone tells me just how special Sanders is at quarterback and how improved Colorado is on defense. As of right now, I not only expect Colorado to make a bowl game, but I’d pick them to win nine or ten games. That puts them right in the thick of the Big 12 race.
5. Arizona State (5-1) – Last Week: Bubble
Week 7: Arizona State 27, Utah 19
As big of a surprise as Colorado’s season has been, Arizona State might be even more impressive. The Sun Devils have proven time and again that they are going to keep themselves in games with grit. While it might not be pretty sometimes, ASU has a knack for winning ugly games and just got done outplaying Utah at its own game. Kenny Dillingham has talked about mirroring his program after Whittingham’s, and to this point in the 2024 season, he’s got the Sun Devils playing the kind of ball that we expected from the Utes. There’s a tough slate ahead of this team, with trips to Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, and Arizona still on the schedule, and their home games come against UCF and BYU. It won’t be an easy road, but there’s good reason to believe that this team will have a chance to win every one of those games.
On The Bubble
Texas Tech (5-1): The Red Raiders were on a bye this week, but as one of the three teams at 3-0 in Big 12 play, they’re right in the thick of the race. I contemplated having them at No. 5, over the team they beat 30-22, but I really like the trajectory of Dillingham’s group right now.
Cincinnati (4-2): Cincinnati going into Orlando and winning a 19-13 game on the road was the validation that I needed to say that the Bearcats are capable of making some noise in their final six games. They’ll be favored in three of those games, so it’ll take an upset or two to get them into the Big 12 title game
Utah (4-2): As bad at Utah has looked over the last couple of weeks, I still believe in the roster and Kyle Whittingham. Losing Cam Rising indefinitely is a tough pill to swallow, but I expect this team to still play sound football down the stretch. The ceiling isn’t nearly as high as they thought it might be, but the floor still says this team can compete.
