It’s onto Week 7 of the Big 12 football season. Teams are closing out their non-conference schedules, while everyone is now full steam ahead on conference play. Friday night featured one game between BYU and West Virginia, while the rest of the schedule unfolded on Saturday. A reminder on how I do these rankings: They are based on what you have actually done on the field, not what we think you will do throughout the remainder of the season. So, with that, here’s a look at our Week 6 Big 12 football power rankings for the 2025 season.
1. Texas Tech Red Raiders (Last Week: 1)
Texas Tech came just went back to work with another huge win of 25 points over Kansas, meaning Tech has still not lost a game by fewer than 24 points this season. What a start for a program that had high expectations, but has already blown them out of the water.
2. Cincinnati Bearcats (Last Week: No. 2)
Welcome to the Top 2, Cincinnati Bearcats! A 20-11 win over UCF, that was actually more dominant than the final score would indicate, showcased that the Bearcats are going to be a factor in this Big 12 title race. Their schedule gets tougher on the back end, but this team has the horses to make noise this season.
3. Utah Utes (Last Week: No. 7)
Utah jumps to No. 3 after a 32-point win over Arizona State. Yes, the Sun Devils were without QB Sam Leavitt, but regardless this was a dominant win in the trenches, and Utah only has one loss this season, and it’s against Texas Tech, which will happen to every, if not nearly every, Big 12 team this season.
4. BYU Cougars (Last Week: No. 5)
BYU fans won’t like this ranking, again, but it’s not because of anything they can control. They came back from double digits down to beat Arizona on the road on Saturday, and anyone who is watching my YouTube show knows I am a huge fan of Bear Bachmeier and this program. But their strength of schedule (86) is the weakest of any team near the top of the Power Rankings, so I am putting them at No. 4. Win this weekend, and you know where this team will jump too. And make sure you’re subscribed to our YouTube channel!
5. Arizona State Sun Devils (Last Week: 2)
Arizona State slides to No. 5, and I think I’m being generous after they got smoked at Utah. Yes, Sam Leavitt was injured, but I am not sure his health changes this outcome all that much. ASU was torched in the trenches. And they needed comebacks vs. Baylor and TCU. This team isn’t far off from being 0-3 in Big 12 play right now. Just sayin’.
6. Kansas State Wildcats (Last Week: 11)
Kansas State takes a big leap after beating the team that was No. 6 in the Power Rankings last week. And the Wildcats did it thanks to their defense being opportunistic scoring 14 points that sealed this win at home. The offense was in more of a groove than what we’ve seen for much of this season as well. K-State has been close all year, they just need to start closing out games.
7. TCU Horned Frogs (Last Week: 6)
TCU falls after losing at K-State on Saturday. It has not been a clean season thus far for TCU. They’ve just been sloppy, blown big leads, and made big mistakes. This thing could spiral quickly on Sonny Dykes and company, if they aren’t careful and don’t get back on track.
8. Colorado Buffaloes (Last Week: 14)
Colorado makes a sizable jump in the Big 12 Power Rankings after a very good win over Iowa State. Colorado has been close. They played a field goal game vs. BYU and then lost to TCU, but the 14-point difference was not the story of that game, as the Frogs tacked on a late touchdown in garbage time. The Buffs might be starting to figure it out and could be a team that gets overlooked the second half of the season.
9. Iowa State Cyclones (Last Week: No. 5)
Iowa State keeps sliding after losing a second-straight game. The injury bug is starting to show its face for Iowa State, while the secondary has become problematic and the offense isn’t keeping up, either.
10. Baylor Bears (Last Week: No. 8)
Baylor hangs in at No. 10, sliding two spots just because the Bears had a bye week, and some of the teams in front of them performed well. But Baylor will make a big jump in these rankings with a win over TCU this weekend.
11. Houston Cougars (Last Week: 9)
Houston did what it was supposed to do: Blow out Oklahoma State (albeit after a slow start). Once again, Houston’s strength of schedule is fairly weak at this time, but they have opportunities to get some more impressive wins the next two weeks against the Arizona schools.
12. Arizona Wildcats (Last Week: No. 10)
Well, that one stings last week vs. BYU. To have a double-digit lead at home in the fourth quarter and blow it against a true freshman quarterback. Ugh. Arizona is actually showing more toughness than I thought we’d see this season, and they’re still 4-2. But that loss will be one they look back on this season and regret.
13. Kansas Jayhawks (Last Week: 12)
Kansas went to Texas Tech and got steamrolled, especially along the line of scrimmage. Now that will happen for a lot of teams playing the Red Raiders, but KU was not up to the task against Tech. The offensive line got owned, while the defense gave up well over 300 rushing yards.
14. UCF Knights (Last Week: 13)
UCF has now lost three in a row after falling to Cincinnati on the road. UCF is another team, like Arizona, actually playing better than I expected, even though the record has not reflected that. But for now, they’re still bottom three in the Power Rankings.
15. West Virginia Mountaineers (Last Week: 15)
West Virginia had a bye week, and lucky for them, Oklahoma State can’t sniff a win, so WVU remains at No. 15.
16. Oklahoma State Cowboys (Last Week: 16)
Oklahoma State played a football game, and lost, again. But their shirtless fans are awesome. And that’s all I’ve got for now on the OSU football situation.
