Week 5 of the 2026 Big 12 football season gave us plenty to reconsider in this week’s Power Rankings. BYU and Texas Tech remained undefeated, Baylor demolished Arizona State, Arizona dominated Cincinnati, and Houston erased a 17-point deficit to beat UCF. Meanwhile, Iowa State survived a shootout against West Virginia, while Colorado and TCU continued to struggle offensively.
As we move deeper into October, the gap between the top and bottom of the Big 12 is becoming clearer. But figuring out the order near the top? That’s getting more difficult by the week.
So, after another wild Saturday across the conference, here’s where all 16 teams stand in our Big 12 Football Power Rankings after Week 5.
1. Utah Utes (Last Week: No. 1)
The Utah Utes had the week off, but I am keeping them in the top spot. Iowa State’s impressive win over West Virginia only helped Utah, in my eyes. So with the Big 12 looking very much wide open, I will give Utah the edge here at No. 1. This has been the most complete and consistent team in the Big 12, so far.
2. Oklahoma State Cowboys (Last Week: No. 2)
The Cowboys are fresh off a great win over the West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown. If not for the Tulsa loss, this team would be No. 1. Arkansas, who got smoked by Utah, just beat Tulsa 34-6, so it’s hard, based on the current resumes, to put OSU ahead of Utah. But with wins over Oregon and in Morgantown, those two wins are far more impressive than any other two wins for any team in this league right now.
3. BYU Cougars (Last Week: No. 3)
The BYU Cougars went to Fort Worth and got a win, despite an injury to LJ Martin. It was the Bear Bachmeier show. The defense was stout against a brutal TCU offense, and the the Cougars’ offense did enough to get out of rain-soaked DFW with a win. BYU is still waiting for some key tests, but they also have been more consistent than the teams below them, thus far.
4. Texas Tech Red Raiders (Last Week: 4)
The Red Raiders remain comfortable in the No. 4 slot following their win over Colorado on Saturday. It wasn’t as pretty game, and there are lots of concerns, more so on offense than defense. This does not look last the 2025 Red Raiders. But they still can get there if this team develops. The offense line is the most noticeable drop off from last season.
For those who want Texas Tech higher here, the reality is the Top 4 teams, sans Oklahoma State, have weak strength of schedules so far. Texas Tech is No. 88, BYU is No. 93 and Utah is No. 111. And Tech has been the last consistent of those three, by far.
5. Houston Cougars (Last Week: No. 7)
Congratulations to the Houston Cougars in cracking our Top 5. They were down 17-0 at home to UCF and came storming back for a 10-point win. Connor Weigman did a bunch of it on the ground, which was impressive in the second half. Houston only has the one loss to Texas Tech and now get set for a tough stretch: at Kansas State, vs. Oklahoma State and at Utah.
No. 6: Arizona Wildcats (Last Week: No. 9)
Arizona slides back up after a dominating win over Cincinnati. It’s the Zona front seven that I wrote about in my preview as to why I thought the Wildcats would take care of business, and it turned out to be correct, as Cincinnati could never get the running game going, which led to a comfortable Arizona win.
No. 7: Baylor Bears (Last Week: No. 11)
The Baylor Bears going to Tempe and absolutely smashing Arizona State in the Sun Devils’ Big 12 home opener is not something I saw coming. It was the most impressive Baylor performance in years. DJ Lagway continues to look healthy and comfortable, while the defense is causing havoc under former K-State DC Joe Klanderman. This team has been a fun watch and keeps climbing.
No. 8: Cincinnati Bearcats (Last Week: No. 6)
Cincinnati drops two spots. I guess it could have been more. But as we wrote in our Arizona vs. Cincinnati preview, this was a tough spot for the Bearcats coming off a huge win vs. K-State, traveling for a game where your body clock thinks kick off is 11:00, and then taking on an Arizona team trying to avoid a third-straight slow start. Plus, they have a win over K-State, so they have to stay above the Wildcats.
No. 9: Iowa State Cyclones (Last Week: No. 14)
After a difficult schedule to open the first four weeks, Iowa State took its frustration, at least on offense, out on a beleaguered West Virginia defense. The Cyclones racked up nearly 600 yards, their most in a game since 2016. The defense had its issues at times, but this team looked poised to possibly finish in the middle of the pack in the Big 12.
No. 10: Kansas State Wildcats (Last Week: No. 8)
Kansas State had the week off, but their resume doesn’t look any better based on the Week 5 results. I had to drop them a couple of slots. The wins from teams above them are all better, at this point.
No. 11: West Virginia Mountaineers (Last Week: No. 5)
The Mountaineers continue to plummet after a Top 25 win vs. Virginia, which feels like last season at this point. The offense is fun and a force, but man this defense stinks. And that side of the ball needs to get its act together or this season is going to unravel quickly in Morgantown.
No. 12: UCF Knights (Last Week: No. 12)
The Knights were home underdogs vs. TCU, and they got the job done with a 21-13 upset, led by a standout defense, notably all the line of scrimmage. The offense sputtered much of this game, but it was the defense that kept forcing TCU into punts or turnovers, and eventually allowed UCF to get some points on the board. Kudos to Alex Grinch and his side of the ball.
No. 13: Colorado Buffaloes (Last Week: No. 13)
Colorado actually hung in vs. Texas Tech, more so than the final score indicates. The Colorado defense actually had a very solid night. But man, this offense is tough to watch. Isaac Wilson was better than JuJu Lewis, but not exactly enough to make the
No. 14: Arizona State Sun Devils (Last Week: No. 10)
Yikes. It’s the Big 12 home opener and THAT’S the performance from Arizona State?! AFTER having two weeks off? Woof. It’s like this team didn’t get out of the locker room on Saturday night. Baylor may be better than we expected, but it’s not the 1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers. That was a horrible performance.
No. 15: Kansas Jayhawks (Last Week: No. 15)
Kansas needed a get-right game, as we noted in our Kansas vs. Middle Tennessee State preview last week, and they got just that. I can’t move them up, because the competition was just turrible, as Charles Barkley would say. But hey, it’s a feel good Saturday, and now its back to league play to see if KU has learned from its early-season losses to Missouri and Arizona State.
No. 16: TCU Horned Frogs (Last Week: No. 16)
I see no reason to remove TCU from the basement. The defense looks to be solid, but man this offense is completely incompetent. I heard on the broadcast during the BYU game that new OC Gordon Sammis wants to be called “Gordy”. Well, he’s “Gordo” in my book, until this team scores more than one offensive touchdown vs. a Power 4 team.
