The Big 12 placed six teams in the latest AP Top 25, led by No. 6 Utah and No. 8 BYU, following a chaotic Week 8 that saw two of the conference’s highest-ranked teams suffer their first losses of the season.
Utah is now the Big 12’s highest-ranked team after moving up four spots to No. 6 following a 21-13 win over Houston. The Utes are 7-0 and the conference’s only remaining undefeated team.
BYU fell six spots from No. 2 to No. 8 after losing 39-31 in double overtime at UCF. The Cougars were coming off a massive win over Notre Dame one week earlier, but couldn’t avoid the upset in Orlando.
Texas Tech Falls, Arizona Continues to Rise
Texas Tech also took a significant hit in the rankings, dropping five spots to No. 13 after a 37-24 loss at Cincinnati. The Red Raiders entered the weekend undefeated, but couldn’t slow down the Bearcats in one of Saturday’s biggest surprises.
Houston dropped four spots to No. 18 following its loss at Utah, while Arizona jumped three spots to No. 22 after dismantling Iowa State 39-3. The Wildcats have now won five consecutive games and are 6-1 overall.
Oklahoma State jumped back into the Top 25 at No. 24 after dismantling Colorado 57-24.
Big 12 Race Gets Even More Interesting
While Week 8 wasn’t ideal for the Big 12’s hopes of placing multiple teams in the College Football Playoff, having six teams ranked shows the depth of the conference heading into the final stretch of the season.
Utah is now the league’s clear standard-bearer in the polls, but BYU and Texas Tech remain firmly in the national conversation despite their losses.
Meanwhile, Arizona continues to climb, Houston remains ranked and Oklahoma State has worked its way into the Top 25.
After a Saturday that turned the conference race upside down, the Big 12 still has six ranked teams — and figuring out who will ultimately reach Arlington isn’t getting any easier.
