Big 12 power rankings: There’s a team that stands alone — BYU — then a whole lot of chaos

Let chaos reign.
That’s the mantra of Big 12 football this season.
Following a weekend where two league-leading, ranked Big 12 teams were upset, the conference race has been thrown into utter madness.
How will it all play out?
It should be a fun November.
Here’s our look at how the Big 12 stacks up through the 10th week of the 2024 season:
Things went quite well for the Cougars on a bye week — first off, two other Big 12 contenders lost and now BYU finds itself alone atop the league standings. The Cougars also had a pair of highly touted offensive linemen prospects commit to the program on Saturday.
Can BYU keep the magic happening in November?
It’s finally rivalry week, and this isn’t what we expected going into the season. The Cougars are the undefeated team, while Utah is coming in on a four-game losing streak. Can BYU win at Rice-Eccles Stadium for the first time since 2006? If they can, the Cougars will maintain their Big 12 lead and move one step closer to the conference championship game.
One game at a time.
Like BYU, the Buffaloes benefitted from a bye week, thanks to the chaotic upsets in other parts of the league. Colorado is now tied for second in the Big 12, with four weeks to go in the regular season, and the Buffaloes are playing arguably as good as anyone in the conference.
The Buffaloes will face Texas Tech on the road next. Will the Red Raiders be a tougher challenge for Colorado after knocking off previously unbeaten Iowa State? If the Buffaloes manage to get the road win over Texas Tech, they’ll head into the home stretch with two of their final three games at home, with a trip to Kansas in between.
Oh, hello Texas Tech. The Red Raiders reinserted themselves into the Big 12 conference race conversation by handing Iowa State its first loss of the season. That helped Texas Tech wash away some of that bitter taste of a two-game losing streak and put the Red Raiders in position to compete for the league title with four weeks remaining.
The biggest challenge on their schedule is the next game, when the Red Raiders host Colorado, who’s tied for second in the league standings. If Texas Tech wins, it’ll further complicate the top of the Big 12 standings, but also give the Red Raiders more hope they can reach the league championship. While BYU-Utah is the top rivalry game this week, Texas Tech-Colorado is the game with the biggest implications.
The Cyclones had their chance for the first 8-0 start in program history, but Texas Tech ruined the party by rallying past Iowa State in the final minute. Iowa State had to come from behind to beat UCF in its previous game, but this time, Tahj Brooks capped a 71-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run with 19 seconds remaining to score the upset.
There are still several challenging games left for the Cyclones in November. While Kansas and Utah have performed well under their expectations, Iowa State must go on the road to play them both. The Cyclones also host resurgent Cincinnati before facing No. 22 Kansas State at home in the season finale.
Don’t look now, but Arizona State — yes, the team picked to finish last in the Big 12 before the season — is going to have its chance to add further chaos to the conference race in the regular season’s final month after blowing past Oklahoma State. The Sun Devils could even earn their way into the Big 12 title game with some help.
Up next is a home matchup with UCF, where Arizona State should be the favorite. After that, the Sun Devils get their shot at No. 22 Kansas State on the road and No. 9 BYU at home. If Arizona State wins all three, that sets them up well heading into the regular-season finale at rival Arizona.
After losing to BYU early in league play, the Wildcats could ill afford to lose another Big 12 game or risk losing control of their own destiny. Well, Houston had other plans for Kansas State and upset the Wildcats to create more chaos in the league race. Now, Kansas State will have to play catchup to fight its way back into conference championship contention.
This is a good time for a bye for the Wildcats, after the stunning loss. They’ll face three tough opponents when they get back into action, starting with a home game against 6-2 Arizona State before facing Cincinnati, also at home. Then comes the biggest test, a game against No. 17 Iowa State on the road. If Kansas State manages to win all three, they might have a chance at playing in the Big 12 title game, but there’s no more room for any more slip-ups.
The Bearcats are sticking around in the Big 12 race, though they are coming off a road loss at Colorado two weeks ago that dropped them back in the conference standings. At this point, they’re more likely to play spoiler than serious contender, though the opportunity is there for Cincinnati to spring a couple road upsets and make a run.
Following this week’s matchup against West Virginia — where the loser will pick up its third conference loss — the Bearcats hit the road to play No. 17 Iowa State and No. 22 Kansas State in back-to-back weeks. They’ll finish up the regular season with a home game against TCU — things look promising for Cincinnati to return to the postseason after winning just three games last year.
Baylor is looking much improved over the past few weeks — first, there was the blowout win at Texas Tech, then the home victory over Oklahoma State. Then, the Bears made the plays down the stretch to fend off TCU at home for their third straight victory. It’s almost too bad they have a bye next — Baylor is playing well right now.
Once the Bears come back from the bye, they’ll have a chance to not only become bowl eligible, but perhaps win out as well. Baylor’s next two games are on the road — at West Virginia and Houston — before the season finale at home versus Kansas, and there’s reason to believe Baylor could win all three, or lose all three.
Two weeks ago, it was easy to discount Houston. After the Cougars pulled off back-to-back wins over Utah and Kansas State, though, Houston is looking like it will be a headache for its remaining opponents. Zeon Chriss scored the game-winner on a 41-yard run against the Wildcats with 2:31 to play, and his play has Houston trending in the right direction.
Can the Cougars become bowl eligible? It won’t be an easy accomplishment — they play at Arizona, home against Baylor and then finish out the regular season at league-leading BYU, and Houston would need wins in two of those three games to clinch bowl eligibility. Still, it’s impressive the conversation is being had after the team started the year 1-4.
Can the Mountaineers become bowl eligible? West Virginia snapped a two-game losing streak by beating Arizona on the road just before its bye, and now the Mountaineers return to action with the chance to finish in the upper half of the Big 12 standings.
This month, West Virginia will have a couple difficult road games at Cincinnati and Texas Tech — two teams who’ve shown they can win games they aren’t expected to — along with home games against Baylor and UCF. If the Mountaineers attain bowl eligibility status, they’ll have earned it.
The Horned Frogs came out on the short end of a thrilling, back-and-forth matchup with Baylor, one where both teams had been building momentum going into the contest. Now, TCU has to regroup and try to attain bowl eligibility sometime during the final month of the season.
The Horned Frogs’ next game gives them an excellent chance to become bowl eligible, as they host struggling Oklahoma State. A home game against Arizona, another program that isn’t living up to expectations, gives TCU another winnable game before wrapping up the year at Cincinnati.
UCF found the solution to end its five-game losing streak — play an equally struggling program, and make another change at quarterback. Freshman Dylan Rizk threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start as the Knights rolled past the visiting Wildcats.
The competition gets tougher this week, though. UCF has to travel to Arizona State to face an upstart Sun Devils program that is defying expectations and challenging for a spot in the Big 12 championship. How will Rizk and the Knights fare this week as they chase postseason eligibility?
If Utah wants to turn around its season with a defining victory, this week provides the perfect opportunity.
Rival BYU comes to Salt Lake City as a top-10 team nationally and is one of just five remaining unbeaten teams at the FBS level. The Cougars are a rare favorite in a trip to Rice-Eccles Stadium and have momentum clearly on their side.
Utah, meanwhile, has lost four straight and its offensive struggles just seem to get worse by the week. How will the bye help in that regard? Could we see the Utes make another switch at quarterback, from Isaac Wilson to Brandon Rose? We’ll find out Saturday night. If the Utes win for the 10th time in 11 tries in the series, it will provide a memorable boost to a frustrating season.
The Jayhawks continue to feel like a difficult matchup, even with the uninspiring record two months into the season. Kansas has been within striking distance in the fourth quarter in every one of its losses this year — five of those losses came by six points or less.
The trouble for Kansas, though, is it’s about to go through a stretch of three straight ranked teams, beginning with hosting No. 17 Iowa State this week. After that, the Jayhawks play at No. 9 BYU and host No. 21 Colorado before finishing the year on the road at Baylor. This may be the stretch that finally knocks the fight out of the Jayhawks.
An already forgettable season hit a new low last weekend, as the Wildcats were steamrolled on the road by another losing Big 12 program, UCF. The Wildcats were never in the game, trailing 14-0 after one quarter and 35-6 at halftime after giving up a Hail Mary touchdown to head into the break.
Though it’s still technically possible for Arizona to become bowl eligible, the focus is on what it will take to pick up another victory this season at this point. The Wildcats have lost five in a row, losing by an average of 20.8 points per game in that stretch.
What’s left to play for this season for the Cowboys? Yes, mathematically Oklahoma State could win three straight and become bowl eligible — though that seems like a stretch at this point as the Cowboys sit on a six-game losing streak.
Oklahoma State had such high expectations going into the year, and it’s already a lost season in Stillwater. At this point, the Cowboys are hoping for a victory or two to build some positive momentum — that may not be easy, with games at TCU and No. 21 Colorado sandwiched around the home finale against Texas Tech. Those final two games are against teams still squarely in the conference race.