It was a mixed week for the Big 12. Iowa State and Baylor picked up big non-conference wins, but mostly the Big 12 came up short, including bad losses for Oklahoma State, Kansas State and West Virginia. Overall, what many thought was the deepest conference in college football now looks fairly week, with only a few teams good enough to compete for the Big 12 title and CFP bids.
Turn to EasySportz for the best coverage of college football. Here are Big Ten’s, ACC’s and the SEC’s Week 3 Power Rankings.
1) Iowa State Cyclones (3-0): The Cyclones passed their toughest non-conference test by beating bitter rival Iowa in a defensive battle, positioning them as the most complete team in the Big 12 so far.
2) Utah Utes (2-0): Utah hasn’t been seriously challenged yet, rolling past FCS Cal Poly after a strong start, with a potential top matchup against Texas Tech looming. However, Kyle Whittingham seems to have righted the ship after a down 2024.
3) Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-0): Powered by quarterback Behren Morton, the Red Raiders lead the Big 12 in scoring with over 60 points in each of their dominant wins. If Red Raider fans are upset that they’re ranked below Utah, they can settle it on the field soon.
4) Arizona State Sun Devils (1-1): The defending champions suffered a disappointing road loss to Mississippi State, serving as an early wake-up call after a strong Week 1. The Sun Devils can feel good about coming back from a huge deficit on the road, but a back breaking touchdown sealed their fate in Starkville.
5) Baylor Bears (1-1): Baylor pulled off the most exciting Big 12 win of the week, rallying from a big 4th quarter deficit for a double-overtime victory over ranked SMU.
6) TCU Horned Frogs (1-0): After an impressive opening win over North Carolina, TCU enjoyed a Week 2 bye, keeping their electric offense rested. They won’t get much work this week against Abilene Christian, either.
7) BYU Cougars (2-0): Dominated defensively against Stanford, but the offense, led by freshman QB Bear Bachmeier, still has room to grow. While Stanford may be the worst P4 team in the country, giving Backmeier experience will pay dividends later in the season.
8) Kansas Jayhawks (2-1): Kansas showed promise but faltered defensively in a loss to rival Missouri after building an early lead. The Jayhawks continue to tease but not deliver on their potential.
9) Houston Cougars (2-0): Continued a hot start with a road win over Rice, where the defense shone by limiting the opposition to just 228 yards.
10) Colorado Buffaloes (1-1): The Buffs experimented with three quarterbacks in a win over Delaware, but the operation wasn’t clean, raising questions at the position. Until they can figure out the QB position, they’ll stay in the lower half of the league.
11) Cincinnati Bearcats (1-1): QB Brendan Sorsby threw for 333 yards and three TDs in a win over Bowling Green, though the defense has room for improvement in giving up 20 points.
12) Arizona Wildcats (2-0): Bounced back from a poor 2024 offensive season by scoring heavily against Hawaii and Weber State. The Wildcats look dangerous and could be a fun team to watch each week.
13) Kansas State Wildcats (1-2): The biggest disappointment so far, with sloppy losses including to Army, marking a new low for QB Avery Johnson and the team. The Wildcats could be 0-3 if not for Johnson’s late heroics in a cone-from-behind win against FCS foe North Dakota.
14) UCF Knights (1-1): The Knights are not a good team in coach Scott Frost’s first year back at the helm. Smoking HBCU North Carolina A&T doesn’t answer any questions. They are only 14th because the next 2 team are horrible.
15) Oklahoma State Cowboys (0-2): After running his mouth all week, coach Mike Gundy and the Cowboys suffered a humiliating (and program worst) 69-3 blowout loss to Oregon, continuing a weak start after an earlier defeat. It may be time for Gundy to go.
16) West Virginia Mountaineers (1-1): Bringing former coach Rich Rodriguez back to WVU was a nice story, but the on-field results have been disastrous. Losing to Ohio would be a fireable offense if the coach wasn’t in just his 2nd game.
