We have reached the midway point of the college football season.
Every Big 12 team has played six games, and the race for a conference championship is beginning to come into focus.
Still, there is a feeling that just about anything can happen over the next few months in this conference.
With that in mind, let’s take some time to analyze everything we have seen up to this point — heading into Week 8 — with a new edition of Big 12 Power Rankings.
The Undefeated Club
1. Iowa State (6-0, 3-0 Big 12)
The Cyclones are starting to look like a lock for the Big 12 championship game . Not only are they undefeated with four straights double-digit wins on their resume, they have a favorable schedule remaining. Four of their final six games (UCF, Texas Tech, Cincinnati and K-State) are at home. And one of their away games will be on a somewhat neutral field against Kansas at Arrowhead.
A road game at Utah could be tricky for Iowa State, but the Utes are trending down without quarterback Cam Rising. Matt Campbell’s team is in the driver’s seat of the league championship race.
2. BYU (6-0, 3-0 Big 12)
College football experts and computers aren’t sold on the Cougars, as you can find BYU rated as a fringe top-25 team , or worse, in some predictive models. But you can’t argue with these results. BYU just keeps on winning. The Cougars have been especially strong at home, as they have crushed both K-State (38-9) and Arizona (41-19) at Lavell Edwards Stadium in conference play.
One loss isn’t so bad
3. Kansas State (5-1, 2-1 Big 12)
The Wildcats were a bit fortunate to play Colorado at less than full strength, as Heisman Trophy contender Travis Hunter and starting wide receiver Jimmy Horn both missed the second half with injuries, but they still showed considerable grit on their way to a 31-28 victory at Folsom Field . Avery Johnson is maturing at quarterback. DJ Giddens is the best running back in the conference. And the defense knows how to make clutch plays.
4. Texas Tech (5-1, 3-0 Big 12)
The Red Raiders were off last week, which might not have been a good thing when you consider they were on a four-game winning streak. Baylor and TCU are up next. If Texas Tech takes care of business in those games it could set up a Big 12 Game of the Year scenario at Iowa State on Nov. 2.
5. Arizona State (5-1, 2-1 Big 12)
Hopefully you took our advice and placed a small wager on the Sun Devils to win the Big 12 last week when their odds were 80-to-1. Arizona State is no longer a long shot in the conference championship race after it ran all over Utah behind Cameron Skattebo. Its league title odds are currently 15-to-1.
Middle of the pack
6. Cincinnati (4-2, 2-1 Big 12)
The Bearcats made the biggest jump in the power rankings this week, up four spots and into the top half. Why? Because their body of work keeps looking better and better. Their only losses have come against undefeated Pittsburgh by one and Texas Tech by three. Those teams have a combined record of 11-1. Cincinnati can still play its way up the standings with remaining games against Arizona State, Colorado, West Virginia, Iowa State and K-State.
7. Colorado (4-2, 2-1 Big 12)
Shedeur Sanders is one of the best quarterbacks in all of college football, but Colorado is going to be a wildly unpredictable team until the Buffaloes surround him with a running game and a defense.
8. West Virginia (3-3, 2-1 Big 12)
Neal Brown said at Big 12 Media Days that he wants to cool it with aggressive nonconference schedules that include games against both Penn State and Pitt. It’s not hard to understand why he thinks that way. The Mountaineers have faced three teams that are currently undefeated, and they lost all three of those games . But they are 3-0 against teams that aren’t currently undefeated, which should give them hope against K-State on Saturday.
Fraud alert
9. Arizona (3-3, 1-2 Big 12)
The Wildcats never should have been ranked inside the top 20. This is not the same team that ended last season on a hot streak under coach Jedd Fisch, even though Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan are back. Arizona has played four games against Big 12 teams this season and only one of them went well.
10. Utah (4-2, 1-2 Big 12)
Why in the world did Kyle Whittingham leave Cam Rising in at quarterback against Arizona State when he was clearly not capable of playing at 100%? I suppose it doesn’t matter now that Rising has been ruled out for the season with injury . The Utes have been a major disappointment since opening Big 12 play with a win at Oklahoma State. Maybe some clarity on the QB front will spark this team.
The bye week came at a good time
11. Houston (2-4, 1-2 Big 12)
The last time Willie Fritz coached against a team from the Sunflower State, he led Tulane to an upset victory at Kansas State. Can he work his magic again, this time with Houston against Kansas?
12. Kansas (1-5, 0-3 Big 12)
It will be interesting to see what changes Lance Leipold has in store for the second half of the season. The Jayhawks are the only team in the country with an 0-4 record in games that have been decided by one score.
13. Baylor (2-4, 0-3 Big 12)
The Bears have to improve on defense. They allowed an average of 38.3 points in their first three Big 12 games, which were all losses.
14. TCU (3-3, 1-2 Big 12)
The Horned Frogs need to get Josh Hoover back on track. TCU can’t win unless he is throwing for more than 300 yards.
15. Oklahoma State (3-3, 0-3 Big 12)
Don’t be surprised if the Cowboys look like a different team this week at BYU, even after Mike Gundy suffered an unusual cattle-related injury during Oklahoma State’s idle week. Remember, the Cowboys looked dreadful at the start of last season until they radically overhauled their offense during their bye week and then upset K-State as 11.5-point underdogs.
Quit watch
16. UCF (3-3, 1-2 Big 12)
Gus Malzahn has benched Arkansas transfer KJ Jefferson at quarterback and the Knights have lost three games in a row. It might be a while before things get better, as UCF plays Iowa State and BYU next.
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