Big 12 Power Rankings: BYU, Houston & Iowa State keep winning behind Texas Tech
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Texas Tech leads Big 12 rankings with 4-0 record and plus-163 point margin
- Four teams — BYU, Houston, Iowa State, Texas Tech — remain undefeated in 2025
- Elite quarterback play drives record-setting offenses across the Big 12
The Big 12 is starting to get back to its roots as a football conference known for elite quarterbacks and high-octane offenses.
Check out this stat: Kansas QB Jalon Daniels threw for 445 yards and four touchdowns against Cincinnati on Saturday ... and the Jayhawks lost.
Cincy quarterback Brendan Sorsby answered with 388 yards and two touchdowns of his own.
Elsewhere around the league, Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson leads the nation in both passing yards and passing touchdowns. Devon Dampier is cooking at Utah and Josh Hoover is putting up big numbers at TCU.
All while Bear Bachmeier (BYU), Rocco Becht (Iowa State), Conner Weigman (Houston) and Behren Morton (Texas Tech) have led their teams to undefeated starts.
Those quarterbacks have given us plenty to cover around the conference this week.
Let’s take some time to analyze everything we have seen up to this point — heading into Week 6 — and project what will happen in the future with a new edition of Big 12 Power Rankings.
BYU, Houston and Iowa State just keep winning
1. Texas Tech (4-0, 1-0 Big 12): The Red Raiders retained the top spot even though they didn’t play last week. Why? Because they are clearly the most talented team in the conference. Their point differential is plus-163. Head coach Joey McGuire is getting good results out of his expensive roster.
2. Iowa State (5-0, 2-0): I feel like I say this every week, but an argument could be made for the Cyclones at No. 1. You can’t argue with five straight wins, and Iowa State whipped previously unbeaten Arizona over the weekend. Maybe they should be up there. But I can’t shake the feeling that the Cyclones are benefiting from a mediocre schedule.
3. Arizona State (4-1, 2-0): The Sun Devils have won consecutive high-stakes games against Baylor and TCU by the exact same score: 27-24. I’m not sure what that means, but Arizona State is once again a team to be reckoned with in the Big 12.
4. BYU (4-0, 1-0): Some gave up on the Cougars when they lost their quarterback to Tulane during the offseason. But Bear Bachmeier has been an excellent replacement. It is starting to look like the Cougars have staying power, as they are off to another undefeated start.
5. Houston (4-0, 1-0): The Cougars got away with one on Friday when they found a way to beat Oregon State after falling behind 24-10 early in the fourth quarter. Houston did not look great in that game, but a win is a win. Willie Fritz and his team can validate their early success against Texas Tech this week.
That’s my quarterback
6. Utah (4-1, 1-1): We already knew that Devon Dampier could run the ball. He proved that he can also throw it by completing 21 of 26 passes for 237 yards and four touchdowns against West Virginia.
7. Cincinnati (3-1, 1-0): Brendan Sorsby won an epic quarterback duel against Jalon Daniels in a 37-34 win over Kansas. Cincinnati has looked better than expected since starting the season with a loss to Nebraska.
8. Baylor (3-2, 1-1): Sawyer Robertson is putting up stats like a Heisman Trophy contender. The Baylor quarterback has thrown for 1,713 yards and 17 touchdowns after just five games this season.
Missed opportunities for KU and TCU
9. Kansas (3-2, 1-1): The Jayhawks aren’t good enough on defense to contend for a Big 12 championship. Kansas surrendered 603 yards to Cincinnati and 595 yards to Missouri in its two losses.
10. TCU (3-1, 0-1): Blowing a 17-0 lead at Arizona State is the type of thing that may prevent the Horned Frogs from reaching the Big 12 championship game this year.
Wild results for the Wildcats
11. Arizona (3-1, 0-1): The Wildcats were never as good as their 3-0 start may have indicated. But they may also be better than their blowout loss at Iowa State. Arizona can search for a happy medium when it hosts Oklahoma State this weekend.
12. Kansas State (2-3, 1-1): How much did the Wildcats miss Dylan Edwards? In the first four games of the season, they ranked dead last in the Big 12 with 108 rushing yards per game. Then he made a healthy return to the starting lineup and K-State rushed for 266 yards against UCF.
Big 12 teams going down
13. UCF (3-1, 0-1): The Knights weren’t ready for their Big 12 opener at K-State. Things don’t get any easier for UCF with games up next against Kansas and Cincinnati.
14. Colorado (1-3, 0-2): Not only did the Buffaloes fall to 0-2 in conference play with a home loss to BYU over the weekend, they were also reprimanded and fined $50,000 for inappropriate chants during the game.
15. West Virginia (2-3, 0-2): The Mountaineers are on corpse watch. They might be a dead football team after losing 41-10 to Kansas and 48-14 to Utah in consecutive weeks.
16. Oklahoma State (1-3, 0-1): Mike Gundy is gone, but Oklahoma State’s losing streak might be here to stay. The Cowboys have lost 12 straight games against FBS teams.
This story was originally published October 1, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Big 12 Power Rankings: BYU, Houston & Iowa State keep winning behind Texas Tech."