Big 12 Football Power Rankings: Utah Slides, BYU Climbing

SALT LAKE CITY – It’s time for another installment of the Big 12 football power rankings in the 2025 season.

The Big 12 Conference is shaping up to be a wild race, as you would expect in a conference that is “A Different League.”

There is even an opening on the Big 12 coaching carousel after Mike Gundy was fired.

Texas Tech takes the No. 1 spot after a dominant victory at Utah, with backup quarterback Will Hammond taking over for a banged-up Behren Morton.

The home loss for Utah has the Utes sliding in this week’s poll.

Every week, KSL Sports Zone host Alex Kirry and I drop our Big 12 power rankings on our radio show, “First & 12.”

It airs Tuesdays at 7 p.m. (MT) until 9 p.m. on KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM).

You can listen to the show on the KSL Sports app, sports.ksl.com, and wherever you get podcasts.

Big 12 Football Power Rankings, 2025 Season: Week 5

Here are our power rankings for Big 12 football entering week five of the 2025 season.

1. Texas Tech (4-0, 1-0 Big 12)

• Last week’s power ranking: No. 2 (Up 1)
• Last game: Texas Tech 34, Utah 10 (Road Win)
• This week: Bye

The Big 12’s number one offense showed up in Salt Lake City, and they didn’t lose their aggressive style when Will Hammond stepped in as the backup. These Red Raiders are for real.

2. TCU (3-0, 0-0 Big 12)

• Last week’s power ranking: No. 4 (Up 2)
• Last game: TCU 35, SMU 24
• This week: at Arizona State | Friday | 7 p.m. (MT), FOX

TCU wide receiver Eric McAlister was brilliant in the Iron Skillet game, recording 254 receiving yards. He was only the seventh player in Big 12 history to haul in 250+ receiving yards in a game.

3. BYU (3-0, 0-0 Big 12)

• Last week’s power ranking: No. 5 (Up 2)
• Last game: BYU 34, East Carolina 13 (Road Win)
• This week: at Colorado | 8:15 p.m. (MT), ESPN & KSL NewsRadio

Like last year, BYU has a nasty defense. True freshman Bear Bachmeier has quietly been passing his initial tests as they continue to get tougher each week.

4. Iowa State (4-0, 1-0 Big 12)

• Last week’s power ranking: No. 3 (Down 1)
• Last game: Bye
• This week: vs. Arizona | 5 p.m. (MT), ESPN

The Cyclones are a solid football team. We will be curious to see how they perform coming out of the bye against an Arizona squad with a much-improved defense.

5. Arizona State (3-1, 1-0 Big 12)

• Last week’s power ranking: No. 6 (Up 1)
• Last game: Arizona State 27, Baylor 24 (Road Win)
• This week: vs. No. 24 TCU | Friday | 7 p.m., FOX

The last-second win at Baylor gives Arizona State a 7-3 record in one-score games dating back to last season. That’s a recipe to win at a high level in this conference.

6. Kansas (3-1, 1-0 Big 12)

• Last week’s power ranking: No. 10 (Up 4)
• Last game: Kansas 41, West Virginia 10
• This week: vs. Cincinnati | 10 a.m. (MT), TNT

Emmanuel Henderson Jr. is one of the best return men in the conference. The Jayhawks look good through one/third of the season.

7. Utah (3-1, 0-1 Big 12)

• Last week’s power ranking: No. 1 (Down 6)
• Last game: Texas Tech 34, Utah 10
• This week: at West Virginia | 1:30 p.m., FOX

The bad vibes from last year surprisingly arrived again for the Utes. First, it was the lackluster offense in a home loss to Texas Tech. Later, it was revealed that there was an injury controversy, as Kyle Whittingham stated that quarterback Devon Dampier didn’t practice for two days in the buildup to the game.

8. Houston (3-0, 1-0 Big 12)

• Last week’s power ranking: No. 8
• Last game: Bye
• This week: at Oregon State | Friday | 8:30 p.m., ESPN

Imagine telling someone three years ago that Big 12 Houston was a two-touchdown favorite over Pac-12 Oregon State? Times have changed in a hurry.

9. Arizona (3-0, 0-0 Big 12)

• Last week’s power ranking: No. 9
• Last game: Bye
• This week: at No. 14 Iowa State | 5 p.m., ESPN

Time to learn how seriously we take Arizona this season in a prime-time tilt in Ames.

10. UCF (3-0, 0-0 Big 12)

• Last week’s power ranking: No. 13
• Last game: UCF 34, North Carolina 9
• This week: at Kansas State | 10 a.m., FS1

I’m not sure what the ceiling is for this UCF team, but a 3-0 start to kick off the Scott Frost 2.0 era is impressive.

11. Cincinnati (2-1, 0-0 Big 12)

• Last week’s power ranking: No. 11
• Last game: Bye
• This week: at Kansas | 10 a.m., TNT

It feels like the Bearcats haven’t experienced a signature win in the Scott Satterfield era. If they pull it off in Lawrence, that would be a breakthrough for the program.

12. Baylor (2-2, 0-1 Big 12)

• Last week’s power ranking: No. 7 (Down 5)
• Last game: Arizona State 27, Baylor 24 (Home Loss)
• This week: at Oklahoma State | 1:30 p.m., ESPN2

So close, yet so far. That’s Baylor football. At what point will Dave Aranda’s group turn the corner?

13. Colorado (2-2, 0-1 Big 12)

• Last week’s power ranking: No. 14 (Up 1)
• Last game: Colorado 37, Wyoming 20
• This week: vs. No. 25 BYU | 8:15 p.m., ESPN & KSL NewsRadio

Kaidon Salter looks to be the starting quarterback moving forward. He looked like the dynamic signal-caller the Buffs expected when they got him out of the portal from Liberty.

14. West Virginia (2-2, 0-1 Big 12)

• Last week’s power ranking: No. 12 (Down 2)
• Last game: Kansas 41, West Virginia 10
• This week: vs. Utah | 1:30 p.m., FOX

Hey, at least WVU won the Backyard Brawl. In the words of Rich Rod, “God bless the Mountaineers!”

15. Kansas State (1-3, 0-1 Big 12)

• Last week’s power ranking: No. 15
• Last game: Bye
• This week: vs. UCF | 10 a.m., FS1

K-State desperately needs a win. No, I’m not counting that close call against North Dakota earlier in the year, which felt like a spiritual loss.

16. Oklahoma State (1-2, 0-0 Big 12)

• Last week’s power ranking: No. 16
• Last game: Tulsa 19, Oklahoma State 12 (Home Loss)
• This week: vs. Baylor | 1:30 p.m., ESPN2

Mike Gundy is no longer the head coach at Oklahoma State. We all saw it coming, but now that the moment is here, it’s surreal. It was the right move for the Pokes; now, can they show any life on the field?

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.

Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.

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