Big 12 Power Rankings: BYU Tumbles, Iowa State Makes Big Jump
Oct 15, 2023, 11:05 AM | Updated: 11:12 am
FORT WORTH, Texas – As we enter week eight of the college football season, it’s time for another installment of Big 12 power rankings.
Every week KSL Sports Zone host Alex Kirry and I drop our Big 12 power rankings on our radio show, “First & 12.”
It airs Sundays at 10 a.m. until Noon, then re-airs from 3-5 p.m. on KSL NewsRadio and the KSL Sports Zone.
You can also listen to the show on the KSL Sports app and all major podcasting platforms.
The underdogs in the Big 12 shined in week seven action. Four of the five underdogs in the conference won their games. The lone underdog that didn’t come out on top was BYU.
BYU struggled mightily against TCU from the opening kickoff. QB Kedon Slovis tossed a pick-six and the Horned Frogs were off and running against the Cougars who looked two steps slow compared to the speed of TCU.
Kansas State had a big win on the road at Texas Tech with freshman QB Avery Johnson stepping in for Will Howard. Johnson ran for five touchdowns and became the first Big 12 QB to do that since his offensive coordinator was a Wildcat, Colin Klein in 2011.
TCU 44, BYU 11#BYU Insider @Mitch_Harper shares his thoughts from Ft. Worth.#BYUFootball #GoCougs #Big12 pic.twitter.com/NlwcoHa0Yu
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 15, 2023
Iowa State is one of the few teams in the league that is gaining some consistency with each passing week. The Cyclones put the hammer down on Cincinnati with a 30-10 win.
Oklahoma State continues to climb up the power rankings with another big win at home—this time they took down Kansas, who still has Jalon Daniels out with a back injury.
Big 12 Power Rankings 2023 Season: Week Eight
Here’s how we have the power rankings stacked up in the Big 12 entering the week eight slate.
1. Oklahoma (6-0, 3-0 Big 12)
Last week’s power ranking: No. 1
Bye
This week: vs. UCF | 10 a.m. | ABC
2. Texas (5-1, 2-1 Big 12)
Last week’s power ranking: No. 2
Bye
This week: at Houston | 2 p.m. | FOX
3. Kansas State (3-2, 1-1 Big 12)
Last week’s power ranking: No. 7 (Up 4)
K-State 38, Texas Tech 21
This week: vs. TCU | 5 p.m. | ESPN2
4. Iowa State (4-3, 3-1 Big 12)
Last week’s power ranking: No. 8 (Up 4)
Iowa State 30, Cincinnati 10
This week: Bye
5. West Virginia (4-2, 2-1 Big 12)
Last week’s power ranking: No. 4 (Down 1)
Houston 41, West Virginia 39
This week: vs. Oklahoma State | 1:30 p.m. | ESPN
6. Kansas (5-2, 2-2 Big 12)
Last week’s power ranking: No. 3 (Down 3)
Oklahoma State 39, Kansas 32
This week: Bye
7. Oklahoma State (4-2, 2-1 Big 12)
Last week’s power ranking: No. 9 (Up 2)
Oklahoma State 39, Kansas 32
This week: at West Virginia | 1:30 p.m. | ESPN
8. TCU (4-3, 2-2 Big 12)
Last week’s power ranking: No. 10 (Up 2)
TCU 44, BYU 11
This week: at Kansas State | 5 p.m. | ESPN2
9. BYU (4-2, 1-2 Big 12)
Last week’s power ranking: No. 5 (Down 4)
TCU 44, BYU 11
This week: vs. Texas Tech | 5 p.m. | FS1 & KSL NewsRadio
10. Texas Tech (3-4, 2-2 Big 12)
Last week’s power ranking: No. 6 (Down 4)
Kansas State 38, Texas Tech 21
This week: at BYU | 5 p.m. | FS1 & KSL NewsRadio
11. Houston (3-3, 1-2 Big 12)
Last week’s power ranking: No. 14 (Up 3)
Houston 41, West Virginia 39
This week: vs. Texas | 2 p.m. | FOX
12. Cincinnati (2-4, 0-3 Big 12)
Last week’s power ranking: No. 11 (Down 1)
Iowa State 30, Cincinnati 10
This week: vs. Baylor | 10 a.m. | Big 12 Now on ESPN+
13. Baylor (2-4, 1-2 Big 12)
Last week’s power ranking: No. 12 (Down 1)
Bye
This week: at Cincinnati | 10 a.m. | Big 12 Now on ESPN+
14. UCF (3-3, 0-3 Big 12)
Last week’s power ranking: No. 13 (Down 1)
Bye
This week: at Oklahoma | 10 a.m. | ABC
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X and Threads: @Mitch_Harper.
