Big 12 Conference Power Rankings: Week 4

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Week 3 in the Big 12 Conference brought us a lot of movement in this week's power rankings. No. 13 Kansas State (3-0) picked up the second win for a conference member against a ranked opponent. The Wildcats beat fellow conference member Arizona (2-1) 31-7 in what ended up being a previously scheduled nonconference game.

The UCF Knights (3-0) are the first Big 12 team with a conference win thanks to a comeback against TCU (2-1) 35-34. Only two Big 12 teams picked up a loss this week. West Virginia (1-2) blew a 10-point lead in the final 3:06 of the game to lose to Pitt (3-0) 38-34. Kansas (1-2) dropped a game against UNLV (3-0) in the final two minutes, 23-20.

College Football Dawgs' Big 12 power rankings are based on an aggregated weighing of writing staff votes for conference members.

Point Structure

Each first-place vote counted for 16 points, going in descending order. For example, second-place votes counted for 15, third for 14 and so on. Each team's points were added up and the poll was organized to reflect how many points (shown in parentheses) each team received. Here are the results, with summaries of each of the top 5 vote-receiving teams

No. 1: Kansas State Wildcats (3-0) (96), No. 3 Last Week

No. 13 Kansas State started the season 3-0 for the first time since 2021, beating Arizona 31-7. K-State's offense had slow starts in the first two games but was able to play to their potential in the second half to get the victories. In Week 2 against Tulane, the secondary struggled and gave up 342 yards passing. In came one of the best wide receivers in college football, Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan. McMillan had 11 catches for 138 yards but was kept out of the end zone. Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson completed 14-of-23 passes for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns. For the first time this season, he leaned on his running ability rushing for 110 yards. Running back-punt returner Dylan Edwards scored another TD on a 71-yard punt return. K-State can score on offense, defense and special teams. It makes them a threat to score at any time in the game.

Upcoming Game: at BYU Cougars

No. 2 Utah Utes (3-0) (88), No. 1 Last Week

Last week, No. 12 Utah had some early troubles with Utah State (1-2) without quarterback Cam Rising. The Utes went down 14-3 in the second quarter. After that, though, Utah scored 25 unanswered points to take control and win 38-21. The defense forced two turnovers to slow down the Aggies' offense. Backup quarterback Isaac Wilson threw for 239 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. Running back Micah Bernard ran for 123 yards and 1 touchdown. While the Utes did what they were supposed to and beat the lower competition, they fell in these rankings because Kansas State dominated a good Arizona team.

Upcoming Game: at Oklahoma State

No. 3: Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-0) (86), No. 2 Last Week

No. 14 Oklahoma State did what was expected of it on the load last week against Tulsa (1-2), winning 45-10. Quarterback Alan Bowman had an outstanding day, throwing for 396 yards, 5 touchdowns and 1 interception.

The Cowboys need to find a way to get running back Ollie Gordon back to his 2023 form, when he won the Doak Walker Award. In his last two games, Gordon has 90 yards rushing and a touchdown on 34 carries. The next two weeks will define how the Cowboys' season will play out.

Upcoming Game: Utah Utes

No. 4: Iowa State Cyclones (2-0) (76), No. 4 Last Week

After a huge win against Iowa (2-1) in Week 2, the No. 20 Iowa State Cyclones got a bye week. The Cyclones' offense clicked in the second half against the Hawkeyes to come back from being down 13-0 at halftime. While Iowa State has not been lighting up the scoreboard this season (scoring 21 points against North Dakota in Week 1), the defense has been solid enough. If the offense gets more consistent and increases its scoring output, Iowa State will factor into the Big 12 title race.

Upcoming Game: Arkansas State (2-1)

No. 5: UCF Knights (3-0, 1-0) (74), No. 6 Last Week

The UCF Knights are the first team to pick up a conference win this season by coming back from being down 31-13 to beat TCU 35-34. Quarterback KJ Jefferson threw for 230 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win. Wide receiver Kobe Hudson had 145 yards and 2 touchdowns. Running back RJ Harvey totaled 180 yards and 2 touchdowns to help take down the Horned Frogs. UCF, in the first two weeks, beat weaker competition New Hampshire 57-3 and Sam Houston 45-14. The game against TCU was what UCF needed to show it was not just beating up on the little guys. The Knights will have a week off before welcoming Colorado to Orlando, Fla., in what should be an electric matchup.

Upcoming Game: Bye Week

Big 12 Power Rankings: Nos. 6-16

No. 6: Arizona State Sun Devils (3-0) (66); last week—No. 11: Upcoming Game: at Texas Tech Red Raiders

No. 7: BYU Cougars (3-0) (58); last week—No. 8: Upcoming Game: Kansas State Wildcats

No. 8: Arizona Wildcats (2-1) (56); last week—No. 5: Upcoming Game: Bye Week

No. 9: Baylor Bears (2-1) (46); last week—No. 12: Upcoming Game: at Colorado Buffaloes

No. 10: TCU Horned Frogs (2-1, 0-1) (35); last week—No. 9: Upcoming Game: at SMU Mustangs (2-1)

No. 11: Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-1) (33); last week—No. 14: Upcoming Game: Arizona State Sun Devils

No. 12: West Virginia Mountaineers (1-2) (29); last week—No. 7: Upcoming Game: Kansas Jayhawks

No. 13: Colorado Buffaloes (2-1) (27); last week—No. 13: Upcoming Game: Baylor Bears

No. 14: Kansas Jayhawks (1-2) (20); last week—No. 10: Upcoming Game: at West Virginia Mountaineers

No. 15: Cincinnati Bearcats (2-1) (15); last week—No. 15: Upcoming Game: Houston Cougars

No. 16: Houston Cougars (1-2) (11); last week—No. 16; Upcoming Game: at Cincinnati Bearcats

Utah and Oklahoma State should be an electric game between two preseason favorites. It will give one of the winners a huge early-season boost for the rest of the season. Kansas State is coming off a big win over Arizona and now is traveling to BYU for a late evening kickoff where it is never easy to win. The Big 12 this week gets its conference slate going with six conference matchups.