Big 12 Conference Power Rankings: Week 6

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Week 5 in the Big 12 conference has ended with some surprises and blowouts. No. 18 Utah (4-1, 1-1) was upset at home by Arizona (3-1, 1-0) 23-10. Baylor (2-3, 0-2) attempted to pull a comeback at home against No. 17 BYU (5-0, 2-0) coming up short 34-28. No. 20 Kansas State (4-1, 1-1) blew out Oklahoma State (3-2, 0-2) at home 42-20. Colorado (4-1, 2-0) dominated UCF (3-1, 1-1) on the road winning 48-21. Texas Tech (4-1, 2-0) and BYU are the surprise teams currently sitting atop the Big 12 tied in the standings.

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: BYU Cougars (5-0, 2-0) (93), Last Week No. 3

BYU might be the most surprising team in the 2024 football season. They jumped out to a 21-0 lead at Baylor in the first 11 minutes and 30 seconds of the game and were able to lead 31-14 at halftime. Baylor then rallied in the second half outscoring BYU 14-3, to come up short on the comeback 34-28. Quarterback Jake Retzlaff threw for 216 yards 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He was also able to rush for 53 yards and a touchdown. BYU can put together outstanding stretches on the defensive end as they did against Kansas State forcing 3 turnovers in three straight drives and at Baylor, scoring an opening touchdown then forcing an interception on Baylor's first play and scoring another touchdown in four plays.

Upcoming Game: Bye

No. 2: Iowa State Cyclones (4-0, 1-0) (91), Last Week: No. 2

No. 16 Iowa State got their first road shutout for the first time since 1999 against Houston winning 20-0. The Cyclones have been inconsistent on offense this season scoring 21 or less in three of four games. The defense is outstanding again this season only giving up 7.25 points a game through the first four games. Quarterback Rocco Becht has thrown for 896 yards 7 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Running back Abu Sama III has 225 yards and 1 touchdown on the ground. Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel are two outstanding wide receivers who are a constant threat on the outside and Becht looks to get them the ball whenever possible. The Cyclones will need to find more consistency on offense at some point when they face teams with good defenses like Utah and Kansas State.

Upcoming Game: Baylor Bears

No. 3: Kansas State Wildcats (4-1, 1-1) (86), Last Week: No. 6

The Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week is quarterback Avery Johnson. Johnson had a bounce-back game after a rough outing against BYU. He had 259 yards passing with 3 touchdowns an interception with 60 yards rushing and 2 more touchdowns against Oklahoma State.

DJ Giddens had 187 yards rushing on 15 carries and a touchdown. Kansas State is a strong team at home beating teams by 27 points per game on average. But, on the road, they have struggled including a comeback win against Tulane (3-2, 1-0) and the disaster at BYU. K-State will need to play better on the road with two road games coming after the bye week against Colorado and West Virginia.

Upcoming Game: Bye

No. 4: Arizona Wildcats (3-1, 1-0) (78), Last Week: No. 7

The Arizona Wildcats were able to fix defensive issues during their bye week after giving up 235 yards rushing to Kansas State on the road. Against Utah on the road this past week they gave up 84 yards. If Arizona can keep improving on defense they will be tough for anyone to beat this season with the weapons on offense. Quarterback Noah Fifita threw for 197 yards 2 touchdowns and 1 interception against the Utes. Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillian was shut down having 6 catches and 50 yards. It was a good sign for the Wildcats that they moved the ball and scored without McMillian having a special game.

Upcoming Game: Texas Tech Red Raiders

No. 5: Utah Utes (4-1, 1-1), Last Week: No. 1

Utah had a rough outing without quarterback Cam Rising. Freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson completed 20-of-40 passes for 280 yards 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. The main target for Wilson was wide receiver Dorian Singer who had 155 yards receiving on 9 catches.

Until Rising can come back for this team they need Wilson to play mistake-free and manage the offense. The Utes' defense is good again this year and they keep the team in the games they play but the offense cannot turn the ball over and give the opposition extra possessions.

Upcoming Game: Bye

Big 12 Power Rankings: Nos. 6-16

No. 6: Colorado Buffaloes (4-1, 2-0) (67); Last week: No. 8; Upcoming game: Bye

No. 7: UCF Knights (3-1, 1-0) (58); Last week: No. 4; Upcoming game: at Florida Gators (2-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference)

No. 8: West Virginia Mountaineers (2-2, 1-0); Last week: No. 9; Upcoming game: at Oklahoma State Cowboys

No. 9: Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-2, 0-2); Last week: No. 5; Upcoming game: West Virginia Mountaineers

No. 10: Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-1, 2-0); Last week: No. 10; Upcoming game: at Arizona Wildcats

No. 11: Arizona State Sun Devils (3-1, 0-1); Last week: No. 12; Upcoming game: Kansas Jayhawks

No. 12: TCU Horned Frogs (3-2, 1-1); Last week: No. 13; Upcoming game: Houston Cougars

No. 13: Baylor Bears (2-3, 0-2); Last week: No. 11; Upcoming game: at Iowa State Cyclones

No. 14: Cincinnati Bearcats (3-2, 1-1); Last week: No. 14; Upcoming game: Bye

No. 15: Kansas Jayhawks (1-4, 0-2); Last week: No. 15; Upcoming game: at Arizona State Sun Devils

No. 16: Houston Cougars (1-4, 0-2); Last week: No. 16; Upcoming game: at TCU Horned Frogs

Week 6 of the Big 12 has five teams on bye making a smaller slate of games. Kansas and Arizona State are playing for their first Big 12 wins. The only ranked team playing this weekend is Iowa State who welcomes Baylor to Ames. Baylor can put up some points so it will be noteworthy to see if Baylor can score against Iowa State's defense and if Iowa State can find more efficiency on offense. UCF is playing out of conference traveling to Gainesville, Fla., to face an instate SEC foe for one last SEC versus Big 12 matchup.