Big 12 Conference Power Rankings: Week 7

© Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune/USA TODAY NETWORK

Week 6 in the Big 12 Conference has ended with five undefeated teams in conference play. Those teams are No. 11 Iowa State (5-0, 2-0), No. 14 BYU (5-0, 2-0), Colorado (4-1, 2-0), Texas Tech (5-0, 3-0) and West Virginia (3-2, 2-0). The two winless teams in conference play are the biggest surprise to most with Oklahoma State (3-3, 0-3) and Kansas (1-5, 0-3). Kansas has lost four of the five games this season after holding leads in the fourth quarter. The Big 12 race is still wide open after three weeks of conference play with some picture-clearing matchups coming this week.

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: Iowa State Cyclones (5-0, 2-0) (95), Last Week No. 2

Iowa State beat Baylor in Jack Trice Stadium 43-21 where quarterback Rocco Becht had a strong game throwing for 277 yards 2 touchdowns and an interception. Running back Jaylon Jackson had 107 yards on 15 carries and 2 touchdowns. The 21 points given up by the Cyclones' defense was the first time they surrendered more than 20 points this season. If the offense can consistently score points like they did against Baylor they will be the toughest team to beat in the Big 12.

Upcoming Game: at West Virginia Mountaineers

No. 2: BYU Cougars (5-0, 2-0) (91), Last Week No. 1

BYU had a bye this past week. The Cougars' defense has forced 5 turnovers in Big 12 play and has turned those into 4 touchdowns. Quarterback Jake Retzlaff has thrown for 1,208 yards 12 touchdowns and 5 interceptions this season.

The defense currently ranks third in the conference giving up 15.8 points a game. With a defense that makes it hard for the opposition to score points, they keep the team in the game even with an occasionally inconsistent offense.

Upcoming Game: Arizona Wildcats

No. 3: Kansas State Wildcats (4-1, 1-1) (83), Last Week No. 3

No. 18 Kansas State is another team that had a bye week. In their last game quarterback, Avery Johnson had a bounce-back game against Oklahoma State throwing for 259 yards 3 touchdowns, and an interception. DJ Giddens also had 187 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. K-State has been good at home games but has struggled on the road with a blowout loss to BYU and trailing most of the game against Tulane (4-2, 2-0 American Athletic Conference). If the Wildcats can play like they do at home on the road for the rest of the season a trip to Arlington, Texas for a shot at a Big 12 title is still in play.

Upcoming Game: at Colorado Buffaloes

No. 4: Utah Utes (4-1, 1-1) (74), Last Week No. 5

No. 16 Utah, like K-State and BYU, had a bye this past week. The break was well-needed for a team missing their experienced quarterback Cam Rising. Freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson stepped in to beat Utah State (1-4, 0-1 Mountain West Conference) and Oklahoma State.

The home game against Arizona was a different story with Wilson throwing 2 interceptions. Utah looks completely different without quarterback Cam Rising and will struggle to score consistently until he gets back. If he can return soon this team will be fine and has a good chance to finish the regular season with one loss.

Upcoming Game: at Arizona State Sun Devils (4-1, 1-1)

No. 5: Colorado Buffaloes (4-1, 2-0) (71), Last Week No. 6

Colorado is still struggling this season on the offensive and defensive lines. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders has been sacked 18 times after giving up 56 in 2023. The defense is giving up 156 yards rushing a game. The Buffaloes' have one of the best players in college football Travis Hunter.

Coach Deion Sanders and the staff have to work on developing the lines to stay on their winning ways as Big 12 play continues.

Upcoming Game: Kansas State Wildcats

Big 12 Power Rankings: Nos. 6-16

No. 6: Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-1, 3-0) (66); Last week: No. 10; Upcoming game: Bye

No. 7: West Virginia Mountaineers (3-2, 2-0) (62); Last week: No. 8; Upcoming game: Iowa State Cyclones

No. 8: Arizona Wildcats (3-2, 1-1) (52); Last week: No. 4; Upcoming game: at BYU Cougars

No. 9: Arizona State Sun Devils (4-1, 1-1) (52); Last week: No. 11; Upcoming game: Utah Utes

No. 10: UCF Knights (3-2, 1-1) (42); Last week: No. 7; Upcoming game: Cincinnati Bearcats

No. 11: Cincinnati Bearcats (3-2, 1-1) (33); Last week: No. 14; Upcoming game: at UCF Knights

No. 12: TCU Horned Frogs (3-3, 1-2) (30); Last week: No. 12; Upcoming game: Bye

No. 13: Baylor Bears (2-4, 0-3) (23); Last week: No. 13; Upcoming game: Bye

No. 14: Houston Cougars (2-4, 1-2) (20); Last week: No. 16; Upcoming game: Bye

No. 15: Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-3, 0-3) (11); Last week: No. 9; Upcoming game: Bye

No. 16: Kansas Jayhawks (1-5, 0-3) (9): Last week: No. 15; Upcoming game: Bye

This week in the Big 12 is full of outstanding matchups that should help clear the contender picture. Kansas State travels to Colorado for a late-night kickoff for the first-ever matchup between Chris Klieman and "Coach Prime." Iowa State will make a trip to an electric Morgantown, W. Va., to play their best competition so far in conference play. The Arizona travels to BYU to try to be the first team to knock them off this season. Utah also to travel to Tempe, Ari., to face the Sun Devils to rebound after a tough game against Arizona.