Iowa State’s Time to Shine

Welcome to my week five Big 12 power rankings! Remember that these are power rankings, not power ratings – meaning this is a meritocracy. You are ranked based predominantly on your accomplishments so far this season. 

Utah should be atop anybody’s power rankings, but today is Iowa State’s time to shine. It’s been a pretty quiet couple of weeks for the Cyclones after stunning Iowa on the road, but after a bye week and a dismantling of Arkansas State, they deserve some love.

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Big 12 Power Rankings: Week Five

1. Utah

2. Iowa State

3. BYU

4. UCF

5. Oklahoma State

6. K-State

7. Colorado

8. Texas Tech

9. Arizona State

10. Cincinnati 

11. West Virginia 

12. Arizona

13. Baylor

14. TCU

15. Kansas

16. Houston

• Utah is all alone right now in tier one of the Big 12 power rankings, but Iowa State is also alone in tier two. I consider the Cyclones' win at Kinnick Stadium firmly the best win among ISU, BYU, and UCF. Nothing against BYU’s 38-9 win over K-State, but going on the road and coming back from 13 down against the Iowa defense is a more impressive feat in my eyes. 

• I don’t see Iowa State falling very far anytime soon, either. They should be solid to heavy favorites in their next three games before hosting UCF. The Cyclones have one of the more favorable schedules in the league, though they do finish with Utah and K-State back-to-back. 

• If these were power ratings, I would have UCF above BYU. The Knights have a slight edge over the Cougars in terms of who I think the better team is, but BYU’s dominant win over K-State gives them an objectively better resume at the moment. 

• You can see just how massive the K-State-Oklahoma state game is this week. The loser will go tumbling back down into the mess that is 7 through 12 in the rankings, while the winner will feel right back in the thick of the Big 12 title race. 

• Speaking of 7 through 12, it’s tough to parse through. I gave Colorado the advantage because ESPN is paying me t— er, wait. (Just kidding). The combination of a three-score road win at Colorado State, and the narrow Baylor and NDSU home wins – teams with a pulse – give them the nod for now. Plus, Texas Tech has a pretty big negative on the resume with the blowout loss at Washington State, even if Tahj Brooks wasn’t playing. 

• It was honestly hard to choose between Kansas and Houston for the last spot. Believe it or not, the Jayhawks' best win is Lindenwood right now. But they haven’t been drilled the way that Houston has twice now this season by UNLV and Cincinnati. I think Kansas is a much better team than Houston, but remember, these are based mainly on what you’ve accomplished so far this year.