There’s no time to mess around today – I’ll start with some quick midweek Big 12 headlines before getting to my week six power rankings.

• The Big 12 continues to draw substantial TV numbers. As you would expect, Coach Prime’s Colorado Buffaloes were the biggest draw again by far, but Jeff Fuller has some great data on how two other Big 12 schools drew bigger ratings than almost any other games in the same time slot this year.

• Despite a big push from Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark last year, Gonzaga won’t be joining the Big 12. The Bulldogs are officially becoming members of the Pac-12 in time for the 2026 season. They’ll be a member in all sports they play (not football). The Pac-12 still needs one more football member to meet the NCAA minimum threshold for a conference. 

• Texas Tech fans will enjoy Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce doing his best Raider Red impression on his podcast this week. He lost a bet to teammate Patrick Mahomes over the Texas Tech-Cincinnati game last week.

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Big 12 Power Rankings

Here are your week six Big 12 power rankings! Please note: these are rankings, not power ratings. That means they are primarily based on what a team has accomplished so far this year – not necessarily how good I think the team is. You’ll see their ranking from last week in parentheses.

It’s getting really tricky to separate the top seven. We had a ton of movement in the top half of the standings, which will likely continue as the weeks go on. That’s what makes this league so damn entertaining. 

1. Iowa State (LW: 2)

2. BYU (LW: 3)

3. K-State (LW: 6)

4. Utah (LW: 1)

5. Arizona (LW: 12)

6. Colorado (LW: 7)

7. Texas Tech (LW: 8)

8. UCF (LW: 4)

9. Oklahoma State (LW: 5)

10. Cincinnati (LW: 10)

11.  Arizona State (LW: 9)

12. TCU (LW: 14)

13. West Virginia (LW: 11)

14. Baylor (LW: 13)

15. Kansas (LW: 15)

16. Houston (LW: 16)

• The debate between Iowa State and BYU for the top spot could honestly go either way. I’m giving the nod to the Cyclones on the strength of their road win at Iowa – the best and most important non-conference win the Big 12 has this year. I would listen to a case for BYU’s win over K-State to carry them to the top spot because of the 29-point margin, though. 

• K-State and Utah could both make a strong case for number three. The two blowout wins over solid Big 12 teams for K-State puts them slightly above a Utah team that has already lost at home. Could there be some frustration from Arizona fans at being left behind a Utah team they just beat? Absolutely, but this is about the entire resume. Outside of the Utah win, the Wildcats’ resume is lacking – but they’re right back in the contender conversation after the win at Rice-Eccles. 

• UCF and Oklahoma State both take big tumbles after blowout losses, and Cincinnati and Arizona State are ready to pounce if the arrow keeps trending downward for the Knights and Pokes. West Virginia could also shoot up a few spots next week with a win in Stillwater. 

• Kansas and Houston did nothing to improve their standing this week. That’s quickly becoming the easiest section of the power rankings to put together every week.