Big 12 Power Rankings: Utah on top to after Week 1

Oklahoma State, which reached the league championship game in 2023, received five first-place votes. Kansas received two first-place votes, while Kansas State and Arizona each had one.

The Big 12 went 14-2 in the opening weekend of the season with the only losses by West Virginia and Houston.

1. Utah

Points: 245 (seven first-place votes)

Record: 1-0 (0-0 Big 12)

Last week: defeated Southern Utah, 49-0

This week: vs. Baylor

The Utes welcomed back starting quarterback Cam Rising and tight end Brant Kuithe last Thursday after two-year knee rehabs. In their first action back, the pair connected for three touchdowns and led Utah to a 49-0 shutout win over the Thunderbirds.

Did you know? Brant Kuithe, in his inaugural game as a member of Utah’s new conference, became the first tight end in conference history to score three touchdowns in a half. — Jason Batacao, The Salt Lake Tribune

2. Oklahoma State

Points: 233 (five first-place votes)

Record: 1-0

Last week: defeated South Dakota State, 44-20

This week: vs Arkansas

Oklahoma State quarterback Alan Bowman might be the team’s front-runner for most improved player after completing 24-of-28 passes to start the game with nearly flawless decision-making before finishing 25-of-34. He also ended a five-game interception streak, which included nine total picks.

Did you know? According to Pro Football Focus, running back Ollie Gordon forced 13 missed tackles in Week 1. He forced a total 68 in 2023. — Tyler Waldrep, Tulsa World

3. Kansas State

Points: 230 (one first-place vote)

Record: 1-0

Last week: defeated Tennessee-Martin, 41-6

This week: at Tulane

The Kansas State offense struggled at times in the first half versus the Skyhawks, but a strong second half allowed the Wildcats to cruise to victory.

Did you know? In Kansas State’s win on Saturday, the Wildcats scored on a blocked punt. This comes after the Wildcats were without a TD on special teams during the 2023 season. Prior to that, K-State had at least one special teams’ score per season going back to 2004. — Tim Everson, The Manhattan Mercury

4. Kansas

Points: 204 (two first-place votes)

Record: 1-0

Last week: defeated Lindenwood, 48-3

This week: at Illinois

Quarterback Jalon Daniels made his long-awaited return to action and a handful of new starters contributed well on defense in the opener, but they all will face a much greater challenge on the road at a Big Ten school than they did versus Lindenwood at Children’s Mercy Park.

Did you know? Cornerback Mello Dotson became the first Jayhawk ever to return three interceptions for scores in his career when he took one to the house against Lindenwood. — Henry Greenstein, Lawrence Journal-World

5. Arizona

Points: 199 (one first-place vote)

Record: 1-0

Last week: defeated New Mexico, 61-39

This week: vs. Northern Arizona

Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan stamped himself as arguably the best pass-catcher in college football after the junior had 10 catches for 304 yards (a school record) and four touchdowns (tied for a school record). Only one other player in Big 12 history has recorded more yards in a game, former Baylor standout Terrance Williams. Arizona’s defense is off to a shaky start, albeit the Wildcats are replacing nine scholarship defensive linemen.

Did you know? Arizona head coach Brent Brennan became the first head coach to win his UA debut since Rich Rodriguez in 2012. Former Arizona leaders Kevin Sumlin and Jedd Fisch lost their first games at Arizona. — Justin Spears, Arizona Daily Star

6. Central Florida

Points: 162

Record: 1-0

Last week: defeated New Hampshire, 57-3

This week: vs. Sam Houston

UCF rolled over New Hampshire for its ninth straight win in season openers and the eighth consecutive win against teams from the Football Championship Subdivision. The Knights rushed for 454 yards and five touchdowns in the win over the Wildcats, led by tailback RJ Harvey’s 142 yards.

Did you know? Harvey has rushed for 100 yards in eight of his last nine games and needs five more rushing touchdowns to move into the top five of the school’s all-time rushing touchdown leaders. — Matt Murschel, Orlando Sentinel

7. Iowa State

Points: 159

Record: 1-0

Last week: defeated North Dakota, 21-3

This week: at No. 21 Iowa

The Cyclones lost standout linebacker Caleb Bacon to injury in the first quarter of their season-opening win and it’s unclear how long he’ll be out. That could deeply impact a defense that struggled to get off the field against an FCS foe — and will try to beat intrastate rival Iowa for just the second time in the past nine meetings.

Did you know? Cyclone receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel caught a combined 13 passes on 13 targets in week one and both of them reached the end zone. — Rob Gray, The Cedar Rapids Gazette

8. TCU

Points: 139

Record: 1-0

Last week: defeated Stanford, 34-27

This week: vs. Long Island

TCU managed to win their first one-score game since 2022 to open the year. Now the Frogs host their FCS opponent, while Josh Hoover looks to eclipse the 300-yard passing mark for the seventh time in eight career starts.

Did you know? TCU was 0-4 in one-score games in 2023. — Jamie Plunkett, Horned Frog Blitz

9. Colorado

Points: 111

Record: 1-0

Last week: defeated North Dakota State, 31-26

This week: at Nebraska

The Buffs survived a late scare to outlast one of the best teams in the FCS last week. Still working out some kinks with new coordinators and several dozen new players, Colorado showed a bit of promise in the trenches but will run into a bigger test at Nebraska.

Did you know? In two season openers with Colorado, quarterback Shedeur Sanders has completed 79% of his passes (64-of-81) for 955 yards and eight touchdowns. — Brian Howell, Boulder Daily Camera

10. West Virginia

Points: 105

Record: 0-1

Last week: lost to No. 8 Penn State, 34-12

This week: vs. Albany

None of WVU’s strengths from last season were there against Penn State. The offense, which led all of Power Five in rushing in 2023, averaged just 2.3 yards per carry and the longest play of the day was only 25 yards. The defense, which led the league in sacks last year, generated virtually no pass rush.

Did you know? West Virginia has lost four straight season openers for the first time in program history. WVU has opened the last four seasons with losses to Maryland (2021), Pitt (2022) and Penn State (2023 and 2024). — Cody Nespor, The Dominion Post

11. Arizona State

Points: 99

Record: 1-0

Last week: defeated Wyoming, 48-7

This week: vs. Mississippi State

The Sun Devils were out six players, three of them starters but dominated from start to finish aided by three takeaways, two of which went for touchdowns. Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt was impressive in his first career start and looks to build on that against an SEC foe.

Did you know? ASU has never defeated a team from the SEC. It gets a rare shot at that the coming week — Michelle Gardner, Arizona Republic

12. Baylor

Points: 71

Record: 1-0

Last week: defeated Tarleton State, 45-3

This week: at No. 11 Utah

Incoming transfers contributed four of the six touchdowns Baylor scored in the season-opening win. On the 10th anniversary of the opening of McLane Stadium, the Bears held a team to a field goal or less for the first time since the very first game at McLane in 2014. Baylor’s game against Big 12 newbies Utah on Saturday will not count toward the conference standings.

Did you know? Former Baylor men’s basketball player and current Utah tight end Caleb Lohner played in 69 games and averaged 2.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in two years per game for the Bears transferring to Utah and switching to football this season. — Zach Smith, Waco Tribune-Herald

13. BYU

Points: 68

Record: 1-0

Last week: defeated Southern Illinois, 41-13

This week: at SMU

BYU finally named its starting quarterback hours before the season opener. It went with its incumbent leader, Jake Retzlaff, to get the first shot at moving the offense. He ended up seizing the job as he threw for 348 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Did you know? BYU totaled 527 yards of offense against SIU. Last year, the offense never went over the 400-yard threshold. — Kevin Reynolds, The Salt Lake Tribune

14. Texas Tech

Points: 62

Last week: defeated Abilene Christian, 52-51 in overtime

This week: at Washington State

The Kliff Kingsbury era may be back after all. Texas Tech’s offense proved lethal against the FCS foe but the defense got shredded to the tune of 615 yards by an ACU team filled with Red Raider castoffs. If they can’t defend their way out of a paper bag, the offense is going to have to win shootouts every single week.

Did you know? Former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach will be inducted into the Washington State athletics hall of fame this week, making for a sentimental trip to Pullman for the Red Raiders. – Nathan Giese, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

15. Cincinnati

Points: 51

Record: 1-0

Last week: defeated Towson, 38-20

This week: vs. Pitt

Cincinnati stormed out in the first quarter to a 21-3 lead as new quarterback Brendan Sorsby had a rushing touchdown and a pair of long touchdown passes. He had over 300 yards at halftime and finished with 383 with two rushing scores and then early scoring passes. The Bearcats played a lot of new players, had three fumbles and weren’t as aggressive in the second half which made for the closer-than-expected score.

Did you know? Sorsby’s 383 yards through the air were a career-high and the most for a UC quarterback since Gunner Kiel threw for 386 yards Nov. 14, 2015 vs. Tulsa. Saturday, they face Pitt coached by Pat Narduzzi. Narduzzi served as defensive coordinator for the Bearcats from 2004-2006 under Mark Dantonio. — Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer

16. Houston

Points: 16

Record: 0-1

Last week: lost to UNLV, 27-7

This week: at No. 15 Oklahoma

Comment: The Willie Fritz era got off to a rough start as the Cougars did not score until the final minute to avoid the first home shutout loss in 30 years. Quarterback Donovan Smith was 15-of-30 for 135 yards with two interceptions and was sacked six times.

Did you know? Houston entered the season with the seventh-toughest schedule, according to Phil Steele Magazine. With an upcoming trip to Norman, the Cougars will look to avoid their first 0-2 start since 2012. — Joseph Duarte, Houston Chronicle