Big 12 Power Rankings After Week Four of the College Football Season

The fourth week of the college football season is in the books. The Big 12 had a trio of conference games over the weekend and conference play will be in full swing in week five.

In this article, we'll unveil the BYU On SI Big 12 power rankings after week four.

1. Texas Tech

Texas Tech maintains the top spot in our power rankings after a dominant win over Utah. The Red Raiders outclassed the Utes in every aspect and looked like a very dangerous team with Will Hammond at quarterback.

2. TCU

TCU looked like the best team in the league in a dominant win over North Carolina. Then after a bye week, the Horned Frogs beat Abilene Christian 42-21. It was unclear whether TCU was really good or if Abilene Christian was better than North Carolina.

Over the weekend, the Horned Frogs took down rival SMU to wrap up non-conference play. TCU kicks off its conference slate on Friday night with a road test at Arizona State. TCU-ASU is a critical game that could have conference title implications down the road.

TCU has a way of going on a run every 4-5 years, maybe this is their year to go on another one.

3. Iowa State

Iowa State was off last week but they are 4-0 and they have two wins over P4 teams. Rocco Becht has been great and the Cyclones look like a team that could challenge for the Big 12 title once again. However, the Cyclones struggled in an ugly 24-16 win over Arkansas State.

We will learn a lot more about Iowa State this week against Arizona.

4. BYU

The BYU defense has been not only the best in the Big 12 this season, but perhaps the best defense in the country. Most notably, BYU true freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier is starting to find a rhythm in BYU's offense.

If Bachmeier plays like he did against ECU, BYU will contend for a spot in the Big 12 title game.

5. Arizona State

Arizona State wasn't as sharp as you would expect against NAU and they lost to Mississippi State in week two. However, the Sun Devils responded with a gritty road win at Baylor.

ASU wide receiver Jordyn Tyson might be the best player in the conference. However, Sam Leavitt has been disappointing. The Sun Devils won't contend for the title unless Leavitt improves.

6. Utah

Utah has some real questions to answer on offense, particularly at the quarterback position. Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham pointed to an injury that limited Dampier against Texas Tech (even though he wasn't on the injury report), but some of Dampier's issues were decision related and not impacted by his ankle.

Still, the Utes are good on defense and they will be a tough out in conference play.

7. Arizona

Arizona dominated Hawaii and Weber State in back-to-back weeks. Then they took care of business against Kansas State. The Wildcats have looked more like the 2023 version of themselves behind Noah Fifita.

8. Kansas

Kansas dropped a road game at Missouri. The Jayhawks rebounded with a dominant win over WVU. We don't expect Kansas to play in the Big 12 title game, but we expect them to be really close.

9. Baylor

Baylor can score with the best in the Big 12, but they have questions to answer on defense. The Bears have an uphill battle to Big 12 title contention after starting 0-1 in Big 12 play.

10. Houston

Houston has a solid defense once again, and their offense is capable of putting up points. The Cougars handled Colorado in their conference opener. They are the only Big 12 team in action that won't play a conference game this weekend - they travel to Oregon State on Saturday.

11. UCF

UCF trailed Jax State 10-3 in the fourth quarter before scoring 14 points on their way to a 17-10 win in week one. Frankly, we wrote them off after that showing. Fast forward to week four, however, and the Knights are undefeated heading into conference play. They dominated North Carolina 34-9 over the weekend and UCF QB Tayven Jackson has been really good. For that reason, the Knights have started their climb up the power rankings.

12. Cincinnati

Cincinnati showed well defensively against Nebraska in week one, but lacked the offensive firepower to pull out a win. The Bearcats beat Bowling Green 34-20 in week two.

The Bearcats put up 70 points over an FCS foe on Saturday and have started climbing our power rankings.

13. Colorado

Colorado has made some head-scratching decision at quarterback this year. Colorado turned to third-string quarterback Ryan Staub against Houston, searching for a spark on offense. Colorado went back to Kaidon Salter against Wyoming and put up 37 points in a 37-20 win.

The Buffaloes will look for a ranked win over BYU this weekend.

14. West Virginia

West Virginia laid an egg against Ohio and lost two starters on offense. It looked like it could be a long year for Rich Rod in his return to Morgantown. Then, the Mountaineers pulled out a rivalry win over ACC foe Pitt.

The success didn't last long before the Mountaineers were blown out by Kansas in their Big 12 opener. WVU takes on Utah and BYU in the next two weeks.

15. Kansas State

No Big 12 team has been more disappointing than Kansas State in 2025. The Wildcats were sloppy in week one in Dublin, but that was understandable. Wet conditions, international travel, week zero, that's the perfect set of circumstances for a sloppy performance.

What can't be explained was Kansas State's near loss to FCS foe North Dakota in week two and home loss to Navy in week three. They are now 1-3 after a loss to Arizona.

Kansas State entered the season as one of the Big 12 favorites, and they early-season struggles have hurt the perception of the Big 12.

16. Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State has been an embarrassment to the league so far this season. The Cowboys were laughed off the field against Oregon, and they lost to Tulsa for the first time since the 1950's.

Oklahoma State legendary head coach Mike Gundy's seat is scorching hot. Before the Cowboys got demolished by Oregon, Gundy made some comments about NIL that were out of touch.

Oklahoma State looks like the worst team in the league for the second consecutive season, something that would have been unthinkable five years ago. And frankly it's not even close.