Houston Cougars Climb Big 12 Power Rankings as Rivals Crumble
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The Houston Cougars are 2-0 after a 35-9 win over Rice on Saturday night, and while they took a while to get going, a four-score win over a rival is always worth celebrating.
Plus, it's a heck of a lot better than what some of their conference rivals did in Week 2.
Without further ado, here are our Big 12 power rankings after the second full week of college football.
Big 12 Power Rankings
1. Iowa State Cyclones (3-0)
Last Week: 2
It wasn't pretty, but Iowa State won the Cy-Hawk Trophy for the second year in a row with a gutsy 16-13 win over rival Iowa thanks to Kyle Konrardy's go-ahead field goal with less than two minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Matt Campbell's team is 3-0 with two Power Four wins, which is a start any coach would be thrilled with.
2. Utah Utes (2-0)
Last Week: 3
Utah followed up last week's decimation of UCLA with a decimation of another California school, this time a 63-9 win over Cal Poly. Not much to take away from an FCS game, but Kyle Whittingham's team continues to show that a disastrous 2024 season is in the past.
3. TCU Horned Frogs (1-0)
Last Week: 4
TCU was one of few teams to enjoy an early bye week after defeating Bill Belichick and North Carolina on Labor Day. The Horned Frogs face FCS Abeline Christian on Saturday before taking on rival SMU the following week.
4. Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-0)
Last Week: 5
The Red Raiders took care of business in a 62-14 win over Kent State on Saturday, but again, it's hard to get a read on them when they've only played an FCS team and a MAC team that went winless in 2024. Once they play better teams, then we'll talk.
5. BYU Cougars (2-0)
Last Week: 6
BYU stomped Stanford in a 27-3 victory on Saturday night, earning its second-straight blowout win at home. Sure, Stanford may be the worst team in the ACC, if not all of the Power Four, but it's a good win nonetheless.
6. Arizona State Sun Devils (1-1)
Last Week: 1
The Sun Devils' playoff hopes took a massive hit after Saturday's 24-20 road loss to Mississippi State. For a defending conference champion with playoff aspirations again this season, losing to a team that finished in the SEC's basement last year is inexcusable, no matter how much Mississippi State has improved.
7. Arizona Wildcats (2-0)
Last Week: 8
Noah Fifita threw for 373 yards and five touchdowns as the Wildcats rolled over Weber State, 48-3. It will be interesting to see how this team fares when it faces Kansas State in a strange non-conference game between Big 12 foes.
8. Baylor Bears (1-1)
Last Week: 9
Credit to Dave Arranda's team for bouncing back from last week's loss and stunning SMU 48-45 in double overtime. The Bears didn't lead for a single second during regulation, but they did when the game went final, and that's what really matters.
9. Houston Cougars (2-0)
Last week: 10
After a lethargic first half, the Cougars got their act together and ultimately flattened their rivals. The defense still looks good, and Dean Connors is proving himself as the top running back they sorely needed.
10. Colorado Buffaloes (1-1)
Last Week: 11
Deion Sanders' team didn't struggle in a 31-7 victory over Delaware, but it's clear there's still some things to figure out. Namely the quarterback situation, as third-stringer Ryan Staub looked significantly better than the two players in front of him.
11. Cincinnati Bearcats (1-1)
Last Week: 13
The Bearcats took care of business with a 34-20 win over Bowling Green in a game that wasn't as close as the score would indicate. It may not have been pretty, but it's a heck of a lot better than what other Big 12 teams did in Week 2.
12. Kansas Jayhawks (2-1)
Last Week: 7
In the first iteration of the Border War in nearly 15 years, the Jayhawks came up short in a 42-31 loss to rival Missouri. Allowing 595 yards of total offense while rushing for only 28 yards on the day is not a recipe for winning football.
13. UCF Knights (2-0)
Last Week: 16
That's more like it for Scott Frost's team. After a lethargic performance last week against Jacksonville State, the Knights looked like a far more cohesive team in a 68-7 win over North Carolina A&T.
14. Kansas State Wildcats (1-2)
Apparently, losing in Ireland is the kiss of death for any team with high aspirations. The Wildcats lost 24-21 at home to Army, who they paid well over $1 million to come to Manhattan. Even against a triple-option offense, possessing the ball for less than 20 minutes is just sad.
15. West Virginia Mountaineers (1-1)
Despite winning the turnover battle, the Mountaineers lost 17-10 to Ohio in a humiliating road loss. This wasn't a fluke, either, as the Mountaineers had just 250 total yards and 13 first downs while possessing the ball for less than 17 minutes.
16. Oklahoma State Cowboys (1-1)
There's nothing that can be said to make Oklahoma State's 69-3 loss to Oregon any better. The final score doesn't even convey how awful this game was for the Cowboys, as the Ducks might've hit 100 points if they didn't take their starters out in the fourth quarter. A complete embarrassment for Mike Gundy's team.
