Big 12 Power Rankings: OSU & Cincinnati Surge, WVU & TCU Slide Entering Week 5

A fresh batch of rankings following the first full weekend of Big 12 Conference play.

Sep 26, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys quarterback Drew Mestemaker (17) throws a pass during the fourth quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It was an interesting week in the Big 12 with Texas Tech and Houston unexpectedly in a bit of a battle early against inferior competition before pulling away, Utah putting the late dagger in Iowa State, who kept it a one-score game late, Baylor and UCF coming out on top in low-scoring affairs, and Oklahoma State surprisingly beating West Virginia by three scores on the road.

Below you will find the Big 12 Week 4 scoreboard, my newest batch of power rankings, and next week's slate.

Week 4 scores

Texas Tech 49, Sam Houston 14
Utah 31, Iowa State 17
Houston 42, Georgia Southern 28
Baylor 23, Colorado 13
UCF 21, TCU 13
Cincinnati 31, Kansas State 26
Oklahoma State 41, West Virginia 24
Arizona 34, Washington State 24

Week 5 Power Rankings (last week's ranking, if changed)

No. 16: Colorado
No. 15: Iowa State
No. 14: Kansas
No. 13: Baylor
No. 12: TCU (9)
No. 11: UCF (12)
No. 10: Arizona State
No. 9: West Virginia (6)
No. 8: Kansas State
No. 7: Cincinnati (11)
No. 6: Utah (5)
No. 5: Arizona (4)
No. 4: Oklahoma State (7)
No. 3: Houston
No. 2: BYU
No. 1: Texas Tech

Week 5 schedule

Thursday

No games.

Friday

No games.

Saturday

West Virginia at Iowa State, 12 p.m. ET on TNT
UCF at Houston, 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Middle Tennessee State at Kansas, 12 p.m. ET on ESPNU
BYU at TCU, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
Texas Tech at Colorado, 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX
Baylor at Arizona State, 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Cincinnati at Arizona, 11 p.m. ET on FOX

There are no marquee matchups on the slate this week, but teams like UCF and Cincinnati have an opportunity to make a significant jump up the rankings if they are able to get big wins on the road against two of the top teams in the league.

For West Virginia, it feels like a must-win situation for them. You can't afford to drop your first two games in league play, especially to a pair of first-year coaches. That will send this fan base into a frenzy, and rightfully so. If the Mountaineers are able to beat Iowa State and improve to 4-1, they will be in a good spot as they return for a pivotal two-game homestand against Arizona and Cincinnati. A win won't have them taking a big leap in next week's rankings, but it will prevent them from plummeting.

West Virginia and Iowa State are slated to kick it off at 12 p.m. ET on TNT.