Big 12 Power Rankings: Two Big Risers, West Virginia Tumbles Near the Bottom

The Mountaineers are going in the wrong direction at the start of Big 12 play.

Iowa State linebacker Sullivan Schlimgen (7) takes down West Virginia quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. (3) during the fourth quarter in a Big 12 Conference football game on Oct. 3, 2026, at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The second full weekend of Big 12 Conference play is in the books, and we have a couple of big movers in our weekly power rankings with Baylor and Iowa State shooting up the list, thanks to wins over Arizona State and West Virginia.

Below you will find the Big 12 Week 5 scoreboard, my newest batch of power rankings, and next week's slate.

Week 5 scores

Iowa State 45, West Virginia 42
BYU 17, TCU 10
Texas Tech 29, Colorado 7
Houston 27, UCF 17
Kansas 55, Middle Tennessee 0
Baylor 55, Arizona State 19
Arizona 34, Cincinnati 7

Week 6 Power Rankings (last week's ranking, if changed)

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

Week 5 schedule

Thursday

No games.

Friday

Iowa State at No. 8 BYU, 10:15 p.m. ET on ESPN

Saturday

Arizona at West Virginia, 12 p.m. ET on TNT
UCF at No. 18 Oklahoma State, 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2
No. 22 Houston at Kansas State, 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX
Hawai'i at Arizona State, 9:30 p.m. ET on FS1
Kansas at No. 12 Utah, 10:15 p.m. ET on ESPN

The Mountaineers are in a desperate spot, having dropped the first two games of league play. Fortunately for them, they get to return home and will face Arizona, who is a good team but will be making the cross-country trip and playing at a 9 a.m. body-clock time.

Oklahoma State will take the field for the first time since taking down West Virginia on the road a couple of weeks ago. The Knights will have an opportunity to make a statement after falling short against Houston this past week.

We will learn a lot about Kansas State this week. They are 3-1 and are coming off a bye after their loss to Cincinnati on the road. Are they a dark-horse contender that hasn't played its best ball yet, or are they just okay? This is a good measuring-stick game for them.

Arizona State should get back on track at home in a non-conference game against Hawai'i.

And finally, Utah will look to remain unbeaten against a Kansas team that is 0-2 against Power Four teams so far this season, losing to Missouri and Arizona State.