This Big 12 is nothing if not dramatic. Remember last year when Arizona State made a late-season surge to not only get ranked but beat down Iowa State to be the Big 12’s representative in the College Football Playoff? Even more so, how Colorado, Iowa State and BYU all played themselves out of contention? Yeah, this year should be just as dramatic as the Big 12 hopes to be a two-bid league in this year’s CFP.
One thing we found out is that Iowa State is fraudulent. The Cyclones lost consecutive games to unranked teams and are now out of the AP top 25 poll. Meanwhile, Cincinnati, who defeated Iowa State two weeks ago, is back in the rankings and on a five-game winning streak after losing the season opener to Nebraska.
Texas Tech looks like the best team in the conference as they’ve quickly become one of the top teams in the country and the Big 12’s best chance to get at least one team in the CFP this year. The power rankings have seemingly been shuffled around each week as new teams rise and drop just about every week. Here’s a look at our power rankings ahead of Week 8.
Texas Tech is destined for their first College Football Playoff appearance in program history
TEAM | 2025 RECORD |
|---|---|
1. Texas Tech Red Raiders | 6-0 (3-0) |
2. BYU Cougars | 6-0 (3-0) |
3. Cincinnati Bearcats | 5-1 (3-0) |
4. Utah Utes | 5-1 (2-1) |
5. Baylor Bears | 4-2 (2-1) |
6. Houston Cougars | 5-1 (2-1) |
7. Arizona State Sun Devils | 4-2 (2-1) |
8. Iowa State Cyclones | 5-2 (2-2) |
9. Kansas Jayhawks | 4-3 (2-2) |
10. Arizona Wildcats | 4-2 (1-2) |
11. Kansas State Wildcats | 3-4 (2-2) |
12. TCU Horned Frogs | 4-2 (1-2) |
13. UCF Knights | 3-3 (0-3) |
14. Colorado Buffaloes | 3-4 (1-3) |
15. West Virginia Mountaineers | 2-4 (0-3) |
16. Oklahoma State Cowboys | 1-5 (0-3) |
The Red Raiders are the best team in the Big 12 and it’s not even close. They’re not only winning the games they’re supposed to, but they’re whooping just about everybody on their schedule. They truthfully look like the most dangerous in the country, mainly because of their consistency. You could argue that Miami and Indiana are probably the only other two more consistent teams – I’m not ready to put Ohio State in that conversation just yet.
Though Texas Tech’s Behren Morton is considered day-to-day after getting injured against Kansas, this team is one of the best in college football and the Big 12’s only hope of getting at least one team in. I think Cincinnati makes an argument to continue trending up, but I’ve followed them for years, their self sabotage is around the corner.
The only other team that was supposed to make an argument for being contenders in the College Football Playoff for the second straight year was Arizona State and after getting beat down by Utah, it’s essentially the end of their CFP hopes.
Arizona State’s implosion proves why the Big 12 is a one-bid league
We’re halfway through the season and one of the preseason Big 12 favorites to get into the CFP is basically out of contention for a second-straight berth. This is what the Big 12 seems to do every year is play themselves out a spot. Now it’s a little more prevalent with an expanded playoff bracket.
This year, Arizona State and Iowa State have essentially played themselves out of the CFP and it feels like Cincinnati might be the next team. The Bearcats are ranked for the first time since they reached the CFP in 2021 as a Group of 5 team. Their toughest remaining games include No. 23 Utah and No. 15 BYU.
Which teams have best chance of making Big 12 a two-bid league?
Cincinnati and BYU give the conference the best chance in my opinion. I think Utah could make it interesting, but the Bearcats and Cougars have a larger margin of error than the Utes in my opinion. The game between UC and BYU will most likely be a Big 12 championship elimination game as well as a de facto CFP elimination game.
This is a wild season already with upsets galore, but truthfully I don’t think the Big 12 could get three teams so their best bet is probably two and it would come down to UC and BYU. The Big 12 is once again lining up for a dramatic road to the CFP. It’s safe to say Iowa State is out of the race, but there’s still a handful of teams in the mix.
You could even argue unranked Baylor could sneak in with a late-season rush like Arizona State did last year. Texas Tech is the hottest team in the Big 12 and after that, it’s a toss up. We’ll have to wait to the literal end of the season to see just how good this conference is.