College Football Big 12 power rankings entering Week 6

College Football Big 12 power rankings entering Week 6

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

College Football Big 12 power rankings entering Week 6

After five weeks of the college football season, it’s clear the Big 12 will be the hardest conference to rank. So many teams feel like they’re on a similar level, and there’s going to be a ton of parity.

But, at the same time, there have been a lot of blowouts in this league. So we have a lot of teams whose overall talent level and body of work are close, but they might not play close on any given Saturday.

MORE: College Football biggest risers & fallers after Week 5

Ranks 10-7

NCAA Football: Arizona State at Texas A&M

Sep 12, 2026; College Station, Texas, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham looks on during the first quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)

10. Arizona State

Maybe it’s a post-London hangover, but the Sun Devils looked quite dreadful in a 55-19 loss to Baylor in Week 5. At the same time, though, it wasn’t bad enough to fall out of the top-10. Kenny Dillingham is still one of the best coaches in the conference, and the receiver duo of Harris and Miller is clearly top of the league.

9. Cincinnati

A 34-7 thrashing by Arizona is not something that could have been foreseen given how the Bearcats and Wildcats started their seasons. The Cincinnati offensive line, which had been so good to open the year, could not open any running lanes, as the team only rushed for 74 yards in the contest. Is this a one-off, or the first sign of a rapid decline down the standings?

8. Kansas State

The bye came at a perfect time for Kansas State as they came off of a close loss to Cincinnati, and it came before a massive home tilt against Houston that may just be the most difficult game remaining on Kansas State’s schedule. If they can somehow get by this one, a trip to Dallas for the Big 12 Championship game is not out of the realm of possibility.

7. Baylor

Across all of the conferences, no team rose higher this week than the Baylor Bears. They were unranked last week, and now find themselves in the thick of it at #7 after a massive 55-19 thumping of Arizona State. DJ Lagway appears to have finally found his perfect home, as he has now thrown for over 500 combined yards in his first two Big 12 games.

Ranks 6-4

Sep 26, 2026; Pullman, Washington, USA; Arizona Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita (1) throws against the Washington State Cougars during the first half at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images

6. Arizona 

The Wildcats are another big riser this week after their huge 34-7 win over Cincinnati. This year is Noah Fifita’s last dance (finally), and with his team sitting at one conference loss, a trip to Dallas is not out of the realm of possibility for his grand finale.

5. Houston

The Cougars trailed UCF 17-0 with 19 minutes of football remaining, but rattled off 27 unanswered points in a furious rally to come away with a 27-17 win. There are some concerns, however, with this offense. The run game has been subpar, and there is a lot being put on the shoulders of Conner Weigman to carry the offense – he’s accounted for all 9 of Houston’s TDs in the last two games.

4. Oklahoma State

The Pokes are a difficult team to rank. The win over Oregon is carrying a lot of water for their resume right now. Was that just one great Saturday, or a sign that this team is for real? We need to see them match up against some of the other top teams in the league before we will know for sure. And unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a little longer for that.

Top 3

NCAA Football: Utah at Iowa State

Sep 26, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; Utah Utes running back Wayshawn Parker (1) escapes a tackled from Iowa State Cyclones cornerback Seth Johnson (3) during the second half at Jack Trice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)

3. Utah

The middle portion of Utah’s schedule should be one filled with load management – a Bye in Week 5 is going to be followed by matchups against Kansas and Colorado, two of the league’s bottom-dwellers. Come out of this stretch healthy and hungry, and the Utes can earn their keep with the back end of their schedule.

2. Texas Tech

The Red Raiders started slow and were generally unimpressive in their 29-7 win over lowly Colorado. Why doesn’t this offense give more touches to J’Koby Williams? He is clearly the most explosive and dynamic player they have, yet he is relegated to a role as “just” a passing down back for most of the game. With the courts ruling Thomas Castellanos ineligible, the offense now has to be built around Will Hammond only.

1. BYU

Kalani Sitake’s BYU teams are masters of just doing what they need to do to win football games. It isn’t always pretty, it isn’t always stress-free, but there are few teams I trust more in the fourth quarter of a close game than BYU. That’s exactly what they did to beat TCU, as Bear Bachmeier’s 4th-quarter rushing TD finally put the game out of reach.

— Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter —

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos