Three weeks into the 2026 season, the Big 12 still doesn’t have a clean answer at the top. BYU keeps stacking wins.
Texas Tech just passed its first real test. West Virginia landed the weekend’s loudest statement.
And the gap between the teams rising and the teams sinking is starting to show.
BYU remains No. 1 after going on the road and handling Colorado State by 18 points. It was the kind of game some people had circled as a possible trap, but the Cougars brushed it aside and moved to 3-0. Through three weeks, they’ve looked like the conference’s most steady and convincing team.
Texas Tech makes the biggest leap in the rankings, climbing to No. 2 from No. 8.
The Red Raiders are 3-0 and picked up one of the best wins in the league so far by outlasting Houston 28-26 on Friday night. It wasn’t clean, but it was earned, and Houston is still a solid Top 25 opponent.
West Virginia jumps all the way to No. 3 after knocking off No. 25 Virginia 38-27 at a neutral site.
The Mountaineers are 3-0, Michael Hawkins Jr. has been one of the best players in the country, and the running game was strong against Virginia’s front seven. That gives WVU plenty of momentum heading into its Big 12 opener against Oklahoma State this weekend.
Utah slides to No. 4 despite a 33-0 win over Utah State. The Utes didn’t do anything wrong, but the teams ahead of them have simply done more. The Arkansas win still matters, though it may not age as impressively as it looked at the time.
Oklahoma State comes in at No. 5 after beating Murray State and owning a strong early win over Oregon. The Cowboys are 3-0, but now the league games begin, starting with a trip to Morgantown. A win there would change the conversation fast.
Kansas State holds at No. 6 after a comfortable win over Tulane, even if the Wildcats looked a little flat at times. The defense allowed its first touchdown and Kansas State even trailed early, but the result never really felt in doubt. There are still questions at wide receiver and at quarterback with Johnson’s accuracy, but the line play continues to exceed expectations.
Houston lands at No. 7 after nearly tying Texas Tech in Lubbock. The Cougars came up just short on the two-point conversion, but this remains a good Top 25 team. If Houston is going to get to Arlington, the offense is going to have to do the heavy lifting.
Arizona State checks in at No. 8 after picking up its first Big 12 win of the season in London. It wasn’t pretty, but the Sun Devils got the job done after a long stretch that began in College Station and ended overseas.
Then comes a week off in Tempe. And yes, the league probably doesn’t need to repeat that kind of setup.
Arizona moves up to No. 9 after a slow start against Northern Illinois. Noah Fifita is still playing at the level expected of him, but the Wildcats need more before anyone can start talking seriously about a Top 3 finish in the Big 12. They also still need a defining win, and Washington State on the road this weekend should at least offer a useful test.
Iowa State climbs to No. 10 after a 55-7 win over Bowling Green. The Cyclones have been building quietly, and the defense has been solid. Now comes a much bigger challenge with Utah coming to town, and that matchup should tell us a lot more about what this team really is.
Colorado falls hard to No. 11 after a 41-7 loss to Northwestern. The Buffaloes are sinking fast, and the offense has been abysmal in both Power 4 games against Georgia Tech and Northwestern. Deion Sanders also called out his players for their postgame attitude, and the next chance to stop the slide comes against Baylor.
Cincinnati drops to No. 12 after surviving a scare against Miami (OH). The Bearcats won, but they were down 28-7 and had to rip off a huge comeback to escape.
At 3-0, the record looks fine, but the Boston College win looks weaker every week. Kansas State coming to town this weekend should tell us more.
Baylor stays at No. 13 after beating Louisiana Tech. The Bears did what they were supposed to do, but there’s no reason to move them yet. Their best resume point is still the near loss to Auburn, and now league play will start revealing whether this team can help Dave Aranda keep his job beyond this season.
TCU rises to No. 14 after moving to 2-? Wait-no, the source does not state the record here, so only the movement matters.
Jaden Craig has taken a major step since the UNC game. He now leads the Big 12 in passing yards, is tied for the top three in passing touchdowns, and sits in the top five in passer rating.
The competition hasn’t been strong, but after the rough start in Week 0, it’s progress.
Kansas remains at No. 15 after falling to Missouri and Arizona State to open 1-2. The issue is the turnovers, and the sloppiness is the part that has to be most frustrating for KU fans. They now have two weeks to sit with it before Middle Tennessee State.
UCF rounds out the rankings at No. 16 after needing a comeback against Georgia State. The injury to Alonza Barnett and the defensive problems make this feel shaky, and Year 2 under Scott Frost could unravel quickly if things don’t tighten up soon.
In Other News...
BYU Fans Just Got A Break For A Rare TCU Game Day
BYUs matchup with TCU on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, comes with an unusually fan-friendly twist for Cougar followers who also keep tabs on the church calendar. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. MDT, with the game slated for ESPN or ESPN2 and radio coverage on KSL NewsRadio, giving fans plenty of ways to follow along.
The timing lands on the Saturday of the Semiannual General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and this year the schedule lines up in a way that avoids the usual conflict. With no Saturday evening session anymore, BYU supporters wont have to choose between conference and the game, a small but welcome break for a program whose fan base often has to juggle both. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Suddenly Has Company In A Big 12 Rankings Fight
BYUs rise to No. 9 after beating Colorado State was part of a strong early-season showing for the Big 12, which now has four teams in the latest AP Top 25. Texas Tech, Utah and Houston stayed in the rankings as well, giving the league three teams in the Top 15 and another at No. 25 heading out of Week 3. For a conference trying to build depth at the top, that kind of spread matters as much as any one headline result.
West Virginia is the team adding a little more pressure to the mix after upsetting No. 25 Virginia and drawing significant votes of its own. The Mountaineers are still just short of the rankings, but they are close enough to make the conference picture even tighter. For BYU, its a reminder that the margin for staying among the Big 12s elite may be about to get a lot thinner. [Read more 🡒]
AJ Dybantsa Is Still Showing BYU Fans What Matters Most
AJ Dybantsa is already settling into life as a Washington Wizards rookie, but he is also making it clear that his time at BYU still matters. The former Cougars standout has started taking online classes to work toward finishing his degree in a timeline of about three to three-and-a-half years, all while juggling the demands of a pro basketball schedule and keeping up a strong academic record.
For BYU fans, it is another reminder that Dybantsas story is about more than where he was drafted or where he will make his NBA debut on Oct. 21. Being taken No. 1 overall by Washington put him on one of basketballs biggest stages, but he is still doing the quieter work that reflects what he values most, and that part of his journey may end up meaning just as much back in Provo. [Read more 🡒]