Only four Big 12 teams are still unbeaten, and that alone makes this week’s rankings feel a little tighter at the top. BYU, Texas Tech, Utah and Cincinnati all have a case to sit No. 1, while Oklahoma State is forcing its way into the conversation after shaking off an ugly start.
The Cowboys opened 0-1 with that baffling loss at Tulsa, but they haven’t looked anything like that team since. Oklahoma State has stacked three straight wins over Oregon, Murray State and West Virginia, and the offense has been humming at 46.3 points per game during that run.
Drew Mestemaker’s latest outing only strengthened that argument, as he threw for 389 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday’s blowout of West Virginia. If the Tulsa game really was a fluke, the Cowboys suddenly look like a real factor in the league race.
BYU stays on top after an off week, even without taking the field. The Cougars remain 3-0 overall and 1-0 in Big 12 play, and they could set up a huge October stretch if they handle TCU and Iowa State over the next two weeks before a matchup with Notre Dame on October 17.
Texas Tech also holds firm near the top at 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the league, though the Red Raiders still left room for more. Former K-State linebacker Austin Romaine had two interception returns for touchdowns against Sam Houston, but Texas Tech still needed longer than expected to separate from the Bearkats. The record is spotless, but the ceiling looks higher than the performance has shown so far.
Utah keeps climbing after leaning on the run game again. In its Big 12 opener, the Utes went to Iowa State and came away with a 31-17 win behind Wayshawn Parker’s 174 rushing yards and two touchdowns. That kind of production on the ground is exactly why Utah sits in the upper tier of the league right now.
Cincinnati made one of the loudest statements of the week with its win over Kansas State, and the Bearcats are still somehow being treated like an afterthought. They’re 4-0 and 1-0 in Big 12 play, yet they were left out of the top 25 and listed as the 10th alternate in this week’s poll. That’s a hard sell when 12 ranked teams have worse records.
A few other teams had nights that told you a lot about where they stand. Baylor beat Colorado 23-13 with DJ Lagway back at quarterback, and the Bears continue to outplay expectations.
UCF beat TCU while producing only 266 yards of offense, but the Knights forced four turnovers and made the most of them. Arizona bounced back from an early deficit at Washington State thanks to Noah Fifita, who threw for 297 yards and four touchdowns in the comeback win.
West Virginia’s numbers looked better than the final score against Oklahoma State - 335 rushing yards and three touchdowns - but the result was still a lopsided loss. Kansas State’s opener against Cincinnati exposed some issues in a way the non-conference slate hadn’t. The Wildcats struggled against the run, and Avery Johnson couldn’t finish a comeback drive in his first tight game of the season.
At the bottom, Colorado’s slide is getting hard to ignore. The Buffaloes have now lost to Northwestern and Baylor after their opening win over Georgia Tech, and that first result no longer carries much weight.
TCU is in a similar spot, with the offense drawing the harshest criticism after losses to North Carolina and UCF. Iowa State showed some fight in its comeback attempt against Utah, but it wasn’t enough to change the result.
Here’s the full ranking after Week 4:
- BYU (3-0, 1-0 Big 12)
- Texas Tech (4-0, 1-0 Big 12)
- Utah (4-0, 1-0 Big 12)
- Oklahoma State (3-1, 1-0 Big 12)
- Houston (3-1, 0-1 Big 12)
- Cincinnati (4-0, 1-0 Big 12)
- Arizona (3-1, 0-1 Big 12)
- West Virginia (3-1, 0-1 Big 12)
- Kansas State (3-1, 0-1 Big 12)
- Baylor (3-1, 1-0 Big 12)
- UCF (3-1, 1-0 Big 12)
- Arizona State (2-1, 1-0 Big 12)
- Kansas (1-2, 0-1 Big 12)
- TCU (2-2, 0-1 Big 12)
- Iowa State (2-2, 0-1 Big 12)
- Colorado (2-2, 0-2 Big 12)
In Other News...
Kansas State Still Waiting For Linkon Cure To Break Through
Kansas State entered this season with rare buzz around Linkon Cure, the highest-rated recruit in program history and the Wildcats first five-star prospect. For a team that does not often land a player with that kind of national attention, the expectation was obvious: Cure was supposed to be a difference-maker, especially as a tight end with the size and skill set to become a reliable piece of the passing game.
Instead, his introduction has been slower than anyone in Manhattan probably hoped. Injuries have interrupted his progress, and the tight end room has given Kansas State other options, leaving Cure with only a modest start to his college career. Even so, Collin Klein still sees a bigger role ahead, and the Wildcats are waiting to see when the talent that made Cure such a prized get finally starts showing up on the field in a more consistent way. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State's Recruiting Momentum Just Added Another Early Defensive Win
Kansas States 2028 recruiting class picked up another early piece with the commitment of Malachi Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound edge rusher from St. Louis. Johnson becomes the second pledge in the class, giving the Wildcats another defensive building block well before the cycle starts to take shape in earnest.
Johnsons decision also points to the kind of relationships Kansas State has been able to build on the trail, especially with defensive line coach Buddy Wyatt. The fit appears to have gone beyond the field, with Johnson drawn to the programs football culture and the academic options in Manhattan, giving the Wildcats a promising early win as they look ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Heads Into Bye Week With One Problem It Must Fix
Collin Klein spent the first part of Kansas States bye week looking back at what went wrong in the Wildcats Big 12 opener against Cincinnati. The loss gave the staff a clear snapshot of where the team stands after the first conference game, and the time off now gives Klein a chance to sort through the tape without the pressure of preparing for another opponent right away.
Run defense and mental errors have emerged as the biggest areas of concern, and those are the kinds of issues a bye week can help sharpen if the work is sharp enough. Kansas State will have a little more time to clean things up before it returns to action against Houston on Oct. 10, with the hope that the break leads to a more disciplined version of the Wildcats when the schedule resumes. [Read more 🡒]