Two weeks into the season, the Big 12 still feels like a conference where the answers keep slipping through your fingers. A few teams have made early cases for themselves, a few have already raised red flags, and plenty more have done just enough to keep the whole thing messy.
At the top, BYU has the best claim so far. The Cougars are 2-0, already 1-0 in league play, and head to Colorado State with the early edge in the Big 12 race after suffocating the Wildcats in the second half.
Kansas State sits right behind them at 2-0, and the Wildcats have done it without even needing much from Avery Johnson on the ground. In two games, Johnson has barely used his legs, and Kansas State has still piled up 105 points. That’ll work.
Texas Tech is also unbeaten, but the Red Raiders are carrying the least convincing 2-0 résumé in the conference. They get Houston next, and that matchup could say plenty about whether Tech belongs near the top or is just floating there for now.
Houston, meanwhile, looks dangerous enough to make that trip interesting. The Cougars are 2-0 and have a real offense, one that could drop Texas Tech into the cellar right away if it travels. The catch is obvious: they have to do it on the road.
Arizona checks in at No. 4 after the 28-17 loss to BYU, and the Wildcats still look like a team that will matter in the Big 12 title conversation eventually. Noah Fifitia and company just aren’t there yet. They get Northern Illinois next.
Utah’s 43-10 win over Arkansas landed it at No. 6, but that result comes with a pretty important reminder: the opponent was Arkansas. A 33-point win over an SEC team sounds loud until you remember who was on the other sideline.
Arizona State is next after a 48-20 loss at Texas A&M. Nobody’s going to hammer the Sun Devils too hard for losing on the road to a Top 10 team, but that second half was rough. Kansas comes to town next.
Oklahoma State remains one of the more intriguing teams in the league at 1-1. Drew Mestemaker is a psychopath, and there’s at least a case that the Cowboys might be legit.
Oregon might also be very mid. Split the difference, and that’s where Oklahoma State lands.
Baylor sits ninth, and the concern there is simple: hard for DJ Lagway to shed the injury-prone label when he’s already missing games two weeks into the season.
Colorado is 2-0, but the Buffs are still in the prove-it stage. They head to Northwestern next, and Deion Sanders sure loves the Protect College Sports Act, so there’s that.
Iowa State dropped to No. 11 after a 16-13 loss to Iowa. The Cyclones may not be as bad as expected, but they don’t exactly look good either.
Cincinnati is 2-0, which is enough to keep the Bearcats ahead of several teams with more obvious questions. Are they good?
Probably not. But they are 2-0, and that counts for something.
West Virginia also moved to 2-0 after beating UT Martin 52-17, though the next step looks much tougher. Virginia comes to town, and things could get very ugly for the Mountaineers.
TCU’s 63-7 win over Grambling didn’t do much to change the conversation. That kind of blowout isn’t enough to get the Horned Frogs back into anyone’s good graces.
Kansas rounds out the lower half before UCF at No. 16. The Jayhawks are headed to London to face Arizona State, and the Isaiah Marshall 2026 mixtape is going to be the most entertaining thing in the world, just not to the benefit of Kansas.
In Other News...
Texas Tech Is Giving Fans One Big Reason To Doubt This Ranking
Week 2 of the 2026 college football season did not exactly go according to the script, with several top-15 teams such as Oregon and Oklahoma falling to unranked opponents and a few others left sorting through uneven early rsums. Indiana is still unbeaten with a pair of strong wins, LSU and Ole Miss have already banked notable victories, and USCs 3-0 start has come with some mixed performances. In that kind of chaos, Texas Tech at least survived with its ranking intact, but only just.
The Red Raiders narrowly avoided becoming the latest surprise on a weekend that punished teams for looking vulnerable, and that is the part of their profile that still hangs over the program. A ranking can survive a close call in September, but it is much harder to trust when the margin for error is that thin. With Iowa also grinding through an ugly win over Iowa State, the early season has already made one thing clear: style points matter less than avoiding the kind of stumble Texas Tech came perilously close to taking. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Pass Rush Is Turning Every Sack Into Something Bigger
Texas Techs defense kept the pressure on in the 35-24 win at Oregon State, and the sacks came with a little extra meaning attached. The Red Raiders recorded two more quarterback takedowns, pushing their season total to five through two games, and each one continues to feed into Texas Tech Athletics ongoing partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Southwest.
The Quarterback S.A.C.K. program turns every sack into a fundraiser for families who are receiving medical care support, giving the pass rush a purpose beyond the box score. Fans can still contribute, and with the defense already showing an ability to get after the quarterback early this season, there is a chance that the impact keeps growing well beyond the field. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Faces An Early Test That Could Change Everything
Friday night brings a compact slate with a little something for every contender, and for Texas Tech the late game carries the most intrigue. Houston comes to town with a chance to test itself against a highly ranked Red Raiders team, while Oregon and Miami take care of business in their own different ways, each trying to keep its season on track on national television.
Miamis trip to Wake Forest is the kind of early road assignment that can tell you plenty about how real the start has been. The Hurricanes have handled the opening stretch well, but a road win in an ACC setting would add another layer to that rsum, and with Oregon also looking to steady itself after a recent loss, the night has the feel of one of those early-season checkpoints where the next step matters almost as much as the result. [Read more 🡒]