The Big 12 made a noticeable move in the latest AP Top 25, and BYU is the team putting the conference in the brightest spotlight.
The Cougars climbed from No. 11 to No. 9 after their 41-23 road win over Colorado State on Saturday, giving the league a new Top 10 team after Week 3. BYU is 3-0, and running back LJ Martin was again at the center of it all, piling up 176 rushing yards and three touchdowns. It’s also BYU’s earliest AP Top 10 appearance since the 2009 season.
Texas Tech sits just behind the Cougars at No. 11 after edging Houston 28-26 on Friday night in Lubbock. The Red Raiders didn’t blow anyone away, but they did enough to stay unbeaten and earn their first Big 12 win of the season. Next up is a return to non-conference play in Week 4, where Texas Tech will be a massive favorite against Sam Houston.
Utah keeps climbing, too. The Utes moved from No. 17 to No. 15 after improving to 3-0, continuing a steady rise that started with their No. 21 preseason ranking. In three weeks, Utah has moved up six spots.
Houston, even after falling to Texas Tech, held onto a place in the Top 25. The Cougars slipped from No. 22 to No. 25, but voters clearly respected how close they came to taking down Texas Tech on the road. That leaves the Big 12 with four ranked teams heading into Week 4.
Big 12 teams in the AP Top 25
West Virginia is still outside the rankings, but the Mountaineers are making noise. Their 38-27 upset of No.
25 Virginia on Saturday night earned them 93 votes, which puts WVU behind only Washington and Kentucky among teams just outside the Top 25. Virginia dropped out of the rankings after the loss.
West Virginia wasn’t the only Big 12 team receiving support. Oklahoma State got 50 votes, Arizona received 12 and Kansas State picked up three.
So while BYU’s jump into the Top 10 is the headline, the bigger picture is even better for the league: three Big 12 teams are inside the Top 15, another is sitting at No. 25, and West Virginia is close enough to make this a five-team conversation soon.
In Other News...
Texas Techs Place In The New Top 25 Feels Bigger Now
Ole Miss win over LSU on Saturday rippled well beyond the SEC, and it gave the latest AP Top 25 a sharper look for teams trying to measure where they really stand. The Rebels moved all the way up to No. 4 after the 32-24 victory, while LSU slid to No. 10, and the rest of the league shuffled around them with Florida checking in at No. 21 and Mississippi State at No. 24.
For Texas Tech, the bigger takeaway is how crowded and volatile the middle of the poll feels right now. Oklahoma dropped out despite winning, SMU and Houston both saw movement after their recent games, and every weekly change only adds weight to where the Red Raiders landed in the new ranking. In a poll this unsettled, being inside it matters, but staying there is going to take another clean answer on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Big 12 Race Is Already Taking Shape Around Houston
Three weeks into the 2026 college football season, the Big 12 is already sorting itself into tiers, and Texas Tech has a seat near the top with BYU and Arizona State. That early pack has started to separate from the rest of the league, giving every conference game a little more weight than usual as teams try to establish themselves before the schedule gets fully crowded.
Around the league, there has already been enough movement to suggest this race may not stay tidy for long. West Virginia picked up a notable non-conference win over Virginia, Cincinnati and UCF both flipped halftime deficits into victories, and Arizona State handled Kansas in the first FBS game in London despite an uneven offensive showing. For Texas Tech, the bigger question now is whether its early position is a real foothold in the standings or just the opening act of a longer climb. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Techs Big Win Still Left One Message Unchanged
Texas Techs 28-26 win over No. 22 Houston in Lubbock gave the Red Raiders a much-needed result against a ranked opponent, but it did not bring the kind of ranking jump that often follows a signature victory. Instead, Texas Tech climbed only one spot in the Associated Press Poll and two in the Coaches Poll, a reminder that the path upward is rarely as quick as the on-field celebration suggests.
The modest movement leaves the Red Raiders in the same familiar spot they have been trying to escape all season: good enough to draw attention, not yet far enough along to change the broader perception. For a team with bigger expectations hanging over it, the win helped, but it also reinforced how much more there is to prove before the rankings start reflecting the kind of statement Texas Tech wants to make. [Read more 🡒]