The Big 12’s top tier got a fresh jolt this weekend, and BYU is right at the center of it.
With six undefeated teams still standing in college football, three now belong to the Big 12. BYU’s 28-24 win over Notre Dame at home was the headline result, and it gave the league a major talking point as it moves deeper into its third season as a 16-team conference. That result, along with the way other contenders have looked, has the Big 12 in the mix to be a two-bid league for the 12-team Playoff.
Utah, meanwhile, took a hit in the rankings despite escaping with a 27-24 win at Colorado. The Utes slipped from No. 2 to No. 4 after what was described as a lackluster performance.
At the top of the composite Week 8 power rankings from KSL Sports reporters Steve Bartle, Josh Furlong, and Mitch Harper, BYU stays No. 1 at 6-0 overall and 3-0 in league play. Texas Tech moved up to No. 2 after blasting Arizona State 53-25, also improving to 6-0 and 3-0 in the Big 12.
Houston climbed to No. 3 after edging Oklahoma State 35-32, while Utah landed at No. 4.
Arizona checks in at No. 5 after a bye week, followed by Oklahoma State at No. 6.
Kansas State made the biggest jump near the top of the list, rising five spots to No. 7 after beating Kansas 35-24. TCU surged as well, moving all the way to No. 8 after a 17-6 road win over Baylor.
The middle of the rankings features Iowa State at No. 9 and West Virginia at No. 10 after the Mountaineers’ 45-42 win over Cincinnati. Cincinnati dropped to No. 11, UCF sits at No. 12 after a bye, and Baylor tumbled to No. 13 after its home loss to TCU.
Colorado is No. 14 after falling to Utah, Kansas is No. 15, and Arizona State rounds out the poll at No. 16 after the loss to Texas Tech.
The individual ballots showed some movement among the rankers, too. Bartle, Furlong and Harper all had BYU and Texas Tech at the top, but the rest of their boards shifted in different ways, especially in the middle and lower half.
Bartle slotted Houston third and Utah fourth, while Furlong had Utah third and Houston fourth. Harper matched Bartle on the top three, then placed Utah fourth.
Week 8 now brings a packed slate across the conference, with BYU traveling to UCF, Houston visiting Utah, Texas Tech heading to Cincinnati, and Kansas State going to Arizona State. Several teams with big swings in the rankings will have a chance to settle things again this weekend.
In Other News...
Utah Still Has Something To Prove After Staying Unbeaten
Utah left its matchup with Colorado still unbeaten, but the mood around the program was hardly celebratory. Players and coaches have spent the days since focusing on the offensive cleanup work that showed up in that game, where missed assignments and communication issues kept the unit from feeling as sharp as it needs to be heading into the tougher stretch of the schedule.
Creed Whittemore, Jordan Gross, Noah Bennee and Wayshawn Parker all pointed to the same theme: the Utes need cleaner execution and more consistent play before facing Houston. The standard is higher now, and with quality opponents waiting in the second half of the season, Utah knows it cannot lean on being undefeated alone if the offense is still sorting out its rhythm. [Read more 🡒]
Utah Just Made Colorados Biggest Late-Season Problem Impossible To Ignore
The latest loss left Colorado with four straight defeats, and for a stretch in Salt Lake City, its defense actually gave the Buffs a fighting chance. Utahs passing game was disrupted often enough to keep the game from getting away immediately, while Colorado still managed a few offensive sparks, including JaQuail Smiths 68-yard touchdown reception. Even so, the result fit the same troubling pattern that has followed the Buffaloes through this slide, with key pieces like Jarek Broussard never quite getting the kind of usage that might have changed the flow.
What makes the setback sting is the timing. Colorados margin for error is gone, and the road to a bowl game now runs through a difficult finish that leaves no room for another stumble. The defense showed enough against Utah to suggest this team can still compete in spurts, but the bigger issue is whether the Buffaloes can put together a complete game soon enough to keep the season from slipping away entirely. [Read more 🡒]
Which Utah Icon Gets The GameDay Spotlight This Time
ESPNs College GameDay is headed back to the University of Utah, giving the Utes another big-stage Saturday in front of a national audience. Rece Davis will be back on the desk alongside Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban and Kirk Herbstreit, with the usual GameDay mix of energy, signs and the kind of campus buzz that has made the show such a staple on college football mornings.
Utah has already hosted the show six times, and the tradition has included some memorable guest pickers along the way, from Ty Burrell and John Stockton to Frank Caliendo, Steve Smith and Alex Smith. The next question, naturally, is which former Ute gets the call this time, with Eric Weddle and Dalton Kincaid among the names in the conversation as GameDay prepares for another stop in Salt Lake City. [Read more 🡒]