Big 12 Football Power Rankings: Week 12

Looking where the teams rank in our weekly Power Rankings

With two weeks left in the regular season, which teams will end up in Arlington for the championship game is still unknown. Texas looks to have the best chance, but there’s a bunch of two-loss teams that hope to have a say in which teams make it.

With that, where does our panel of voters rank the teams in the conference? After last week's games, especially OSU’s blowout loss to UCF, teams shifted in our Week 12 Big 12 Football Power Rankings.

UCF's win over Oklahoma State in Week 11 impacted our weekly Power Rankings.  / © Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

Texas remains at the top. Kansas State and Oklahoma both moved up two spots, dropping Oklahoma State down to No. 4. Iowa State now rounds at the top five, moving up two spots and securing its highest ranking of the season.

Kansas dropped three spots to No. 6, which was the largest movement up or down of any team this week. Texas Tech moved up one spot to No. 7. West Virginia fell two spots to No. 8. TCU remained at No. 9 despite its third-straight loss. West Virginia, which once was as high as No. 4, dropped two spots to No. 10.

The last group of five contains the four “newbies” and Baylor. There was some slight shifting among this group. UCF is now No. 10 (up two), followed by BYU (No. 11, down one), Houston (No. 12, down one), Baylor (No. 13, no change), and Cincinnati (No. 14, no change).

For a complete recap of the Week 11 games, click here.

How Power Rankings Are Determined

Once again, we have brought together a group from across the league to vote each week during the season on the Big 12 Power Rankings.

• 44 Total Participants
• TCU FanNation (KillerFrogs) Editorial Staff (13)
• Not all are TCU homers – fans of teams in the SEC and Big Ten are part of our editorial staff.
• One to two fans from each of the other current schools in the Big 12 (23)
• Two fans from each of the 2024 incoming “Four Corners” schools (8)
• Each week, each participant provides their rankings 1-10. Those rankings are compiled, and the average rank is then listed below.

Here's where our panel of voters ranked the teams this week:

Big 12 Power Rankings – Week 12

14. Cincinnati (3-7, 1-6)

(Last week #14)

Beat Houston 24-14

The Bearcats finally won their first-ever Big 12 conference game, becoming the last of this year’s freshman class to do so. It was, though, a win over Houston, which was not enough to move them up from the bottom. They play in Morgantown this weekend, so they are probably here to stay for the duration of the season.

13. Baylor (3-7, 2-5)

(Last week #13)

Lost to Kansas State 59-25

The Bears traveled to the Little Apple and were just demolished by the Cats. It’s been a tough year for Baylor. The good news is that basketball season is underway. Both the men’s and women’s Bears teams are ranked and off to good starts.

11. BYU (5-5, 2-5)

(Last week #10)

Lost to Iowa State 45-13

BYU has a brutal end to their season. They lost last week at home to Iowa State, which kept the Cyclones in the mix for a berth in the championship game. This week, BYU hosts Oklahoma and then travels to Stillwater for the season finale. They’ve been sitting at five wins for a couple of weeks and may not get that elusive 6th win to secure a bowl game.

12. Houston (4-6, 2-5)

(Last week #13)

Beat Baylor Lost to Cincinnati 24-14

The Coogs lost at home to Cincinnati, putting Houston in a precarious position of needing to win its remaining two games if they want to go bowling this year. Even with the loss, Houston inched up one spot in our rankings.

10. UCF (5-5, 2-5)

(Last week #12)

Beat Oklahoma State 45-3

Fans were definitely bouncing at the Bounce House last weekend when the Knights blew out the then No. 15 Pokes. It gave the team an added spark and showed signs of greatness that was expected by this team. If anything, the game showed UCF will be a contender in future seasons.

9. TCU (4-6, 2-5)

(Last week #9)

Lost to Texas 29-26

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. After playing in last year’s national championship game, TCU is now in danger of becoming the first team in a non-COVID-shortened season to not make a bowl game after making the College Football Playoffs the year before. However, TCU played their most complete quarter of the season in the fourth quarter against Texas. If they can keep that up, they should beat Baylor this weekend and could upset Oklahoma on Black Friday in Norman.

8. West Virginia (6-4, 4-3)

(Last week #6)

Lost to Oklahoma 59-20

No team has fluctuated in our weekly Power Rankings as the Mountaineers have. West Virginia started the season at No. 14. After a hot start to the season, they peaked at No. 4 in October. Last week, they were eliminated from contention for the championship game but still are at least going bowling this season.

7. Texas Tech (5-5, 4-3)

(Last week #8)

Beat Kansas 16-13

Tech has been on a pattern most of the season of winning two, losing two, and winning two. They’ve won two straight. They can go bowling if they can break their trend and beat UCF this weekend. For a team that started the season 1-3, that’s a significant accomplishment. The Red Raiders have moved up three spots over the last two weeks and now find themselves in the top half of the rankings.

6. #16 Kansas (7-3, 4-3)

(Last week #3)

Lost to Texas Tech 16-13

The Jayhawks have continued to show that Lawrence is more than just a basketball town. The loss last week to Tech pushed them out of the championship game. However, with seven wins, they are headed to a bowl for the second straight year. Now, they host Kansas State in the Sunflower Showdown. The loss bumped them down three spots, the largest drop this week.

5. Iowa State (6-4, 5-2)

(Last week #7)

Beat BYU 45-13

The Cyclones got a much-needed win in Provo last week. They are now among the four teams with only two conference losses and have not yet been eliminated from the championship game. They host Texas this weekend and have beaten the Longhorns three of the last four times in Ames. A win this weekend would bring chaos to the championship race as they would then hold tiebreakers over Oklahoma State and Texas.

4. #15 Oklahoma State (7-3, 5-2)

(Last week #2)

Lost to UCF 45-3

Ouch. We thought the loss to South Alabama early in the season was the annual Poke Choke. Nope. That was just the precursor to what we saw last week in Orlando. The Knights were in control the entire game. The loss gave OSU two conference losses, but they still have a good chance to make the championship game.

3. #17 Oklahoma (8-2, 5-2)

(Last week #5)

Beat West Virginia 59-20

After losing two straight games, the Sooners had a great win at home over West Virginia. With two games left, they still have hopes for a berth in Arlington, potentially with a rematch against the Longhorns or Pokes. They bumped up a spot in our rankings this week. They travel to Provo this week for their only time.

2. #25 Kansas State (7-3, 5-2)

(Last week #4)

Beat Baylor 59-25

The Cats are playing some of the best football of any team in the conference right now. They destroyed TCU and Houston in back-to-back weeks, came back in the fourth quarter to force overtime over Texas, and then had another big victory over Baylor. They need help from other teams but hope to return to Arlington to defend last year’s title.

1. #7 Texas (9-1, 6-1)

(Last week #1)

Beat TCU 29-26

Texas managed to hold on for the win over TCU last week. It was their third straight game to dominate their opponent to start the game but let the other team sneak back into contention in the 2nd half. They still are in the driver’s seat for Arlington, but buckle up if they can’t win in Ames this weekend, as we will be in for conference chaos to determine the championship.

Other FanNation Power Rankings

How do other FanNations rank the Big 12? Check them out here:

• Oklahoma State – All Pokes
• West Virginia – Mountaineers Now

Big 12 Football: Week 12 Matchups and Predictions

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Note: Power Rankings are determined by a group of fans representing most schools in the Big 12 Conference.

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