Big 12 Football Power Rankings: Week 13 - Buffaloes Charge into Top Place

Looking at where each team sits in the Big 12 Conference.

Colorado, who debuted in our weekly power rankings at No. 13 in Week 3, is the new No. 1 team in the Week 13 Power Rankings. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

BYU's undefeated season is no more after suffering a 17-13 home loss to Kansas in Week 12. Meanwhile, the Colorado Buffaloes have won four straight, and their only conference loss is to Kansas State in Week 7.

This week, in our Big 12 Football Power Rankings, Colorado jumped ahead of BYU and is now the top-ranked team, per our voters. The Buffaloes become the fourth team to reach the top spot this season (Utah - Weeks 3-5, Iowa State - Weeks 5-10, BYU - Weeks 11-12).

And look out for Arizona State. They are now 8-2 (5-2 Big 12) after defeating Kansas State last week. The Sun Devils jumped up two spots to now sit in third place. That's quite the accomplishment, considering in Week 6, they were ranked No. 12.

Oklahoma State, who has yet to win a conference game, remains at the bottom. What a crazy season. In July, the top five in the conference were predicted to be Utah, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Arizona. Now, with two weeks to play, three of those teams - Arizona, Utah, and Oklahoma State - sit at the bottom of this week's power rankings. Kansas, after a rollercoaster season sits in the middle of the pack at No. 10 after that win over BYU. Only Kansas State remains in the Top Five,

As for the rest of the rankings, the middle of the pack continues to shift, as it has all season long.

Besides OSU, the only team in the league not to shift positions week-over-week was Iowa State, which remains at No. 4. All four of the top teams—Colorado, BYU, Arizona State, and Iowa State—each received at least one first-place vote. Three teams—Oklahoma State, Utah, and Kansas—received last-place votes.

How Power Rankings Are Determined

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

• 38 Total Participants
• TCU FanNation (KillerFrogs) Editorial Staff (16)
• 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 Big 12 current schools (22)

Each week, each participant provides their rankings 1-16. Those rankings are compiled, and the average rank is then listed below.

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

2024 Big 12 Power Rankings – Week 13

Here are our Week 12 Big 12 Football Power Rankings, as voted on by our group of sports journalists and fans representing all 16 teams. What did this week tell us? It told us that, as of right now, we still have a lot of football to play to determine who makes it to Arlington and then ultimately into the playoffs.

Week 13 Power Rankings Highlights

• Colorado, for the first time this season, is the No. 1 team.
• Arizona State, BYU, and Iowa State also received first-place votes.
• Oklahoma State, 0-7 in conference play, is, again, in last place this week.
• Kansas, Oklahoma State, and Utah received last-place votes.
• This week, only four teams had seven or more spots between their highest and lowest ranking, compared to eight teams in recent weeks. These teams are Baylor, BYU, Kansas, and UCF.
• BYU (high No. 1; low No. 14) had the highest fluctuation (13), followed by Kansas (high No. 4; low No. 16).
• Oklahoma State had the lowest fluctuations (1) between their highest and lowest rankings, followed by Colorado (2).
• The Week 12 between Baylor and West Virginia had the biggest impact on the rankings, with the Bears moving up three spots (the largest positive movement this week) and the Mountaineers moving down three spots (the largest negative movement this week).
• Over the 11 weeks we've done these rankings, Oklahoma State and Utah have had the biggest swings; OSU is down 14 spots (it was No. 2 in Week 3 and is now No. 16). Colorado (12 spots) and Texas Tech (11 spots) follow.

16. Oklahoma State (3-7, 0-7)#

Last Week’s Power Ranking: #16
Highest Ranking: #13
Lowest Ranking: #16
Last Week: Bye Week
This Week: vs. Texas Tech

15. Utah (4-6, 1-6)

Last Week’s Power Ranking: #14
Highest Ranking: #9
Lowest Ranking: #16
Last Week: Lost at Colorado 24-49
This Week: vs. Iowa State

14. Arizona (4-6, 2-5)

Last Week’s Power Ranking: #15
Highest Ranking: #10
Lowest Ranking: #16
Last Week: Beat Houston 27-3
This Week: at TCU

13. Houston (4-6, 3-4)

Last Week’s Power Ranking: #11
Highest Ranking: #8
Lowest Ranking: #15
Last Week: Lost at Arizona 3-27
This Week: vs. Baylor

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

Last Week’s Power Ranking: #13
Highest Ranking: #8
Lowest Ranking: #14
Last Week: Bye Week
This Week: at West Virginia

11. Cincinnati (5-5, 3-4)

Last Week’s Power Ranking: #10
Highest Ranking: #4
Lowest Ranking: #10
Last Week: Lost at Iowa State 17-34
This Week: at Kansas State

10. Kansas (4-6, 3-4)

Last Week’s Power Ranking: #12
Highest Ranking: #7
Lowest Ranking: #16
Last Week: Beat BYU 17-13
This Week: vs. Colorado

9. West Virginia (5-5, 4-3)

Last Week’s Power Ranking: #6
Highest Ranking: #6
Lowest Ranking: #13
Last Week: Lost to Baylor 35-49
This Week: vs. UCF

8. Texas Tech (6-4, 4-3)*

Last Week’s Power Ranking: #7
Highest Ranking: #3
Lowest Ranking: #9
Last Week: Bye Week
This Week: at Oklahoma State

7. TCU (6-4, 4-3)*

Last Week’s Power Ranking: #8
Highest Ranking: #5
Lowest Ranking: #13
Last Week: Bye Week
This Week: vs. Arizona

6. Baylor (6-4, 4-3)*

Last Week’s Power Ranking: #9
Highest Ranking: #4
Lowest Ranking: #12
Last Week: Beat West Virginia 49-35
This Week: at Houston

5. Kansas State (7-3, 4-3)*

Last Week’s Power Ranking: #3
Highest Ranking: #1
Lowest Ranking: #7
Last Week: Lost to Arizona State 14-24
This Week: vs. Cincinnati

4. #22 Iowa State (8-2, 5-2)*

Last Week’s Power Ranking: #4
Highest Ranking: #1
Lowest Ranking: #4
Last Week: Beat Cincinnati 34-17
This Week: at Utah

3. #21 Arizona State (8-2, 5-2)*

Last Week’s Power Ranking: #5
Highest Ranking: #4
Lowest Ranking: #10
Last Week: Beat Kansas State 24-14
This Week: vs. BYU

2. #14 BYU (9-1, 6-1)*

Last Week’s Power Ranking: #1
Highest Ranking: #1
Lowest Ranking: #6
Last Week: Lost to Kansas 13-17
This Week: at Arizona State

1. #16 Colorado (8-2, 6-1)*

Last Week’s Power Ranking: #2
Highest Ranking: #2
Lowest Ranking: #5
Last Week: Beat Utah 49-24
This Week: at Kansas

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

* Bowl Eligible
# Not eligible for a bowl game

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