Big 12 Power Rankings: A new team climbs to the top while Colorado and Kansas stumble

It was a wild and crazy week in Big 12 country.

Iowa State and Oklahoma State pulled off huge come-from-behind victories against notable nonconference competition to remain undefeated. Arizona State and BYU beat teams from other power conferences. Cincinnati coughed up a huge lead and lost to Pittsburgh. Illinois fans stormed the field after beating Kansas. Houston nearly pulled off an upset at Oklahoma.

We could go on and on.

But if that wasn’t enough action for you, Big 12 games begin this week.

Let’s take some time to analyze everything we saw before we move on to Week 3 with a new edition of Big 12 Power Rankings.

Changes at the top

1. Iowa State (2-0)

There is a new team on top of these Big 12 Power Rankings. The Cyclones jumped to the No. 1 spot after they rallied to defeat rival Iowa on the road. This was the type of game that has gone against many of Matt Campbell’s teams over the years, but this group might be different.

Rocco Becht threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns against one of the best defenses in the country. Kyle Konrardy was nails and connected on a 54-yard field goal in the final seconds. Iowa State is no longer a sleeper team in the Big 12. It is a legitimate contender.

2. Oklahoma State (2-0)

The Cowboys showed incredible grit in their come-from-behind victory over Arkansas. But they still dropped a spot in these rankings because they surrendered a whopping 648 yards of offense to the Razorbacks. It’s rare for a team to get outgained by 263 yards and still win.

Mike Gundy was in no mood to sugarcoat the performance afterward. Alan Bowman led the rally with 326 passing yards. It’s a bit concerning to see Ollie Gordon only rush for 49 yards.

3. Kansas State (2-0)

A win is a win, but Chris Klieman was understandably concerned by the way his team fell behind against Tulane and needed a scoop-and-score touchdown from Jack Fabris to beat the Green Wave 34-27. The Wildcats had all kinds of problems defending the pass in New Orleans. Their offense has also looked mediocre in both of their games.

It’s a long season and there is plenty of time to improve. But K-State will need to play better to continue winning against Big 12 competition.

4. Utah (1-0)

The Utes were dealt bad news when star quarterback Cam Rising left the Baylor game with an injury. But reports suggest that the injury isn’t serious and he should return to the field in the near future. Utah should be able to beat Utah State with or without Rising this week.

Jury still out

5. Arizona (2-0)

The Wildcats were only able to beat Northern Arizona 22-10 on Saturday. Even more surprising was that star receiver Tetairoa McMillan was limited to 11 yards on two catches. Was that a sign of trouble brewing in Tucson? Or did Arizona get caught looking ahead to a big Friday game at K-State this week?

6. UCF (2-0)

The Bounce House is a torture chamber for bad teams. UCF hosted New Hampshire and Sam Houston in its first two games and won those contests by a total score of 102-17. Running back RJ Harvey was especially strong for the Knights on Saturday when he rushed for 126 yards and four touchdowns.

Can UCF win on the road against stronger competition? We are about to find out. Next up for the Knights is a road trip to TCU.

7. TCU (2-0)

The Horned Frogs appear to be on the rise after missing out on a bowl last season. TCU opened with a road victory against Stanford and then clobbered Long Island University 45-0 in its second game. Josh Hoover has already thrown for 620 yards and four touchdowns. The Horned Frogs can truly validate their early success this week at home against UCF.

8. Kansas (1-1)

Most fans expected the Jayhawks to suffer a drop off on offense when Penn State poached coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and Lance Leipold replaced him with Jeff Grimes. But few saw Kansas also downgrading at quarterback with Jalon Daniels taking over for Jason Bean. Remember, Daniels was the QB1 for KU until he suffered a season-ending injury last season. But KU sorely missed Bean during a 23-17 loss at Illinois in which Daniels tossed three interceptions, including a pick-six.

The Jayhawks would have been much better off giving more carries to Devin Neal, who rushed for 101 yards on 14 carries. KU dropped five spots here with a challenging game against UNLV on deck.

Making a statement

9. Arizona State (2-0)

Cue the popular Shaquille O’Neal meme. I owe the Sun Devils an apology. I wasn’t really familiar with Arizona State’s game. Like many others, I projected this team to finish last in the Big 12 standings. But Arizona State is proving us all wrong with early wins against Wyoming and Mississippi State. The Sun Devils will be halfway to bowl eligibility if they can beat Texas State on Thursday.

10. BYU (2-0)

I didn’t expect much from the Cougars this season, either, but they went on the road and picked up a huge victory over SMU on Saturday. Granted. the Mustangs haven’t looked very good this year. But they were a juggernaut at home last season. BYU fans can start dreaming about a bowl.

Nothing to see here

11. West Virginia (1-1)

The Mountaineers recovered from their opening loss to Penn State by beating Albany 49-14. That’s good and all, but it won’t mean much if they can’t follow it up with a rivalry win over Pittsburgh this week. Penn State struggling against Bowling Green in Week 2 made its blowout win at West Virginia look even worse for Neal Brown’s team.

12. Baylor (1-1)

It’s hard to fault the Bears too much for losing a competitive game at Utah. Still, it was not a good sign to see them fall behind 17-0 in the first quarter.

Look out below

13. Cincinnati (1-1)

The Bearcats may have already clinched the award for biggest choke job in the Big 12 this season. Cincinnati took a 27-6 lead over Pittsburgh with 4:50 remaining in the third quarter and somehow managed to lose 28-27.

14. Colorado (1-1)

Hey, at least the Bearcats had a lead. Colorado fans are probably jealous of that right about now. Nebraska obliterated its old rival 28-10 and quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw his offensive line under the bus for poor pass protection afterward. It could be a long season in Boulder.

15. Texas Tech (1-1)

The Red Raiders are continually one of the worst teams in all of college football when it comes to nonconference games. Texas Tech once again started slow this year with an overtime victory over Abilene Christian and then a 37-16 loss at Washington State. It was startling to see how much better the Cougars looked than the Red Raiders in that game. Behren Morton threw for 323 yards and Texas Tech still got blown out.

16. Houston (0-2)

The Cougars were much more competitive against Oklahoma than they were in their first game of the season against UNLV. That is encouraging for new coach Willie Fritz. But it might also be a sign that the Sooners aren’t very good.