Week 7 offered the strongest slate of Big 12 football through nearly two months of the 2026 season.
The weekend kicked off with a 45-42 shootout win for West Virginia against Cincinnati. The Mountaineers and Bearcats combined for 1,219 total yards, numbers routinely stacked in Big 12 matchups about a decade ago.
Later that night, No. 18 Houston outlasted No. 20 Oklahoma State 35-32 in a potentially impactful matchup for the Big 12 Championship race. The Cougars lost at Texas Tech early in the season, but the Cowboys came into the night unbeaten against conference foes.
The game of the year in the Big 12 took place at LaVell Edwards Stadium. No. 8 BYU held on for a 28-24 victory over No. 2 Notre Dame with ESPN's College GameDay in town, a monumental victory for the Cougars in their quest for their first College Football Playoff berth.
Important rivalry results also comprised the Week 7 slate. Kansas State and TCU earned not only their first Big 12 wins but first Power Four wins over Kansas and Baylor respectively, and No. 11 Utah encountered a slight scare in its 27-24 win at Colorado.
Week 8 doesn't offer nearly as strong of a slate, but it ends with a bang. ESPN's College GameDay returns to the Beehive State for No. 10 Utah's matchup with No. 14 Houston, a highly consequential matchup in the Big 12 Championship race.
The other top-10 teams in the Big 12 are both on the road. No. 8 Texas Tech travels to Cincinnati for a noon kickoff while No. 2 BYU hopes to avoid a letdown at UCF in the afternoon window.
Below, we power rank all 16 Big 12 teams heading into Week 8 of the 2026 college football season.
16. Kansas
A kickoff return touchdown opened a 17-point run for Kansas, but it couldn’t sustain the lead at Kansas State. One week after big run plays destroyed them at Utah, the Jayhawks allowed the Wildcats to run for 359 yards. Isaiah Marshall remains one of the Big 12’s least consistent quarterbacks, completing 12 of 26 passes for 151 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Kansas plays its Big 12 home opener against Baylor this week (1 p.m. EDT, TNT). The Bears are emerging from a deflating home loss to archrival TCU.
15. Arizona State
The Sun Devils quickly fell apart in their 53-25 loss to Texas Tech. A 21-point first quarter deficit spiraled into a 33-point halftime deficit, and Kenny Dillingham benched starting quarterback Cutter Boley at the beginning of the second half. The defense allowed an opposing Big 12 offense to go for over 500 yards for the second time in as many conference games.
Arizona State returns to Mountain America Stadium for a meeting with Kansas State (3:45 p.m. EDT, ESPN2). The Wildcats are coming off their best performance against a Big 12 opponent this season.
14. Colorado
The Buffaloes had an opportunity to pull off the upset in the Rumble in the Rockies. After it took a 17-13 lead, Colorado allowed the Utes to connect on a 43-yard pass to set up a touchdown drive. Isaac Wilson threw a costly interception late in the fourth quarter, one that stuck the Buffaloes in a 10-point hole they couldn’t climb out of in the 27-24 loss.
Colorado heads to Oklahoma State in Week 8 (7 p.m. EDT, FS1). The Cowboys are coming off a loss but have been a challenge to stop outside of their Week 1 loss at Tulsa.
13. Baylor
Two weeks after a 55-point outburst at Arizona State, the Bears dropped a 17-6 dud at home to TCU. The defense had a rough start to the second half but gave Baylor opportunities to capitalize on momentum. However, the Bears reached Horned Frog territory on six offensive possessions, the same number of points it scored that night.
Baylor hopes to get right at Kansas this week (1 p.m. EDT, TNT). The Jayhawks are hungry for their first Big 12 win of 2026, and they too dropped a loss in a rivalry game in Week 7.
12. TCU
The Horned Frogs never trailed in their rivalry win at Baylor. The defense sacked DJ Lagway four times and kept the Bears out of the end zone all game while Jaden Craig hit on just enough chunk pass plays to earn TCU its first Big 12 win of the season.
TCU heads back to Amon G. Carter Stadium to meet West Virginia (Noon EDT, ESPN2). The immovable object of the Horned Frogs’ defense will be tested by the unstoppable force of the Mountaineers’ offense, which is averaging 526 yards per game against Big 12 opponents.
11. UCF
The Knights were idle in Week 7. UCF won its Big 12 opener against TCU but fell in subsequent road matchups at Houston and Oklahoma State, losing both games by double figures.
A home matchup with No. 2 BYU is the first order of business out of the bye week (3:30 p.m. EDT, Fox). UCF is searching for its first ranked win since its dominant 45-3 victory over No. 15 Oklahoma State in 2023.
10. Kansas State
The Wildcats survived a rough first half en route to their 18th consecutive Sunflower Showdown victory. Kansas State’s duo of Avery Johnson and Joe Jackson rushed for 291 yards against Kansas while the defense bent but didn't break in the fourth quarter of the 35-24 win.
Kansas State heads west to face a struggling Arizona State team (3:45 p.m. EDT, ESPN2). The Sun Devils have allowed each of their last two Big 12 foes to score over 50 points against them.
9. Cincinnati
The Bearcats amassed over 600 yards of offense and still fell short at West Virginia. Cincinnati’s defense held the Mountaineers to a season-low 134 yards on the ground, but it didn’t matter because of how poor its open-field tackling was against shorter passes late in the game.
Cincinnati hosts No. 8 Texas Tech in Week 8 (Noon EDT, FS1). The Red Raiders loafed through their first five contests before pummeling Arizona State in Week 7.
8. West Virginia
The Mountaineers slid by Cincinnati despite an abysmal defensive showing. The generally run-heavy West Virginia offense went for 464 yards and a trio of touchdowns in the air, including seven completions that resulted in gains of 30 yards or more.
West Virginia plays its second Big 12 road game at TCU (Noon EDT, ESPN2). While the Horned Frogs are off to a 3-3 start, their defense has yet to allow an opposing offense to score more than three touchdowns.
7. Iowa State
The Cyclones are exiting their bye this week. Iowa State jumps back into Big 12 play at 3-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play, suffering losses to arguably the two best teams in the league in Utah and BYU.
Iowa State plays its third ranked road contest of the season at No. 25 Arizona this weekend (7:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN2). The Cyclones must gear up for a challenging vertical attack from Noah Fifita, who is off to a terrific start in his final act as a Wildcat.
6. Arizona
The Wildcats rested in Week 7. Arizona fell to current No. 2 BYU 28-17 back in Week 2 but won comfortably in its other two conference meetings against Cincinnati and West Virginia.
Arizona hosts Iowa State in its first contest after the open date (7:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN2). The Cyclones put on an offensive show in a win over West Virginia but were stagnant in their three ranked matchups.
5. Oklahoma State
The Cowboys’ loss at No. 20 Houston was the first time their defense cost them in a conference matchup this season. Oklahoma State only forced one three-and-out in 10 defensive possessions, forcing Drew Mestemaker and the offense to play from behind in the final 47:19 of game time.
Oklahoma State heads home to face a 2-4 Colorado team this week (7 p.m. EDT, FS1). The Buffaloes are in pursuit of their first Power Four win since Sept. 3.
4. Houston
The Cougars’ best defense was their offense in their triumph over No. 18 Oklahoma State last week. Conner Weigman threw an interception on the first possession of the game, but Houston scored four of its five touchdowns on drives that lasted less than three minutes.
Houston’s competition increases in difficulty with a trip to No. 10 Utah (10:15 p.m. EDT, ESPN). The Utes are undefeated and have only allowed one opponent to stick within two scores of them through six games.
3. Texas Tech
The Red Raiders won the game in the first quarter of their rout of Arizona State. A Ben Roberts pick six, a Sun Devil turnover on downs at the 33-yard line and a 62-yard touchdown run from J’Koby Williams helped Texas Tech build up a 21-point lead late in the opening frame.
Texas Tech travels to Cincinnati for an early kickoff in Week 8 (Noon EDT, FS1). The Red Raiders should continue to build offensive confidence against a defense has worsened through three Big 12 games.
2. Utah
The win at Colorado was Utah’s tightest victory through six games. Defensively, the Utes couldn’t generate negative plays in the backfield but picked off Isaac Wilson twice and scored 10 points off those interceptions. The rushing attack ran for under 200 yards for the first time in Big 12 play while Devon Dampier threw two interceptions, the second of which was costly.
The Utes play their first ranked home game of the season against No. 14 Houston (10:15 p.m. EDT, ESPN). The Cougars have won three straight conference games but came up inches short of overtime in a ranked road matchup at Texas Tech in Week 3.
1. BYU
The Cougars earned the most impressive win by any Big 12 team this season in their survival against No. 2 Notre Dame. Bear Bachmeier threw for, ran for and caught touchdowns while the BYU defense benefited from the Fighting Irish’s constant yet unnecessary need to throw the ball all game.
BYU flies across the country to UCF in its resumption of Big 12 play (3:30 p.m. EDT, Fox). The Knights have lost their last two conference games by double figures at Houston and Oklahoma State.
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