ESPN ranks Big 12 Football teams from first to last after Week 9

With nine weeks of the college football season having come and gone, ESPN updated its Big 12 rankings. There’s still two teams — BYU and Cincinnati — that have yet to suffer a conference loss, but neither are the top team in the rankings, determined by ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI).

According to ESPN, The FPI is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule.

For now, it’s Utah that projects as the best team in the conference according to those metrics. You can view the full Big 12 rankings from ESPN below.

1. Utah Utes (6-2, 3-2 Big 12) – 18.4

Despite already having two losses, the Utes come in as the No. 1 team in the Big 12 according to ESPN’s FPI. This past week, Utah dominated Colorado by a score of 53-7 even without starting quarterback Devon Dampier.

Backup Byrd Ficklin took over in his place to throw for 140 yards and also lead the team in rushing with 151 yards and three total touchdowns. The Utes must win this weekend against Cincinnati if they want to keep their hopes of playing for a Big 12 Championship alive.

2. Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-1, 4-1) – 17.1

The Red Raiders are in control of their own destiny when it comes to reaching the Big 12 Championship. Tech currently sits in a tie with Houston, which it already beat this season, for third place in the conference.

Given that it plays BYU, which is tied for first place, in one of its remaining four games of the regular season, Texas Tech simply has to win out and it will make the conference title game. The Red Raiders should have a good chance to do so behind their explosive offense, which leads the Big 12 in both points (42.4) and yards (530.0) per game.

3. BYU Cougars (8-0, 5-0) – 15.8

It feels a bit disrespectful that the Cougars aren’t No. 1 on this list, but that’s what the numbers say according to ESPN. BYU is the only team in the entire conference not to have lost any games so far, though it has had a couple of close calls.

That includes last week, when the Cougars rallied after trailing at halftime to come back and beat Iowa State by a score of 41-27 despite an injury to running back LJ Martin. The next few weeks will either make or break their season, as BYU faces Texas Tech, TCU and Cincinnati in that span.

4. Cincinnati Bearcats (7-1, 4-1) – 10.3

Cincinnati has been arguably the biggest surprise of the Big 12, entering the final few weeks of the regular season tied for first the conference standings. The Bearcats haven’t faced the toughest schedule, though, and this next month will be telling for how good they really are.

Brendan Sorsby has been one of the better quarterbacks in the conference with 1,843 yards passing and 20 touchdowns to only one interception. He also has rushed for 425 yards and seven touchdowns.

5. Kansas State Wildcats (4-4, 3-2) – 9.9

Things have turned around for the Wildcats over the past few weeks after a rough start to the season. K-State has now won three of its past four games, including a 42-17 victory against Kansas in the Sunflower Showdown this past week.

This coming weekend will be a big opportunity for the Wildcats to move up the standings as they take on Texas Tech. Can Avery Johnson and company keep up with the explosive Red Raiders offense?

6. TCU Horned Frogs (6-2, 3-2) – 9.6

Just like K-State, the Horned Frogs have found their rhythm over the past month to win back-to-back games after a 1-2 start to Big 12 play. Now they enter a critical stretch to close out the season.

TCU has a bye this week but after that will end the year with games against Iowa State, BYU, Houston and Cincinnati. That means it will face three of the top four teams in the standings to close the season, which gives the Horned Frogs all the opportunity in the world to make some noise.

7. Iowa State Cyclones (5-3, 2-3) – 8.9

After starting the season with a 5-0 record, the Cyclones are in a free fall. Iowa State has now lost three straight games, including 41-27 this past week against BYU despite leading at halftime.

Last year’s Big 12 runner up, many believes the Cyclones had what it would take to get back to the conference championship this season. However, it looks like that ship has sailed as the best they can hope for at this point is a strong finish and a solid bowl game.

8. Arizona State Sun Devils (5-3, 3-2) – 6.2

Arizona State finds itself in a tricky spot coming off of a 24-16 loss against Houston this past week. The Sun Devils are now in a four-way tie for fifth place in the Big 12 and need some things to fall their way in the final month of the season.

ASU will not play against any of the teams above it, so they’ll have to hope luck is on their side and those schools find a way to lose. Last year’s Big 12 champ, they still have an outside shot but hope is dwindling.

9. UCF Knights (4-3, 1-3) – 5.9

We’re really getting into the weeds here with the bottom half of these Big 12 rankings from ESPN. UCF isn’t going to blow anyone away, but apparently they’re good enough to crack the top 10 even over a team like Houston with four times as many conference wins.

The Knights did manage to beat up on a West Virginia team that has still yet to win a Big 12 game last week, notching their first conference victory. They maybe have one more in the the rest of the way.

10. Kansas Jayhawks (4-4, 2-3) –5.9

After a brief period where we thought Kansas football might actually be on the rise, the Jayhawks have gone back to their mediocre ways. The past couple of weeks have seen them suffer two losses of greater than 20 points as making a bowl game is really their only achievable goal at this point.

The Jayhawks have a couple of winnable games the next two weeks against Oklahoma State and Arizona that can help them get there. At least then maybe we’ll get one last big game out of Jalon Daniels in the final game of his college career.

Rest of ESPN’s Big 12 FPI rankings

11. Arizona Wildcats (4-3, 1-3) – 5.9
12. Baylor Bears (4-4, 2-3) – 4.6
13. Houston Cougars (7-1, 4-1) – 4.4
14. Colorado Buffaloes (3-5, 1-4) – 2.0
15. West Virginia Mountaineers (2-6, 0-5) – (-4.4)
16. Oklahoma State Cowboys (1-7, 0-5) – (-15.1)