photo by: AP Photo/William Wotring

Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht (3) reacts after defeating West Virginia during an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Morgantown, W.Va.

The race for first place in the Big 12 power rankings continues to tighten. Only two points separate Iowa State and BYU for the top spot.

The Cyclones are No. 1 for the third straight week after receiving nine of a possible 16 first-place votes (249 points) from a panel of media who regularly cover the Big 12. BYU was second with seven first-place votes and 247 points.

Kansas State and Texas Tech remained Nos. 3 and 4, while Arizona State made the biggest jump from ninth to fifth.

Utah, which occupied the top spot for most of the season, continued to slide after a second straight loss. The Utes dropped from sixth to 10th in this week’s rankings.

1. Iowa State

Previous ranking : 1

Points: 249 (nine first-place votes)

Record: 6-0 (3-0 Big 12)

Last week: beat West Virginia, 28-16

This week: vs. UCF

Comment: Sophomore cornerback Jontez Williams has intercepted a pass in three consecutive games — the longest streak for a Cyclone since DeAndre Jackson accomplished the feat in 2005. Wide receiver Jayden Higgins saw his program-record string of consecutive games with a touchdown reception snapped at seven in last week’s win at West Virginia.

Did you know? No. 9 Iowa State is one win away from matching its best start in school history (7-0, 1938). — Rob Gray, The Cedar Rapids Gazette

2. BYU

Previous ranking: 2

Points: 247 (seven first-place votes)

Record: 6-0 (3-0 Big 12)

Last week: beat Arizona, 41-19

This week: vs. Oklahoma State (Friday)

Comment: BYU didn’t need any fluky plays or incredible individual efforts to beat Arizona. Instead, it methodically moved the ball for 398 yards and pressured the Wildcats into four turnovers. It held Tetairoa McMillan to 78 yards as the Cougars stayed undefeated.

Did you know? BYU is 6-0 for only the sixth time in its history. This is the second time in Sitake’s tenure he has led BYU to a 6-0 start. The first time was in 2020. — Kevin Reynolds, The Salt Lake Tribune

3. Kansas State

Previous ranking: 3

Points: 219

Record: 5-1 (2-1 Big 12)

Last week: beat Colorado, 31-28

This week: at West Virginia

Comment: Wildcat senior defensive end Brendan Mott now leads the conference in sacks with 6.5 after sacking Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders 2 1/2 times during K-State’s win at Colorado.

Did you know? It will be a clash of strength on strength Saturday, as K-State has the second-best rush defense in the country so far this season, averaging 71.7 yards allowed per game, while West Virginia has the 21st-best rush offense, averaging 210.5 yards. — Tim Everson, The Manhattan Mercury

4. Texas Tech

Previous ranking: 4

Points: 205

Record: 5-1 (3-0 in Big 12)

Last week: Open date

This week: vs. Baylor

Comment: Texas Tech coaches spent the off week evaluating each other, and there’s plenty to nitpick despite the 5-1 start. The Red Raiders also desperately needed to get some of their defensive backs healthy for this next stretch of games, starting with a very, very winnable home contest against Baylor.

Did you know? A win over Baylor would make Texas Tech bowl eligible for the fourth year in a row, the most consecutive bowl appearances for the team since Mike Leach took the Red Raiders to 10 straight from 2000 to 2009. — Nathan Giese, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

5. Arizona State

Previous ranking: 9

Points: 189

Record: 5-1 (2-1 Big 12)

Last week: beat No. 16 Utah, 27-19

This week: at Cincinnati

Comment: Cam Skattebo ran for 158 yards with touchdown runs of 50 and 47 yards to lead the Sun Devils past visiting Utah for the first time in four years. He now sits second nationally in rushing with 773 yards and eight touchdowns. ASU, picked to finish last in the conference, is off to its best start since 2019, when it was 5-1.

Did you know? Last season, ASU had just nine takeaways all season, ranking 127th out of 130 schools in turnover margin. This season it has 10 already in six games and has turned it over just five times, ranking 21st in turnover margin. The Sun Devils have lost only one fumble. — Michelle Gardner, Arizona Republic

6. Colorado

Previous ranking: 5

Points: 167

Record: 4-2 (2-1 Big 12)

Last week: lost to No. 18 Kansas State, 31-28

This week: at Arizona

Comment: Colorado couldn’t stop the run, giving up a season-high 185 rushing yards to Kansas State (182 of those by DJ Giddens), and the Buffs couldn’t run the ball, finishing with a program record-low minus-29 in the loss to the Wildcats. Despite that, the Buffs were in position late to try to tie or win the game before coming up short. Of bigger concern to CU is the health of stars Travis Hunter and Jimmy Horn Jr., who both left the game in the second quarter with undisclosed injuries.

Did you know? At 4-2, CU is in good position at the midpoint of the season but finding that fifth win (let alone a sixth for bowl eligibility) has been tough for the Buffs in recent years. Colorado hasn’t won more than four games in a season since going 5-7 in 2019. The Buffs were 4-2 last year before losing their last six. — Brian Howell, Boulder Daily Camera

7. West Virginia

Previous ranking: 7

Points: 153

Record: 3-3 (2-1 Big 12)

Last week: lost to No. 11 Iowa State, 28-16

This week: vs. No. 17 Kansas State

Comment: West Virginia’s three losses (against Penn State, Pitt and Iowa State) are against teams that are a combined 18-0 this season. The Mountaineers’ three wins (against Albany, Oklahoma State and Kansas) are against teams that are 7-11. West Virginia’s ground attack, which has produced 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns behind Jahiem White, CJ Donaldson and quarterback Garrett Greene, could pose some problems for Kansas State.

Did you know? The Mountaineers lead all Power Four schools in fourth-down conversions with 12. — Joseph Duarte, Houston Chronicle

8. Cincinnati

Previous ranking: 10

Points: 151

Record: 4-2 (2-1 Big 12)

Last week: beat UCF, 19-13

This week: vs. Arizona State

Comment: The Bearcats had several missed opportunities at UCF with Brendan Sorsby throwing a couple first-half red zone interceptions. However, Cincinnati never trailed against the Knights and won a pivotal Big 12 road game, holding off a last-minute UCF drive as Jake Golday and Jake Bartlett sacked quarterback Jacurri Brown. UCF benched Arkansas transfer K.J. Jefferson and started 17-year-old freshman E.J. Colson before settling on Brown for the bulk of the game.

Did you know? Fresh off knocking off No. 16 Utah, 5-1 Arizona State makes its first trip to Cincinnati with a noon (Eastern Time) kickoff, putting the game on TV in Arizona in the morning. The Sun Devils are 0-2 vs. Cincinnati, but the teams haven’t played since 1976. — Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer

9. Arizona

Previous ranking: 8

Points: 128

Record: 3-3 (1-2 Big 12)

Last week: lost to No. 14 BYU, 41-19

This week: vs. Colorado

Comment: Four turnovers by Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita, coupled with several injuries on defense, contributed to the Wildcats unraveling on the road after leading 7-0 in the first quarter. The only defensive starter from last year’s team on the field in the fourth quarter was strong safety Dalton Johnson.

Did you know? Former Arizona star quarterback Khalil Tate will be UA’s honorary captain for the pregame coin toss. Tate rushed for 327 rushing yards, a single-game FBS record for a quarterback, in his breakout game against Colorado in 2017. Tate completed 60 of 76 (78.9%) passes for 908 yards, rushed for 365 yards and scored 13 touchdowns in three seasons against Colorado. — Justin Spears, Arizona Daily Star

10. Utah

Previous ranking: 6

Points: 121

Record: 4-2 (1-2 Big 12)

Last week: lost to Arizona State, 27-19

This week: vs. TCU

Comment: The once-dominant Utah defense has become a shell of itself in the span of two weeks. Tackling has become a major issue for the Morgan Scalley-led unit. That was evident in the loss to Arizona State on Friday after Skattebo danced around the Utes’ defense for 22 carries, 158 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Did you know? With back-to-back losses, Utah’s offense now ranks 14th in the Big 12, just ahead of Baylor and Houston. — Jason Batacao, The Salt Lake Tribune

11. UCF

Previous ranking: 10

Points: 78

Record: 3-3 (1-2 Big 12)

Last week: lost to Cincinnati, 19-13

This week: at No. 9 Iowa State

Comment: The Knights made a change at quarterback, benching Jefferson in favor of a two-man rotation featuring the true freshman Colson and redshirt sophomore Brown. The move was meant to spark the offense, but it didn’t help, as the team scored 13 points for the second straight game.

Did you know? Colson reclassified to be able to sign as part of UCF’s 2024 recruiting class. At 17, he’s the youngest player to start at quarterback for the Knights, and the second youngest to start in the Football Bowl Subdivision since Texas A&M’s David Walker in 1973. — Matt Murschel, Orlando Sentinel

12. Houston

Previous ranking: 13

Points: 72

Record: 2-4 (1-2 Big 12)

Last week: Open date

This week: at Kansas

Comment: Coming out of the off week, coach Willie Fritz announced what has widely been expected – Zeon Chriss is now the starting quarterback. Houston will look to continue the momentum from its 30-19 win over TCU, a huge improvement for a unit that had been shut out the previous two games and was last in scoring in FBS. Under Shiel Wood, the Cougars are 18th nationally in total defense and are allowing just 20.5 points per game.

Did you know? This week’s game at Arrowhead Stadium will be the 19th for Houston at an NFL stadium since the start of the 2011 season. The Cougars are 14-4 in those games. — Joseph Duarte, Houston Chronicle

13. Oklahoma State

Previous ranking: 12

Points: 71

Record: 3-3 (0-3 Big 12)

Last week: Open date

This week: at BYU (Friday)

Comment: Tulsa World reporting suggests quarterback Garret Rangel will start at BYU after replacing Alan Bowman in two of the last three games. This will be his first start this season and the fifth of his career.

Did you know? Oklahoma State is one of three teams in the country (Temple, Kent State) with a bottom-10 rushing offense and defense. — Tyler Waldrep, Tulsa World

14. TCU

Previous ranking: 14

Points: 60

Record: 3-3 (1-2 Big 12)

Last week: Open date

This week: at Utah

Comment: Did TCU repair its rushing and run-defense woes during the bye week? Will the Frogs protect the football more and commit fewer penalties in the second half of the season? Will they tackle more soundly? All of these questions will start to be answered this weekend in Salt Lake City.

Did you know? TCU is in danger of missing a bowl game for the fourth time in the past six seasons, after missing a bowl just three times from 1998 to 2017. — Jamie Plunkett, Horned Frog Blitz

15. Baylor

Previous ranking: 15

Points: 35

Record: 2-4 (0-3 Big 12)

Last week: Open date

This week: at Texas Tech

Comment: Baylor hopes to have a few of the six key players that missed the last two games due to injury back coming out of the off week. Chief among them is running back Richard Reese, who had his breakout game as a true freshman the last time the Bears traveled to Lubbock, rushing for three touchdowns, which is still his career high.

Did you know? Baylor scored 45 points in its win against Texas Tech in 2022 to spoil Patrick Mahomes’ induction into the ring of honor. The Bears have not scored more points in the 23 games since then. — Zach Smith, Waco Tribune-Herald

16. Kansas

Previous ranking: 16

Points: 22

Record: 1-5 (0-3 Big 12)

Last week: Open date

This week: vs. Houston

Comment: The Jayhawks will be hoping for a much healthier defense after the off week after missing a wide array of players at safety and linebacker early in their Big 12 schedule.

Did you know? KU is unbeaten against Houston in four tries, including a 48-30 road victory in 2022. The Jayhawks were then supposed to host the Cougars in 2023, but due to Houston’s move to the Big 12, they had to replace the matchup with an away game at Nevada. — Henry Greenstein, Lawrence Journal-World