Home Conferences FBS 2026 season

The weekly grind · 2026

Big 12

The Rebuilt League

Texas Tech holds the Big 12 lead heading into this week's games.

Big 12 carries real selection-room weight with 6 teams inside the top 25 and Texas Tech driving a legitimate national ceiling.

#4Overall

#4In FBS

+21.5Conference strength

+26.0Upper strength

16Teams

6Top-25 teams

Big 12, at a glance.

Top 10 by power rating — 2026 season, through the latest games.

Team Record Power

Texas Tech

7-1 +28.7

Utah

8-0 +28.5

Arizona

6-2 +28.0

Baylor

5-3 +27.1

BYU

7-1 +27.0

Houston

6-2 +26.8

TCU

4-4 +23.1

Arizona State

4-4 +20.8

Kansas State

4-4 +20.7

Kansas

3-5 +20.4

Power snapshot Projected 2026 standing

The Rebuilt League

The Big 12 absorbed UCF, BYU, Cincinnati, and Houston in 2023, then lost Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC and gained Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah in 2024 — three full rounds of realignment that redrew the conference map entirely. Boise State joined from the Mountain West in 2026, completing the post-Pac-12 landscape.

6 top-25 teams.

The depth argument for this conference rests on how many credible opponents are clustered behind the leader. The gap between the top and bottom is narrow — a sign of genuine parity.

Where things stand right now.

Texas Tech holds the Big 12 lead heading into this week's games.

Tools Matchup simulator Compare teams Playoff forecast Style map Head to head Power map

The Coaching Story

Texas Tech Went 12-2 With the 48th Recruiting Class

Texas Tech finished 12-2 in 2025 with a recruiting class ranked #48 nationally — the second-biggest coaching premium in the Big 12 by the numbers. Joey McGuire built a program that wins with scheme and development, not recruiting, in a conference where most programs with that recruiting rank finish 5-7. The Big 12’s best coaching story is happening in Lubbock and most people aren’t watching closely enough.

Why it matters →

The Collapse

Oklahoma State Went 1-11 With a Top-50 Class

Oklahoma State finished 2025 at 1-11 with a recruiting class ranked #53 nationally. The gap between raw talent and results was the widest in the conference — a program that built its identity on player development and coaching suddenly failing at both. Whether 2026 is a reset or a continued slide is the conference’s most uncomfortable question.

Why it matters →

The Recruiting Question

Texas Has the Talent. The Results Say Otherwise.

Texas holds the #1 recruiting class in the conference entering 2026 — and went 10-3 in 2025, which sounds good until you compare it to what Texas Tech did with the #48 class. The Longhorns’ talent floor is the highest in the league. Whether that translates to a conference title before the 2026 offseason realignment window reshapes the map again is the conference’s defining power-structure question.

Why it matters →

Active arcs

Hot5wk ago

Northglenn vs. Poudre School District: Colorado High School Flag Football, Sept.

Which teams will emerge as the top competitors in Colorado high school football and flag football?

Colorado

Hot4wk ago

Former TCU, Texas A&M and Alabama coach Dennis Franchione dies at 75

How will Franchione's passing impact the programs he led?

TCU

Active4mo ago

Texas Tech's Brendan Sorsby saga continues amid Big 12 legal battle

Will Texas Tech be allowed to play Brendan Sorsby this season?

Texas TechBYU

Active6wk ago

Northwestern Dominates Colorado in Final Lakefill Game

Can Northwestern sustain this level of play after losing key players to the NFL Draft?

Colorado

Active4wk ago

Arizona Wildcats shut down Cincinnati 34-7 in Big 12 home opener - azcentral.com

Can Cincinnati recover from this loss and regain their offensive momentum?

CincinnatiArizona

All arcs →

Fan pulse Last 30 days · 11,024 mentions

18% positive 44% neutral 38% negative

BYU

1,961

↓ negative

Utah

1,673

↓ negative

Arizona State

1,188

↓ negative

Kansas State

968

↓ negative

Texas Tech

908

↓ negative

Kansas

791

↓ negative

Fan confidence by FBS percentile

Where each Big 12 program stands nationally in fan sentiment (100th = most positive in FBS, 0 = least). Conference median: 40th percentile. The label is the band (Bullish, Leaning, Mixed, Souring); the number after it is the change in percentile points since the prior week.

Bullish+32

Bullish+31

Leaning+25

Leaning+19

Leaning-7

Mixed0

Mixed-3

Mixed+13

Mixed+3

Mixed+5

Mixed-3

Souring+9

Souring-4

Souring+5

Souring-12

Souring-16

Most volatile: BYU

Fan confidence has swung 74 percentile points in the last 8 weeks — currently at the 16th percentile nationally.

Rivalry face-offs

Arizona vs Arizona State

Fan face-off →

The coaching premium

Recruiting class rank vs. SP+ performance — where coaches add or subtract value

Above line = coaching premium

Below line = underperforming

Gap = recruiting rank minus SP+ rank

Positive gap means the coaching staff won more than the recruiting class predicted. Data: Big 12 teams, 16 programs.

Coaching premium ↑

Baylor

+34

Arizona

+27

Houston

+18

Utah

+13

Texas

Underperforming ↓

WVU

-97

Iowa St.

-51

Colorado

-34

Arizona

-21

Cincinnati

-15

Standings

2026 season, in progress — sorted by power rating. The tag beside a team is its long-run program standing.

#	Team	Record	Power	Resume
1	Texas Tech Power Program III#24	7-1	+28.7	+97.9
2	Utah Power Program II#20	8-0	+28.5	+99.3
3	Arizona National Program II#44	6-2	+28.0	+93.9
4	Baylor National Program I#33▲	5-3	+27.1	+86.5
5	BYU Power Program III#31	7-1	+27.0	+98.4
6	Houston National Program I#40	6-2	+26.8	+96.6
7	TCU Power Program III#26	4-4	+23.1	+52.0
8	Arizona State National Program I#38	4-4	+20.8	+87.0
9	Kansas State Power Program III#32	4-4	+20.7	+45.9
10	Kansas National Program III#68	3-5	+20.4	+83.1
11	Cincinnati National Program II#47	5-3	+18.9	+89.7
12	Oklahoma State National Program II#52	5-3	+17.9	+94.2
13	UCF National Program II#56▼	4-4	+17.8	+87.4
14	Colorado Regional Program II#94	3-5	+16.0	+87.3
15	Iowa State National Program II#45	4-4	+15.4	+90.0
16	West Virginia National Program III#66	5-3	+14.1	+88.0

Projected standings · Big 12 · 2026

Win projection

Odds of winning at least N conference games from current power ratings — full slate played out, not locked to results. Avg = expected wins; W-L = most-likely record.

#	Team	W-L	Pwr	Avg	≥9	≥8	≥7	≥6	≥5	≥4	≥3	≥2	≥1
Favorites
1	Texas Tech	6-3	+6.8	6.0	2	14	37	65	86	96	99	✓	✓
2	Utah	6-3	+6.5	5.9	2	12	34	62	84	96	99	✓	✓
3	Arizona	6-3	+6.0	5.7	1	10	30	58	82	94	99	✓	✓
Challengers
4	Houston	6-3	+4.9	5.6	1	8	26	53	78	93	99	✓	✓
5	BYU	6-3	+5.0	5.5	1	7	24	51	76	92	98	✓	✓
6	Baylor	6-3	+5.2	5.5	1	7	24	51	76	92	98	✓	✓
7	TCU	4-5	+1.2	4.5		1	8	23	49	75	92	98	✓
8	Arizona State	4-5	−1.1	4.1		1	5	16	39	66	87	97	✓
The field
9	Kansas State	4-5	−1.2	4.4		2	8	23	48	73	91	98	✓
10	Kansas	4-5	−1.5	4.1		1	5	18	40	67	87	97	✓
11	Oklahoma State	4-5	−4.0	4.0		1	4	15	37	64	85	96	✓
12	UCF	4-5	−4.2	3.8			3	12	30	57	81	95	99
13	Cincinnati	4-5	−3.1	3.7			2	10	28	54	79	94	99
Rebuilding
14	Iowa State	3-6	−6.6	3.2			1	5	18	41	69	90	99
15	Colorado	3-6	−5.9	3.1			1	5	17	39	67	88	98
16	West Virginia	3-6	−7.8	2.8				3	11	30	58	84	97

How they play

Six advanced-stat dimensions per team, ranked against all 134 FBS programs, 2026 season. Every column reads higher-is-better. Click a column to sort.

ScoringConvertsBig playsDefensePacePass rate

Team	Scoring	Converts	Big plays	Defense	Pace	Pass rate	Identity
Texas Tech	+0.17	46.8%	+1.15	+0.02	68.5	43.1%	No explosive plays
Utah	+0.26	50.6%	+1.26	+0.02	70.4	43.9%	Efficient offense
Arizona	+0.24	47.0%	+1.30	+0.01	68.6	51.7%	Balanced
Baylor	+0.13	38.9%	+1.38	+0.10	78.0	49.8%	High-tempo
BYU	+0.23	47.3%	+1.22	−0.03	62.5	43.6%	Balanced
Houston	+0.33	53.3%	+1.13	−0.15	70.4	42.8%	Efficient offense
TCU	+0.10	42.1%	+1.27	+0.07	66.9	50.5%	Lockdown defense
Arizona State	+0.05	42.4%	+1.20	−0.05	69.2	51.4%	Balanced
Kansas State	+0.19	47.0%	+1.15	−0.10	70.8	46.6%	No explosive plays
Kansas	+0.13	42.1%	+1.41	−0.00	73.1	41.4%	High-tempo
Cincinnati	+0.24	45.2%	+1.44	−0.16	65.9	41.9%	Big-play offense
Oklahoma State	+0.28	51.3%	+1.19	−0.10	72.4	49.9%	Efficient offense
UCF	+0.09	40.9%	+1.25	−0.07	64.4	48.4%	Balanced
Colorado	+0.05	39.5%	+1.26	−0.06	69.1	47.9%	Balanced
Iowa State	+0.11	38.2%	+1.32	−0.16	62.5	41.4%	Can't sustain drives
West Virginia	+0.20	43.4%	+1.32	−0.24	74.8	27.4%	High-tempo

Identity is the single dimension where a team is most above or below the FBS average (pace, defense, big plays, or converting drives) — "Balanced" means nothing stands out either way. CFBD 2026 advanced stats, excludes garbage time.

Top players

Big 12's highest CFB Zeitgeist Scores, 2026 season so far.

#	Player	Team	National
1	LaDainian FieldsCB	Oklahoma State	#1 of 344
2	Ansel Din-MbuhIDL	TCU	#1 of 300
3	Cole TabbRB	Cincinnati	#2 of 330
4	Wayshawn ParkerRB	Utah	#5 of 330
5	Gavin FreemanWR	Baylor	#10 of 465
6	Randon FontenetteS	Colorado	#8 of 537
7	Reed HarrisWR	Arizona State	#12 of 465
8	Devon JordanCB	Baylor	#12 of 344
9	Kari AshleyTE	TCU	#2 of 132
10	Gideon LampronLB	Colorado	#19 of 567

Where Big 12 stands nationally

Conference strength, as a round-robin adjusted power rating.

1 SEC SEC

+24.4

2 B10 Big Ten

+23.3

3 IND FBS Independents

+21.7

4 B12 Big 12

+21.5

5 P12 Pac-12

+20.8

6 ACC ACC

+20.5

7 AAC American Athletic

+18.3

8 SB Sun Belt

+17.3

9 MW Mountain West

+16.5

10 CUSA Conference USA

+16.4

Big 12 title odds

Best available American odds · sportsbook consensus.

#	Team	Odds
1	Utah	+125
2	BYU	+220
3	Texas Tech	+350
4	Houston	+1000
5	Arizona	+1375
6	Oklahoma State	+1500
7	Baylor	+2700
8	Cincinnati	+20000
9	TCU	+25000
10	Arizona State	+40000

The Big 12 in History

From a Big 12 notice to an SEC vote: Texas and Oklahoma's weekConference change · Jul 26, 2021
The Big 12 adds BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCFConference change · Sep 10, 2021
Oklahoma 55, Texas 48: Brooks runs 33 yards with 3 seconds leftOct 9, 2021

Realignment, in order, in History