West Virginia made a loud statement to rocket its way up the Big 12 Conference football power rankings as we enter Week 4 of the 2026 season.
The Mountaineers have made the biggest leap in the rankings so far this year. But what does Texas Tech's 28-26 win over Houston do for both teams? Do the Red Raiders deserve to reclaim the No. 1 spot?
Let's find out together.
1. BYU (3-0, 1-0)
Last week: 1, def. Colorado State 41-23
This week: Open
What to know: Cougars have a week off to prepare for the stretch run of the season.
2. Texas Tech (3-0, 1-0)
Last week: 3, def. Houston 28-26
This week: vs. Sam Houston (1-2)
What to know: Red Raiders might not be the world beater they were in 2025, but they're still a favorite to get to Arlington.
3. Kansas State (3-0)
Last week: 2, def. Tulane 31-20
This week: at Cincinnati (3-0)
What to know: Avery Johnson finally unleashed his running ability, and the Wildcats needed it to survive a scare from Tulane.
4. Houston (2-1, 0-1)
Last week: 5, lost 28-26 at Texas Tech
This week: at Georgia Southern
What to know: Much like the College Football Playoff committee, we reward quality losses around here.
5. Arizona (2-1, 0-1)
Last week: 4, def. Northern Illinois 42-17
This week: at Washington State (1-2)
What to know: Wildcats played with their food a bit before running away from vaunted Northern Illinois in Week 3.
6. West Virginia (3-0)
Last week: 13, def. No. 25 Virginia 38-27
This week: vs. Oklahoma State (2-1)
What to know: Rich Rod might have the Mountaineers humming already, and can prove it against OSU.
7. Utah (3-0)
Last week: 6, def. Utah State 33-0
This week: at Iowa State (2-1)
What to know: Wake me up when the Utes play a warm body.
8. Arizona State (2-1, 1-0)
Last week: 7, def. Kansas 24-17 in London
This week: Open
What to know: Cutter Boley went from lighting up the stat sheet to not being allowed to pass against Kansas. Something's gotta give during the open date.
9. Oklahoma State (2-1)
Last week: 8, def. Murray State 59-0
This week: at West Virginia (3-0)
What to know: Cowboys continue to roll but their next game just got a lot more interesting.
10. Baylor (2-1)
Last week: 9, def. Louisiana Tech 36-19
This week: vs. Colorado (2-1)
What to know: Nate Bennett is 2-0 as Baylor's starting quarterback this season. Is DJ Lagway about to be Dequan Finn'd?
11. Iowa State (2-1)
Last week: 11, def. Bowling Green 55-7
This week: vs. Utah (3-0)
What to know: All we know for sure is that Bowling Green is really, really bad.
12. Cincinnati (3-0)
Last week: 12, def. Miami (Ohio) 35-31
This week: vs. Kansas State (3-0)
What to know: Might be the most one-sided meeting between 3-0 teams in quite some time, and not in the Bearcats' favor.
13. TCU (2-1)
Last week: 14, def. Arkansas State 31-7
This week: at UCF (2-1)
What to know: Have a hard time believing TCU's offensive success the last two weeks will translate in Big 12 play, but they're also playing UCF, so the theory is on hold for a week.
14. Colorado (2-1)
Last week: 10, lost 41-7 at Northwestern
This week: at Baylor (2-1)
What to know: Guess you can't Depend on the Buffs to show up for a game on the lakefront.
15. Kansas (1-2, 0-1)
Last week: 15, lost 24-17 to Arizona State in London
This week: Open
What to know: Not sure if the Jayhawks are the worst team in the conference, but they're definitely not a good team.
16. UCF (2-1)
Last week: 16, def. Georgia State 44-30
This week: vs. TCU (2-1)
What to know: Had to mount a comeback at home to get past *checks notes* Georgia State. Yikes.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Big 12 football power rankings: West Virginia leaps, Colorado plummets
