Hotline Big 12 football power rankings for Week 6: No changes at the top with Utah and BYU

The Big 12 football power rankings are published on the Hotline each Monday throughout the regular season. The placement of teams reflects both the latest results and season-long performance. (Call them objectively subjective.) For comparative purposes, we have included each team's position in last week's rankings.

Kenny Dillingham had no answers. He knew what went wrong in Arizona State's blowout loss to Baylor: Everything. It was a performance unlike any the Sun Devils had produced in years. But Dillingham was baffled by the why.

Why did they experience an all-systems failure?

Why weren't they ready to play at the required level?

Why didn't they execute the game plan?

"I did not expect what happened out there today in any way, shape or form," Dillingham told reporters Saturday night, with his typical candor, after the 55-19 defeat.

"I liked our week of practice,'' he added a few minutes later. "I've got to figure out why that didn't translate."

Allow the Hotline to offer a suggestion: London.

London is why nothing translated.

London is why the Sun Devils did nothing right.

London is why Dillingham did not foresee the face-plant, could not have avoided the face-plant and could not explain the face-plant.

The overseas adventure, which produced a seven-point victory over Kansas at Wembley Stadium, threw a dynamic into ASU's season that completely altered the brain chemistry, game preparation and on-field performance — at least in the short term.

It's the only explanation for Dillingham having no explanation.

We aren't referring to the game itself. Yes, it was a rough watch. But the Sun Devils made enough plays, and took advantage of enough KU mistakes, to have a fairly comfortable lead throughout the fourth quarter of what became a 24-17 victory.

Instead, we're referring to the massive, multi-week disruption to the routine Arizona State's players and coaches have known for years.

The Sun Devils left town on Friday, Sept. 11, for College Station, Texas, and lost to the Aggies the next day (due to fourth-quarter mistakes).

Instead of coming home, they flew through Dallas to London, arrived the next day, spent a week seeing the sights and preparing for the game.

They returned home on Sept. 20, recovered for a week (no game) and then prepared for Baylor's arrival.

They were out of town for nine days and overseas for seven. But the total travel for two road games and the body clock recovery spanned three calendar weeks.

Why didn't Dillingham realize something could go wrong against Baylor? Why didn't he understand what went wrong against the Bears? Because everything was different, for players and coaches alike, for multiple weeks in the middle of the season.

The only logical explanation for something inexplicable is something unusual.

At least, that's our view.

And you know who might feel the same way? Every other head coach in the Big 12.

Yes, they are paying attention, because the Big 12 wants to make the Union Jack Classic in Wembley Stadium an annual event.

The matchup for next season has not been announced, but it stands to reason that coaches across the conference, having just watched the Sun Devils implode, will avoid the Dillingham script at all costs.

Does that mean they will refuse to play overseas? Not necessarily. But they might insist on playing a non-conference opponent in their first game back.

Kansas scheduled Middle Tennessee State, a bottom-feeder in Conference USA, and won handily.

(Also, the Jayhawks spent just four days in London because they played the previous Friday and could afford to travel later without missing practice time. Dillingham wasn't happy about that disparity.)

The good news for the Big 12, and whichever teams might venture to London in coming years, is the competition calendar changes in 2027.

This is a one-bye season, with 12 games in 13 weeks and limited flexibility. But next year, the regular season starts Week 0 and covers 14 weeks, with two byes. Whichever teams head overseas will have more room to maneuver with the placement of their byes and non-conference games.

The Sun Devils play Hawaii this week. They would have been better off facing the Rainbow Warriors last week, in the post-London window, just as Kansas played Middle Tennessee State.

Next year, the Big 12 might have the ability to massage the schedules for the coaches heading to London who just watched the Sun Devils perform like their bodies and minds were at Buckingham Palace.

To the power rankings ...

(All times Pacific)

1. Utah (4-0/1-0)

Result: did not play

Next up: vs. Kansas (7:15 p.m. on ESPN)

Comment: Texas Tech was wobbly (again) in a victory at Colorado and BYU struggled at TCU, a combination that solidified the Utes' position on top of the Hotline power rankings with no end to that status in sight. They should clobber Kansas. (Last week: 1)

2. BYU (4-0/2-0)

Result: won at TCU 17-10

Next up: vs. Iowa State (Friday at 7:15 p.m. on ESPN)

Comment: The game-sealing, 72-yard drive (without LJ Martin, by the way) was classic Cougars, and Bear Bachmeier's 21-yard touchdown run was the quarterback at his brawniest, burliest and best. Finding ways to win tight games on the road is what separates contenders from pretenders. (Last week: 2)

3. Texas Tech (5-0/2-0)

Result: won at Colorado 29-7

Next up: idle

Comment: Credit the Red Raiders for making the plays necessary in the second half in Boulder, but they should thank the Big 12 for a 2026 opponent rotation that doesn't feature BYU or Utah. Because they aren't as good as either the Utes or Cougars at the moment. (Last week: 3)

4. Arizona (4-1/1-1)

Result: beat Cincinnati 34-7

Next up: at West Virginia (9 a.m. on TNT)

Comment: Considering the opponent, its style of play and the lopsided nature of the game, the victory over Cincinnati belongs on the short list of Arizona's most impressive performances of the Brent Brennan era. (Last week: 5)

5. Oklahoma State (3-1/1-0)

Result: did not play

Next up: vs. UCF (9 a.m. on ESPN2)

Comment: Three difficult road games stand between the Cowboys and an undefeated conference record when Texas Tech comes to town in the middle of November. (Last week: 4)

6. Houston (4-1/1-1)

Result: beat UCF 27-17

Next up: at Kansas State (12:30 p.m. on Fox)

Comment: It speaks volumes about the state of the program under Willie Fritz that the Cougars could score the final 27 points and fend off what would have been a bad loss. But why in the world were they trailing 17-0 in the first place? (Last week: 6)

7. Baylor (4-1/2-0)

Result: won at Arizona State 55-19

Next up: idle

Comment: And that, folks, is why the Bears paid quarterback DJ Lagway whatever they paid him to revive his post-Florida career. And in the process, he could very well save Dave Aranda's job. (Last week: 12)

8. Arizona State (2-2/1-1)

Result: lost to Baylor 55-19

Next up: vs. Hawaii (7:15 p.m. on FS1)

Comment: The Sun Devils aren't close to making a quarterback change, according to coach Kenny Dillingham. But Cutter Boley (completion percentage: 61.4) has not played nearly well enough thus far. (Last week: 7)

9. West Virginia (3-2/0-2)

Result: lost at Iowa State 45-42

Next up: vs. Arizona (9 a.m. on TNT)

Comment: Perhaps the most telling result of the Mountaineers' season did not involve the Mountaineers. Virginia was blown out by Florida State on Saturday, which indicates West Virginia's head-to-head win over the Cavaliers was not nearly as impressive as we thought at the time. (Last week: 8)

10. UCF (3-2/1-1)

Result: lost at Houston 27-17

Next up: at Oklahoma State (9 a.m. on ESPN2)

Comment: No team in the Big 12 faces a tougher back-to-back assignment than the Knights, who visit Houston and OSU in consecutive weeks, with the Cowboys coming off a bye. Yikes. (Last week: 9)

11. Cincinnati (4-1/1-1)

Result: lost at Arizona 34-7

Next up: idle

Comment: After a bludgeoning of that magnitude, a week off will serve the Bearcats well. (Last week: 10)

12. Kansas State (3-1/0-1)

Result: idle

Next up: vs. Houston (12:30 p.m. on Fox)

Comment: With a loss this week, the bowl math would start to get tricky for Kansas State, which plays four of its final six games on the road. (Last week: 11)

13. Iowa State (3-2/1-1)

Result: beat West Virginia 45-42

Next up: at BYU (Friday at 7:15 p.m. on ESPN)

Comment: The Cyclones have now equaled the victory total (in conference play) that we expected from them for the entire season. (Last week: 14)

14. Colorado (2-3/0-2)

Result: lost to Texas Tech 29-7

Next up: idle

Comment: It is increasingly clear that Deion Sanders has no idea how to evaluate and develop quarterbacks who are not related to him. (Last week: 13)

15. TCU (2-3/2-0)

Result: lost to BYU 17-10

Next up: idle

Comment: Come November, the hottest seats in the Big 12 might be located in Fort Worth, Boulder and Lawrence. (Last week: 15)

16. Kansas (2-2/0-1)

Result: beat Middle Tennessee State 55-0

Next up: at Utah (7:15 p.m. on ESPN)

Comment: Speaking of Lawrence, the Jayhawks will be the hosts for just three of their final eight conference games — the price of giving up a home date in order to play in London. (Last week: 16)