Hotline Big 12 power rankings for Week 7: Utah on top, Arizona rises as defining Saturday awaits

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.

Week 7 has emerged as a defining moment for the Big 12 this season with three showdowns featuring four ranked teams over seven hours that will frame the national narrative and shape postseason access.

And the college football world will have the easiest possible access for rendering judgment: All three games are on broadcast TV.

From the opening kickoff of the Arizona State-Texas Tech duel at 12:30 p.m. Pacific to the final whistle of the 4:30 affairs, Oklahoma State-Houston and BYU-Notre Dame, the conference will occupy more space and time on center stage than at any point thus far.

Actually, check that: The spotlight will shine for more than 10 hours if you include the ESPN 'College GameDay' broadcast from Provo. (It's just the second time this season the immensely popular show has left SEC country.)

Should Arizona State be considered a threat in the conference championship race, or are the Sun Devils destined for another season in the shadows?

Is No. 10 Texas Tech as vulnerable as it has looked or simply toying with lesser competition? If the Red Raiders possess a higher gear — they trailed lowly Colorado until late in the third quarter two Saturdays ago — this would be a fine time to cut loose.

Are either No. 18 Oklahoma State or No. 20 Houston good enough to play for the Big 12 title? Both have shown flashes of contender potential, with the former handling Oregon in Week 2 and the latter pushing Texas Tech to the brink in Week 3.

And perhaps most significantly, will No. 8 BYU look the part of the playoff team against a national championship frontrunner? How the Cougars perform in prime time will impact the College Football Playoff selection committee's view of the Big 12 writ large.

The two conference matchups are on Fox in doubleheader fashion: Arizona State-Texas Tech airs following the Ohio State-Indiana showdown; then comes Houston-Oklahoma State.

The BYU-Notre Dame duel is set for ABC, with no competition from the SEC on the primary ESPN networks.

Put another way: The conference has a chance to generate the three highest-rated games of its season, all in a single afternoon and evening.

To this point, no Big 12 game this season has drawn 5 million viewers (or more). It could clear that telling threshold multiple times Saturday.

More importantly, the five teams in action across those seven hours must show the 13-member CFP selection committee that the Big 12's best teams are worthy of bids.

Unlike the ACC, Big Ten and SEC, the conference has not received an at-large berth in two years of the 12-team format. The only representatives have been its champions, Arizona State in 2024 and Texas Tech last season. (Nor has the conference won a playoff game in the 12-team era, but that's a tale for another time.)

Sloppy showings in the two intra-conference matchups and a meek performance by BYU would undercut the Big 12's prospects for sending a second team to the CFP when the field is announced Dec. 6.

It's no longer early. The first set of CFP rankings are due in three weeks. And the Big 12 might not have another week with three games on broadcast TV in the afternoon and primetime windows.

The results posted on the middle Saturday of October will have a direct connection to the treatment received on the first Sunday in December.

To the power rankings ...

(All times Pacific)

1. Utah (5-0/2-0)

Result: beat Kansas 41-24

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

Comment: The Hotline is never above picking nits, so here's one: 333 passing yards allowed to KU's inexperienced quarterback (Isaiah Marshall) is unacceptable, particularly when you consider the caliber of passers Utah will face in coming weeks. (Last week: 1)

2. BYU (5-0/3-0)

Result: beat Iowa State 24-10

Next up: vs. Notre Dame (4:30 p.m. on ABC)

Comment: The Cougars cannot win without a running game that forces honest alignments from Notre Dame's defense. Without LJ Martin, quarterback Bear Bachmeier played the role of locomotive against the Cyclones. He'll draw double duty again this week. (Last week: 2)

3. Arizona (5-1/2-1)

Result: won at West Virginia 52-31

Next up: idle

Comment: It's not often that teams win by three touchdowns on the road while giving up 522 yards. But the Wildcats produced four long touchdowns and added a defensive score in Morgantown — all of which skewed the math that usually accompanies lopsided results. (Last week: 4)

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

Result: did not play

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

Comment: Last year, the Red Raiders gained 2.3 more yards per play than they allowed each game. This year, that telling differential is a mere 1 yard per play. (Last week: 3)

5. Oklahoma State (4-1/2-0)

Result: beat UCF 42-28

Next up: at Houston (4:30 p.m. on Fox)

Comment: With a victory this week, the Cowboys would join the lead pack in pursuit of a berth in the conference championship. Their toughest remaining game, against Texas Tech, is in Stillwater. (Last week: 5)

6. Houston (5-1/2-1)

Result: won at Kansas State 35-16

Next up: vs. Oklahoma State (4:30 p.m. on Fox)

Comment: The decisive victory in Manhattan — it was more lopsided than the score suggests — marked the first result of Houston's season that meets our expectations of the Cougars. (Last week: 6)

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

Result: did not play

Next up: vs. TCU (4 p.m. on FS1)

Comment: Baylor's lone loss came by one point in the opener, to Auburn, when coach Dave Aranda went for the win instead of a game-tying extra point. Had they converted the two-point attempt, or kicked the PAT and won in overtime, the Bears would be undefeated. (Last week: 7)

8. Arizona State (3-2/1-1)

Result: beat Hawaii 30-12

Next up: at Texas Tech (12:30 p.m. on Fox)

Comment: The tune-up for Texas Tech could not have gone much better, with the Sun Devils establishing a running game (231 yards) and quarterback Cutter Boley finding his confidence. (Last week: 8)

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

Result: lost to Arizona 52-31

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

Comment: Meet the worst defense in the Power Four, which allows 6.9 yards per play and has surrendered an incredible 44 plays of at least 20 yards — that's seven per game. Rich Rodriguez has fixed the offense; this winter, he must upgrade the other side of scrimmage. (Last week: 9)

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

Result: lost at Oklahoma State 42-28

Next up: idle

Comment: After a brutal back-to-back (Houston and Oklahoma State, both on the road), the Knights have two weeks to prepare for BYU's visit. And the Cougars are sure to be in post-Notre Dame letdown mode when they visit Orlando. (Last week: 10)

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

Result: did not play

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

Comment: Talk about a ground-and-pound affair in Morgantown this weekend: The Mountaineers are averaging 295.5 rushing yards per game; the Bearcats, 230.8. Easy to envision fewer than 40 total pass attempts ... and a sub-three-hour game. (Last week: 11)

12. Kansas State (3-2/0-2)

Result: lost to Houston 35-16

Next up: vs. Kansas (9 a.m. on FS1)

Comment: You might be surprised to read this, but quarterback Avery Johnson was ineffective from the pocket against the Cougars. (Last week: 12)

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

Result: lost at BYU 24-10

Next up: idle

Comment: We can state with full confidence that the 10 points scored against BYU were more indicative of the state of Iowa State's offense than the 42 points scored against West Virginia. (Last week: 13)

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

Result: lost at Utah 41-24

Next up: at Kansas State (9 a.m. on FS1)

Comment: The 17-point loss in a night game at Utah stands as a better result than anything Colorado or TCU has offered thus far in conference play. KU has reason to be encouraged. (Last week: 16)

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

Result: did not play

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

Comment: The race to the bottom could require a multi-step tiebreaker since CU and TCU won't have a head-to-head result to define the Big 12's worst team. (Last week: 14)

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

Result: did not play

Next up: at Baylor (4 p.m. on FS1)

Comment: As we see the situation, TCU's ceiling is five wins. Is that enough to secure another year for Sonny Dykes? Nobody knows. (Last week: 15)