The Big 12 had two monumental, season changing upsets this weekend. UCF beat BYU in overtime after Cincinnati dispatched Texas Tech in a game they dominated from the second quarter on. The game of the week, however, was Utah and Houston, where the Utes remained undefeated. Here are our updated power rankings headed into week 9.

Editorial note: Cori is out this week, so Hunter is filling in for the power rankings!

1. Utah
   1. As mentioned in the intro, the Utes grabbed a hard fought victory over Houston at home this weekend. Devon Dampier threw for 204 yards and 2 interceptions. However, he added 2 rushing touchdowns and a total of 150 yards on the ground. They are now the lone undefeated team in the conference.
2. Arizona
   1. Since losing to BYU in week 2, Arizona is undefeated, and they haven’t played in a 1 score game. They continue to dominate their opponents this season and their offense has been lethal, putting up 30+ in 6-7 games. This weekend, they travel to Lubbock to face off with an angry Red Raider squad in a game that both teams need to win.
3. Texas Tech
   1. The Red Raiders have exactly one  good win. However, that good win is Houston, and it continues to look better and better. A loss on the road to Cincinnati isn’t the end of the world, however, another loss this season likely spells the end of the College Football Playoff hopes for Texas Tech.
4. BYU
   1. Losing to UCF is terrible. No way around it. However, the Cougars still have a great win over Notre Dame, and the win over Arizona continues to look good. They get Arizona State this weekend in a matchup they cannot overlook. However, the Holy War with Utah looms the following weekend.
5. Houston
   1. Houston fell in heartbreaking fashion Saturday night, they took a 21-13 lead into the fourth quarter before being beat 14-0 to close the game. They’re an incredibly tough team to place right now, as they don’t have a truly great win, however, they’re clearly a playoff contender if they win out (which is very possible).
6. Oklahoma State
   1. Colorado is not a good team. However, putting up 57 points on a power conference opponent is impressive. The Cowboys fell behind early and trailed going into halftime 24-23 before posting a 34-0 second half. Drew Mextemaker’s 4 touchdowns and 386 yards continue to push his hopes to make it to NYC for the Heisman presentation as well. OSU travels to Iowa State, and Kansas State in the next two weeks.
7. Cincinnati
   1. Beating an undefeated, top 10 team is a hell of a way to gain security in your job if you’re Scott Satterfield. The Bearcats are a play away from being 6-1 on the year and seriously pushing for a top 20 spot in the polls. They continue their trio of brutal games this weekend when the Undefeated Utah Utes come to town. If they can pull off another upset, they’ll get to that top 20 spot next week.
8. UCF
   1. A win over BYU will immediately vault you up the power rankings. Their last five games are against teams below them in these power rankings. The Knights could very well end up with 8 or 9 wins this season, especially if Jenkins continues to play like he did on Saturday.
9. WVU
   1. After three consecutive games of shootouts, a 24-20 final felt like a defensive slugfest for the Mountaineer fans. However, what mattered more was the W. The victory over TCU gets the Mountaineers to 5-3 in the year, and while they’re not going to compete at the top of the conference, they should be able to get bowl eligible in a couple of weeks when Kansas comes to Morgantown.
10. Iowa State
    1. Iowa State started the year well, playing Iowa and Utah rather well. However, recently, they’ve gotten blown out by BYU and Arizona in back to back weeks The offense has sputtered in both games, and now they host another high powered team in Oklahoma State. They’re falling quickly, and that free fall will continue unless they can pull off an upset this weekend.
11. TCU
    1. The Horned Frogs lost to West Virginia at home this weekend. They haven’t been blown out this season, yet they don’t have any victories of note on their resume. They host Kansas this weekend before traveling to Arizona after that.
12. Arizona State
    1. A pattern has officially formed for the Sun Devils this year. They have alternated wins and losses every week. After beating Kansas State this weekend, they’ll be traveling to Provo to face what will be an angry BYU team. Their pattern may continue for another week or two. If the quarterback situation can get figured out, they should end up bowl eligible this year.
13. Kansas State
    1. Dropping a game to Arizona State is rough for a team who had their sights set on getting to 5-2 and jumping up the Big 12 rankings this weekend. However, the good news for the Wildcats is that their schedule gets easier (Colorado, TCU, Iowa State all remain), so getting to 7 wins this season is within reach.
14. Kansas
    1. In a battle at the bottom of the conference, Kansas beat Baylor behind a furious fourth quarter comeback. A blocked field goal propelled the Jayhawks to a lead, and ultimately, was the final straw that saw Baylor make a coaching change.
15. Colorado
    1. To be clear, this isn’t a compliment to Colorado, who lost 57-24 this weekend, but they moved to 15 this week. Baylor, after firing their coach, moves to 16. Colorado would be best served to follow suit with coach Prime.
16. Baylor
    1. Dave Aranda and Baylor are no more. Just a day after suffering their first loss to Kansas in almost two decades, the Bears made the change. Now, all eyes are on making the most of the final five games of the year and trying to get to a bowl for the players and fans.