Surprising win shapes Big 12 power rankings after Week 1

It was the first full slate of games for Big 12 schools. Some of the contenders looked every bit the part, while others weren't exactly overwhelming.

Texas Tech and BYU, the teams that battled in the conference title game in 2025, registered convincing wins, while Houston, which came in nationally ranked, was less impressive in its win.

The biggest surprise was Oklahoma State, which lost to local rival Tulsa for a second straight year. While it wasn't a huge surprise last year, the Cowboys were thought to have been much improved with a new coach, one of the top quarterback additions from the transfer portal, and a roster full of newcomers.

Here are the Big 12 power rankings following Week 1. There wasn't much change up top, but the bottom half features some shuffling.

Will Hammond looked sharp, throwing for 298 yards and a touchdown in his return from last year's season-ending knee injury as the defending Big 12 champions looked the part. Texas Tech totaled 471 yards and limited the Wildcats to 194.

The Cougars led 56-0 in the third before giving up a lone touchdown. BYU has not lost to an opponent outside the FBS since 1960. BYU forced four turnovers, three before halftime, and held Utah Tech to only 52 yards in the first half and 184 for the game.

Connor Weigman threw for 305 yards, with Amare Thomas managing eight catches for 133 yards in a game that was closer than most expected. The nationally ranked Cougars were only up on the Beavers (2-10 last season) by a touchdown well into the fourth quarter.

The game was not expected to be close, and it wasn't. The Utes stormed to a 45-7 lead and never looked back. It marked the first win in the Morgan Scalley era. Utah racked up 633 yards of total offense and gave up just 255. It was a good start, but tougher challenges lie ahead.

Veteran quarterback Noah Fifita went 22-for-29 for 262 yards and two touchdowns in the Wildcats' season-opening win. The Arizona defense limited the visitors to 193 yards, 200 through the air. So yes, the Lumberjacks were a minus-7 on the ground.

Arizona State football kicks off 2026 season vs. Morgan State

Cutter Boley registered the best debut of any Sun Devil quarterback in school history by throwing for 387 yards and six touchdowns, despite coming out of the game five minutes into the third quarter. The ASU defense gave up just 188 yards, despite playing much of the second half with backups.

The Wildcats were a convincing winner in the debut of new coach Collin Klein, a former player at the school. Quarterback Avery Johnson went 15-for-21 for 199 yards and three touchdowns in his 27th career start at the school. Rodney Fields rushed for 101 yards.

Next up: vs. Washington State on Sept. 12.

Jacksonville State transfer Cam Cook rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries to propel the Mountaineers to a season-opening win. West Virginia broke in 88 new players. The win came despite West Virginia totaling fewer yards and first downs than the visitor.

It took a quarter for the Jayhawks to get rolling. They led 6-0 after the first quarter, but scored 24 in the second and were never threatened. Quarterback Isaiah Marshall went 14-for-19 for 246 yards and two touchdowns, while Nik McMillan had six catches for 130 yards.

Quarterback Julian Lewis was having a poor game until engineering a drive with 1:40 left that resulted in the game-winning points. The Colorado defense tried to give the game right back, but Georgia Tech missed a 45-yard field goal on the last play that would have won it.

The Bearcats only racked up 277 total yards, and 209 of that was on the ground. Nothing fancy, but the Bearcats got the job done in the first game of the post-Brendan Sorsby era. Six players factored into that rushing total, led by Hi'Bran Payne with 71 yards on 11 carries.

Next up : vs. Western Carolina on Sept. 12.

The Knights totaled 560 yards, 300 of that on the ground, in steamrolling the Wildcats. Ten ball carriers factored into that total, led by Duke Watson with 110 yards. UCF lost the shoutout on the last play of the game.

New quarterback Jaylen Rayner ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more as the Cyclones chalked up a win in the first game under new coach Jimmy Rogers, who was hired in December after veteran Matt Campbell bolted for Penn State. It has been a complete roster overhaul for Rogers, who has 81 newcomers.

The Cowboys parted ways with longtime coach Mike Gundy, got a highly coveted quarterback out of the portal in Drew Mestemaker, and the new coach brought a lot of his former players with him, only to lose to Tulsa, a two-touchdown underdog. Not a good start for the Eric Morris regime.

Was idle, but lost to North Carolina 15-10 on Aug. 29 in the opener

It's been a forgettable start to the season for the Horned Frogs on and off the field. Harvard transfer Jaden Craig had a tough debut at quarterback, going 20-for-32 for 175 yards. The offense totaled just 281 yards, 142 of that on 25 rushing attempts by Jeremy Payne.

Next up: vs. Grambling State on Sept. 12.

The Bears marched 70 yards in 14 plays and got within a point on a 5-yard scoring pass from D.J. Lagway to Gavin Freeman with nine seconds left. Coach Dave Aranda opted to go for the win rather than the tie, and the two-point conversion failed, leaving the Bears one point short. Freeman had 12 catches for 154 yards.

Next up : vs. Prairie View A&M on Sept. 12.