Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Thankfully done with the preliminaries, which often border on glorified scrimmages based on wildly inferior competition, conference play has begun in earnest around the country in college football.
All those earlier power polls mostly are projections, combining last season's results with the number of returning starters for the respective teams. But now there's ample evidence, which will continue to pile up as the heart of the season commences.
With that, let's rank Big 12 teams and where each stand now that autumn has officially closed in. And how about this, the top two teams are separated by 45 miles and not much else.
1. Utah
The preseason favorite in their inaugural Big 12 season, the Utes have a cushy path to the conference championship game in Texas on Dec. 7. Schedule makers did their part, lightening the load with teams competing for the middle of the conference.
The Utes also took a gigantic step toward Arlington by dominating — excluding late in the fourth quarter — Oklahoma State in Stillwater. And they did it with first-year freshman Isaac Wilson at quarterback, which leads to the only serious question surrounding the team. Wilson is 2-0 as a starter in relief of oft-injured Cam Rising, who has played a mere four quarters of football in Utah's last 17 games.
2. BYU
Easily the surprise team so far, the Cougars may have had the shocker of the season in crushing nationally-ranked Kansas State at home on Saturday. The Wildcats, who blew out Big 12 member Arizona at home two weeks ago in a designated nonconference game, looked out of sorts against BYU despite owning statistical advantages in multiple categories.
The truth about the Cougars: The defense is awesome, and the offense is opportunistic with a chance to develop.
3. Iowa State
Two gimmes (North Dakota and Arkansas State) ensured a decent start to the season, but the eye-opener came in the thrilling 1-point win at Iowa. Wide receiver Jayden Higgins has caught a touchdown pass in each of his last five games.
4. UCF
It's time to consider the Knights, who play host to BYU next month and Utah in the last regular-season game this season, as a legitimate contender. Led by RJ Harvey, who has rushed for 448 yards, they have three running backs averaging at least 6.6 yards per carry, and the team leads the nation in rushing at 375.7 yards a game.
5. Oklahoma State
Mike Gundy's team deserves some respect — for now — but the offense needs substantial improvement or else championship aspirations slip away. Then again, maybe Utah's defense is just that good.
6. Kansas State
It will be interesting to see how the Wildcats respond after the head-scratching loss. With Oklahoma State up this week, it's crazy to think one of the top three preseason contenders will fall to 0-2 in the conference.
7. Texas Tech
The typically potent offense had the type of balance in the win over Arizona State that makes it hard to defend. Behren Morton passed for two touchdowns and 201 yards, and Tahj Brooks rushed for 117 yards.
8. Cincinnati
Only a 1-point loss separates the Bearcats from being undefeated, but the three wins are against weak competition.
9. Colorado
A miracle finish in the win over Baylor breathed life into this overhyped program.
10. Arizona State
The Sun Devils already have matched the win total for each of the previous two seasons. A 3-0 start was padded by beating Wyoming (0-4) and Mississippi State (1-3).
11. Arizona
With plenty of time to change course, the Wildcats are tied with Kansas as the conference's most disappointing team. Harder-than-expected wins over New Mexico and Northern Arizona preceded an embarrassing loss to Kansas State.
12. Baylor
Epic collapse against Colorado plants more seeds of doubt.
13. West Virginia
Win one, lose one is the pattern so far going into a bye week.
14. Kansas
Viewed as a contender, the Jayhawks have lost three consecutive games and haven't beat an FBS team.
15. TCU
Two-game losing streak for the Horned Frogs sets up a battle of desperate teams this week against Kansas.
16. Houston
A 4-point loss to Oklahoma and win over Rice injected a dose of optimism into the program, but a 34-0 loss at Cincinnati brought it back down to earth. Bowl eligibility appears a longshot.
