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Fantastic finishes littered the Big 12 slate in Week 10.
The fun began late Friday night when No. 22 Arizona stormed its way into a 29-28 victory over TCU. The Wildcats trailed the Horned Frogs 28-20 with 6:35 to play, but they found their way into a lead thanks to an 11-play touchdown drive and a costly mistake on the ensuing kickoff by TCU.
A top-10 matchup in the Holy War opened the Saturday slate, and it had a chance to go to overtime. Bear Bachmeier located Kyler Kasper on a desperation heave to the end zone, but No. 3 Utah safety Nate Ritchie creeped over to pick off the pass and seal the 28-20 win over No. 9 BYU.
The afternoon window delivered a pair of compelling finishes. Right after it allowed Kansas to storm back into a six-point lead, UCF drove down the field and scored a touchdown with a second left to ice the 33-32 win. Elsewhere, No. 17 Houston slid by Cincinnati 31-24 thanks to a fumble recovery on a backward pass.
For the second week in a row, the nightcap was a vintage Big 12 shootout. No. 15 Texas Tech survived West Virginia 53-48 in a game where the teams combined for 1,220 yards of offense and 68 points in the first half.
Week 11 is the third straight week the Big 12 plays a Friday night game, though this one may be lackluster. Houston is at Colorado, one of two teams that own a 3-6 overall record heading into Week 11.
The last three games on the Saturday slate should be fantastic watches.
West Virginia and Kansas don't have the best records in the Big 12, but they could easily combine for over 1,000 yards of offense late Saturday afternoon. Utah at Arizona is the sole ranked matchup of the day and the Utes' sole ranked road game of 2026, a potential trap game after an emotional win.
The nightcap could once again escalate into a shootout. Texas Tech has unlocked a new gear on offense ever since it pivoted from Will Hammond to Thomas Castellanos at quarterback, and Oklahoma State has been impossible for Big 12 defenses to stop all season.
Below, we power rank all 16 Big 12 teams entering Week 11 of the 2026 college football season.
A Kansas State offense down to its third and fourth options at quarterback couldn’t run with a well-oiled Oklahoma State offense in a 66-28 loss. The Wildcats only strung together two plays of more than 20 yards offensively (both in the first quarter), and the three interceptions Blake Barnett and Dillon Duff threw stuck an already ailing defense into even more precarious spots.
The Wildcats’ first road test of November is at TCU this week (2 p.m. EST, ESPNU). Like Kansas State, TCU also needs to win two of its final three games if it wants to attain bowl eligibility.
The Buffaloes put on one of their worst offensive showings of the year in their 20-10 loss at Arizona State. Colorado moved the ball for less than 10 yards on each of its first five possessions, and its final tally of 312 yards is its lowest in Big 12 play.
Colorado hosts Houston for its sole Friday night game of the season (10:15 p.m. EST, ESPN). The Cougars are the third ranked opponent the Buffaloes host this season; the first two matchups were a 29-7 blowout loss to Texas Tech and a 27-24 defeat against Utah.
Isaiah Marshall and the Kansas offense didn’t panic when it fell into a 26-7 hole to UCF; from that point on, he rushed for 93 of his 125 yards on the ground and guided the Jayhawks on four scoring drives to take a 32-26 lead. However, the defense allowed the Knights to march 73 yards down the field and score a touchdown with a second remaining on the clock.
Kansas heads east to West Virginia for its penultimate road game of 2026 (5:30 p.m. EST, ESPNU). The Jayhawks should be able to get theirs offensively, but slowing down Michael Hawkins Jr. and Cam Cook is a chore for a suspect run defense.
Early explosives helped Arizona State to a 17-point halftime lead against Colorado. Jake Fette hit Omarion Miller on a 33-yard pass to set up a first-and-goal on the first touchdown drive, and he found Reed Harris for a 34-yard score near the end of the half. Albert Smith III sacked Isaac Wilson three times in a four-sack, eight-tackle for loss effort by the defense.
The Sun Devils travel across the country to meet UCF in Week 11 (3:30 p.m. EST, ESPN2). The Knights haven’t been fantastic on defense in conference play, but they just regained a key offensive asset in Alonza Barnett III.
The Knights narrowly avoided disaster in the fourth quarter of their victory at Kansas. After squandering a 19-point lead, Alonza Barnett III guided UCF on a 73-yard march in the final minute of the game, ending it with a one-yard touchdown pass to Caden Piening.
UCF is back at the Acrisure Bounce House for a test against Arizona State this week (3:30 p.m. EST, ESPN2). The Sun Devils are leaning heavily on their defense as the door revolves at quarterback.
Falling asleep at the wheel is the only way to describe what TCU did in its loss at Arizona. Ed Small’s muffed kickoff set up the Wildcats for their game-winning field goal, and Jaden Craig threw an interception on the first play of the possession that could have set the Horned Frogs up with a game-winning field goal.
TCU heads home to meet Kansas State in Week 11 (2 p.m. EST, ESPNU). The Wildcats are looking for sustainability at quarterback late in the season, a suboptimal development ahead of a bout with one of the Big 12’s top defenses.
The Bearcats fought hard but came up short in their loss at Houston. Cincinnati had an opportunity to tie the game in the final five minutes after allowing a long touchdown run, but a backward pass that went through the hands of Zylan Perry resulted in a lost fumble that cost it the game.
Cincinnati stays on the road with a trip to Iowa State this week (Noon EST, TNT). Aiden Flora is one of the Big 12’s most productive running backs with 1,119 yards on the season, but the Cyclones have yet to hold a conference opponent under 24 points.
The Cyclones had a promising start at Baylor with a 40-yard Aiden Flora touchdown run in the first quarter and a 50-yard touchdown catch by Cameron Pettaway in the second quarter. However, Iowa State received tastes of its own medicine for the remainder of the middle two quarters, allowing explosives to bury it into an 18-point deficit in the 42-31 loss.
Iowa State returns to Jack Trice Stadium to take on Cincinnati this week (Noon EST, TNT). Four of the Bearcats’ first six conference opponents rushed for over 200 yards against them.
The Mountaineers’ inability to get defensive stops destroyed them once again in their loss at Texas Tech. Per usual, the offense was terrific running the ball and hit on a handful of explosives through the air, but the defense allowed an opponent to tally over 600 yards for the third time in Big 12 play.
West Virginia returns to Milan Puskar Stadium for a matchup with Kansas (5:30 p.m. EST, ESPNU). They may have lost the game, but Isaiah Marshall ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns in the Jayhawks’ matchup with UCF last week.
The Bears hung over 40 points on a Big 12 opponent for a second consecutive week in their win against Iowa State. DJ Lagway ran for over 100 yards in a game for the first time in his college career, and the defense forced four three-and-outs in the middle two quarters that helped Baylor pad a 35-17 lead.
Baylor travels west to meet its first ranked foe of the season at BYU (3:30 p.m. EST, Fox). The Cougars are the first of likely three ranked teams the Bears will meet in November.
The offense stayed hot in Oklahoma State’s blowout win at Kansas State. Drew Mestemaker scored touchdowns via the pass, run and catch, and interceptions grabbed by LaDainian Fields and Quinton Hammonds set up the offense with short fields on three of its touchdown drives.
The Cowboys are at home for the first time in three weeks for a battle with Texas Tech (9:30 p.m. EST, ESPN). The Red Raiders surrendered nearly 600 yards to West Virginia’s offense in their win last week.
The Wildcats surged in the waning minutes of their win over TCU Friday night. Quincy Craig caught a 15-yard touchdown pass with 1:45 to play, and Arizona capitalized on a muffed kickoff with what turned out to be a game-winning field goal with 38 seconds left.
Arizona stays home for a ranked matchup with Utah in Week 11 (7:30 p.m. EST, Fox). The Utes are one of just two remaining unbeatens in the Power Four ranks and are coming off their first ranked win of the season, so the Wildcats may be catching them in a letdown spot.
The Cougars’ 241 rush yards against Cincinnati is their best showing on the ground in conference play. Three plays after the Bearcats scored a game-tying touchdown, Ra’Shaun Sanford II broke free for a 51-yard score that wound up being the game winner for Houston.
Houston is back in the Friday night window with a trip to Colorado this weekend (10:15 p.m. EST, ESPN). The Buffaloes are hobbling through Big 12 play, only winning in overtime against a Kansas State playing deep into its quarterback room.
The Holy War loss delivered a big hit to BYU’s College Football Playoff aspirations. The Cougars weathered the first quarter storm to a 20-14 halftime lead, but Bear Bachmeier threw four interceptions in their last seven offensive possessions, two of which were targeted directly at Utah defenders.
The Cougars are back in LaVell Edwards Stadium for their penultimate home game against Baylor (3:30 p.m. EST, Fox). The Bears boast one of the hotter offenses in the Big 12 in the wake of Dave Aranda’s firing.
The Red Raiders quite literally outran West Virginia in Week 10. The duo of J’Koby Williams and Thomas Castellanos combined for 262 rush yards, and the defense didn’t allow the Mountaineers to score in the fourth quarter despite allowing them to reach 48 points in the first three frames.
Texas Tech faces yet another elite offense at Oklahoma State this week (9:30 p.m. EST, ESPN). The Cowboys shouldn’t challenge the Red Raiders quite like West Virginia did on the ground, but they’ll have their hands full with Drew Mestemaker.
The Utes are undoubtedly the best team in the Big 12 in the wake of their Holy War victory. Devon Dampier and the offense hit on pass plays of over 40 yards on each of their first two touchdown drives, and the defense picked off Bear Bachmeier four times in the final 30:45 of game time.
The only ranked road test for Utah this season is at Arizona this weekend (7:30 p.m. EST, Fox). The Wildcats were competitive in ranked battles with BYU and Texas Tech in the first two months of the season but came up short.
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