The end of the first month of the college football season gets wrapped up on Saturday as we head into Week 5 of the 2024 campaign. The Arizona Wildcats and Iowa State Cyclones are the lone teams that have yet to start conference play. Arizona’s game against Kansas State didn’t count toward Big 12 play due to the game being scheduled before the Wildcats joined the conference.
This week that changes with the Cyclones heading down to H-Town to faceoff with the struggling Cougars. Arizona faces a familiar foe when they head to Salt Lake City for a fight with the Utah Utes, who took firm control of the top spot in the Big 12 after a huge win on Saturday.
Here is how the latest power rankings shake out after Week 4:
No. 1: Utah Utes (4-0, 1-0)
Last Week: No. 1
There is no change at the top after the Utes took care of business in Stillwater, knocking off the Oklahoma State Cowboys 22-19. Freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson led Utah to victory in his first Big 12 start, filling in for the injured Cam Rising. Utah looks like the clear frontrunner in the Big 12 at this point.
No. 2: Iowa State Cyclones (3-0)
Last Week: No. 4
The Cyclones came out full throttle against Arkansas State on Saturday after being idle during Week 3. Matt Campbell’s team looked ready in their final tune-up game before starting Big 12 play. This week shouldn’t be too challenging.
No. 3: UCF Knights (3-0, 1-0)
Last Week: No. 5
The Knights are ready to get into the thick of the Big 12 after winning the opener against TCU. Gus Malzahn and company were idle last weekend and will host Big Noon Kickoff as they battle the Colorado Buffaloes. Will they ruin the momentum that Coach Prime has built recently?
No. 4: BYU Cougars (4-0, 1-0)
Last Week: No. 6
Heading into 2024, some outlets had head coach Kalani Sitake on the hot seat. All of those conversations have ceased, especially after BYU blasted the Kansas State Wildcats 38-9. After falling behind 6-0 with under nine minutes to go under halftime, the Cougars went on a run. They scored three times in less than three minutes to take a 17-6 halftime lead and only expanded on it in the second half. Quite a difference from last year’s team.
No. 5: Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-1, 0-1)
Last Week: No. 3
The Pokes fell behind 22-3 with under seven minutes left in the game before they started to make a run. The game ended with a three-point loss but this one never felt as close as the score indicated. This game was dominated by Utah. Oklahoma State will get back in the saddle against Kansas State, who was also dominated in their game against a team that hails from Utah.
No. 6: Kansas State Wildcats (3-1, 0-1)
Last Week: No. 2
The BYU Cougars made life hard on quarterback Avery Johnson, who competed just 15 of 28 pass attempts with two interceptions and an average of 4.6 yards per attempt. This is a game where you just burn the tape and move on since nothing went right for K-State. They look to rebound against Oklahoma State in Manhattan.
No. 7: Arizona Wildcats (2-1)
Last Week: No. 7
After licking their wounds in Week 4, it is back to the grind as the Arizona Wildcats face the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City. The Utes want retribution after the Wildcats blasted them in Tucson last season, 42-18. Arizona wants to make it two straight against Utah for the first time since 2014 and 2015.
No. 8: Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-1, 1-0)
Last Week: No. 11
The Red Raiders won their second straight game following the fiasco against Washington State. This time giving the Arizona State Sun Devils a rude welcome to the Big 12. After playing with fire against Mississippi State and Texas State, Tech finally burned them late with the 30-16 lead with under seven minutes to go. The duo of Tahj Brooks and Josh Kelly was too much for the Sun Devils to overcome.
No. 9: Cincinnati Bearcats (3-1, 1-0)
Last Week: No. 10
The Bearcats weren’t met with much resistance against the Houston Cougars, who threw for just 92 yards in the 34-0 blowout. Cincinnati led by Brendan Sorsby enjoyed the win with the game essentially being done by halftime where they led 24-0. This week they head to Lubbock for a showdown with the Red Raiders at the Jones.
No. 10: Colorado Buffaloes (3-1, 1-0)
Last Week: No. 15
When you have Travis Hunter on your team, it is hard not to believe you will win each and every week. A combination of Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders made sure the Buffs didn’t lose their first Big 12 game since 2010. Next up is UCF in Orlando, Big Noon Kickoff will be in town as well for this huge matchup.
Check out Buffs Wire for more on this game and Colorado.
No. 11: Arizona State Sun Devils (3-1, 0-1)
Last Week: No. 9
The Sun Devils and second-year head coach Kenny Dillingham flirted with disaster for the last two weeks before succumbing to it in Week 4 against Texas Tech. The game was essentially out of reach late in the fourth quarter with the game not feeling as close as the 30-22 final score might indicate. Arizona State is idle this week before hosting Kansas at Mountain America Stadium.
No. 12: West Virginia Mountaineers (2-2, 1-0)
Last Week: No. 14
Neal Brown and the Mountaineers took advantage of the fourth-quarter issues for Kansas scoring 15 points in the final four minutes to get the win. Quarterback Garrett Greene led the way with three touchdowns and 382 yards of offense. WVU will be idle this week before making the trip to Stillwater in Week 6 to face Oklahoma State.
No. 13: TCU Horned Frogs (2-2, 0-1)
Last Week: No. 8
It couldn’t have gone much worse for TCU over the last two weeks. After a last-minute loss to UCF at home, the Horned Frogs were blown out against their DFW rivals, the SMU Mustangs. To pour salt on the wound, head coach Sonny Dykes was ejected from the game after getting two unsportsmanlike penalties as the second half began. TCU looks like shells of their former selves since that 65-7 loss in the 2022-23 CFP National Championship.
No. 14: Baylor Bears (2-2, 0-1)
Last Week: No. 12
Baylor fell this past week in their Big 12 opener in the worst way possible by giving up the game-tying touchdown on a hail mary with no time left on the clock. The Buffaloes would take advantage in overtime to steal a victory from the hands of defeat. Baylor has to face a surging BYU team that is coming off a monster win over Kansas State.
No. 15: Kansas Jayhawks (1-3, 0-1)
Last Week: No. 13
The Jayhawks’ downward trend continues after a third straight loss after opening the season with a win over Lindenwood. After building the 28-17 fourth-quarter lead, Kansas fell in a third straight game in the same way by blowing a lead in the final quarter of the game. Head coach Lance Leipold will need to correct that issue before a season with so much promise unravels quickly before we even get to November.
No. 16: Houston Cougars (1-3, 0-1)
Last Week: No. 16
Not much changed after Saturday’s 34-0 demolishing at the hands of the Cincinnati Bearcats. Outside of the win over Rice, Houston has scored a combined 19 points this season against UNLV and Oklahoma. It won’t get any better against Iowa State this week.