The Big 12 power rankings are published weekly by the Hotline throughout the regular season. They are the result of a deep dive into the analytics, an assessment of subjective factors and, when necessary, flips of the coin. No conference has more parity. The parity leads to chaos, and the chaos creates an endlessly compelling product that is not always easy to unscramble.

The Big 12 needed TCU to come through against Chapel Bill.

The situation wasn’t obvious or desperate, and it certainly didn’t attract any attention — not with every electromagnetic wave of the national spotlight locked on the debut of North Carolina coach Bill Belichick.

But the conference had struggled for traction against Power Four opponents across the long holiday weekend, with a 1-3 record in duels with the ACC, Big Ten and SEC.

TCU’s blowout victory in a standalone TV window on Monday night — the ratings won’t be available until later this week  — offered a measure of redemption after Baylor and Colorado lost at home to Auburn and Georgia Tech, respectively, and Cincinnati was three points short against Nebraska.

(The Big 12’s only victory over a Power Four opponent prior to Monday night was Utah’s decimation of UCLA.)

Certainly, the Horned Frogs added balance to a ledger that will gain significance once November arrives and one or more Big 12 teams pursue at-large bids to the College Football Playoff.

But there are two more Saturdays of non-conference matchups, and the Big 12 must hold its own in the biggest games.

Week 2 is arguably the defining moment, with four games in SEC, ACC and Big Ten stadiums and Big 12 teams as either modest underdogs or outright favorites in three.

To the power rankings …

(All times Pacific)

1. Utah (1-0)

Result: won at UCLA 43-10
Next up: vs. Cal Poly (3 p.m. on ESPN+)
Comment: It was hardly a flawless performance in the Rose Bowl, and we have proof: The Utes only converted 14 of their 16 third-down opportunities and had three penalties for 15 yards. Did they spend the entire offseason playing checkers or what?

2. Iowa State (2-0/1-0)

Result: beat South Dakota 55-7
Next up: vs. Iowa (9 a.m. on Fox)
Comment: Given how Kansas State struggled with North Dakota and Iowa State rolled over South Dakota, we can conclude the lethargy that accompanies flights home from Ireland is easier to overcome after a win than a loss. Or maybe the Dakotas are in two different states.

3. Texas Tech (1-0)

Result: beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff 67-7
Next up: vs. Kent State (9 a.m. on TNT)
Comment: The most interesting development in Lubbock wasn’t the blowout win. It was billionaire alum Cody Campbell’s commercial campaign to lobby Congress to change the Sports Broadcasting Act in a manner that would allow the conferences to negotiate media deals collectively.

4. Arizona State (1-0)

Result: beat Northern Arizona 38-19
Next up: at Mississippi State (4:30 p.m. on ESPN2)
Comment: The biggest laugh we got all weekend? Seeing ASU athletic director Graham Rossini hopping on social media and apologizing to fans for the ESPN+ feed failure — and trying to envision his predecessor doing the same.

5. TCU (1-0)

Result: won at North Carolina 48-14
Next up: Bye
Comment: The Tar Heels very well could be dreadful this season. Until that’s the reality, full credit to TCU for a solid win with all eyes watching.

6. Houston (1-0)

Result: beat Stephen F. Austin 27-0
Next up: at Rice (4 p.m. on ESPN+)
Comment: Beware of the Cougars. That’s the comment: Beware of the Cougars.

7. Kansas State (1-1/0-1)

Result: beat North Dakota 38-35
Next up: vs. Army (4 p.m. on ESPN)
Comment: We wonder how long it took following Avery Johnson’s game-saving touchdown pass for deep relief to give way to abject panic about the state of affairs in Manhattan? Because the Wildcats look nothing like a contender.

8. Baylor (0-1)

Result: lost to Auburn 38-24
Next up: at SMU (9 a.m. on The CW)
Comment: For now, we view the result as a bad loss for the Bears and the Big 12. That could change if Auburn is competitive in the SEC. But we expected more from the home team, which trailed by multiple touchdowns on multiple occasions.

9. Arizona (1-0)

Result: beat Hawaii 40-6
Next up: vs. Weber State (7 p.m. on ESPN+)
Comment: We said it Saturday night and we’ll say it again: The performance was more impressive than the final score suggests because Hawaii played in Week 0.

10. Brigham Young (1-0)

Result: beat Portland State 69-0
Next up: vs. Stanford (7:15 p.m. on ESPN)
Comment: The Cougars clearly miss quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who left the program this summer (for Tulane) following an off-the-field incident. With him, they would have scored at least 72.

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11. Colorado (0-1)

Result: lost to Georgia Tech 27-20
Next up: vs. Delaware (12:30 p.m. on Fox)
Comment: Pardon the Hotline for taking a non-extremist view of CU’s performance, but Georgia Tech is better than its reputation suggests. The Buffaloes will be just fine — as long as the bar is bowl eligibility and not a conference title.

12. Kansas (2-0)

Result: beat Wagner 46-7
Next up: at Missouri (12:30 p.m. on ESPN2)
Comment: Based on our calculations, the Jayhawks need to win five of their first six games to create a cushion before plunging into the (extremely) difficult back half of the schedule.

13. Oklahoma State (1-0)

Result: beat UT Martin 27-7
Next up: at Oregon (12:30 p.m. on CBS)
Comment: We can all agree the trip to Eugene won’t be any worse than the 52-0 loss in the 2024 season finale at Colorado, right? … Right?

14. West Virginia (1-0)

Result: beat Robert Morris 45-3
Next up: at Ohio (1 p.m. on ESPNU)
Comment: We’re fully aware that the Ohio series is a 2-for-1, with two games in Morgantown. But road games against MAC teams are precarious affairs for the Big 12.

15. Cincinnati (0-1)

Result: lost to Nebraska 20-17
Next up: vs. Bowling Green (12:30 p.m. on ESPN+)
Comment: A close loss to a middle-tier Big Ten opponent decades past its glory years was a better result than we expected, to be honest.

16. UCF (1-0)

Result: beat Jacksonville State 17-10
Next up: vs. North Carolina A&T (4 p.m. on ESPN+)
Comment: The home date with North Carolina in a few weeks looks much more winnable than it did on Monday morning.

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