Week 10 of the 2025 college football season has just begun, the Texas Tech Red Raiders have just taken care of business against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, and for some reason or another, the Red Raiders are currently placed as the second-best team in the Big 12 according to ESPN’s FPI college football rankings.
But Texas Tech isn’t trailing the Big 12 team that you might suspect.
You see, the Red Raiders aren’t behind the BYU Cougars, who have the best overall record in the Big 12. Texas Tech isn’t trailing the Cincinnati Bearcats, who happen to hold a tie for No. 1 in the Big 12 standings right alongside BYU.
In fact, Texas Tech happens to be ranked ahead of both BYU and Cincinnati in the FPI rankings right now. According to the Football Power Index from ESPN, Texas Tech is currently trailing a team they beat by 24 points on the road.
That’s right, the Utah Utes hold the top spot in the latest ESPN FPI rankings.
ESPN FPI college football rankings, Week 10: Texas Tech sits at No. 2 in Big 12 after shutting out Oklahoma State
Here’s how the Big 12 stacks up according to ESPN’s FPI as we enter Week 10 of the season:
- Utah Utes
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- BYU Cougars
- Cincinnati Bearcats
- Kansas State Wildcats
- TCU Horned Frogs
- Iowa State Cyclones
- Arizona State Sun Devils
- UCF Knights
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Arizona Wildcats
- Baylor Bears
- Houston Cougars
- Colorado Buffaloes
- West Virginia Mountaineers
- Oklahoma State Cowboys
It’s fascinating to see Houston so far down this list. The Cougars are currently tied for third in the Big 12 standings right alongside the Red Raiders, but if you just checked this list, you’d think they were among the worst teams in the country. But they’re 7-1 overall and 4-1 in Big 12 play. Their offense isn’t great, but it’s getting better and they’re playing good defense. Thus the wins.
And speaking of wins, if Texas Tech keeps winning, they’ll almost certainly be able to sneak ahead of Utah, who has losses to both the Red Raiders and the BYU Cougars. This will almost certainly sort itself out soon enough.