Utah
Big 12 football power rankings: Utah asserts its position at the top, BYU makes a massive leap
If you’re a fan of one of the two Utah schools in the Big 12, it was a great weekend.
Many other schools in the league might feel a bit envious — Utah controlled its matchup at Oklahoma State, while BYU knocked off Kansas State.
Those two results — plus a must-see finish between Colorado and Baylor — highlighted Big 12 action during the fourth week of the college football season and shook up the latest conference power rankings.
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Here’s our look at how the Big 12 stacks up through the fourth week of the 2024 season:
1. Utah Utes (4-0, 1-0 Big 12)
Welcome, Utah, back to the top spot. They’re going to be here awhile, after making Oklahoma State look out of its element for much of the day and shutting down the Cowboys’ offense — especially All-American running back Ollie Gordon II, who never had an impact in the game.
Utah did this without Cam Rising, too — Isaac Wilson is proving he is more than capable leading the offense — and with Connor O’Toole and Karene Reid also out with injuries. Instead, guys like Micah Bernard, Dorian Singer and Elijah Davis came up with clutch plays, and the Utes collected the biggest win of Big 12 play thus far.
Now, it’s time for the revenge game for the Utes. Last year, Arizona beat them in Tucson — and scored on a long TD pass in the final minute to boot. What does Utah have in store for the Wildcats?
2. Iowa State Cyclones (3-0)
- Poll movement: Cimbed two spots
- Last week: Beat Arkansas State, 52-7
- Next game: Saturday at Houston, 5 p.m. MDT (FS1)
Why do the Cyclones get the edge here at the No. 2 spot? Because of the three unbeaten teams behind Utah, they have the next-best win — beating ranked Iowa on the road (had BYU won at Kansas State, this would be a different story). Iowa State dominated Arkansas State in its return from a bye.
There probably won’t be much more to learn about Iowa State this week, as they take on the Big 12′s worst team. The Cyclones don’t potentially face a top 25 Big 12 team until the season’s final weeks, unless a team like UCF or Texas Tech enters the rankings.
3. BYU Cougars (4-0, 1-0 Big 12)
Where did that come from? BYU knocked off the top 15 Wildcats, and in the process, the Cougars look like someone who is going to be a factor in the Big 12 race this season.
A 31-point flurry over six and a half minutes of game time broke the game open — during that stretch, BYU turned three Kansas State turnovers into touchdowns, and Parker Kingston’s electric 90-yard punt return for a score dealt the final crushing blow.
Yes, it’s a huge win — but how will BYU respond going forward? The Cougars still haven’t won a road game in Big 12 play since joining the league last year, and Baylor could be a wounded animal this weekend, ready to fight back after a demoralizing loss.
4. UCF Knights (3-0, 1-0 Big 12)
- Poll movement: Climbed one spot
- Last week: Bye
- Next game: Sept. 28 vs. Colorado, 1:30 p.m. MDT (Fox)
That ended up being a good time for a bye for the Knights — they improved a spot in the power rankings despite being idle. There’s also a fun but challenging set of games coming up for UCF that will show us just how formidable the Knights are.
First up is Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes, which must travel to Orlando in what should be an entertaining matchup. After that, UCF plays at Florida and will also play at Iowa State and home against BYU before the end of October.
5. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-1, 0-1 Big 12)
- Poll movement: Dropped two spots
- Last week: Lost to No. 12 Utah, 22-19
- Next game: Saturday at No. 23 Kansas State, 10 a.m. MDT (ESPN)
Oklahoma State had its chance to give Utah a “Welcome to the Big 12″ moment — but the Utes turned the table and showed the Cowboys, this is their league to lose. Utah’s defense shut down Oklahoma State’s offense until the last few minutes, and the Utes rode a successful offensive day behind true freshman Isaac Wilson to a convincing victory.
Will Oklahoma State’s MIA offense return? The game this weekend against Kansas State carries a lot more weight now — the loser will fall to 0-2 in Big 12 play and face an uphill climb to be a league contender.
6. Kansas State Wildcats (3-1, 0-1 Big 12)
- Poll movement: Dropped five spots
- Last week: Lost to BYU, 38-9
- Next game: Saturday vs. No. 20 Oklahoma State, 10 a.m. MDT (ESPN)
Where did that come from? The Wildcats looked nothing like how they did the week before, when Kansas State handed then-ranked Arizona a 31-7 beatdown. It was strange to see such a lopsided loss to the Cougars, who stayed unbeaten with the shocking 29-point win and are clearly outpacing their projected 13th-place finish in the league.
This all sets up a critical game with Oklahoma State this week in a matchup that features two teams expected to contend for the Big 12 championship. At least for Kansas State, the Wildcats get the homefield advantage this time around.
7. Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-1, 1-0 Big 12)
- Poll movement: Climbed four spots
- Last week: Beat Arizona State, 30-22
- Next game: Saturday vs. Cincinnati, 6 p.m. MDT (ESPN2)
The Red Raiders made sure Arizona State wouldn’t knock them off in the Sun Devils’ inaugural Big 12 conference game — Texas Tech got out to a 14-0 lead after one quarter, and while ASU made it a one-score game several times after that, the Red Raiders found enough offense to fend off the Sun Devils.
There’s a favorable schedule ahead for the Red Raiders — over the next five weeks, they host Cincinnati and Baylor, while also playing at Arizona and TCU. Texas Tech should be favored in most — if not all — of those games, which would set up an interesting November.
8. Arizona State Sun Devils (3-1, 0-1 Big 12)
- Poll movement: Dropped two spots
- Last week: Lost to Texas Tech, 30-22
- Next game: Oct. 5 vs. Kansas, 6 p.m. MDT (ESPN2)
Welp, Arizona State’s Big 12 debut didn’t go quite as planned — the Sun Devils fell behind early and never led in falling at Texas Tech. It was a much better effort than ASU showed through much of last year, but the result also shows the Sun Devils still have plenty of work to do.
There are some winnable games — like hosting Kansas and Houston — mixed in with some difficult top 25 matchups for Arizona State over the next month. If the Sun Devils can head into November with a couple more wins, they’ll be in a solid position to qualify for the postseason.
9. Arizona Wildcats (2-1)
- Poll movement: Dropped two spots
- Last week: Bye
- Next game: Saturday at No. 10 Utah, 8:15 p.m. MDT (ESPN)
The shimmer on the Wildcats’ hopes to be a factor in the conference race took a sizable hit two weeks ago, when Arizona lost big to Kansas State in a matchup that didn’t count in the Big 12 standings. Questions surround the team under first-year coach Brent Brennan, though there’s enough talent in Tucson to impact the league race.
There’s some unfortunate luck for Arizona, though, that its next game comes on the road against the league favorite, Utah. Surely the Utes remember getting beat handily by the Wildcats last year, which included a long TD pass in the final minute.

10. Colorado Buffaloes (3-1, 1-0 Big 12)
- Poll movement: Climbed four spots
- Last week: Beat Baylor, 38-31
- Next game: Saturday at UCF, 1:30 p.m. MDT (Fox)
Colorado sure knows how to deliver a thriller — thanks to a Hail Mary followed by a game-winning touchdown in overtime, the Buffaloes rallied to beat Baylor in a loss that could have sunk Colorado in its league opener. Instead, Shedeur Sanders’ 43-yard touchdown to LaJohntay Wester made SportsCenter’s top play of the day, and the Buffaloes improved to 3-1.
We’ll learn more about how competitive the Buffaloes will be in the Big 12 race over the next few weeks. Following this weekend’s game at UCF, Colorado takes a bye before hosting Kansas State and playing at Arizona.
11. West Virginia Mountaineers (2-2, 1-0 Big 12)
- Poll movement: Climbed two spots
- Last week: Beat Kansas, 32-28
- Next game: Oct. 5 at No. 20 Oklahoma State, 2 p.m. MDT (ESPN2)
One week after the Mountaineers blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead, West Virginia looked like it was headed straight away to a 1-3 record. Then the Mountaineers engineered their own fourth-quarter comeback, rallying from down 11 with 5:39 to play with two late touchdown drives — that included the game-winner on a 15-yard TD pass with 26 seconds to play.
After an up and down first month of the season, now is a good time for the Mountaineers to have a bye. The upcoming schedule is brutal — West Virginia will play three teams currently ranked in October, but at least Iowa State and Kansas State have to visit Morgantown.
12. Cincinnati Bearcats (3-1, 1-0 Big 12)
- Poll movement: Climbed three spots
- Last week: Beat Houston, 34-0
- Next game: Saturday at Texas Tech, 6 p.m. MDT (ESPN2)
With Cincinnati’s first Big 12 home win — the shutout victory over Houston, which came in its second year in the league — the Bearcats have already matched their win total from last year. Cincinnati, under transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby, has shown it has a strong enough offense to compete.
The schedule for the next month, though, is tough for a program trying to turn things around after a 3-9 campaign last year. Three of their next four games are on the road — at Texas Tech, UCF and Colorado, all three teams who’ve shown they’re capable of finishing in the upper half of the Big 12.
13. TCU Horned Frogs (2-2, 0-1 Big 12)
- Poll movement: Dropped four spots
- Last week: Lost to SMU, 66-42
- Next game: Saturday at Kansas, 1:30 p.m. MDT (ESPN+)
It’s panic time in Fort Worth — the Horned Frogs have lost two straight, after rival SMU blitzed TCU in what is now a Power Four matchup. The Mustangs had at least a three-score lead at the end of every quarter, and TCU gave up five turnovers.
Now, the Horned Frogs will have to bounce back on the road against an equally desperate Kansas squad. Who will get the much-needed shot of momentum a win can bring?
14. Baylor Bears (2-2, 0-1 Big 12)
- Poll movement: Dropped four spots
- Last week: Lost to Colorado, 38-31
- Next game: Saturday vs. No. 22 BYU, 10 a.m. MDT (FS1)
That was a gut punch for Baylor Nation — the Bears looked like they had wrapped up a road win to open conference play, but Shedeur Sanders’ Hail Mary on the final play of regulation wiped out the Baylor lead, then it lost in overtime. It feels like Dave Aranda is losing his grip on a season where he is squarely on the hot seat, even when the Bears are still 2-2 on the year.
Can Baylor rebound to knock off the now-ranked Cougars? BYU is coming off its wild 38-9 win over Kansas State, though the Cougars are still looking for their first road win in league play after joining the Big 12 last year. It’s a critical game for both schools.

15. Kansas Jayhawks (1-3, 0-1 Big 12)
- Poll movement: Dropped three spots
- Last week: Lost to West Virginia, 32-28
- Next game: Saturday vs. TCU, 1:30 p.m. MDT (ESPN+)
All the good vibes and positive expectations for Kansas going into the 2024 season are seemingly gone after the Jayhawks lose for the third straight game — and quarterback Jalon Daniels continued to struggle with turnovers. This time, Kansas couldn’t hold onto an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter and fell to West Virginia in the Big 12 opener for both schools.
Can a visit from TCU this weekend be the elixir to winning again? The Horned Frogs have lost two straight in painful fashion, and the loser of Saturday’s game will fall to 0-2 in league play. There’s winnable games for the Jayhawks over the next few weeks — including games at Arizona State and home against Houston — but they need to turn things around now.
16. Houston Cougars (1-3, 0-1 Big 12)
- Poll movement: No change
- Last week: Lost to Cincinnati, 34-0
- Next game: Saturday vs. No. 18 Iowa State, 5 p.m. MDT (FS1)
Houston’s offense was absent in a shutout loss to Cincinnati, one of the other Big 12 teams that not much was expected from this season. The Cougars turned over the ball three times, reached the red zone just two times — that included a missed field goal — and put up only 233 total yards.
When could the Cougars’ next win come? It might be awhile. Houston’s next three home games all come against teams currently ranked in the top 25, and they play back-to-back road games at TCU and Kansas — though both of these schools have underwhelmed as well.
Utah
Utah nonprofit creates events, experiences for disadvantaged children
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A simple moment watching a child laugh changed everything for Ivan Gonzalez.
Eight years ago, Gonzalez was working at the Ronald McDonald House when he had an idea to throw a birthday carnival for the kids staying there.
“Let’s do a carnival, birthday carnival for the kids,” he said.
MORE | Pay It Forward
What happened during that event stuck with him.
“There I was watching this kid play whack-a-mole, just having a blast, laughing,” Gonzalez said. “And then I see his mom kind of with happy tears because he’s enjoying himself.”
That moment led to something bigger.
Gonzalez realized the experience shouldn’t stop with just one event or just one group of kids.
“I said, wait, we can do this not just for kids in the hospital,” he said with excitement.
So he started a nonprofit called Best Seat in the House, which creates events and experiences for children who often face difficult circumstances.
“We provide events and experiences for disadvantaged kids,” Gonzalez said.
The organization serves children battling cancer and other medical conditions, refugee children, kids living in poverty, those in foster care and children with special needs.
“These kids grow up too fast,” Gonzalez said.
For Gonzalez, the mission is deeply personal.
“I grew up very poor,” he said.
He remembers the people who stepped in for his family when they needed it most.
“The local church, we weren’t even a part of it,” he described. “My parents couldn’t afford Christmas gifts and I still remember the gifts they gave me. They didn’t even know me.”
Today, he hopes to create that same feeling for other children through his nonprofit.
“Kids live in poverty and they don’t know where the next meal is coming from, let alone going to a play or to a game,” Gonzalez said.
But for Gonzalez, the reward isn’t the events themselves, it’s the joy they create.
“You can give me a billion dollars, all the money in the world,” he says as tears roll down his face. “I won’t trade these opportunitieskids just enjoying life.”
Because of his work giving back, KUTV and Mountain America Credit Union surprised Gonzalez with a Pay it Forward gift to help him continue creating those moments for kids across Utah.
For more information on supporting Best Seat in the House, click here.
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Utah
‘Don’t release him ever. Please.’ Family of slain Utah teen calls for justice at parole hearing
SALT LAKE CITY — Francisco Daniel Aguilar says he’s sorry for shooting and killing his girlfriend, 16-year-old Jacqueline “Jacky” Nunez-Millan, a Piute High School sophomore, in 2023.
But just as he did when he was sentenced, he didn’t have much of an explanation on Tuesday as to why he shot her not once, but twice.
“It just kinda happened. I was mad. And I stepped out (of my truck) and started shooting,” he said. “When I saw her fall, I just kind of panicked, I just went and shot her again.”
But Jacky’s friends and family members say even before she was killed, Aguilar already had a history of violence, and they now want justice to be served.
“You don’t accidentally take a gun, you don’t accidentally grab a knife … you don’t accidentally shoot someone, those are all choices,” a tearful Rosa Nunez, Jacky’s sister, said at Tuesday’s hearing. “Keep him where he needs to be.
“Don’t release him ever. Please.”
On Jan. 7, 2023, Aguilar, who was 17 at the time, got into a fight with his girlfriend, Jacky, shot her twice and left her body near a dirt road outside of Circleville, Piute County. He was convicted as an adult of aggravated murder and sentenced to a term of 25 years to up to life in prison.
Because of Aguilar’s age at the time of the offense, board member Greg Johnson explained Tuesday that the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole is required to hold a hearing much earlier than the 25-year mark, mainly to check on Aguilar and “see how things are going.” Aguilar, now 20, is currently being held in a juvenile secure care facility and will be transferred to the Utah State Prison when he turns 25 or earlier if he has discipline violations and is kicked out of the youth facility.
According to Aguilar’s sentencing guidelines, he will likely remain in custody until at least the year 2051.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Aguilar told the board that he was feeling “stressed out” during his senior year of high school. He said he and Jacky would often have little arguments. But their bigger fight happened when he failed to get her a “promise ring” around Christmastime, he said.
On the night of the killing, the two were arguing about the promise ring and other items, Aguilar recalled. At one point, he grabbed a knife and then a gun because, he said, he wanted to “irritate” and “scare” Jacky. According to evidence presented in the preliminary hearing, Aguilar and his girlfriend had been “trying to make each other angry” when Aguilar took ammunition and a 9mm gun from his father’s room and then drove to the Black Hill area in his truck with Jacky.
Jacky’s friend, McKall Taylor, went looking for her that night and found her. But after Aguilar shot Jacky in the leg, he began shooting at Taylor, who had no choice but to run to her car to get away. Her car was hit multiple times by bullets. Aguilar then shot Jacky a second time as she lay on the ground and Taylor drove away.
On Tuesday, Taylor’s mother, Lori Taylor, read a statement to the board on her daughter’s behalf.
“My innocence and freedom was taken from me,” she said.
McKall Taylor says the “horrifying events of that night will forever play in my head,” and the sounds of Jacky screaming and the gunshots as well as the sight of Jacky falling to the ground, will never go away.
“Francisco is a murderer who has zero remorse,” her letter states.
Likewise, Rosa Nunez told the board that for her and her family, “nothing in our world has felt safe since” that night as they all “continue to relive this horrific moment.”
After shooting Jacky and driving off, Aguilar says he called his father and “told him I was sorry for not being better, for not making good choices, I told him that I loved him. I was just planning on probably shooting myself, too.”
His father told him that although what he did wasn’t right, “he’d rather see me behind bars than in a casket,” and then told his son to “be a man about it. … This is where you have to change.”
Aguilar was arrested after his tires were spiked by police.
“An apology won’t fix what I did. I’ll never be able to fix what I did. But I want to say I’m sorry,” he said Tuesday. “I don’t even know how to fix what I did. I’m hoping I’m on the right track now.”
Johnson noted that Aguilar has done well during his short time being incarcerated. But that doesn’t change the fact “the crime was horrific,” he said.
The full five-member board will now take a vote. The board could decide to schedule another parole hearing for sometime in the future or could order that Aguilar serve his entire life sentence. But even if that were to happen, Johnson says Aguilar could petition every so often for a redetermination hearing.
The board’s decision is expected in several weeks.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
Utah
Lawsuit claims Utah teen killed by counterfeit airbag
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A wrongful death lawsuit filed in Utah alleges a counterfeit airbag turned a routine crash into a fatal explosion that killed a teenage driver within minutes.
Alexia De La Rosa graduated from Hunter High School in May of 2025. On July 30, 2025, she was involved in a crash.
The lawsuit alleges that when the vehicle’s driver-side airbag deployed, it detonated and sent metal and plastic shrapnel into the cabin.
MORE | Crashes
A large, jagged piece of metal struck Alexia in the chest, and she died minutes later, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit, filed by Morgan & Morgan in Utah’s Third Judicial District Court, was brought on behalf of Tessie De La Rosa, as personal representative of the estate of her 17-year-old daughter.
The defendants are AutoSavvy Holdings Inc., AutoSavvy Dealerships LLC, and AutoSavvy Management Company LLC.
Morgan & Morgan alleges that the Hyundai Sonata had previously been declared a total loss after a 2023 crash and issued a salvage title. The suit claims AutoSavvy later purchased the vehicle and had it repaired — during which counterfeit, non-compliant, and defective airbag components were allegedly installed — before reselling it to the De La Rosa family.
The complaint further alleges that AutoSavvy knew or should have known the vehicle contained counterfeit and nonfunctional airbag components when it was sold.
“This is the third wrongful death lawsuit we have filed involving alleged counterfeit airbags that we believe turned survivable crashes into fatal incidents,” Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan said in a statement. “No life should be cut short because a corporation puts profits above safety.”
Attorney Andrew Parker Felix, who is leading the case, said the firm is committed to uncovering how allegedly illegal airbag inflators enter the stream of commerce and are installed in vehicles sold to consumers.
“To make this perfectly clear, these are not supposed to be in the United States at all,” Felix said. “They are not approved for use in any vehicle that’s being driven in the United States.”
“They don’t have approval from any governmental agency to be installed in vehicles that are driven within the United States and regulated here,” he added.
Morgan & Morgan says it is investigating at least three additional deaths involving other defendants and alleged counterfeit airbags.
KUTV 2News reached out to AutoSavvy multiple times by email and phone. We were told a member of the company’s legal team would be in touch, but as of publication we have not received a response.
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