Oklahoma Sooners Football - Big 12 Football Power Rankings: Texas Cracks the Top 7

Happy Tuesday, Sooner fans!

Not a whole lot happened in the Big 12 Conference last week, as the league’s two best teams were both on byes. Therefore, not much has changed, so I’ll try to keep this brief.

1. Oklahoma (4-0, 1-0) - After a sub-par showing against a winless team in Waco, the Sooners used their bye week to heal up and (hopefully) address some things. An okay Iowa State team rolls into town this week, and I don’t want to see a ton of three-man rushes. Jacob Park and those receivers could give OU trouble if given too much time.
2. TCU (4-0, 1-0) - Kenny Hill has looked about as good as he did early in his tenure at Texas A&M, and the run game thrives even when a guy like Kyle Hicks is absent. Additionally, the difference between last season’s defense and this season’s defense is night and day. They’re the clear No. 2 in the Big 12 at this point, but the secondary will be tested against West Virginia on Saturday.
3. Oklahoma State (4-1, 1-1) - Mason Rudolph and the Cowboys showed a bit of mettle on the road in Lubbock this past weekend. They’re off this coming week and have three games (Baylor, at Texas, at West Virginia) remaining before their game against OU. The latter two in that trio could be tricky, so they’ll have to really keep their heads on straight if they wish to still have College Football Playoff hopes entering Bedlam.
4. Kansas State (3-1, 1-0) - The Wildcats encountered some issues against Baylor, though they were a bit different in nature than the ones OU experienced. But through four games, it still feels like we know very little about this team. That loss at Vanderbilt looks bad — that is indisputable. This weekend’s game at Texas might provide a bit more clarity, but wins over Texas have been par for the course even when Snyder’s teams haven’t been that great.
5. West Virginia (3-1, 1-0) - This team should have defeated a very good Virginia Tech team, and they’ve looked perfectly fine ever since (with the exception of some defensive lapses in Lawrence). TCU has a better team almost across the board, but a win in Ft. Worth could easily turn the Mountaineers into a dark-horse Big 12 contender.
6. Texas Tech (3-1, 0-1) - Texas Tech’s defense was far from perfect against Oklahoma State, but last year’s defense definitely wouldn’t have kept that game close. That defense might even be okay enough to allow the offense to lead them to a bowl game, which would potentially save Kliff Kingsbury’s job.
7. Texas (2-2, 1-0) - FINALLY, A CHANGE FROM LAST WEEK’S RANKINGS! I was actually tempted to put them ahead of Texas Tech since the defense looks legitimately good at this point. The offense, however, is still suspect with Shane Buechele running the show. I’ve never really been a huge fan of his game. He throws a beautiful deep ball, but give me Sam Ehlinger for pretty much anything else.
8. Iowa State (2-2, 0-1) - As good as Texas’ defense was last Thursday, a lot of blame should be directed towards Iowa State’s play calling. Texas was rushing guys and flustering Jacob Park all night, and they just never had an answer. Maybe give it to one of your two exceptionally talented backs? That didn’t happen, so Iowa State missed a great opportunity.
9. Baylor (0-5, 0-2) - Okay, the Bears obviously aren’t as bad as their record indicates, but that run defense is absolutely atrocious. They travel to Stillwater on Oct. 14, where they will surely put up points but allow a whole lot more.
10. Kansas (1-3, 0-1) - I have nothing to say about you, Jayhawks.

Week 6 Big 12 Schedule

Iowa State at Oklahoma - 11 a.m. CT (FOX)

Texas Tech at Kansas - 11 a.m. CT (FS1)

West Virginia at TCU - 2:30 p.m. CT (FS1)

Kansas State at Texas - 6:00 p.m. CT (FS1)