For the past six weeks, I have written a “what we learned” bit about the Big 12. After six weeks of learning things, I’m pretty sure we know a good amount about the conference. Now it’s time for us to rank the teams. As a real “power ranking,” my goal will be to focus much more on “what have you done for me lately” rather than how the season has gone. The conference standings will tell us who’s had the better season. In this space, I’m going to try to figure out who’s playing the best right now
Week 7 Big 12 Power Rankings
1. Oklahoma — Yes, I know. The conference has two undefeated teams, neither one of which is named Oklahoma. I don’t care. Neither of those two teams played anyone nearly as good as Houston or Ohio State. Baylor and West Virginia wouldn’t be undefeated with Oklahoma’s non-conference schedule. Oklahoma is the most talented team in the conference; until the Sooners lose a conference game or struggle mightily, they’re keeping this spot.
2. Baylor — Honestly, I’m not sure how to tell the difference between Baylor and West Virginia right now. Each has struggled against teams that it really shouldn’t have. West Virginia has played a better schedule, but Baylor just looks better when you watch them play. If the two met tomorrow, I’d give Baylor a very slight edge.
3. West Virginia — Before the game, I had a much higher opinion of Texas Tech. Usually beating down a middle-of-the-road conference team on the road shows that a team belongs near the top of the conference. That’s not what happened this week, though. Texas Tech just couldn’t sustain any offense, ending way too many drives in turnovers (or on downs). The offense was clicking on lots of plays, just not enough. West Virginia is a good team. But the blowout felt more like it was because of Texas Tech’s struggles, not West Virginia’s dominance.
4. Oklahoma State — I really don’t know what to make of this team. Even if the loss to Central Michigan shouldn’t have happened, it would have still been a close win over a MAC team. The Cowboys followed that up with a good non-conference win over Pittsburgh. The only real challenge in-conference was a loss to Baylor — and Oklahoma State almost lost to Iowa State to boot. This week was a bye; we’ll see how badly the ‘Pokes can blow out Kansas this week.
5. Kansas State — There is no shame in losing to Oklahoma by three scores. I mean, maybe it’s embarrassing that a conference game isn’t that close, but Oklahoma is a very good team. Kansas State won an exciting one against Texas Tech last week. That puts the Wildcats solidly in the middle of the conference.
6. Texas — The only conference win is over Iowa State, and we know now that the Notre Dame win really wasn’t worth much. Still, Texas played well in the second half against the Cyclones. When you factor in that the Longhorns almost knocked off Oklahoma last week, it makes you think that this team might be able to finish in the top half of the conference.
7. Texas Tech — I still think that this team is more effective on offense with Nick Shimonek instead of Patrick Mahomes under center, but that’s just me. This team has an explosive offense but not much defense to speak of. The Red Raiders have not had the best of luck in shootouts, but with their offensive potential, they’ll probably be able to surprise someone this season.
8. TCU — The Horned Frogs had a bye this week. Beating Kansas by only one point should probably get them the No. 9 slot here, but I’ll respect the win over Iowa State from earlier this year — for now.
9. Iowa State — With the way the Cyclones challenged Baylor and Oklahoma State, I’m expecting they’ll move out of this slot for at least one week later this year. For now, though, the second half against Texas keeps them towards the basement.
10. Kansas — My challenge for the rest of this year will be to find something nice to say about Kansas each week. This week, I’ll start by saying that there’s not much shame in getting blown out by Baylor.
