There was chaos around the college football country, which was good news for the Big 12. Oklahoma and West Virginia stayed pat, which means that a showdown in Morgantown will determine which of those two will still have a chance at the Playoff if more chaos erupts this week. Oh, and Iowa State finally won a conference game, though it was far from pretty.
Week 11 Big 12 Power Rankings
1. Oklahoma (LW: 1) — The Sooners jumped out to a big lead against Baylor and cruised from there. Don’t look now, but Oklahoma’s seven-game winning streak is fourth-longest in the country right now.
2. Oklahoma State (LW: 2) — I give the Cowboys the nod at No. 2 right now just because it’s been less than a month since they beat West Virginia. Still, Oklahoma State has not looked impressive since then, needing a missed extra point to avoid overtime against Texas Tech.
3. West Virginia (LW: 3) — I feel like we need to remind ourselves every few weeks that West Virginia really has a very good defense. Even though Skylar Howard and the offense made too many mistakes against Texas, the defense found a way to secure the victory. Making that many mistakes against Oklahoma won’t be so easy to overcome.
4. TCU (LW: 5) — The Horned Frogs had a week to celebrate their blowout of Baylor and prepare for a visit from Oklahoma State. A poor October may have put a Big 12 title out of reach, but TCU has a chance to be playing the best football in the conference by the end of the month.
5. Texas (LW: 4) — There’s not much shame in losing a close game to West Virginia. Unfortunately, “not much shame” probably means that Charlie Strong is out of a job.
6. Kansas State (LW: 6) — The Wildcats were on a bye this week, meaning they’re still one win away from earning bowl eligibility. A road trip to Waco might not get them that sixth win, but even if Kansas State loses this week, it has Kansas up after that. This is a bowl team.
7. Texas Tech (LW: 8) — The Red Raiders are an enigma. On one hand, I can’t say nice things about the defense. On the other hand, the offense is pretty unstoppable (except against West Virginia). On the third hand, when the defense finally did just enough to give the offense a chance, a missed extra point doomed the Red Raiders’ upset bid — and probably their bowl hopes too.
8. Baylor (LW: 7) — Getting blown out by Oklahoma isn’t the end of the world for this team. Losing Seth Russell might be. A program in free-fall just lost its most stable and best player. This team may very well go from 6-0 to 6-6.
9. Iowa State (LW: 9) — It wasn’t as pretty as some hope, but a win is a win.
10. Kansas (LW: 10) — There went Kansas’ one chance of winning a conference game this year. But at least they had fun hiding in the end zone.
