Suddenly the Big 12 doesn’t look that bad. With conference wins over Ohio State and Arkansas in Week Two, a conference that had once been written off for dead following the Texas and Baylor losses in Week one is back to being alive and well. Like just about every other conference in America, the Big 12 seems to have four contenders and then everyone else. However, does Oklahoma’s big win in Columbus on Saturday night finally give us a consensus number one? Yes, yes it does.
|
Consensus Big 12 Football Power Rankings |
|||
| Team | Points | Opponent/Result | Last Week |
| Oklahoma | 40 | Ohio State/W 31-16 | 1 |
| Oklahoma State | 36 | S. Alabama/W 44-7 | 2 |
| TCU | 30 | Arkansas /W 28-7 | 5 |
| Kansas State | 29 | Charlotte /W 55-7 | 3 |
| West Virginia | 25 | E Carolina /W 56-20 | 4 |
| Texas Tech | 16 | Bye Week | 6 |
| Iowa State | 16 | Iowa /L 44-41 | 7 |
| Texas | 16 | San Jose St/W 56-0 | 9 |
| Kansas | 8 | CMU /L 45-27 | 8 |
| Baylor | 4 | UTSA/L 17-10 | 10 |
Oklahoma 31, Ohio State 16.
The Sooners felt right at home at the Horseshoe. pic.twitter.com/ClGUB08rzL
— ESPN (@espn) September 10, 2017
Craig
No one in the entire country has a more impressive win than Oklahoma right now. Going to Columbus and essentially dominating bumped the Sooners up in the Top 25 Rankings. It was also enough to keep them at #1 on my list.
The Cowboys looked better than I thought they would against South Alabama. I suppose it could be that South Alabama is worse than I thought, or it could be that the Pokes defense is legit. At this point, Bedlam is looking really exciting.
The Horned Frogs move up to #3 on my list after a dominant performance over Arkansas. Anytime the Big 12 can beat up the SEC it’s a good thing. TCU was very efficient on third down and had a solid defensive performance as well.
After a win in week 1, the Jayhawks are back to their losing ways. Kansas looked great on their first score of the game. After that, there was nothing going on for them.
I’m not entirely sure what’s going on with Baylor this year, but they might not win a game. Two embarrassing losses back to back is not encouraging if you’re a hopeful Baylor fan.
Matt
If you had any doubts about Oklahoma as the top contender in the conference then they should be gone now. Not only do the Sooners have the best win of any team in the Big 12, they currently have the best win of any team in the nation.
I actually considered dropping the Pokes in light of TCU’s win over Arkansas but the though that OSU would most likely win in a head-to-head game kept me from doing so. Don’t mess this up for me a Pitt this weekend, OSU.
TCU and K-State have been in a bit of a back-and-forth in my weekly rankings. The Frogs beat up the SEC last weekend and the Wildcats will have the opportunity to do so this weekend. I think you could flip a coin each week between these two for the third spot and pretty much be right with whoever wins the toss.
Some of us jumped the gun on Kansas after their week one win. Not this guy. There are no more automatic wins left on the Jayhawks schedule this season…except for Baylor.
Speaking of Baylor…0-3 is coming this weekend.
Rich
With the most impressive win of the season for any college football team, Oklahoma easily moves up in my rankings. The defense proved they are capable of big things while the offense continuously move the ball. Complimentary football is a thing of beauty and difficult to stop.
While OSU moves down a single slot, it’s tough to argue with the offensive power they possess. Making the necessary adjustments on defense this is a team to watch moving forward. Bedlam continues to get more and more interesting with each passing day.
Kansas State has yet to face a real challenge but they have looked the part of a Big 12 spoiler. Vanderbilt will tell us more about this program but for now, they remain at third in my rankings.
At the bottom, I had high hopes for Kansa but those were quickly dashed by CMU. This is the KU many expected them to be and I can’t ignore it after the loss.
Undeniably, Baylor has a long road ahead. Is it possible for this program to go 0-for the season? At this point I’d say yes!
Zack
Oklahoma: Is an explanation even needed? Beat the #2 team (at the time) in the nation on their home field in front of the largest crowd to EVER watch the Sooners play, and that solidifies your spot as the top team in the conference. Baker Mayfield played like a Heisman winner, and there’s not much space between him and favorite Lamar Jackson.
Oklahoma State: Another soft opponent, another easy win. The offense rolled, and the defense held South Alabama scoreless until the final few minutes of the game. The Cowboys will finally see something close to some competition this weekend against Pittsburgh, so that will be nice.
The Wildcats keep quietly getting things done, and I think that’s how they like it. They’re not really on anyone’s radar right now in terms of winning the conference, but if teams aren’t careful, they could sneak in and do just that.
Losing at home by 18-points to Central Michigan is bad. Back to reality, Jayhawks. At least you look better than Baylor.
First Liberty. Now UTSA?! BOTH of these losses were at home. The Bears are so deep in the Big 12 basement that they can’t even find the light switch to turn on to help them get to the stairs. They might not sniff anything close to a win until they meet Kansas on November 4th.
|
Heartland’s Week 3 Big 12 Football Power Rankings |
|||
| Craig | Matt | Rich | Zack |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Oklahoma |
| Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State |
| TCU | TCU | Kansas State | Kansas State |
| West Virginia | Kansas State | TCU | TCU |
| Kansas State | West Virginia | West Virginia | West Virginia |
| Texas Tech | Texas | Iowa State | Iowa State |
| Texas | Texas Tech | Texas Tech | Texas |
| Iowa State | Iowa State | Texas | Texas Tech |
| Kansas | Kansas | Kansas | Kansas |
| Baylor | Baylor | Baylor | Baylor |