Lackluster probably isn’t a strong enough word to describe the Big 12’s opening weekend to the 2020 college football season. With Iowa State, Kansas and Kansas State dropping home games to the Sun Belt Conference and Texas Tech barely surviving Houston Baptist there was lots of movement in our weekly rankings. In fact, seven of the ten teams are in a new spot this week.
The Cyclones had the largest move, dropping from #4 last week to #8 this week (over-react much?) and they are joined by Oklahoma State and Kansas State as teams moving down. Oklahoma maintained its position atop the rankings with TCU and Kansas holding serve in their respective spots as well. Everyone else moved up at least one spot.
Below are our consensus rankings and then after that you’ll find the individual rankings from our writers with an explanation for each of the top three and the bottom two as well.
2020 Heartland Sports Week 2 Big 12 Power Rankings
| Ranking | Points |
|---|---|
| 1. Oklahoma | 50 |
| 2. Texas | 43 |
| 3. Oklahoma State | 42 |
| 4. Baylor | 30 |
| 5. TCU | 29 |
| 6. West Virginia | 26 |
| 7. Texas Tech | 20 |
| 8. Iowa State | 19 |
| 9. Kansas State | 10 |
| 10. Kansas | 6 |
Mark
1. Oklahoma- Impressive win with Spencer Rattler having some impressive throws no matter the quality of the opponent. The defense shut out Missouri State which is always an accomplishment. The Sooners appear to be in good position to defend their Big XII title. With a bye week next week, they have time to focus on K-State and as long as they take them seriously, they should make quick work of the Wildcats.
2. Oklahoma State- With an impromptu bye week, we will know more about the Pokes after Saturday.
3. Texas- The Longhorns had an impressive win on Saturday over UTEP even with having a former 5-star junior safety quit in the middle of the game. I am looking forward to seeing how they look against Big 12 opponents.
4. TCU
5. Baylor
6. West Virginia
7. Iowa State
8. Texas Tech
9. Kansas State- The Wildcats had an abysmal showing against Arkansas State. They had a lead at halftime and blew it in the second half. Things will not get easier as they face the Oklahoma Sooners next.
10. Kansas- Les Miles is back! They got it handed to them by Coastal Carolina but got hosed at the end by questionable Sun Belt officiating. The Jayhawks face the Baylor Bears next so we will see if they can rebound.
Craig
1. Oklahoma | The Sooners showed us just about everything we wanted to see on Saturday. An offense that is just as explosive as ever, and a defense that created a turnover and pitched a shutout. It was only against Missouri State, but the Sooners look primed for another Big 12 Championship run.
2. Texas | Texas absolutely routed UTEP in their season opener. Producing 59 points, the Longhorns scored more than any other team in the Big 12. Texas looked solid on defense as well, only allowing a field goal to be scored against them all game. I hate bumping down OSU for not playing this past weekend, but Texas looked far too impressive to be in that third spot.
3. Oklahoma State | Unfortunately for the Pokes their opener got postponed by a week. I still think OSU is a legit Big 12 title contender, but we have to wait another week to find out.
4. TCU
5. Baylor
6. West Virginia
7. Texas Tech
8. Iowa State
9. Kansas State | The Big 12 suffered embarrassment on the national stage Saturday and a large part of that is due to the performance of the Wildcats. They jumped out to an early lead before completely crumbling in the second half. The expectations certainly weren’t high for Kansas State this year, but I don’t think anyone expected this loss to Arkansas State.
10. Kansas | The Jayhawks suffered a loss to Coastal Carolina in their season opener. Spotting any team a 28 point lead is always tough to come back from. The double-digit loss seemingly points to another disappointing season for Kansas.
Zack
1. Oklahoma | The Sooners did exactly what they were supposed to do as they thumped Missouri State. They stay atop the rankings.
2. Texas | The Longhorns destroyed the point spread against UTEP, and that’s good enough for me to move up a spot this week.
3. Oklahoma State | No game this week drops the Cowboys a spot, but only because Texas blew UTEP out of the water. A convincing win against Tulsa on Saturday will likely move the Cowboys up.
4. TCU
5. Baylor
6. West Virginia
7. Texas Tech
8. Iowa State
9. Kansas State | Losing your home opener is bad, but losing to Arkansas State is just awful.
10. Kansas | Just like their in-state rival, The Jayhawks lost their home opener to a Sun Belt team, only Kansas did it for the second year in a row.
Rich
1. Oklahoma | Although it’s hard to judge based upon the quality of the opponent, Spencer Rattler’s debut placed the quarterback on the map. With a smooth throwing motion and the ability to throw deep on a consistent basis, OU looked good in week one. There are some concerns along the offensive line but health derailed much of the potential there. I’m giving the Sooners a pass knowing roughly 20 players were quarantined.
2. Texas | Offensively, Sam Ehlinger handled the responsibility of throwing like a veteran as expected. Torching UTEP in the first week of competition, the offense hummed along. Defensively, BJ Foster created some problems in the locker room but the on field product held the Miners to three points. I can’t fault UT for overcoming the adversity and plunging forward.
3. Oklahoma State | How do you drop a team significantly when there is no tape of the program for the 2020 season?
4. West Virginia
5. Baylor
6. TCU
7. Texas Tech
8. Kansas State
9. Iowa State Cyclones | Defensively, the Cyclones looked abnormally sluggish. Chalk it up to an unusual off-season if you want. Offensively, Brock Purdy failed to toss a touchdown pass and ISU never really posed a threat on either side of the ball. It resulted in a surprising loss. There’s much work to do if Iowa State hopes to live up to expectations in conference play.
10. Kansas Jayhawks | The talent simply is not there to make the leap forward. Parchment and Williams cannot carry this entire team to victory if the defense doesn’t provide stops. Until KU proves it can win more consistently, the Jayhawks will likely remain at the bottom of the heap.
Matt
1. Oklahoma | The Sooners very much looked the part of a Playoff contender while the majority of the Big 12 seemed to flounder on Saturday. It was only Missouri State but Alex Grinch getting his first shutout as Oklahoma’s defensive coordinator was a sight for sore eyes.
2. Oklahoma State | The Cowboys were on a bye week following the postponement of their game with Tulsa. They’ll need to produce an impressive performance on Saturday to hold off a surging Texas team.
3. Texas | I haven’t been really high on the Longhorns but that was an impressive victory over UTEP on Saturday night. They definitely have my attention now.
4. Iowa State
5. Baylor
6. Texas Tech
7. West Virginia
8. TCU
9. Kansas | The Jayhawks can thank their in-state rivals for keeping them out of the bottom spot on my list this week. That was a terrible showing against Coastal Carolina though.
10. Kansas State | I had the Wildcats at #10 last week and they didn’t show anything to prove me wrong on Saturday.
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