Over-Reaction Warning: One of us may have had a massive over-reaction to Oklahoma State losing, at home, to South Alabama. It wasn’t our OSU guy either!
The third week of the college football season brought us our first conference game in the Big 12. TCU defeated Houston 36-13, outscoring the Cougars 16-0 in the second half, to become the first team to win a conference game in Wave 1 of the new Big 12 era. Week four is going to bring us a near full slate of conference games with TCU and Houston being the only two programs not to participate in Big 12 action this coming Saturday. As things stand right now, here’s how we rank the fourteen teams of the Big 12.
2023 Heartland Sports Big 12 Power Rankings, Week 3
| Ranking | Points |
| 1. Texas | 42 |
| 2. Oklahoma | 39 |
| 3. Kansas | 36 |
| 4. TCU | 31 |
| 5. UCF | 30 |
| 6. Kansas State | 29 |
| 7. BYU | 24 |
| 8. West Virginia | 18 |
| 9. Texas Tech | 17 |
| 10. Cincinnati | 14 |
| 11. Oklahoma State | 13 |
| 12. Baylor | 11 |
| 13. Iowa State | 6 |
| 14. Houston | 5 |
Holding Steady
Three teams failed to move in our rankings this week. Texas and Oklahoma remained in the top two spots and Houston remained at the bottom of our poll. We were unanimous with the Longhorns and Sooners, and we were really close to being in agreement on the Cougars.
Moving Up
Wes Virginia takes the biggest leap up this week. Fresh off a win over Pitt, the Mountaineers are up four spots from a week ago. Kansas, TCU, UCF, BYU, Texas Tech, and Baylor all moved up this week.
Dropping
Oklahoma State takes our biggest drop this week. The Cowboys are down four spots to #11 after dropping a home game to South Alabama. Kansas State, Cincinnati, and Iowa State also took a dip this week.
Individual Thoughts
Craig
1. Texas | The Longhorns were tied with Wyoming 10-10 heading into the fourth quarter this weekend before pulling away. They managed to score three touchdowns in the final 15 minutes. Slow starts have been a theme for this Texas team, but they’ve still done enough at this point to be labeled as the best team in the Big 12.
2. Oklahoma | The Sooners continue to win big when they should. Look, SMU was better than a lot of people gave them credit for, but this Oklahoma schedule has still been a cupcake. I do think Oklahoma is legit, but they stay at the number two spot until they show what they can do against a quality opponent.
3. Kansas | Could Kansas really be one of the top teams in the Big 12? I’ve had them at number four since the pre-season, and with Kansas State losing last weekend it only makes sense to bump them up. Jalon Daniels wasn’t able to get it done through the air, but they found a way to win with the ground game to improve to 3-0.
4. TCU
5. UCF
6. Kansas State
7. BYU
8. Texas Tech
9. West Virginia
10. Baylor
11. Cincinnati
12. Iowa State
13. Houston | Houston got a little taste of what this years conference play will be like in their 23 point loss to TCU. Seriously, how many games will the Cougars win this year?
14. Oklahoma State | This is about as rock bottom as it gets for Oklahoma State. Coming off their worst loss of the Gundy era, the Pokes will go on the road to face Iowa State. Is it safe to say this is a must win for the Cowboys? A loss this coming week could turn the entire season into a dumpster fire.
Zack
1. Texas | The Longhorns looked shaky against Wyoming early, but they managed to get it together and win big. Also, they still have the most impressive non-conference win (Alabama), so they stay at the top.
2. Oklahoma | The Sooners have yet to play a decent opponent, but that doesn’t really matter when they’ve been crushing teams like they have.
3. Kansas | I don’t know if the Jayhawks are legit, but they’ve been surprisingly consistent so far.
4. Kansas State
5. UCF
6. TCU
7. BYU
8. West Virginia
9. Cincinnati
10. Oklahoma State
11. Texas Tech
12. Baylor
13. Iowa State | The Cyclones might be even worse than expected. They get Oklahoma State at home next week, so at least they don’t have a terribly difficult opponent to open up conference play.
14. Houston | The Cougars are not good, but maybe they can get a win against Sam Houston next weekend.
Matt
1. Texas | Last week’s Alabama game had been highlighted on the Texas football schedule for a year. It’s reasonable that a week after the program’s biggest marquee win in more than a decade was a little bit of a letdown. I’ll give them a pass.
2. Oklahoma | The Sooners have all of the right boxes checked off through three weeks of the season. Then again, they we pretty much in the same spot this time a year ago.
3. Kansas | How crazy is it that Kansas is #3. Even more crazy is that it’s not a fluke. You can make a stronger argument that the Jayhawks deserve to be #3 than you can that they don’t.
4. TCU
5. UCF
6. Kansas State
7. BYU
8. Oklahoma State
9. Texas Tech
10. West Virginia
11. Cincinnati
12. Baylor
13. Houston | The Cougars lost, but it was a conference game. That’s the difference between them being #13 instead of #14 this week.
14. Iowa State | Are the walls starting to close in on Matt Campbell?
Follow us on Twitter: @SportsHeartland