Big 12 Football Power Rankings: Week 7
Week 6 of the Big 12 football season is in the books, and there is movement in our Big 12 Power Rankings. Week 6 was a partial week for the Big 12, with just six teams in action. But with the way the Oklahoma-Texas game went, that felt like two games wrapped into one. Anyway, here is your weekly reminder that these rankings can fluctuate greatly on a week-by-week basis, based on how teams have performed in their most recent games and who they’ve beaten, not what we predict the final Big 12 standings to be and not what the preseason rankings were.
So with all that being said, here’s a look at our Big 12 Football Power Rankings heading into Week 7 of the season.
1. Oklahoma Sooners (Last Week: 2)
The Sooners launch themselves back into the top spot after an epic comeback in Saturday’s Red River Rivalry. OU trailed 28-7 in the first quarter, but then in the second, when Caleb Williams came in at QB after another Spencer Rattler turnover made it 35-17 Texas, the game slowly started to change. The, Williams helped OU dominate the fourth quarter to pull off the 55-48 victory in Dallas. Oklahoma remains undefeated, and while it hasn’t been pretty this season, they’re still in position and now may have figured out the quarterback position for the rest of the year.
2. Oklahoma State Cowboys (Last Week: 1)
The Cowboys were off this past weekend following a 2-0 start to Big 12 play against Kansas State and Baylor. This defense is right up there as the best in the Big 12 right now. This weekend they go to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns in a Top 25 match up. The winner of this game will be the favorite to meet the Sooners (who remain favorites until they finally lose) in Arlington for the Big 12 Championship Game.
3. Baylor Bears (Last Week: 4)
The Bears came home after a loss to Oklahoma State and were taking on a desperate West Virginia team. I thought this might be a tough spot for Baylor, but to their credit, they came out red hot and steamrolled the Mountaineers to a 45-20 victory in Waco. Baylor continues to look like a balanced team, and Dave Aranda deserves lot of credit for how this game played out and his team coming out of the gates strong.
4. Texas Longhorns (Last Week: 3)
If the Red River Rivalry was a three-quarter game, Texas would be in the No. 1 spot this week. Unfortunately for them, it’s not. Texas looked great, especially in the first quarter, when they jumped out to a 28-7 win lead over OU. But eventually Lincoln Riley benched Spencer Rattler at QB, in came Caleb Williams, and the rest is history. Texas’ offense slowed down as well, which is concerning, while the defense remains leaky. But in a wide-open Big 12, the Longhorns can absolutely end up at AT&T Stadium in December playing for a Big 12 Championship.
5. TCU Horned Frogs (Last Week: 9)
TCU was due. I still can’t say that TCU will compete at the top of the Big 12, but if Gary Patterson continues to mold this defense to his liking, which he seems to do every season, and the offense remains as strong as it’s been, led by RB Zach Evans, than the Horned Frogs will compete with everyone in the league. However, I still have a hard time seeing this team being anything better than 7-5 in a Big 12 that will be a dog fight the rest of the way.
6. Iowa State Cyclones (Last Week: 6)
The Cyclones had the weekend off after waxing Kansas last week. But there’s no positive way to spin it, this season has been a disappointment thus far for Iowa State. But that turnaround can begin this weekend when they take on Kansas State, however Manhattan has not been kind to the Cyclones of late, so let’s see how this one plays out.
7. Kansas State (Last Week: 7)
The Wildcats were also off this weekend after having lost their first two Big 12 games. However, their Big 12 schedule was always front loaded with Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and then Iowa State this weekend. But with Skylar Thompson back, the Cats are in much better shape to finish the season in the top half of the Big 12 football standings.
8. Texas Tech Red Raiders (Last Week: 8)
This was a letdown week for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders were coming off a solid win at West Virginia, but then went home and laid an egg against the TCU Horned Frogs. Tech will likely only be favored in one more game this season against Kansas. The good news is that the Red Raiders went 3-0 in non-conference play, so bowl eligibility is still within reach.
9. West Virginia Mountaineers (Last Week: 8)
The Mountaineers had zero sense of urgency on the road against Baylor. This is especially disappointing given their 0-2 start in Big 12 play leading into this match up. If WVU continues towards the season it’s having, Neal Brown is going to be feeling some heat, whether it’s entirely fair or not.
10. Kansas Jayhawks (Last Week: 10)
KU had a bye week. That means KU did not lose a football game. That is all.
