College football conference power rankings: Week 4

ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 15: Ohio State (2) J.K. Robbins (RB) runs the ball in the AdvoCare Showdown between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the TCU Horned Frogs on September 15, 2018, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. (Photo by John Bunch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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STILLWATER, OK – SEPTEMBER 15:Running back J.D. King #27 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys looks for a hole against the Boise State Broncos at Boone Pickens Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Cowboys defeated the Broncos 44-21. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /

The biggest game that a Big 12 team played in during the Week 3 college football slate actually resulted in a loss for the conference. As mentioned when talking about the Big Ten, the TCU Horned Frogs fell to Ohio State in a primetime matchup. However, they weren’t blown out of the building and acquitted themselves quite well against one of the best teams in the country. Thus, it’s not a horrible loss by any stretch.

What helps the Big 12 move up in these conference power rankings to the second spot is partly the performance of the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Ranked 24th coming into a matchup against Boise State, the narrative for Mike Gundy’s team was that they needed to prove themselves in their first big game of the year with a young, relatively inexperienced roster. They did so emphatically with a big 44-21 win over the Broncos.

Moreover, the Texas Longhorns also did a lot to help the strength of the conference on Saturday, winning in a primetime matchup of their own against the USC Trojans. Had they won a nail-biter, it might not have meant that much. However, with the way that they firmly handled their business in a 37-14 win, that’s impressive and works in the conference’s favor.

And hey, the Kansas Jayhawks are 2-1 this season, which may have seemed like a far-fetched notion to some. When you give a little bit of depth with that win in the conference with the top-tier teams like Oklahoma, West Virginia and TCU, this conference is looking quite good.

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