Assigning mid-season grades to every Big 12 football team, where Texas, West Virginia get the highest grades and Kansas State is in danger of flunking.
Last weekend might have delivered the big 12 football game of the year with Texas handing rival Oklahoma their first loss of the season in exciting fashion. The Longhorns moved to 5-1 on the year with a last-second field goal from Michael Dicker, who went to the same Austin high school (Lake Travis) as former Oklahoma quarterback, Baker Mayfield, as Kyler Murray and the Sooners playoff hopes are on life support.
There will be more great games in the second half of the year, including Texas and West Virginia meeting in Austin on Nov. 3 that could serve as a conference championship elimination game of sorts provided Oklahoma wins out.
Now that we’re at the midpoint of the regular season, let’s go around and hand out mid-season grades to every team and see who is looking great and who is in danger of flunking out.
West Virginia (5-0): A
The Mountaineers are undefeated behind the efforts of Heisman candidate, Will Grier and the top scoring defense in the Big 12. This might be the most balanced team in the Big 12, but they haven’t been tested yet. Their game with NC State was canceled due to Hurricane Florence that would have been a litmus test for both. Nevertheless, they’ve passed every test they’ve had in front of them and should be 7-0 when they travel to Texas on Nov. 3.
Texas (5-1): A-
It was deja vu all over again after Texas lost to Maryland in the opener for the second year in a row. However, since then, Tom Herman’s club has rattled off five straight wins, including a 48-45 win over Oklahoma behind five touchdowns from quarterback Sam Ehlinger. Texas is ranked inside the Top 10 and their game vs. WVU should determine if they’ll be headed to the Big 12 Championship Game and a potential rematch with the rival Sooners.
Oklahoma (5-1): B+
The difference between a solid A and a B+ came down to a last-second field goal by Texas that knocked Oklahoma from the ranks of the unbeaten. Quarterback Kyler Murray has been one of the top three or four players in the country at any position and he should be on his way toward a Heisman invite. Don’t rule out this team from winning out and getting to the Big 12 Championship Game, but their playoff hopes took a significant blow in the loss vs. Texas.
Baylor (4-2): B
I know many have forgotten about Baylor after the toxicity surrounding the program from the Art Briles era. But Matt Rhule has done a nice job moving this program forward after the worst times in program history. The Bears have four wins, thanks largely to a soft schedule and wins over Kansas and Kansas State, and the defense has plenty of room to improve, but don’t discount them making a bowl game with winnable games against Iowa State and Texas Tech in the final month.