One Big 12 team had an important non-conference game. How did that and other matchups impact the latest Big 12 power rankings?
Week 3 usually signals the end of most, if not all, Big 12 non-conference games. With only 10 teams, they take the final nine weeks of the year to face each other, before venturing into bowl games.
There were a handful of important non-conference games, however, featuring Iowa State facing their in-state rival. Oklahoma also went on the road to USC to face UCLA on Saturday.
Let’s look at how this all impacted the latest week of Big 12 football.
Kansas pulled off a nice win against Boston College, 48-24. After barely dodging Indiana State and losing to Coastal Carolina, it was a surprise to see this happen and with 12 more points than they scored in the first two games combined. Conference play will be a different story for the Jayhawks. It starts with West Virginia, who has its own questions this season. Perhaps they sneak a win there, but TCU and Oklahoma are not far behind on the schedule.
This is not the West Virginia team that played competitively against the conference’s best teams. A blowout loss to Missouri followed the Mountaineers into Week 3, but they toppled North Carolina State to return to a record north of .500. Staying positive may not last past September’s final week. Kansas is a winnable game in Week 4, but Texas and Iowa State follow. This could be a 3-3 team by midseason, struggling to stay relevant for bowl season.
After easy wins over UTEP and Montana State, Texas Tech crashed back to earth against Arizona’s dynamic offense; the Red Raiders had their own dynamic group, but it scored just 14 points, despite quarterback Alan Bowman throwing 55 times. A road trip to Norman, OK will not make a potential sputter easier to avoid.
Kansas State takes an incremental but important step forward in the latest power rankings. Their first two wins over Nicholls State and Bowling Green were cupcakes, but clipping the SEC’s Mississippi State boosted their resume before Big 12 play. Oklahoma State and Baylor are the Wildcats’ next two opponents and both are playing well, so this perfect mark may not last forever.
Iowa State did not enter this season as the forgotten ones of the Big 12. They were placed among the conference’s best, so expectations grew. Unfortunately for them, a loss to Iowa, narrow or not, hurts their perception and drops them down the power rankings. Regaining momentum starts with a matchup against Louisiana-Monroe, to take them back to a winning record.
Iowa State dropping has Baylor climbing. The Bears only have wins over teams outside the Power Five but hold expectations to finish in the top half of the Big 12. Rice is next, which will allow them to stay perfect before conference play.
The non-conference play was kind to the Cowboys. A 3-0 victory gave them momentum for Big 12 play, which is necessary with Texas first on the schedule. Oklahoma State poured on at least 40 points in each of their three games, leading to this successful open to the season. Continuing that against the Longhorns will be difficult, but Mike Gundy’s offenses usually find ways to unload touchdowns.
Despite a quiet two weeks, TCU has a 2-0 record after defeating the Big Ten’s Purdue, 34-13. They have a good chance to stay perfect through the next two weeks, with SMU and Kansas ahead. The defense looks sharp, and the offense is scoring points, but that may change as the opponents increase in difficulty.
Texas retains the No. 2 spot in the Big 12 due to its loss to the highly-ranked LSU Tigers. Dominating Rice returned the Longhorns to some positive notoriety, before a clash with Oklahoma State in Week 4 and a matchup with West Virginia afterward.
No one is stopping Oklahoma. Jalen Hurts looks like this school’s latest Heisman Trophy candidate, playing above and beyond what now seems like Nick Saban’s tempered offense at Alabama. Hurts and company rolled over UCLA in Week 3. A bye week is ahead for the Sooners. On Sept. 28, they will return to face Texas Tech in Big 12 play. Kansas will follow, so there is a good chance head coach Lincoln Riley’s team remains perfect for the Oct. 12 Red River Rivalry Game.