Big 12 power rankings: TCU can’t handle SMU in upset loss

A handful of close games and an upset of TCU highlight the latest Big 12 power rankings.

The Big 12 went through another week of football, with two conference games taking place and nonconference action filling the rest of the slots. Kansas State, Oklahoma and Texas Tech also had the week off, putting a bigger spotlight on the teams playing for Saturday, Sept. 21. There was enough action to impact the latest Big 12 power rankings, including TCU taking a surprise loss at home; so what happened to change this edition?

Kansas suffered at the hands of West Virginia, losing by just five points. It made them the first Big 12 team with multiple losses, which seemed inevitable for a team destined to crumble in conference play, especially as the Mountaineers were one of the weakest teams on the schedule. A date with a revengeful TCU team is next.

Texas Tech had the week off, but it lost quarterback Alan Bowman to a shoulder injury. That means more life without their effective signal-caller, something that happened in 2018 due to a partially collapsed lung and deterred this program’s season. Bowman already had over 1,000 yards passing. Now, the Red Raiders likely turn to Jackson Tyner for the immediate future, which happens with poor timing as Oklahoma is next on the conference schedule.

West Virginia went over Kansas on Saturday, slightly boosting their Big 12 stock. It happened against a fellow team at the bottom of the conference, but this was necessary when Texas and Iowa State are the upcoming games, back-to-back. However, the Mountaineers have a bye week for Sept. 28.

Baylor dominated Rice in the first half of their matchup, but they failed to score anything in the final 30 minutes. That allowed to Owls to creep in and make this interesting, despite the Bears still winning by eight points. Not playing well sent Baylor sliding down the Big 12 rankings, even with the perfect record. They have a proving ground against the conference teams in their future.

One of the few upsets of the college football week, TCU lost to the in-state SMU, 41-38, at home. It gave head coach Gary Patterson’s team their first loss, falling to Texas transfer Shane Buechele. This is just a brief bump in the road, though, as Kansas comes to town on Saturday for a chance at redemption.

Kansas State was one of three Big 12 teams with a bye week. They are coming off a close win over Mississippi State. 31-24, and have a surprisingly perfect record to open the season. Conference play will change that soon, as Oklahoma State is next and Baylor and TCU follow in two of the succeeding three weeks. They are still in a wait-and-see situation before moving further up the rankings.

Well, that is one way to overcome a loss to your in-state rival, right? After falling to Iowa, Iowa State throttled Louisiana-Monroe for 72 points and won by 52. Highlighted by 433 passing yards and three touchdowns from Brock Purdy, it was never a contested game. They have a slightly more challenging game against Baylor ahead.

Oklahoma State stayed competitive with Texas from the start and only fell back by one point entering halftime. However, the Cowboys only had one second-half touchdown, contributing to their demise and first loss of the 2019 season, despite over 200 rushing yards.

Texas snuck past a talented Oklahoma State team on Saturday, keeping them within reach of the Big 12’s pinnacle. As always, quarterback Shane Buechele played well, with four passing touchdowns and 70 rushing yards added. Along with 114 yards from Keontay Ingram, it was a positive night for the Longhorns. West Virginia is the last game before the Red River Rivalry.

Oklahoma had the week off on Saturday, and their upcoming matchup against an Alan Bowman-less Texas Tech team represents another easy matchup for Jalen Hurts to pad his Heisman resume and for Lincoln Riley to improve his NFL head coach resume. This is their last game before putting that perfect record on the line against Texas.