Big 12 power rankings: Red River Showdown week, Baylor stays perfect

It’s Red River Showdown week the top two teams in our Big 12 power rankings, Oklahoma and Texas, vie for conference supremacy. Meanwhile, Baylor remains undefeated and is the third Big 12 team in the Week 7 AP Poll.

Kansas, as the only Big 12 team under .500, has settled into the bottom of the conference. Losing three consecutive games stuck them here, with a 25-point loss to Oklahoma as the latest disappointment. It caused Les Miles to fire his offensive coordinator at his season’s midway mark. Nothing is going well in Manhattan.

After a 3-0 start, Kansas State fell back to earth over the past two weeks; it started with a 13-point loss to Oklahoma State, and it continued with a blowout via the Baylor Bears. The Wildcats’ luster wore off, and facing another falling team, TCU, might not set up anything positive, either.

Surprisingly, Texas Tech held Oklahoma State down for most of this game, despite quarterback Alan Bowman‘s absence. Jeff Duffy threw for over 400 yards and four touchdowns, while the running game was impressive all afternoon long. The Cowboys nearly made this a game at the end, but the Red Raiders fended them off for an important third win of the season.

TCU took a disparaging loss to Iowa State in blowout fashion, taking a 25-point loss that sent them down the Big 12 power rankings. The rushing game never appeared, and the Cyclones were all over the place in each part of their offense. It set them up for a date with Kansas State, which is an opportunity to regain some momentum.

West Virginia managed 31 points against a good Texas team, but they also allowed 42 points to fall to 3-2. This set them up for Iowa State, Oklahoma and Baylor in back-to-back-to-back weeks, and it could easily shift this record to 3-5 by the end of October. Perhaps the Mountaineers sneak a win in the first or third game of this stretch, but there is no chance they move past the Sooners.

Iowa State dominated Kansas State behind a potent rushing attack and an efficient game from quarterback Brock Purdy. It began their climb out of a rough start to the season, with the chance ahead to grasp a winning record and run, especially with winnable games against West Virginia, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State ahead.

A disappointing loss to Texas Tech will force Oklahoma State to regroup. Falling to a backup quarterback against a rebuilding program is an issue, but the Cowboys are still just one of four teams in the Big 12 to have four wins. Facing a perfect Baylor team puts them at risk of losing consecutive games, though, and sinking a few spots.

Well, at this point, Baylor is for real, right? At 5-0, head coach Matt Rhule’s team just crushed Kansas State for three quarters and only allowed one touchdown. It was a productive day on both sides of the ball, including three rushing scores. The Bears are ranked, too, which has them relevant for the first time since the pre-scandal Art Briles days. Four winnable games are ahead against Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, West Virginia and TCU. Finishing 10-2 is realistic.

In a still-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it situation, Texas still has the No. 2 spot over Baylor, and there is some time until these teams face off. The Longhorns are still a Big 12 powerhouse, but this spot will be put to the test against Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry Game. A win obviously makes them the top team. Otherwise, a fall to No. 3 or below is ahead.

Still, without a doubt, Oklahoma is the top team in the Big 12. Everything head coach Lincoln Riley has done with that team has worked, including quarterback Jalen Hurts becoming a Heisman Trophy contender. The Sooners rolled over Kansas in a 45-20 effort, and the offense was as dynamic as ever. Everything is on the line against Texas, though, and will have College Football Playoff implications.

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