Big 12 power rankings: Quiet week brings up big questions about Oklahoma State

The Big 12 is off to a rough start overall and Oklahoma State almost added to the collective misery as this week’s Big 12 power rankings takes aim at the Pokes  

It was a relatively quiet week on the field for the Big 12 while other conferences dominated the headlines, but off the field there was still a lot happening. Baylor had yet another game postponed due to the pandemic. The rumors say they didn’t have enough offensive linemen to play the game. Greg McElroy is saying the American Athletic Conference is deeper than the Big 12, showing how the conference is being seen nationwide. However, on the field things looked just as bad.

Oklahoma State was awful on the field for three quarters and needed a few good fourth-quarter drives against a Tulsa team that was also playing their first game of the season. Tulsa held Chuba Hubbard, the unanimous best running back in the country, to 3.4 yards per carry. Take out one 20-yard carry, and he ran for 2.8 yards per rush.

The Big 12 has two great teams, one or two okay teams and the rest appears to be not great

Kansas and head coach Les Miles are looking forward to starting their Big 12 schedule after a disappointing start to the season. However, there’s a chance they may have to wait even longer. If Baylor continues to see players unavailable, yet another game might have to be postponed. Still, this is the worst team in the conference, and it’s not close.

The Texas Tech football team probably had it’s biggest headline come on their off week. They took off the phrase “guns up” from their helmets, which deterred some fans and alumni. It got everyone talking, which is not something the team will do based on their play on the field. They face a Texas team this week that should take care of things easily.

If it was at all possible for Kansas State to have a worse week than they did last week, this week might have been it. Head coach Chris Klieman said its an on-going battle with rising COVID-19 cases among the team. More players are going to be out for their first Big 12 conference game. After a ton of excitement coming into the season, the Wildcats might quickly see their season swirl down the drain. This week’s game against Oklahoma looks like a wash, if it happens at all.

All week, the Iowa State loss was used by the national media to show how bad the Big 12 was as a conference. It didn’t help that Louisiana Lafayette needed overtime to beat Georgia State one week after throwing the Cyclones season off the rails. They have a tough matchup to start the season with TCU, but a win there can help ease the calls of a lost last season for quarterback Brock Purdy.

Is it fair to knock the Baylor Bears down one spot after yet another canceled game? Maybe not, but it’s very worrisome to hear that the team is losing offensive linemen at such a clip they didn’t have enough to dress seven against Houston this week. How will the recovery from this look? Charlie Brewer’s protection is the most important thing for the Bears season, and hearing what’s happening at Baylor makes it very scary for their future games. Let’s hope they can make it to the Kansas game this week.

There is excitement around this West Virginia Mountaineers team. Pro Football Focus put Jarrett Doege on the Heisman Watch List. WVU is being considered a dark horse Cinderella team in the Big 12. They were one of the few teams to look really good in the first week. Still, this is all very premature. Next week against Oklahoma State will tell a lot.

TCU is one of two teams that have yet to play a game in the league. It’s unfortunate because they could have one of the most exciting defenses in the league. Starting quarterback Matthew Downing has been out for close to two weeks but is expected to return this week and be available for the Iowa State. This could be an X-factor going into the game.

Another week, and another poor performance from a Big 12 team that was supposed to have a big season. A rough game against Tulsa, especially for Hubbard, could be a sign of things to come. It was the first game of the season, and the Cowboys did lose their quarterback for part of the game, but it still didn’t exactly instill confidence in the Cowboys. Spencer Sanders status is going to be key in their game against West Virginia.

Unlike most of the other Big 12 teams, not a lot happened with Texas this week. They are still riding the UTEP win and looking ahead at a Texas Tech team that should be preparing to get their doors blown off. If the Longhonrs aren’t able to destroy the Red Raiders, then something is wrong. Is this the year Texas finally competes for the Big12 title?

The Oklahoma Sooners are the best team in the Big 12. This is the one team that should take the most offense to everyone shooting down the conference. The national media trying to hurt Oklahoma’s strength of schedule might really hurt them later in the season when the Big Ten returns and there is more competition for votes trying to get into the College Football Playoff. This week, they don’t really have a good matchup to prove their worth against Kansas State, but a dominant performance against an undermanned team would help bring some faith in the conference powerhouses.

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