The Big 12 is just about out of the running for the College Football Playoff in the first week of October thanks to losses by its two biggest teams.
The Big 12 conference is in a bad way. There is currently one undefeated team in the conference. Oklahoma State struggled in the first game of the season against Tulsa. They rolled the next two weeks against West Virginia and Kansas. Is the Big 12 worse than some of the Group of Five conferences?
This week was headlined by the losses of both Texas and Oklahoma to unranked teams. Iowa State and TCU both have losses on the season, but they went into their matchups with the two most storied franchises in the conference and pulled out big wins. This could leave the Big 12 with one ranked team. Out of ten teams, four were ranked in the preseason Top 25 (which included the Big Ten and Pac 12). Now, the only one left is Oklahoma State.
This sent the power rankings in a blender. Where does Oklahoma fall after being one of three 0-2 teams in the conference? Are they really the eighth-best team here? Their record says so, but conventional wisdom tells another story. Texas won a close game to a bad team then lost their first game against a team of substance. Should Iowa State’s first loss get wiped off the table after two really good games in Big 12 play? So many questions, let’s get to the answers.
Big 12 football power rankings after Week 5
The Kansas Jayhawks are bad again. Les Miles isn’t enough to change their fortunes or recruit very good offensive players. Kansas faced their biggest defeat to the Cowboys this week, allowing close to 300 yards rushing. Kansas only had 193 yards of offense. Pooka Williams Jr. was completely taken out of the game, averaging 2.3 yards per carry. This team is bad and should be an easy win to everyone in this bad conference.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders had a lead against Kansas State in the fourth quarter. Some second-half adjustments really stuck (they had zero points in the first half), but the team fell apart at the end. An interception in the end zone basically sealed the game. If that wasn’t it, it was the 70-yard touchdown they allowed with two minutes left. There were some things to like in this game, but a loss is a loss.
The difference in this division from 2 to 8 is negligible at best. Should Baylor be eighth on the list? Well, West Virginia literally did everything in their power to hand the Bears the game, but Baylor never took advantage. Some really bad calls on both sides ruined this game (that was a touchdown on 4th down). Still, Charlie Brewer had a chance to win the game for Baylor in double overtime, and he threw an interception on the first play of the drive. He has to be better than that, or he will stay here for a long time.
That Mountaineers offense might be one of the worst they’ve had in a long time. To think Baylor and WVU played a 70-63 game when the Mountaineers first joined the Big 12. Things are just much different now. Jarret Doege looked terrible for the second-straight week. Austin Kendall must be dreadful for coach Neal Brown to keep throwing Doege at the fire. He threw two bad interceptions and fumbled the ball twice. The WVU defense is going to carry them, especially the two behemoths Darius and Dante Stills clogging up the middle.
It’s clear that the magic has run out for Lincoln Riley, at least in terms of replacing Heisman winners/candidates with other candidates. Spencer Rattler has looked dreadful at times this season. Riley is still one of the best coaches in football, but the Sooners look to be facing a lost season. They might not even win the Big 12, which they have ever since they added the Big 12 Championship game. They literally cannot make another mistake for the rest of the season. The way they’ve been playing, that seems unlikely. For Rattler to throw an interception in enemy territory with less than two minutes left in a one-score game is inexcusable.
Kansas State somehow ends up back where they were last week. It’s hard to know what this team is after clearly playing down to the Red Raiders and needing a big fourth quarter to win. It’s possible Texas Tech is better than they are getting credit for, but as of now they are ranked ninth in the rankings. A big matchup with TCU this week will prove a lot if they can win that game on the road. The Horned Frogs’ defense will be a huge test for the Wildcats.
The TCU Horned Frogs ruined the hopes of the Big 12. Well, technically Texas’ inability to show they were a Top 10 team ruined the season. TCU rode a huge day from quarterback Max Duggan to beat the Longhorns. The Big 12 basically all played terrible in their first week of the season. TCU did as well, falling to Iowa State (who might be better than previously thought). The Big 12 is going to eat itself alive, and a TCU team that can beat a team in multiple ways.
The Texas Longhorns were the final hope of the Big 12 National Championship hopes. Now, Texas needs to reevaluate its goals for this season. Tom Herman is still fighting for his job. Sam Ehlinger is fighting for his legacy. With Oklahoma down this year, Texas still has a chance to win the conference. Those lofty goals are gone because they could not come up clutch two weeks in a row. They allowed teams to get up on them, and that’s going to bite a team every time. Allowing 12 points on field goals shows they bend but don’t break. However, allowing points on just about every possession are going to lead to losses no matter how good the offense is.
The early-season loss to Louisiana is looking more and more like a fluke every week. Brock Purdy wasn’t great, but he made some NFL-level throws at very important segments of the game. The pass to Xavier Hutchinson for a 65-yard touchdown was beautiful. Beating Oklahoma to bury them in early October is a statement that has them rocketing up the power rankings. The Cyclones might be playing in the Big 12 Championship Game if they keep this up. A major matchup with Oklahoma State comes on October 24th.
Oklahoma State is the best team in the Big 12, and it’s not close right now. They ran away with both their conference games. They are the only undefeated team left in the conference. There were two guarantees on this week’s power rankings; the Cowboys are number one and the Jayhawks are number 10. Chuba Hubbard hasn’t even dominated as he should yet, and he likely will eventually get his legs under him. This week, Dezmon Jackson was very good on the ground, giving the Cowboys three legitimate options at running back. The defense is up there with WVU as the best in the conference, and when they played OKSU came out on top with ease.
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