Big 12 power rankings: Oklahoma looks like Oklahoma again, Texas survives scare

The best teams in the Big 12 all won close matchups, except Oklahoma who destroyed Kansas.

Big 12 football was very dramatic, but all the final scores were about exactly how they were drawn up. Every single favorite won their matchup outright, but every underdog except Kansas and Texas Tech covered the spread. Texas, Oklahoma State, and Iowa State were all sweating their matchups.

It was a wild week across the division. Texas was saved by a clear missed pass interference in the endzone against West Virginia. Oklahoma State saved themselves by stopping Kansas State’s two-point conversion attempt and then intercepted the ball when they failed to get a first down on offense. The defense has been keeping them afloat this season. Iowa State played another close one and needed four-unanswered touchdowns scores to keep their hopes in the Big 12 alive.

Big 12 power rankings entering Week 11

What more is there to say that hasn’t been said before? Kansas is getting close to being a mid-major in terms of talent level. Things were supposed to get better under Les Miles, but it’s clear that this team is just plain awful now and the future is bleak. Thank goodness basketball starts in a month.

Baylor finally showed signs of life this week taking a 21-10 lead into halftime, but after a touchdown early in the third quarter, the Bears shriveled up. A 58-yard touchdown to Tresten Ebner put them into striking distance, but after taking the ball down to the Cyclones 14-yard line, Charlie Brewer threw a major interception. It’s been a pretty awful senior season for Brewer, and things seem to be falling apart in front of everyone. Maybe it was the COVID cases to start the year, or maybe Matt Rhule really did hold all the cards. Either way, Baylor is an easy win this season.

Texas Tech is clearly still really bad. The bottom of the Big 12 is just not good. Seems like an easy statement to make, but these three make it very clear. Texas Tech rode a disastrous 3rd quarter to a 34-18 loss to TCU. At one point, the Red Raiders took it’s offense off the field on second and 4, down by two scores to kick a field goal. The plan might seem smart on paper, but in execution, it’s a very dumb move. Mostly because kickers miss sometimes, and that’s exactly what Trey Wolff did. It’s a composite of the Texas Tech season. Matt Wells is running out of time to keep his job.

TCU doesn’t move up this week despite the win because they were the beneficiary of a bad team doing bad things. Still, good on the Horned Frogs to build a lead and hold it. Three conference losses this early in the season knocks them out of contention of anything worthwhile. Still, there’s some confidence-building that could come over the next few weeks. They have West Virginia next week, and then they end the season with Oklahoma State. If they can win those games, the Horned Frogs will move up this list.

WVU fans have a legitimate gripe about how the game ended, but they also had ample opportunities to do more on offense the entire game against Texas. The game was never more than a one-score game. They were doing very well with wide receiver screens, but once they got into the red zone, they started changing a game plan that was working. You know what they say about changing what works. That’s what the Mountaineers did, and it cost them. They were on the way to an epic win in Austin again, but they did more to stop that than the referees ever did.

Kansas State loses a heartbreaker against Oklahoma State this week, and now the Wildcats are basically out of it. Three conference wins ends up taking a once-promising season and makes it another ho-hum year for KSU. The Wildcats were going to pull ahead with six minutes left when Will Howard fumbled near the red zone. The defense picked it up and took it 85 yards to the house. That basically put their season to bed, but they still scored a touchdown with a chance to tie. When they didn’t score the two-point conversion, the Wildcats still got another chance to win but threw an interception on their final drive.

The Iowa State Cyclones escaped a really bad loss against Baylor on Saturday. Again, the Bears took the ball to the ISU 14 yard line before throwing an interception. Props to Iowa State for making the play, but there were legitimately four Cyclones against one Baylor receiver in the end zone on that play. Iowa State has been holding on for dear life all season, but at the end of the day, they are still alive in the Big 12.

Texas‘ offense struggled against West Virginia, but that’s nothing new against the Mountaineers. The Longhorns scored a touchdown with 7:31 left in the third quarter, but then they failed to score on their next drives to extend their lead beyond one score. The defense did stop WVU when it mattered. West Virginia made it to the red zone on their last three drives, and they came out with three points. Give it up for the Longhorns’ defense. There were plays for WVU to make, but they didn’t and Texas came up with a good win against an outstanding defense.

There’s just not a lot to learn from a win against Kansas. Oklahoma did all they can to show how much Kansas was out of their league on Saturday. The season could go down as a disappointment for the Sooners, but they will always have their 62 points against the Jayhawks. Oklahoma was able to get some important snaps for Tanner Mordecai. Everything hinges on next week when Oklahoma faces their in-state rivals.

The Cowboys escaped again. They went into halftime with zero points, but the defense kept the team in the game long enough to mount a comeback against Kansas State. They were able to force the Wildcats to make multiple mistakes towards the end of the game, sealing the fate for the Wildcats. Now that Oklahoma State survived, the real test comes. They welcome the Sooners next week with Big 12 supremacy on the line.

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