Big 12 power rankings: Oklahoma-Iowa State set for Championship Game

After a long season of ups and downs, the Big 12 Championship Game is set between Oklahoma and Iowa State. How does the rest of the conference shape up after an interesting weekend?

The Big 12 went into the weekend with some longshot scenarios still in play, but a few game results led to the ending most expected for at least a month. The Oklahoma Sooners will take their spot in the Big 12 Title Game for the fourth season in a row. On the other side, they will face their fourth different opponent. Iowa State makes the title game for the first time on the backs of Breece Hall and Brock Purdy.

The rest of the conference is playing for bragging rights if they are playing at all. Kansas State and Texas Tech say goodbye to largely disappointing seasons. Oklahoma State could go from top-ten aspirations to ending the season unranked. West Virginia still can’t stop doing this Jekyll and Hyde act at home and on the road. The Big 12 as a whole was mostly disappointing this season. Maybe it’s because of the very strange offseason, but with the talent across the conference, it should not be going into the last week with just three teams ranked in the Top 25. Only the Pac 12 has less among the Power 5 Conferences.

Big 12 power rankings entering Week 15

Kansas came so close to finally putting a “1” in the win column. They tied the game in the fourth quarter against Texas Tech. After Tech hit a field goal with over five minutes left, Kansas couldn’t even get a first down with a chance to win it. Not only is this team devoid of talent, but there’s something extra missing when things get tough. This is not a good look for former National Champion head coach Les Miles.

Baylor put all of its fortunes on the shoulders of senior quarterback Charlie Brewer. He threw the ball 56 times against Oklahoma, in a game that could make a disappointing season for the Bears. It wasn’t meant to be, and those 56 throws only led to 263 yards. Baylor came up short again, and the dreams they had coming into Dave Aranda’s first season turned quickly into nightmares. Now, they face one more tough test with Oklahoma State. Can Brewer’s swan song be better than his final season as a whole?

Kansas State lost its fifth-straight game after giving up 69 points to Texas. A promising start ends in desperate disappointment. Chris Klieman said he still wants the Wildcats to play in a bowl game. Nobody wants to see that. This team has been one of the worst in college football over the past month and a half. It’s time to say goodbye to this awful season.

Texas Tech had been looking better as of late, but then they almost lost to Kansas. Of course, almost losing and losing have serious ramifications between the two, and the Red Raiders survived the Jayhawks’ best shot. It’s the end of the season, and it could be the end of Matt Wells if voices around the university have their way. There are rumors around former Baylor head coach Art Briles. This would be a bad idea. Either way, it looks like an offseason of change for Texas Tech.

TCU has a chance to turn a bad season into bowl eligibility with a simple win against Louisiana Tech last week. They beat Oklahoma State to put a nail in their championship dreams. They still can’t make the top five just yet. There have been too many bad losses. However, wins against Texas and Oklahoma State will transcend this season. There is talent on this team, and Max Duggan is developing under center. Zach Evans has struggled this season, but TCU seems committed to giving the five-star running back the lion’s share of the carries. The future is bright for TCU.

Has there ever been a team in college football that is as good as West Virginia at home and as bad as they are on the road? It’s actually preposterous how horrible WVU is away from Milan Puskar Stadium. A 42-6 loss to Iowa State shows they aren’t in the same stratosphere as the top in the conference so far. Neal Brown still has work to do, but it’s bad news for the Mountaineers that he’s already been in rumors for more lucrative jobs. This team still has work to do, but he’s the right guy for the job. Next week, they put that Jekyll and Hyde act to the test when they welcome Oklahoma to Morgantown.

With everything on the line, a shot at the Big 12 Championship still in the balance, Oklahoma State went away to TCU and scored zero points in the fourth quarter. Here are their drives in that fourth quarter. Five-play drive that led to a punt. Three and out with two ho-hum runs. An interception on 2nd and goal right after TCU scored a touchdown to take the lead. A turnover on downs after TCU fumbled on their own 26-yard line. Then a Hail Mary to end the game that fell incomplete. It was the ultimate disappointment to end the season for OK. State. They will make a bowl game, but this offseason it’s back to the drawing board.

Tom Herman is clearly coaching for his job. He tried to show decision-makers in Austin that he’s the right man to bring Texas back to prominence. After Mack Brown left, it wouldn’t look good on Texas to lose coaches in back-to-back three-season stints. Texas as a whole has to figure out everything this offseason. Bijan Robinson looks like the next great Longhorns running back. Sam Ehlinger still hasn’t decided whether he’s returning to school or going to the NFL Draft. Texas has weeks it looks like a world-beater. Then, it has weeks where it’s a disaster. If Ehlinger comes back, he needs to prove he can be a top quarterback in the country to take Texas to the next level. That’s probably just as important as next season’s head coach.

For the first time all season, the top two teams in the Big 12 come with no argument. Oklahoma and Iowa State are unequivocally the best teams in the conference. Now, they will face off in the Big 12 Championship Game. Oklahoma finished off a Baylor team that came in trying to make their season against them. They face a similar situation next week against West Virginia. The Sooners didn’t let some early-season losses hurt them, and now they are in their rightful place. Oklahoma is inevitable.

Remember earlier this season when Iowa State lost to Louisiana, which forced them to drop out of the Top 25 rankings and knocked them to seventh in these rankings? That seems like a lifetime ago, and now the Cyclones are the clear frontrunner to win the Big 12 Championship. They haven’t played in a big bowl game since they went to the Peach Bowl in 1977. If they win the Big 12, they get to play in one of the New Year’s Six bowl games. It’s a much better end for this team than the Camping World Bowl or the Liberty Bowl. It comes down to two weeks from now, as Iowa State has two weeks to prepare for Oklahoma.

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