It's only Week 2 of the college football season and the Big 12 Conference title race has been blown wide open. After last year's unexpected finish, nobody should be surprised this league is primed to be full of drama again this year.
Let's break down where each of the 16 teams in the conference sit in terms of how good they look right now and they're potential to be playing for hardware in December.
Big 12 Power Rankings: Separating the contenders from the disappointments
The Contenders
After upsetting Kansas State in Ireland to start the season, Iowa State leads the conference and looks like a force to be reckoned with. They held off a scrappy Hawkeye team in the CyHawk rivalry game on Saturday and could find themselves back in Dallas for the championship in December.
Despite losing quarterback Jake Retzlaff, BYU has impressed so far. The Cougars' performance in conference play will dictate how much of a contender they are, but don't take your eyes off Provo yet.
Let's not forget Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are laying in wait while several preseason contenders are taken down a peg or two. Don't be surprised if they're in the mix once November rolls around.
And then there's Utah and TCU. The Utes and Horned Frogs probably had two of the most impressive starts to the season after disappointing campaigns last year. These are two squads you won't want to forget about as we progress through the schedule.
The Surprises
Here are some teams that are currently sitting near the top of the Big 12 standings but we're all just waiting for the clock to strike midnight in a few weeks.
Arizona and Houston top that list as they were bottom feeders last year. It could really be as simple as the two teams are 2-0 and after conference play begins, they'll find themselves surely back at the bottom of things.
UCF and Kansas will be interesting to watch as well. The Jayhawks nearly upset Missouri on the road, so they won't be an easy out for any team this year just like last year. The Knights on the other hand, are an unproven product that could either fizzle out or take off with the right combination of punches.
The Disappointments
I think we all know who leads this category. Kansas State was predicted to win the conference in preseason previews but currently sit under .500 and at the bottom of the standings. Unless there's a massive turnaround, the Wildcats may be struggling to be bowl eligible by the end of the year.
And, of course, Arizona State looks like it is finding a title defense harder to accomplish than it appears. The Sun Devils suffered a brutal loss to unranked Mississippi State on Saturday and dropped out of the AP Top 25 rankings altogether. They have little room for error going forward.
Then you just have to take a look at the rest of the remaining teams in the standings. Baylor, Cincinnati, Colorado, Oklahoma State and West Virginia are not having the starts to the year that they anticipated and things could just get worse from here. That's not to say they all could play spoiler for any of the contenders down the road. Heck, even Baylor has a dangerous squad that could upgrade itself into the surprises category by year's end.