The Big 12 has missed the playoff two of the three years. There are at least three playoff contenders in this league.

Tier I—Playoff Contenders:

1) Oklahoma- The Sooners rocked the Buckeyes in Columbus and have the best player in the country in quarterback Baker Mayfield. With trips to Manhattan and Stillwater, the Sooners have a long road to the playoff.

2) Oklahoma State- Mike Gundy’s men keep winning. Mason Rudolph and James Washington might form the nation’s best wide receiver-quarterback combo. Another legitimate playoff contender.

3) Kansas State- The Wildcats have rolled two mediocre teams, and they look like many of Snyder’s best teams. With Jesse Ertz back, the Wildcats could crash the playoff.

Tier II—Top 25 Squads:

4) TCU- The Frog’s defense decimated Arkansas and Kenny Hill has looked okay. There’s a good chance they’ll beat one of the top three teams.

5) West Virginia- A close loss to Virginia Tech deflated some of the excitement around this team. They’re still a legitimate top 25 squad.

Tier III—Inconsistent

6) Texas Tech- Kliff Kingsbury’s offense looked spectacular in week one. The question, as always: can Texas Tech field a defense?

7) Iowa State- The Cyclones should have beat Iowa. They led by 10 points in the fourth quarter. A tough loss but an encouraging sign for the program.

8) Texas- They destroyed San Jose State. The Longhorns struggled at times early and should be blown out by USC.

Tier IV—Ready for Basketball

9) Baylor- Almost nobody will have Baylor above 10th. And it’s not crazy to rank the Bears there after the last two weeks. But Baylor still has some talented players and will switch to a good quarterback next week. The same can’t be said for the Jayhawks.

10 Kansas- Central Michigan went into Lawrence and rolled Kansas. Central Michigan is not good. They required overtime to beat an awful Rhode Island team. Doug Meacham is an excellent coordinator, but in David Beaty’s third season, he still doesn’t have a reliable quarterback. Baylor and Kansas have looked much worse than the rest of the league through two games.