Big 12 Power Rankings 10/9

As always, these are predictive.

1) West Virginia- The Mountaineers have by far the Big 12’s best playoff hopes. They can’t play as loose as they did against Kansas.

2) Texas- They’re not back. They’ve won some class games lately. But Travis and I had this team No. 2 before the season, and they have the talent to finish in this spot.

3) Oklahoma- Firing Mike Stoops can’t have been easy for Lincoln Riley, but it was the obvious move. The Sooners still have an okay chance to make the playoff, if they can win out.

4) Texas Tech- Just about any team could earn this spot. The Red Raiders have looked a lot better since their loss to Ole Miss to open the season.

5) TCU- The Texas loss doesn’t look quite so bad, but they haven’t been dominant.

6) Iowa State- The Cyclones picked up a big win against Oklahoma State. This team looks capable of playing most teams close.

7) Oklahoma State- This hasn’t been the season the Cowboys expected, even with some inevitable regression from losing Mason Rudolph and James Washington.

8) Baylor- The defense has to figure out how to stop giving up so many big plays. If the offensive line keeps playing that well for stretches—which still isn’t spectacular—then this team has a decent chance to go bowling.

9) Kansas State- At 2-4, Kansas State would need a miracle to make a bowl game. Bill Snyder’s tenure could be ending soon.

10) Kansas- The Jayhawks are much better than last season. That still leaves them the league’s worst team.