Big 12 Power Rankings: Week One

The Big 12 had a rough week one. Texas is still not back. Texas Tech couldn’t stop Ole Miss. And Kansas lost to another FCS team.

The league isn’t without hope. Oklahoma looked phenomenal, and West Virginia and TCU could play in New Year’s Six bowls.

As always, these are predictive.

1) Oklahoma- The Sooners didn’t miss Baker Mayfield week one. Kyler Murray was superb, and with the PAC-12 likely needing Washington to run the table to make the field, the Sooners could be in the playoff for the third time.

2) West Virginia- Will Grier was the national offensive player of the week after torching Tennessee in their week one victory. The Mountaineers appear to have their best team since joining the Big 12.

3) TCU- The Frogs crushed a bad team and looked great doing it. They feel far closer to the top teams than the next bunch on the list.

4) Oklahoma State- The Cowboys still seem like a risky bet without Mason Rudolph. But they won easily in week one. So much of the league couldn’t say that.

5) Iowa State- The Clones, like so many other teams, dealt with lightning cancelling their first game. The Cyclones return quite a bit from a team that beat Oklahoma and TCU last year.

6) Kansas State- The Wildcats might be overvalued here. They foolishly ran the ball with 51 seconds left and fumbled. If they take a knee three times, then they win in regulation. Thanks to a South Dakota kick bouncing off the uprights, they still did. Kansas State’s struggled with bad teams in prior openers. But it’s not encouraging that the Wildcats were down 24-12 in the fourth quarter.

7) Texas- The Longhorns trailed Maryland 17-0 and lost to them for the second season in a row. Maryland may play a different style of defense than the Big 12, but they also don’t have anywhere near the talent of the top of the league.

8) Baylor- The offense was spectacular, especially Jalen Hurd and Jalan McClendon. But the defense allowed too many outside runs and explosive plays over the top. This team should knock off at least one team above them in the rankings.

9) Texas Tech- Kliff Kingsbury’s time in Lubbock might be nearing its end. The Red Raiders were gashed by Ole Miss. And Kingsbury doesn’t seem like he has a top five offense this season.

10 Kansas- David Beaty is 3-34 and now has more loses to FCS schools than wins against FBS opponents. Beaty’s probably not going to survive the season, and the Jayhawks may not win a game.