Big 12 Power Rankings: Week Thirteen

This week's rankings post is a few hours later because yours truly had two tests this morning. I know the suspense of waiting an extra couple of hours really killed some of y'all so we'll jump right in.

1. Iowa St. Cyclones (+0)

The Hawkeyes beat up on cupcake Georgia State, 81-58, as a "tune-up" game before their Rivalry Week game against Alabama. Oh wait, this is a football post...

10. Iowa St. Cyclones (+0)

They lost to Tech and Kansas. It doesn't get much worse than that.

9. Texas Tech Red Raiders (+0)

The Raiders did come back from down ten in the third quarter, so that's...something? Baylor is going to demolish them.

8. Kansas Jayhawks (+0)

Well, it looks as if Kansas had one bullet in their chamber and that bullet was used in a near-fatal attack on TCU. After nearly upsetting the Froggies, the 'Hawks shot blanks against Oklahoma in a downpour. The only Kansas points came off of a fumble recovery.

7. Oklahoma State Cowboys (+0)

Good job, good effort Pokes. Okie never really threatened Baylor in their loss, but new quarterback Rudolph did impress, so much so that Bedlam is shaping up to be a cracker of a match. Then again, Baylor was able to run all over State in the second half and Baylor did not have a man-tank named Samaje Perine.

6. West Virginia Mountaineers (+0)

Like a lot of teams, the 'Eers play much better at home than away. West Virginia played sloppy again, giving the ball away four times; something you absolutely cannot do against a Bill Snyder team. West Virginia has the talent to play with anyone in the country in Morgantown, they just lack the discipline to do so at times. Also: WHERE WAS THIS TRICKETT WHEN WE PLAYED THEM?!?!?! Gah...

5. Texas Longhorns (+0)

The Horns were off this week to prepare for their Thanksgiving Day showdown with the Froggies. Don't be surprised to see the upset here. TCU has looked "meh" on the road this year and DKR will provide a tough test for our little brothers to the North.

4. Oklahoma Sooners (+0)

Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine.

3. Kansas State Wildcats (+0)

In complete contrast to OU, the Snydercats ran for exactly one yard against WVU. Eins, uno. And they won. Jake Waters had a stellar day with 400 yards passing, half of which when to Tyler Lockett, who also had a punt return for a touchdown. The game in Morgantown worked out almost perfectly for the Bears and December 6th should see a Top Ten showdown in Waco (potentially for the Big 12 crown).

2. TCU Horned Frogs (+0)

Yeah, no, TCU ain't getting ranked higher than Baylor on this list.

1. Baylor Bears (+0)

Yeah, but Baylor sputtered on offense. Yeah, but Baylor scored one point less than their season average in a veritable monsoon and won by three touchdowns and was ahead by 14+ for almost the entire game. Next question please.

Big 12 Tiers:

I - BU, TCU

II - KSU

III - OU, UT, WVU

IV - OSU

V - KU, Tech, ISU

Tiers III and IV moved up this week in relative strength while Tier V, well...

Final Four and Top Ten:

The Final Four Right Now:

1. Oregon Ducks - I had them here last week and a shellacking of Colorado isn't going to move them down from this spot.

2. Alabama Crimson Tide - The Tide retain their second spot, but they looked really beatable to start out against "breather" Western Carolina Catamounts. They still ended up winning, 48-18, but Baylor beat an infinitely better Oklahoma team by the same score on the road. War Eagle.

3. Baylor Bears - Do I really need to justify this?

4. TCU Horned Frogs - TCU is better than FSU, MSU, and certainly better than tOSU.

The Final Four at the End of the Season:

1. Alabama Crimson Tide - You just know it is going to be them if they win out.

2. Oregon Ducks - The Committee has already shown that they like UO over FSU. If both win out, nothing will change that.

3. Baylor Bears - Big 12 Champions.

4. TCU Horned Frogs - Plot twist! Both Ohio State and FSU look vulnerable against the run. Both are facing run-heavy teams. It isn't out of the realm of possibility that both go down, especially if they play the way they did this weekend.

The Top Ten:

1. Oregon Ducks

2. Alabama Crimson Tide

3. Baylor Bears

4. TCU Horned Frogs

5. Mississippi State - Here's the thing, the Bulldogs don't really have any quality wins outside of Auburn. Yes, beating Vanderbilt 51-0 is nice, but Vanderbilt is probably worse than Iowa State. I can't justify putting them in the top four.

6. Florida State Seminoles - Undefeated in the worst Power Five conference and  just barely at that. Yes, their record is the best, but you cannot convince me that at least half, if not more, of the teams in the Top Ten would beat FSU on a neutral field.

7. Ohio State Buckeyes - They lost to Virginia Tech and were within a point of Indiana until the fourth quarter. Both of those games were at home and VT just lost to Wake Forest, 6-3, in double overtime. The Buckeyes are not a Playoff team and B1G football is a curse unto us all.

8. Kansas State Wildcats - What? You thought I would put a team that lost to Florida here? Pssh.

9. UCLA Bruins - I am not at all confident in this, but the Bruins have a better resume than the Spartans and have been on a roll lately. They did also need 2OT to beat Colorado though...

10. Michigan State Spartans - Yeah, not putting Georgia in here. Arizona could also contend for this spot if they didn't have a near-loss to 3-8 UTSA blemish.