Man, Baylor had a rough go of it this weekend with a whopping 24-hour long game against BYE. The unusual start time threw our players, and it took them a good while to wake up, but they eventually got things going around the second quarter. As is the trend this season, Baylor picked it up in the second half, and BYE did not score at all in the fourth quarter. Oh, I suppose there was also a slate of four Big 12 games, all of which were one-score games at the end! How did these close games alter the rankings? Let’s break it down.

10. Kansas Jayhawks

Kansas missed three field goals in the fourth quarter, including one as time expired that would have won the game. I’m not blaming the kicker for the loss; he did score from 21, 29, and 50 yards, but he also missed from 37, 41, and 54. Not all was bad for Kansas though. They had 348 yards of passing and actually out-gained TCU in total offense yards, 470-366. This game also featured four turnovers for each team. Kansas earned 17 points off turnovers. TCU only had 7. So, Kansas lost, again, but they maybe probably should have won that game?

9. Iowa St. Cyclones

The fourth quarter remains Iowa State’s kryptonite. The Cyclones were leading 31-21 after three and it looked like they might hold on for the upset. Then OSU put up 17 in the fourth and never looked back. I think Iowa State is on the right track here, they just need to learn how to finish games, which may involve having athletes that can keep up with the quicker teams in the Big 12 for a full 60 minutes.

8. Texas Longhorns

Charlie Strong took over the defense... and gave up 45 points and 672 yards! I could be wrong, but I think that is one of the worst defensive performances in terms of yardage in the history of Texas football. Oklahoma had 5.1 yards per carry and 12.6 yards per passing attempt. Even crazier? OU had 17.7 yards per completion! Texas’ offense actually played fairly well and they certainly had a chance to win this game, but a team can’t force four turnovers, only get three points off of them, and expect to win. Charlie’s seat is scalding right now.

7. Texas Tech Red Raiders

Texas Tech had more time of possession than Kansas State. In Manhattan. Yet the Red Raiders lost. This game went back and forth, with neither team really scoring a decisive blow until Kansas State forced three stops in a row in the latter third of the game, earning points off of each following possession. Tech is, obviously, very good offensively, but I think they are far too inconsistent overall to compete for the Big 12 crown.

6. Oklahoma State Cowboys

Pretty good offense, kind of suspect defense. This is the Oklahoma State we know and expected. Not much else to say here.

5. Kansas State Wildcats

The Wildcats have looked decent-to-good thus far. A shutdown of Texas Tech was nice and the road loss to West Virginia was, well, weird. That early loss to Stanford is not looking good right now and, with Oklahoma next on the schedule, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Wildcats fall off a bit. Never doubt the Wizard of Manhattan, though.

4. TCU Horned Frogs

Stop. Playing. So. Poorly. Against. Kansas. The Frogs had a paltry (by their standards) 366 yards of offense and gave up 470 to Kansas. It’s become tradition now for TCU to almost lose to Kansas, so I’m not putting too much stock into this game, but come on, Frogs.

3. Oklahoma Sooners

The Sooners nearly lost to Texas. But they didn’t. And they looked pretty good on offense. So maybe the Sooners are back? I think this team is the most likely team to hand Baylor a loss, because of the running game, but they also almost lost to a knock-off Baylor offense, so who knows? Sooners remain third for now.

2. West Virginia Mountaineers

Bye week buddies!

1. Baylor Bears

Bye week buddies!

Top Four

1. Clemson
2. Ohio State/Michigan winner
3. Alabama
4. Washington

Texas A&M might actually be nearing this territory. Blech.