Big losses lead to big drops in the Week 3 Big 12 Power Rankings
I was not expecting there to be big movements in these Power Rankings from Week 2 to Week 3, but the Big 12 had other ideas. While the majority of teams did exactly what you expected, there were some big results that changed the outlook for a few of these teams.
Even with these results, the teams in the conference are jumbled from top to bottom. But with some of the teams that everyone expects to lead the conference fixing some of those serious concerns I had last week, and the teams that everyone assumed would be at the bottom showing some big strides.
A quick reminder on how I intend to do this power ranking. It is NOT just going to be restating the standings. It is entirely possible that a team that has a worse record lands higher on the list, especially if they are playing really well as of late. Similarly, it is also not going to be a "who's hottest" list. Instead, it will be a subjective mix of which team is playing better and which team I think IS better, with a tiebreaker going to teams that have significantly outperformed my expectations.
So with that, here is the second edition of the Blue Wings Rising Big 12 Football Power Rankings:
1. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-0) (LW: 2)
Last Week: 63-7 W vs Arkansas Pine-Bluff
This Week: BYE
The Cowboys have been the one team this year that hasn't actually impressed me with what they've done, but they also haven't given me a reason to question any key portions of their team. I expected them to be solid, and I haven't seen anything to make me change my mind yet.
2. Kansas Jayhawks (3-0) (LW: 4)
Last Week: 48-30 W at Houston
This Week: vs Duke (3-0)
I surprised myself with this ranking. Not because I don't think that they deserve to be here, but more that I expected other teams to be more impressive in their games this week that would have made the decision harder. The only team that I think has a case to be higher than them (other than the Cowboys) would be Oklahoma, but Kansas gets the second spot due to the electric offense.
The Jayhawks also get bonus points for showing the ability to deal with some pretty significant adversity to get to their undefeated record. While there is something to say about never getting behind, the ability to come back from 14-0 twice is impressive. Especially since they didn't just come back, they stormed into the lead in both cases. And they have gotten better from week to week. There is a good chance this might be the peak for them, so I'll give it to them while I still can.
3. Oklahoma Sooners (3-0) (LW: 6)
Last Week: 49-14 W at Nebraska
This Week: vs Kansas State (2-1)
There is no doubt that this Sooner team has more talent than either of the two teams still ahead of them in these power rankings. But while the defense has played very well, the offenses they have faced have not been particularly well-regarded.
An offensive explosion against an abysmal Nebraska team didn't do much to wash the bad taste of that extremely slow start against Kent State out of my mouth. While they definitely seem to be turning things around, they have yet to face an actually good defense. Kansas State has one of those, so a strong offensive showing could vault them into the top spot.
4. TCU Horned Frogs (2-0) (LW: 5)
Last Week: BYE
This Week: at SMU (2-1)
Without a game this last week, its hard to move them up or down on their own merit. Instead enough teams ahead of them faltered that they benefited and moved up a spot.
Max Duggan has still been fairly impressive, and the defense has played well even when accounting for the level of competition. But we will get a good idea of what to expect moving forward after this week's non-conference finale.
5. Iowa State Cyclones (3-0) (LW: 7)
Last Week: 43-10 W vs Ohio
This Week: vs Baylor (2-1)
This week's win was a nice step forward, but the evaluation of this team is heavily reliant on the strength of their defense. Unfortunately, they haven't faced any offenses that can give us a real idea of how good it is this year.
Right now, I still think they are going to have a really good defense. But while the offense has shown some signs of life, there are still enough questions about just how good Hunter Dekkers is going to be and whether he has the skill position players around him for sustained success.
6. Texas Longhorns (2-1) (LW: 9)
Last Week: 41-20 W vs UTSA
This Week: at Texas Tech (2-1)
There are still some really worries surrounding the quarterback position, but this defense and Bijan Robinson are good enough to overcome them, assuming that they don't get off to a slow start against a better team.
UTSA played two overtime games to start the season and it showed. They jumped out to a fast start, but they were unable to keep up the energy they needed to handle the strength of Robinson. But that might not be enough against Big 12 teams with better talent. They are definitely trending up, but the QB position needs to get healthier quickly.
7. Baylor Bears (2-1) (LW: 8)
Last Week: 42-7 L vs Texas State
This Week: at Iowa State (3-0)
The questions that started in the loss to Baylor were not answered in the game against Texas State. Sure, Richard Reese made his case to be the lead back for this team, but the biggest question is about Blake Shapen and his ability to lead this offense. He struggled mightily against BYU, and even though you can argue that it was because he didn't need to against the Bobcats, he didn't show very much in that game either.
The defense looks to be good this year, but there are plenty of good defenses in this conference, so they'll need something more to jump up in the rankings.
8. Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-1) (LW: 3)
Last Week: 27-14 L at NC State
This Week: vs Texas (2-1)
While the result against NC State wasn't entirely unexpected, what was worrying is the continued tendency for Donovan Smith to give the ball away. The Texas Tech defense has been playing really well, but the offense has had too many empty possessions or have put the defense in really bad positions. It almost cost them against Houston, and it finally made a huge difference this last week.
9. Kansas State Wildcats (2-1) (LW: 1)
Last Week: 17-10 L vs Tulane
This Week: at Oklahoma (3-0)
This drop may seem pretty harsh, but the Wildcats somehow failed to take advantage of a great matchup, and the problems were ones that I've mentioned multiple times. Deuce Vaughn was unable to carry this offense by himself, as Tulane focused on him and held him under 100 yards. Adrian Martinez showed all the same flaws that we saw in his time at Nebraska, and there were several plays that would have completely turned the tide of the game if he had just made the right read.
It's unfortunate that this defensive effort was wasted by a horrible offensive performance, but unless Martinez gets it figured out quickly, there will be many more of these this year.
10. West Virginia Mountaineers (1-2) (LW: 10)
Last Week: 65-7 W vs Towson
This Week: at Virginia Tech (2-1)
The big win against Towson was a good sign for this team, but it also was never going to be able to answer any of the questions that have been swirling since their 0-2 start. Win big against a struggling Virginia Tech and I can start to believe that this team can score some upsets in conference.
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