Tiers starting to solidify - Big 12 Power Rankings
There were a lot of high-profile games in the conference this week, and the Red River Showdown was arguably the least compelling one. Kansas and TCU played on Gameday, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech had some tricky plays and even trickier counters. Kansas State and Iowa State fought for either offensive futility or defensive superiority.
In all, it was a very eventful week that helped to jumble up our Power Rankings. In fact, only two spots remained the same from last week.
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.
Previous Power Rankings:
So with that, here are the Blue Wings Rising Big 12 Football Power Rankings after Week 6:
1. TCU Horned Frogs (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) (LW: 4 High: 4)
Last Week: 38-31 W at #19 Kansas
This Week: vs #8 Oklahoma State (5-0)
The Horned Frogs had the most impressive win of the week (going on the road against the Jayhawks), are undefeated, and might have the best wide receiver in the country. This is a very effective offense that is liable to explode for points at any moment, and it's hard to imagine that anyone will overwhelm them at any point this season.
And of course, we haven't even gotten to the defense yet. They have speed across the field and were able to shut down a very productive Kansas offense for an entire half, something that not a lot of teams are going to be able to say this year.
2. Oklahoma State Cowboys (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) (LW: 2, High: 1)
Last Week: 41-31 W vs Texas Tech
This Week: at #13 TCU (5-0, 2-0 Big 12)
Slow and steady wins the race, right? The Cowboys have been extremely steady in their performances, but it's fair to say that they haven't really been challenged that much this year. Baylor is still an open question, and as well as Texas Tech played on Saturday, they were playing a backup quarterback.
Their consistency gives them a boost here, but I don't think that they are significantly better than either of the two teams behind them.
3. Kansas Jayhawks (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) (LW: 1, High: 1)
Last Week: 38-31 L vs #17 TCU
This Week: at Oklahoma (3-3, 0-3 Big 12)
Every team can complain about officiating, so I won't do that here to try and boost the Jayhawks. Instead, they played very well with their backup quarterback, and the defense played lights out in the first half against arguably the best offense in the conference.
But having Jason Bean as the starter while Jalon Daniels is out with an injury is not as big of a downgrade as you would normally think. The offense was just as explosive as we saw in previous weeks, and his running ability is just as much a weapon as Daniels' was. The defense is good for multiple big plays and stops, and if the offense is really humming again, they will be difficult to beat.
4. Kansas State Wildcats (5-1, 3-0 Big 12) (LW: 3 High: 1)
Last Week: 10-9 W at Iowa State
This Week: BYE
What an ugly game against the Cyclones this week. They did not perform well in this game at all, despite what things like SP+ might tell you. The offense struggled all night long, even when accounting for the strength of the Iowa State defense. And careless mistakes led to issues with finishing drives, which can have HUGE effects on games.
Don't get me wrong, this is a good team for sure. But while the defense has been good, it turns out that Oklahoma's offense is nothing special, Texas Tech scored enough to only consider that a good outing instead of great, and Iowa State's Tom Manning loves shallow crossing routes so much that they'll probably name the play "The Tom Manning Special" in NCAA 2023.
5. Texas Longhorns (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) (LW: 7 High: 6)
Last Week: 49-0 W vs Oklahoma
This Week: vs Iowa State (3-3, 0-3 Big 12)
They had an impressive game against Oklahoma, especially since it was the first game back for Quinn Ewers. There are still plenty of questions left to answer about the ability to sustain the offensive production against a defense that can actually play D1 football (most likely) and whether this defense is really THIS good (almost definitely), but unfortunately we'll only find out about the offense this week.
6. Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-3, 1-2 Big 12) (LW: 5 High: 3)
Last Week: 41-31 L at #7 Oklahoma State
This Week: BYE
There is no reason to be upset with their performance against Oklahoma State, but the decision to allow rumors that Donovan Smith was an injury scratch to fester was an odd one from Joey McGuire. Freshman quarterback Behren Morton played very well against the Cowboys, but an injury hampered him in the second half, and it was notable.
Texas Tech will have a bye week to get rested up and come back with their best lineup. It seems like they can use all the help they can get in the health department.
7. Baylor Bears (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) (LW: 6 High: 6)
Last Week: BYE
This Week: at West Virginia (2-3, 0-2 Big 12)
Our last impression of Baylor wasn't a great one, and there were enough great performances last week to make it difficult to boost them during the bye. In fact, they didn't get to benefit from the Oklahoma drop because they were already above them, and Texas was so impressive that they vaulted ahead.
The Bears get a great opportunity to impress this week on the road in Morgantown, but with both teams coming off a bye, it's likely that we will get the best that both teams have to offer. And the Baylor defense hasn't really been able to shut any decent offense down except a BYU team that was missing its top two wide receivers.
8. West Virginia Mountaineers (2-3, 0-2 Big 12) (LW: 10 High: 10)
Last Week: BYE
This Week: vs Baylor (3-2, 1-1 Big 12)
The Mountaineers need to start pulling wins together, and this is a pretty good opportunity for them. Baylor has struggled with Blake Shapen, and the defense hasn't really been able to shut anyone down, including an Iowa State offense that has been pretty atrocious.
But West Virginia has had problems of their own, with multiple injuries to contend with on defense, and an offense that has been inconsistent. The injury to CJ Donaldson in their last game against Texas isn't a good sign, and it will be important for him to be back and at full strength quickly if West Virginia wants to get their season turned around.
9. Iowa State Cyclones (3-3, 0-3 Big 12) (LW: 9 High: 5)
Last Week: 10-9 L vs #20 Kansas State
This Week: at #22 Texas (4-2, 2-1 Big 12)
It was really hard for me to decide on who was last in these power rankings, but Iowa State avoids it because they have a unit that is actually good at something. You can complain about the offense (and especially the playcalling) as much as you want, but this defense is playing at an elite level right now. Unfortunately, you need to do more than just stop the other team from scoring very much.
Iowa State SHOULD have all the talent they need to be successful, but they have not been able to get it all to mesh. Hunter Dekkers has been hassled more than he should be, his throws have been just barely off, and despite the great play of Xavier Hutchinson, the ways in which he is being used is not conducive to successful drives.
10. Oklahoma Sooners (3-3, 0-3 Big 12) (LW: 8, High 3)
Last Week: 49-0 L vs Texas
This Week: vs #19 Kansas (5-1, 2-1 Big 12)
This team is awful. To levels that no Oklahoma fan would probably have thought in their worst nightmares. A lot of Oklahoma fans will point to the loss of Dillon Gabriel, but he has struggled with consistency multiple times this season, and he was rattled early against TCU without even getting hit. There are real questions about how good the offense will actually be even when he comes back.
But the real issue for Oklahoma is the defense. They seem a step slow on everything. TCU flummoxed them with the simplest misdirection. They had no answer for Adrian Martinez. And Quinn Ewers picked them apart like they weren't even there half the time. They face a Kansas squad that is being led by Jason Bean this week (assuming that Jalon Daniels is not ready to go), but it's not like that is a significant step down. Oklahoma HAS to have a good performance before the season truly gets away from them..
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