Big 12 Power Rankings - Week 5
Week 4 Results:
SMU 42, TCU 34
Texas 70, Texas Tech 35
Baylor 31, No. 14 Iowa State 29
Duke 52, Kansas 33
Oklahoma State 31, No. 25 Kansas State 20
No. 4 Oklahoma 16, West Virginia 13
Week 5 Power Rankings (last week's ranking if changed):
1. Oklahoma
The Sooners continue to find ways to win games. West Virginia may have handed them a win on Saturday but in the end, it's all about the result. Oklahoma isn't the same flashy Oklahoma we've all grown accustomed to but they're racking up the wins.
2. Texas (4)
Texas is arguably the hardest team in the Big 12 to figure out. Are they contenders or pretenders? It seems like it changes by the week. The Longhorns hung 70 points on Texas Tech and look like a much better offense with Casey Thompson under center. We'll see how they handle this week's road contest in Fort Worth.
3. Baylor (9)
Baylor has earned my respect. I didn't expect much from them in 2021, especially on the offensive side of the ball but they proved me wrong last week in the win over Iowa State. They made the big jump in the rankings this week because they deserved it. This week, the Bears have a top 25 showdown with Oklahoma State. This should tell us if the Bears are for real or if that was just a one-game fluke.
4. Iowa State (2)
Matt Campbell's teams always start slow but I'm not so sure anyone expected this slow of a start. The Cyclones returned a bunch of talent from last year's team that made the Big 12 championship, yet sit at 2-2. Offensively, Iowa State looks like a mess. If they don't get things figured out soon, this could be a huge letdown year in Ames.
5. Oklahoma State (8)
Similar to Baylor, Oklahoma State is a team that I haven't been sold on. They came away with an impressive win over Kansas State but I can't put them any higher than 5th. This offense is going to struggle once it gets into the thick of Big 12 play.
6. West Virginia
Man, the Mountaineers had a real shot of soaring up these rankings until they committed a handful of crucial mistakes late in the fourth quarter. It was an impressive showing from the defense but the offense is holding this team back from being 4-0.
7. TCU (3)
It's honestly hard for me to justify putting TCU at No. 7 because they're a pretty good football team. SMU isn't a bad loss but losing to a Group of Five school while Oklahoma State and Baylor had ranked wins, someone had to fall. I expect the Horned Frogs will leap their way back up in the coming weeks.
8. Kansas State (5)
Not having Skylar Thompson was going to hurt this team at some point and it showed on Saturday in Stillwater. Will Howard went 4/12 for 50 yards and Jaren Lewis went 10/19 for 148 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. The Wildcats will have a hard time winning games with Thompson on the sidelines.
9. Texas Tech (7)
New year, same issues for the Red Raiders. They can't stop anybody with a pulse. This defense looked atrocious against Texas and I don't expect their issues to be solved anytime soon.
10. Kansas
The Jayhawks gave up 52 points to a really bad Duke team. Yikes.
Week 4 Matchups (all times eastern)
Texas at TCU, 12 p.m. on ABC
No. 6 Oklahoma at Kansas State, 3:30 p.m. on FOX
Texas Tech at West Virginia, 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2
No. 21 Baylor at No. 19 Oklahoma State, 7 p.m. on ESPN2
Kansas at Iowa State, 7 p.m. on FS1
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