BY Jordan Bianucci & Brice Larson
Jordan Bianucci’s Power Rankings
We’re barely into October but the in the aggregate, the Big-12 has been a massive disappointment so far. The conference has two teams ranked in the top-25. That’s one more than the Mountain West and five less than the Pac-12. While this is bad news for the general college football fan, it’s great news for the conference’s newcomers. Unless you are Houston you shouldn’t be getting your doors blown off by any team not named Texas or Oklahoma.
1. Texas
The Longhorns blow out of Kansas reinforces that there’s probably one really good team in this conference. However this Saturday at the Cotton Bowl, Oklahoma can make the case that they should be included in that category
2. Oklahoma
We finally get to see a truly intriguing Big-12 matchup. The Sooners and Longhorns are the two best teams in the conference and it’s the last time they’ll face each other in the regular season as Big-12 foes. For those of you that have been locked in a bank vault, UT and OU are heading to the SEC next season. Let’s talk about this game for a minute because it’s infinitely more interesting than anything else happening in the Big-12 right now. According to the AP, “The combined ranking of 15 for Oklahoma and Texas is the best for a Red River Game since 2011.” Combine that with the rivalry aspect, and the fact that this could be a Big-12 Championship preview and you’ve got quite the buildup. Hopefully the game can live up to the hype.
3. Kansas
The Jayhawks didn’t have their starting quarterback in Austin vs. Texas so it’s hard to assess where they are in relation to the cream of the Big-12 crop. But until another team in this conference proves that they are anything more than mediocre, the Jayhawks remain at three.
4. Kansas State
After a bye KSU visits Oklahoma State on Friday night. In a cruel twist there’s also no postseason baseball scheduled. The television executives are laughing at you and me.
5. BYU
The Cougars looked ok, but caught some breaks in their victory over Cincinnati last week. They now have a nicely timed bye week. Outside of Texas and Oklahoma, Brigham Young has a winnable remaining schedule. What’s standing between BYU and seven or eight wins? Depth.
6. West Virginia
West Virginia beat TCU on the road. I don’t have a clue to how good the Mountaineers are but they’re 4-1 and Don Knotts is an alum so they’re at six this week.
7. TCU
TCU plays Iowa State this week on FS2, preempting their regular coverage of a 65 and older corn hole tournament.
8. Texas Tech
The Red Raiders lost their starting quarterback for the season and they have a matchup with Baylor this week. Insomniacs can rejoice, watching that game is the equivalent of eating a burrito stuffed with Ambien.
9. Cincinnati
It has to be frustrating as Bearcat fan watching Emory Jones. If he could accurately throw the ball down the field, Cincy would have beaten BYU and be in my top 5.
10. Iowa State
What is there to say about the Cyclones… they’re one of the five Big-12 teams that play on a natural grass surface. I thought about putting them in my top-5 based solely on that fact.
11. Baylor
Baylor came back from a 28-point deficit to beat UCF on the road. It looks like the Bears are using my past power rankings as bulletin board material.
12. UCF
UCF’s matchup with Kansas is my sneaky good game of the week.
13. Oklahoma State
Just to reiterate, there’s no postseason baseball on Friday night and the sadists that put together the television schedule gave us Oklahoma State vs. Kansas State to watch. There’s a special place in hell for those people.
Houston does not play this week, which is a win for all of us.
