Week Two Big 12 Power Rankings: Baylor Bears, Oklahoma Sooners assert dominance

Week one of the college football season is in the books. Crazy, isn’t it? The Big 12 wasn’t perfect, but a few teams showed what they’re capable of doing in 2014.

As a whole, the Big 12 Conference went 6-3. Kansas had a week one bye, which is kind of a bummer when ranking teams. However, let’s get to this week’s Big 12 power rankings with a one week sample size.

T1. Oklahoma Sooners (1-0) • Prev. Rank: #1

Oklahoma began its highly anticipated 2014 campaign on a strong note. The Sooners throttled the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, 48-16, in Norman. Trevor Knight looked sharp, minus a few turnovers. The defense played lights outs as well, holding LT’s star running back Kenneth Dixon for most of the game. Sooners will make the trip to Tulsa this weekend for a date with the Golden Hurricane.

T1. Baylor Bears (1-0) • Prev. Rank: #2

The story of the night was Baylor’s defense for once. They shut out the SMU Mustangs to open their brand new stadium. Bryce Petty’s night ended at the conclusion of the second quarter, but he was convincing with just the 23 passing attempts he took. The defense’s shutout puts them right with OU as the Big 12 frontrunners.

3. Kansas State Wildcats (1-0) • Prev. Rank: #3

Jake Waters looks like one of the Big 12’s best options at quarterback, and he had a solid performance in K-State’s opener. While the Wildcats faced Stephen F. Austin, K-State’s offense had no trouble moving the ball and putting up points on the Lumberjacks. Plus, the defense gave up very little to SFA. Should be a solid year from Snyder’s club.

4. Texas Longhorns (1-0) • Prev. Rank: #4

We’ll know more about Charlie Strong and the Texas Longhorns with a few big name, out-of-conference match-ups on deck. However, the Longhorns opened the Strong Era with a 38-7 win over North Texas. The UT defense shut out the Mean Green the first three quarters, which didn’t provide David Ash much reason to worry as Texas’ starting quarterback.

5. TCU Horned Frogs (1-0) • Prev. Rank: #6

Trevone Boykin balled out against Samford. Which is a good sign for the Frogs. However, this TCU defense will be easier to judge with Minnesota, at SMU, OU, at Baylor, and then Oklahoma State up next on the schedule.

6. Texas Tech Red Raiders (1-0) • Prev. Rank: #5

It wasn’t a great start to Kingsbury’s second year. Yes, Texas Tech beat Central Arkansas. However, they allowed 35 points, and things don’t get won’t get any easier in the Big 12. Davis Webb had a solid statistical performance, but Texas Tech still has some work to do.

7. Oklahoma State Cowboys (0-1) • Prev. Rank: #7

Give the Cowboys credit. They gave Florida State one heckuva fight. Tyreek Hill is really fast, and maybe the Cowboys can steal a game or two from some of the better teams in the league. Overall, good coaching allowed this young team to stay competitive against the top-ranked team in the country.

8. West Virginia Mountaineers (0-1) • Prev. Rank: #8

The Mountaineers, like Oklahoma State, got to play a big neutral site game to start the season. They got the second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, who probably “didn’t care” and let WVU stick around longer than they should have. Good effort from WVU. Maybe there’s more to the Mountaineers than we think.

9. Iowa State Cyclones (0-1) • Prev. Rank: #9

Kansas didn’t play, so the Cyclones can stay at #9 for now. They did lose to FCS North Dakota State, though. Before we start making fun of the Cylcones, let’s keep in mind NDSU is the Alabama of the FCS ranks and have been an upset-machine against FBS teams. Iowa State has time to learn from it, but man, is it funny right now to see the meltdown.

10. Kansas Jayhawks (0-0) • Prev. Rank: #10

Bye week. But don’t think it would change much.