Week Three Big 12 Power Rankings: Somebody check on Iowa State and Texas Tech

Week two of the Big 12 schedule didn’t have the same excitement around it as week one, but seven of the Big 12’s ten teams were victorious.

Mostly every Big 12 school played a cupcake, though, Texas may be wishing they would’ve taken the same approach as things don’t get any easier for the Longhorns.

It was a weird Saturday for the conference, but here is our updated Big 12 Power Rankings:

T-1. Oklahoma Sooners (2-0) • Prev. Rank: #1

Oklahoma had no problem putting away the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Trevor Knight had everyone involved, and the running backs tortured the Hurricane defense all day long. The Sooners look like the most complete Big 12 team at this point, and they’ll stay at the top spot until proven otherwise.

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

The Bears didn’t have Bryce Petty, but still managed to put up 70 points on Northwestern State. It was 49-0 at halftime, but both Baylor and Oklahoma have yet to be truly tested. However, the top two teams in the conference are on track for an epic meeting on November 8 in Norman.

3. Kansas State Wildcats (2-0) • Prev. Rank: #3

Kansas State struggled with the Iowa State Cyclones, and needed a few late scores to win. However, the rest of the Big 12 outside of Baylor and Oklahoma has yet to separate themselves as “contenders.” Plus, Ames is never a fun road trip.

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

Bye week for the Frogs. However, they get the benefit of moving up after Texas took a bad loss to BYU.

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

The Cowboys earned their first win of the season Saturday. Even though it was against Missouri State, the Cowboys did what they needed to do in their home opener. Despite their youth, Oklahoma State could be a tough team to stop offensively in this year’s Big 12. Coach Gundy’s defense, however, will need a few adjustments.

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

The Mountaineers missed their shot at a major upset last week. So following their week one loss, West Virginia took out their frustration on Towson with a 54-0 victory in Morgantown. Clint Trickett may be a sleeper for one of the Big 12’s best quarterbacks as WVU gets their first win of the year.

7. Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-0) • Prev. Rank: #6

It’s been a rough start to the Red Raiders’ season. They are 2-0, but they struggled against the likes of Central Arkansas and UTEP. Texas Tech is showing signs of weakness, especially on defense. It could be a long year if Texas Tech keeps playing down to their competition.

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

It’s been an unpleasant week for the Texas Longhorns. It didn’t get any better when BYU lit up the scoreboard in the second half to throttle Texas, 41-7, in Austin. The defense showed some good signs early, but Texas will need a full game out of its players if they want to compete in the conference.

9. Kansas Jayhawks (1-0) • Prev. Rank: #10

Kansas came out hot in the first quarter and lead Southeast Missouri State, 24-0. However, the Jayhawks quickly regressed back to their 2013 ways and were outscored 28-10 in the last three quarters of the game. The first 15 minutes of football gave KU fans a glimmer of hope, but it’s hard to tell if they can duplicate the quick start against a Big 12 school. KU does move up. They won, which they didn’t do last year against their 2013 FCS opponent. Congrats, Jayhawks?

10. Iowa State Cyclones (0-2) • Prev. Rank: #9

I’ll give Iowa State credit. They’re trying. However, at 0-2, Iowa State has a loss to an FCS school and let one slip away. It’s not the ideal start for the Cyclones, but there is a lot of football left to play. And while they did to last in our poll, my power rankings are fairly arbitrary.