1 - #13 Baylor Bears – Record, 4-0 (1-0)
Last Week – Beat Oklahoma State 35-24
Baylor moves into the top spot in this week’s power rankings after opening conference play with a decisive victory over Oklahoma State. The Baylor offense doesn’t seem to be too affected by the head coaching change as they managed 517 yards and 5 touchdowns against the Cowboys.
This week the Bears make their first trip out of Texas to face Iowa State in Ames.
Next Three – @ISU, Kansas, @Texas
2 - West Virginia Mountaineers – Record, 3-0 (0-0)
Last Week – Beat BYU 35-32
West Virginia wrapped up their non-conference schedule with a 35-32 win over BYU (1-3). What had the appearance of a tough opening month for the Mountaineers is slightly less impressive now that the dust has settled and the trinity of Missouri, Youngstown State, and BYU have combined for just 5 wins between them.
Still, undefeated is undefeated and West Virginia is deserving of the #2 spot given they are one of only a handful of teams to schedule two Power-5(ish) opponents in out of conference play. For that, alone, I award you slot 2.
Next Three – K-State, @TTU, @Oklahoma State
3 - #22 Texas Longhorns – Record, 2-1 (0-0)
Last Week – Had to find own travel back from California after loss.
A strong statement in Week 1 looks less like a signature win and more like the beginning of the end for the head coach in South Bend with Notre Dame sinking to a disappointing 1-3 record after this weekend’s loss to Duke at home.
Texas was off this weekend, which allowed them no opportunity to counter the Fighting Irish’s loss with a victory of their own, thus dropping them two spots in my rankings.
Next Three – @OKState, OU, Iowa State
4- #21 TCU Horned Frogs – Record, 3-1 (1-0)
Last Week – Beat SMU 33-3
TCU still has an opportunity to win the Big 12 this season, but I have seen nothing overly impressive about the Horned Frogs to date.
This weekend’s matchup with Oklahoma should have been able to tell me more, but with the Sooners’ disappointing start, any outcome will likely deliver more questions than answers for both teams.
Next Three – Oklahoma, @Kansas, @West Virginia
5 - Oklahoma Sooners – Record, 1-2 (0-0)
Last Week – Stood in line to talk with Tom Herman
With LSU’s firing of Les Miles yesterday after a 2-2 start, could the Sooner faithful be questioning if the time is right to part ways with Bob Stoops? The idea, to me, is ludicrous, but college football is crazy sometimes and another loss or two could send the Big 12’s longest tenured coach packing, which makes these next two weeks paramount for Coach Stoops and his staff.
Next Three - @TCU, @Texas, K-State
6 - Oklahoma State Cowboys – Record, 2-2 (0-1)
Last Week – Lost to Baylor 35-24
A loss to Baylor on the road certainly isn’t the worst thing in the world for any team, but the Cowboys seem to be struggling to find any identity so far this season and that could prove disastrous as the Big 12 season begins.
Next Three – Texas, Iowa State, @Kansas
7 - Texas Tech Red Raiders – Record, 2-1 (0-0)
Last Week – Ate tacos, shared diseases
I don’t honestly believe the Red Raiders belong this low in the Power Rankings, but I am biased and stubborn and so here they remain.
Next Three – Kansas, @K-State, West Virginia
8 - Kansas State Wildcats – Record, 2-1 (0-0)
Last Week – Beat Missouri Southern 35-0
Sort of the same with Kansas State. It is widely understood you should never underestimate The Purple Wizard, but I haven’t seen anything that shows me this is more than a middling Power-5 team at this point.
Win two of the next three and I’ll change my mind, K-State fans.
Next Three – @WVU, Texas Tech, @Oklahoma
9 - Iowa State Cyclones – Record, 1-3 (0-1)
Last Week – Wore grey, Beat San Jose State 44-10
Finally, the Cyclones are deserving of the #9 spot in this week’s rankings.
If they win two of the next three, we’ll have a new #1.
Next Three – Baylor, @Oklahoma State, @Texas
10 - Kansas Jayhawks – Record 1-2 (0-0)
Last Weekend – Talked about basketball
And then there was Kansas, who didn’t play a game this weekend, yet nobody seemed to notice or care.
Next Three - @TTU, TCU, @Baylor