POWER RANKINGS

Breaking down the Big 12

1. Oklahoma (1-0):

The revamped Sooners looked like the four-time defending Big 12 champions. Jalen Hurts fit seamlessly into Lincoln Riley’s offense, showing off his dual-threat abilities in a win over Houston. The Oklahoma defense can only improve under new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.

2. Texas (1-0):

Tom Herman preaches a 1-0 mentality. He finally achieved that goal in his third year on campus when the Longhorns won an opener for the first time in his era. LSU comes to town Saturday for the biggest game at home for Texas since Colt McCoy graduated. A win puts Texas in the national championship conversation.

3. Oklahoma State (1-0):

The Cowboys might not remain the third-best team in the Big 12 for long, but the Cowboys earned a bump up the rankings with an impressive road win against Power Five competition. Mike Gundy found himself a quarterback in former Denton Ryan star Spencer Sanders. That defense remains suspect.

4. TCU (1-0):

No one knows who is the best quarterback on TCU’s campus, so head coach Gary Patterson played freshman Max Duggan and senior Alex Delton. Things became even more complicated with the announcement that former Lake Travis standout and Ohio State transfer Matthew Baldwin is cleared to play in 2019. The defense was untested.

5. Iowa State (1-0):

The hype train was nearly derailed in Ames as Iowa State struggled to a three-overtime win against Northern Iowa. The defense didn’t allow a touchdown until overtime, but quarterback Brock Purdy and the offense was awful. It was an uninspired performance for a team that entered 2019 as the contender to Texas and Oklahoma.

6. Baylor (1-0):

The Bears breezed past Stephen F. Austin. Baylor is improved in year three under Matt Rhule with Lake Travis’ Charlie Brewer leading the way at quarterback. The offense will score points. The concern remains depth as Rhule continues to rebuild the program destroyed by Art Briles.

7. Texas Tech (1-0):

No problems at all for Texas Tech in Matt Wells’ first game as the head coach. Maybe the Red Raiders didn’t look as good on the sidelines with Kliff Kingsbury now in the NFL, but the team looked the same. Quarterback Alan Bowman passed for over 400 yards.

8. Kansas State (1-0):

Six different players scored for Kansas State in the first win of the post Bill Snyder era. It was against Nicholls state, however.

9. Kansas (1-0):

Kansas didn’t lose. So far, so good for Les Miles.

10. West Virginia (1-0):

West Virginia was lucky to beat James Madison. Rule I made up: If a team almost loses to a school named after a dead guy, that team is ranked last on this poll. It’s my poll, so I make the rules.