POWER RANKINGS

Breaking down the Big 12

1. Oklahoma (2-0):

Lincoln Riley is an offensive genius and his Sooners are shoulders above the rest of the Big 12 after two weeks. Oklahoma put up 70 points against South Dakota. Transfer quarterback Jalen Hurts is completing 82.9 percent of his passes for 591 yards and six touchdowns to zero interceptions. Oh, he’s also added 223 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

2. Texas (1-1):

The Longhorns entered the home game against LSU as a 6.5-point underdog. Texas lost by seven. Tom Herman’s program won’t slide down the power poll because of a close loss to a top-10 team. There’s no doubt that the Longhorns need to improve in the secondary, but what team doesn’t in the Big 12?

3. Oklahoma State (2-0):

Mike Gundy found a quarterback in former Fabulous 55 member, Spencer Sanders, a graduate of Denton Ryan High School. A differencemaker at quarterback makes a contender of any team in the Big 12 (ask West Virginia last year) and the Cowboys are off to the best start of any team in the conference, except for the one in its own state. Life isn’t fair.

4. Baylor (2-0):

The upward trajectory of Baylor’s football program under the rule of Matt Rhule was evident on Saturday when the Bears destroyed UTSA at home, two years removed from Rhule dropping his game at Baylor to the same Roadrunners squad. Quarterback Charlie Brewer threw three touchdowns and led Baylor to 63 points.

5. TCU (1-0):

The Horned Frogs received an early open week to diagnose the quarterback position. Max Duggan and Andy Delton each attempted more than 20 attempts in the Week 1 win against Arkansas Pine-Bluff. A road game at Purdue should start to build separation, though, Ohio State transfer and former Lake Travis quarterback Matthew Baldwin was cleared to play in 2019.

6. Iowa State (1-0):

The Cyclones probably needed a breather after escaping in overtime against Northern Iowa. Quarterback Brock Purdy was awful in the game. He’ll need to be better in another in-state showdown when Matt Campbell’s program hosts Iowa in the best game involving a Big 12 team in Week 3.

7. Texas Tech (2-0):

We’ll know more about this version of Texas Tech after the Week 3 game against Arizona. So far, so good for first-year head coach Matt Wells. The Texas Tech defense looks improved, though the competition wasn’t up to par in the first two weeks. Quarterback Alan Bowman three for three touchdowns in the win over UTEP.

8. Kansas State (2-0):

Kansas State might be ranked too low here after a 52-0 win over Bowling Green. The post Bill Snyder era looks refreshed.

9. Kansas (1-1):

KANSAS IS BACK! The honeymoon for Les Miles ended with a Week 2 loss at home to Coastal Carolina. Luckily for Kansas, West Virginia is a travesty.

10. West Virginia (1-1):

The Mountaineers were abused by Missouri a week after narrowly escaping James Madison. Imagine what’s going to happen when West Virginia faces good teams.