POWER RANKINGS

1. Oklahoma State (3-0): A quarterback controversy is quietly brewing for the Big 12’s only remaining unbeaten squad. True freshman Shane Illingworth emerged from the opening game as the starter following an injury to Spencer Sanders, who gets another week to recover with the Baylor game being postponed until December thanks to COVID-19.

2. Iowa State (3-1): Quarterback Brock Purdy finally looked like a presumptive NFL draft pick in the win over Texas Tech, throwing for 302 yards and a pair of touchdown passes. Running back Breece Hall provided balance with 135 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. The defense held a normally potent Red Raiders offense to 15 points.

3. Kansas State (3-1): Kansas State bullied its way to a third consecutive conference win in a 21-14 victory over TCU despite the absence of starting quarterback Skylar Thompson. Freshman Will Howard was impressive in relief, passing for 117 yards and leading the team with 86 yards rushing. The defense contributed with an interception returned for a TD in the third quarter.

4. West Virginia (2-1): West Virginia and Kansas play each other in the only Big 12 game slated for the upcoming weekend. The Mountaineers can raise their stock with an emphatic win over the hapless Jayhawks. West Virginia was idle last weekend following a victory over Baylor in overtime. The defense is allowing 14.6 points per game, fewest in the conference by an entire touchdown.

5. Oklahoma (2-2): The overtime rules dictate that a team had to win the Red River Rivalry game between Texas and Oklahoma. It turned out to be the Sooners in four overtimes despite three first-half turnovers resulting in quarterback Spencer Rattler taking a break on the sidelines. A win over the Longhorns takes some sting away from a mostly wasted season given the yearly expectations in Norman.

6. Baylor (1-1): News arrived Sunday that the upcoming contest against Oklahoma State was postponed until December because of a COVID-19 outbreak inside the Baylor program. The Bears have played only two games, fewer than any team in the Big 12.

7. TCU (1-2): The win over Texas turned out to be fool’s gold for TCU quarterback Max Duggan, who was replaced for a time by Matthew Downing. The TCU passing game generated only 154 yards passing and no points against Iowa State in the loss. Head coach Gary Patterson gets a week off to better mask the deficiency at quarterback.

8. Texas (2-2): The eyes of the Texas fan base are staring directly at athletic director Chris Del Conte. Tom Herman entered his fourth season in Austin with a senior quarterback and welcomed expectations to break through the Big 12. It’s not even the third weekend of October and the whispers about Urban Meyer are turning into rumbles.

9. Texas Tech (1-3): Texas Tech is not the same offensive team without QB Alan Bowman. Henry Colombi was efficient in relief of Bowman with 115 yards and a score on 10 completions, but the Red Raiders won’t win many conference games by scoring 15 points.

10. Kansas (0-3): The Jayhawks lost their two previous conference games by an average score of 47-10.5.