POWER RANKINGS
1. Oklahoma State (3-0): The nation will find out if a Mike Gundy coached squad can handle success as the Cowboys exit the first weekend in October as the Big 12’s lone undefeated squad, albeit with wins over Tulsa, West Virginia and Kansas. Tulsa might be the best win of the bunch. True freshman quarterback Shane Illinger is playing well enough to cause some drama when Spencer Sanders returns from injury.
2. Iowa State (2-1): No team in the Big 12 is more likely to lose a game it shouldn’t only to turn around and upset an opponent like Iowa State. The Cyclones started the season with a 17-point home-loss to Louisiana. Not LSU. Louisiana. Iowa State ran wild on Oklahoma as Breece Hall amassed 139 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. Next on the schedule is a home game against Texas Tech.
3. Kansas State (2-1): Kansas State is on a two-game winning streak since the season opening loss to Arkansas State. The Wildcats bested Oklahoma and Texas Tech in consecutive weeks to move up into the third spot on the Big 12 Power Poll. The injury status of quarterback Skylar Thompson is the main concern entering a game with TCU.
4. West Virginia (2-1): The Mountaineers scored a signature victory with a doubleovertime win over Baylor. The West Virginia defense played well throughout the game, limiting Baylor to 21 points of offense. The loss to Oklahoma State is the only blemish on the record for head coach Neal Brown in his second year in Morgantown.
5. TCU (1-1): TCU has owned Texas since joining the Big 12. Head coach Gary Patterson is now 7-2 in his conference matchups against the Longhorns. The Horned Frogs seemingly found a quarterback in Max Duggan, who outperformed Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger.
6. Texas (2-1): Texas is back to losing games it shouldn't have under head coach Tom Herman. The loss to TCU was the sixth to an unranked team for Herman’s Longhorns in under four full seasons.
7. Oklahoma (1-2): The good news for Texas fans is that the Sooners are also struggling. Head coach Lincoln Riley is finding it harder to win without another coach delivering him a ready-made college quarterback. Oklahoma’s defense remains pedestrian despite signing highly-rated recruiting classes on a yearly basis. The Saturday game between Texas and Oklahoma feels less important than ever.
8. Baylor (1-1): New Baylor head coach Dave Aranda might be contemplating a quarterback change following the performance from Charlie Brewer in the loss to West Virginia. The Bears can’t win many games, especially on the road in the Big 12, by scoring 21 points through four quarters and a pair of overtimes. The running game was also anemic.
9. Texas Tech (1-2): Texas Tech was only down three points with a couple of minutes left to Kansas State, but couldn’t come up with the defensive stop needed to put its offense in position to win the game. A similar fate occurred in the heart breaking defeat to Texas at home a week earlier.
10. Kansas (0-3): Basketball season inches closer by the week.