Bad week to sit idle with Big Ten set to return

What a weekend for the Big 12 to basically sit idle. West Virginia's 38-17 victory over Kansas was the Big 12's only game Saturday, a day in which the Big Ten, for the final time, and Pac-12 again sat idle, and two Southeastern Conference games were postponed by COVID testing issues.

OSU-Baylor, too, was postponed, leaving the Big 12 with only the WVU-KU game, an afterthought even on a sleepy Saturday that generated excitement only with Alabama-Georgia and Florida State's upset of North Carolina.

Now the Big Ten starts play this coming Saturday, and the only national impact the Big 12 has made is negative -- the Sun Belt Conference going 3-0 vs. the Big 12, including wins over Iowa State (by LouisianaLafayette) and Kansas State (by Arkansas State), and bellcow OU promptly lost its first two conference games to KSU and ISU.

OSU remains the Big 12's only unbeaten team, and the Cowboys haven't played since October 3. Hard to stay relevant when you don't even get to play.

So here comes the Big Ten, with tons of hype, and eventually the Pac-12, and the Big 12 will be pressed to stay ahead of the posse when it comes to College Football Playoff contention.

Here are the rankings this week:

1. Oklahoma State (3-0, 2-0): The Cowboys had Oct. 10 scheduled off, then the Baylor game was postponed by COVID issues in Waco. Remember how despairing it was that the University of Houston had to wait so long to get its season opener played? OSU now has played one more game than have the Cougars.

2. Iowa State (3-1, 3-0): The Cyclones are in Stillwater on Saturday for one of the week's biggest games.

3. Kansas State (3-1, 3-0): How long can the Wildcats hold on with true freshman Will Howard at the controls?

4. Oklahoma (2-2, 1-2): The Sooners continue the long climb back into contention to make it to Arlington for the Big 12 Championship Game.

5. TCU (1-2, 1-2): The Horned Frogs were completely throttled by Kansas State's defense, so OU's beleaguered defense will have few excuses Saturday in Fort Worth.

6. West Virginia (3-1, 2-1): The Mountaineers played tough in Stillwater, their only loss. Maybe WVU is better than we thought.

7. Texas (2-2, 1-2): It was a long off week for the Longhorns. Always is for the OU-Texas loser.

8. Baylor (1-1, 1-1): In six weeks, the Bears have had three games postponed or canceled.

9. Texas Tech (1-3, 0-3): The Red Raiders will start Henri Colombi at quarterback. He transferred from Utah State, where he played for current Tech coach Matt Wells.

10. Kansas (0-4, 0-3): KU looked better Saturday at West Virginia. Hard to look worse.