If there was anything to take from this weekend it's that things look to be wide open in the conference. The top tier teams struggled and in some cases lost. While some of those in the middle to bottom played fairly well.
Slow week around the conference as a whole though as there were a few bye weeks mixed in as well. Makes for a tough week to rank em, but here we go anyway.
1. Oklahoma
How They Fared: 31-29 over Cincinnati
Week Five: Texas
Previous Ranking #1
The Red River Shootout looms large and now the Sooners get to face an angry Longhorn squad. Oklahoma did enough to get a win and they've faced good competition throughout the non-conference in doing so. Cincinnati tried to make a late run but couldn't pull off the upset, OU stays atop because really no one else has earned the spot.
2. Oklahoma State
How They Fared: Bye
Week Five: Texas A&M Thursday Night
Previous Ranking #4
It feels a little crazy putting the Cowboys this high when they didn't even play, but Texas lost, Nebraska didn't look all that impressive and I'm still in awe at the explosive capabilities of this offense. If UCLA can beat Texas, these guys can certainly do it and I'd also say that the Cowboys could score enough on the Husker defense if I had to take a stab at it. #2 for this week, but Thursday definitely sorts out a lot of the speculation and hype surrounding this team.
3. Nebraska
How They Fared: 17-3 win over South Dakota State
Week Five: Kansas State (Thur. October 7th)
Previous Ranking #3
The Huskers appeared a bit distracted and less than motivated as they squared off against a border rival(sarcasm). Obviously they did enough to get a win, but this week the offense took a bit of a dip. All in all this was a trap game sandwiched between two road contests against BCS opponents and the Huskers won. Now they head to Manhattan and a game that gives the early edge in the North.
4. Missouri
How They Fared: 51-13 over Miami of Ohio
Week Five: Bye
Previous Ranking #8
Mizzou earns the "hey nobody else played well so we get to play leapfrog" award this week. Missouri played extremely well from the outset just a week after TJ Moe became a folk hero. With Texas losing in a shocker and A&M and others sitting this one out, Missouri makes a jump. This seems to be a good Pinkel, bad Pinkel type team. We'll see if the inconsistency catches up with them now that the competition steps up.
5. Kansas State
How They Fared: 17-13 over Central Florida
Week Five: Nebraska
Previous Ranking #6
Before you crucify me for this one here's my logic. K-State beat the same UCLA team that owned Texas and I think UCF is a decent team and a tough opponent for where K-State was at on the season. It created a bit of a trap game and K-State was able to get a win. Now in some respects the blueprint might be out there, but it wasn't as if it was a big secret that stopping K-State means stopping Daniel Thomas.
6. Texas
How They Fared: 34-12 loss to UCLA
Week Five: Oklahoma
Previous Ranking #2
Shocked. We knew the Longhorn offense had not looked the best, but now the defense struggles as well. Tough loss for the Longhorns and really this game has a trickle down in the Big 12 power rankings. It makes K-States win over UCLA look better and it makes Texas Tech look a little worse.
7. Texas A&M
How They Fared: Bye
Week Five: Oklahoma State on Thursday Sept 30th
Previous Ranking #5
You sit, you fall. Is it fair? Maybe. Kansas State and Missouri jump over top of A&M after wins this week. The reality is however that the margin from top to bottom is as slim as ever. For the past several years there has been a pretty clearly defined top tier in the conference. That doesn't appear to be the case as the lines have blurred quite a bit. Big one this Thursday for the Aggies.
8. Baylor
How They Fared: 30-13 over Rice
Week Five: Kansas
Previous Ranking #9
Baylor looked good against a Rice team that is making some improvements. Most likely this is where the falloff in the Big 12 begins, but Baylor does have some nice athletes on the offensive side of the ball and Robert Griffin seems to be regaining some of his confidence as the season goes on.
9. Kansas
How They Fared: 42-16 Win over New Mexico State
Week Five: Baylor
Previous Ranking #11
Maybe it's reading too much into things considering the opponent, but Kansas did exactly what you need to do against a lower FBS school. Win and win convincingly. Kansas was balanced on offense, serviceable on defense and at least showed some life on special teams. Still some work to do and the spread offenses will be the test, but Kansas at least enters a critical stretch against Baylor and Kansas State with a little momentum
10. Texas Tech
How They Fared: Bye
Week Five: Iowa State
Previous Ranking #7
UCLA went into Austin and did what you couldn't do at home, score. A week after saying don't panic the Texas defense is that good, perhaps Red Raider fans might be looking at a stalled out air raid attack. Bye week drops them a few notches and a trip to Ames and a game against the Cyclones is next. Big game for both teams in establishing some momentum.
11. Iowa State
How They Fared: 27-0 win over Northern Iowa
Week Five: Texas Tech
Previous Ranking #10
Honestly, Iowa State looked pretty bad offensively. If UNI had not turned it over 5 times in this one we might be looking at a new team on the bottom. 210 yards of offense, but they did at least capitalize where needed. Texas Tech comes to town and it's hard to say what we're going to get out of this one.
12. Colorado
How They Fared: Bye
Week Five: Georgia
Previous Ranking #12
Can they leave sooner than 2011? In all seriousness, the Buffs just didn't play this week. Nothing against them it's just hard to move a team up when they don't show anything on the field. Big game this week against a down Georgia team however and with that a shot to make a few more believers.
Players of the Week
Mizzou Offense - Perfect balance, spread it around and had plenty of weapons involved. When they play like this, they'd be a tough team to gameplan for.
Best Games of the Coming Week
Texas A&M at Oklahoma State - A great Thursday night contest
Oklahoma vs. Texas - Red River Shootout is always good
Kansas at Baylor - Can Kansas win on the road or does Baylor get an early jump in conference play.
Georgia at Colorado - Can the Buffs win over a few non-believers.