The top teams in last week’s power rankings did very well on the field. After that, there was complete chaos, as Baylor decided to host their own funeral (h/t fetch on twitter) and TCU was happy to oblige. The Horned Frogs' thumping of the Bears was the driving force of most of these changes in the rankings.

1 - Oklahoma Sooners (7-2, 6-0 Big 12, Last Week: 1)

Iowa State did what they do, which is to keep games close against superior competition for longer than they probably should. Oklahoma was able to put them away fairly quickly in the second half though, and asserted their dominance over the conference. Baylor’s collapse comes at a perfect time for them to continue that streak.

Up Next: vs Baylor, 11:00am on ABC/ESPN2

2 - Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-2, 5-1 Big 12, Last Week: 2)

A hard-fought road win against Kansas State is impressive enough, although the Kansas State offense put up many more points that I thought they would be able to. This team is the epitome of a solid Power Five team - really good at home, good enough on the road, but capable of big upsets and huge head-scratching losses.

Up Next: vs Texas Tech, 2:30pm on Fox Sports 1

3 - West Virginia Mountaineers (7-1, 4-1 Big 12, Last Week: 3)

A big win at home was powered by an absolutely dominant 1st half performance. It was a nice bounce back win, but given the opponent it doesn’t really tell us much.

Up Next: @ Texas, 11:00 am on Fox Sports 1

4 - Kansas State Wildcats (5-4, 3-3 Big 12, Last Week: 5)

Despite the loss, they still move up. Losing a close, last minute game against one of the top teams in the conference isn’t really something to get too upset about. They had plenty of chances to win that game, and I’d probably take this team over pretty much anyone below them on the list either home or away.

Up Next: BYE

5 - Texas Longhorns (5-4, 3-3 Big 12, Last Week: 6)

That was a solid win against a decent Texas Tech team. After being on the way out the door, Charlie Strong seems to have put himself into a fairly secure position. Barring a disastrous loss to Kansas later in the season, I think he holds on for another year.

Up Next: vs #16 West Virginia, 11:00am on Fox Sport 1

6 - Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-5, 2-4 Big 12, Last Week: 7)

That was a tough loss, not entirely surprising. This team was projected to be one of the defensively challenged teams even with improvements, and that has borne out through the year. The offense seems to have fallen off quite a bit recently (despite the barn-burner against Oklahoma) and the lack of improvement from the defense is going to make it hard for this team to break into the top half of the conference.

Up Next: @ #13 Oklahoma State, 2:30pm on Fox Sports 1

7 - TCU Horned Frogs (5-4, 3-3 Big 12, Last Week: 9)

What a win, especially on the road against rival Baylor. I will be the first to admit that I was too harsh on them, but this team still does have significant problems. Beating Baylor by that margin is pretty impressive, but that seemed more like a perfect storm type outcome rather than what we can expect from them going forward.

Up Next: BYE

8 - Baylor Bears (6-2, 3-2 Big 12, Last Week: 4)

What a debacle. It seems that the statement they tried to make with the blackout (either for Art Briles or against the Baylor Board of Regents depending on who you talk to) distracted from their performance on the field. It also seems like Jim Grobe has lost his assistants in much the same way that we usually talk about the players. Without a support staff that is actually focused on the game, it seems that Baylor may have started their freefall before the end of the season.

Up Next: @ #11 Oklahoma, 11:00am on ABC/ESPN2

9 - Iowa State Cyclones (1-8, 0-6 Big 12, Last Week: 8)

Iowa State seems to be trying to ruin what was supposed to be a perfectly enjoyable annual Big 12 Pillowfight of the Year. They have played much above the level they were expected to play going into the year, and may end up leaving the Jayhawks in their dust early on Saturday.

Up Next: @ Kansas, 11:00am on Regional Fox Sports Networks

10 - Kansas Jayhawks (1-8, 0-6 Big 12, Last Week: 10)

If Montell Cozart starts in this game, the Jayhawks probably aren’t going to stay competitive. Kansas needs this game to have any chance to stay out of the cellar of the conference. I’m not convinced it will actually happen, but we can always hope, right?

Up Next: vs Iowa State, 11:00am on Regional Fox Sports Networks

Fun With Stats

Once again, we use this segment to drown the pain of another Big 12 loss by finding an area that our Kansas Jayhawks are the best team in the conference. In previous weeks, we highlighted Total Kickoff Return Yards (KU is now 3rd in conference, 35th nationally), 4th Down Conversion Percentage Defense (4th in conference, 30th nationally), Team Tackles for Loss Per Game (2nd in conference, 10th nationally), 3rd Down Conversion Defense Percentage (1st in conference, 31st nationally), Red Zone Defense (2nd in conference, 40th nationally), Fewest Penalty Yards (5th in conference, 54th nationally), and Blocked Punts Allowed (1st in conference, 6th nationally after our tiebreakers). Up this week: Opponent Hitting Percentage.

I realize this isn't a football stat. Unfortunately, I've run out of those to use for this feature. There aren't even really any that we are 2nd in and just barely behind the conference leader, except for ones we already saw. So instead, I'm going to pull a mikeville and jump to volleyball.