Big 12 Power Rankings: We all fall down

Week 1 showed a lot of issues for the Big 12, but Week 2 was supposed to be a time for each team to regroup and start a strong push into conference play. Instead, we saw all kinds of wackiness, ineptitude and hot-and-cold performances. So which teams managed to hold on to their spots in the power rankings?

1 - Oklahoma Sooners (1-1, Last Week: 1)

I know that most of you readers think I’m wrong for having Oklahoma up here, but their season expectations combined with essentially a road loss against a Top-5 caliber team still holds a bit more weight for me than a home win against an overrated Notre Dame squad. Oklahoma destroyed their opponent this week and got plenty of time for the backups in advance of the massive showdown with Ohio State this week.

2 - Texas Longhorns (2-0, Last Week: 2)

Another demolition of a small-conference team, and the Big 12 is right where the nation thinks it should be, a conference where Oklahoma and Texas are the clear 1 and 2, and then a bunch of also-rans. Texas has a real shot at taking over #1 next week if they can take down Cal on the road and Oklahoma stumbles against the Buckeyes at home.

3 - Baylor Bears (2-0, Last Week: 4)

Baylor had all kinds of trouble with SMU during the first half, but the defense completely embarrassed the Mustangs in the second half and the Bears got a comfortable win. It’s still hard to tell exactly what this team is going to be given that the level of competition isn’t anything to be bragging about.

4 - West Virginia Mountaineers (2-0, Last Week: 7)

By virtue of being undefeated, the Mountaineers make the biggest jump up in the poll this week. Being tied against Youngstown State at half wasn’t impressive at all, but they broke out big in the second half to put the game away. Given the struggles of the other teams this year so far, it’s easy to see this team finishing in the top half of the conference.

5 - Texas Tech Red Raiders (1-1, Last Week: 5)

The Red Raiders did pretty much exactly what we expected them to do: Score a ton of points and give up a ton of points. The number of shootouts that this team is going to get into is going to be ridiculous this year, and a loss on the road on the West Coast is somewhat forgivable.

6 - Oklahoma State Cowboys (1-1, Last Week: 3)

Originally, I was going to rank the Cowboys as if they won, but still penalize them heavily for letting a mediocre Central Michigan team hang around that long. But the antics that went on highlight the coaching issues with this team. It's very likely that they will jump back up with some good results, and a home game this week against Pittsburgh would be a good start.

7 - TCU Horned Frogs (1-1, Last Week: 6)

The Horned Frogs followed up their concerns from last week by getting down big early to an SEC team very much in flux, then staging a big comeback at home before falling in double overtime. Giving up 40+ points twice already doesn’t bode well for the games against high-flying Big 12 offenses later in the year.

8 - Kansas State Wildcats (0-1, Last Week: 9)

Well, it happened. Kansas lost big, and the Wildcats benefitted from the week off to move up in the rankings. The loss to Stanford was respectable, and now they are ready to welcome Florida Atlantic to Manhattan this week in what should be a big first win of the season.

9 - Kansas Jayhawks (1-1, Last Week: 8)

As I mentioned in the game thread, the Kool-Aid has broken and spilled all over the floor. The Jayhawks looked woefully unprepared for their game this week, and Frank Solich’s Ohio Bobcats wiped the floor with them. There is some big play potential on this team thanks to guys like Steven Sims Jr., but I’m not sure that anyone outside of Iowa State will have enough errors to let the Jayhawks stay in it.

10 - Iowa State Cyclones (0-2, Last Week: 10)

This year does not look like it is going to go well for the Cyclones and their new head coach. This team just doesn’t look like it has the ability to hang with pretty much anyone on their schedule.