Big 12 Football Power Rankings, 10.13.2022

KU has finally lost. TCU was able to slip past the Jayhawks who uncharacteristically shot themselves in the foot at key moments. With all respect to the Horned Frogs, a win on the road in Lawrence has become harder to do, and the Frogs seemed to sense that as they had a rather big celebration on the sidelines once the win was secured. It is something not seen often in recent years when a win over the Jayhawks was the assumed result. As a result of the Frogs’ hard-earned victory, they take over the #1 spot from the Jayhawks, leaping Oklahoma State. You come into the hornets’ nest that is David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on a day when ESPN GameDay is present, you get extra credit.

Looking at other action, or in this case inaction, byes helped one team in the rankings this week and hurt another. The Baylor Bears did not play this week and I dropped them one spot. Why? Two reasons. First, the Longhorns’ complete destruction of the Sooners demands credit and recognition so I moved them up to five. Second, I would have left Baylor at five and put Texas at six but Baylor’s win over Iowa State is looking less impressive every week as both Kansas and Kansas State have taken down the boys from Ames in the weeks since Baylor’s victory. Baylor’s three wins this season are over Iowa State, Albany, and Texas State. I think the Bears are a good team, but I am now unconvinced they are better than a middle-of-the-pack team. The other team on a bye this past week was West Virginia, and they move up one spot and out of the cellar to clear the way for a plummeting OU team.

OU at 10? Yes, OU is in the cellar. Some may say “look at all the talent”, “look at their SP+ rating”, “they lost Dillon Gabriel”, or “they’re playing with their backup QB”. Look at this, look at that, they should be no worse than, what 3? 4? WRONG. With all that talent on the roster, the loss of your starting quarterback should only be a minor hiccup in your performance. KU lost their starting quarterback against TCU and played better on offense when he came in. Right now OU is a disaster and has earned its spot in the Big 12 cellar.

As for the rest of the rankings, Texas was the big mover of the week. They treated the Sooners like the bottom feeders they currently are. K-State did not move. Farmmogeddon was not an impressive display for either team. Iowa State and Texas Tech both lost a spot, not due to their losses, but due to Texas’ upward movement.

Last note of the week, I feel a bit better about last week’s questioning of SP+ now that Bill Connelly addresses how big a collapse OU is experiencing in his week’s 6 takeaways column. I will not share too much of what is in the article since it is behind a paywall except for one stat. Brent Venables ranks fourth in first-year coaches in the last 30 years with the largest underachievement versus the spread in a three-game span. Who is #1? Turner Gill at KU. The rest of the list is a graveyard of failed coaches.

Enough said. Without further ado, this week’s Big 12 ranking according to me.

1. TCU: Dethroned previous #1
2. KU: A close loss to the new #1 in a game they could have won only drop you one spot.
3. OSU: Handled Tech
4. K-State: A unimpressive Farmmogeddon win.
5. Texas: Destroyed OU
6. Baylor: On a bye and their previous wins are not impressive
7. Texas Tech: Lost to OSU
8. Iowa St: Three straight losses are not impressing Nebraska
9. West Virginia: Sidestepping to let OU pass.
10. OU: Whipped by Texas