Big 12 Power Rankings: Kansas State blows out TCU, Oklahoma State is for real

The contenders in the Big 12 have begun to establish themselves after week 8 action. Here’s a look at the updated Big 12 Power Rankings.

Week 8 in the Big 12 began to reveal which teams will be contenders for the final five weeks of the regular season.

The Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns are the favorites to meet in the Big 12 title game, but several other teams are making their case.

Big 12 play has been wild through the first half of the schedule, but we’re beginning to see some separation from the contenders and the pretenders.

Here are this week’s Big 12 power rankings.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Oklahoma State, Iowa State make moves after Week 7 wins

The Oklahoma State Cowboys picked up their second big win in a row and saw a big bump in this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings.

One thing is certain about the 2023 college football season. Nothing is certain.

With the way the Big 12 season has played out to this point, it’s hard to get a read on which teams are, in fact, good this year.

A quick look at the standings shows the Oklahoma Sooners in first place with their undefeated record. Following OU are Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Texas, Kansas State and West Virginia with one conference loss each. It’s not really a surprise to see the Longhorns in contention for a Big 12 title berth. However, it is surprising to see Iowa State, Oklahoma State and West Virginia in the top six of the standings.

After another wild week of Big 12 play, let’s take a look at this week’s power rankings.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Sooners take top spot, upsets shuffle rankings after Week 6

Several upsets marked week 6 in the Big 12 and there’s a new No. 1 in this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings.

It was a wild week in the Big 12. The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns played an instant classic in the Cotton Bowl with the Sooners coming out on top.

Elsewhere, several games upset the apple cart in the conference. The two teams that represented the Big 12 in the title game a year ago, TCU and Kansas State suffered losses.

The Horned Frogs took their second loss in conference play and look to be sliding back to the pack after their loss to Iowa State. The Wildcats took a stunning loss to Oklahoma State on Friday night.

Here’s a look at how the league stacks up in this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings after Week 6.

Updated look at the ESPN Matchup Predictor after Oklahoma’s 50-20 win over Iowa State

Oklahoma moved to 5-0 with their win over Iowa State, but how does ESPN’s Matchup Predictor view the rest of the Sooners schedule.

The Oklahoma Sooners are off to a great start in the 2023 season. They’re 5-0 heading into the Red River Showdown. Sure, there are things that they can continue to improve on, but you can’t ask for a better start to the season than that.

They’re winning by an average margin of 36.6 points per game. The Sooners have only allowed 20 points one time this season. Their closest margin of victory through five games is 14 points. And that was in a game where they didn’t allow a touchdown.

The defense is allowing just 10.8 points per game this season, which is fifth in the nation in scoring defense. The offense is scoring 47.4 points per game this season, good for third in the nation behind USC and Oregon.

The Sooners are the only team in the nation in the top five in scoring offense and defense in 2023.

That’s a big reason why the ESPN Matchup Predictor likes the Oklahoma Sooners so much. They’re plying good football on both sides of the ball. But let’s take a look at how the ESPN Matchup Predictor sees the rest of the Sooners’ schedule playing out.

College Football Power Rankings: SEC teams make big moves; OU-Texas represent Big 12 after week 5

Which teams made moves in this week’s College Football Power Rankings after week five’s action?

Five weeks into the 2023 college football season has given us quite a bit of information. There’s a lot of football to be played this season, but the contenders are beginning to separate themselves from the pack.

In the Big 12, only Texas and Oklahoma were ranked in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll. This week’s Red River Rivalry game will have huge conference title implications.

While the SEC and Big 12 have clear frontrunners, the Pac-12 and the Big Ten have a number of teams that will make some noise throughout the season on their way to contention.

Oregon, USC, Washington, and Washington State remain undefeated after week 5, and Utah and Oregon State are still very much in the mix.

In the Big Ten, Michigan may look like the best team in the conference, but Penn State and Ohio State aren’t far behind.

It’s going to be a fascinating next two months in college football.

Here are this week’s College Football Power Rankings after week 5.

Dropped Out:

Florida Gators: Lost to Kentucky

Kansas Jayhawks: Lost to Texas

Big 12 Power Rankings: Red River Rivals stay undefeated, setting up Cotton Bowl Clash

Big 12 Power Rankings. The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns stayed unbeaten after week 5 setting up an undefeated showdown in Dallas.

The result that everyone hoped for came to pass. The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns will meet in the Cotton Bowl undefeated next Saturday.

Their big wins over the weekend provided the precursor for the Sooners and Longhorns to have another highly-anticipated and epic showdown in Dallas.

The game will play host to ESPN’s College GameDay.

Though it’s early in the Big 12 season, OU and Texas have separated themselves as the class of the Big 12 at this point. Though there’s a long way to go and both programs still have a lot to prove, next Saturday’s Red River Showdown will provide a strong measuring stick for both teams.

Elsewhere, the West Virginia Mountaineers have been the surprise of the Big 12 this season and improved to 4-1 and 2-0 in conference play after beating the TCU Horned Frogs in Fort Worth. The Mountaineers were voted to finish last in the conference. Neal Brown and West Virginia seem to have taken that personally.

Let’s take a look at this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings.

Big 12 picks for Week 5: Jayhawks, Mountaineers looking for upsets in the Lone Star State

One week into Big 12 play, there’s already a pretty good indication of who the contenders and pretenders are in the Big 12. Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Kansas State, BYU, UCF, and TCU have all looked good through the first four weeks of the season. …

One week into Big 12 play, there’s already a pretty good indication of who the contenders and pretenders are in the Big 12.

Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Kansas State, BYU, UCF, and TCU have all looked good through the first four weeks of the season. West Virginia provided the first surprise with their upset of Texas Tech last week.

Kansas State and Oklahoma State are off this week, but there are six conference games in week 5.

But how will week two of conference play go? Here are this week’s Big 12 predictions.

Week 4: 5-3

2023 Overall: 34-15

No. 14 Oklahoma Sooners vs. Iowa State Cyclones: Sooners Wire staff predictions

The Oklahoma Sooners are hoping to continue their undefeated season when they host Iowa State Saturday, and here are this week’s Sooners Wire staff predictions.

The Oklahoma Sooners (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) and the Iowa State Cyclones (2-2, 1-0) renew a matchup that dates back to a 13-0 win for the Cyclones back in 1928. Though they earned the win in the series opener, OU holds a 79-7-2 edge over Iowa State in the all-time series.

Each year is a different game, but Iowa State has played the Oklahoma Sooners tough in recent years.

2022’s win was the largest margin of victory in a win for the Oklahoma Sooners during the Matt Campbell era.

How will the Sooners perform this week? Here’s how we feel the game will go in this week’s staff predictions.

Sooners Wire Staff Predictions

The Iowa State Cyclones have been a thorn in the Sooners’ side since [autotag]Matt Campbell[/autotag] took over as head coach.

They upset the Sooners in Norman in 2017 and also knocked them off in 2020. That doesn’t include the game-winning 2-point conversion stop the Sooners made in 2019 or the interception late in the game in 2021.

No matter how talented the Sooners have been, Iowa State knows how to play them close.

They do that with elite defense and by taking care of the football.

People will look at Iowa State this year and think they aren’t very good, and the Sooners will roll. Well, that’s not entirely true. They still are elite defensively and had a coming-out party on offense in their win over Oklahoma State a week ago. I wouldn’t be surprised if this game was another low-scoring game for both teams, similar to last week.

Sooners 27, Cyclones 6

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Up Next: More Sooners Wire Staff Predictions

By the Numbers: No. 14 Oklahoma Sooners vs. Iowa State Cyclones

Tale of the tape for Saturday’s matchup between the Oklahoma Sooners and Iowa State Cyclones.

The Oklahoma Sooners and [autotag]Iowa State Cyclones[/autotag] have battled in close contests over the last several years. Even last year, when the Sooners won by multiple scores, it was a tight contest in the first half.

A [autotag]Zach Schmit[/autotag] fake field goal run provided their first touchdown of the game.

This has the makings of a defensive battle, but the Oklahoma Sooners have the more talented offense. Can they execute better in the running game and take advantage of the Cyclones’ 3-3-5 look?

The Sooners will have to be patient in this one, but as heavy favorites at home, should come away with the win. However, Iowa State’s defense has a chance to keep this close.

Here’s a look at this week’s tale of the tape with a by the numbers look at Oklahoma vs. Iowa State.

Where does the Big 12 rank in the lastest 1-133 rankings from USA TODAY Sports?

After week four, where does the Big 12 land in USA TODAY Sports lates re-rank of each team in the Football Bowl Subdivision?

After our first full weekend of Big 12 play, several of our preconceived notions about the conference have gone by the wayside.

In particular, Texas Tech isn’t turning out to be the team that many thought they’d be heading into 2023. Also, who would have thought that Oklahoma State and Baylor would be two of the worst teams in the conference. And yet, that’s where we stand four weeks into the season and one week into Big 12 play.

Each week, Erick Smith of USA TODAY Sports re-ranks each of the 133 Football Bowl Subdivision teams.

After week four, Texas Tech experienced the biggest move of the week, falling hard after losing to West Virginia. Oklahoma State also experienced a steep drop in the rankings. On the flipside, West Virginia and Kansas earned double-digit increases compared to a week ago.

Let’s take a look at where the Big 12 ranks in the latest 1-133 re-rank.