How did Big 12 teams finish relative to preseason expectations in USA TODAY Sports 1-133 re-rank?

With the regular season over, how did the Big 12 land in USA TODAY Sports latest 1-133 re-rank of every college football team in the nation?

It’s championship week in college football. But for some teams, it’s the beginning of the offseason, while others wait on their bowl destinations.

It was a unique season in the Big 12. A number of teams met or exceeded expectations in 2023. And several were incredibly disappointing based on preseason expectations.

Let’s take a look at how each of the Big 12 teams ranked in the USA TODAY Sports 1-133 rankings in the preseason compared to how they now rank after the regular season.

Texas secures top spot in Big 12 Power Rankings after final week of the regular season

How does the Big 12 stack up after the final week of the regular season? Here are this week’s power rankings.

The 2023 college football season has been a thrill ride from start to finish. In its lone season as a 14-team conference, the Big 12 did not disappoint. There were fantastic games throughout the conference schedule that brought us to a dramatic final weekend of the regular season.

The Sooners will look back on this season, knowing they missed an opportunity to reach the Big 12 title game. Their performances against Kansas and Oklahoma State were the difference. And although there was some officiating negligence in the loss to the Cowboys, the Sooners also gave the ball away three times in the loss in Bedlam. Combined, the Sooners turned the ball over six times in their two losses and just seven times total in their other 10 games.

Take care of the football and the Sooners are playing for the Big 12 title this weekend.

Week 13 provided a thrilling overtime game between Oklahoma State and BYU. Iowa State and Kansas State played down to the wire in a wintery Farmageddon. Texas beat Texas Tech by 50 with Brett Yormark in attendance, and West Virginia made good on their promise to the preseason media poll look foolish.

After the final week of the regular season, let’s take a look at this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings.

Dillon Gabriel to start for the Oklahoma Sooners vs. TCU Horned Frogs

In Oklahoma’s regular season finale, Dillon Gabriel will be starting for the Sooners vs. the TCU Horned Frogs.

Heading into the regular season finale, [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] is starting for the Oklahoma Sooners against the TCU Horned Frogs, according to multiple reports.

Gabriel went through his typical pregame warmups with the team, even taking first-team reps with the offense in preparation for today’s game. The Sooners starting quarterback was questionable this week after missing the second half of last week’s win over BYU.

Dillon Gabriel suffered what was termed an “upper-body injury” at the end of the first half. As Gabriel tried to scramble, he was tackled and his head hit off the turf, leading many to speculate a concussion kept the Sooners’ starting quarterback from missing the second half of last week’s game.

Gabriel needs just 203 passing yards today to move into No. 7 all-time in career passing yards, which would move him by Luke Falk (Washington State), Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma), and Kellen Moore (Boise State).

Dillon Gabriel was forced out of last year’s game against TCU in the second quarter due to a concussion and missed the Red River Rivalry game.

He’s had a career year in 2023 with 3,260 yards and 27 passing touchdowns. He’s also rushed for 11 touchdowns this season and completed 69% of his passes in what’s expected to be his last game on Owen Field.

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No. 13 Oklahoma vs. TCU Horned Frogs: Sooners Wire Staff Predictions

How will the Oklahoma Sooners final Big 12 regular season game play out? Sooners Wire staff predicts OU vs. TCU Horned Frogs.

And just like that, we’ve reached the conclusion of the 2023 regular season. As they old saying goes, “Time flies when you’re having fun.”

Though the results haven’t gone Oklahoma’s way each week, here we sit heading into game 12 with a chance at a 10-win season and an outside shot to play in the Big 12 title game.

Yes, 10 wins and “a shot at a conference title game” aren’t meeting the standards at the University of Oklahoma. However, the improvement we’ve seen from this team from year one of Brent Venables is as important as anything.

There are still things that have to continue to get better. But as the Oklahoma Sooners get set to host the TCU Horned Frogs, one more opportunity awaits for Venables and the Sooners to prove they’re a team on the rise.

Here are this week’s Sooners Wire Staff Predictions for OU vs. TCU.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Top of the conference survive scares in week 12

With just one week remaining in the regular season, how doe the Big 12 power rankings look after Week 12 action?

The Big 12 will come down to the final week of the regular season to determine who will represent the conference in their title game in Arlington, Texas.

Texas was challenged by Iowa State and Oklahoma State survived a terrible start in Houston. The Kansas State Wildcats trailed in the fourth quarter against Kansas before pulling out a win and the Oklahoma Sooners survived in Provo despite the loss of Dillon Gabriel.

Here’s a look at the Big 12 Power Rankings ahead of the final week of the regular season.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Cowboys dropped by Knights, Sooners make a statement in week 11

Oklahoma’s win over West Virginia and Oklahoma State’s loss to UCF shook up this week’s Big 12 power rankings.

There are just two weeks left in the regular season, and there’s still a lot to sort out. Texas and Oklahoma State currently hold the top two spots in the Big 12 standings, but Kansas State, Oklahoma, and Iowa State are lurking.

There’s no time for anyone to slip up like Oklahoma State did this past weekend in Orlando.

The UCF Knights’ dominating 45-3 win over the Cowboys was shocking after Oklahoma State knocked off Oklahoma in Bedlam.

As for the Sooners, they responded to their two-game losing streak with authority, putting together arguably their best game of the season in their 59-20 win over West Virginia.

In the win, the Sooners looked like one of the best teams in the Big 12. That combined with the Cowboys’ loss, there’s been a shakeup in this week’s Big 12 power rankings.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Cowboys emerge from Bedlam title contenders

Updated Big 12 power rankings. Conference starting to sort itself out with just a few weeks remaining in the regular season.

In the wake of Week 10’s results, the Big 12 has found its favorites for the Big 12 title game in Arlington, Texas.

Though there are still several weeks to go in conference play, the Oklahoma State Cowboys walked out of Bedlam in control of their path to the game. Their win over Oklahoma put them in a tie for first place with the Longhorns at 5-1, and they have a very favorable remaining schedule.

Oklahoma State finishes the season at UCF, at Houston, and at home vs. BYU in their regular season finale. Those three teams have a combined conference record of 5-13.

The Cowboys are a far different team than the one that was blown out at home by South Alabama.

With their controversial win over Oklahoma and Texas’ win over Kansas State, the front-runners for the conference title game have emerged. It’s not impossible for Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma or Iowa State to find their way to Arlington, but they’ll need help along the way to make the trip to the DFW Metroplex.

Here’s a look at this week’s Big 12 power rankings.

Updated look at the ESPN matchup predictor after Oklahoma’s loss to Kansas

How did ESPN’s Matchup Predictor win probabilities change after the Oklahoma Sooners loss to the Kansas Jayhawks?

This week’s loss to the Kansas Jayhawks was a setback in Oklahoma’s journey to the Big 12 title game. While a setback, it doesn’t take anything off the table for the Sooners.

They’re still in a good spot to make the title game. They simply have to take care of business.

However, it would be hard not to be concerned about the Sooners after what we’ve seen the last couple of weeks. Admittedly, the Kansas Jayhawks have a good offense and are a good football team. They’re not the Jayhawks of old.

Still, it puts the Sooners in a situation where they have no margin for error if they want to get back to the Big 12 title game or play for something meaningful in the postseason.

After the loss, here’s a look at how the ESPN matchup predictor views the rest of the Sooners schedule.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Sooners loss to Jayhawks shakes up the top of the conference

Big 12 power rankings are a mess after the Kansas Jayhawks knock off the Oklahoma Sooners.

The Kansas Jayhawks upset win over the Oklahoma Sooners was their first since 1997 after an 18-game losing streak against OU. It showed off the strong direction their program is heading under Lance Leipold and added another team to the Big 12 title race mix.

While the Sooners are still in first place in the Big 12 due to tiebreakers, there are currently five teams with a 4-1 record in Big 12 play and two more teams (West Virginia and Kansas) that are one game back of first place at 3-2.

The depth of the Big 12 is starting to reveal itself as teams begin to beat up on each other. Week 9 provides a semifinals of sorts for the Big 12 title game with Kansas State traveling to Austin to take on Texas and Oklahoma State hosting the Sooners in Stillwater for Bedlam. The teams that come out of this weekend with a win will have the best shot to make the Big 12 title game.

Sooners head to familiar territory in USA TODAY Sports latest bowl projections

In the latest bowl projections from USA TODAY Sports, the Oklahoma Sooners are heading to familiar territory.

The Big 12 has provided some entertaining football through the first eight weeks of the season. At the moment, nine teams are at or above .500 in the conference. Baylor, UCF, and Houston are just one game under the bowl eligibility line.

There’s a long way to go, but it’s possible nine teams could end up bowl eligible.

The big question for the Big 12? Will Oklahoma or Texas be able to do enough in 2023 to make the College Football Playoff on their way out the door?

Here’s where the Big 12 landed in USA TODAY Sports latest bowl projections.