It was a fascinating slate of Big 12 games that served as a measuring stick for the six teams that played on Saturday. There were just three games, leaving four teams idle for Week 6.
Oklahoma and Texas played one of the all-time classic Red River Showdowns in the 117 game history of the rivalry. TCU blew out Texas Tech under the lights in Lubbock, and Baylor dominated West Virginia in Waco.
The four teams on bye weeks made this week’s power rankings a bit more difficult, but what I landed on was a team on a bye couldn’t move up. For instance, Iowa State didn’t move past Texas this week, because they didn’t play and provide us any evidence that they’re a better team than the Longhorns.
Baylor on the other hand moved up one spot in the power rankings. As things stand, the Bears’ only loss on the season came to the No. 2 team in our Big 12 power rankings, Oklahoma State. Similarly, we’re not punishing Texas for its loss to our No. 1 team in the power rankings.
TCU gets a bump for winning on the road in Lubbock, which is a tough place to play at night.
Though we’re just a few games into the Big 12 schedule, a couple of things have become clear.
Kansas and West Virginia are the two worst teams in the conference. Neither can sustain consistent offense, and Kansas can’t stop anybody.
Texas Tech could join them if it doesn’t find an answer defensively.
Teams one through seven, however, will provide intrigue in Big 12 play this year. The conference looks to have a ton of depth in the top seven this week. It will be fascinating to see how they match up as the season goes along.