It was a tame week in the Big 12 conference, with nine programs collecting blowout wins over lesser teams.
We’re diving into the conference all around in the first edition of our Big 12 power rankings here:
1. Baylor 69, Albany 10
Baylor holds the top spot in the first edition of our rankings, thanks to a 69-10 win over Albany. The Bears collected seven rushing touchdowns and scored the most points of any team in the conference over the weekend. It was a slam dunk to put them at No. 1 here.
2. Oklahoma 45, UTEP 13
Oklahoma comes in at the second spot over Oklahoma State, just because the Sooners didn’t give up the amount of garbage time points that their in-state rivals did. Dillon Gabriel went 15/23 for 233 yards in his Oklahoma debut and running back Eric Gray went for 102 yards on 16 carries.
3. Oklahoma State 58, Central Michigan 44
Oklahoma State had a 51-15 lead on Central Michigan at one point in large part due to a six-touchdown performance from quarterback Spencer Sanders. The veteran gun-slinger for the Cowboys completed 28 of 41 passes in the game, just before Central Michigan put on the rally caps late.
4. Kansas State 34, South Dakota 0
Kansas State gets the tiebreaker nod at No. 4 over Iowa State for now. The defensive shutout over South Dakota stuck out as it was the only shutout in the conference this weekend.
5. Iowa State 42, Southeast Missouri State 10
Iowa State took care of business against SEMO, although things got a little hairy at the end of the first half. Xavier Hutchinson’s three touchdowns in Hunter Dekkers’ first start has Iowa State fans excited. As Jared Stansbury writes, we all know what’s next.
6. Texas 52, UL Monroe 10
Texas brought home a comfortable win over Louisiana Monroe and debuts in the rankings at No. 6. The victory is a nice start as the program tries to rebound from the 5-7, bowl-less season in Austin. We will learn a lot more about the Longhorns when Alabama rolls into town in week two.
7. TCU 38, Colorado 10
TCU came out firing against Colorado and got itself a season-opening win in a game where some experts were counting out the Horned Frogs. Colorado won’t set the world on fire this year, but TCU’s big win can say a little about this year’s team.
8. West Virginia 31, Pittsburgh 38
West Virginia looked formidably solid against its biggest rival in the Backyard Brawl. Pittsburgh lost a lot of its producing talent but still has a solid frame. West Virginia will be fine this season and rivalries are tough to predict, and sometimes, take a lot away from.
9. Kansas 56, Tennessee Tech 10
Kansas won a game this weekend and that convinced me to move them up to the No. 9 spot. The Jayhawks face West Virginia next week, so it could be the final time Kansas is this high in the power rankings. However, the Jayhawks will still face Texas in November which could give them a shot to move up if things go anything like they did last year.
10. Texas Tech 63, Murray State 10
Sorry Texas Tech, solid win, just blame Kansas.
