Big 12 power rankings: Oklahoma and Texas emerge as big favorites in conference race
Oklahoma hasn’t played in the Big 12 championship game since 2020.
Texas hasn’t been on that stage since 2018.
With both teams leaving for the SEC next season, the rest of the Big 12 has made it their mission to keep it that way. They want to send the Longhorns and Sooners packing without a conference title. Preferably, they want to bid them farewell while a pair of returning members compete for a trophy in December at AT&T Stadium.
But that dream may not become reality.
Oklahoma and Texas have emerged as clear front-runners in the conference race, and we’re only through three weeks of the season. The No. 6 Longhorns are undefeated with a win at Alabama on their resume. The No. 14 Sooners have outscored their three opponents by a combined score of 167-28.
It already feels like they are on a collision course for Arlington, Texas.
No other team in the Big 12 is currently ranked. Worse than that, several teams in the league have suffered humiliating losses. Baylor and Oklahoma State couldn’t stay on the field with Sun Belt teams. Cincinnati and Iowa State have both lost to teams from the MAC. Kansas State and Texas Tech have already lost, albeit to stronger competition.
BYU, Kansas and UCF join Oklahoma and Texas as the only undefeated teams left in the conference.
It seems unlikely that any of them will seriously challenge the Longhorns and the Sooners over the course of the season. But the Big 12 will need someone to step up if the remaining teams want to prevent a pair of future SEC teams from playing for the title.
That leads us into this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings:
1. Texas (3-0)
Last game: 31-10 win over Wyoming
Next game: at Baylor
Analysis: Did Texas break Alabama? The Crimson Tide looked anything but dominant during a much-closer-than-expected victory over South Florida on Saturday. The Longhorns responded with a ho-hum win of their own against Wyoming. But that was to be expected coming off the extreme high of beating Alabama. Now they can flex their muscles against Big 12 competition.
2. Oklahoma (3-0)
Last game: 66-17 win at Tulsa
Next game: at Cincinnati
Analysis: Brent Venables has done it again. For the second straight year, the Sooners looked invincible while rolling to a 3-0 record against overmatched nonconference opponents. Oklahoma was unable to build off a hot start last season and only won three games against Big 12 competition. Things could be different this time around, thanks to an easier league schedule and what appears to be an improved team.
3. Kansas State (2-1)
Last game: 30-27 loss at Missouri
Next game: UCF
Analysis: The Wildcats fell out of the top 25 when Missouri kicker Harrison Mevis made a 61-yard field goal as time expired on Saturday, but I’m not going to penalize them quite as much here. These power rankings are based on more than just results. Losing at Missouri doesn’t make K-State a bad team. It lost to Tulane in a similar spot last year and then rallied to win the Big 12. Potentially losing linebacker Daniel Green for the remainder of the season with an injury is a major blow. But I would still pick the Wildcats to beat most teams in the conference. So I will give the Wildcats the benefit of the doubt ... for now.
4. Kansas (3-0)
Last game: 31-24 win at Nevada
Next game: BYU
Analysis: How long has it been since Kansas fans were able to complain about the way their team played during a win? Sure, beating one of the worst teams in all of college football by seven wasn’t exactly impressive. But they took care of business on the road and that is a sign of a maturing team. The Jayhawks will need to play much better to beat BYU this week. A win could set up a must-see game of undefeated teams at Texas next weekend.
5. UCF (3-0)
Last game: 48-14 win over Villanova
Next game: at Kansas State
Analysis: No John Rhys Plumlee. No problem. The Knights dismantled Villanova 48-14 without their starting quarterback and now rank first nationally in terms of total offense, averaging 617.7 yards per game. Timmy McClain gets an opportunity to lead UCF to its first Big 12 victory.
6. BYU (3-0)
Last game: 38-31 win at Arkansas
Next game: at Kansas
Analysis: The Cougars gave the Big 12 its best nonconference victory of the season, outside of Texas beating Alabama, on Saturday when they went into Arkansas and pulled off the upset. BYU was clutch on the road and scored the final 17 points of the game.
7. TCU (2-1, 1-0 Big 12)
Last game: 36-13 win at Houston
Next game: SMU
Analysis: It would be interesting to know how casual fans would view the Horned Frogs had they won a close game against Colorado in Week 1 instead of losing in the final minute. Many left TCU for dead after that defeat, but it has responded with some nice victories. Trouncing Houston on the road was an excellent way to start Big 12 play.
8. Texas Tech (1-2)
Last game: 41-3 Tarleton State
Next game: at West Virginia
Analysis: The Red Raiders got their first win of the season against overmatched Tarleton State. Can they use that as a springboard to better things? They may still have conference title aspirations if they beat West Virginia convincingly on the road.
9. Oklahoma State (2-1)
Last game: 33-7 loss to South Alabama
Next game: at Iowa State
Analysis: Is this the season that Mike Gundy’s bowl streak (of 17 years) finally comes to an end? I’m not ready to purchase a tombstone for the Cowboys just yet. Their schedule is easy enough for them to post a winning record. But a blowout loss to South Alabama certainly raised a lot of red flags about this squad. That result may go down as the Big 12’s most embarrassing loss of the season.
10. Cincinnati (2-1)
Last game: 31-24 loss to Miami (Ohio)
Next game: Oklahoma
Analysis: Then again, Cincinnati went out and lost to a MAC team at home last weekend. Add on Baylor’s loss to Texas State in Week 1 and there are plenty of embarrassing Big 12 losses to choose from right now. I boosted the Bearcats way up the power rankings last week after they beat Pittsburgh on the road. Turns out, that game said more about the Panthers than it did the Bearcats.
11. West Virginia (2-1)
Last game: 17-6 win over Pittsburgh
Next game: Texas Tech
Analysis: Every team in the Big 12 should get on the phone and try to add Pittsburgh to their future nonconference schedules. West Virginia got a win in the Backyard Brawl, but it was an ugly game that left quarterback Garrett Greene dealing with an injury.
12. Iowa State (1-2)
Last game: 10-7 loss at Ohio
Next game: Oklahoma State
Analysis: Losing to a MAC team is bad under any circumstance. Only scoring seven points while losing to a MAC team makes it even worse. It could be a long season for the Cyclones. But I am very much looking forward to their next contest against Oklahoma State, which could turn out to be the ugliest Big 12 games of all time.
13. Houston (1-2, 0-1 Big 12)
Last game: 36-13 loss to TCU
Next game: Sam Houston State
Analysis: Houston fans had been waiting a long, long time to play their first conference game in the Big 12, but most of them probably left shortly after halftime when TCU began to pull away.
14. Baylor (1-2)
Last game: 30-7 win over Long Island University
Next game: Texas
Analysis: I’m surprised that Brett Yormark never tried to add Long Island University to the Big 12 as an expansion target. The school is located in New York and uses a shark as its mascot. Sounds like a match to me, other than the fact that Baylor just destroyed them on the football field.
