Big 12 Weekly Power Poll

Every Tuesday during the season, we will put out our Big 12 Power Poll. Several Big 12 teams struggled and a few looked good. I am not jumping to many conclusions based off the first week of the season, but if I see the same thing from some of these teams for the next week or two, there could be some bigger shifts in rankings.

1. Baylor (won 56-21 vs SMU) - I put them ahead of TCU at this point, because their offense looked better but I am really just splitting hairs. I am not sure their defense is championship level though. SMU's offense did some good things during the first half of their game Friday night. Next up for Baylor is a meeting with Lamar.
2. TCU (won 23-17 vs Minnesota) - The Frogs struggled versus Minnesota Thursday night. The offense didn't look as good as many expected. Their defense looked fairly solid which is expected out of a Pattterson-led defense. They get Stephen F. Austin this week which should give them the ability to iron the offensive wrinkles.
3. Oklahoma (won 41-3 vs Akron) - They put up a solid performance outside of the 1st quarter when they were still warming up. Mayfield's numbers were good. Tennessee is up next and will be a better test than the Akron Zips.
4. West Virginia (won 44-0 vs Georgia Southern) - The story of the game was the Mountaineers defense that held GSU to 224 total yards and no points. That is a nice outing to start the season although it wasn't much of a test. The road isn't any harder versus Liberty next week.
5. Kansas State (won 34-0 vs South Dakota) - KSU lost their starting quarterback two plays into the season but managed an easy victory. They didn't overwhelm South Dakota statistically, only gaining 70 more total yards than the Coyotes. The biggest story from this game was the KSU band. That was...how should I say....inappropriate at best. UTSA is up next for the Wildcats.
6. Oklahoma State (won 24-13 vs Central Michigan) - Oklahoma State struggled to get going for the most part against the Chippewas. They showed signs of life as the game went on, but like several teams in the Big 12 they will need to improve. They get Central Arkansas next week.
7. Texas Tech (won 59-45 vs Sam Houston State) - I am splitting hairs again between us and the Longhorns in the rankings. Our offense looks good and should improve. I also rewatched the defense's series versus Sam Houston and saw plenty (and I mean plenty) of plays to be made but we over pursued, missed tackles and took bad angles. I think we see a big improvement in the defense this week versus UTEP.
8. Texas (lost 38-3 vs Notre Dame) - Their offense looked bad and their defense didn't fair too well either. Neither side of the ball looked that good which is why I ranked Tech ahead of them. They get Rice next week.
9. Iowa State (won 31-7 vs Northern Iowa) - They beat Northern Iowa handily but until they beat someone on this list above them, I will have a hard time moving them up. They play in-state rival Iowa next week.
10. Kansas (lost 41-38 vs South Dakota State) - Poor Kansas. Is it basketball season yet? If a head coach's enthusiasm could win a game, the Jayhawks wouldn't have lost to SDSU. Unfortunately Beaty's enthusiasm only goes so far.