1. Oklahoma (4-0)
The Sooners jump to No. 1 on this list after handing Notre Dame its first home loss in almost two years. Blake Bell, who has thrown for six touchdowns and no interceptions since taking over for Trevor Knight, has cemented himself as the starter in Norman and his team is now the conference favorite.
2. Baylor (3-0)
Coming off another bye week, the Bears will head into this week’s matchup against West Virginia having only played once since September 7th. Baylor’s conference opener will be the first real test for its high-powered offense that is averaging 70 points per game.
3. Texas Tech (4-0)
After starting the season near the bottom of this list, the Red Raiders continue to climb the rankings as the conference’s surprise success story so far this season. It’s been relatively smooth sailing so far for head coach Kliff Kingsbury, but he now has a quarterback controversy on his hands. If Tech can find consistency at the quarterback position they will continue to scale the Big 12 ladder.
4. Oklahoma State (3-1)
The Cowboys tumble down the rankings after suffering their first loss of the year last week. The Pokes got stomped in Morgantown as West Virginia exposed Oklahoma State’s weaknesses on both sides of the ball. While it’s only one loss, this defeat at the hands of a Mountaineers team that hasn’t looked great this year could spell trouble for the Cowboys.
5. West Virginia (3-2)
A week after being blown out by Maryland, the Mountaineers bounced back with the biggest upset of the Big 12 schedule thus far, over preseason favorite Oklahoma State. It doesn’t get any easier for the Mountaineers defense as they will be tasked with slowing down the high-powered Baylor offense this week.
6. Texas (2-2)
The bye week could not have come at a better time for the Longhorns. New defensive coordinator Greg Robinson got an extra week to implement his defense while Daje Johnson returns, fellow offensive star Mike Davis is questionable and David Ash has yet to recover from a head injury. If Texas can get by Iowa State this week, the annual Red River Rivalry could be a matchup of teams still undefeated in Big 12 play.
7. TCU (2-2)
The Big 12’s biggest disappointment thus far got back on track against private school counterpart SMU last week. The Horned Frogs offense looked as good as it has all year against the Mustangs and a win in Norman this weekend would turn their season around.
8. Kansas State (2-2)
Bill Snyder’s club had the week off to solve what went wrong in Austin and prepare for what’s ahead. But with games against Oklahoma State and Baylor in the next two weeks, things could go from bad to worse in a hurry for the Wildcats.
9. Kansas (2-1)
Coming off a bye week, the Jayhawks have had an extra week to prepare for their contest with Texas Tech this weekend in Lawrence. If quarterback Jake Heaps can get in rhythm with his receivers early on, Kansas could give the Red Raiders a run for their money.
10. Iowa State (1-2)
As the only Big 12 team with a losing record, the Cyclones continue to find themselves at the bottom of this list, but there’s nowhere to go but up. Iowa State looked much improved in its victory over Tulsa and plays host to a beatable Longhorns squad this week.
