1. Oklahoma
The Sooners will split time at this spot with Baylor all season until their matchup on Nov. 8. What has stood out for the Sooners, however, is how dominant they have been without spectacular play from their skill positions. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Trevor Knight has been good but not great. When he starts playing up to his full potential, the Sooners may be impossible to beat as he will complement the Big 12’s best defense very nicely.
2. Baylor
For the second straight week, the Bears were dominant on both sides of the ball, but it hasn’t been against strong competition. North Texas’s dominating performance against a very weak SMU offense last week reaffirmed the doubts many have about whether this Baylor defense is as good as its numbers indicate. But the offense, even without redshirt senior Bryce Petty at the helm, is good enough to beat anyone.
3. Kansas State
This past week really showed how big of a gap there is between the top two teams and the rest of the Big 12. The Wildcats barely avoided an upset loss at the hands of Iowa State, coming back from a 15-point second-half deficit, yet they still moved up a spot in the rankings.
4. Oklahoma State
Uncertainty at the quarterback position will haunt them, but they aren’t taking as big of a step back this year as people thought. They were respectable against No. 1 Florida State and handled an inferior Missouri State. There are still plenty of questions to be answered, but so far, so good.
5. Texas
After getting manhandled yet again by BYU, Texas takes a step back and proves it isn’t going to compete for a Big 12 crown this year. Without redshirt junior quarterback David Ash, the Longhorn offense is miserable.
6. TCU
They have showed life early on this year, and this week’s matchup against Minnesota will tell us more. They are lacking the kind of playmakers they have had in recent years, however.
7. Texas Tech
Sophomore quarterback Davis Webb was not at his best as the Red Raiders escaped UTEP, which had its way by running over the Red Raiders’ defense for 277 yards. Their offense can keep them in games now, but when they start facing Big 12 offenses, it will be a tough challenge.
8. West Virginia
Redshirt senior quarterback Clint Trickett was great, completing 35-of-40 passes for 348 yards as the Mountaineers took care of lowly Towson. If he can
sustain his hot start to the year, he may be able to propel the Mountaineers into the top half of the
Big 12 standings.
9. Iowa State
The Cyclones had a chance to make a statement against Kansas State but blew a 15-point, second-half lead. Their offense isn’t dynamic enough to challenge the better teams, and their defense won’t be good enough down the stretch.
10. Kansas
They won. They gave up 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to Southeast Missouri State and barely escaped with a seven-point victory. But they won.
