No. 1: Oklahoma
Fifth-year senior quarterback Jalen Hurts got his first taste of a Big 12 defense and ate it up. Hurts threw for 415 yards and three touchdowns against Texas Tech as the Sooners lit up the scoreboard yet again in a 55-16 win. Oklahoma has averaged 56 points per game so far. Even with Oklahoma’s weak schedule taken into consideration, that’s still a lot of points.
No. 2: Texas
The Longhorns used a much-needed bye week to try and nurse some injuries. Senior wide receiver Collin Johnson and sophomore defensive back DeMarvion Overshown’s availability in Saturday’s matchup will likely be a game time decision, while freshman running back Jordan Whittington remains out. Health will play a big factor soon, as the Longhorns’ clash with Oklahoma is just a week away.
No. 3: Oklahoma State
Head coach Mike Gundy, as he does every year, has his team outperforming expectations. Like clockwork, the Cowboys pulled off a dominant win over then-undefeated Kansas State. Redshirt sophomore running back Chuba Hubbard is starting to garner real Heisman attention with a 296-yard effort in the win.
No. 4: TCU
After its first loss of the season against SMU, the Horned Frogs bounced back in a big way last week, running over Kansas 51-14 in a game that was even more lopsided than the score indicated. TCU will have to beat a team of substance before it can prove itself as a true contender once again, but this is a good start for a team needing to reboot.
No. 5: Baylor
Baylor is really, really close to being a conference contender. If anything, they proved they may be ahead of schedule with a gutsy win over Iowa State last weekend. Junior quarterback Charlie Brewer is one of the better passers in a loaded Big 12, and his talents were on full display in the victory as he threw for 307 yards and three scores.
No. 6: Iowa State
Head coach Matt Campbell’s team hasn’t started the season quite how they wanted to. The loss to the Bears is a tough one to swallow, and it shows that the Cyclones may not be legitimate contenders like some thought. Losing the turnover battle in a one-score game will doom a team, and that’s exactly what they’ve done in each of their two losses.
No. 7: Kansas State
The Wildcats hit a wall for the first time this season, and they folded. Oklahoma State took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Junior quarterback Skylar Thompson never got into a rhythm, and finished with just 118 yards passing. The teeth of the schedule is ahead for Kansas State with Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma coming up.
No. 8: West Virginia
The last time the Mountaineers took the field two weeks ago, they just squeaked by Kansas. The West Virginia defense didn’t provide a lot of resistance to senior quarterback Carter Stanley and the Jayhawk offense, but redshirt junior quarterback Austin Kendall did just enough to get the win. They’re going to have to do a lot more if they hope to upset Texas this week.
No. 9: Texas Tech
If the Red Raiders were going to come close to upsetting Oklahoma, it was going to have to be in a shootout. Unfortunately for Tech, the Sooner defense looks to be much improved from a year ago, holding the Tech offense to just 16 points.
No. 10: Kansas
Head coach Les Miles pulled a rabbit out of his hat with a rout of Boston College two weeks ago, but the magic ran out against TCU last weekend. His defense had no answer for the Horned Frogs. It looks like it’ll take some time until we see a vastly improved Kansas team with Miles at the helm.
