No. 1: Oklahoma

You may not believe in magicians, but Sooner magic is as real as it gets. Graduate transfer quarterback Jalen Hurts played the part of Houdini last Saturday as Oklahoma escaped a 28-3 deficit in Waco to remain on top of the rankings. Even pulling a rabbit out of a hat doesn’t get any respect from the Playoff Committee, though with the Sooners still sitting at No. 9. 

No. 2: Baylor

The Bears found themselves on the receiving end of an unreal comeback. Head coach Matt Rhule saw his team’s perfect season slowly slip away in the second half, but don’t get it twisted: The Bears came to play against the Sooners, and they’re showing they’ll be around for a while.

No. 3: Iowa State

The Cyclones are always a tough team to beat in Ames, Iowa. They showed that last Saturday against Texas, as they sent the Longhorns home empty-handed on a game-winning field goal. Can Iowa State make the Big 12 Championship Game? Probably not. But they have a chance to set themselves up well for bowl season. 

No. 4: Oklahoma State

The Cowboys have now been ranked for two weeks in a row as they continue to pick up quality wins. A blowout victory over Kansas last Saturday has Oklahoma State tied with Texas and Iowa State at 4–3 in conference play. Look for this team to give Oklahoma trouble as Bedlam hits Stillwater, Oklahoma in two weeks.

No. 5: Texas

Talk about a heartbreaker. It doesn’t get much worse than the brutal loss the Longhorns suffered in Ames, Iowa. But the ending wasn’t the problem. The Longhorns can’t find a way to get out to a good start. If this remains to be an issue against Baylor, Texas will be in for some trouble in Waco.

No. 6: Kansas State

In one of the strangest Big 12 losses of the season, the Wildcats fell to West Virginia last Saturday, 24-20. In just two weeks, Kansas State went from Big 12 Championship Game contention to a bottom-half conference team. The Big 12 will do that to you.

No. 7: TCU

TCU being ranked No. 7 displays just how deep the Big 12 really is. This is a team that beat Texas and nearly beat Baylor. Last week, however, the Horned Frogs narrowly survived a Texas Tech second-half comeback in Lubbock, Texas. The Horned Frogs are still fighting for bowl eligibility with two games to go.

No. 8: Texas Tech 

The Red Raiders just couldn’t dig themselves out of an early hole against TCU last week, so now it’ll take an improbable final push to go bowling. At 4–6, Tech is at home against Kansas State before it travels to Austin for a Black Friday date with the Longhorns to finish the season.

No. 9: West Virginia

It was a good week to be a Mountaineer. After what’s been a disappointing season, West Virginia took down Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas, last weekend to keep its bowl hopes alive. It was a big win for a team that hadn’t yet found any spark in Big 12 play.

No. 10: Kansas

And here we are. After spending several weeks at the No. 9 spot, it’s back to a familiar place for the Jayhawks. It looked like Kansas would have some semblance of momentum after toppling Texas Tech nearly a month ago. Since then, they’ve lost two games in which they scored a grand total of 23 points.