Lots of fun Big 12 ball broke out in week six. However, when the dust settled, the Big 12 week six power rankings look quite similar to what they did one week ago. But make no mistake; this is still a wide-open conference. Is there more confidence in who the bottom teams are? Yes. But there are still eight teams that cannot be completely ruled out from turning it around and making it to Arlington for the Big 12 championship game. Although two teams are very close to being eliminated. So who were the biggest risers and fallers in the Big 12 week six power rankings?
Big 12 Week Six Power Rankings
10. Iowa State (Last Week: 10)
College kickers man. They truly are an emotional roller coaster. Cyclones kicker Jace Gilbert did make one field goal against Kansas from 35 yards in the third quarter. However, he had missed two attempts – from 45 and 38 – before Iowa States’ final drive in an attempt to tie/win the game. Play calling suggested head coach Matt Campbell was not aggressively trying to find the endzone, which was a head-scratcher given the struggles of field goal attempts that day. Sure enough, Gilbert’s last of his three missed field goals never stood a chance. Iowa State gets no chance to breathe with Kansas State coming to Ames this week.
9. West Virginia (Last Week: 9)
The Mountaineers were outmatched in their trip to Austin this past week. And their loss to Pitt in the backyard brawl is not aging well either. It was 28-0 before the offense found any sort of footing against the Longhorns. It appears the Mountaineers and Cyclones will be in a firm grasp of these bottom two spots for the foreseeable future. Because the offense of West Virginia has shown the ability to get points in bunches when it is rolling, it will not be overtaken by Iowa State unless a (frankly) unexpected upset arises. West Virginia has a bye this week before squaring off against Baylor on a Thursday night next week.
8. Oklahoma (Last Week: 4)
Remember when Sooner fans were doing mental gymnastics convincing themselves that Lincoln Riley leaving was better for them? “Riley was in decline, Brent Venables is going to bring that toughness Riley is missing.” After almost 1,200 yards surrendered in their Big 12 games, Sooner nation has to be wondering just what in the wide, wide world of sports is going on. No telling how long quarterback Dillon Gabriel will be out after leaving the TCU game in the second quarter with an injury. Red River is on tap this week, and that game is never very predictable. But if Oklahoma can’t figure it out against their future SEC foe, it could be a long first year for Venables.
7. Texas (Last week: 8)
We didn’t necessarily learn anything new in their 38-20 victory over the Mountaineers. But Texas did what it needed to do against West Virginia this week. They jumped on them early and never let off the gas. This was exactly the medicine Longhorn fans needed to restore hope for this season. Quarterback Quinn Ewers stands a very good chance at being the QB1 against the rival Sooners this week, which will only inject more life into the program. If the Horns hope to still achieve big things in the Big 12, they have to take advantage of a very leaky Sooner defense and bring home the Golden Hat.
6. Texas Tech (Last Week: 6)
It’s clear the Red Raiders have a Kansas State problem. But beyond that, Texas Tech’s lack of explosiveness offensively is a major concern. They were plucky in their attempt to upset the Wildcats on the road, but the slow start combined with having to grind it out on offense was too much to overcome. The defense can generate a pretty good pass rush, but that becomes negated against a team like Kansas State that is more than content to beat teams on the ground. It doesn’t get any easier for the Red Raiders as they have to travel to Stillwater this week before its bye week.
5. Baylor (Last Week: 5)
There is no other way to say this; quarterback Blake Shapen can flat-out spin it. He made some jaw-dropping throws against Oklahoma State. This Baylor offense will be fine for the rest of the year. The problem is they couldn’t get out of first gear until the third quarter against Oklahoma State. By then it was too late. Baylor can use this bye week to fine-tune some things offensively so they don’t have to try and fight from behind. It’s clear why head coach Dave Arranda gave Shapen the job back in the spring, but until they actually win these games, they are stuck in the middle of these Big 12 week six rankings.
4. TCU (Last Week: 7)
This is the part of the program where everyone needs to be reminded that TCU was never a rebuild job. Their last four recruiting class ranked 28, 44, 23, and 32. The problem was long-time head coach Gary Patterson simply was not developing/maximizing these classes. So that’s why he took an assistant coaching job with another Texas program that has spent the last decade doing an even worse job at that. All joking aside, it still is remarkable how good TCU has looked this quickly under Sonny Dykes. Time will tell if their offensive explosion against the Sooners was more about how bad Oklahoma was on defense. But all signs point to this being one of the best offenses in the Big 12 this year.
3. Kansas State (Last Week: 3)
The Wildcats’ business-like performance against Texas Tech continued to solidify how tough this team will be to beat. It would have been understandable for Kanas State to have a bit of a letdown coming back home and playing an early morning kickoff after beating Oklahoma. But this team did not miss a beat and kept driving that high-powered rushing machine all over the Red Raiders. If they can avoid another potential letdown traveling to Iowa State this week, the title of “darkhorse” Big 12 champion that was bestowed upon them in the preseason will be swapped out simply for one of the favorites in the conference.
2. Kansas (Last Week: 2)
Are we really to buy into Kansas being good? Sure, they have an emerging Heisman candidate at quarterback. But there has to be some smoke and mirrors with this right? When the skeptic of the Jayhawks takes over a decade worth of data to these questions, it would be hard to say that it isn’t fake. However, here is the true counterpoint. Kansas is good and the college football landscape needs to accept this as a fact. Here’s why; Kansas won its first four games by scores of 56-10, 55-42, 48-30, and 35-27. They were winning with their offense. But this week, with more and more college football eyes peering down on them, Kansas had to scratch and claw out a 14-11 victory. Good/great teams find ways to win games in different ways and that is what these Jayhawks have done.
1. Oklahoma State (Last Week: 1)
These Big 12 week six power rankings saw a little shifting in the middle, but the top spot only entrenched itself after the Pokes took down the defending Big 12 champs on the road. Quarterback Spencer Sanders totaled 256 yards and two touchdowns as Oklahoma State got their revenge against Baylor. The slight step back the defense has taken this year has been picked up by the offensive side of the ball. This team had yet to be really challenged this season but passed a major test with flying colors. Mike Gundy’s squad will look to keep the momentum rolling against Texas Tech.
