Big 12 Power Rankings: Week Six

Wow. The Big 12 got turned upside down Saturday with Oklahoma and Texas losing; maybe the North is back up and ready to challenge the South for Big 12 titles once again. How do the teams stack up right now?

I’m going to just apologize in advance. This is hard. These teams are really hard to rank. Is Colorado better than Oklahoma? No, probably not. How bad is Texas? Is Kansas State really an elite team in the conference? Can Nebraska really be playing 9^th best in the conference right now? What the hell do we know about Kansas? So, in advance…I’m sorry…but here’s how I see it:

1. Missouri – The Tigers have a win in an SEC house, a win at Illinois (that one looks a little better now, doesn’t it?) and two throw away wins against a MAC and FCS team. With two weeks to prepare for Nebraska, Mizzou really can not afford to blow this chance. The Tigers have a recent history of knocking on greatness’ door only to have it open in front of them, but tripping on the doorstep on their way in. To steal a line from Pete Taylor, Nebraska isn’t the Nebraska of old, but we’ll find out Saturday if this is the Missouri of new.
2. Oklahoma – I’m still confident in saying this is the scariest team in the conference, but considering the way Cody Hawkins threw against the Sooner secondary, I think Chase Daniel could have similar success. How did this team only muster 230 offensive yards against Colorado, after looking like world beaters against Miami and Tulsa? Your guess is as good as mine.
3. Kansas State – Based on what we’ve seen on the field, how is this team not ranked? How aren’t they? They’re 24^th in the AP poll, but 6^th place in the “Other column” in the coaches’ poll. Yep. With one loss at Auburn (who just won at Florida, by the way), and a win at Texas, this squad is behind Rutgers (wins over Buffalo, Navy and Norfolk State), Nebraska (humiliated by USC, held off mighty Ball State by one), TEXAS (beaten absolutely nobody) and, ready for this, Miami, who beat Duke by 10, Texas A&M, and was humiliated by Oklahoma. What in the world is wrong with these voters?
4. Kansas – Fascinating matchup in the Little Apple this week, where KU hasn’t won in a long time, but is sitting on a bye week’s worth of Wildcat prep. All of a sudden, whoever wins the Sunflower Showdown is the challenger to Missouri in the North. Who will get more carries in Manhattan, Brandon McAnderson or Jake Sharp? That mystery may help Mangino’s Jayhawks win on Saturday.
5. Texas – Honestly, I’m not sure this rating still isn’t a bit too high. There’s too much talent on this team right now for me to drop them lower, but this team looked lost and apathetic against the Wildcats. Now they face an angry Sooner squad, and I love the spin that these losses give this year’s Red River Rivalry. Colt McCoy might face a tougher leadership challenge right now than Vince Young ever did. Is he up to the challenge?
6. Oklahoma State – The Cowboys didn’t show us much against Sam Houston State, winning 39-3 in a walk, but they’ll show us something over the next two weeks in road trips to College Station and Lincoln. I think the Cowboys are head and shoulders better than the Aggies; can they beat an inferior opponent solidly to gain momentum for the Nebraska trip?
7. Texas Tech – Yeah, Graham Harrell has thrown for 24 scores and it’s the first of October. Most QBs across the country won’t throw for that many by Christmas, but this team will be on the losing end of a lot of 49-45 games until the D improves. 24 points against the anemic attack at Rice ain’t good; we’ll see how the secondary fares against an ISU passing attack that has struggled.
8. Colorado – The Hawkins family brought back in to the Big 12 discussion with the shocking win over Oklahoma. The Sooners really struggled on offense as the Buff defense played out of their minds, forcing three turnovers and keeping the OU offense on the sideline for minutes. The margin of victory was close, but the win wasn’t fluky, considering how the game played out. Colorado had 7 more first downs and 151 more yards. Can this team find the postseason endzone with a bowl bid?
9. Nebraska – I definitely don’t think the ‘Huskers will finish the year with the 9^th best squad, but they’re having an awfully hard time kicking it in to gear, with a squeaker over Ball State, and a win over Iowa State that was in doubt until Bo Ruud took an INT back 90 yards for a score, giving the Huskers a 28-10 lead. Coach Bill Callahan has a chance to win some believers this week in Columbia, where it’s the equivalent of Nebraska taking their North title belt in to the ring with them. If Missouri wins, the Huskers can leave it behind. Sam Keller has been pretty darn good, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he lit up the Tiger secondary.
10. Texas A & M – Who knows when exactly the final nail in Coach Fran’s coaching coffin was drilled, but I’m pretty sure the party’s over in College Station after the recent revelation of a secret group of boosters paying $1,200 a year to receive privileged information on injuries and other team matters. If the Aggie D can turn this Saturday’s contest against the Cowboys in to a smash mouth battle, TAMU might have a chance. If they’re not able to be physical, the goose’ll be cooked.
11. Iowa State – If this season were one of those football video games where you could turn off fumbles and interceptions so the computer couldn’t get the ball back whenever it felt like it, this Cyclone team might contend for the Big 12 North title. But crucial mistakes and mental breakdowns have devastated the Cyclones all year, including this week in Lincoln, where three picks and a fumble ruined a 10-0 lead and a fairly impressive performance on the field. From here, its Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri in rapid succession.
12. Baylor – Let’s be honest here. I just didn’t have the heart to rank my beloved Cyclones last for the third straight week.