Well… here we go.
I’m still in a very bad mood after Saturday, and I’m not alone. I fully expected the Oklahoma Sooners to just take care of business against the Iowa State Cyclones. I expected to continue to feel good about Oklahoma’s chances at a title despite the defense’s flaws. I expected to be excited about my trip to Dallas. Above all, I expected to be excited for a trip to Dallas for OU-Texas weekend. But sometimes life throws you a curveball. Sometimes college football makes you feel like crap.
Anyway, enough with the moping. I’m going to try to be positive about things in the lead-up to one of the greatest rivalry games in all of sports. I’m going to try to not let Mike Stoops ruin my week for seemingly the 50th time.
Here are my Big 12 Power Rankings through Week 6:
- TCU (5-0, 2-0) – Not much to debate here. The Horned Frogs didn’t look perfect against WVU, but I’m still of the opinion that the Mountaineers are pretty damn good. TCU’s pass defense isn’t exceptional, but there isn’t a pass defense in the league that is, and the Frogs excel at pretty much everything else.
- Oklahoma State (4-1, 1-1) – Is Oklahoma State actually better than Oklahoma? They both have significant defensive issues, but the nature of said issues seems to differ. Oklahoma State’s defense probably isn’t as talented as OU’s, but I’d take Glenn Spencer over Mike Stoops at this point. I’ll flip OU and OSU if the Sooners beat Texas, but OU needs to show me something first. Is OU’s offense better than Oklahoma State’s as a whole? Baker Mayfield and the OU offensive line are still great, but the losses of CeeDee Lamb and Abdul Adams made the Sooners waaaaay less effective on Saturday. If they’re out against Texas, the Sooners are in trouble. I’ll flip these two teams in next week’s rankings if OU beats Texas, but they have to show me something first.
- Oklahoma (4-1, 1-1) – I don’t like the chances of OU’s defense righting the ship in 2017, which is unfortunate considering the fact that there’s more talent on that side of the ball than there was in 2016. This team could end the regular season with an 11-1 record, win the Big 12 and make the CFP, or they could finish 8-4 and end up in San Antonio or Orlando.
- West Virginia (3-2, 1-1) – The Mountaineers were very close to beating TCU in Ft. Worth last weekend, and out-gained the Frogs by over 100 yards in the process. OU hasn’t lost to WVU since they joined the Big 12, but it could definitely happen this season if they can’t right the ship. They host Texas Tech this week for what will probably be a pretty damn good football game.
- Texas (3-2, 2-0) – Sam Ehlinger looks looks like he’ll be a problem for Big 12 defenses for years to come. The defense looks alright, too. Is Texas back? Not yet, but we’ll see what happens this weekend.
- Texas Tech (4-1, 1-1) – Texas Tech’s defense looks better than Oklahoma’s. That’s just sad.
- Iowa State (3-2, 1-1) – Iowa State’s backup quarterbacks took home Big 12 Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors this week. That’s also just sad.
- Kansas State (3-2, 1-1) – The Wildcats probably shouldn’t fall this far just for losing at Texas in overtime, but here they are anyway. If they beat TCU in Manhattan this week (which could definitely happen), they’ll be back in the top half and the Big 12 will be a bigger mess than it already is.
- Baylor (0-5, 0-2) – I usually root for any team that plays OSU, but not this week. I hope Baylor finishes 0-12.
- Kansas (1-4, 0-2) – This team will prevent Baylor from going 0-12.
Week 7 Big 12 Schedule
Kansas at Iowa State – 11 a.m. CT (Fox Sports Net)
Texas Tech at West Virginia – 11 a.m. CT (ESPNU)
TCU at Kansas State – 11 a.m. CT (FS1)
Baylor at Oklahoma State – 2:30 p.m. CT (FS1)
Oklahoma vs. Texas (Dallas) – 2:30 p.m. CT (ESPN)
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