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Week 2 is in the book and we have a little better picture about some of the BIG XII teams.
Power Rankings
- Oklahoma Sooners (2-0, 0-0) — The Sooners got off to a slow start against winless UCLA, and briefly allowed the Bruins to take a 7-0 lead on what can only be described as a very #Big12Defense drive, but after that they took control and cruised along to an easy victory. No reason to think the championship doesn’t go through Norman.
- West Virginia Mountaineers (2-0, 0-0)—It was a rain soaked affair as WVU took care of feisty Youngstown State. The Mountaineers showed some room for improvement in the secondary, and had a few unforced errors on (penalties, turnovers) but otherwise continued to look like the second best team in the league.
- TCU Horned Frogs (2-0, 0-0)—Another rain-soaked and weather delayed affair for TCU. Rival SMU made them sweat a little but more than I am sure Gary Patterson wanted, but the Frogs responded and finished out with a strong showing. TCU looks to move up with a match against playoff contender Ohio State.
- Oklahoma State Cowboys (1-0, 0-0)—For the second straight week, the Cowboys routed inferior competition, this time in the form of a South Alabama — whatever they are supposed to be. This week we’ll learn a lot more about the Pokes as they take on Boise State.
- Iowa State (0-1, 0-) —After missing their opener due to weather (wow, what kind of school cancels a game instead of moving it to the UNI DOME?), the Cyclones took part in ¡El Assico! It is hard to get a good read on either team from such a — unique —game and the Cyclones next test is the Sooners. Their schedule is a bit backloaded, but if Cyclones might be starring down the gun of a 1-5 start when they hit their bye week on October 20th. But for now, the Cyclones played tough against a decent Iowa team that should finish in the top half of their division. That’s actually more than you can say for most other other teams in the conference that have played a Power 5 opponent.
- Baylor Bears (2-0, 0-0)—With Oklahoma as a clear #1 and WVU, TCU, Ok Lite relatively closely grouped (for now) the drop off after them is pretty jarring. Baylor struggled on the road with lowly UT-San Antonio, but came away with a win. Unlike, Texas however, Baylor is supposed to do that this year, so again the Bears continue to get the nod. They will face an intriguing match up with a Duke team that cleaned up Northwestern.
- Texas Tech Red Raiders (1-1, 0-0)—I am told Lamar is actually an university and not a Texas high school. I am not sure I buy that. Actually I am guessing top level Texas HS programs could score on the Red Raider defense.
- Kansas State Wildcats (1-1, 0-0)—The Wildcats were simply outplayed in every phase of their game against Mississippi State, and after a tough opening week that saw them eek by FCS South Dakota (and not the good South Dakota, either) you have to start to wonder how much longer Bill Snyder’s tenure is going to last.
- Kansas Jayhawks (1-1, 0-0)—THE STREAK IS OVER
- Texas Longhorns (1-1, 0-0)—I was honestly going to move them up, but how can you knock Kansas like that? Anyway the Longhorns looked atrocious in a sloppy win against a bad Tulsa team and face one of the better defenses in the country in USC this week. Have fun!
Bowl Watch
The Big 12 will have a team in the playoff, but it won’t fill out it’s bowl commitments. Hell it might only have four bowl eligible teams.
- College Football Playoff: Oklahoma vs Clemson
- Sugar Bowl: WVU vs Georgia
- Valero Alamo Bowl: TCU vs Washington
- Camping World Bowl: Oklahoma State vs Virginia Tech
- Texas Bowl: Texas Tech vs Missouri