Big XII Power Rankings Week 4: Well, that uh escalated.

For most of this season, the power rankings have been pretty stable. After Saturday, man I don’t even know where to start. What a wild afternoon for the conference.

Power Rankings

1. Oklahoma Sooners (4-0, 1-0) — So hear me out. Army is a pretty good team and their gimmick triple option is hard to prepare against. That said the gap between Oklahoma and everyone else is clearly smaller than we thought.
2. West Virginia Mountaineers (3-0, 1-0)—Despite being a little sloppy, WVU dominated both sides of the ball. Something I don’t think I’ve ever expected to type in relation to a game against a Bill Snyder-coached team. WVU’s first big test looms in Lubbock, though.
3. Texas Longhorns (3-1, 1-0)—It is possible that power rankings underestimated the Longhorn, but it’s also possible we have overestimated TCU. In either case, Texas-back-o-meter is rising.
4. Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-1, 1-0)—After surrendering a billion points through their first 2.5 games versus FBS competition, the Raiders found a defense and held a solid Cowboys squad scoreless in the second half. Can they continue their rise against WVU?
5. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-1, 0-1)—What a difference a week can make. Last week the Cowboys looked like they were ready to challenge the Sooners for the crown after blasting Boise State.
6. TCU Horned Frogs (2-2, 0-1)—It’s possible that Ohio State shattered TCU’s soul. If they didn’t, the second half of the Texas game might have. This is the second week in a row the Frogs have gone into half time with a narrow lead, only to give it away in gut-rending fashion. Shawn Robinson had some atrocious turnovers, and poor KaVontae Turpin seeming gets blown up every time they try a trick play. It’s not panic time for the Frogs yet, by any means, but if they want to reach the CCG, they’re have very little room for error.
7. Iowa State (1-2, 0-1) —The Cyclones eventually put away a feisty Akron team.
8. Baylor Bears (3-1, 1-0)—Baylor got an important win over Kansas. The Bears have absolutely improved in season 2 under Matt Rhule but this still a bottom third team.
9. Kansas Jayhawks (2-2, 0-1)—I guess we learned the answer to my question from last week.
10. Kansas State Wildcats (2-2, 0-1)— Bill Snyder absolutely deserves to go out on his own terms, but I really have to wonder how long the administration can wait to let that happen. I’ve never seen a Snyder coached team play as poorly as this one.

Bowl Watch

Something of a shot in the dark here.

• Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma vs Georgia
• Peach Bowl: West Virginia vs Notre Dame
• Valero Alamo Bowl: Texas vs Washington
• Camping World Bowl: TCU vs Miami
• Texas Bowl: Oklahoma State vs Florida
• Cactus Bowl: Texas Tech vs Washington State