Big 12 Power Rankings: KU, Cincy, OSU get notable wins, but everyone is chasing Texas
Seven years ago, a Texas quarterback by the name of Tyrone Swoopes lifted the Longhorns to a thrilling home victory over Notre Dame by diving into the end zone for a game-winning touchdown in double overtime.
ESPN announcer Joe Tessitore was so impressed that he reacted to the play by confidently saying “Texas is back, folks” on the game broadcast. Turns out, that prediction was extremely premature. But few will argue with that statement today.
At long last, Texas does appear to be back. For real this time.
Texas went on the road and beat Alabama 34-24 on Saturday. It was a dominant effort that saw the Longhorns put up 454 yards of offense on the Crimson Tide.
There were other important wins in the Big 12 this weekend. Kansas thumped Illinois on Friday, K-State ended Troy’s 12-game winning streak on Saturday and both Cincinnati and Oklahoma State beat power-conference opponents on the road.
But all of those results were overshadowed by Texas. Steve Sarkisian’s team is now ranked fourth in the AP top 25 and sixth in the coaches poll.
The Longhorns are also a no-brainer pick for No. 1 in this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings.
1. Texas (2-0)
Last game: 34-24 win over Alabama
Next game: Wyoming
Analysis: Teams that win at Alabama tend to go on to have fantastic seasons. If Quinn Ewers is going to keep throwing for 349 yards and three touchdowns then the Longhorns are going to be legitimate playoff contenders this year.
2. Kansas State (2-0)
Last game: 42-13 win over Troy
Next game: At Missouri
Analysis: K-State lost Felix-Anudike Uzomah to the NFL, but that hasn’t stopped its defensive line from piling up 20 tackles for loss through two games. It’s going to be hard for most teams to move the ball on the Wildcats this season, which is bad news for the rest of the Big 12 because Will Howard has already led the offense to 87 points.
3. Oklahoma (2-0)
Last game: 28-11 win over SMU
Next game: At Tulsa
Analysis: It was hard to learn much about Oklahoma in its first game, other than that the Sooners were way better than Arkansas State. Beating SMU in a low-scoring affair told us much more about Brent Venables’ team. For starters, their defense held a decent opponent to just 11 points and 367 yards. That was encouraging. It appears Oklahoma doesn’t have to win a shootout every week this season.
4. Kansas (2-0)
Last game: 34-23 win over Illinois
Next game: At Nevada
Analysis: The Jayhawks should consider wearing black uniforms more often if they are going to help them amass 539 yards of offense and stomp a Big Ten opponent. Kansas entered its game against Illinois with several question marks, but Jalon Daniels was outstanding at quarterback and the Jayhawks jumped out to a 34-7 lead. There’s a decent chance they will be undefeated and ranked when they head to Texas on September 30.
5. UCF (2-0)
Last game: 18-16 win over Boise State
Next game: Villanova
Analysis: The Knights were fortunate to escape with a win on the blue turf at Boise State. But, hey, a win is a win. And UCF proved it might have the best kicker in the conference. Colton Boomer (outstanding name) connected on field goals of 32, 40, 49 and 55 yards to help his team win that game. Unfortunately, coach Gus Malzahn announced Monday that starting quarterback John Rhys Plumlee will miss a few weeks of action with an injury. It will be interesting to see how the offense responds without him.
6. Cincinnati (2-0)
Last game: 27-21 win over Pittsburgh
Next game: Miami (Ohio)
Analysis: I need to apologize to the Bearcats for suggesting to my readers that they bet the under on Cincinnati’s preseason win total of 5.5. Cincinnati looks like one of the best teams in the Big 12 through two games. They demolished Eastern Kentucky in Week 1 and then followed that up with an impressive win at Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Bearcats held the Panthers to 262 yards and dominated from the start. They are now receiving votes for the top 25.
7. Oklahoma State (2-0)
Last game: 27-15 win over Arizona State
Next game: South Alabama
Analysis: The Cowboys have lots of improvement to make on offense. But there isn’t much to complain about with them on the other side of the ball. Oklahoma State limited Arizona State to 277 yards and forced two turnovers on Saturday. Interesting stat: Two OSU quarterbacks threw touchdown passes in that game and neither one of them was Alan Bowman.
8. BYU (2-0)
Last game: 41-16 win over Southern Utah
Next game: At Arkansas
Analysis: The Cougars haven’t done anything all that impressive through two games against Sam Houston and Southern Utah, other than win. BYU is off to a 2-0 start, which has allowed them to climb up these power rankings. Things are about to get tougher, though. Road games against Arkansas and Kansas are on deck.
9. TCU (1-1)
Last game: 41-6 win over Nicholls
Next game: At Houston
Analysis: The Horned Frogs bounced back nicely from a disappointing loss to Colorado by trouncing Nicholls on Saturday. Chandler Morris threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, TCU limited Nicholls to just 263 yards.
10. Texas Tech (0-2)
Last game: 38-30 loss to Oregon
Next game: Tarleton State
Analysis: There is an alternate universe somewhere in which Texas Tech quarterback Tyler Shough doesn’t throw three interceptions against Oregon and Texas Tech kicker Gino Garcia doesn’t miss so many field goals against Wyoming. The Red Raiders are undefeated and probably the No. 2 ranked team in the Big 12 in that universe. Alas, a flurry of mistakes has led to an 0-2 start for this group. There is more than enough talent in Lubbock for the Red Raiders to rebound for a decent season. But a pair of early losses has them dropping here.
11. West Virginia (1-1)
Last game: 56-17 win over Duquesne
Next game: Pittsburgh
Analysis: The Mountaineers had a 200-yard passer (Garrett Greene), a 150-yard receiver (Hudson Clement) and a 100-yard rusher (Jahiem White) against Duquesne. You don’t see that combination every day. Bring on the Backyard Brawl in Morgantown.
12. Iowa State (1-1)
Last game: 20-13 loss to Iowa
Next game: At Ohio
Analysis: The Cy-Hawk rivalry was the definition of a rock fight in Ames. Neither team gained 300 yards of offense. Both teams punted six times. The game ended on a run from the Cyclones that lost two yards on fourth-and-short. Gross all the way around. A pick-six from Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht was a back-breaker.
13. Houston (1-1)
Last game: 43-41 loss to Rice
Next game: TCU
Analysis: The Cougars lost to their cross-town rivals in double-overtime, but they had to fight like heck to extend the game after falling behind 28-0 in the first half. I’ve got a feeling Houston will be a high-variance team this season. It will play above expectations on certain weeks and then way below expectations on other weeks. Starting off the year with a win over UTSA and then a loss to Rice is a perfect example of that.
14. Baylor (0-2)
Last game: 20-13 loss to Utah
Next game: Long Island University
Analysis: Kudos to Dave Aranda for fighting back after a Week 1 loss to Texas State and putting a scare into Utah on Saturday. But it wasn’t quite enough. The Bears are the only team in the Big 12 without a victory.
This story was originally published September 12, 2023 at 6:30 AM with the headline "Big 12 Power Rankings: KU, Cincy, OSU get notable wins, but everyone is chasing Texas."