Big 12 Football: Week 7 Power Rankings
Well that was a fun week in football. Nebraska had their national title dreams crushed by Texas, Baylor won over Colorado, Kansas State showed who was the big dog in the Sunflower State against Kansas, A&M was killed by Missouri, Oklahoma State started early against Texas Tech and never let go of that lead, and Iowa State got crushed by Oklahoma. With that quick recap, where do the Big 12 teams stand after Week 7?
12. Kansas Jayhawks
1 of 12
Record: 2-4 (0-2)
Big 12 North Ranking: tied for 6th
National Ranking: N/A
Can things get any worse for Turner Gill and Kansas? Two weeks ago they got killed by Baylor, now they got demolished by in-state rival Kansas State, 59-7. Kansas had several drives deep into Kansas State territory and blew it on turnovers. The score would have been less embarrassing if the team had not given up. While Kansas State was trying to run out the clock, Kansas's D just let them run right over them. This team has no spirit. I have seen some Kansas fans are already clamoring for Turner Gill's head, but to be honest, did anyone think that this year would be anything more than a rebuilding year? They lost their best QB in school history, along with some talented wide receivers. The defense is also young and not playing very well.
Kansas Player of the Week: Angus Quigley, had 70 rushing yards and the only touchdown of the night
Week 8: Texas A&M
Prediction: Loss, both teams are winless in Big 12 play, but Kansas is just playing awful football.
11. Colorado Buffaloes
2 of 12
Record: 3-3 (0-2)
Big 12 North Ranking: tied for 6th
National Ranking: N/A
Colorado lost to Baylor, but played very well. They were leading at the half 15-10, before losing 31-25. Hansen was great throwing, 21 of 28 for 207 yards with a touchdown and one interception. Stewart had 125 yards rushing and two touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, Colorado was terrible, giving up almost 550 yards of total offense. If Dan Hawkins wants to keep his job and not suffer the same fate as Minnesota's coach Tim Brewster (the first head to roll in coach firings), he needs his defense to step up.
Colorado player of the week: Tyler Hansen, had 207 yards passing and showed he is the right choice at quarterback.
Week 8: Texas A&M
Prediction: Colorado's defense is bad, and they face a fast offense that can go air or ground.
10. Texas A&M Aggies
3 of 12
Record: 3-3 (0-2)
Big 12 South Ranking: 6th
National Ranking: N/A
Jerrod Johnson finally had a game without multiple turnovers, only problem is that it was not enough. Missouri's defense was too much for the Aggies. In the first half, the Aggies were held to 82 total yards of offense, the second half is when the Aggies finally got the ball rolling. Still the Tigers defense kept them out of the endzone, except for a late fourth quarter touchdown. In my opinion, the Aggies have been the greatest disappointment of the Big 12's season so far. They came into the season with a Heisman candidate and Big 12 title hopes, both of those are gone now, unless Johnson starts throwing video game numbers of 600 yards per game. They already have two Big 12 losses, and have not yet played Nebraska, Oklahoma or Texas. This is liking more and more like Mike Sherman's final year.
Texas A&M Player of the week: Jerrod Johnson, threw for 322 with one touchdown, and no turnovers.
Week 8: @ Kansas
Prediction: Win, If they lose they should run Mike Sherman out of College Station
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9. Iowa State Cyclones
4 of 12
Record: 3-4 (1-2)
Big 12 South Ranking: 5th
National Ranking: N/A
Ouch. Iowa State looked just awful, only gaining 182 yards and not scoring a single point in a 52-0 loss. In fact Iowa State never saw the red zone. All three of their field goals were misses. Austen Arnaud was 12 of 18 for 102 yards, and ran for 16. Robinson only had 39 yards rushing. As bad as the offense was, the defense was worse. The Cyclones' D gave up 674 total yards of offense. Wheter it was the ground or air, they could not stop the Sooners. There really is nothing else to say, the Cyclones were just bad. Unfortunately, they play at Texas this week, that shot at consecutive bowl seasons is shrinking by the minute. They have winnable games against Kansas and Colorado, but will still have to upset Missouri, Nebraska or Texas to go bowling.
Iowa State player of the week: Jacob Lattimer, he had the lone turnover of the game recovering a Oklahoma fumble
Week 8: @ Texas
Prediction: Loss, If Iowa State wins, I'll eat crow, but its not going to happen.
8. Texas Tech Red Raiders
5 of 12
Record: 3-3 (1-3)
Big 12 South Ranking: 5th
National Ranking: N/A
I think it is safe to say that the Red Raiders are out of the Big 12 title race. They still have a good shot at bowling though. They have Weber State and Houston minus Case Keenum as likely wins. They need one more Big 12 win and they should be good to go. Obviously Tech fans would like to have bowl eligibility wrapped up sooner than that. Tech did not really do anything wrong in this game, except for the two fumbles. They just got outplayed and lost 34-17. Oklahoma State started early and controlled the game for the rest of the 60 minutes. Potts threw for 221 yards passing, and the Red Raiders also had 175 yards rushing. If they can keep up that production, they should have bowl eligibility wrapped up sooner than later.
Texas Tech player of the week: Taylor Potts, threw for 221 yards and a touchdown and no interceptions
Week 8: @ Colorado
Prediction: Win, Tech's offense is finally clicking and they should be fine against a bad Colorado defense
7. Baylor Bears
6 of 12
Record: 5-2 (2-1)
Big 12 South Ranking: tied for 3rd
National Ranking: BCS # 37
Baylor has not been in this position for a very long time. They are only one win away from going to a bowl game. The reason behind this, has no doubt been Robert Griffin III. He accounted for 371 yards of Baylor's 543 yards against the Buffaloes. Very impressive. The defense has not been impressive. While the Griffin led offense is racking up yards and points, the Bears defense is giving up way too many yards. They need to limit those yards if they want that sixth win. Especially since four out of the next five games are against ranked teams.
Baylor player of the week: Robert Griffin III, when a guy can account for that much yardage, you know you have a playmaker
Week 8: Kansas State
Prediction: Win, The Bears offense is rolling right now and I think they will roll against the mediocre Wildcat defense
6. Kansas State Wildcats
7 of 12
Record: 5-1 (2-1)
Big 12 North Ranking: 2nd
National Ranking: #22
Wow. Is Kansas State that good? or is Kansas just that bad? Either way they showed who was the better program in the Sunflower Showdown. While Daniel Thomas is usually the star player, this game it was Carson Coffman. He was 15 of 16 for 184 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 42 yards and added three touchdowns. Thomas for the third straight game failed to hit 100 yards rushing. The defense forced three key turnovers and gave up way less yardage than they did against Nebraska. There still is need for improvement though. This week they go to Baylor, with both teams at five wins, the winner goes home knowing they will go bowling. Even if the Wildcats lose, they still have winnable games on their schedule, I am certain in saying that for the first time in years, the Wildcats will go bowling.
Kansas State player of the week: Carson Coffman, had a great performance against the Jayhawks defense and has shown he can be a game changer instead of a manager
Week 8: @ Baylor
Prediction: Loss, Kansas state has issues with mobile QBs, see the Nebraska game, they won't be able to stop Griffin
5. Nebraska
8 of 12
Record: 5-1 (1-1)
Big 12 North Ranking: 3rd
National Ranking: BCS #16
Well there goes the National championship and Heisman campaigns. Nebraska looked like crap, losing 20-13. Texas keyed in on Taylor Martinez and the zone read option, Martinez definitely looked like a freshman starter. I cannot really blame Martinez though. Niles Paul, Brandon Kinnie and Rex Burkhead all had, and in the case of Paul two, touchdown passes that they dropped. When critics say that Martinez is one-dimensional, I think they are wrong, instead it is our mediocre receiving corps that was the biggest problem. While a lot of Husker fans blame the refs, the team is to blame. I will say I still disagree with the pass interference call that led to Texas's final touchdown, the Nebraska players never touched him. The defense was bad, they could not stop the run at all, and for some reason were content with only having one linebacker on the field. Pelini had better put some fire into this team.
Nebraska player of the week: Eric Hagg, school record 95 yard punt return for a touchdown, enough said
Week 8: @ Oklahoma State
Prediction: Win, Nebraska's offense faced the best defense they will face all year in Texas, they will be ready for anything the Cowboys throw at them
4. Texas Longhorns
9 of 12
Record: 4-2 (2-1)
Big 12 South Record: tied for 3rd
National Ranking: BCS # 19
Well, Texas gave the Cornhuskers the ultimate parting gift, a stinging home loss and crushed national title dreams. The Longhorns's run defense was spectacular in stopping Martinez and the other running backs. Texas found a running game with Gilbert showing he is not so one-dimensional with 71 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Gilbert did not look great passing against the Blackshirts defense though, throwing a career low 62 yards on 4 of 16. Texas had a high of 209 rushing yards as a team. Texas is still very much in the Big 12 title race. They only have one conference loss, but they need Oklahoma to drop two games, if they want to repeat as champions. As a Husker fan at the game, I have to say the fans were nowhere as bad as I thought they were going to be, except for a group of drunk ones. They showed class and did not rub any salt into the wound, and I thank you for that.
Texas player of the week: Garrett Gilbert, he looked like a young McCoy or Young running the ball with dominance, if he can do that and pass Texas will do really well the next few years.
Week 8: Iowa State
Prediction: Win, they have too much talent on both sides of the ball to lose to Iowa State.
3. Missouri Tigers
10 of 12
Record: 6-0 (2-0)
Big 12 North Ranking: 1st
National Ranking: BCS #11
Well, obviously that hip pointer is not going to be an issue. Blaine Gabbert was 31 of 47 for 361 yards and three touchdowns. The running game still kindof sucks though only getting 56 total rushing yards. They really need the running backs to step up against the Sooners, as they possess a great secondary. What impressed me, was that even without Aldon Smith, Missouri sacked Jerrod Johnson seven times. They are going to need to keep up that pressure on the quarterback when they host Oklahoma for College Gameday, the show's first visit to Columbia. If Missouri wants to take control of the Big 12, they need to do it against Oklahoma. Gary Pinkel has never beaten Texas or Oklahoma, now would be a great time to start.
Missouri player of the week: Blaine Gabbert, he is Missouri's entire offense and accounted for the majority of the team's total yardage
Week 8: Oklahoma
Prediction: Loss, Missouri has only played bad teams so far this season, that changes on Saturday, Missouri's offense will struggle versus the Sooners defense
2. Oklahoma State Cowboys
11 of 12
Record: 6-0 (2-0)
Big 12 South Ranking: 1st
National Ranking: BCS #14
The last time the Cowboys won in Lubbock, the Allies had landed in France and were pushing the Germans back into Germany. For those of you who do not know history, that was 1944. The Cowboys are currently enjoying one of their best starts in years and have a great shot at the Big 12 title. The main reason behind this, is because of the Air Raid 2.0, led by 27 year old QB Brandon Weeden. He threw for 356 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. The run game was huge in this game, with Hunter, Randle and Smith all getting a touchdown and the team's total was 225 rushing yards. While the Cowboys are good at racking up yards, they are not so good at stopping teams from getting yards. They have yet to play a good defense, with the two best defenses they played, they almost lost. They host Nebraska who has a great defense, and a great running game which is something else the Cowboys have not yet faced. If the Cowboys want to win the Big 12, they need to show they can stop the run and beat a great defense.
Oklahoma State player of the week: Joseph Randle, freshman running back had 95 yards and first collegiate touchdown
Week 8: Nebraska
Prediction: Loss, Oklahoma State has not played a great defense yet, nor have they played a running team yet, both of those will prove to be too much for the Cowboys.
1. Oklahoma Sooners
12 of 12
Record: 6-0 (2-0)
Big 12 South Ranking: 1st
National Ranking: BCS #1
Boomer Sooner. Does anyone remember when Phil Steele had Oklahoma as his #1 preseason team, and everyone thought he was crazy? I bet he is laughing right now. Oklahoma completely dominated their game against the Cyclones, 52-0. They racked up 672 yards of total offense and gave up only 182. After that game, plus their other games over Air Force, Florida State and Texas, they are the dominate team in the Big 12. If they can keep up the offense that they have, plus their great defense, I do not know of any teams that can really beat them. Landry Jones threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns, while the team had a total of 325 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Right now, all of Sooner nation is hoping that Oklahoma does not become the third #1 team in a row to lose. The similarities are striking, #1 vs. about #18, at lower ranked team's stadium, and all three previous #1's won a national title this past decade.
Oklahoma player of the week: DeMarco Murray, he became Oklahoma's all-time leading scorer, congratulations to him
Week 8: @ Missouri
Prediction: Win, Missouri has struggled putting away good offenses, and have yet to play a good defense, Sooners win this one.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
