Big 12 Football Power Rankings Logic by the Lake
Each week I bring you a sort of fireside chat from one of the many Great Lake regions of the Big 12 Conference.
I take you from the Rockies to the gentle rolling hills of south central Oklahoma, to the Land O' Lakes, to the palm trees of Texas.
I've been to the Ozarks, Lake Waco, Clinton Lake, Eufala, Medina, Thunderbird and even Skunk River to name a few.
This week I'm in San Antonio, Texas, home to Lake Medina.
This week’s rankings went topsy-turvy after Iowa State almost proved me right by picking them to upset Nebraska. Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Kansas State looked impressive.
While OU lost the No. 1 BCS ranking, the Big 12 is still a big player in the national championship picture.
Join me as I take a look at which teams hold the power cards for Week 11.
12. Colorado Buffaloes: Will Their Skies Be Cloudy All Day?
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Will they mind the camera being on them when they face America in a nationally televised game? I think they will.
They gave up the first victory to the former last place team in the Big 12: KU. The Buffs get the honor of being the only Big 12 team without a conference victory—and last place.
Iowa State, Kansas State and Nebraska are next on their schedule. The Big Red Cornhuskers welcome them on Nov. 26 in Lincoln. ABC will televise it.
Prediction: The skies may be cloudy where the Buffaloes roam; they will suffer defeats in the rest of this year's games.
11. Kansas Jayhawks: Congratulations To Head Coach Turner Gill
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The former Buffalo coach garnered his first Big 12 victory; his squad beat Colorado, 52-45, on Nov. 6. The Jayhawks (3-6, 1-4) next play Nebraska, Texas A&M and Missouri. Only the A&M game is at home.
They'll be in neutral territory against Mizzou in Kansas City, Mo., good for both programs.
Prediction: If Gill continues to provide them with victories, then fans could stop camping out at the basketball arena.
10. Texas Longhorns: Will Mack Brown Be Able To Trust His Team?
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They scored to make it possibly look prettified with 30 seconds left in the game. Daniel Acho was the impact player of the game for the Longhorns (4-5, 2-4). He had four tackles.
Tre' Newton didn't have a chance to avoid tacklers; Texas was playing from behind in the drubbing Kansas State gave them in Manhattan, 39-14.
Sophomore Garret Gilbert won 30 consecutive games in high school. Against KSU, the Austin native passed the ball for the most attempts he ever has: 51 times.
Prediction: Without a consistent offensive threat, Mack Brown will not be able to trust his team this year. His frustrations will continue without Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley.
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9. Iowa State Cyclones: Will Coach Paul Rhoads Lament His Decision?
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Faking a potential tying extra point, the man is under assault from his critics. He has a rough road to toe through the storm and probably is already lamenting his decision.
The Cyclones had Nebraska right where the Cornhuskers wanted them, within field goal range.
I predicted the final score would be 26-24, Iowa State. If the Cyclones would have converted the last field goal in the fourth quarter, then they would have won 27-24.
ISU (5-5, 3-3) next faces Colorado in Boulder and Mizzou in Ames: two winnable games.
Prediction: Paul Rhoads will weather the storm, bring his team back to spank Colorado and upset Missouri.
8. Oklahoma Sooners: From BCS No. 1 To No. 8 in the Big 12
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Yes, it's true Boomers—OU is scavenging. They will probably not be playing in the Big 12 Championship Game this year.
Texas A&M opened up a can of you know what on them in College Station. At home, the Aggies had lost to Missouri, who beat OU.
OU (7-2, 3-2) may have provided Texas A&M with new life at the Sooners expense. Now, the Sooners have Texas Tech in Norman, Baylor in Waco and OSU in Stillwater.
Prediction: Oklahoma will win its regular season remaining games.
7. Missouri Tigers: How Far Could They Fall Into a Trap?
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Marcus Murphy sprinted for a 69 yard touchdown, and Kendial Lawrence went 71 yards for another score — in the first quarter.
It looked like Mizzou (7-2, 3-2) was going to do to Texas Tech what Nebraska did to the Tigers last week.
But the Red Raiders rebounded. Taylor Potts didn't start the game, but he finished the Tigers off by leading three consecutive touchdown drives to put Tech ahead, 24-17.
Mizzou has Kansas State in Columbia, ISU in Ames and KU left.
Prediction: The Tigers are out of the national championship picture, but they will finish strong with two and possibly three victories — avoiding traps.
6. Texas Tech Red Raiders: Should Taylor Potts Be the Starter?
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Homecoming ended up being a beautiful thing in Lubbock; Texas Tech defeated its opponents, who came from Columbia, Mo.
Mizzou was hoping to play the spoiler—and it did in the first quarter—but Tech started seeing red: the red zone or Red Raiders zone.
After Potts came in the game, Texas Tech looked unstoppable on offense. Their defense snuffed Mizzou in the long haul.
TTU (5-4, 3-4) could still become bowl eligible. They face Oklahoma in Norman and Weber State and Houston in Lubbock. It could win two of those games.
I'll keep a close watch to see if TTU can keep rolling.
Prediction: Taylor Potts will be named the starter, and the Red Raiders will become bowl eligible.
5. Kansas State Wildcats: Is Bill Snyder Up To His Old Tricks?
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Daniel Thomas was the impact player of the game against Texas. He gorged on the Longhorns defense for two touchdowns.
With five interceptions by the time the third quarter got good and started, the Wildcats defense was flying around and feeling good. If they played baseball, they would have knocked Cliff Lee out of the game.
KSU (6-3, 3-3) has Missouri, Colorado and North Texas left. The Wildcats could possibly have nine wins in the second year of Bill Snyder's rebuilding project. He's back at it, again, folks.
Prediction: The Wildcats will win at least two of the remaining games they have scheduled.
4. Baylor Bears: Is Robert Griffin III Another Michael Vick Talent?
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OSU ambushed them in Stillwater with 55 points. The Bears kept plugging away and scored 28 points in the second part of the game.
Robert Griffin III has talent like Michael Vick, and we may see Baylor's quarterback some day in the NFL. Griffin has a decent corps of receivers and running backs, too. Every Bear has its day, and last Saturday wasn't Baylor's. He will wake them from their hibernating.
Prediction: They laid an egg in Stillwater, but I believe strong currents will wash the egg downstream. The Bears will play both Texas A&M and Oklahoma at home in the remaining two games. They will beat them both.
3. Texas A&M: Could They Still Win the Big 12 South This Year?
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Their win over the Sooners in Texas gave them life for the rest of the season, possibly. The Aggies' (6-3, 3-2) only conference losses were to Missouri in Texas and OSU in Oklahoma.
A&M's defense shut the Sooners down with the ball 15 feet away from the end zone. Under two minutes remained in the game and Oklahoma had a fourth down to convert. They tried running the ball on two consecutive quick snaps, and got jammed.
"Our guys really stepped up to the challenge," Mike Sherman said after the game. Stopping A&M could be a challenge for their remaining opponents. They have Baylor in Waco, Nebraska in College Station and Texas in Austin. I expect Jeff Fuller to finish very strong no matter who the quarterback is.
Prediction: The Aggies will continue to roll, until they roll into Nebraska. They could still win the South, but they won't.
2. Oklahoma State Cowboys: Could Their Offense Be Any Sharper?
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OSU (8-1, 4-1) ran a clinic on offense against Baylor. Freshman Justin Blackmon looks NFL-ready. The young man dropped a long touchdown pass, but he was still outstanding in the game.
With the Big 12 South in their sites, they finish the season against Oklahoma in Stillwater.
Before that, they play Texas in Austin and Kansas in Lawrence, two very winnable games. The first place team in the South, Oklahoma State, is 3-0 on the road.
Their only loss was to Nebraska, 51-41, in Stillwater.
Prediction: The razor's edge precision will continue on offense, and the Cowboys defense will come together.
1. Nebraska Cornhuskers: Bo Pelini Does Smile After All
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They almost proved me to be a psychic by letting ISU almost upset them in Ames, Iowa.
Pelini wasn't smiling at the intermission and he looked even harder after the game.
The Huskers (8-1, 4-1) still have to go to College Station to play A&M on Nov. 20, but they can probably afford another conference loss and still win the North. Around the A&M game, they meet Kansas and Colorado.
Nebraska's only loss was a tough one to Texas in Lincoln.
Prediction: Pelini will have reason to smile; Nebraska will roll to the Big 12 Championship Game.
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