Big 12 Power Rankings: Week 1

It's extremely early in the season still, but it's hard not to overreact to a single game. That being said, the results across the Big 12 deviated quite a bit from what I expected coming into the season, and that has to be taken into account. This early in the year, the power rankings can be very volatile, so let's embrace the chaos.

Don't think of this as my definitive prediction for the final Big 12 standings, but more of an educated guess about the relative strengths of the teams, without accounting for potential injuries or additional development/regression between now and when the games are played.

1. #15 Kansas State Wildcats (1-0, Last Week: 1, High: 1)

Last Week: 45-0 Win vs Southeast Missouri State
Up Next: vs Troy, Saturday, Sept 9 at 11:00am on FS1

The Wildcats got off to a slow start, but they very easily turned it on when it mattered. It's easy to find nits to pick, but the only team in the conference that didn't show any of their warts also played a team that completely outmatched. There is nothing there to push Kansas State off the top spot.

2. #18 Oklahoma Sooners (1-0, LW: 4, High 2)

Last Week: 73-0 Win vs Arkansas State
Up Next: vs SMU, Saturday, Sept 9 at 5:00pm on ESPN+

You have to give Oklahoma credit for pushing the advantages that they have. There are still reasons to wonder if they will hold up throughout the rest of the season, but for now, it's hard to find any fault with the Sooners.

3. #11 Texas Longhorns (1-0, LW: 2, High 2)

Last Week: 37-10 Win vs Rice
Up Next: at Alabama, Saturday, Sept 9 at 6:00pm on ESPN

All the questions about Quinn Ewers weren't actually answered, and the offensive line had some interesting issues in game 1. They will get a big test against Alabama this weekend, so we can revisit those issues afterwards.

4. Kansas Jayhawks (1-0, LW: 6, High 4)

Last Week: 48-17 Win vs Missouri State
Up Next: vs Illinois, Friday, Sept 8 at 6:30pm on ESPN2

I can hear the "HOMER" yells from here, but when you look as good as the Jayhawks did in the second half with your second-string QB, it's hard to hold that against them. The major defensive lapses came after some unfortunate offensive mistakes, but the offense showed the explosive ability in the second half that makes them dangerous, with our without Jalon Daniels.

5. UCF Knights (1-0, LW: 7, High 5)

Last Week: 56-6 Win vs Kent State
Up Next: at Boise State, Saturday, Sept 9 at 6:00pm on FS1

A pretty impressive start to the season for the new members of the conference. Say what you want about the quality of the opponent, but the Knights didn't show any sign of weakness.

6. Cincinnati Bearcats (1-0, LW: 14 High 6)

Last Week: 66-13 Win vs Eastern Kentucky
Up Next: at Pittsburgh, Saturday, Sept 9 at 5:30pm on CW NETWORK

I'm pleasantly surprised with the Bearcats in their first game of the season. But it's still early, and the competition is still going to ramp up for them. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt right now, but who knows how long it will last.

7. TCU Horned Frogs (0-1, LW: 3, High 3)

Last Week: 45-42 Loss vs Colorado
Up Next: vs Nicholls, Saturday, Sept 9 at 7:00pm on ESPN+

Not the start that TCU fans were wanting to see, and it's fair to question how much of this is the Horned Frogs taking a step back versus Colorado taking a huge leap forward. Chandler Morris struggled to put consistent drives together, and the defense couldn't stop anything that the Buffaloes tried to do. They need to use this week to get right and prepare for the gauntlet that will be the Big 12

8. BYU Cougars (1-0, LW: 9, High 8)

Last Week: 14-0 Win vs Sam Houston State
Up Next: vs Southern Utah, Saturday, Sept 9 at 2:00pm on ESPN+

The offense struggling to score is not a good sign. And while the defense pitched a shutout, it still didn't feel as definitive as it should have been. But for now I can chalk this up to a temporary blip.

9. Iowa State Cyclones (1-0, LW: 10, High 10)

Last Week: 30-9 Win vs Arkansas State
Up Next: vs Iowa, Saturday, Sept 9 at 2:30pm on FOX

It was a good start to the year, but with the Cyclones taking the Panthers' line coach, it may not have been as much of a stretch that this game went like this as you might have thought. The defense still looks as good as ever, but we'll need to see how the offense does against Iowa in order to really know what this team is.

10. Houston Cougars (1-0, LW: 13, High 10)

Last Week: 17-14 Win vs UTSA
Up Next: at Rice, Saturday, Sept 9 at 6:00pm on NFL NETWORK

A good win at home against a decent G5 team gets the Cougars some credit, but it doesn't do enough to get rid of the concerns that I have about this team. But everyone below them have concerns just as big or bigger, so they get this spot.

11. West Virginia Mountaineers (1-0, LW: 12, High 11)

Last Week: 38-15 Loss at Penn State
Up Next: vs Duquesne, Saturday, Sept 9 at 5:00pm on ESPN+

West Virginia had a great half, but they weren't able to keep it going. The game went about as could be expected, and while Garrett Greene showed some promise, I'm not sure if there is enough on the roster for West Virginia to make a big jump ahead of where I expected them to be. But at least they didn't fail to meet expectations.

12. Texas Tech Red Raiders (0-1, LW: 5, High 5)

Last Week: 35-33 (2OT) Loss at Wyoming
Up Next: vs Oregon, Saturday, Sept 9 at 6:00pm on FOX

What a devastating loss. Tyler Shough and the offense played extremely well for the first 11 minutes, and then they completely crapped the bed until the very end of the game. Huge lulls like that aren't going to cut it in Big 12 play.

13. Oklahoma State Cowboys (1-0, LW: 11, High 11)

Last Week: 27-13 Win vs Central Arkansas
Up Next: at Arizona State, Saturday, Sept 9 at 9:30pm

Oklahoma State treated the game like the NFL preseason, which tells me that they don't have things figured out with any confidence going into the season. They need to show some life against an Arizona State team that is expected to be abysmal this season.

14. Baylor Bears (0-1, LW: 8, High 8)

Last Week: 42-31 Loss vs Texas State
Up Next: vs Utah, Saturday, Sept 9 at 11:00am on ESPN

What was that? The Baylor defense looked awful, which is inexcusable for a coach that is as defense focused as Dave Aranda. After watching more of the game, I'm not as down on Blake Shapen as I was right after the game, but I also am not convinced that he is going to be able to jump start the offense when he gets back. And I'm not sure what Baylor does in the meantime.

Join the discussion! Come talk about this or any of our articles on the Blue Wing Rising Discord Server.

Follow Blue Wings Rising on Twitter.

Listen to the official podcast of Blue Wings Rising: The Rock Chalk Podcast.