Mussatto: Which Big 12 football teams deserve A's for 2023? Just two, if grading on curve

Thanksgiving on Thursday, OU football on Friday and OSU football on Saturday. That’s a tasty three-day stretch.

And then Saturday night the Big 12 standings will be finalized and tiebreaker talk will cease.

In this week’s edition of Big 12 tiers, entering the last week of league play, I’m going to assign grades for each team. It’s very important to note that I’m grading on a curve. What did your team do relative to preseason expectations?

Yes, I know there’s still a week left, but this is like a final exam that isn’t weighed too heavily into the overall grade.

More: Big 12 power rankings: OU football has slight edge over K-State, Oklahoma State

A: Atta’ kid

West Virginia (7-4, 5-3 Big 12) 

No team outperformed expectations more so than the Mountaineers, which were picked to finish dead last in the Big 12.

West Virginia only had one bad loss: at Houston, which the Cougars won on an incredible Hail Mary. WVU’s other three losses were against ranked teams in OU, OSU and Penn State.

This has been Neal Brown’s best season at West Virginia. He’s done more than enough to keep his job.

Remaining game: at Baylor, 6 p.m. Saturday, FS1 

Oklahoma State (8-3, 6-2 Big 12) 

The Cowboys were picked seventh in the Big 12 preseason poll. After back-to-back losses against South Alabama and Iowa State, imagine thinking the Cowboys would finish as high as seventh? Ha. No shot.

Now look at them. OSU is likely to play for a Big 12 championship.

Kudos to Ollie Gordon, Alan Bowman and Mike Gundy for turning the season around.

Remaining game: vs. BYU, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, ABC

More: How 'rubber ball' Brennan Presley is writing his name in Oklahoma State football history

B: We expected nothing less

Texas (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) 

Texas was the overwhelming favorite to win the league, receiving 41 of 67 first-place votes in the preseason media poll.

The Longhorns didn’t disappoint. Texas appears to be headed for the Big 12 Championship Game, and the Longhorns will be favored over whomever they face. From there, the ‘Horns could be College Football Playoff bound.

Texas’ win at Alabama is still the best in college football. But because the Longhorns’ lone slip-up came against the rival Sooners, it doesn’t feel right to give them an A.

Remaining game: vs. Texas Tech, 6:30 p.m. Friday, ABC 

OU (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) 

Not to diminish the Sooners’ bounceback season, but isn’t this what we expected? Given the weak schedule and baked-in improvement projections in Year 2 of Brent Venables, 10-2 sounds about right — assuming the Sooners beat TCU, of course.

OU will probably finish third in the conference, which is exactly where it was picked.

Remaining game: vs. TCU, 11 a.m. Friday, FOX 

More: Jackson Arnold's growth gives OU football confidence even if Dillon Gabriel is unavailable

Kansas State (8-3, 6-2 Big 12) 

Do you know which team has the best point differential in Big 12 play? Shucks, I gave it away. It’s Kansas State (+136). Texas (+106) is second and OU (+88) is third.

K-State lost by eight points at OSU and by three at Texas. Meanwhile, five of the Wildcats’ six Big 12 wins have come by double digits.

Kansas State, the defending conference champ, was picked to finish second in the Big 12. That’s still a possibility, but an unlikely one.

Remaining game: vs. Iowa State, 7 p.m. Saturday, FOX 

Iowa State (6-5, 5-3 Big 12) 

The Cyclones were picked preseason to finish 10th, and that seemed about right after the first few weeks of the season. Iowa State has finished strong though, winning four of its last six games.

Tough closing stretch for the Cyclones, which play at Kansas State on Saturday after hosting Texas last weekend. Regardless of a win or loss Saturday, Iowa State exceeded expectations this season.

Remaining game: at Kansas State, 7 p.m. Saturday, FOX

Kansas (7-4, 4-4 Big 12) 

The fact that Kansas, a perennial pushover, was picked to finish ninth reflects the Jayhawks’ renaissance under coach Lance Leipold.

Kansas has a chance to win five Big 12 games for the first time since 2007, when the Jayhawks won the Orange Bowl.

Remaining game: at Cincinnati, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, ESPN2 

More: OSU football rewind: Ollie Gordon grabs headlines, but offensive line deserves praise, too

C: Average ain’t bad

Texas Tech (6-5, 5-3 Big 12) 

Weird season for the Red Raiders. They lost three of their first four games, but they’re amid a three-game winning streak.

Joey McGuire’s squad was picked in the preseason to finish fourth, and Texas Tech is still searching for a signature win. It could come this weekend.

If Texas Tech upsets Texas, bump the Red Raiders up to a B.

Remaining game: at Texas, 6:30 p.m. Friday, ABC

Cincinnati (3-8, 1-7 Big 12) 

Let me explain.

Yes, the Bearcats only have one conference win, but we didn’t expect much more. They were picked 13th in the preseason and were entering a new conference under a new head coach in Scott Satterfield.

It was a rough year for UC, but it was always going to be rough. And not that anybody cares, but Cincinnati had a better point differential than did Houston, BYU and Baylor.

Remaining game: vs. Kansas, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, ESPN2 

Houston (4-7, 2-6 Big 12) 

Similar story as Cincinnati’s, although with a veteran coach who might get fired instead of a first-year coach who probably never should’ve been hired.

Houston lost to Cincinnati, but the Cougars won at Baylor and beat West Virginia on that aforementioned Hail Mary.

Houston was picked one spot (No. 12) ahead of Cincinnati in the preseason poll. The voters did a good job of projecting the bad teams.

Remaining game: at UCF, 11 a.m. Saturday, FS1

More: OU football rewind: Jackson Arnold had a simple directive in Sooners' win vs. BYU

D: Do better

TCU (5-6, 3-5 Big 12) 

I’m sure their fans are enjoying this hangover season, still sharing stories of how the mighty Max Duggan turned the Frogs into a Cinderella a year ago.

I doubt Sonny Dykes shares that perspective, though.

We knew TCU wasn’t going to stay on top, but the Frogs slipped far … and fast.

Remaining game: at OU, 11 a.m. Friday, FOX 

UCF (5-6, 2-6 Big 12) 

I’m perplexed by the Knights. I think they’re pretty good. Not 45-3 over OSU good, but not 2-6 in the Big 12 bad.

UCF was picked in the preseason to finish eighth — the best among the four newcomers. UCF beat Cincinnati and I expect them to beat Houston, but I’m grading based on expectations. That’s why UCF is a letter grade lower.

I’m not mad at UCF. Just disappointed.

Remaining game: vs. Houston, 11 a.m. Saturday, FS1

BYU (5-6, 2-6 Big 12)

BYU, picked 11th in the preseason poll, is going to finish about as expected.

But it feels worse, doesn’t it? The Cougars have been outscored by 121 points against Big 12 opponents. BYU would be last in point differential had the Cougars not played OU close.

Remaining game: at OSU, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, ABC

More: Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy on Big 12 tiebreakers: 'I don't really care'

F: Is for failure

Baylor (3-8, 1-7 Big 12) 

Are Baylor and failure near rhymes? What’s even the point of near rhymes?

Anyway, Dennis Green was wrong. The Bears are not who we thought they were.

Remaining game: vs. West Virginia, 6 p.m. Saturday, FS1 

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Big 12 football grades: How Texas, OU fared so far in 2023 season