Texas hangs with Bama, Kansas knocks off West Virginia: Big 12 Power Rankings after week 2
It was a fantastic weekend of football for the Big 12 conference. Despite losing a couple of high-profile nonconference games to Alabama and BYU, the conference had a strong showing overall.
Even in defeat, Texas gained a great deal of respect with its one-point loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide. While Baylor is likely disappointed with the loss to BYU, Provo is a difficult place to play and it was a one-score game.
Moral victories don’t mean anything, but they were great football games nonetheless.
Texas Tech and Iowa State picked up big nonconference wins over cross-state foes. Tech took down the No. 25 Houston Cougars in a matchup of future Big 12 opponents. The Cyclones knocked off Iowa in a defensive slugfest to earn Matt Campbell’s first win over the Hawkeyes. Kansas State dominated Missouri and Oklahoma State pulled away from Arizona State in the fourth quarter for the win.
The lone conference matchup on the schedule had the Kansas Jayhawks continue their upward trajectory with a hard-fought road win over the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Considering only the nonconference schedule, the Big 12 went 6-2 over the weekend to improve to 15-3 on the season.
After a wild weekend in college football, let’s take a look at our latest Big 12 power rankings.
West Virginia Mountaineers (0-2, 0-1 Big 12)
Sept. 10, 2022; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Kansas Jayhawks wide receiver Luke Grimm (11) makes a catch over West Virginia Mountaineers cornerback Rashad Ajayi (4) during the fourth quarter at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
The West Virginia Mountaineers are the one team in the Big 12 without a win in 2022. They haven’t played poorly, but they haven’t been able to win two close games against Pitt and Kansas.
And it’s that loss to Kansas that drops them into the No. 10 spot in this week’s Big 12 power rankings.
TCU Horned Frogs (2-0, 0-0)
Sept. 2, 2022; Boulder, Colorado; TCU Horned Frogs wide receiver Derius Davis (11) celebrates his touchdown with quarterback Max Duggan (15) in the fourth quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Colorado’s not very good, and Tarleton, is well, Tarleton. TCU is undefeated and putting points on the board in Sonny Dykes first couple of games, but I want to see more from the Horned Frogs.
Kansas Jayhawks (2-0, 1-0)
Sept. 10, 2022; Morgantown, West Virginia; Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels (6) celebrates after defeating the Kansas Jayhawks at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
The Kansas Jayhawks have been a different team in the last year and a half since Lance Leipold took over as head coach.
The Jayhawks are 2-0 and picked up a win in one of the toughest places to play in the Big 12, Morgantown.
Nobody can be circling Kansas as a gimme game anymore. They have another tough road test this week at the Houston Cougars.
Kansas State Wildcats (2-0, 0-0)
Sept. 10, 2022; Manhattan; Kansas State Wildcats running back Deuce Vaughn (22) runs away from Missouri Tigers linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper (8) during the fourth quarter at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
At some point, Deuce Vaughn may need to be in the Heisman discussion. The Wildcats have won two games with a quarterback who has thrown for 154 yards and 4.4 yards per attempt. Vaughn has rushed for 271 yards and is averaging 6.5 yards per attempt through two games.
Kansas State takes on Tulane in Week 3.
Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-0, 0-0)
Sept. 10, 2022; Lubbock; Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback Donovan Smith (7) reacts after scoring the winning touchdown in double overtime against the Houston Cougars at Jones AT&T Stadium and Cody Campbell Field. Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Texas Tech gets the nod over Kansas State for picking up the conference’s lone win over a ranked opponent over the weekend. New head coach Joey McGuire has the Red Raiders believing. Now they head east to take on the No. 16 ranked NC State Wolfpack. Can Tech get ranked wins in back-to-back weeks?
Texas Longhorns (1-1, 0-0)
Sept. 10, 2022; Austin, Texas; Alabama Crimson Tide kicker Will Reichard (16) kicks the game winning field goal at the end of the second half against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
So close, yet so far away. Texas looked like a different team when it faced Alabama. There’s no shame in losing to arguably the best program in college football for the last 12 years. The question that remains is what this team will do without quarterback Quinn Ewers? Hudson Card hung in there, but he doesn’t have nearly the potential as Ewers.
Baylor Bears (1-1, 0-0)
Sept. 10, 2022; Provo, Utah; Brigham Young Cougars tight end Dallin Holker (5) runs the ball against Baylor Bears safety Devin Lemear (20) and linebacker Tyrone Brown (36) in the second half at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Gabriel Mayberry-USA TODAY Sports
Like Texas losing to Alabama, there’s no shame in the Baylor Bears traveling to Provo and dropping a close contest. BYU is a tough team with a lot of talent.
Iowa State Cyclones (2-0, 0-0)
Members of the Iowa State Cyclones football team celebrate a 10-7 win over Iowa during the Cy-Hawk Series football game on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. Bryon Houlgrave/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK
Heading into Iowa State’s matchup with Iowa, the Hawkeyes had won more than twice as many times as the Cyclones in the history of the rivalry. Matt Campbell had never beaten Iowa. Though it was a game that set offensive football back 50 years, the Cyclones did just enough to come away with an impressive win on the road against their rival.
Oklahoma State Cowboys (2-0, 0-0)
Oklahoma State’s Spencer Sanders (3) gestures before a play during a college football game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys (OSU) and the Arizona State Sun Devils at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. Oklahoma State won 34-17. Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Oklahoma State picked up a nice win against Arizona State on Saturday to improve to 2-0. Arizona State closed the gap to three at the beginning of the fourth quarter and then the Cowboys scored 14 unanswered points. Spencer Sanders had three touchdowns, including two passing in the fourth quarter that were the difference.
Oklahoma Sooners (2-0, 0-0)
Sept. 10, 2022; Norman; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Drake Stoops (12) scores a touchdown during the second half against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
What split the difference between the Sooners and the Cowboys simply comes down to the margin of victory. Sure, there have been times where the Oklahoma Sooners looked to be struggling, but they still ended up winning both of their matchups in impressive fashion with a pair of 30-plus point wins to get to 2-0.
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