This is a look at the Big 12 conference and where the Bears Truth staff and special contributor Jay Lockett feels they stack up. The contributors rank the Big 12 teams as individuals, and the average is used to rank the league 1-10.
Bill Snyder is working his magic again.
These opinions are developed off of each team's most recent football game and the games leading up to the most recent game. They are merely a reflection of how the staff at Bears Truth felt that each team played up until this point of the college football season.
Kansas State takes over the top spots, while Kansas is still holding its own as the worst team in the Big 12. This weekend we find out a lot more about the middle of the pack teams with match ups between Texas at Oklahoma State, Baylor at West Virginia, and Texas Tech at Iowa State.
1. Kansas State 24 Oklahoma 19
Brian: Merlin leads the Wildcats back to prominence.
Ashley: Separated from pack with tough road win in Norman
Colt: Miami beats Georgia Tech and KSU wins on the road against OU.
Brenden: An opportunistic defense and time of possession helped the Wildcats get a huge win on the road.
Jay: Sniderific ball game in Norman vaults KSU. Optimus Klein is like the ugly girl at the bar that really knows how to dance.
2. WVU 31 Maryland 21
Brian: Looked sluggish vs. Maryland, but could have been looking
ahead to Baylor.
Ashley: Took care of business against a mediocre MD team. But game left questions.
Colt: Is WVU the 2011 Baylor team of 2012? Their offense will win a lot of games, but their defense… well.
Brenden: Tavon Austin is going to give BU a ton of trouble.
Jay: Thought their matchup with Maryland was sneaky good in terms of uniforms. Like Baylor's chances much more than I did this time last week.
3. Texas Idle
Brian: Were off, but can't forget putting up point on Ole Miss. Can't forget giving up all those points to Ole Miss either.
Ashley: Big game against OSU to show us how good each team is.
Colt: Texas has little to gain and a lot to lose against OSU.
Brenden: Ash looked the part vs Ole Miss 2 weeks ago. Will the trend continue vs OSU?
Jay: We'll find out a little more about Texas in Stoolwater this weekend.
Phil Bennett has his work cut out for him beginning Big 12 play at West Virginia.
4. Baylor 47 Louisiana Monroe 42
Brian: Beat a good team on the road after digging like the
foundation team at the new stadium site.
Ashley: Won a game against a pretty good team on the road.
Colt: Winning the turnover battle is what will keep Baylor in a lot of games this year. If they don't win it, it will be difficult for them to win games against good offenses.
Brenden: The defense needs to get better in a hurry to be a factor in the conference.
Jay: Hate giving up the late touchdown to make it look closer last week. Need to figure out how to start faster this week. 9 of our last 12 wins have been come from behind, but don't want to go down early in WV.
5. Oklahoma 19 Kansas State 24
Brian: Looked horrible on offense vs. KSU.
Ashley: Despite the loss to KSU, I still think this is a top half team.
Colt: OU is averaging 21.5 points per game against FBS opponents this year. Prime for an upset against Texas Tech in two weeks?
Brenden: Rushing attack needs to become more consistent.
Jay: Con-tra-verse-eeee. Belldozer is now getting the Tebow treatment in Norman.
6. Oklahoma State Idle
Brian: Injury questions at QB or I'd have them at 5.
Ashley: Have to downgrade after Arizona got destroyed by Oregon.
Colt: OSU can make a statement against a Texas defense that has given up a lot of big plays in the early season.
Brenden: They have had 2 weeks to prepare to play without Lunt against UT at home. The Pokes have a chance.
Jay: Still don't know if Lunt is back this week or not, but hey I like them better than OU (this week).
7. TCU 27 Virginia 7
Brian: When will they play a team with a pulse?
Ashley: Defense looking good; where are the fans? Bad turnout against another BCS opponent.
Colt: Back to back weeks now that TCU has shown lack of offensive fire power.
Brenden: Rivalry game this weekend vs SMU. Their defense should continue to dominate.
Jay: Apparently the fan base is tired of the new stadium. Plenty of folks dressed as empty seats.
Can Gary Patterson get his offense on track before facing Baylor in two weeks?
t-8. Iowa State Idle
Brian: Rhoads has them playing at a high level.
Ashley: Defense looks solid; we will know more after this week.
Colt: Still a sleeper. Not sure about their offense right now… especially after seeing Iowa go down.
Brenden: ISU vs Tech will be a great game to watch this weekend.
Jay: What Holly Rowe is to sideline reporting, ISU is to the Big XII
t-8. Texas Tech Idle
Brian: Know nothing about them
Ashley: A mystery team; are they better or is competition hiding flaws?
Colt: Iowa State won't be huge test for Tech's defense, but they are better than their previous opponents.
Brenden: Still taking the wait and see approach with tech to see if their defense is for real in conference play.
Jay: Defense seems to be improved.
10. Kansas 23 Northern Illinois 30
Brian: Still scratching my head at the magazine rating Charlie Weis ahead of Art Briles and Paul Rhoads.
Ashley: In a class by themselves
Colt: No comment.
Brenden: KU's next 5 games: KSU, OSU, OU, UT, and BU. 1-7 is staring them in the face.
Jay: They make the Astros look competitive.
- Colt Barber
- Staff Writer - BearsTruth