Big 12 Power Rankings: Does Oklahoma Take a Hit?

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The classic conference powerhouses struggled to open up their season while a newcomer made their furious debut.

West Virginia dominated their rival, Marshall, for the first time since renewing the annual matchup. The Mountaineers at one point amassed a 69-20 lead before giving up two late touchdowns.

In primetime, Texas again struggled with Wyoming, being down 9-7 after the first quarter until going on a 17-0 run in the second quarter to pull out to a 37-17 victory. Oklahoma had special teams problems with UTEP that led to an early 7-0 deficit, but scored the remainder of the points in a 24-7 victory.

Here’s how we see Big 12 ranked after week one. All the teams were victorious, except TCU who will make their season debut next week.

  1. Oklahoma (1-0)
    It was a struggle, but the Miners couldn’t land three field goals and the Sooners defense is as good as advertised.
  2. West Virginia (1-0)
    Geno Davis and that fast-paced offense is scary good. The only team that topped that performance was Oregon’s first 23 minutes.
  3. Texas (1-0)
    Wyoming is better than most people think, but there is still reason to be concerned about that offense.
  4. Kansas State (1-0)
    If Bill Snyder’s definition of fast is three field goals in the first half, they may want to consider a different conference.
  5. TCU (0-0)
    Idle 
  6. Oklahoma State (1-0)
    Still need to see more from the Cowboys, but they really looked pissed. I wonder who did that to them…
  7. Iowa State (1-0)
    Rebounding from a wild first quarter, the Cyclones running game is legit. What’s surprising was Jantz being able to throw early and often.
  8. Baylor (1-0)
    Yup, Garrett Gilbert still isn’t any good. But Art Briles may have me believing that the Bears are a system team. Keep an eye on them.
  9. Texas Tech (1-0)
    They’re a bad team that dominated an FCS school. Yada yada yada.
  10. Kansas (1-0)
    See “Texas Tech.”

Brian Spaen is the lead editor for Clones Confidential, follow the site on Twitter and Facebook. Read his other work on the Oregon Ducks blog, Autzen Zoo, and Lacrosse the Web.