Big 12 Power Rankings: Week 11
By Ross
1. Oklahoma State – Oklahoma State is the best team in the conference but Kansas State gave them their biggest scare of the season. The Pokes barely won the game, 52-45. Kansas State had the ball on OSU’s 5 yard line with 12 seconds left but could not score on three straight passing plays. Brandon Weeden set an OSU single-game record with 502 yards passing. The Cowboys also moved up to #2 in the BCS Standings.
2. Oklahoma – The Sooners took care of Texas A&M pretty easily, 41-25. The biggest story of the game was the injury of star WR Ryan Broyles. Broyles tore his ACL on a catch in the third quarter and his magnificent career at Oklahoma is over. The season-ending injuries to both Dominique Whaley and Ryan Broyles are huge especially with roads games at Baylor and Oklahoma State coming up.
3. Texas – I think it is safe to say that the Longhorns are back to their winning ways. They are 6-2 with their losses coming to OSU and OU, two of the best teams in the nation. The Horns dismantled Texas Tech this past Saturday, 52-20. Freshman RB, Joe Bergeron, rushed for 191 yards on only 29 carries including 3 TDs. Fozzy Whittaker chipped in with 83 yards on only 10 carries including 2 TDs. The Horns are running all over opponents now and can easily finish third in the Big 12 this year, not bad.
4. Kansas State – I’ve ragged on the Wildcats in the past couple of weeks for being overrated but they shocked me with almost beating Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Behind RGIII, Collin Klein is the best dual-threat QB in the Big 12. He passed for 231 yards against the Cowboys and also ran for 141. They will try to break their losing streak against Texas A&M next week.
5. Texas A&M – For the first time all year, the Aggies got beat by more than a touchdown. The score to the OU-A&M game ended up looking somewhat reasonable (41-25) but the Sooners were up 41-10 in the fourth quarter. Ryan Tannehill had a rough day as he threw three interceptions. There was more bad news for A&M fans as RB Christine Michael is out for the season after tearing a ligament in his knee.
6. Baylor – Baylor is back in the top 25 after a victory against Mizzou, 42-39. RGIII had another big day as the threw for 406 yards and 3 TDs (0 INTs) and also added 64 yards on the ground. RB Terrance Ganaway also had a monster day with 186 yards on only 12 carries including 2 TDs. Like Iowa State, they also have a bye this week before taking on Kansas.
7. Missouri – Just when I thought Mizzou was going to have a great finish to the season, they lose to Baylor who was really struggling at the time. They only lost by three points but it was 42-25 with under seven minutes left. James Franklin had a great day passing the ball, 325 yards and 3 TDs. RB Henry Josey had another solid performance, 132 yards and 2 TDs. At the end of the day, Mizzou’s defense could just not stop RGIII and Baylor’s offense.
8. Iowa State – For the first time in a while, Iowa State isn’t ranked 9th in my power rankings. As you know, the Cyclones barely pulled out a win against KU, 13-10. The Cyclones, like earlier in the season, should have had an easy win but turnovers kept the Jayhawks in the game. ISU now has five wins and need to get one more victory either against Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, or Kansas State to go to a bowl game. With Paul Rhoads as the coach, I feel that Iowa State will find a way to beat one of those teams.
9. Texas Tech – For the second week in a row, Tech’s defense could not stop the running game. They allowed Texas to rush for 439 yards on Saturday as they got creamed, 52-20. Seth Doege had a nice game throwing the ball but Tech could not establish the run against the Horns, they only rushed for 30 yards on 27 carries. The road doesn’t get much easier for the Red Raiders as they have to play Oklahoma State, Mizzou, and Baylor. They have to win one of those games to go to a bowl game.
10. Kansas – KU’s struggles continued against Iowa State on Saturday. With the loss to the Cyclones, all hopes of getting a Big 12 win are all but gone now. Baylor, A&M, and Mizzou are up next for the Jayhawks. If they can’t win one of those games, which I doubt they will, I don’t think Turner Gill will make it to next year.