Big 12 football power rankings: Baylor Bears rise to the top
By Brian Spaen
If there’s anyone that doesn’t believe the Baylor Bears are the best team in the Big 12 after the first six weeks of the season, then they haven’t watched them play.
Oct 5, 2013; Waco, TX, USA; Baylor Bears wide receiver Robbie Rhodes (3) and running back Lache Seastrunk (25) and defensive end Jamal Palmer (92) and linebacker Aiavion Edwards (20) and safety Patrick Levels (21) celebrate the win over the West Virginia Mountaineers at Floyd Casey Stadium. The Bears defeated the Mountaineers 73-42. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Why should Baylor be crowned the king of the conference? They have a well-oiled offensive attack that’s humming on all cylinders, balanced with an incredibly efficient quarterback (Bryce Petty) and a dangerous running back (Lache Seastrunk).
Those numbers are straight-up ridiculous against West Virginia on Saturday night. 468 rushing yards with five different running backs and both quarterbacks? That’s just an incredible offensive line torturing their opponent, which is what they’ve done all season long.
That’s been establishing their passing attack, and Petty has been nothing short of incredibly efficient with a 72.8 percent completion rate.
Can they hang around with the bigger dogs in the Big 12 like Oklahoma, TCU, or Texas Tech that have an established defensive line? Possibly, but that’s something that be simply evaluated on paper. What’s been displayed is an offensive powerhouse that won’t be stopped.
They’re the green team that’s emulating an offense from the northwest — let’s just call them Oregon Lite.
Elsewhere, the Iowa State Cyclones are locked in at ninth place after they are unable to pick up a win against Texas. Their upcoming game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders will be interesting. Two years ago, the Cyclones were able to pull out one of their best games in history at Lubbock in shocking fashion — a 41-7 blowout against the then 19th-ranked team at home.
- Baylor Bears (4-0, 1-0) – at Kansas State
- Oklahoma Sooners (5-0, 2-0) – vs Texas
- Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-0, 2-0) – vs Iowa State
- Oklahoma State Cowboys (4-1, 1-1) – BYE
- TCU Horned Frogs (2-3, 0-2) – vs Kansas
- Texas Longhorns (3-2, 2-0) – vs Oklahoma
- Kansas State Wildcats (2-3, 0-2) – vs Baylor
- West Virginia Mountaineers (3-3, 1-2) – BYE
- Iowa State Cyclones (1-3, 0-1) – at Texas Tech
- Kansas Jayhawks (2-2, 0-1) – at TCU