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| POWER RANKINGS |
#1. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-0, 0-0)
The Cowboys finally played a game in the comfortable confines of Stillwater after spending the first two weeks of the season in Texas. Oklahoma State took on a decent Lamar squad and dominated the game on both sides of the ball winning big 59-3. The Cowboys look as strong as ever on offense but their defense is the story thus far in 2013. I'm going to have to see the 'Pokes beaten, or at least challenged, before they lose their hold on the top spot. Oklahoma State will enjoy a bye week before heading to West Virginia in two weeks.
#2. Baylor Bears (2-0, 0-0)
A bye week has proven to be the only thing that can stop the Bears offense this year. Baylor remains #2 despite not playing this week. Baylor takes on Lamar next week and then enjoys a second bye week in three weeks. We won't get a real glimpse of the Bears ability until they face West Virginia at home in week six.
#3. Oklahoma Sooners (3-0, 1-0)
Oklahoma moves up this week based on the performance of quarterback Blake Bell. In his first ever start, Bell threw for a record 413 yards and 4 touchdowns. Bell's on field performance surpassed that of both Sam Bradford and Landry Jones in their respective first starts. The question is, how different would the first two games have been with Bell calling the signals. The Sooners dispatched in-state foe Tulsa 51-20 playing well on both sides of the ball. The Sooner defense missed Aaron Colvin in the secondary and Gabe Lynn was injured during the game, but OU defended well until the fourth quarter as they subbed most of the starters out. If they both return for Notre Dame we should have a good game in South Bend in two weeks.
#4. Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-0, 1-0)
The Red Raiders beat TCU 20-10 in Lubbock Saturday but needed back-up quarterback David Webb to seal the deal. TCU is reeling and probably did not deserve the preseason pub they received. However, Texas Tech and first year head coach Kliff Kingsbury are undefeated and have a quality conference win. Texas Techs next three opponents are Texas State, Kansas and Iowa State with a bye week included, All game Tech should win. The first real test comes in week 8 when they travel to Morgantown and take on West Virginia. A win against the Mountaineers and they likely come in to Norman 7-0.
#5. Kansas State Wildcats (2-1, 0-0)
The Wildcats have recovered from their opening day loss to NDSU by beating two "lesser" opponents. After beating Louisiana-Lafayette two weeks ago they downed UMass 37-7 Saturday in Manhattan. Kansas State travels to Austin next weekend to face Texas, where winning is not what it used to be. KSU has won the last 5 against the Longhorns and should win Saturday. We may have to wait until week 7, when Baylor pays a visit to Manhattan, to find out how "real" the Wildcats are.
#6. TCU Horned Frogs (1-2, 0-1)
I am not ready to write off the Horned Frogs season despite two losses in their first three games. An opening week loss to #6 LSU and a week three loss to Texas Tech, who should be ranked this week, sting but TCU has been in bigger holes. Having said that, TCU looked confused on offense at Tech and they need to get the wrinkles ironed out with a bye week and a game at home against SMU coming up. After that they face tough road games at OU and OSU with a home date against Kansas in the middle. If they don't, they could find themselves in a huge hole going in to the second half of the season.
#7. West Virginia Mountaineers (2-1, 0-1)
The Mountaineers have had a tough season and its only week 3. A weak win at home against William and Mary, a devastating early conference loss at OU and a blowout win against a ho-hum Georgia State team. The Mountaineers are a tough group to figure out. They face an undefeated Maryland squad next week on the road and then return to Morgantown to host OSU. We could be looking at a 2-3 West Virginia team when the roll in to Baylor in week 6. If they start 0-3 in the Big 12, it will be a long winter for Dana Holgerson.
#8. Texas Longhorns (1-2, 0-0)
Wow. How quickly things have fallen apart in Austin Texas. The Longhorns lose in consecutive weeks on the road at BYU and at home against Mississippi. The Longhorns gave up 40 to BYU and defensive coordinator Manny Diaz was shown the door in favor of Greg Robinson. Texas then gives up 43 to Mississippi at home. Different coordinator, same old Texas defense. The Longhorn offense might be worse than the defense. They look as rattled and confused and are playing with zero confidence. Texas host KSU and travels to ISU before the Red River Rivalry. Perhaps it's time for Mack Brown to start planning his retirement.
#9. Kansas Jayhawks (1-1, 0-0)
After a solid 31-14 victory over South Dakota in their opener, the Jayhawks fall this week, 23-14, to Rice. It's difficult to follow up that first sentence without mentioning Bill Self and the Jayhawk basketball team. The Jayhawk fans would trade almost anything (except Bill Self) for Mark Mangino. Say what you will about Mangino, he could coach football. Kansas may never have another winning season in football, and certainly not if it takes away from basketball. Mangino did both. Charlie Weiss will do neither.
#10. Iowa State Cyclones (0-2, 0-0)
Someone has to be last, might as well be Iowa State. After an opening week loss to Northern Iowa and a bye week to lick their wounds, the Cyclones welcomed in-state rival Iowa and promptly lost 27-21 to the team that lost to Northern Illinois in week 1. The good news for Iowa State, they get another bye week. The bad news, they have to travel to Oklahoma in two weeks and play a decent Tulsa team. Cyclones head coach Paul Rhodes has done some good things in Ames. Unfortunately he's done some really bad things too. The Iowa State Cyclones will win this year, although they might have to wait for basketball season to do it.
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