C'Mans Big 12 power rankings - Week 3

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.

CMan's Big 12 roundup - Week 1

Week 1 of the college football season is always interesting. Expectations are high for everyone, the results are not often as expected. This week 1 in the Big 12 was no exception.

The Winners -

Louisiana Monroe - 0
(#16) Oklahoma  - 34

This game was the coming out party for new OU QB Trevor Knight. knight beat out junior Blake Bell for the starting job and despite a slow start, proved why. The second unanswered question was the OU defense. Question answered. The defense was quicker, applied pressure and gave up little ground, 166 total yards to be exact. (See OU post tomorrow for a complete game analysis)

Mississippi State - 3
(#13) Oklahoma State - 21

The surprise in this opener was the pokes defense. Oklahoma State could not generate any offense in the first half but the Cowboy's defense kept the Bulldogs out of the end zone. The defense allowed the Cowboys to get their offense in gear and it, in the midst of a quarterback battle, J.W. Walsh. Walsh clearly outplayed Clint Chelf, however, both struggled against the Mississippi state defense. A win is a win, especially against the SEC. We'll see how the offense moves against the Big 12. The Pokes defense though, looks vastly improved.

New Mexico State - 7
(#15) Texas - 56

Texas started slow falling behind NMSU 7-0 to start the game but scored 14 in the second quarter to take control. Texas QB David Ash played well connecting on 20 of 28 passes for 343 yds and 4 TD's but also threw 2 int's. Texas gained 715 yds but gave up 346. Not a complete game, but a win none the less. The jury is still out on the Longhorns.

Texas Tech - 41
Southern Methodist - 23

TTU should have won this game, even in Dallas. SMU has not yet recovered from the NCAA imposed death penalty. New head man Cliff Kingsbury and the Red Raiders started slow but looked solid by games end. It was SMU though. Look for Texas Tech to be average this season.

The Players? -

Wofford - 3
Baylor - 69

Wofford?? Who knew they had a football team outside of Spartanburg SC. Their team name is the Terriers for crying out loud, a small pesky dog. Believe it or not they are a D-1 team as well. The Terriers gained a measly 233 yards playing 4 QB's and with 12 players running the ball. I guess they threw every dog in the pound at the Bears....and still stunk the place up. If the Bears can't beat the Terriers they should be playing the Taco Bell dog.

William and Mary - 17
West Virginia - 24

If I was a Mountaineer fan I would be embarrassed. WVU scored with 3 minutes left to beat the William and Mary "Tribe". I would be more embarrassed if Mary actually played. The Tribe actually led this game 17-7 at the half. The Mountaineers high powered offense didn't show until the second half, and apparently only half speed. WVU outscored the tribe 17-0 in the second half but the game performance spells doom once the Mountaineers enter the Big 12 schedule which, by the way, starts at OU next Saturday.

The Losers -

(#12) LSU - 37
(#20) TCU - 27

I'll start with this game because it was competitive. TCU was down 30-17 in the third quarter and I thought the game was over. An LSU fumble led to a TCU touchdown, add a field goal and this was a 3 point game with 10 minutes left. LSU pulled it out in the forth but the Horned Frogs put up a strong fight until the end. No shame here for TCU. A loss sucks but the experience will make them a stronger team going forward.

Northern Iowa - 28
Iowa State - 20

This game would have been far worse had Northern Illinois not beaten Iowa 30-27 ( Its high time Iowa thinks about replacing Kirk Ferentz). Its a shame when Northern Iowa is the only undefeated team among the three in the first week. Northern Iowa led 21-14 at the half and outscored ISU 7-6 in the second half. The pain can only get worse for Iowa State if they actually paid Northern Iowa to come play.

North Dakota State - 24
Kansas State - 21

Kansas State normally plays pretty weak early in the season but they don't lose. North Dakota State is the reigning 2 time FCS National Champion but its still the FCS. The Bison were not intimidated by the Wildcats or playing in the stadium named for the Wildcats historic coach Bill Snyder. NDSU beat KSU consistently on both sides of the ball. It was an impressive game and should help NDSU compete for a third straight National Championship. As for the Wildcats they need to figure out how to compete with the rest of the FBS teams on their schedule. The Wildcats loss affected their checkbook as well as they reportedly paid the Bison six figures to come to the "little apple" to play.

Kansas fortunately had a bye week and did not play.

Overall,  not a bad start save the humiliating losses by KSU and ISU. Many questions were answered. Unfortunately, with some teams, more questions emerged.