Conference Power Rankings: Big Ten Better than Expected in Week 1
3. Big 12
The Big 12 possibly could have been higher. West Virginia and Oklahoma State, two teams expected to be in the middle of the pack to the bottom half of the conference, each went toe-to-toe with one of the two best teams in the country. Oklahoma State’s game against Florida State was exciting for everybody to watch and let the world know that they might have as big of a drop-off as we initially thought, and the Mountaineers sent a message that they are ready to get back to a bowl game as a Big 12 member.
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Fortunately, it wasn’t only close losses that have put the conference here. Texas scored a nice blowout win against a North Texas team that is the most experienced team in college football. With this being Charlie Strong’s first game and the Longhorn program still in an adjustment period, this could have been a tough game, but Texas had it under control early. SMU, meanwhile, is another pretty decent non-Power Five team, and Baylor just rolled over them 45-0.
But there are reasons to keep them below the Big Ten and the SEC. Iowa State’s home loss to North Dakota State is a reason in itself to dock points from the conference, and the way Texas Tech struggled with Central Arkansas was not a good look for the conference. Still, it impressed the College Football world with the two biggest games on the biggest stages, despite losing both of them.