Big 12 Football: Week 1 Power Rankings

Sep 5, 2015; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers safety Karl Joseph celebrates with fans after beating Georgia Southern 44-0. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

The Mountaineers turned in perhaps the best performance in the Big 12 opening weekend. Other than some sporadic play from quarterback Skyler Howard, West Virginia was near perfect in their 44-0 thrashing of Georgia Southern.

Karl Joseph played like a star on Saturday. Joseph, a senior safety from Orlando, Florida, recorded 8 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 1 fumble recovery; those are very special numbers. On a defense that returned a lot of talent, Joseph shined the brightest.

The offense looked very good for West Virginia. Other than some struggles in the red zone and on third down, everything was perfect. Howard threw for 2 touchdowns and 359 yards, he had some iffy throws here and there, but ultimately ran Holgorsen’s offense well. The Mountaineers gained 188 yards and 3 touchdowns rushing and were +5 in the turnover column.

The wealth of experience on defense and Holgorsen’s offensive prowess could make West Virginia a dark horse contender in the Big 12. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them upset a top team if they can clean up mistakes in the red zone and on third down. For now, they sit pretty at number 3 in our power rankings.

Next: Baylor