Week 8 College Football Power Rankings

Baylor had a rather odd last month. In those four weeks it came with them escaping Iowa State in Ames with a three point win, a bye week, a 49-7 rout against Kansas and another bye week. It’s not every day you see a team have two bye weeks in a span of three weeks. The Baylor Bears find themselves at eight in the most recent AP Poll, but find themselves sitting 9th for the second straight week in this week’s power rankings. Why? It’s hard to move a team one way or another after a bye.

Also, who has this Baylor team really played all year? Their best win on the season has come to a two-loss, non-ranked, Oklahoma State team at home. The quality of the Big12 is really going to hold the Bears back this year. Yes, West Virginia is undefeated and is a top 10 team, but who else can Baylor make a statement win against?

One could say Oklahoma, and I would tend to agree, but besides that there’s not much to work with. Especially with the stubbornness of the conference in not expanding and adding a conference championship game.

The Bears go to Texas this week, who might be with a new head coach, and then have TCU at home before traveling to Oklahoma to take on the Sooners. It’s without question that Baylor must finish the season undefeated if they want any hope in going to the College Football Playoff, unless somehow Michigan, Clemson, Louisville, Alabama and Ohio State all lose.

I mean, does anyone actually think that will happen?

So the Bears best bet is to run the table. They are capable, and with a win at Oklahoma and a win at West Virginia in the last week of the season, they could make some noise, but I wouldn’t put my money on this team being in the top four when the season comes to an end.

However if they do, Baylor fans feel free to give me plenty of grief.

Next Matchup: at Texas