Big 12 Football 2018: Pokes make push for top spot

Unfortunately, West Virginia’s scheduled game with NC State was canceled because of the hurricane which impacted the east coast. That means that we didn’t get the chance to see the Mountaineers in their first real test of the season, and will have to wait until November to really know what this team is all about, when they face Texas, TCU, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma in the final four weeks of the season.

That means the Mountaineers could very well be undefeated through their first seven games, and even then, they may not move from this fourth spot. That’s unfortunate, but the top core of this conference is just super strong.

I do drop TCU a spot here after their 40-28 loss to Ohio State, but that one spot feels like the maximum I can punish this team for that game. They put up a great fight against an awesome team, and if it wasn’t for an awful stretch in the third quarter in which they allowed 20 points in roughly four minutes, shifting their eight-point lead to a 12 point deficit, they may have won the game.

However, you can’t just change history. That stretch did happen, and TCU did eventually lose. However, I was impressed by their speed on offense, by Shawn Robinson‘s play, and by the way, their defense challenged what looks like a completely dominant Buckeye offense. I’m excited to see how this group improves, and to see if they can bounce back in time to face Texas this weekend.