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Big 12 Football Power Rankings: TCU continues free-fall in Week 8

By Patrick Mayhorn

FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 20: John Stephens Jr. #7 of the TCU Horned Frogs pulls in a pass against Tre Brown #6 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 20: John Stephens Jr. #7 of the TCU Horned Frogs pulls in a pass against Tre Brown #6 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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FORT WORTH, TX – OCTOBER 20: Michael Collins #10 of the TCU Horned Frogs looks for an open receiver against the Oklahoma Sooners in the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX – OCTOBER 20: Michael Collins #10 of the TCU Horned Frogs looks for an open receiver against the Oklahoma Sooners in the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Kansas State was on a bye this week, and like Oklahoma State, didn’t move up because while TCU was crushed, it was against one of the best teams in the conference, and I can’t justify putting the Horned Frogs back this far.

Where does Kansas State finish: 9. Kansas State showed some promise against Oklahoma State a few weeks ago, but I don’t expect it to last. I see maybe one more win on this schedule (against Kansas), and a new coach in Kansas State’s future. That may not be the worst thing in the world at this point.

Not everything was bad in TCU’s 52-27 loss to Oklahoma this Saturday. Sure, they lost starting quarterback Shawn Robinson for the season, and possibly their star receiver too, but I think there are some things to be encouraged about.

First, backup quarterback Michael Collins wasn’t dreadful. He certainly wasn’t good, but he was at least serviceable, and served as just about the only source of offense for the Horned Frogs. Secondly, this was a 31-27 game pretty deep into the third quarter. That shows fight, and at least some semblance of ability, even if they did get crushed for the last 20 minutes or so.

Where does TCU finish: 6. I think TCU has something left to offer. Collins should get better as the year goes on, and four of their last five games are against teams in the bottom half of the conference. Beat Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor and Oklahoma State, and the Horned Frogs are headed to a bowl game. That seems manageable.

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