Big 12 Football Power Rankings, Week 1: Is Oklahoma untouchable?

Rock Chalk Jayhawk. The Kansas Jayhawks won their season opener against the Indiana State Sycamores in Lawrence on Saturday. Good for Kansas since it might not win many more this season. The bottom of the Power Rankings will likely be their permanent home this season. It might sound harsh, but athletic director Jeff Long knows this is a long-term rebuild, and it starts with getting the roster together.

Les Miles is there for one reason and one reason only: To get 85 scholarship players on that roster. Yes, this is a good win, and they might have a shot to win against Coastal Carolina next week, then the real work starts on the road against Boston College. I don’t know who they beat in the Big 12 — West Virginia maybe? How ironic is it that Kansas won’t get to 85 until year four of his five-year contract?

It’s hard not to think that former head coach Dana Holgersen got out of Dodge when the getting was good. The Mountaineers lost so many players from last year’s team, and Holgersen had issues recruiting the type of players it takes to win in the Big 12 — the writing was on the wall. Holgersen loved his time at Houston, and the Cougars wanted him. Exit Holgersen and enter former Troy head coach Neal Brown.

Brown comes Morgantown with three consecutive 10-win seasons, three consecutive bowl wins and a conference title. This will be a transition year for the Mountaineers. They not only lost quarterback Will Grier, but they lost four of their top five receivers. Squeaking out a win versus James Madison is an ominous sign of things to come this season.

It wouldn’t be a shock if the squad from the “Little Apple” moves up from eighth in these rankings. They were dominant albeit against Nicholls and there were some good signs in new head coach Chris Klieman’s debut. They ran the ball well, and quarterback Skylar Thompson was very efficient.

Klieman knows how to win. He came to Manhattan, Kan., from FCS powerhouse North Dakota State after winning four national championships. What made the hire so good was Klieman knows how to recruit in an “out of the way” school, and balance the JUCO system with developing young players. Not only that, he’ll bring a winning attitude and culture to Kansas State.

There will be some transition, but Klieman is a winner, and he’ll impart those winning ways at Kansas State. The Wildcats get their first test of the season when they travel to Starkville to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

I flipped a coin between the Red Raiders and the Oklahoma State Cowboys, and the coin came up Red Raiders. Matt Wells will do well — pun intended — in Lubbock. He’ll bring balance to the Red Raider offense, and recruit better on defense. We might not learn much about Texas Tech until it plays Arizona, but that gives Wells and offensive coordinator David Yost will have time to install their offense.

While at Utah State, Wells and Yost perfected their balanced up-tempo attack. They were top 50 in both passing and rushing. That will give sophomore quarterback Alan Bowman better opportunities in the passing game. This balance should also help a defense that finished 86th in points allowed last year and gave up 448 yards of offense. Wells’ last season at Utah State the Aggies gave up 22 points per game.

They need time to recruit, of course, but you will begin to see the Wells’ fingerprints on the program early.