Big 12 Football Power Rankings, Week 7: Baylor sheds “pretender” tag
By Dante Pryor
3-2, 1-1. West Virginia Mountaineers. 6. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Last Week: 8. 877
How do you lose and move up the rankings? That is exactly what the Mountaineers did. They fell to the Texas Longhorns 45-31 last weekend in Morgantown, but they might the most pleasant of surprises in the Big 12. This team was depleted after all the personnel they lost after last season and not just good players either but NFL-caliber talent.
Moreover, they lost Dana Holgersen to Houston. However, first-year boss Neal Brown can flat-out coach, and he’s exceeded expectations in year one. They invite the Iowa State Cyclones to Milan Puskar Stadium in what should be a good game. It will be interesting to see if they can find three more wins and become bowl eligible.
Pick Analysis. Last Week: 3. Oklahoma State Cowboys. 5. Scouting Report. 4-2, 1-2. player. 856
Well, it finally happened. Mike Gundy has that “lose one game we should win” in him every season, and it happened in Week 6 against Texas Tech. The “Cowboy Trio” was held in check against the Red Raiders as quarterback Spencer Sanders had five turnovers, Tylan Wallace had only 85 receiving yards and star running back Chuba Hubbard has his second-worst game of the season.
The Cowboys defense — or lack thereof — was as surprising of anything. The same defense that contained Texas in a losing effort gave up almost 600 yards of offense and 45 points in Lubbock. They’re off this week; they’ll lick their wounds and be ready for Baylor on October 19.
461. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Iowa State Cyclones. player. 3-2, 1-1. Last Week: 6. 4
The Cyclones dominated the Horned Frogs for about 3.5 quarters last week. TCU exposed something about Iowa State that’s troubling: a lack of defensive depth. They were gassed by the fourth quarter of that game. They played a lot of snaps on defense because their offense scored early and often. They didn’t have the talent depth to rotate bodies and keep their guys fresh. On the positive end, they found some complementary running with Johnnie Lang. He’s a threat to receive the pitch and do something with it.They travel to West Virginia this week, and hopefully their defensive depth won’t get exposed.