Big 12 Football Power Rankings, Week 3: Oklahoma makes early statement
By Phil Poling
0-0. player. 6. 860. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Last Week: N/A. Baylor Bears
The Baylor Bears were one of three Big 12 teams not playing football on Saturday following an increase in positive COVID-19 cases by their scheduled opponent — Louisiana Tech. The increase in positive cases was a result of students returning to campus after being sent home due to Hurricane Laura.
It’s hard to place the Bears, especially after head coach Matt Rhule was hired by the Carolina Panthers, but they still retained a solid core of talent, and in particular, quarterback Charlie Brewer. We’ll see how the Bears fare when they finally take the field against the Houston Cougars on Sept. 19.
Last Week: N/A. 5. player. 872. Scouting Report. 0-0. TCU Horned Frogs. Pick Analysis
The Battle for the Iron Skillet — played between TCU and SMU — was supposed to take place Sept. 11. But due to an undisclosed amount of positive COVID-19 cases on the Horned Frogs, the game was postponed.
Horned Frogs’ head coach Gary Patterson is one of the best in the business, though, making it almost a certainty that TCU — when they do see the field — will have a strong showing. Patterson’s posted a 12-13 record over the past two seasons, but he’s never had three consecutive years without getting at least 10 wins.
That likely won’t happen in 2020 due to the shortened non-conference slate, but don’t sleep on the Horned Frogs moving forward.
1-0. Last Week: N/A. West Virginia Mountaineers. player. 877. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 4
The West Virginia Mountaineers took care of business in their 2020 season-opener, handing Eastern Kentucky a 56-10 defeat in Morgantown. Head coach Neal Brown had his team ready, too, even if he was forced to suspend 11 players just hours before kickoff.
RELATED: What we learned from WVU’s 56-10 victory
The Mountaineers opponent didn’t matter, though. I’m convinced they would’ve performed well against anybody in the opener. There was plenty of potential on last year’s team, but we finally saw some production to go with it.
Quarterback Jarret Doege played just the first half, but completed 19-of-25 passes for 228 yards and three scores. Running backs Leddie Brown and Alec Sinkfield each eclipsed 100 rushing yards — an area the Mountaineers struggled mightily in a season ago. And the defense was flying all over the place, racking up eight tackles-for-loss, four sacks, and an interception.
This is the scariest non-Oklahoma team in the Big 12. With weapons all over the place on offense, coupled with a menacing pass rush, this team won’t stay put at No. 4 in our power rankings for very long. These guys are Big 12 title contenders.