Big 12 Football Power Rankings, Week 5: Huge shakeup at the top
1-3 (0-1). Previous: 10th. Jayhawks . 10. team. 821.
Record in last 5 games: 1-4
Total offense conference rank: 10th
Total defense conference rank: 10th
Best win: vs South Dakota
The good news for Kansas was the offense finally exploded for a big game. Jason Bean filled up the box sheet once again with nearly 400 total yards and two touchdowns. The bad news was the defense getting shredded to allow 52 points.
The Jayhawks allowed six rushing touchdowns and were outmatched in terms of physicality. Stopping the run may be the biggest problem for Kansas. They have allowed at least four touchdowns in each of their last three games.
In order for Kansas to compete, they will need to fix this issue as soon as possible. In order for Kansas to start winning consistently, they will need to change up the direction of the program.
Next Game: at Iowa State
. 3-1 (0-1). Previous: 5th. Red Raiders . 9. team. 874
Record in last 5 games: 4-1
Total offense conference rank: 3rd
Total defense conference rank: 7th
Best win: at Houston
After three games in which they did not allow more than 22 points, the thought was Texas Tech may have made real progress in fixing the defense. This thought was shattered after just one half in Austin.
Texas Tech would go on to allow 70 points and 8.5 yards per play against the Longhorns. Inside the red zone it was much worse, as Texas had six trips inside Tech’s 20 and scored a touchdown each time.
The injury was added to the insult of this loss, as Tyler Shough suffered a broken collarbone in this game and will be out until November.
The best thing for the Red Raiders is to bury this ball and move on. They took their beat down on the chin, and will now have to deal with another tough opponent in West Virginia.