Big 12 Power Rankings: Overreactions from Week 1 on Oklahoma State, Texas Tech & more

Big 12 teams are off to a 14-2 start.

Colorado got things rolling for the conference with a win over North Dakota State that was televised to a national viewing audience on Thursday. Arizona finished things off with Tetairoa McMillan putting up video game numbers against New Mexico late on Saturday night in our first taste of Big 12 After Dark.

It was an eventful Week 1 for the league.

Let’s take some time to overreact to what we saw before we move on to Week 2 with a new edition of Big 12 Power Rankings.

They are who we thought they were

1. Oklahoma State (1-0)

The Cowboys occupied the top spot in these rankings last week and it looks like they might stay there for a while after Mike Gundy’s team hammered South Dakota State 44-20 over the weekend. The Jackrabbits are the kings of FCS football and some thought they were good enough to upset Oklahoma State. But the Cowboys won easily behind 267 yards and three touchdowns from Alan Bowman and 104 yards and two touchdowns from Ollie Gordon.

This was one of the most impressive results of the opening week for any Big 12 team and proved that OSU deserved more preseason respect.

2. Kansas State (1-0)

The Wildcats were far from perfect during a 41-6 victory over Tennessee-Martin, but they dominated in the second half and pulled away for a blowout win. The defense looked in midseason form. The offense has room to grow, but both DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards had some highlight moments. We will learn more about Chris Klieman’s team over the next two weeks when they play at Tulane and then host Arizona.

3. Kansas (1-0)

Jalon Daniels returned to the starting lineup and stayed healthy as the Jayhawks demolished Lindenwood at Children’s Mercy Park. Kansas can continue to make things easy for Daniels by giving the ball to running back Devin Neal, who rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns in the opener ... on eight carries.

4. Utah (1-0)

Welcome back, Cam Rising. The senior quarterback threw for 245 yards and five touchdowns as the Utes steamrolled Southern Utah 49-0.

Moving on up

5. UCF (1-0)

Here is our first rising team of the season. The Knights didn’t even need to score in the fourth quarter to beat New Hampshire 57-3. KJ Jefferson threw for 164 yards and played a role in three touchdowns. RJ Harvey rushed for 142 yards and two scores.

6. Iowa State (1-0)

The Cyclones dropped on spot after a mediocre 21-3 win over North Dakota. They were one of the few teams in the Big 12 that failed to win by more than 30 points in Week 1. But there were positives in this game, such as Rocco Becht throwing for 267 yards and two touchdowns. Iowa State can move back up with a win against Iowa this week.

7. Arizona (1-0)

Tetairoa McMillan is the greatest wide receiver who has ever lived. How’s that for an overraction? OK, maybe I went a bit too far there, but he certainly looked unstoppable while catching 10 passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns against New Mexico. But it wasn’t all good for the Wildcats, as they allowed the Lobos to score 39 points. Arizona will be a fun team to watch this season.

8. TCU (1-0)

The Horned Frogs have potential. They committed two turnovers and were penalized seven times for 100 yards against Stanford on Friday, but none of that stopped them from beating the Cardinal 34-27 on the road. Josh Hoover could be one of the most improved quarterbacks in the league. He threw for 353 yards and two touchdowns.

9. Baylor (1-0)

Beating Tarleton State 45-3 looks good on paper, but it won’t mean much if the Bears can’t compete with Utah this weekend.

Fraud alert

10. West Virginia (0-1)

Is it too early to call the Mountaineers fraudulent? There is no shame in losing to Penn State, but West Virginia barely put up a fight against the Nittany Lions. Neal Brown’s team wasn’t competitive against quality opponents last season, either. Things could get ugly fast in Morgantown with a Big 12 schedule that starts with games against Kansas, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, K-State and Arizona.

11. Colorado (1-0)

Shedeur Sanders might average more than 400 yards passing per game this season. And Travis Hunter might contend for the Heisman Trophy. But the Buffaloes aren’t going to win many games until they upgrade on the offensive line and get more stops on defense. Continuing to throw the ball when your team can run out the clock in “victory formation” is also never a good idea.

Nobody saw this coming

12. Arizona State (1-0)

The Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the Big 12 preseason poll and oddsmakers set their over/under wins total at 4.5. Just about everyone expected this team to flounder as it made the transition into a new conference. But Arizona State didn’t play along with that narrative when it opened the year by trouncing Wyoming 48-7. Raise your hand if you saw that coming. Who knows what the rest of the season will bring, but I was impressed enough to move the Sun Devils up four spots.

13. Cincinnati (1-0)

Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby has my attention after throwing for 383 yards and two touchdowns against Towson.

14. BYU (1-0)

This could still be a long year for BYU, but the Cougars looked good in their opener and beat Southern Illinois 41-13.

15. Texas Tech (1-0)

Nothing ever seems to come easy for the Red Raiders in nonconference games. They once again flirted with disaster against Abilene Christian before prevailing 52-51 in overtime. This was an embarrassing result for Texas Tech, even though it counts as a win. Abilene Christian quarterback Maverick McIvor threw for 506 yards and three touchdowns. Yikes. The Wildcats had multiple opportunities to win in the final moments, including on a two-point conversion in overtime. The Red Raiders survived, but this doesn’t build much confidence for the rest of the season. I dropped them seven spots.

16. Houston (0-1)

Nobody expected Willie Fritz to lead Houston to a Big 12 championship in Year 1, but most hoped for a better start than this. The Cougars lost 27-7 to UNLV and needed a touchdown in the fourth quarterback to avoid a shutout. Things could get worse for Houston with a trip to Oklahoma on deck.