With the Big 12 season in full swing, things are starting to become clear about the conference.
Many teams have either proven themselves as strong competitors against other Big 12 teams, while others are starting to show signs of struggles in the early goings of the season. One thing is clear: teams are separating themselves and making a push for a postseason appearance.
Sports editor Christian Royston gives his takes on where the teams fall and analyzes their seasons thus far.
Top dogs
Oklahoma | Texas
The team that has proven itself as the top dog of the conference is Oklahoma.
The Sooners sit at a perfect record still, taking down all six of their opponents. Their efforts helped them leap into the No. 6 spot in the nation, as each week they prove why they are a top-10 team.
Oklahoma’s most recent win came against Texas, when the Longhorns were sitting at No. 3 in the nation. The Sooners took down Texas on the road to move up to No. 5 in the rankings.
Not only did Oklahoma take down the clear No. 2 in the Big 12, the Sooners have dominated most games they played in. The Sooners have put up 50 or more points in half their games and only had one game decided by one score, their win against Texas.
The firepower Oklahoma has on offense currently is reminiscent of Sooner teams in the past, which sat next to other top teams in the nation. If Oklahoma continues its tear through the Big 12, there is a good chance the Big 12 sends another team to the College Football Playoffs (CFP).
Besides Oklahoma, Texas is the next best team in the Big 12. The two teams leaving for the SEC are proving this year that they can compete with any team in the nation.
Texas was expected to be good entering the season, as the Longhorns were predicted to top the Big 12. That prediction was looking airtight just two weeks in when Texas took down a future SEC rival in Alabama.
Texas’ two score win over Alabama proved that it can be a top-10 team in the nation. The Longhorns’ only loss came against Oklahoma who is currently sitting in the top 10.
Although Texas’ ranking has fluctuated a bit, it still sits at No. 8. With the talent on both sides of the ball and the explosive offense led by superstar Quinn Ewers, the Longhorns have all the pieces to compete for a Big 12 title.
Similar to Oklahoma, Texas could win the rest of its games in the Big 12 season. The Longhorns dominated all the other Big 12 opponents they have faced.
Big 12 title contenders
Kansas State | Kansas
Besides the top dogs in the Big 12, there are a couple teams that are looking in with good chances to finish the season strong.
The first of those teams is defending Big 12 Champion, Kansas State. The Wildcats pulled out the upset over TCU last season and could make a push to do the same this season if they finish strong.
Kansas State is sitting at 4-2 on the season, while having a 2-1 conference record. The two losses the Wildcats had were on the road against Missouri, a top-25 team, and on the road against Oklahoma State, who will come up later.
Although the Wildcats are not blowing out their opponents, they are still winning. Kansas State has proven that it has the talent to win games in the Big 12.
With time ticking to get wins, Kansas State sits in prime position to make a final push and possibly repeat the magic from a year ago.
Kansas sits in a similar position to Kansas State. The Jayhawks have a talented team and have found plenty of success early in the season.
Kansas sits a little lower than the other three teams that are contending for a Big 12 title, but there is a good chance Kansas wins a majority of its games coming up. The Jayhawks are 5-2 on the year, with two of those losses coming in the Big 12, and in a similar way to Kansas State.
One loss was to Texas, a top-10 team in the nation, and the other was on the road against Oklahoma State, again, a team that will be talked about later.
The Jayhawks’ real test comes in their next game, when they host Oklahoma. Although chances of winning are slim, home-field advantage could be helpful to keeping the game close.
Kansas has bounced in and out of the top-25 rankings for a reason. The Jayhawks boast a strong offense to compete with any team in the nation. If the Jayhawks get hot, they have the capability to beat any team in the Big 12, similar to how Kansas State took down TCU last season.
Surprisingly good
Iowa State | Oklahoma State | West Virginia
One thing all the surprisingly good teams have in common is how they have exceeded expectations. All three of these teams have only dropped one game in conference play and are sitting at four total wins on the season, just two out of bowl-game contention.
Iowa State is the most surprising of all the Big 12 teams, as the Cyclones were expected by many to flop after an offseason of woes. Iowa State was sporting an entirely new look on offense, which was the side of the ball it struggled with last season.
Even after coming off a season where they only saw one conference win, the Cyclones took off in Big 12 play and are now sitting at a 3-1 conference record. That puts Iowa State at the sole No. 2 spot in the Big 12, with Oklahoma being the only other Big 12 team with three wins.
The Cyclones had a complete 180 after their loss to Ohio and have been dominant on offense through all their Big 12 games. Their only loss in the Big 12 came on the road against Oklahoma.
Iowa State also took down Oklahoma State, who is another team that has been hotter than expected in conference play.
Oklahoma State is sitting at 2-1 in the Big 12, after back-to-back upset wins over Kansas State and Kansas. One thing became clear in those two wins, Oklahoma State is going to put up a fight at home in the conference season.
After a tough loss to South Alabama at home to finish non-conference play, the Cowboys have made a 180 in their ability to defend home turf.
The Cowboys were not expected to beat Kansas State, but they still came out and put on a show to take down the Wildcats 29-21. They were then not expected to beat Kansas, but again, they put on a show to take down the Jayhawks 39-32.
With Oklahoma State hosting three more teams before the season is done, there is a good chance the Cowboys make a bowl game. There is also a possibility they have the biggest upset of the Big 12 season, as they host Oklahoma before the season is done.
The last team that has exceeded expectations is West Virginia. The Mountaineers are sitting at a 2-1 Big 12 record and only have two losses on the season.
Besides the recent loss to Houston, West Virginia’s other loss was a good loss. The Mountaineers opened on the road against Penn State, who is a top-10 team in the nation.
West Virginia may not have the best wins, taking down TCU and Texas Tech, but a win is a win. West Virginia now sits just two games back from making a bowl game, after entering the season with expectations at an all-time low.
Although the two-point loss to Houston will haunt West Virginia for the remainder of the season, there are still many winnable games coming up. The Mountaineers prove each week that they can compete with most other Big 12 schools and are not the laughing stock of the conference like they were a season ago.
Just okay
TCU | Texas Tech | BYU
The next group of teams have shown to be average. TCU and Texas Tech are .500 in the Big 12, while BYU is sitting at 4-2 overall. Not bad, but still near the bottom of the standings in the conference.
TCU is the team that has not lived up to expectations. The national championship runner-ups from last season were expected to take a step back after losing a majority of their roster. However, TCU has had some rough losses that look uncharacteristic of a team that made the CFP.
TCU is 4-3 with losses coming to Colorado to open the season, a team that has been hot at times but is also inconsistent, and two teams in the tier above them: Iowa State and West Virginia.
TCU’s only wins in the Big 12 have come against other teams that are having issues with conference opponents. TCU beat Houston to open Big 12 play and recently blew out BYU at home. It is clear that TCU can beat bad Big 12 teams but struggles against competent opponents.
Texas Tech is in a similar boat as TCU. The Red Raiders have dealt with a tough schedule as well as they could, as they sit at 3-4. They had two losses in non-conference play to Oregon, a top team in the nation, and Wyoming, a team that has been on the cusp of breaking into the top-25 all season.
Texas Tech also had to face off against West Virginia on the road and recently lost to Kansas State. All four of those losses are good losses, and three out of four were decided by one score.
Texas Tech has also handled its easier opponents well, comfortably pulling out its three wins. As the Red Raiders sit at 2-2 in Big 12 play, they do have winnable games coming up to try to shoot for a .500 record.
The last team that is doing just fine is BYU. The Cougars sit at 4-2 on the season, highlighted by a road win against Arkansas. However, Big 12 play has spelled trouble for BYU.
BYU sits at 1-2 in the Big 12, with its only win coming against Cincinnati at home. Of course the Cougars have only lost on the road to decent teams in TCU and Kansas, but their schedule does not get any easier.
BYU has to take on two top dogs in Texas and Oklahoma and face off against all three of the surprisingly good teams to finish out the season. Although the Cougars sit at 4-2, a bowl game is going to be a tall task to achieve.
Better luck next year
Houston | UCF | Cincinnati | Baylor
As expected, three of the newcomers to the Big 12 are struggling to adapt to increased competition.
Houston, UCF and Cincinnati have all had a rough go of things, especially in Big 12 play. The three schools have a combined one win in the Big 12, as Houston squeaked out a win against West Virginia. The three newcomers also have a combined eight losses in Big 12 play.
The big issues with the newcomers is that none of them have looked all too competitive against their conference opponents. Nearly all of their losses have not been close.
Along with that, two of the newcomers are boasting large losing streaks, with UCF sitting at a three-loss streak and Cincinnati sitting at a four-loss streak. The newcomers’ struggles could be summed up by UCF’s game against Baylor, as the Knights gave the largest comeback in Baylor history to remain winless in the Big 12.
That comeback was also Baylor’s one win in the Big 12 and only its second win of the season. Baylor has been having similar struggles to the rest of the bottom teams in the Big 12, as the Bears sit at 2-4 on the season.
Of course, Baylor has taken on strong teams like Texas and Utah, but the Bears only wins have been the comeback against UCF and a win against Long Island.
There is a reason that these four teams are all sitting at the bottom of the Big 12. Various issues on offense and defense have caused all these teams to lack competitiveness in their losses and cannot be solved in one season.
