KSO's Big 12 Power Rankings: Kansas State stays at No. 2

1. Oklahoma State (1-0, 4-0)

No. 7 Oklahoma State looks primed for a Big 12 championship after knocking off the 2021 champ on the road. Baylor out-gained the Cowboys, but two Blake Shapen interceptions carved out a path for an Oklahoma State win to move atop Kansas State in the power rankings.

Spencer Sanders also threw a pick and had his worst game of the season, but they persevered. The league is shaping up to be Mike Gundy’s to take. (Last: 4)

2. Kansas State (2-0, 4-1)

No. 20 K-State continues to prove it has a top-of-the-line defense. That and Adrian Martinez has figured out how to be productive, mostly with his feet. His rushing attack combined with what Deuce Vaughn does all of a sudden makes Kansas State scary on both ends of the field.

If Chris Klieman and Collin Klein can tighten up some of the offensive play-calling, the Wildcats will absolutely be contending for a Big 12 title. If the K-State offense can still produce on Saturday against a tough Iowa State defense in Ames, that would prove a lot. (Last: 2)

3. Kansas (2-0, 5-0)

Iowa State showed that No. 19 Kansas’ offense can be tamed. The Cyclones held the Jayhawks to under 215 yards of total offense in the low-scoring affair. Ultimately, the troubled Matt Campbell offense wasn’t enough to eclipse the 14 points that Lance Leipold’s squad put on the board. A matchup in Lawrence against No. 17 TCU will be very interesting to follow. (Last: 3)

4. TCU (1-0, 4-0) 

Max Duggan has been a pleasant surprise this season. He entered as a backup after Chandler Morris was injured earlier in the year. Duggan totaled over 400 yards and five touchdowns between his arm and legs in the convincing win over Oklahoma. As a team, the Horned Frogs totaled close to 700 yards of offense.

TCU should look to use the same formula they used against the Sooners this weekend in Lawerence. The Jayhawks are another team with a troubling defense and a potent offense. (Last: 7)

5. Baylor (1-1, 3-2)

Baylor was toppled by Oklahoma State at home and have found themselves sliding the wrong direction heading into a bye week. Blake Shapen isn’t as gifted as the Bears need him to be to make up for the shortage of firepower on that side of the ball. (Last: 1)

6. Texas Tech (1-1, 3-2)

Texas Tech was gashed on the ground and couldn’t produce enough offense to beat Kansas State. In fact, the K-State defense turned over the Red Raiders four times. Texas Tech has to gear up for another difficult test when they head to Stillwater this weekend. (Last: 5)

7. Texas (1-1, 3-2)

Texas beat this year’s bottom-feeder of the Big 12 by 18 points at home. The Longhorns held West Virginia to just 61 yards rushing. JT Daniels failed to find a groove without any sort of rushing attack and Hudson Card threw for an efficient 300 yards and three scores. (Last: 10)

8. Oklahoma (0-2, 3-2)

Not many predicted TCU to defeat Oklahoma, but here we are. Brent Venables is off to a shaky start in Norman. His defense seems very vulnerable against Big 12 foes and the Horned Frogs managed to hold them to only 24 points on offense. It was not competitive. We’re looking at one of the least anticipated Red River Rivalry matchups of all-time. (Last: 6)

9. Iowa State (0-2, 3-2) 

Iowa State’s offense is very troublesome. They were lucky to knock off Iowa at the beginning of the season, in what was their first win in that series in many years. However, the Cyclones’ attack won’t beat many Big 12 teams this season.

All they could come up with was 11 points against a poor Kansas defense. That won’t be enough versus Kansas State. Farmageddon is a must win for Matt Campbell. (Last: 8)

10. West Virginia (0-2, 2-3)

As bad as Iowa State is, West Virginia might be even worse due to poor in-game coaching decisions and not finding any sort of consistency on either side of the ball. They lost to a Texas team that was clearly vulnerable. They are comfortably in last. (Last: 9)