2013 Big 12 Power Poll: Week 5

This week showed how crazy the Big 12 can be. Two games really stuck out to me: Oklahoma State vs West Virginia and Iowa State vs. Tulsa. With these unexpected outcomes, it shook up the ratings this week.

Big 12 Power Poll: 

1. Oklahoma – Previous Week: 2

Result: Win at Notre Dame, 35-21

A big win on the road at Notre Dame for the Sooners. They are now the cream of the Big 12. I was pretty impressed with Oklahoma’s performance. They played well on offense, defense and special teams.

Next week: TCU (Prediction: Win, 35-28)

2. Baylor – Previous Week: 3

Result:  Bye week

Week off to prepare for West Virginia. I’m expecting big things from the Bears.

Next week: West Virginia (Prediction: Win, 48-14)

3. Oklahoma State – Previous Week: 1 

Result: Loss vs. West Virginia, 30-21

This game was extremely surprising to me. I did not expect West Virginia to beat the Cowboys after being shutout the previous week by Maryland. Someone on Twitter mentioned that the Mountaineers win the bipolar team of the year award. We’ll get to West Virginia’s performance later in the poll.

The Cowboys losing shocked the Big 12. I think most people expected Oklahoma State to go undefeated until at least late November. The Cowboys couldn’t complete a pass to save their life. J.W. Walsh only completed 20 of 47 passes. It was hard to watch and West Virginia played with heart to stop the offensive juggernaut.

Next week: Kansas State (Prediction: Win, 41-31)

4. Texas Tech  – Previous Week: 4

Result: Win vs. Texas State, 33-7

Nothing to say about the Red Raiders this week. They go into Lawrence this week with a big game on the road. With a win in Lawrence, they’re looking at a 9-win regular season which makes it just as crucial for Tech as it is for Kansas.

Next week: at Kansas (Prediction: Win, 35-21).

5. TCU – Previous Week: 5

Result: Win vs. SMU, 48-17

TCU getting back on track. They now head to Norman for a night matchup with the Sooners. Should be a good game but I expect the Sooners to pull it off.

Next Week: at Oklahoma  (Prediction: Loss, 35-28)

6. West Virginia – Previous Week: 9

Result: Win vs Oklahoma State, 30-21

I thought the Mountaineers’ spirit was broken after getting smoked 37-0 by the Terrapins.

I was wrong. They came out and played great defense against the Cowboys and won 30-21.

The Mountaineers have a tough matchup against the Baylor Bears in Waco next week. The Mountaineers defense got beat up pretty badly by Oklahoma State. I think the Bears run away with this one.

Next week: at Baylor (Prediction: Loss, 48-14)

7. Texas – Previous Week: 6

Result: Bye week

Bye week for the Longhorns and now they head to Ames. I’ll give Mack Brown the benefit of the doubt on this one.

Next week: at Iowa State (Prediction: Win, 24-21)

8. Kansas State – Previous Week: 7

Result: Bye Week

Poor Bill Snyder and the Wildcats… I’d actually had given them a shot if the Cowboys didn’t just get embarrassed by West Virginia. With a bye week, the Snydercats have a chance at an upset, of course. But I don’t see this Cowboys team losing two weeks in a row. I think Snyder fixes his offensive problems but it’s not enough.

Next week: at Oklahoma State (Prediction: Loss, 41-31)

9. Kansas  – Previous Week: 8

Previous Week: Bye

This is an important game for the Kansas Jayhawks. They need to get their first Big 12 victory in a couple seasons and Weis needs to make a statement that this team is making strides from years past. It is usually a bad idea to pick against a streak but this is KU’s best chance to break it until November. This game is crucial for the Jayhawks season.

Weis has had over a week to prepare for the Red Raiders. A loss probably means KU doesn’t go bowling this year. The rest of KU’s schedule in October includes TCU on the road and Oklahoma and Baylor at home. Falling to 2-5 puts Kansas in an extremely difficult spot. A 3-4 record or, if they’re lucky 4-3, would be drastically different.

Next week: Texas Tech (Prediction: Loss, 35-21)

10. Iowa State  – Previous Week: 10

Result: Win vs. Tulsa, 38-21

I was surprised by this result. The Cyclones were able to force four turnovers and dominated Tulsa in the second half. The game was tied going into halftime (after Iowa State tied it up with 20 seconds left in the first half). Nice win for Iowa State but they need to get some momentum if they want to get out of the depths of the Big 12. They are at home against Texas next week so they have a shot at making a statement.

Next week: Texas (Prediction: Loss, 24-21)