The Big 12 is wide open for Kansas, K-State & others. Latest football power rankings

One peek at the Big 12 football standings is enough to remind anyone that sports are unpredictable.

At this time last week, it looked like Oklahoma and Texas were on a collision course for the conference championship game. They were the only ranked teams in the league and college football experts had them both favored in all of their remaining matchups.

Something unexpected was going to have to happen for parity to occur.

I suppose that is what happened when Kansas pulled off a 38-33 upset against Oklahoma on Saturday. By the end the weekend, five different teams were tied atop the Big 12 standings with 4-1 conference records. Throw in KU and West Virginia at 3-2 and the race for a league championship becomes even more interesting.

There are now four teams ranked in the AP Top 25 with Texas (7) leading the way in front of Oklahoma (10), Kansas (22) and K-State (25). By the way, Oklahoma State is the first team out.

All of a sudden, there are some critical games on the schedule. K-State at Texas will have conference championship implications. So will the final edition of Bedlam as a Big 12 rivalry. Heck, even KU at Iowa State is a big game.

The Big 12 feels more wide open than ever, and this week will go a long way toward sorting out the conference standings.

That leads us into this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings:

1. Texas (7-1, 4-1 Big 12)

Last game: 35-6 win over BYU

Next game: Kansas State

Analysis: The Longhorns didn’t have Quinn Ewers for their most recent game against BYU, but that didn’t really matter because the Cougars were unable to reach the end zone on Saturday. Texas held BYU to a pair of field goals, which allowed backup quarterback Maalik Murphy to find his footing in an easy win. The Longhorns will need him to be at his best for an important game against Kansas State this weekend, though. It will be hard to keep them out of the Big 12 championship game with a win.

2. Oklahoma State (6-2, 4-1 Big 12)

Last game: 45-13 win over Cincinnati

Next game: Oklahoma

Analysis: How in the world is Oklahoma State still not ranked? Not only are the Cowboys on a four-game winning streak, they also own victories over Kansas and K-State, both of which are in the top 25 this week. I don’t get it. It will be impossible to keep Mike Gundy’s team out of the national polls if it defeats Oklahoma. A Bedlam win would also put the Cowboys in excellent position to make it to Arlington, Texas. They close out the regular season with easy games against UCF, Houston and BYU.

3. Kansas State (6-2, 3-1 Big 12)

Last game: 41-0 win over Houston

Next game: at Texas

Analysis: Are the Wildcats one of the best teams in the country? Or are the last three teams they beat (Texas Tech, TCU and Houston) really bad? Maybe it’s a little of both? We will find out some answers when K-State heads to Texas for an enormous game on Saturday. A win would more than validate their recent run of blowout victories, and put the Wildcats in good shape to defend their Big 12 championship.

4. Oklahoma (7-1, 4-1 Big 12)

Last game: 38-33 loss to Kansas

Next game: at Oklahoma State

Analysis: Even as the Sooners rose to the top of these rankings with an undefeated start, which included an impressive victory over Texas, something felt amiss about them. It was clear that Oklahoma missed star receiver Andrel Anthony and that it would be vulnerable to an upset on a day when its offense wasn’t clicking. Well, Kansas took advantage against the Sooners in wet conditions on Saturday. Now Oklahoma needs to beat rival Oklahoma State to stay at the top of the conference standings.

5. Kansas (6-2, 3-2 Big 12)

Last game: 38-33 win over Oklahoma

Next game: at Iowa State

Analysis: The Jayhawks won their biggest football game in recent memory when they pulled off a home upset against Oklahoma on Saturday. The craziest thing about the result: ESPN gave OU a win probability of nearly 90% in the final minutes before Kansas came from behind for the win.

6. Iowa State (5-3, 4-1 Big 12)

Last game: 30-18 win over Baylor

Next game: Kansas

Analysis: This is sleeper team in the Big 12. No one is talking about the Cyclones right now, but they are tied for first place and they’re the only team in the conference that has beaten Oklahoma State. Who knew Rocco Becht was going to be so good as a freshman quarterback? Furthermore, they have a favorable schedule upcoming. If they can beat Kansas and BYU as favorites in their next two games, they will end the year with massive games against Texas and K-State.

7. West Virginia (5-3, 3-2 Big 12)

Last game: 41-28 win over UCF

Next game: BYU

Analysis: The Mountaineers were incorrectly labeled as the underdog for their most recent game against UCF and went on the road and beat the Knights by double digits. Three different WVU players ran for touchdowns. It is impressive what Neal Brown has been able to do with a ground-based offense this season.

8. TCU (4-4, 2-3 Big 12)

Last game: 41-3 loss at Kansas State

Next game: at Texas Tech

Analysis: There is a clear drop-off in the Big 12 standings once you get past West Virginia. Every other team has major flaws. TCU seems like the best of the rest, though. It will be interesting to see how the Horned Frogs look coming out of their off week, which came at a good time as they were dealing with lots of injuries.

9. BYU (5-3, 2-3 Big 12)

Last game: 35-6 loss at Texas

Next game: at West Virginia

Analysis: How bad is Arkansas? The Cougars finished off nonconference play with what appeared to be an impressive road victory over the Razorbacks. But BYU hasn’t been competitive in a road game since. Kansas, TCU and Texas all whipped BYU by double digits.

10. Texas Tech (3-5, 2-3 Big 12)

Last game: 27-14 loss at BYU

Next game: TCU

Analysis: Backup quarterback Behren Morton is reportedly healthy enough to play for the Red Raiders this week. That is excellent news for Texas Tech. Even though he’s not as good as Tyler Shough, he is worlds better than their third-string QB.

11. Baylor (3-5, 2-3 Big 12)

Last game: 30-18 loss to Iowa State

Next game: Houston

Analysis: What has happened to Baylor’s rushing attack? For years, you could always count on the Bears running for big yardage. That is what gave them a chance to win most weeks. But they only rushed for 67 yards last week against Iowa State. Blake Shapen isn’t good enough to win games with just his arm.

12. Houston (3-5, 1-4 Big 12)

Last game: 41-0 loss at K-State

Next game: at Baylor

Analysis: The Cougars can take solace in knowing that their 41-0 loss at K-State wasn’t the most lopsided shutout that has occurred inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium this season. The Wildcats beat Southeast Missouri State 45-0 in Week 1.

13. UCF (3-5, 0-5 Big 12)

Last game: 41-28 loss to West Virginia

Next game: at Cincinnati

Analysis: The Knights need to beef up their defense before they can expect to compete in the Big 12. They simply aren’t going to win many games if they continue to allow 207.5 rushing yards per game.

14. Cincinnati (2-6, 0-5 Big 12)

Last game: 45-13 loss at Oklahoma State

Next game: UCF

Analysis: If the Bearcats are going to win a Big 12 game this season it will probably happen over the next weeks when they host UCF and head to Houston.