Final Big XII Power Rankings

1. Nebraska (10-2, 6-2).  The Cornhuskers trounced Colorado 45-17 to wrap up the North Division.  The Blackshirts held Colorado to 262 total yards and forced three turnovers, while the offense did most of its work on the ground, as always, rushing for 265 yards.  Running back tandem Roy Helu, Jr and Rex Burkhead finished the regular season with just over 1900 combined rushing yards and 17 touchdowns.  Will Taylor Martinez be healthy and ready to go next week in the Big XII Championship Game, and can Nebraska beat Oklahoma if he isn’t?

2. Oklahoma (10-2, 6-2).  OU won a tension-packed Bedlam game 47-41.  Landry Jones threw three interceptions but came back to throw two long touchdowns of 86 and 76 yards in the fourth quarter to fend off a furious rally from the Cowboys.  The victory created a three-way tie among OU, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M.  With none of them holding a head-to-head tie-breaker, it came down to the final BCS standings, so the Sooners took the South.  OU will bring a red hot offense to Jerryworld, averaging 37.5 points per game and ranked 4th in the nation in passing yards.  But can the Sooners’ 63rd-ranked rush defense slow down Nebraska’s 8th-ranked rushing attack? 

3. Oklahoma State (10-2, 6-2).  Oklahoma State’s 2nd-ranked offense kept them in it against OU, but its 90th-ranked defense couldn’t do enough to send the Cowboys to their first Big XII Championship Game.  First-year starter Brandon Weeden finished the season with over 4,000 passing yards and 32 touchdowns and senior running back Kendall Hunter rushed for over 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns.  While the Bedlam loss has to sting, the Cowboys still posted their first 10-win season since Barry Sanders’ record-shattering 1988 campaign.

4. Texas A&M (9-3, 6-2).  Texas did not go gently into that losing season, but the Aggies won a pretty evenly-matched game by forcing 4 turnovers, including the game-clinching interception at their own 8-yard line as the Longhorns were driving toward a potential tying touchdown.  Cyrus Gray rushed for 223 yards and a pair of long touchdowns in the 24-17 victory.  Texas A&M will try to cap its dream season with its first bowl victory since 2001 and its first top 25 finish since 1999.

5. Missouri (10-2, 6-2).  The Tigers pounded Kansas 35-7 in their season finale, holding the Jayhawks to just 141 total yards.  It was another strong season for Gary Pinkel’s Tigers: 2010 is the 6th straight winning season for Mizzou and the third season of 10+ wins in the last four.  But it’s also the third time in the last four years that Missouri finished tied for first in the North but missed out on the conference crown.

6. Baylor (7-5, 4-4).  Baylor was idle this past weekend, its season having already ended the previous week.  Robert Griffin III has already set Baylor school records for passing yards in a game (404) and a season (3,195), and he’ll have a chance to break Baylor’s record for career passing yards if he can throw for 229 yards in the Bears’ upcoming bowl game.  Not bad for a sophomore. 

7. Kansas State (7-5, 3-5).  K State’s salty defense managed to hold the 9th place team in the Sun Belt Conference to just 459 yards as KSU edged North Texas 49-41.  Fortunately for the Wildcats, Daniel Thomas ran for a career-high 269 yards and two touchdowns, helping the offense put up enough points to avoid a disastrous defeat.  It’s been an up-and-down season for Kansas State, but Bill Snyder has already clinched the school’s first winning season since 2006 and he’ll have a chance to bring home KSU’s first bowl victory since 2002.

8. Texas Tech (7-5, 3-5).  The Red Raiders defeated the Houston Cougars 35-20 in a wild game that featured over a thousand yards of offense and six turnovers.  Taylor Potts threw for 373 yards and 4 touchdowns to lead his team to a victory in his final home game.  But the Red Raiders will have to win their bowl game to avoid their first season with fewer than 8 wins since 2001.

9. Iowa State (5-7, 3-5).  The Cyclones didn’t lose their fourth straight game last weekend, largely because they didn’t play.  Iowa State will lose starting quarterback Austen Arnaud, leading rusher Alexander Robinson, and leading receiver Collin Franklin to graduation.  Then again, the Cyclones offense ranked 98th in the nation this season, so those losses can’t make things much worse.  But don’t worry, Cyclone fans, most of your 88th-ranked defense will be back next year, so you’ve got that going for you, which is nice.

10. Texas (5-7, 2-6).  The Aggies finally put the Longhorns out of their misery on Thanksgiving night.  Texas finished the season dead last in the South Division for the first time and posted its first losing season since 1997 and only the sixth in the last half a century.  Texas is also the first team since the advent of a true national championship game in 1998 to play for the national championship then fail to reach bowl eligibility the following year.  This season has to go down as one of the most unexpected collapses in college football history.  Vegas should set an over/under on the number of Longhorn assistant coaches about to be fired.  I’d bet the over on 2.5 for sure.

11. Colorado (5-7, 2-6).  The Buffaloes went to Lincoln and got blasted last weekend.  Now Colorado AD Mike Bohn has to decide whether to retain interim head coach Brian Cabral, whose team played hard for him and went 2-1, or to start calling coaches with more experience.  After Dan Hawkins guided the Buffs to a 19-39 record, Bohn could make Charlie Weiss or Bill Callahan the next head coach and things would still be looking up for Colorado.

12. Kansas (3-9, 1-7).  The Jayhawks were held to 10 or fewer points for the sixth time in their season-ending loss to Missouri.  But on the bright side, Kansas has landed a four-star running back in the 2011 class.  If he can rush for 2,000 yards while blocking for himself and win the Thorpe Award as a safety, KU could be a .500 team next season.

That’s it for this season’s Big XII Power Rankings.  Next week I’ll write up a Big XII bowl preview and after signing day I think I’ll grade the Big XII recruiting classes.  Thanks to all who’ve read this series and offered feedback — I hope you enjoyed it.

Big XII Power Rankings After Week 10

1a. Nebraska (8-1, 4-1).  The Cornhuskers never trailed Iowa State, cruising to an easy one-point overtime victory.  After a touchdown brought the Cyclones to within 31-30, ISU went for the win with a fake PAT, but the two-point conversion attempt was picked off in the end zone to end the game.  This win coupled with Missouri’s loss gives the Cornhuskers a full game lead over Mizzou in the standings.  Nebraska also has the tie-breaker from its victory over Missouri, so unless the Huskers lose two of their final three while the Tigers win all three of theirs, it’ll be Big Red representing the North in Jerryworld.

1b. Oklahoma State (8-1, 4-1).  After three school records were set by Big XII players last week, Brandon Weeden decided to get in on the fun, throwing for a new-OSU-record 435 yards, along with three touchdowns.  And the Cowboys’ running game added another 290 yards, for an eye-popping total of 725, the most by any team in the conference all season, en route to a 55-28 win over Baylor.  Oklahoma State now has sole possession of first place in the South and the tiebreakers over Baylor and Texas A&M.  Next week, Oklahoma State gets its turn on the Big XII’s Revenge Against the Longhorns Tour.  Think Mike Gundy might want an authoritative win after all the near-misses against Texas over the years? 

3. Texas A&M (6-3, 3-2).  Fortunately for the Aggies, the dropoff between starting running back Christine Michael (lost for the season last week with a broken tibia) and backup Cyrus Gray is minimal, as Gray ran it 21 times for 122 yards (5.8 ypc) and a score.  And QB Ryan Tannehill, making his second career start, turned in a workmanlike 225 yards passing, two TD’s and two INT’s.  Not as spectacular as he was last week, but he got the job done and led his team to a 33-19 win over an OU team that had handed A&M some embarrassing losses over the past several years.  The Aggies are still alive in the South, but they’ll have to beat Baylor, Nebraska, and Texas and hope that Oklahoma State loses twice.

4. Oklahoma (7-2, 3-2).  Trailing in College Station 19-0 in the third quarter, the OU offense finally decided to make an appearance and reeled off 17 unanswered points by the end of the period.  But the defense was unable to get it done in the 4th, surrendering two more A&M touchdowns.  Even though they’re in a tie for third place, the Sooners are still very much in the race to win the South: if the Sooners win out, they’ll pass Baylor and Oklahoma State by beating them, and all they’ll need is for A&M to lose one game.

5. Missouri (7-2, 3-2).  It looked as if Missouri had things under control in Lubbock, leading 17-3 late in the second quarter, but then the Tiger offense completely fell apart.  Blaine Gabbert was inexplicably held to 40% completions and just 95 yards passing against a Texas Tech pass defense that improved to #118 in the nation after this performance in the 24-17 Red Raider win.  The Tigers had better get the wheels put back on quickly, or they might lose their third straight next weekend to KSU.

6. Baylor (7-3, 4-2).  The Bears hibernated through the first half and didn’t score until they were down 34-0 in the third.  Robert Griffin III’s running has cooled off considerably (he’s rushed for just 40 yards on 31 carries in his last three games) and he’s thrown an interception in four straight games.  He’s still been good, but Baylor needs him to be great.  The Bears had better get over the embarrassing loss quickly, as they host Texas A&M and OU to close the season.  Finishing 7-5 would normally sound great to a Baylor fan, but not after a 7-2 start.

7. Kansas State (6-3, 3-3).  The Wildcats only put up 270 yards of total offense against Texas, but they scored 39 points because they had great starting field position almost all night, courtesy of their return game and Garrett Gilbert’s five interceptions.  Kansas State now holds a three-game winning streak over Texas.  Next week, the Wildcats will head to Columbia to take on Missouri in a critical game for each team’s position in the bowl pecking order. 

8. Iowa State (5-5, 3-3).  The Cyclones came from 14 down in the 4th quarter to tie Nebraska, but came up short in overtime.  Paul Rhoads will surely be criticized by some for the fake extra point that was intercepted to seal the defeat, but I don’t mind going for the win right there against a more talented team.  If the Cyclones can beat Colorado in Boulder next week, they’ll be bowl eligible for the second year in a row.

9. Texas Tech (5-4, 3-4).  The Red Raiders used both Steven Sheffield and Taylor Potts at quarterback and found the running game they’ve been missing all season, racking up 198 yards on the ground against a pretty good Mizzou defense.  Weird season for Tech: they can’t beat a bad Texas team and they can barely beat a terrible Colorado team, but they can take down a good Missouri team.  Next week, Tech will head to Norman to try to break OU’s 35-game home winning streak.  Do you believe in miracles?  Me neither.

10. Texas (4-5, 2-4).  I’ll take “Things That Are Burnt Orange and Suck at Football”, for one thousand, Alex.  Kansas State came into this game with the worst rush defense in the nation.  That’s right, #120 out of 120.  So, of course, the Longhorns threw the ball 59 times and ran it 26 times.  Texas has now lost 5 of 6 games for the first time since 1992.

11. Kansas (3-6, 1-4).  Colorado scored early in the fourth quarter to finish Kansas off, 45-17.  Then the Jayhawks had some sort of seance on the sideline and got possessed by the Bill Walsh 49ers, scoring five unanswered touchdowns (more points in one quarter than they’d scored in their previous three games) to pull off the shocking 52-45 victory.  The 28-point comeback was the biggest in KU history.  Kansas is now halfway to bowl eligibility: all they’ve got to do is beat #8 Nebraska in Lincoln, then #10 Oklahoma State and #17 Missouri at home. 

12. Colorado (3-6, 0-5).  At least you get to live in Colorado.  Forget this football stuff.  You should be outside anyway.

Big XII Power Rankings After Week 9

1. Nebraska (7-1, 3-1).  Roy Helu, Jr got loose for touchdown runs of 66 and 73 yards and Taylor Martinez threw a 40-yard touchdown pass as Nebraska raced out to a 24-0 first quarter lead over #6 Missouri.  And Nebraska’s excellent secondary made sure there would be no comeback, holding Blaine Gabbert under 200 yards passing on 42 attempts to secure a decisive 31-17 victory.  The Huskers are now in the driver’s seat in the North, holding the head-to-head tie-breaker over Missouri.  With four very winnable games remaining (@ Iowa State, Kansas, @ Texas A&M, Colorado), they have an excellent shot at winning out and playing in the final Big XII Championship Game. 

2. Oklahoma (7-1, 3-1).  Landry Jones and Ryan Broyles put up X-Box stats on Colorado last week: Jones threw for a career-high 453 yards, with Broyles racking up 208 receiving yards, a new school record.  Jones also found Broyles on three of his four touchdown strikes.  The 43-10 final could have been worse, as OU outgained CU by close to 400 yards.  Oklahoma will take on Texas A&M in College Station next weekend in a battle of top ten passing attacks.

3. Missouri (7-1, 3-1).  Missouri showed some heart by not rolling over after Nebraska’s big play attack put them in a huge hole; in fact, the Tigers got to within ten points of Nebraska in the third quarter, but they didn’t have enough to come from behind on the road.  Mizzou was able to get some things going on offense, but couldn’t convert enough third downs (7 of 19) and had the game’s only turnover.  It also might have helped if someone had tried to tackle Roy Helu, Jr before he rushed for a school record 307 yards.  The Tigers will try to get back in the win column in Lubbock next Saturday night.

4. Oklahoma State (7-1, 3-1).  The Cowboys took down Kansas State in Manhattan last week, 24-14.  It’s not often that a team gains almost twice as many yards, wins the turnover battle, gets a defensive score, and still only wins by ten points, but it counts the same as a blowout (speaking of blowouts, is Mike Gundy trying to get cast on the next Jersey Shore with that haircut?).  Next week, Okie State and Baylor will find out if they can hold each other under 50 points.

5. Baylor (7-2, 4-1).  Baylor went to Austin and handed Texas its first three-game home losing streak since the Industrial Revolution, 30-22.  The Bears’ #5 offense was held largely in check until late in the third quarter, when Jay Finley broke a 69-yard touchdown run to close the gap to 19-17.  Baylor rode that momentum into the fourth quarter, adding two more unanswered touchdowns to surge ahead for good.  BU sits alone atop the South Division, but the inside track to the Big XII Championship Game still has some high hurdles for track star Robert Griffin III to get his Bears over: @ Oklahoma State, then home games against Texas A&M and Oklahoma.    

6. Iowa State (5-4, 3-2).  Trailed lowly Kansas at halftime, at home no less, but came back to win 28-16.  ISU averaged almost 6 yards per carry and racked up 232 yards on the ground against the helpless Kansas defense.  Can the Cyclones get another home win against #10 Nebraska next week?  In their other two games against top ten opponents, they lost by a combined 87-7, so they’re obviously due for a win and you should consider making a large wager on ISU, preferably with me. 

7. Texas A&M (5-3, 2-2).  It looks as if all those Aggies clamoring for Ryan Tannehill to replace Jerrod Johnson were right: all Tannehill did last Saturday was set a school record for passing yards (449) and throw four touchdowns.  The Aggie defense has predictably come back to earth, now ranking 46th in the nation, but that’s still a big improvement over last year’s D, and with the 10th best offense in the nation and much better play at the quarterback position, this has become a dangerous team again.  The gauntlet of Texas A&M’s schedule is up next: Oklahoma, @ Baylor, and Nebraska.  It seems weird that the season finale in Austin is not listed as part of the gauntlet, but this year, there’s no reason it should be.  The Aggies are just one more win from going bowling for the second time in three years under Mike Sherman.

8. Kansas State (5-3, 2-3).  The Wildcats scored the first touchdown against Oklahoma State, then floundered on both sides of the ball, allowing 24 unanswered points.  Daniel Thomas picked up 101 rushing yards, but it took him 29 carries to do it (3.5 ypc), and he threw an interception to go with the two thrown by Carson Coffman.  After losing three of their last four, the Wildcats will take on Texas next week to see which team can stop the implosion. 

9. Texas (4-4, 2-3).  Once again, dropped passes, missed throws, ineffective running backs, and predictable playcalling kept the Texas offense running in place.  The last time Texas lost to Baylor, a coach got fired.  Mack Brown has certainly done enough to earn the right to try to fix this fiasco, but some of his staff are heading to the unemployment line this December.  Rebuilding year or not, this team has too much talent to be this bad.

10. Texas Tech (4-4, 2-4).  Texas Tech fell to dead last in the South after its loss to Texas A&M.  After allowing 623 yards to the Aggies, the Texas Tech defense now ranks #113 in the nation.  The Red Raiders have allowed more points than they’ve scored, and that doesn’t figure to change next week when they host Missouri, or the following week when they go to Norman.  This team’s bowl chances are in serious jeopardy.  Might Tommy Tuberville already be on the hot seat in year one?

11. Colorado (3-5, 0-4).  Last week’s blowout loss to Oklahoma was Colorado’s fourth in a row.  Next week, the Buffaloes will head to Lawrence to battle the Jayhawks in front of a crowd consisting of parents of KU players and people who are lost.  The loser of that game has a great shot at going winless in conference play this season.

12. Kansas (2-6, 0-4).  Did you know that Kansas has five national debate championships?  And U.S. News and World Report ranks KU’s petroleum engineering program #9 in the country.

Big XII Power Rankings After Week 8

1. Missouri (7-0,  3-0).  Season-defining win for Missouri, as they finally beat Oklahoma for the first time in 7 tries under Gary Pinkel, 36-27.  Both quarterbacks threw for over 300 yards, but Blaine Gabbert avoided interceptions, while Landry Jones threw two, including a crucial one deep in his own territory.  And the Tigers dominated time of possession, giving them the fresher defense in the decisive 4th quarter.  Missouri will have to get another huge win over Nebraska in Lincoln next week to stay in first place in the North.

2. Nebraska (6-1, 2-1).  Nebraska showed no hangover from the upset loss to Texas, as they went to Stillwater and won a shootout over Oklahoma State, 51-41.  Taylor Martinez was incredible, throwing for 323 yards and 5 TD’s and rushing for another 112 yards.  This was the biggest win of the season for the Huskers, keeping them within one game of Missouri heading into their showdown next weekend.

3. Oklahoma (6-1, 2-1) For the third straight week, the #1 team in the nation went down, as OU lost in Columbia.  Losing to a good team on the road isn’t the end of the world, but Oklahoma fans and coaches have to be concerned about the defense: a unit that is normally a strength for OU is currently ranked 80th in the country.  Fortunately for the Sooners, that ranking is somewhat offset by their 7th best ranking in turnover differential.  They get Colorado at home next weekend.

4. Oklahoma State (6-1, 2-1).  It was only a matter of time before the defense cost OSU a game.  Great efforts from Kendall Hunter (26 carries for 201 yards and 2 TD’s) and Brandon Weeden (283 yards passing, 2 TD’s, 1 INT) were wasted as OSU allowed 540 yards and 51 points.  Next week, Okie State will try to get back on track against a Kansas State team that has dropped two of its last three. 

5. Baylor (6-2, 3-1).  In another typical Big XII defensive slugfest, Baylor outlasted Kansas State 47-42.  Robert Griffin III threw for 404 yards and 4 TD’s with 1 INT.  Griffin is on pace to throw for over 3,500 yards, rush for over 500 yards, and put up 36 total touchdowns.  And Baylor has recently made running back Jay Finley a bigger part of the offense: in the last two games, Finley has gotten 40 carries for an impressive 393 yards and 4 TD’s.  With the #5 offense in the nation, these Bears are no fluke.  They’ll head to Austin next week, where Texas has lost two of three this year, to try to beat Mack Brown for the first time in 13 attempts. 

6. Kansas State (5-2, 2-2).  Kansas State running back Daniel Thomas did everything he could to beat Baylor (22 carries for 113 yards and 2 TD’s, plus a 67-yard touchdown pass), but it wasn’t enough.   He’s on pace for over 1,500 rushing yards this season, but he’s KSU’s only weapon — QB Carson Coffman has thrown for over 200 yards just twice in seven games.  It won’t get any easier for K State next weekend when they host Oklahoma State.  The defenses are comparably awful (#100 and #97 respectively), but OSU brings the #3 offense in the nation, while K State’s is #60.  I’m not sure KSU can even keep this one close.

7. Iowa State (4-4, 2-2).  The Cyclones went to Austin and dominated the Longhorns for just over three quarters, building a shocking 28-6 lead, then held off a 4th quarter rally to escape with the 28-21 victory as the Longhorns final drive came up just 95 yards short of tying the game.  With two very winnable games left on the schedule (Kansas and @ Colorado), the Cyclones have a chance of going to a bowl game for the second straight year after going 2-10 in 2008.  Enjoy Paul Rhoads while you’ve got him, ISU.  Heck of a coach.

8. Texas (4-3, 2-2).  Texas outgained the Cyclones by over a hundred yards, but that usually doesn’t matter when you lose the turnover battle 4-1 as the Longhorns did.   This year’s Texas offense is so inept that it only managed 21 points against a defense that had given up 120 in its previous two games.  QB Garrett Gilbert has been inconsistent, which is to be expected from a first-year starter.  It’s also to be expected that by game 7 there would be some improvement, but Gilbert threw three picks against ISU.  Next week, Texas will need its defense (#6 in the nation) to hold Baylor down, because the Longhorns certainly can’t win a shootout. 

9. Texas A&M (4-3, 1-2).  The Aggies won for the first time in over a month, beating Kansas soundly, 45-10.  Aggie fans finally got to see backup QB Ryan Tannehill get some snaps in relief of struggling Jerrod Johnson, and Tannehill didn’t disappoint, hitting 12 of 16 throws for 155 yards and 3 TD’s.  Next week, Texas A&M will host Texas Tech in the next installment of a bad blood rivalry that hasn’t gone the Aggies way: since the inception of the Big XII in 1996, Tech is 10-4 against A&M, including wins in the last two at Kyle Field.

10. Texas Tech (4-3, 2-3).  It looked a little bleak for Texas Tech last weekend, as they headed to the 4th quarter trailing Colorado by 10 points in Boulder.  But a 13-0 final period secured a 27-24 victory for the Red Raiders, in spite of them losing the turnover battle 2-0 on the road.  Not a pretty win, but a gutsy one, and one they had to have.  Next week’s game against A&M will be another pivotal one in each team’s quest for bowl eligibility.

11. Colorado (3-4, 0-3).  Last week was the second straight loss for the Buffaloes at home by less than a touchdown.  Just a play here or there in those games would have been the difference between a 5-2 record and their current 3-4 mark (though it could have gone the other way in their 2-point win over Georgia, too).  Bottom line: 5-2 teams make those needed plays and 3-4 teams don’t.  What 3-4 teams do, however, is get embarrassed in Norman next week.  At least the good people of Colorado still have the Denver Broncos, who got within 45 points of rival Oakland last Sunday. 

12. Kansas (2-5, 0-3).  There is a very real chance that this team has won its last football game until 2011.  Maybe 2012.  The Jayhawks are dead last in the conference in both scoring offense and scoring defense.  How they managed to beat Georgia Tech earlier this season is one of the mysteries historians will puzzle over for centuries.  Rumor has it that KU is selling tickets to pre-season basketball practices instead of its next home football game in hopes of increasing revenue.