Conference Players of the Week
The Big 12 announced that West Virginia quarterback Skyler Howard has won both conference and national Player of the Week. He passed for 389 yards and five touchdowns with zero interceptions in their win over Youngstown State.
The Big 12 has had a rough start to the season, but many of the conference's top teams got back on track with resounding wins this past weekend. Here's our Big 12 Power Rankings heading into Week 3, along with the latest news and rumors from around the conference:
10. Iowa State Cyclones
The Matt Campbell era hasn't gotten off to a great start. A loss to Northern Iowa was followed by a 42-3 drubbing at the hands of Iowa.
9. Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas did get their first win in forever by beating Rhode Island in their opener, then came crashing back down after losing to Ohio. They're not good, but getting a win puts them ahead of ISU.
8. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Their defense has been awful ever since Kliff Kingsbury took over as head coach, and their 68-55 loss to Arizona State marked the third time in the last 12 games the Red Raiders scored 50 points or more - and lost.
7. TCU Horned Frogs
South Dakota State gave TCU all they could handle in the opener, and an overtime loss to Arkansas didn't help things. It's time we started to worry about the Horned Frogs.
6. Oklahoma State Cowboys
Even if Oklahoma State technically should've beaten Central Michigan, they have a mark in the loss column. Up next is Pitt, Baylor and Texas. We'll find out how legit the Cowboys are during that stretch.
5. Kansas State Wildcats
K-State was off last week, and benefits from the other teams around them falling. Their close loss to Stanford on the road in the opener now looks better and better.
4. West Virginia Mountaineers
A 2-0 start with wins over Mizzou and Youngstown State are good enough to put WVU in the No. 4 spot in the conference, but they won't crack the top three until they get tested.
3. Baylor Bears
Speaking of not getting tested, Baylor has wins over Northwestern State and SMU - not exactly world beaters. So once again, we think Baylor is good, but we really don't know.
2. Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma got back on track with a dominant win over UL-Monroe, and we're keeping them at the No. 2 spot because of the talent they have their roster despite the loss to Houston. Up next is a home date with Ohio State - and the Sooners need to win.
1. Texas Longhorns
The Charlie Strong era has finally flipped, thanks to the play of true freshman quarterback Shane Buechele. They followed up their Notre Dame upset with a blowout win over UTEP, and the Longhorns have looked dominant on both sides of the ball. Right now, the Big 12 runs through Austin.
OTHER BIG 12 NOTES
Ranked teams
Just three Big 12 teams are ranked in the top 25 after Oklahoma State's loss on Saturday. Baylor checks in first at No. 21, while Oklahoma sits at No. 14. Texas is the highest ranked team in the conference at No. 11.
Replay crew suspended
The Big 12 announced that the replay crew for the Oklahoma State-Central Michigan game has been suspended for two games:
"The crew missed an opportunity to advise the MAC officiating crew of the misapplication of the penalty giving CMU an untimed down that resulted in its game-winning touchdown. NCAA rules permit instant replay to correct egregious errors and it is unacceptable that it did not occur in this situation. Additionally, this replay crew will not be eligible for assignment to an end-of-season bowl game."
Play of the Week
TOP PLAY: Jerrod Heard (@SmileHeardJ) 29 yd pass from Buechele. || TEXAS 41 - UTEP 7 #BELIEVE #RECAP pic.twitter.com/uabYLI0G9F
— Texas Football (@TexasFB) September 12, 2016
Games of the Week
There are plenty of exciting games on tap as the Big 12 schedule starts on Saturday, as well as a few marquee non-conference games. Here are the best of the best for the coming weekend:
Iowa State at TCU - 12 pm ET, FS1
Pitt at Oklahoma State - 3:30 pm ET, ESPN
#3 Ohio State at #14 Oklahoma - 7:30 pm ET, FOX
#11 Texas at Cal - 10:30 pm ET, ESPN