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Big 12 power rankings: Week 4

My top 992 things about the Big 12 right now.

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Photo Attribution: USATSI

Photo Attribution: USATSI

1. Baylor — It’s one thing to put 70 on Wofford and Buffalo. It’s another thing to do it on a Louisiana-Monroe team that OU could only muster 34 against. Read what Monroe’s coach had to say about Baylor’s offense and if you still aren’t worried as an OSU fan I’ll call you a tad delusional. Art Briles is a crusader, too. He’s been talking like a man with his sights on a Big 12 title (if not more) all season. I’m worried.

2. Oklahoma State — OSU’s defense is better than Baylor’s. I feel pretty confident in saying that. I also feel pretty good about it being one of the three best in the conference. Here’s the thing, in a down year for offenses in the Big 12, a defense like OSU’s can thrive. I don’t really feel like the first three games (UTSA fourth quarter aside) have been an anomaly for the D.

Sure, you aren’t going to hold OU to three points like you did Mississippi State but I also don’t really think we’re going to see a lot of 40-point or 50-point bloodlettings like we have the last few years. The offense is certainly more interesting for the Pokes, but the defense might be its best unit.

3. Oklahoma — Given the Stoops/OU corollary to Big 12 football with the Self/Kansas basketball thing, I’m not sure why everyone (myself included) was so quick to discard OU’s chances. They’ve owned this conference since 2000. Owned it.

And they have a chance to get the best win by any Big 12 team all year this weekend at Notre Dame. I’m in on Blake Bell as a good quarterback, I might be in on him as a great one if he can throttle the Irish.

4. Tyler Lockett — 13 for 237 against Texas as KSU’s only option? Such a freak. OSU and OU will rue the day (they probably already do) that they let the first Lockett out of Tulsa without snagging him. I realize this probably happened in the late 1940s, but still.

For fun, the eight biggest receiving games in Big 12 conference play history:

1. Terrance Williams (Baylor) — 314 at WVU (2012)
2. Stedman Bailey (WVU) — 303 vs. Baylor (2012)
3. Adarius Bowman (OSU) — 300 at Kansas (2006)
4. Dezmon Briscoe (Kansas)[1. It’s weird that there’s a guy named “Dez” on this list and his last name isn’t “Bryant.”] — 269 at OU (2008)
5. Joel Filani (Tech) — 255 vs. Kansas State (2005)
6. Dezmon Briscoe (Kansas)[1. It’s weird that there’s a guy named “Dez” on this list twice and his last name isn’t “Bryant.”] — 242 vs. Missouri (2009)
7. Donnie Hart (Tech) — 241 vs. Texas (1996)
8. Micahel Crabtree (Tech) — 237 at OSU (2007)
8. Tyler Lockett (Kansas State) — 237 at Texas (2013)

40. Kansas — Do we congratulate Kansas for snapping its 22-game (22 GAMES!) losing streak against FBS teams on a last-second 52-yard field goal, or not? The scary part is that the team that barely squeaked out its first win in 23 tries against FBS teams might not be the worst team in the conference. It actually might not be the second worst team either. Yikes.

88. Baker Mayfield — I told Mark Rodgers on the Sports Animal the other day I wouldn’t definitely take Blake Bell over Baker Mayfield if I was a coach. That was before Mayfield got yanked against Texas State though. Kingsbury might have a 6-0 or 7-0 team on his hands in a month but that dream is going to come crashing down in Norman very quickly.

345. Dana’s offense — Count ’em…one (one, ONE, 1, uno) completed pass to an actual wide receiver last weekend against Maryland. My gosh, they weren’t playing LSU. It was Maryland! There are about 95 head coaches salivating at the thought of an Oliver Luck press conference in the middle of December.

992. The Big 12 — Very meta of me, I know, but as Berry Tramel pointed out, these are the Big 12’s three best non-conference wins:

1. Oklahoma State over Mississippi State (F/+ rank: 42nd)
2. OU over Tulsa (F/+ rank: 80th)
3. Tech over SMU (F/+ rank: 94th)[1. La. Tech is 97th and UTSA is 98th so OSU is close to having two of the four best non-con wins.]

That is not good…at all.

Mississippi State, as we all saw, is not a good football team and Tulsa as your conferences second best noncon win? I mean, Tulsa?! The Big 12 needs OU to roll a little in South Bend this weekend just for the sake of perception. Otherwise it’s just going to be Pac-12 Lite for the rest of this season…

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