Big 12 Power Rankings: Week 8

After an eventful weekend, the Big 12 Power Rankings found major disruption in the form of a new No. 1 team for the second consecutive week. Half the conference is now in the top 15 of both polls, which makes for a crowded top five. Here's how I slot the league through seven weeks:

1. Baylor (6-0, 3-0 Big 12). Last week: 2. This week: at West Virginia. The Bears didn't have a quality win before Saturday and needed to earn the No. 1 spot. They did it in dramatic fashion and earned a huge win over rival TCU on Saturday. The Bears have major defensive questions to answer after giving up 58 points to the Frogs (in fairness, one TD was defensive and another was a kickoff return), but the Bears are the Big 12's best team by virtue of Saturday's win.

2. TCU (4-1, 1-1). Last week: 1. This week: vs. Oklahoma State. The Frogs had Baylor on the ropes in the fourth quarter and ended up with a three-point loss on the road. You can't fault them for that ... or drop them below No. 2. They surrender the top spot this week, but Trevone Boykin validated his status as the Big 12's most improved player. His completion percentage (44.7) was low, but he made tons of plays and logged his fourth game in five outings with at least 280 yards passing. He now has 11 touchdown passes to just two interceptions.

3. Oklahoma (5-1, 2-1). Last week: 3. This week: vs. Kansas State. The Sooners have played uninspired football for two consecutive weeks. TCU outplayed OU and for much of Saturday's game, Texas did the same. Big plays bailed out the Sooners against the Longhorns, and you can't win very many games getting outgained by 250 yards.

4. Kansas State (4-1, 2-0). Last week: 4. This week: at Oklahoma. The Wildcats were off this week, but that didn't stop a reporter from asking Bill Snyder on Monday how his team could improve this weekend. Snyder took it in stride and politely reminded the reporter that K-State would be sitting at home this week. A lackluster Sooners' performance against the Longhorns nearly inspired me to put K-State at the No. 3 spot, but the Wildcats still have zero quality wins on their resume.

5. West Virginia (4-2, 2-1). Last week: 5. This week: vs. Baylor. The Mountaineers got outplayed for most of Saturday's game, too, but rallied from down two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and survived with a 55-yard field goal from Josh Lambert, his second game-winner of the season. The most encouraging sign for the future: WVU had two 100-yard rushers. That's a recipe to keeping Baylor's offense off the field.

6. Oklahoma State (5-1, 3-0). Last week: 6. This week: at TCU. The Cowboys' offense is shaky, and OSU looked like it got too comfortable after taking a 20-7 lead at Kansas in the first half. The offense didn't score in the second half and got bailed out by a Tyreek Hill kick return. Consider it a bullet dodged. Ask Texas or Baylor about those. They've been there in Lawrence. That's what happens when you can only muster 275 yards of offense against KU. You do that against anybody and you open yourself up to take a loss.

7. Texas (2-4, 1-2). Last week: 7. This week: vs. Iowa State. The Longhorns put up a fight and moved the ball consistently against Oklahoma. When time ran out on their 31-26 loss to Oklahoma, Texas fans gave the Longhorns a standing ovation before beginning "The Eyes of Texas." It was deserved, but Texas is still a long way from legitimately staking a claim as one of the Big 12's best teams. At best, they're two years away.

8. Iowa State (2-4, 0-3. Last week: 8. This week: at Texas. The Cyclones beat a good Toledo team that will contend for a MAC title. They also got the running game going somewhat, at least compared to past weeks. Aaron Wimberly sat with a bum ankle, but Devondrick Nealy didn't have a run longer than 15 yards and still averaged 4.4 yards a carry. That's a marked improvement from what we've seen from them so far this year.

9. Texas Tech 2-4, 0-3. Last week: 9. This week: vs. Kansas. Davis Webb and the Tech offense came back to life and nearly came away with their biggest win of the season. Last week, Tech had only three plays longer than 20 yards. Saturday, they had seven plays longer than 19 yards. Still, this is a team now riding a four-game losing streak.

10. Kansas 2-4, 0-3. Last week: 10. This week: at Texas Tech. The Jayhawks nearly pulled off the shocker against Oklahoma State, but they'll be in position to pull off another if Michael Cummings completes nearly 60 percent of his passes for 288 yards again. There is some potential in the Jayhawks down the stretch under interim coach Clint Bowen.