Big 12 Power Rankings: K-State Re-Establishing Themselves in Conference
By Ben Nielsen
Oct 26, 2013; Lawrence, KS, USA; Baylor Bears wide receiver Tevin Reese (16) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Kansas Jayhawks in the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
1. Baylor Bears
Record: 7-0 (4-0)
Previous Ranking: 1
Last Week: Bye
This Week: vs #10 Oklahoma (Thursday night)
Next Week: vs Texas Tech
Baylor can leap into the national title discussion with a win Thursday night over the 10th ranked Sooners, and they have the favorable match-ups to make that happen.
Baylor has the speed and power to match against Oklahoma’s defense to keep the game high scoring, and a defense to stifle what is a very weak Sooners offense. Oklahoma is sixth in scoring offense in the Big 12 and ninth in passing offense. Baylor needs only to fill the box with bodies and force Blake Bell to make plays with his arm. Do that and only good things will happen for the Bears.
Should Baylor win, the Bears will have an interesting day of scoreboard watching Saturday. Stanford plays Oregon and LSU play Alabama, each games that could see two of the top three teams in the BCS fall. Losses from one or two of those teams plus a win could catapult Baylor to the second or third spot in the BCS.
Computers are the key to Baylor’s rise. What Baylor has going for it is that their computer rankings are only going to get better and the season comes to a close, assuming they continue to win. Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas are all teams that will likely be ranked when they play them, which will improve Baylor’s standing with the computers.
Baylor ranks fifth in both the Harris and Coaches polls, but ninth in the computer poll. Wins over OU, OSU, and Texas should be enough to get those computer averages into the top three if they can get a loss from Alabama and Oregon at some point. Should those losses happen, Baylor will likely hop Ohio State and find themselves in the title game with Florida State because of the computer rankings.
All Baylor has to do is beat the best three teams in the Big 12 – no biggie.