We have officially entered the final week of the 2019 college football season, and the last week of Big 12 matchups brought some teams pain, kept others alive, and gave one team their first Big 12 Championship birth in school history. Coming into this weekend, all eyes were on the Texas Longhorns, as they traveled to Waco to take on the Baylor Bears. With their season on the line, not even Tom Herman putting himself in the concussion protocol by banging heads with his players before the game was enough to motivate this Texas team. Baylor was able to come away with the win, clinching a trip to Dallas to play Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game.
While the top two spots in the conference are (and pretty much have been) locked in for a matchup in Jerry’s World, the last month of Big 12 football has been one of the more exciting in recent history. Even with Texas, the team projected to potentially win the conference, falling to 6-5, this conference still has four teams slotted in the College Football Playoff rankings in Oklahoma, Baylor, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State. Kansas State has made some noise as well, but a road loss to the Longhorns a few weeks ago might have ended any chance they had of playing in a noteworthy bowl game. I will touch on the Longhorns in just a bit, but let’s look at the rankings.
Recommended Videos
As we approach the final week of the season, take a look at the second-to-last edition of the 2019 Big 12 Power Rankings and see how the conference stacks up, who each team face off against in their final regular game of the season, and how the Longhorns went from title contenders to a five-loss team.
1. Oklahoma (10-1)
Next Game: @ Oklahoma State
2. Baylor (10-1)
Next Game: @ Kansas
3. Oklahoma State (8-3)
Next Game: vs. Oklahoma
4. Iowa State (7-4)
Next Game: @ Kansas State
5. Kansas State (7-4)
Next Game: vs. Iowa State
6. Texas (6-5)
Next Game: vs. Texas Tech
7. TCU (5-6)
Next Game: vs. West Virginia
8. West Virginia (4-7)
Next Game: @ TCU
9. Texas Tech (4-7)
Next Game: @ Texas
10. Kansas (1-7)
Next Game: vs. Baylor
The Fall of Texas Is Upon You
In the first Power Rankings that came out this year, the Texas Longhorns sat right under Oklahoma, looking down at the rest of the conference in the No. 2 spot. Since then, very few games have gone in the favor of Coach Herman’s ‘Horns. Their loss to LSU at home was tough, but that Tigers team has still yet to lose a game. Ultimately, it was their foes in the Big 12 that brought this team to their demise. Losses to Oklahoma, TCU, Iowa State, and Baylor (all of which were played outside of Austin) took Texas out of contention for the College Football Playoff, the Big 12 Championship Game, and truly stripped them of any chance of playing in a significant bowl game. The ‘Horns will try and finish a roller coaster of a regular season on a high note next week when the Texas Tech Red Raiders come to town.
As for the rest of the conference…
I mentioned earlier that teams like Oklahoma State and Iowa State have been impressive this year, but the Big 12 Championship Game is set. Baylor will take on Oklahoma on December 7th in Dallas to fight for the throne of this conference. The overall performance of this conference this year has been solid, but plenty of teams have a chance to play spoiler next week, as Oklahoma and Baylor need to continue winning for a shot at the College Football Playoff.