THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012
PAGE 5B
BIG 12 POWER RANKINGS
FARZIN VOUSOUGHIAN
fvousougian@kansan.com
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1.Kansas State 5-0
Kansas State pulled off its second conference victory and did so in style. The Wildcats struggled against the Jayhawks in the first half, but shut them down in the second half. They went on to score 56 points, winning by 40 in the Sunflower Showdown and remain one of the best teams in the country.
2. West Virginia (5-0)
West Virginia was involved in two shootouts in its last two weeks. The Mountaineers struggled defensively, but Geno Smith continued to impress everyone with his performance this season. The Mountaineers faced two ranked Big 12 teams and defeated them both to make a name for themselves in their new conference.
Texas gave up a season-high 48 points in its three-point loss to West Virginia at home last weekend. The Longhorns still scored a lot of points themselves. They face a challenge against Oklahoma as both teams are fighting to hang with the top of the Big 12.
3. Oklahoma (3-1)
It was a long bye week for the Sooners, who lost to Kansas State at home. The Sooners responded with a big win over Texas Tech on the road and have a chance to redeem themselves at home against another tough opponent in Texas.
4. Texas (4-1)
5. Iowa State (4-1)
Iowa State took advantage of Casey Pachall's absence and beat TCU this past weekend. But the Cyclones did not impress as many people since TCU was without their top quarterback. If they want to prove their win over TCU was no fluke, they have the opportunity to show it this week when they host Kansas State.
6. Texas Christian (4-1)
The loss of quarterback Casey Pachall really hurt TCU on Saturday. Freshman backup quarterback Trevone Boykin threw three interceptions. The entire TCU team committed five turnovers and have fallen down the charts in the conference and the top 25 rankings.
Oklahoma State has a high-powered offense that can do some damage to its opponents. The Cowboys come into this week ranked fifth in passing and rushing and first in scoring. But that has not spelled perfection for them as they are 2-2 and still seeking their first conference win of the season.
7. Oklahoma State (2-2)
8. Baylor (3-1)
Baylor had a week to think about its wild shootout loss to West Virginia. The Bears offense showed a lot against the Mountaineers, but it is the defense that could set them back and prevent them from being competitive in the Big 12.
9. Texas Tech (4-1)
Texas Tech was undefeated going into its fifth game. As bigger challenges came, the Cowboys ran into a road block. The team had no answer for Oklahoma and must respond soon when it hosts West Virginia this weekend.
10. Kansas (1-4)
Kansas has had little fortune this season. Despite being competitive in the first half this season, the Jayhawks have struggled in the second half, falling behind against their opponents. Charlie Weis is trying to get his players to be competitive for four quarters, but it hasn't shown on the field.
FOOTBALL
Week 7 Big 12 Predictions
FARZIN VOUSOUGHIAN
fvousoughiian@kansan.com
NO. 13 OKLAHOMA 3-1 (1-1) VS.
NO. 15 TEXAS 4-1 (1-1)
Oklahoma and Texas have suffered a loss in the Big 12 earlier this season. Following Saturday's match in Dallas, Texas, one of the two squads will fall to 1-2 in the conference and neither team will be content with that.
David Ash is having an impressive sophomore season for Texas. His top receiver has been Jaxon Shipley, who has 22 catches for 250 yards and four touchdowns on the year. Expect Ash to find Shipley against Oklahoma's defense. He will also try and spread the ball out a little bit more to other pass catchers. But Ash can also fall back to the running game. Joe Bergeron has played lights out in the last two games for the Longhorns, scoring six touchdowns in goal-line situations.
Oklahoma's offense can keep up with Texas in this game. Landry Jones has thrown for seven touchdowns and two interceptions this year. Jones only has one receiver who he consistently throws to in Kenny Stills. Stills leads all pass-catchers on the team in receptions, yards and touchdowns by a large margin. Damien Williams has played well this year, rushing for 341 yards and five touchdowns. But the Longhorns defense might be too much and that will put pressure on Jones and the Sooners passing game.
Texas hasn't played top-notch defense this year, but with the second turnover margin in the conference, that might slow down Oklahoma and allow Texas to find its way to victory.
Toyne wine 22-17
NO. 5 WEST VIRGINIA 5-0 (2-0) VS. TEXAS TECH 4-1 (1-1)
West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith has played incredibly well this season, putting up 24 touchdowns on the year with no interceptions. Stedman Bailey has been his biggest target all year, but Smith has distributed the ball to all of his teammates on offense to find big numbers for the team.
Seth Doege has played well under center for Texas Tech this year. Even last week was the first time he did not throw a touchdown pass this season, he can rebound this week against a West Virginia defense with lots of holes. The Mountaineers allowed 108 points in the last two weeks.
But Texas Tech has not done a good job of securing the football this season, which means West Virginia may dodge some bullets and eventually collect a couple of takeaways to make a difference in this game.
West Virginia wins, 42-31
NO. 6 KANSAS STATE 5-0 (2-0) VS. IOWA STATE
4-1 (1-1)
But Iowa State can catch its opponents by surprise if the defense comes together. The only difference will be is that Iowa State has to do so against a tougher team. Iowa State's scoring offense is ninth in the Big 12. With Kansas State also one of the top scoring defensive teams in the Big 12, Iowa State may find trouble finding the end zone this Saturday.
Kansas State wins, 38-13
Kansas State was challenged early by Kansas last week, but found a way to overcome some hurdles and kept its composure. If Kansas State finds itself in the same predicament at halftime, coach Bill Snyder knows how to prepare his players for a better second half. The Wildcats top 10 rushing attack won't have any issues against the Cyclones.
Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein is making sure that his teammates don't take Iowa State lately. The Cyclones started their first five games with a 4-1 record.
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TEXAS CHRISTIAN 4-1 (1-1) VS. BAYLOR 3-1 (0-1)
Baylor is ranked first in the nation in passing yards and second in points scored. Quarterback Nick Florence has thrown for 16 touchdowns on the year, which helped Baylor come into this week with tied second for most touchdown passes among all Big 12 teams. Florence has found three different players with at least three or more touchdown receptions.
TCU has to try to figure out how to get quarterback Trevone Boykin to play well and stay at the same pace as Baylor's offense. While receivers Brandon Carter and Josh Boyce have played well this season, it may be up to running backs Matthew Tucker and Waymun James to lead the offense, which is not ideal in a Big 12 matchup.
The Horned Frogs limitations will hurt them this week and in future games.
Most of the predictions would have gone in favor of Texas Christian. However, with the absence of quarterback Casey Pachall, either TCU's offense has to play mistake-free football or its defense must shut down Baylor. Both tasks are very challenging for coach Gary Patterson's team.
Edited by Ryan McCarthy
Baylor wins, 35-14
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NONE OF THE ABOVE.
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