Week 8 in the Big 12 began to reveal which teams will be contenders for the final five weeks of the regular season.
The Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns are the favorites to meet in the Big 12 title game, but several other teams are making their case.
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Big 12 play has been wild through the first half of the schedule but we’re beginning to see some separation from the contenders and the pretenders.
Here are this week’s Big 12 power rankings.
14
Cincinnati Bearcats (2-5, 0-4)
Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
Last Week: 14
This Week: Lost to Baylor 32-29
The Cincinnati Bearcats outscored the Bears 15-3 in the fourth quarter but weren’t able to put together another drive in the final minutes to force overtime.
Up Next: at Oklahoma State
13
UCF Knights (3-4, 0-4)
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: 13
This Week: Lost to Oklahoma 31-29
UCF gave Oklahoma everything they could handle on Saturday, but the Sooners came with the game-tying stop at the end.
Up Next: vs. West Virginia
12
Baylor Bears (3-4, 2-2)
Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
Last Week: 12
This Week: Beat Cincinnati 32-29
Blake Shapen threw for 300 yards and a touchdown but allowed Cincinnati to run for 288 yards at 6.7 yards per carry. Despite the win, the defense is still a problem.
Up Next: vs. Iowa State
11
Houston Cougars (3-4, 1-3)
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: 11
This Week: Lost to Texas 31-24
Houston was so close to taking this game to overtime. The Cougars were on the wrong end of a controversial spot that turned what should have been 1st and goal inside the 10 to 4th and 1. They were unable to convert and Texas survived the scare.
Up Next: at Kansas State
10
TCU Horned Frogs (4-4, 2-3)
Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: 8
This Week: Lost to Kansas State 41-3
This season hasn’t gone according to plan for the TCU Horned Frogs, but this is rock bottom. After John Hoover lit up Houston for 400 yards and four touchdowns, the Wildcats held him to 187 yards and an interception at 4.6 yards per attempt.
Up Next: Bye Week
9
Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-5, 2-3)
Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: 9
This Week: Lost to BYU 27-14
Texas Tech struggled to get anything done offensively. Quarterback health is the story of the season for the Red Raiders, and they were on their third starter of the year against BYU.
Up Next: Bye Week
8
BYU Cougars (5-2, 2-2)
Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: 10
This Week: Beat Texas Tech 27-14
BYU’s defense came away with three interceptions and held Texas Tech’s rushing attack to just 3.6 yards per carry. Can they take that kind of defensive effort on the road when they face Texas?
Up Next: at Texas
7
West Virginia Mountaineers (4-3, 2-2)
Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: 6
This Week: Lost to Oklahoma State
West Virginia has now lost two in a row in Big 12 play after starting the conference schedule with wins over Texas Tech and TCU. The Mountaineers will get another tough test next week at UCF.
Up Next: at UCF
6
Kansas State Wildcats (5-2, 3-1)
Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: 7
This Week: Beat TCU 41-3
Kansas State rebounded from their touchdown loss to Oklahoma State with two big wins over Texas Tech and TCU. The Wildcats ran for 343 yards in the blowout win over TCU.
Up Next: vs. Houston
5
Kansas Jayhawks, (5-2, 2-2)
Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: 5
This Week: Bye Week
The Jayhawks are looking to build off of their big win over UCF when they host the Oklahoma Sooners in week 9.
Up Next: vs. Oklahoma
4
Oklahoma State Cowboys (5-2, 3-1)
Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: 4
This Week: Beat West Virginia 48-34
The Oklahoma State Cowboys have now won three straight and thrust themselves into the Big 12 title mix with a win over West Virginia.
Up Next: vs. Cincinnati
3
Iowa State Cyclones (4-3, 3-1)
Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
Last Week: 3
This Week: Bye Week
Though the Cyclones were off, they hold the third spot based on their win over Oklahoma State. With the way the Cowboys are playing, that could change.
Up Next: at Baylor
2
Texas Longhorns (6-1, 3-1)
Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: 2
This Week: Beat Houston 31-24
Like Oklahoma, the Texas Longhorns got everything they could handle from the Houston Cougars. A controversial spot on a 3rd down run led to a fourth and inches which Texas was able to stop to preserve the win.
Up Next: vs. BYU
1
Oklahoma Sooners (7-0, 4-0 Big 12)
Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
Last Week: 1
This Week: Beat UCF 31-29
It wasn’t pretty, but the Sooners hung on to get the win over a tough UCF squad.