Big 12 Power Rankings and Championship Game Pick

Nov 30, 2022 - 4:19 PM

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After a week off for Thanksgiving, Power Rankings are back for the final regular season entry. Applying the same point system as last time and applying tiebreakers based on head-to-head wins, below are how teams stand with only the championship game left to determine which team ends the year at #1. Despite TCU’s undefeated season to date, a loss to K-State would move the Wildcats into a tie with the Horned Frogs, and on tiebreakers, the Wildcats would be my top team. Yes, the teams will have split their two matchups, but K-State will have one at the biggest moment of the conference season.

Looking down the rankings, which will not change since their conference seasons are complete. I find some interesting notes. I went back and applied my simple point system to last season which you can also see below also. Texas is one surprise. Despite hoping against hope for KU to beat K-State and give them a birth in the title game, the Longhorns seem to only be slightly better than they were last season. They ended this season at 3 points, only a 2-point improvement over last season. Now those two points allowed them to rise to #4 in the rating, but the actual results on the field during the conference season were not a huge improvement.

The big drops year over year were Iowa State (-10), Oklahoma State (-10), and Oklahoma (-7). Most of that can probably be attributed to turnover at each school. Iowa State and Oklahoma State saw big turnovers in the starting lineups, and OU had both key players and coaches jump ship to try new challenges on the west coast. But it is surprising how far they fell in a sport where roaster depth rules.

Lastly, I was surprised how far a couple of teams did not move. First, Texas Tech fell one point from last year despite my perception that their results were much better. The reason for that? Their two big wins, OU and Texas, came at home. Home wins (+1) do not give you as big a bump as road wins (+2). This leads me to the second team not moving as much as I thought they would, KU. The road win over Texas last season covered two home losses. Despite not having a big ranking point change (+3), they were able to move up from 10 to 7 in the rankings, finishing the season above Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and Iowa State. In any Jayhawk fan's heart, not being last is something to relish, and to finish in front of three teams is hard to fathom.

2022 Ranking prior to Championship game:

1. TCU: 8
2. KSU: 7
3. Baylor: 6
4. Texas: 3
5. Texas Tech: 1
6. OU: 1
7. KU: 0
8. OSU: 0
9. West Virginia: -1
10. Iowa St.: -4

2021 Final Rankings:

1. Baylor: 10
2. Oklahoma State: 10
3. OU: 8
4. Iowa State: 6
5. West Virginia: 3
6. TCU: 2
7. Texas Tech: 2
8. Texas: 1
9. K-State: 1
10. KU: -3

So how do I see the championship game going? Well, TCU is essential playing at home with the game in the DFW metroplex, with a playoff spot on the line, and ESPN GameDay there to hype that game, I think K-State is in a bad spot. The spread is TCU -2.5 when I looked. I think this is a TCU win and cover. Final score: TCU 38-30.

Last Week: 1-4

Overall: 33-42-1

*Ranking points are awarded as follows:

• Home win +0
• Road win +2
• Neutral site win +1
• Neutral site loss -1
• Home loss -1
• Road loss +0