The first edition of Big 12 Power Rankings were released yesterday. Find out where the Kansas football team finished.
A 48-17 win over Missouri State put the Kansas Jayhawks in good position to start off the year. They will take on Illinois this week in a highly-anticipated Friday night showdown.
Other schools in the Big 12, however, were not as fortunate as KU. There were upsets scattered across the conference, such as Baylor’s 42-31 loss to Texas State and Texas Tech’s overtime heartbreaker.
Yesterday marked the first release of in-season Big 12 Power Rankings, which are published each week throughout the year of college football. They are assembled by each of the conference’s 14 school’s primary beat reporters. Let’s take a look at where Kansas football finished.
Kansas football in the Big 12 Power Rankings
1. Texas
2. Oklahoma
3. Kansas State
4. UCF
5. Kansas
6. Oklahoma State
7. TCU
8. Texas Tech
9. Cincinnati
10. Houston
11. Iowa State
12. BYU
13. Baylor
14. West Virginia
Some selections here certainly raised eyebrows, but they look fair for the time being. Texas overcame a slow start vs. Rice and eventually looked as dominant as they were expected to be. The Longhorns are the clear favorites to win the Big 12 in their final year before departing to the SEC.
Oklahoma and K-State at two and three looks right. UCF at four might be a bit generous, considering they played arguably the worst team at the FBS level. Then again, the teams behind them didn’t look too great, either. They are a sleeper in the Big 12.
As for Kansas football, they finished in the top five of the rankings. A game against an FCS school won’t provide much insight into the rest of the season, so this is just a placeholder for now. The team’s performance vs. Illinois will determine whether they can be considered a top-half team in the conference in 2023.
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