The Big 12 Conference isn't going the way many of us figured it would with Kansas State at the bottom of the league. The Wildcats aren't doing much of anything right and they're 1-4 in the Big 12 and 13-7 overall so they're pretty much out of the Big 12 title conversation. The Kansas Jayhawks are currently ranked No. 2 in the country but are now third in the Big 12 with Sunday's loss to the Texas Longhorns.
The early contenders list for a Big 12 title is Texas, Texas A&M and of course Kansas while Missouri, Baylor and Colorado are nipping at their heels.
Texas now leads the Big 12 with a 4-0 conference record and a 16-1 overall record. They beat Kansas which was the their toughest game of the year so they're probably feeling pretty good right about now. Their schedule doesn't get that much easier as they'll play Missouri on Jan. 29 and Texas A&M on Jan. 31. Those are the two key games in the remaining schedule.
Texas A&M is also putting on a solid performance this year and they're 4-1 in the Big 12, good for second place, and 17-2 overall. They've shown they're for real in the Big 12 beating Missouri already this season. Their schedule includes games against Texas (Jan. 31) and Kansas (March 2).
The Kansas Jayhawks come in third in the conference after losing Saturday's game to Texas. KU is 3-1 in the Big 12 and 18-1 overall. They've clearly shown they're one of the best teams in the country so I imagine throughout an entire season they come out on top of the Big 12. That said, they've got some tough games including two against Kansas State, two against Missouri and one against Texas A&M.
The Missouri Tigers are 3-2 in the Big 12 and 17-3 overall at this point in the year. They're tied with Baylor and Colorado in the conference. Their schedule the rest of the way includes a game against Texas (Jan. 29) and two against Kansas.
Three teams are 2-3 in the conference -- Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma -- and three teams are 1-4 in conference -- Iowa State, Kansas State, Texas Tech. K-State is by far the biggest surprise on that list as they were expected to compete for a Big 12 title before the season. Now they're in last place.
It looks like the game of the week at this point will be Missouri vs. Texas on Jan. 29. Mizzou can knock Texas off their perch or fall further away from the Big 12's elite.