Big 12 Rankings: Warning, this football is offensive...and tough

A full slate of Big 12 games on the schedule this week? Yes, please. I mean, who wouldn't want as much football as possible from a conference that has six teams in the national polls, has six of the top 11 offenses in the country (yards per game) and has EVERY one of its teams in the NCAA's top 20 in terms of toughest schedule when sorted on cumulative opposition?

Big. 12. Football. Suckers.

Now, if we could just figure out the officiating, which, at 28.6 percent (18 of 63), continues to have calls reversed by replay at a rate not seen since 2007 when 36 of 110 calls (32.7 percent) were overturned. And, at 1:39 per review, replay is taking the longest it has to review plays since 2006 (1:43 - the longest average time since the stats began being kept in 2005).

However, I digress. On to this week's well-earned rankings.

Voelker: "We're on our way there, we're on our way back"

Before the season, the Kansas State Wildcats were thought to be an imbalanced team. On paper, the offense appeared loaded, while the defense, despite adding Arthur Brown at middle linebacker and a couple of different defensive ends, appeared to offer little in terms of legitimate excitement.

Ah, but paper doesn't do a very good job at measuring cohesion, grit, instinctiveness and, as fullback Braden Wilson repeatedly said following the Baylor game, "unity."