College Football Week 8 Stretch Run Reports: Big 12

Still in the Race: TCU (7-0, 4-0), Iowa State (5-2, 3-1), Oklahoma (6-1, 3-1), Oklahoma State (6-1, 3-1), West Virginia (5-2, 3-1), Texas (3-4, 2-2)

This league is a mess at the top, so let's start at the top of the heap with TCU. The Frogs are a mild surprise to be where they are at this point, but the title is far from theirs. TCU is coming off of a major thrashing of Kansas, and as long as they are feasting on the bottom feeders of the league, they are on good shape, and they have already knocked off the likes of Oklahoma State and West Virginia. The next three games will be telling as they play Iowa State, Texas, and Oklahoma, all in a row.
Matt Campbell's rising Iowa State to a higher level is not shocking, but the Cyclones seem to be ahead of schedule, and surpassing expectations across the board. Reality could set in just a bit over the next three games, with games coming up against TCU, at West Virginia, and Oklahoma State coming up over the next three weeks.
Oklahoma has a problem on defense, and they had to fight beyond hard to hold off Kansas State after rallying back to win. The Sooners already have a loss to Iowa State in conference play, but with the Cyclones heading into a three week wood chipper, the Sooners have the opportunity to take back 2nd place, and play in the Big 12 title game. Oklahoma gets Texas Tech this week, and still has upcoming dates with Oklahoma State, TCU, and West Virginia. The only lock is a game against Kansas.
Oklahoma State took off early, but then came back to Earth in a loss to TCU, so now the Cowboys need some help to win the conference outright. They still have a solid shot at taking that valued second spot. The schedule is still back loaded, so the Cowboys have some serious challenges coming. It starts this week at West Virginia.
Texas is a severe outside candidate here, but with 2 losses in Big 12 play, they are still hanging on. The Horns should get a boost this week against a very beatable Baylor team in Waco.

Out of the Race: Texas Tech, Kansas State, Kansas, Baylor
Coaches in Jeopardy: David Beaty, Kansas; Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech