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Here's this week's look at trends across the league:Rising: Oklahoma State/Baylor offense
No surprises here. Baylor and Oklahoma State will play for the right to play Oklahoma in a game later this month that could decide the South. So far, they've done it with dominating offenses that rank No. 1 and No. 2 in total offense in the league. Oklahoma State is No. 2 in the nation with 527 yards per game, and Baylor has just over 490 yards.
Last year, both offenses ranked in the bottom half of the Big 12.
Falling: Baylor/Oklahoma State time of possession
You'll hear any coach who runs a spread offense say it: Time of possession doesn't matter. Oklahoma State ranks 11th in the league (27:17 per game) in the stat, and Baylor ranks ninth (28:43 per game). Oklahoma State counters its No. 2 offense and ranks No. 113 in time of possession. The result? We could see a whole bunch of possessions on Saturday.
Rising: Texas DT Sam Acho
Texas' defense, hailed by coach Mack Brown as possibly his best ever in the preseason, has largely been a disappointment. Acho has not disappointed. He had his best performance of the year in a loss last week, making 10 tackles, including three for loss. He added a sack and forced a pair of fumbles to take the league lead, with four.
Falling: Missouri's defensive line.
It lost starting tackle Dominique Hamilton last week in the win over Oklahoma. Then it let Nebraska running back Roy Helu Jr. march right through it for a school-record 307 yards, including three touchdown runs of over 50 yards, two of which featured no Tigers getting a hand on the runner. That's a big disappointment
Rising: Offense in the North
The Big 12 is known for its offense. The best teams are the ones with defenses to match the powerful offenses, but it takes a lot of points to win in this league. Is it any coincidence that the bottom three teams in total offense, Colorado, Kansas and Iowa State are also in the bottom four of this week's power rankings, midway through conference play? I think not.
Falling: Stillwater sacks on Saturday
We saw a game two weeks ago between the two best teams in the league -- at that point -- at sacking the quarterback when Oklahoma and Missouri played. The team that protected him best, Missouri, won.
This week Oklahoma State plays Baylor and each ranks in the top two in the league at protecting the passer. Oklahoma State and Baylor have given up just nine sacks on the year each. Saturday's forecast calls for point showers.
Just a guess, but the team who breaks that trend the most effectively will win.
Random note of the week: Exactly five teams in the league have committed exactly 12 turnovers this season, a logjam for third place in the league. That ranks 31st nationally.
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