Ten poor blokes – players and coaches alike – feeling the heat in the Big 12 as the 2009 season approaches. (The order’s alphabetical, Mizzou fans).

Blaine Gabbert, Missouri QB: Gary Pinkel’s already set the bar at Chase Daniel, ca. 2006. So Gabbert’s gotta play at least that well. Thing is, he could be much better than that.

Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State Coach: He’s got the hair, the new football facility, the TV sound byte, the skill players and a billionaire watching over his program. For now. If OSU lays an egg vs. Georgia that opening weekend, let the sirens in Stillwater wail.

Cody Hawkins, Colorado QB: Is this kid going to start again? Is the Big Mac special sauce really just diluted thousand island dressing? So, on Hawkins’ shoulders goes the follow: A brand new offense, a punchless receiving corps and, frankly, dad’s head coaching job. As Cody goes, so do the Buffaloes. The question now is: Is the kid Jacob or Esau?

Dan Hawkins, Colorado coach: Ten wins. No excuses. Read his lips.

Zac Lee, Nebraska QB: Lee has more physical talent than any Nebraska quarterback since Eric Crouch. Time to strap in, harness it into good decision and, for the love of Herbie, stay healthy.

Colt McCoy, Texas QB: Another season of gunslingin’ in Austin without half of Sam Bradford’s prodigious weapons. McCoy basically has to be the gingerbread man for the third straight year. If you don’t root for this kid, you’re swallowing yard cuttings. And considering head coach Mack Brown sent McCoy to every news outlet in the free world this summer, there is pressure, albeit of a different kind, to live up to all of those appearances, plus his 2008 season.

Taylor Potts, Texas Tech QB: Has to be on the list, although Mike Leach’s track record shows he can plug any old dude in there. But Potts doesn’t want to be the first to falter.

Ryan Reynolds, Oklahoma LB: Since Sooner fans basically chalked up the Texas loss to Reynolds’ injury, his return is supposed to solidify a leaky pass defense, end the war for conflict diamonds, reverse the Santa Ana winds…you get the picture.

Mike Sherman, Texas A&M coach: How many guys take the Callahan method and apply to a tradition-rich program, thereby sending said program to an inexplicably bad season. This guy does.


Daniel Thomas, Kansas State RB/Wildcat QB: The guy’s about as big as Hagrid with Johnny B. Goode’s arm. On top of that, the kid was under the “will he qualify” thunderstorm watch for much of the summer. Much is expected, quickly, of Thomas, an unusual talent who rises out of a Mississippi JUCO like…OK, enough similes.

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Mike Gundy breezed into the Big 12 Media Days Monday looking like a lawyer out of a Sydney Pollack movie or something. Light grey suit, purple tie, a little pocket blush to match.

Let his 15 minutes begin.

It’s Gundy’s Oklahoma State crew who goes on the clock in 2009 as the hot upstart team in the Big 12, and it was OSU that got the most attention – just slightly more than Nebraska and Texas A&M - on day one.

The Cowboys have arguably their biggest non-conference game in history on opening weekend, hosting Georgia. Gundy, whose spiky hair can sometimes match his demeanor, was all smiles and business on Monday.

“Oklahoma State is better off now as a football than we’ve ever been,” Gundy said. “Because of where we’re at, the continuity we have and the new facility we have and the direction we’re going. But we’ve got to earn it.”

Gundy fielded questions of all kinds, but two subjects came up the most: Zac Robinson and that last richly-paid assistant that’s supposed to put OSU over the top, defensive coordinator Bill Young.

“He’s mature, confident,” Gundy said. “He’s been great for us in the staff room. He’s a great hire for us. The players like him. They’ll adapt to the system.”

Gundy added Young’s defense will fit his talented trio of linebackers “to a T.”

***

Best story of the day had to go to A&M Coach Mike Sherman, who was watching football games on Thanksgiving weekend – depressed, since his Aggies had just finished a losing season by getting hammered by Colt McCoy and Texas – when his 9-year-old daughter plopped down in his lap, sensing her daddy’s sadness.

Sherman expected to hear those three magic words.

He heard three words, all right.

“She said ‘Daddy, get over it,’” Sherman said to a media room of laughter.

And so Sherman has tried. Sounding a great deal like former Nebraska coach Bill Callahan, Sherman, an offensive line guru and former NFL coach, too, said the Aggies struggled in 2008 in large part because of…wait for it…the transition to a West Coast Style offense.

“You have to put it on me, the transition part of it,” Sherman said. “It didn’t go as well as we had hoped.”

But the adversity of a 4-8 season, Sherman said, “brought the team closer together.” In the spring, A&M finally started acting like a “a team that competed in practice every day.”

As if this didn’t happen under Dennis Franchione, apparently. Isn’t that always the way?

In a Callahanesque manner, Sherman pointed to his most recent recruiting class “as a stimulus package of our own, so to speak,” especially along the offensive line, where the Aggies played hurt and hobbled throughout 2008.

***

Iowa State Coach Paul Rhoads was practically jumping out of his skin with passion at his first Media Days as head coach. Rhoads, a native Iowan whose “mom and dad live 20 minutes” from Jack Trice Stadium, is trying to resurrect, once again, an ISU program from the ashes of an awful season. In 2008, it was an ugly 2-10 campaign that saw the Cyclones lose their last ten games of the year.

Rhoads previously worked under Dan McCarney at ISU in the late 1990s, so he’s seen one coach do it. And Iowa State, in terms of facilities and player development, is well ahead of where it was back then.

“We used have every practice outside in some awful weather,” Rhoads said, and he’s probably not complaining. Trice is set up like a wind tunnel, and, past October, the practice conditions are somewhere close to frigid.

As far as expectations, Rhoads won’t put a win total on it. Good idea. He may want to forego that next year, too, when Oklahoma and Texas move onto the schedule.

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In preparation for Big 12 Media Days, Husker Locker will be counting down and breaking down each of the teams in the conference. We hope you view this series as more interesting, comprehensive and definitive than what you may find elsewhere. Where we can make strong takes – we will.

We rank the teams 12 to 1 in overall strength. Then we’ll provide for you the North/South breakdown – and the preseason All Big 12 team, as well.

Enjoy!

Today: Texas A&M

Coach:Mike Sherman
2008 Record: 4-8

What’s Changed Since 2008:A&M’s in a big feud with Texas Tech over comments Mike Leach made about former A&M QB Stephen McGee, the heat’s been turned up a little more on Sherman, and the entire team has another spring of experience in this modified NFL system. The Aggies weren’t very good in 2008, and they probably won’t be in 2009, either. Chalk it up to transition and the overall difficulty of the Big 12 South.

2009 Non-Conference Schedule: The first three opponents, New Mexico, UAB and Utah State, are figured to be reprobates in 2009 – UNM is probably staring down the gun barrel of an 0-12 season - but that didn’t stop A&M from dumping a game to Arkansas State last year. The fourth game is a tilt with old SWC foe Arkansas at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium. We expect the Razorbacks to be much improved this year, and win the game in JerryWorld.

2009 Conference Schedule: Trips to Oklahoma and Texas Tech are probably losses. A&M hosts Texas, Oklahoma and Baylor. The mini-slate of Big 12 North squads is pretty favorable, with winnable games at Kansas State and Colorado and a home date with Iowa State. The Baylor game, if A&M’s record is what we think it will be around that time, may determine whether Mike Sherman has a job in 2010.

Offense: Pro-style/West Coast Offense
Coordinator:Nolan Cromwell, a long-time disciple of Mike Holmgren, under whom he coached from 1992-2008. Holmgren’s WCO likes to feature two backs when it can, prefers to operate from under center and use play-action and can, with the right offensive line and running back, be a quite effective rushing offense. Expect toss plays and zone plays. Like most WCOs, there is typically a smaller back and a bigger one. The receivers are usually big. And the tight end has a defined, significant role. A&M incorporated most of that in 2008.

Strength:The receiving corps, which includes tight end Jamie McCoy. They’re all uniformly big targets for QB Jarrod Johnson. The best of the bunch is backup QB Ryan Tannehill, who has an NFL future at the position, and caught 55 passes for 844 yards and five touchdowns as a true freshman. He’s a reliable guy, and can make the big grab downfield. But Tannehill will compete for the QB job, and Sherman doesn’t necessarily want to use the guy at WR. Why? For fear of injury. This, and A&M is bringing in two top-notch QB recruits in 2010. Foolishness.

Weakness:The offensive line returns all five starters. Just one hitch: They weren’t very good last year, giving up 39 sacks and only producing 89 rushing yards per game. The WCO is too controlled a passing offense to win games by itself. At quarterback, Johnson is fair. You see the 2,435 yards and 21 touchdown and presume something, but remember how awful the Big 12 as a whole was on defense in 2008. He had a pretty paltry 6.2 yards per adjusted pass average. That’s pretty low. That’s also the WCO.

Defense: 3-4/multiple front
Coordinator: Joe Kines, who’s been to a lot of schools before A&M, most notably Alabama for four seasons with David Shula. Kines is a riverboat gambler, a chess player, a guy who likes to put offenses in matchups they don’t like. Well, none of it worked last year, as A&M gave up 462 yards per game and 37.4 Was it just the personnel? Nah, not solely that. A&M’s defense often looked bewildered in coverage, and too small and overmatched at the point of attack. Kines committed to using a base 3-4 in spring ball with a “jack” linebacker serving as a potential rusher, run stopper, or cover guy.

Strength: The best player on the defense is either Matt Featherston or Von Miller; they’ll be “jacks” in 2009 And, at the very least, the 3-4 gives you some flexibility. Anything has to be better than last year.

Weakness: The defensive line is just small, it replaces three starters, and a 3-4 defense doesn’t work properly, in this day and age, without a 300-pound hoss at nose tackle. A&M doesn’t have that guy, so you’re asking a lot of those linebackers, especially in playaction. Unless Kines can scheme the opponents’ every move in the running game, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence that A&M can stop the run.

Special Teams New punter Ryan Epperson is a walk-on freshman, but that doesn’t mean much; kickers often are. Sophomore Kicker Randy Bullock got off to a nice start in 2008, making 6 of 7 field goals. As a freshman, Cyrus Gray was an excellent kicker returner, averaging 24 yards and scoring a touchdown. Of course, he got about four chances a game at it, too.

Intangibles: For A&M’s overall athletic program, it’s been a pretty good two years. For the football program, it’s been close to a disaster. AD Bill Byrne and Sherman have both gotten bad press, and some Aggies fans are crying foul over the exorbitant prices for the JerryWorld game. This is a team that can’t afford an early slip-up. A&M could, theoretically, roll into a Nov. 21 game vs. Baylor looking to clinch a bowl berth. Baylor probably will be, too. While Kyle Field is a wonderful stadium, it's difficulty on opposing teams is a tad overrated. Think about it: If you made the same noise for three hours, wouldn't you get used to it? It's like eyes adjusting to the dark.

Best-Case Scenario: A&M rides a comfy non-conference and Big 12 North schedule to a 7/8 win season. The “jack” entertains all. The offense develops a running game.

Worst-Case Scenario: Sherman is fired after A&M dumps a game to Baylor on its home field. The Aggies finish with another 4-8 record.

Our Take: We’re not convinced the new defense takes hold completely, but it does stop some of the bleeding. We see the offense remaining a bit stagnant: Efficient one game, and brutal the next. We expect the Baylor game to be for a bowl berth, and considering we have Baylor ranked higher on this list, we expect the Bears to win.

See other Big 12 Breakdowns: No. 12 ISU, No. 11 A&M, No. 10 CU, No. 9 BU, No. 8 KU, No. 7 KSU, No. 6 Texas Tech

Agree? Disagree?Tell us about it.

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Periodically throughout the summer, we'll be offering some insights on the national college football scene, both through our burning questions, and through top and bottom five lists.

See the entire archive here.

Today: Five Known Coaches on the Hot Seat

Steve Spurrier, South Carolina: We’ve already chronicled the Ol Ball Coach’s team as one of those ready to take a tumble, and we think Spurrier’s ripe for a year-round stint on the golf course, too.

Speaking of golf, imagine the SEC as the lounge of a semi-swank country club. These are football coaches, after all. Their tastes aren’t that refined.

See that guy in the Tiger Woods gear, with the shades perched on his gelled tips, gritting his teeth over the two bogeys he made during his scratch round? That’s Urban Meyer. The guy in the corner, bleating loudly into his cell phone? Lane Kiffin. The guy hitting on the cart girl as she reloads beer? Houston Nutt. The guy at the snack counter debating whether he should splurge for the frozen Snickers? Mark Richt. The guy getting the biggest laughs in the room, half in the bag and ready to play nine more? Les Miles. The small, Napoleonic club pro who’s straightening the sleeves of Titlelists in the next room? Nick Saban.

Steve Spurrier is the guy over by the TV, dressed in a four-year-old Antigua polo with the three-quarter sleeves and pleated slacks, hair stuck to his forehead by sweat, thumbing through year-old Golf Digests trying to “Reclaim Your Putting Stroke!”

His humor isn’t funny anymore. His offense is no longer on the cutting edge. And, most importantly, he doesn’t coach Florida anymore. The SEC is now either a younger man’s game, that of a borderline pigskin sociopath like Saban or whatever they do at Kentucky and Vandy. Spurrier is none of those things. Either he heads for the Pac 10, or he flings that visor into the sunset.

Dennis Erickson, Arizona State: Boy, the Sun Devils sure were smart to run Bruce Snyder out of town, huh? Erickson’s not an awful coach, per se; we just wonder if he’s been so many places and coached so many teams that he can really be invested in the long-term success of ASU. His teams, talented enough, don’t play like it.

Bobby Bowden, Florida State: It’s a little sad what’s happened to this kind, funny coach. He could have walked away so many times. Why’d he stay in the game, fielding mediocre teams full of miscreants and cheaters? Bowden hasn’t had a decent quarterback in nearly a decade – FSU QBs haven’t completed 60 percent of their passes in a season for the last eight years – his offensive lines have been abysmal, his receivers lightning rods for the wasted talent bug.

Dan Hawkins, Colorado: The “Hawk” hasn’t turned a buck in Boulder, and he’s been saddled with the decision of recruiting his own son, Cody Hawkins, to play the team’s quarterback. Now, let’s be clear: Cody Hawkins isn’t a bad quarterback. He’s not a charity case. This isn’t nepotism. But he can only take this team so far, and it should not be a coincidence that CU has struggled to land a top-flight QB in Daddy Hawkins’ tenure at CU.

As long as Cody Hawkins is the QB, Colorado doesn’t win 10 games. The Buffs may not win six this year. And, if Dan Hawkins really means “no excuses,” it’ll be time for the CU administration to flush.

Mike Sherman, Texas A&M: Absolutely not kidding with this one. While we expect the Aggies to get off to a 3-0 start, we don’t expect them to win more than two games from that point forward. And if A&M loses to Iowa State and finishes on a 7/8-game losing streak, you’ll see Bill Byrne, who is typically reluctant, pulling the trigger. It’s not like he’s Mr. Popular down in College Station at this very moment. And if A&M were to lose to, say UAB? Immediate execution watch. The Aggie faithful won’t put up with it. And there are plenty of good candidates right in the Big 12 (ahem, Shawn Watson?) from which to choose.

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In light of Bo Pelini’s new contract at Nebraska, we decided to review the coveted coaching jobs in the Big 12 Conference and determine, top to bottom, which job was hardest and which was easiest.

We decided to eschew “best” and “worst” in part because that debate automatically thrusts Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska to the top of the list and schools like Baylor and Iowa State to the bottom, based on sheer tradition.

Rather, we decided to take a bold stab at figuring out which jobs – perks and warts combined – were the kind coaches could tackle with enthusiasm and effort, and which jobs needed, shall we say, a bit more than that. Like a few a well-placed prayers to the pigskin karma saints.

Our list goes from easiest to hardest, and takes into account five categories:

Recruiting Base/Interest
Administrative/Booster Support
Media/Fan Expectation
Chance of “Success”
An “X” factor

Today, we run down we deem to be the six easiest jobs in the Big 12. Tomorrow, the sixth toughest.

And as we count them down, know this: None of them are what you’d call “easy.” All take 60-hour workweeks, strength, smarts, stamina and personality.

One other thing…the list partially takes into account who’s coaching the program, which, in the case of Kansas State’s Bill Snyder, frankly, makes the job easier than it would have been for Snyder’s predecessor, Ron Prince, or whoever follows Snyder.

On with the countdown!

No. 12 KANSAS

Head Coach: Mark Mangino. Compensation: $2.3 millon per year, with tons of performance bonuses. Mangino gets five grand just for beating Nebraska, for example. For every game televised on ESPN that KU wins, Mangino scores ten grand.

Recruiting Base: KU has direct access to the best talent in Kansas City and Wichita, along with reasonable access to the second-tier prospects in Oklahoma. The Jayhawk State is also home to many of the Midwest’s best junior college football programs. Mangino still plucks his share of players out of Texas – that’s one of the secrets to his success – but there are more home-grown kids to choose from, too.

Administrative/Booster Support: For football, it’s better than ever, after KU finished a $33 million football complex in 2008. Basketball will always be king in Lawrence, but football is being embraced like never before.

Media/Fan Expectation: Tempered by the hulking monolith that is the basketball program, KU football is expected to compete for the Big 12 North trophy and beat its rivals, Missouri and Kansas State. Beyond that? Gravy. At least a quarter of the Big 12 programs would like a national title in the next decade. If that doesn’t happen at Kansas, nobody is losing sleep over it.

Chance of “Success”: Mangino has upped the ante and created his own success story. Still – “success” at KU is defined by eight, nine wins a year, a solid bowl game, and win over Mizzou. Would many Kansas fans have considered 2008 a “down” year? Following 2007, yes, it was. Overall? It was quite good by historical Jayhawks standards.

X Factor: Kansas football is not, and never will be, the flagship sports program in Lawrence. Outside of possibly Iowa State, it’d be hard to claim that about anywhere else right now.

No. 11 OKLAHOMA

Head Coach: Bob Stoops Compensation: Around $6 million. This includes a $3 million lump sum Stoops received recently for his tenth anniversary as OU coach and bonuses he earned last year.

Recruiting Base: It’s national, really, but Oklahoma does most of its damage at home and in Texas, routinely plucking great players from both states. Some years, OU outperforms Texas for coveted players in the Lone Star State. Stoops is a good recruiter, sure, but he resides in and near the land of milk and honey, too.

Administrative/Booster Support: Very strong. Stoops has the full support of the old guard (guys like Barry Switzer) and his athletic director, Joe Castiglione, is a proactive standout in his field. As far as facilities go, we’ll take Nebraska’s swank spread of OU’s ten-year-old digs, but the Sooners want for very little. Stoops has all the tradition, support and booster bucks he wants. He’s created a lot of success, yes. He’s also been given a lot to create it with.

Media/Fan Expectation: They’re high. Very high. But they’re not lunatic high, like they are at certain SEC programs, and the fans aren’t fickle, like they are at Texas. Sooner fans want to win. Stoops does win. But he’s not required to be a messiah (again: see the SEC).

Chance of “Success:” OU has every advantage in this regard. It’s one of the great programs, and has been since Bud Wilkinson. There’s talent. There’s tradition. There’s reasonably warm weather for recruiting purposes.

“X” Factor: Stoops’ recent run of losses in bowl games makes fan groan a little. Not that they want him to go anywhere.

No. 10 TEXAS

Head Coach: Mack Brown Compensation: Around $3 million.

Recruiting Base: None better. The best talent in the state of Texas. And most of them are rounded up by the end of spring football. UT’s recruiting budget must be equal to the military budget of Albania.

Administrative/Booster Support: Some would call DeLoss Dodds the nation’s most powerful athletic director. He’s sure one of them. In defense of Brown, he’s done a really good job winning back his share of boosters after the long, dark period after Darryl Royal retired. Then again, it was Brown’s predecessor, John Mackovic, who got the unpleasant job of bluntly telling those boosters UT’s facilities were woefully out of date. Brown walked into a better situation than Mackovic left when he was fired.

Media/Fan Expectation: We know some Texas fans, and, outside of rubbing OU’s nose in it, the goals are sometimes fuzzy. UT will cherish Vince Young and the national title he won for the Longhorns for the next century. But do they blame Brown for the one loss that blemished an otherwise terrific 2008? Success doesn’t always bring out the fans anyway, as witnessed by the occasional empty seats in UT’s stadium.

Chance of “Success”: Right up there with OU. Texas has all the advantages. At this point, any number of coaches – say, Will Muschamp – could be plugged into that job and coast on fumes for five years.

“X” Factor: The University of Texas has more beautiful women on its campus than any other in America, in one of the nation’s best college towns. It helps.

No. 9 KANSAS STATE

Head Coach: Bill Snyder Compensation: 1.85 million

Recruiting Base: The same as Kansas, except that Snyder leans much more heavily on the JUCOs.

Administrative/Booster Support: Basically, Snyder will get the “Joe Gibbs” treatment. He’s already performed “The Miracle in Manhattan” and if he carves out a modicum of success, any setbacks will just be blamed on Ron Prince’s three years at KSU. Snyder runs that town, and he’ll make darn sure the Wildcats schedule three or four wins per year.

Fan/Media Expectations: A respectable program. Coaches who don’t have to run stadium stairs.

Chance of “Success”: Pretty good, if 7-5 is the standard, and we don’t really see Kansas State doing much better than that in whatever time Snyder chooses to put into this second act.

“X” Factor: Snyder will need one year, and maybe two, to clean up the mess Prince left behind. And he won’t have Stoops and Mangino to help him do it.

No. 8 TEXAS A&M

Head coach: Mike Sherman Compensation: $1.8 million

Recruiting base: The central/southern part Texas seems pretty sweet to us. The Aggies make a killing in NASA country (that’s Houston). A&M probably draws a little too much talent from a 100-mile radius, for that matter.

Administrative/Booster Support: Aggies are plenty competitive, and will spend top dollar to win in almost every sport. Athletic director Bill Byrne is no less competitive, even if his zeal in the past, including at Nebraska, was for non-revenue sports that could inch him closer to a Sears Directors Trophy. Still – at A&M, excellence is the standard. Another season like 2008, and Sherman might be gone very soon.

Fan/Media Expectation: For a solid decade, A&M was the premier program in Texas. Getting there again is a top priority, and it’s not completely out of the question, either. The Longhorns are due for a dry spell. Oklahoma, on other hand…we don’t see the Sooners going anywhere. The fans at A&M are terrific. The closest to Nebraska fans, in fact.

Chance of “Success”: Ten wins, a Big 12 South crown and bragging rights over UT are a lot to ask for right now. Maybe a little too much to ask. But the Aggies are committed, support is entrenched, and the area talent is rich. This is fertile ground for winning. Sherman has no excuses, really, because Dennis Franchione didn’t exactly run the program into the ground.

“X” Factor: A&M is making the painful transition from option zone read to West Coast Offense with a former NFL coach. Ask Nebraska how well that turned out.

No. 7 TEXAS TECH

Head Coach: Mike Leach Compensation: $2.3 million

Recruiting Base: Leach has made inroads into central and the Texas Panhandle to go along with the football-rich region of West Texas.

Booster/Administrative Support: It’s no great secret that Leach and his athletic director aren’t great chums. But Leach won the war of public opinion in a recent contract dispute, and let’s just say wasn’t the proletariat that turned the tide, but the Tech bourgeoisie. The Red Raiders just finished a $84 million renovation to Jones Stadium.

Media/Fan Expectation: Leach seems to win eight every year – 11 in 2008 – and fans don’t seem too riled up if he can’t win the big games, which he rarely does. He’s brought more publicity to Lubbock than anyone since Buddy Holly. Yeah, even more than Bob Knight.They love the big pirate-lovin lug.

Chance of “Success:” Every four years or so, Tech might be able to climb that national title mountain like it did in 2008. Otherwise, since fans seem content with nine wins and a fun offense each year – and the Wes Welkers and Michael Crabtrees of the world are still willing to enroll – chances are pretty good, we’d say.

“X” Factor: Leach makes this job easier for himself, because Leach is Texas Tech. We pity, really, the coach who must follow him.

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No. 1 Texas (7-0 overall, 3-0 in the Big 12, Beat Missouri 56-31) The Longhorns continue their streak of being scary good after the Oklahoma game; the Tigers were the victim this time. UT’s true strength is a devastatingly good defensive front four that dominates every opposing offensive line’s run blocking and renders a foe completely one-dimensional. The Horns will be hard to beat from here on out, and if UT keeps coasting, you have to ask yourself: Is Mack Brown now among the best coaches in college football? Is he the best?


No. 2 Oklahoma (6-1, 2-1, Beat Kansas 45-24) OU hasn’t lost a Big 12 home game in almost seven years. Think Nebraska has a chance in a couple weeks? Me neither. The Sooners’ offense really is breathtaking, awesome in just about every way. The line could play, as a whole, in the NFL and hold its own against the worst teams. The receivers can run after the catch. The running backs put their heads down and ram into piles. And quarterback Sam Bradford is like a point guard at Duke or North Carolina – he lets the game come to him.


No. 3 Oklahoma State (7-0, 3-0, Beat Baylor 34-6) OSU can’t pat itself on the back yet, even though this just might be the best Cowboy team in history. Presumably Coach Mike Gundy, who led a great Poke squad in 1988, understands that, like Missouri in 2007, this might be Stillwater’s “moment.” A win at Texas – unlikely, but possible – would change a lot of things in the BCS.


No. 4 Texas Tech (7-0, 3-0, Beat Texas A&M 43-25) The Red Raiders have the same old problem – their defense. It’s gonna kill them soon. It should have against Nebraska.


No. 5 Missouri (5-2, 1-2, Lost to Texas 56-31) Remember all that talk about the Big 12 North finally competing with the Big 12 South on the consistent basis? Bunk. Mizzou was overmatched, and head coach Gary Pinkel isn’t smart enough to save his defense a little confidence for the rest of the season, so he cheerfully sends Chase Daniel in the second half to rack up meaningless points and yards, forcing Texas to do the same. The only real loser in the second half? The Tigers’ defense.


No. 6 Kansas (5-2, 2-1, Lost to Oklahoma 45-31) KU’s magic is gone. The defense is inconsistent, and too much is put on the shoulders of Todd Reesing, forcing him to make bad decisions, like the two interceptions he threw against OU. Kansas should be favored over Texas Tech, but the Jayhawks could, conceivably, win only one more game this year.


No. 7 Nebraska (4-3, 1-2, Beat Iowa State 35-7) The gulf between NU and KU is pretty small and it may disappear completely if the Huskers’ offense continues to rack up 550 yards a game.


No. 8 Baylor (3-4, 1-2, Lost to Oklahoma State 34-6) Still think the Bears are better than the bottom teams in the Big 12 North. The running game and defense need work.


No. 9 Colorado (4-3, 1-2, Beat Kansas State 14-13) Year three of the CU rebuilding project under Dan Hawkins seems a little behind on offense, and more or less on schedule on defense. The Buffaloes will put up a good fight, maybe even slip into a bowl game. We’ll see.


No. 10 Kansas State (4-3, 1-2, Lost to Colorado 14-13) Missed opportunity in Boulder. KSU is the epitome of a bad team – something else goes wrong every week.


No. 11 Iowa State (2-5, 0-3, Lost to Nebraska 35-7) Truth is, the Cyclones play pretty hard, with spirit and aggression. Having seen them up close, though, the talent just isn’t there. Especially on offense.


No. 12 Texas A&M (2-5, 0-3, Lost to Texas Tech 43-25) Fire Mike Sherman.

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No. 1 Texas (6-0 overall, 2-0 in the Big 12, Beat Oklahoma 45-35) The Longhorns are, for now, the league’s most complete team, led by the league’s best-named quarterback Colt McCoy. McCoy made several crucial plays in the win over OU, converting third downs into first downs with his arm and legs. UT’s defense struggles a little against skilled passing attacks, but the Sooners quickly abandoned the running game because it was having little success.


Remember this game, folks. This could be the moment when Texas officially surpasses Oklahoma as the premier program in the Big 12. UT has won 3 of the last 6 meetings and it has been better in bowl games. Stoops has run this league for eight years. His reign might just be over.


No. 2 Oklahoma State (6-0, 2-0 Beat Missouri 28-23) Surprise, surprise – it was the Cowboys’ talented-but-maligned defense, not their offense, that secured the biggest OSU victory in, well, some time. Oklahoma State’s offense is indeed diverse, and running back Kendall Hunter is absolutely the league’s best. But that defense has two or three athletes that Nebraska simply lacks. That’s the difference between Chase Daniel coasting along in Lincoln, and getting flushed and frustrated at home.


No. 3 Oklahoma (5-1, 1-1, Lost to Texas 45-35) The Sooners have their terrible defensive game out of their system. Now it’s time to head to Kansas, where the Jayhawks run a strikingly similar offense and boast a fairly stingy defense. Once again, OU Coach Bob Stoops revealed his relative lack of belief in his own defense to stop an opponent when he tried a fake punt. At some point, one must ask: Why does Oklahoma, with arguably the most talent in college football, consistently have a “meltdown” game year after year?


No. 4 Missouri (5-1, 1-1, Lost to Oklahoma State 28-23) What has to kill the Tigers is that OSU didn’t play near its best game on offense. Nope, Mizzou lost this puppy all on its own, as quarterback Chase Daniel came out cold and forced too many balls in the second half. This game was a monumental choke by Daniel and Missouri’s “unstoppable” offense. But the Tigers aren’t out of it; beat Texas this week (and it is possible) and Mizzou puts itself right back in the national championship conversation.


No. 5 Texas Tech (6-0, 2-0, Beat Nebraska 37-31) Same old Red Raiders, relying on smoke, mirrors and a few whacky West Texas plays to mask over a smallish, undisciplined defense. Tech has a whole fleet of offensive weapons, though. I was especially impressed with slippery running back Baron Batch. Graham Harrell’s not bad, but if you put pressure on him, he’ll screw up.


No. 6 Kansas (5-1, 2-0, Beat Colorado 30-14) KU’s won two games it was supposed to win. Neither were very pretty, but the Jayhawks did begin to find their running game against the Buffs, as junior Jake Sharp went over 100 yards on the ground. Todd Reesing’s still Todd Reesing, which means Kansas is never out of a game. Even against Oklahoma.


No. 7 Baylor (3-3, 1-1, Beat Iowa State 38-10) In truth, Nebraska played well enough to inhabit this spot – until Baylor put a major number on a game Cyclones bunch. ISU probably suffered a letdown after two heartbreaking losses and quarterback Phillip Bates quitting the team, but, still – BU quarterback Robert Griffin is ahead of the breakneck pace Vince Young set a few years ago. And Griffin is in the right offense. Baylor has a real shot at a bowl game.


No. 8 Nebraska (3-3, 0-2, Lost to Texas Tech 37-31) The Huskers flashed some of the potential we thought they had, but they couldn’t close the crucial deal in Lubbock. NU should win by 10 or more in Ames next week – emphasis on should.


No. 9 Kansas State (4-2, 1-1, Beat Texas A&M 44-30) KSU gave up another 500 yards to an opposing offense, but the pathetic A&M has no defense of its own. Kansas State’s not winning another game in the Big 12 with that kind of defense.


No. 10 Colorado (3-3, 0-2, Lost to Kansas 30-14) I’ve soured on this team. CU only mounts two or three good drives a game, and the Buffs are handicapped by the coach’s son, quarterback Cody Hawkins, who isn’t mobile enough to run the shotgun spread offense. The Buffs play fair defense, but rarely for four quarters.


No. 11 Iowa State (2-4, 0-2, Lost to Baylor 38-10) ISU took a step back in Waco, and have to regroup quickly for a desperate, newly confident Nebraska team.


No. 12 Texas A&M (2-4, 0-2, Lost to Kansas State 44-30) Knock knock. Who’s there? Fire. Fire who? Fire Mike Sherman.

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