Two teams that opened the season against each other will meet up once more to close out their respective campaigns when Iowa State and Tulsa get together on New Year’s Eve in Memphis, Tenn. The Cyclones won the first meeting over the Golden Hurricane, 38-23 back in September, but they enter this game having dropped five of their last seven games.

The merits of recruiting rankings are debated in every sports bar and around every water cooler in the nation. Athlon continues its look at how each All-Conference team ranked as high school recruits with the first-team All-Big 12 team.

Related: College Football's 2012 All-American Team as Recruits

2012 Offensive All-Big 12 Team as Recruits

Which bowls should you tune into? Athlon ranks and previews all of the matchups from the must-see to the ones you can avoid. Although Alabama and Notre Dame is clearly the biggest bowl game, with 34 other contests, there are plenty of other quality pairings to watch this postseason.

Ranking the 35 Bowl Games: Must-Watch to Must-Miss

Rivalry week still has the Bedlam Game at least.

Thanksgiving used to be the traditional home Texas-Texas A&M, but the Aggies’ move to the SEC put a stop to that. Texas will play host to TCU this week, and A&M will face Missouri, another Big 12 defector who won't play its top rival (Kansas) this week.

Kansas State remains atop the Big 12 power rankings, but the Wildcats are no longer in the driver's seat to play for a national title. Despite the loss to Baylor, Kansas State still maintains an edge for the Big 12 title. Oklahoma survived a shootout win over West Virginia to control the No. 2 spot in the power rankings and remains alive for an at-large spot in the BCS. Oklahoma State is one of the Big 12's hottest teams, crushing Texas Tech 59-21 to move to 7-3 this season.

Kansas State is one win away from clinching a share of the Big 12 championship and a BCS bid, but the Wildcats have greater aspirations. The Wildcats are no longer the underdog in the Big 12 or nationally, rising to No. 1 in the BCS this week. They’ll try to remain in the title game picture with a dangerous (on offense) Baylor team in Waco this week.

Kansas State was a big winner from the Big 12’s Week 11 action. The Wildcats knocked off TCU 23-10 to improve their record to 10-0. But that wasn’t the only bit of good news for Bill Snyder’s team. With Alabama losing to Texas A&M, Kansas State is in position to play for the national title with two more victories. The Wildcats still have some work to do but the road to a BCS Championship appearance is favorable.

Although Darrell Royal never coached in the Big 12, league play begins on a somber note on the passing of the legendary Texas coach Tuesday. His name graces the stadium at Texas, where he won 167 games and three national titles. But his career began at another now-Big 12 school when he played quarterback and defensive back for Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma.

Kansas State’s march to an undefeated season continued with a 44-30 win over Oklahoma State. The Wildcats climbed to 9-0 with the victory and remain squarely in the hunt for the national championship. Quarterback Collin Klein continued his Heisman run but suffered an injury against the Cowboys. Oklahoma bounced back after last week’s loss to Notre Dame, while TCU upset West Virginia in overtime.

After last week, we know the Big 12 has one team chasing the national championship. Oklahoma likely played itself out of contention with a 30-13 loss at home to Notre Dame, leaving undefeated Kansas State as the only Big 12 team in the BCS top 10.

The road to the BCS title game is not guaranteed, no matter the resume or record, as Kansas State’s opponent this week can confirm.