Big 12: Looking ahead better than looking back

Saturday provided business as unusual in the Big 12. No major matchups. No major upsets. No drama.

No Oklahoma or Texas Tech, which took the weekend off.

Of course, the way things were going, maybe fans in the nation’s most competitive league needed to catch their collective breath anyway.

For what’s coming up — Sooners vs. Red Raiders — is being billed as the Game of the Year, not just in the Big 12, but nationally.

Not that that’s anything new around the league. It’s been that kind of year.

Forget USC-Ohio State and Alabama-Georgia and LSU-Florida, we’ve been peppered all season long with “Game of the Year” proclamations in our own backyard.

OU-Texas Tech is just the latest. And greatest?

Let’s review:

Oct. 11: No. 1 Oklahoma (5-0) vs. No. 5 Texas (5-0). Both were unbeaten and riding high into the Cotton Bowl. The game didn’t disappoint, with UT pulling away late 45-35.

Oct. 25: No. 6 Oklahoma State (7-0) at No. 1 Texas (7-0). A back-and-forth struggle, both teams took and received big shots. The Cowboys had their chances before falling 28-24.

Nov. 1: No. 1 Texas (8-0) at No. 7 Texas Tech (8-0). The Game of the Year in college football — so far. Texas rallied and Tech re-rallied, pulling out a 39-33 win in dramatic style.

Nov. 8: No. 9 Oklahoma State (8-1) at No. 2 Texas Tech (9-0). Billed as a showdown of top offenses, the Cowboys didn’t live up to their end of the deal. Tech rolled 56-20.

Saturday: No. 2 Texas Tech (10-0) at No. 5 Oklahoma (9-1). There’s a media swarm headed for Norman, anticipating what may be the greatest offensive display ever staged on Owen Field. The stakes are high, for the two teams involved; for quarterbacks Graham Harrell and Sam Bradford, looking for an edge in the Heisman chase; and for teams like Texas and USC and even Penn State, Utah and Boise State, all looking for Tech to take on a loss.

Much better looking forward than back, where it was a blowout weekend in the Big 12.

The closest game was 13 points — the margin in Oklahoma State’s 30-17 win at Colorado. Everybody else, even Baylor, won by at least 20.

Scoreboard:

Texas 35, Kansas 7
Nebraska 56, Kansas State 28
Baylor 41, Texas A&M 21
Missouri 52, Iowa State 20
Oklahoma State 30, Colorado 17

Team of the Week: Baylor

Now that’s what you call a senior sendoff.

Baylor, often left for dead and playing before empty seats by Senior Day, finished the home schedule with an exclamation mark, extending optimism toward next season.

The Bears beat Texas A&M for just the second time in 23 years. It was just the fourth win over a South team for Baylor in league history. And the Bears did it with offense and defense, creating five turnovers.

Afterward, continuing a tradition from his days at Houston, Bears coach Art Briles ripped off his hat, pulled out a pen and wrote the date and final score on it, signed it, then tossed it into the crowd.

“I haven’t got to throw it enough this year,” Briles told reporters after the game.

He’s planning to get his arm in shape for more action in the future.

“We’ll have plenty of hats,” Briles said, “I’ll promise you that.”

The Bears improved to just 4-7 overall and 2-5 in the Big 12, yet they played more competitively in their first season under Briles. And better days should lie ahead, with freshman quarterback Robert Griffin at the hub of the optimism.

Disappointment of the Week: Kansas

The Jayhawks lost for the fourth time in five games, lost their hopes to play for the Big 12 title and now face the distinct possibility of a .500 finish.

It’s a long way from the 12-1 season that featured an Orange Bowl victory a year ago. But then, this league schedule is a far cry from the easier run of games Kansas faced, too.

Last year, KU didn’t have to play Oklahoma, Texas or Texas Tech.

With a shift of the crossover games this fall, the Jayhawks played — and were blown out — against all three.

Reminded of the schedule break after the loss to Texas, KU coach Mark Mangino got defensive.

“I don’t make the schedule,” Mangino said. “And I would like to say we did what we had to do when whatever schedule was handed to us last year. We didn’t have to win 12 games.

“Yeah, the schedule is more difficult and the challenge is greater. But I’m not going to make any excuses.”

Kansas is now 6-5 overall and after a week off, takes on Missouri in Kansas City. Win or lose, the Jayhawks are likely heading to a minor bowl.

Player of the Week: Joe Ganz, QB, Nebraska

There was no letdown for the Huskers in their two-week trouncing of Kansas schools. Ganz wouldn’t allow it.

The senior quarterback accounted for 365 yards and four touchdowns, leading the rout of the Wildcats in Manhattan.

Ganz passed for 270 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a career-high 95 and two more scores.

“I’m all about leading by example,” Ganz told reporters after the game. “I wanted to kind of put everything on me, let it go and leave it all on the field.”

Ganz’s 365 total yards pushed his season total to 3,351, besting Zac Taylor’s record of 3,165 set in 2006.

Freshman of the Week: Robert Griffin, QB, Baylor

Freshman of the Year is more like it.

Griffin, just 18, tossed touchdown passes of 31 and 55 yards and finished with 241 yards and the two scores. He also ran for 56 yards on 12 carries and flipped two last-second option pitches to Jacoby Jones for touchdown runs.

In his first season, he already holds the school-record for 25 total touchdowns — 14 passing, 11 rushing.

Uneasy role for Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns find themselves in a rather uncomfortable condition: Cheering for Oklahoma.

Well, those who can stomach it anyway.

The Longhorns did their part to stay alive in the hunt for a spot in the Big 12 title game and the national title race, securing style points with their 35-7 road rout of Kansas. But since Texas lost to Texas Tech, they’ll need some help from OU to stay in the conference championship mix, needing the Sooners to force a three-way tie a the top with a win over Tech.

Colt McCoy, who surpassed his own school record for touchdown passes (31) against KU, said he’d go all Boomer Sooner if that’s what it took to get Texas to Kansas City.

UT linebacker Sergio Kindle, however, wouldn’t play along.

“No chance,” Kindle said. “I’m probably not even going to watch it.”

Tigers stamp ticket

The Big 12 championship game is half-made, with Missouri securing its place in Kansas City.

Not cold nor wind nor Iowa State could derail the Tigers’ offense in Ames, where Chase Daniel hit on his first 16 throws and finished 32-of-40 passing.

Mizzou romped to a 31-7 halftime lead on its way to a second straight appearance in the conference title game.

The Tigers, who still must face Kansas in a regular-season finale, have rebounded well from a two-game losing streak to Oklahoma State and Texas in October.

But they’re hardly satisfied.

“We’ve been here before,” said Mizzou senior safety William Moore. “Everybody’s got the attitude that we want much more than the North.”

Cyclone spin

Iowa State’s losing streak has reached nine games, strangling hopes of a Big 12 rise that stirred after a late surge last year and a 2-0 start to this season.

The Cyclones are finding some solace, however, in knowing they play in arguably the nation’s best league.

“It definitely hurts to lose,” said quarterback Austen Arnaud, “you just look at this conference up and down. The Big 12 is stacked this year.”

The problem for Iowa State, the Big 12 is stacked most years.

It’s a tough climb up, even in the North.

Aggie undoing

Texas A&M entered Saturday’s game holding slim bowl hopes, needing wins over Baylor and Texas.

Slim, but considering the Aggies’ Big 12 domination of the Bears and their inexplicable recent success against the Longhorns, not total crazy talk.

Until play began.

That’s when the Bears started acting like the team with something to play for.

A&M surrendered five turnovers in a sloppy loss, its second straight blowout loss.

“Each (loss) has been more disappointing than the next,” said Aggies coach Mike Sherman. “I take nothing away from Baylor, but we fully expected to come in and play better than we did. Before the Oklahoma game, I thought we were making progress.

“The culmination of last week and this week are very disappointing.”

Prince’s farewell

There’s a final piece of pride on the line for Kansas State and Iowa State when they meet in season finales this week.

For Wildcats coach Ron Prince, it’s an opportunity to make a graceful exit.

Fired three weeks ago, but allowed to remain on the job through the season, Prince has carried himself with class.

“I’m a professional,” Prince said last week. “It’s not like this is the first time in the history of football this has happened.”

Del.icio.us | Digg it | Athlon Sports RSS Feeds