KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It would be pretty safe to fill in half
the Big 12 Conference title game bracket in ink.
Bring a pencil for the other line, though, and keep an eraser
handy.
No. 2 Texas' 52-17 thumping of Texas Tech on Saturday, which
dropped the Red Raiders six spots to No. 16, established the
Longhorns as the overwhelming favorite to win the Big 12 South. The
only clear thing in the North Division is that a pair of
record-breaking quarterbacks, both wearing black and gold, have put
their teams in contention to reach the conference title game Dec. 3
in Houston.
That's assuming Missouri and Colorado, who meet Nov. 5 in
Boulder, can first pass this coming weekend's road tests after big
home victories on Saturday.
"Respect in this business goes week to week," Missouri coach
Gary Pinkel said after the Tigers beat Nebraska 41-24 behind a
school-record 480 yards of total offense from quarterback Brad
Smith. "The more you win, the more confidence you get as a
football team."
Colorado, the defending North champion, got four touchdowns from
Joel Klatt -- who now holds the school record with 41 career TD
passes -- in a 44-13 win over Kansas.
The Buffaloes and Missouri are both 5-2 overall and 3-1 in
conference play, with each team's lone Big 12 loss coming to the
Longhorns.
"We're pretty good to this point, but we've just got to keep
working hard," said Pinkel, whose team has won three straight but
now must try to break a two-game losing streak against Kansas.
Colorado will also travel to Kansas this coming weekend, to take
on a frustrated Kansas State team.
The Wildcats had their chance against Texas A&M on Saturday,
twice closing to within two points late in the game after falling
behind 16-0 in the first quarter, but the Aggies held on for a
30-28 victory.
The Buffaloes have won three of their last four against Kansas
State.
"We really need to continue to take care of our own business,"
Klatt said, "because we control our own destiny, and working hard
and executing could take us to Houston."
Nebraska (5-2, 2-2) is theoretically still in the North picture
despite Saturday's loss. Given the division's unsettled nature this
year, even Iowa State and Kansas State -- both 4-3 overall and 1-3
in the North -- have outside shots.
"We have our backs against the wall," Kansas State linebacker
Brandon Archer said. "We have to come out fighting and get some
wins."
The Cyclones, who lost in two overtimes at Nebraska and in
overtime to Missouri, picked up their first conference win on
Saturday by beating Oklahoma State 37-10.
Last year, Iowa State started 0-3 in the Big 12 -- then won four
straight before falling just short of the title game.
"The guys have been just sick of those heartbreaking, tough
losses," Cyclones coach Dan McCarney said. "Now, hopefully those
are behind us, and hopefully we can go out and have a real good
season."
Texas A&M (5-2, 3-1), which extended its winning streak against
Kansas State to five games, doesn't meet the Longhorns until the
regular-season finale on Nov. 25 and could win the Big 12 South by
running the table.
A meeting at Texas Tech looms on Nov. 5, though. And if Kansas
State freshman Allan Evridge could throw for 357 yards and three
touchdowns against the Aggies, as he did on Saturday, imagine what
the Red Raiders' Cody Hodges -- who averages 404.3 yards passing --
might do.
Still, A&M felt good about finding a way to overcome its
season-long injury problem, and its own mistakes against the
Wildcats, for its first road victory of the year.
"Well I think that this win is definitely a big confidence
builder," defensive end Chris Harrington said. "We got a lot of
young guys out there playing right now, and some injuries have
happened, and some other guys have had to step up -- but that's how
football is."
Oklahoma managed to avoid its first loss in 15 games against
Baylor -- a series that dates to 1901 but has only counted in
conference play since the Big 12 was created in 1996 -- but it
wasn't easy.
The Sooners (4-3, 3-1), who won the last three South titles and
two of the last three conference championships, have already lost
to Texas and would need outside help to repeat. On Saturday, they
needed double overtime to beat the Bears 37-30.
"I'm proud of our team for hanging in there, but I'm not proud
of some plays that we could be better at," said Oklahoma coach Bob
Stoops, whose team climbed over .500 for the first time this year.
"But I'm proud of the fact that in the end, we hung in there and
won in overtime and made the plays that made the difference."
Baylor (4-3, 1-3) will have to pull at least one upset to be
eligible for its first bowl since 1994. The Bears close out their
season against cellar-dwelling Oklahoma State -- but before that,
they face a three-week stretch that includes Texas Tech, Texas and
Missouri.