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| Tuesday, October 31 The South is rising in the Big 12 By Todd Cooper Special to ESPN.com | |||||
Amid the rubble of a Rocky Mountain low four weeks ago -- when his team had lost to the previously winless Colorado Buffaloes in College Station -- Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum was asked about the perception that has plagued the south division since the Big 12 formed five years ago.
In particular, a reporter asked Slocum whether the loss was further proof that the south was the stepsister of the Big 12, too weak to win against the rough-and-tumble teams from the north.
Slocum, who initials might as well stand for Rose Colored, shrugged and made a simple prediction: The South, he said, would rise again.
Sure enough, like a phoenix from the ashes, the south has resurrected its reputation and its record in one month's time.
On Saturday, the top two teams in the south -- Oklahoma and Texas A&M -- beat the top two teams in the north -- Nebraska and Kansas State. With those wins, the once-lowly south raised its record to 7-8 against north teams.
In all, the south now has three teams -- Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M -- in the top 25. The north has two -- Nebraska and Kansas State.
"Since the start of the conference, everybody has always wanted to draw conclusions about whether this side is stronger or that side is stronger," Slocum said. "I've said all along that this is a very competitive league. And I've said all along that there would be a lot of different twists and turns that would take place in the Big 12 race before it was over."
Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops said his team (7-0, 4-0) will remain focused, despite a drop off in competition this week and the No. 1 ranking. "I don't put a whole lot of relevance on it," he said. "We're midway through the year. It means very little so I'm not caught up in the moment at all." When asked whether he was concerned at all about his team having nowhere to go but down, Stoops said: "Why would I be concerned about being 7-0? I'm concerned about winning one more game and getting to 8-0." ... Oklahoma's domination of Nebraska netted the Sooners two conference players of the week honors. Josh Heupel, who was the conference offensive player of the week, continued to make his case for the Heisman as he connected on 20-of-34 passes for 300 yards and one touchdown against Nebraska. Linebacker Torrance Marshall earned defensive player of the week honors with 12 tackles, including three for losses. Baylor The prospect of playing the Sooners Saturday had Baylor officials scrambling to figure out the last time a team was required to play two No. 1 teams -- the Bears faced then-No. 1 Nebraska two weeks ago -- in less than three weeks. "That's a monstrous challenge for any program," coach Kevin Steele said, "but when you're rebuilding, it really is." ... Baylor got one monkey off its back Saturday when it scored after a Texas turnover in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead. The touchdown marked Baylor's first points in three games -- a span of more than 195 minutes. ... To make matters worse, Steele said, Baylor has seven guys injured on offense and four on defense. Despite that and the five-game losing string, Steele said he sees signs internally that his program is progressing. "People say, 'You can't turn it at Baylor,' " Steele said. "I remember the day somebody said you can't do that in Manhattan, Kansas" Nebraska Although Nebraska only dropped to No. 4 in the Bowl Championship Series standings after Saturday's 31-14 loss to OU, coach Frank Solich said the Huskers (7-1, 4-1) can't afford to start trying to calculate their chances to get back into the national title hunt. "I think the most dangerous thing for us would be trying to put pieces of the puzzle together in terms of what might happen. Certainly we're in position but the key thing will be to just zero in on Kansas." ... The Huskers clearly need to zero in on their offense, especially the running game. Solich and the Huskers seemed to flinch after Oklahoma stormed back from a 14-0 deficit to take a 24-14 lead, throwing a season-high 27 times and often running slow-developing reverses and screen passes. Nebraska cruised on its first two drives, netting 167 yards on 11 plays. But the Huskers gained just 161 yards in the final 59 plays. ... The 14 points was Nebraska's lowest point total since getting shut out by Arizona State in 1996. Kansas For the third straight year, the Jayhawks will face the Huskers after a devastating loss. In 1998, KU got trounced 41-0 after Nebraska lost to A&M the week before. But KU coach Terry Allen hopes his Jayhawks respond the way they did last year. Kansas managed to put a scare into Nebraska -- losing 24-17, a week after the Huskers had fallen to Texas. "We get the pleasure again of taking on Nebraska after their first loss," Allen said, tongue-in-cheek. ...The 4-4 Jayhawks (2-3 Big 12) must win two of their last three games -- against Nebraska, Texas and Iowa State -- to become bowl-eligible. "We're going to have to go in there and see what we can get done because this is an important game for us," Allen said. . .Allen continues to be pleased by quarterback Dylen Smith's progress. After struggling for the first month of the season, Allen said, Smith has emerged, throwing for a career-high 327 yards against Tech Saturday. "Dylen has just gotten better and better," he said. "He's doing a lot better job of protecting the football and his ability to run and throw creates problems for opposing defenses." Kansas State With Iowa State coming to town Saturday, coach Bill Snyder said he's concerned about his team's penalties and third- and fourth-down conversions. The Wildcats (7-2, 3-2) converted just 30 percent of their third- and fourth-down opportunities against Texas A&M Saturday. K-State also was flagged for nine penalties. ... The Wildcats may be home Saturday but they'll be in unfamiliar territory. Saturday's 26-10 loss to A&M marked the first time K-State had lost two regular season games since 1996. The loss snapped the Wildcats' 60-game winning streak against unranked foes. ... In the past three games, QB Jonathan Beasley has dropped from first in the nation in passing efficiency to 18th. On Saturday, Beasley was just 14 of 39 (36 percent) with two interceptions. Iowa State After erasing 22 years of frustration by becoming bowl eligible with the win over Missouri last week, the Cyclones (6-2 and 3-2) can move into the driver's seat for second place in the north division of the Big 12 if they beat K-State Saturday. ... Coach Dan McCarney won't reveal his team's goals -- saying he'd rather keep it in the family -- but suffice it to say Iowa State accomplished one with the win over Mizzou. "It's just another major hurdle cleared," McCarney said. "It's part of the legacy of this team and the senior class. They've always been winners. At least mathematically now, they can associate with being winners." ... A benefit of Iowa State's six-win season? The Cyclones have been on TV five times -- a pleasant surprise after only the marquee Ohio-Iowa State was slated for the tube before the season started. "In a program that's not had a lot of national identity, it really helps in terms of exposure," McCarney said. Colorado This week's Colorado-Missouri game might just be the battle of the defeated and the deflated. The once-proud programs, both at 2-6, will be slugging it out to get out of the basement of the Big 12 north. "Both teams need a win. I think you'll see two teams that are going to go in there and play with the attitude that we don't have anything to lose," Colorado coach Gary Barnett said. . . .After just a two win season, few things feel fresh around Folsom Field. But Barnett is using some unconventional psychological warfare to try to start anew. Barnett said he took the first seven games of the year -- in which Colorado went 1-6 -- and called that the 2000 season. Barnett said the 2001 season started Saturday with the win over Oklahoma State. "I've turned the leadership over to my juniors," he said. ... Freshman phenom Craig Ochs became the first player in school history to run, pass and catch a touchdown pass with his four-touchdown performance against OSU Saturday. "It's a little premature to remark on his pass-catching abilities," Barnett said. "He is one for one, though." Missouri Coach Larry Smith said quarterback Kirk Farmer, who broke his collarbone against Nebraska four weeks ago, probably will play Saturday when the 2-6 Tigers (1-4 Big 12) play host to Colorado. Smith said it will probably be a game time decision on whether Farmer or freshman Darius Outlaw starts. ... Smith said the source of the Tigers' downfall against Iowa State was easy to compute -- 18 missed tackles and 18 big plays. "You just expect more from your defense," he said. ... After Saturday's loss to Iowa State, Smith vowed to study game film and determine whether any of his players quit on him. To that end, Smith said Monday, he found some defensive players who "weren't pursuing the ball well." He didn't specify what he would do about it, though. Texas A&M Ja'Mar Toombs, at 6-feet, 275 pounds, lived up to his name against Kansas State, entombing several Wildcat defenders in the turf at Kyle Field as he wracked up 89 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. "It's tough watching him gain yards with everyone on the ground," Kansas State defensive end Monte Beisel said. ... Slocum said he was pleased with the balance in his offense as the Aggies (6-2, 4-1) gained 171 yards on the ground and 155 in the air. He said he's been striving for that kind of equality for several years. "The teams that are hardest to defend both run and pass," Slocum said. "I've been trying to get that done throughout my time as a head coach. I think we've finally broken through." ... A&M seems to have revived its wrecking crew defense in part. Although not as bone crushing as previous units, the defense has made big plays and has contained the big plays of opponents. While K-State threw for 227 yards Saturday, the Wildcats managed just 10 points and 118 yards on the ground. Oklahoma State At 2-5 (0-4 Big 12), coach Bob Simmons fielded questions this week about his job status. The normally laid back Simmons laid it on the line when he was asked about whether he had held up his end of the bargain. "The ultimate thing is really to try to win," Simmons said. "I've got a young ball club. Obviously we're not doing the kind of things we need to do. What I'm trying to do is to win. That has not come easy for us." ... If there's a bright spot for Okie State, it's the play of freshman quarterback Aso Pogi. With his 30 of 49 performance Saturday, Pogi became the first freshman in OSU history to throw for 300 yards in back-to-back games. ... Simmons said he was proud of the way his players fought back after falling behind early against Colorado but his defense needs to improve drastically, he said. Okie State gave up 30 points and 398 yards in the first half of the 37-21 loss to the Buffs. Texas Baylor coach Kevin Steele said Texas all-America candidates Casey Hampton and Shaun Rogers may seem like they're having quiet years on Texas' defensive line, but they were deadly against his offensive line. "Boy, they are special guys," Steele said. "They were completely disruptive." . . .With his 297 yards on 18 completions Saturday, Major Applewhite continued to tear up the Texas' record books. He now has set Longhorn career records with 7,810 passing yards and 564 completions. As the Longhorns (6-2, 4-1) prepare to travel to Texas Tech Saturday, Steele said, Applewhite and company seem to be hitting their stride. Texas Tech Tech coach Mike Leach said he was among the coaches who kept looking for reasons not to recruit Wes Welker, the diminutive 5-9 Red Raider receiver who had 271 all-purpose yards Saturday in Tech's 45-39 win over Kansas. Welker was named the Big 12 special teams player of the week for his performance, including a 66-yard punt return for a touchdown. The Tech receiver was the high school player of the decade in Oklahoma but was considered either too short or too slow for Division I programs. Not anymore. "He's kind of the recruit who wouldn't go away," Leach said. "A lot of people felt like he was undersized . A lot of people thought he wasn't fast enough. I'm going to be honest. I shared some of those opinions." ... On how close his offense is to the one he installed last year at Oklahoma, Leach said: "I'm not smart enough to put in two different ones -- at least not that close together." ... Leach said quarterback Kliff Kingsbury clearly is benefiting from his familiarity with the offense. The sophomore had his best game Saturday, completing 32 of 48 passes for 405 yards as the Red Raiders improved to 6-3 overall and 2-3 in the Big 12. "He's gotten a lot better," Leach said. "The biggest part about it is he's adjusted to our system." | ALSO SEE Big Ten notebook Mountain West notebook WAC notebook AUDIO/VIDEO   Derrick Strait picks off Eric Crouch and returns it 32 yards for a TD.avi: 1611 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 The Sooners even the score at 14 on this 34-yard Curtis Fagan TD catch.avi: 1319 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Oklahoma's Andre Woolfolk pulls down the circus-catch on his back with one hand.avi: 1420 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Eric Crouch runs through the Sooner defense for a 37-yard TD.avi: 1494 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Eric Crouch hooks up with Matt Davison for a 39-yard TD on the opening drive.avi: 1471 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Ja Mar Toombs breaks tackles on the way to his third rushing TD of the game.avi: 889 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Jonathan Beasley finds Aaron Lockett for the 31-yard TD strike.avi: 1077 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Texas A&M's Ja Mar Toombs goes in the end zone on the 1-yard TD romp.avi: 721 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 | ||||
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