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| Saturday, November 11 Big 12 title game could be decided Saturday By Todd Cooper Special to ESPN.com | |||||
Who says college football doesn't have a playoff system?
On Saturday, the Big 12 will present its version of the Final Four -- complete with four ranked teams, national television audiences and a chance for a trip to win a championship.
In the early afternoon, No. 1 Oklahoma will tussle with No. 24 Texas A&M at Kyle Field for the top spot in the south division. In the early evening, No. 5 Nebraska will tangle with No.. 11 K-State in Manhattan for the top spot in the north division.
For the first time in the Big 12's five-year existence, the opponents for the championship game will likely be decided on the same day, in one dramatic doubleheader.
And for the first time in the relatively young conference, vengeance could be the fuel for all four contenders.
Consider:
Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops said he has no doubt that J.T. Thatcher is the best punt returner in the nation. Thatcher was named Big 12 special teams player of the week for his seven punt returns for 137 yards against Baylor, including a 60-yarder for a touchdown. Thatcher leads the nation with three punt returns for touchdowns this year. Baylor coach Kevin Steele said Thatcher lulls teams to sleep with his seemingly long, lazy glide up-field which turns into a mad dash for the end zone. "He doesn't look like he's running that fast," Steele said. "And then, all of a sudden, he switches gears." Texas A&M Receiver Robert Ferguson is questionable as A&M gets ready to play host to Oklahoma. Ferguson suffered a sprained knee after having a field day against Oklahoma State. He caught 11 passes for 119 yards -- the most receptions in a game for an Aggies player since 1996. ... For the first time in a dozen years as head coach, Slocum's team gave up a punt return for a touchdown when Oklahoma State's Gabe Lindsay went 57 yards for a score Saturday. ... Josh Heupel won't be the only high-powered arm in Saturday's game. Aggie quarterback Mark Farris threw for 246 yards Saturday, giving him 2,042 for the season. He needs 422 yards in the final two regular-season games to break the A&M school record. Nebraska The Huskers will find out this week just how weak or strong their running game actually is. After a pathetic performance against Oklahoma, the Huskers ran well against Kansas Saturday. But KU isn't in K-State's league when it comes to defending the rush. On Saturday, Eric Crouch became Nebraska's all-time leading rushing quarterback and he, Dan Alexander and Correll Buckhalter each rushed for more than 100 yards, marking the second time in school history that three backs rushed for at least 100 yards in a game. ... For defensive tackle Jeremy Slechta, one hand may be better than two. The junior picked off a Dylen Smith pass by using the cast on his right hand to deflect the ball and then cradling it in. Slechta dropped two passes earlier in the year with both good hands. ... Nebraska lost its sixth man on the offensive line when center-guard-tackle Jon Rutherford suffered a torn ACL. Coach Frank Solich said that's a huge blow because of Rutherford's versatility. Kansas State After K-State shellacked his team 56-10 Saturday, Iowa State coach Dan McCarney said the Wildcats should be a top 10 team despite their two losses. ... K-State's 583 yards against Iowa State Saturday was the Wildcats' fourth-highest output in school history. ... The Wildcats' defense held Iowa State's offense, which had been ranked 19th nationally, to 291 total yards. ... Defensive end Monty Beisel was the conference defensive player of the week after finishing with 11 tackles, including a quarterback sack for six yards, a pass deflection, and two quarterback hurries. Colorado While Colorado has fried bigger fish at Folsom Field in Boulder, the Buffaloes will be in a battle for third place when Iowa State comes knocking. That's third place in the Big 12 north division, in case you were wondering. ... Barnett said quarterback Craig Ochs is questionable Saturday with a foot injury. ... Though the Buffs hung on to win Saturday, Barnett said he wasn't the least bit pleased with his offense's performance in the second half against the Tigers. Missouri held Colorado to one first down in the second half though the Buffs hung on to win 28-18. Iowa State Iowa State coach Dan McCarney said he didn't sense a hangover after his Cyclones beat Missouri Oct. 28 to become bowl eligible. That was true until the Cyclones took the field Saturday and K-State administered a noggin knocker of its own. "I was sure worried all along that that could happen," McCarney said. ... K-State's 56 points were the most Iowa State had allowed since 1997. "We were ridiculous defensively Saturday," McCarney said. "We've got nowhere to go but up." ... McCarney's contract is up at the end of next season but newly named athletic director Bruce Van De Velde said he wants to negotiate a new contract with McCarney when the coach is ready. Texas Major Applewhite suffered a strained ACL in the third quarter of the Longhorns' 29-17 win over Texas Tech and won't play Saturday against Kansas. Coach Mack Brown said he could miss the A&M game Nov. 24, too. Chris Simms will spell Applewhite for the first time since the two rotated to begin the season. ... It may not be the best surface for ACLs but Hodges Mitchell would love nothing better than if Texas' installed the fake stuff in Austin. On the turf in Lubbock Saturday, Mitchell ran 45 times for 229 yards, including 119 yards in the first quarter. Mitchell contends he's quicker and faster on the slick stuff. Texas Tech coach Mike Leach would agree. "Last year, I thought he was the best running back in the conference," Leach said. "I don't know why he was dormant earlier this year. Now, he's everything I thought he would be." ... Brown felt like he got as much out of Longhorn kicker Kris Stockton's leg as he could. Stockton averaged 40 yards a punt and was 5 of 6 on field goals Saturday. His only miss was a 56-yarder that had enough distance. Kansas After a 56-17 whipping at Nebraska, coach Terry Allen must pull off a Texas-sized miracle to become bowl-eligible. The 4-5 Jayhawks need a win Saturday at home against Texas and a win Nov. 18 at Iowa State. "We've got our backs about as far against the wall as we could possibly be," Allen said. ... Quarterback Dylen Smith, who was spectacular against Nebraska last year, was just 14 of 29 for 129 yards Saturday. ... Despite a red-letter day in which he ran for 96 yards on 11 carries, Allen said, freshman running back Reggie Duncan paid the price against Nebraska. Duncan is bruised and battered -- "like a number of our other players," Allen said. Oklahoma State Coaches long have been members of a mutual-admiration society but Big 12 coaches across the board had nothing but glowing things to say about Bob Simmons in the wake of his resignation Monday. Simmons, whose program has struggled since an 8-4 record and a bowl game in 1997, resigned Monday under pressure. The kindest compliment came from Colorado coach Gary Barnett. "If I were to pick someone for my son to be coached by, it would be Bob Simmons," Barnett said. "I know that he would be exposed to all the right things. It wouldn't be a shallow program. It would be one with substance." ... There's no secret as to what substance matters most in Stillwater. Athletic officials are in the middle of a major renovation and expansion of Lewis Field and couldn't afford to risk sapping any support from boosters, especially with Oklahoma soaring. ... Barnett said he was especially shocked with Simmons' forced resignation, considering how young the 2-6 Cowboys are -- Okie State lost 30 seniors from last year -- and how well they played against A&M in the 21-16 loss. Texas Tech Coach Mike Leach said his team played well in spurts in the Red Raiders' 29-17 loss to Texas. Tech took a 17-16 lead in the third quarter but couldn't contain Hodges Mitchell the rest of the way. "We're a team that that plays with intensity but we don't play with as much smart intensity as I would like," Leach said. ... The Red Raiders need a win Saturday and a strong showing against Oklahoma to ensure a bowl bid. ... While their aerial assault continues to soar, the Red Raiders have struggled with the running game. Tech ran for just 17 yards on 14 carries and had three fumbles against Texas. Missouri Unlike Simmons, Tiger coach Larry Smith said he won't resign at the end of the year. But the embattled coach, whose job status has been frequent fodder in Columbia, sounded like he was talking about himself when he discussed Simmons' resignation this week. "The good years are forgotten very quickly when you have a couple bad years," Smith said. "I mean, I'm going through this right now myself. It's not what type of program you have. It's based on one thing -- win, win baby. That's about what it is. We all say the other things (graduation, running a clean program) count. But I think a lot of the coaches question whether they really do." ... The Tigers, who play at Baylor Saturday, did little to make their first three kicks count Saturday. Missouri botched an attempted onsides kick to begin the game, setting up a Colorado touchdown drive. On the next two possessions, the Tigers had a blocked punt and a blocked field goal that both led to scores. ... Quarterback Kirk Farmer did not play Saturday but could return from a broken collarbone this week against Baylor, Smith said. Baylor Coach Kevin Steele said he would like to think that teams aren't trying to pad their scores against opponents such as the Bears. But then again, he said, he saw Florida State coach Bobby Bowden run up the score by beating son Tommy Bowden 54-6. In that game, Steele said he couldn't help but be struck by Bobby Bowden's wife's response as she was interviewed while watching her son get humiliated. "She said, 'We need to score as many points as we can to help us in the polls,' " Steele said. "That in itself explains it all." ... Running up the score hasn't been a problem for Baylor. The Bears desperately need some points against Missouri this week after having scored just 21 points in the past five games. Steele said some of that has to do with the fact that Baylor has played four ranked teams in a row. "Still, we've got to get things going offensively," he said. "That's on us as coaches." | ALSO SEE ACC notebook Big East notebook Northwestern still in the running for the Roses Big West notebook Mountain West notebook Pac-10 notebook WAC notebook AUDIO/VIDEO   With a cast on his arm, defensive tackle Jeremy Slechta picks off Dylan Smith.avi: 1355 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Tracey Wistrom grabs the tipped ball in the end zone for a TD.avi: 1134 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Eric Crouch racks up his third TD of the day.avi: 1349 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 | ||||
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