The Kansas State Wildcats light non-conference schedule probably did come back and bite them when they faced Oklahoma last week. The 'Cats, playing in their first test of the season, flopped. They were dropping passes, blowing assignments and missing tackles falling behind 31-14 at half.
|  | | Bill Snyder might have the right idea when it comes to scheduling. |
But don't bash Bill Snyder too much. He might have the right idea. It's just the Big 12 may be too thick for a team to make it all the way to the BCS title game.
For the first time in memory, the SEC is not the best conference in college football. The Big 12 is king -- at least in 2000. And not just because it has two of the remaining unbeatens in Oklahoma and Nebraska. The league is loaded from top to, well, middle. (Sorry Baylor, you're Rutgers with a twang.)
Texas, K-State and Texas A&M all would be upper echelon teams in any of the major conferences and while Iowa State, Kansas and Texas Tech are have shots at bowl games.
The SEC is the second most powerful conference. It is loaded with very good teams and unlike every other major I-A league, it has no pushovers. Vandy probably could finish fourth in the ACC and maybe third in the Big East.
A surprising third is the Pac-10 with Oregon and Washington deserving top-10 mention and a host of other underrated schools (Oregon State, Arizona, ASU, etc.) also earning bowl looks.
Trouble is, thanks to the BCS system the national title game likely will again have participants coming from the ACC and the Big East.
For the Big 12 schools, the problem is the conference is so deep, each power team likely gets three serious tests. And then, has the Big 12 title game to survive, while the Pac-10 schools all play rugged non-conference schedules before facing each other.
Just a hunch, but don't be surprised if it's the winners of the Va. Tech/Miami and FSU/Clemson matchups in the Orange Bowl this January.
Quick Slants
An unfortunate injury to Tyler Watts has ended the QB controversy at Alabama making Andrew Zow the full-time guy. Expect the Tide to thrive and open things up more now that sophomore WR Antonio Carter has flourished while Freddie Milons recovers from a strained knee.
Best barometer of the Big Ten's season: Northwestern's game at Minnesota Oct. 28 could decide who the conference sends to Pasadena.
Boston College thinks it has found an answer to the big wideouts of the Big East in Lenny Walls, a rangy 6-4 cornerback with sub-4.4 speed. The twin brother of BC hoops standout Kenny Walls, Lenny transferred in from Comminty College of San Francisco and has really shaken things up for the Eagles D, picking off three passes and notching three and a half sacks.
"Technically, he's not perfect, but he's got long arms and really quick feet," says Eagles DB coach Bob Shoop. "He plays corner almost like he's playing man-to-man defense in basketball."
Walls will get his biggest challenge Saturday when he faces Pitt and its most dangerous weapon 6-4 WR Antonio Bryant.
Props to first-year UTEP coach Gary Nord. Riding the accurate arm of QB Rocky Perez, the Miners (5-2) have scored at least 40 points in three consecutive games for the first time since 1967. UTEP, which romped past a decent San Jose State squad 47-30 last week, already has matched its highest win total in 12 years.
As great as Virginia Tech's Lee Suggs has been this season, he isn't the RB in the state NFL scouts are buzzing about most. That guy is Hampton U's dynamic Montrell Coley, a 5-7, 205-pound blur who is tearing up the MEAC. Coley, a legit 4.3 guy with good receiving skills, leads I-AA in scoring, averaging 15.6 ppg.
Bruce Feldman is a staff writer for ESPN The Magazine. Email him questions and comments at bruce.feldman@espnmag.com and read the responses Thursdays at espnmag.com.
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