You keep of hearing people say how bad the Big 12 Conference is this season. Well, is it really?

       What you have going on this year is that there just aren’t a lot of great conferences. The Big 10 is down. The Southeastern Conference is pretty good from top to bottom. And in my opinion the Pac 10 is No. 1. Forget about the Big East and the Atlantic Coast Conference. They’re nothing to brag about.

       But what is the only conference with three teams in the top 10 in both the Coaches and Associated Press polls? That’s right, the Big 12.

      Why some people keep ditching the conference is because they may find it hard to believe that Kansas and Missouri are really good. Those two teams are two of the biggest surprise clubs in the nation.

       Finally Kansas is starting to get some respect. The Jayhawks have definitely been the best road team in the league. Who else comes close to getting victories at Kansas State, Colorado and Texas A&M? And they might just be the best defensive team in the league.

        The team that may be overrated is Texas. Did you catch the Longhorns act againsat Nebraska? Remember this is a Cornhusker team that looked like it had flat out quit. This is a team that is one of the worst defensive teams in the country. USC, Missouri, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M all had fun going against Bill Callahan’s defense.

       What has Texas done that has earned it such a lofty No. 12 spot in the coaches poll? The Longhorns were outplayed by Arkansas State and Central Florida. They played one good quarter against a very mediocre TCU club.

       They appeared to have played a pretty good game against Oklahoma in defeat. And then was impressive in blowing out Iowa State in Ames. But look at the last two weeks. A really bad Baylor team made it interesting until the final few minutes of the game. And then that pitiful Nebraska team held a lead in the fourth quarter.

       Mack Brown’s club just isn’t clicking. Colt McCoy isn’t the same quarterback he was a year ago and the Longhorn defense has some big holes. That bodes well for Oklahoma State this weekend.

       Another club I can’t figure out is Texas Tech. Okay, the Red Raiders have struggled on the road like a lot of other teams this season. But getting beat at home by Colorado? Please, that shouldn’t happen. One minute Mike Leach’s offense looks like it is one of the best in the country and then the next week it can’t move the ball against suspect defenses.

      If Oklahoma can’t win in Lubbock next month it doesn’t deserve to be in the national championship hunt.

       Boston College is a fraud! Not only are the Eagles not the second best team in the nation, they aren’t one of the top 10. It would be a total disaster if they got to play in a national championship game.

       Okay, there are those who will be saying their win against Virginia Tech on the road was impressive. Please don’t put me in that group. I thought Boston College was better than this.

       What none of the talking heads on TV were talking enough about was the Hokies had to use their backup quarterback. He’s the same guy who played terrible in their first two games before he was benched. That’s when Va Tech started to play better.

       Who does Boston College remind me of? How about a Kansas. Yeah, I would probably put them fourth or fifth in the Big 12. I definitely don’t think they are as good as Oklahoma, Texas or Missouri. The Eagles are a nice team, but definitely nothing special.

       By the way I thought Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer did a terrible job of clock management in the final few minutes. All he has to do is run the ball and the game is over. Instead, he’s trying to throw the ball in third and long situations and was BC’s best friend because he stopped the clock.

       There are some very interesting games tomorrow like Ohio State at Penn State, USC at Oregon and California at Arizona State. Two of these teams–ASU and Ohio State have not had a decent test all season.

       Now the Nittany Lions aren’t the best team in the nation, but they do get the Buckeyes on their home turf. You have to give Ohio State a lot of credit because this is a rebuilding year and they have done a very good job. They are an excellent defensive team. But I like Joe Paterno’s club in this one because it’s at home.

       I think Oregon may be as good as any team in the nation. However, we’ll see. They were beaten at home earlier this year by Cal. They are a tremendous offensive team. Dennis Dixon is big-time at quarterback. The Trojans aren’t as good as I thought they would be this year. I’m going with the Ducks in this one.

       And Arizona State hasn’t beaten a very good team all year. However, give coach Dennis Erickerson credit. What a job he has done. We all thought Cal was world-beaters after it toppled Oregon. But it has since lost at home to Oregon State and then last week at UCLA.

       I still think Cal is the better team. Even though this one is in Tempe, I’m going with the Bears.

       Didn’t it seem like just about yesterday where everyone was saying there were three dominant teams in college football–USC, LSU and Oklahoma.

     So much for those conversations. The Trojans showed that they were mere motals when they were beaten at home by Stanford. And people had gotten so excited about this team because it went to Lincoln and routed Nebraska.

       Well, so much for that excitment because Ball State should have beaten the Huskers and Oklahoma State and Texas A&M buried them on their home turf.

       Oklahoma looked like it didn’t have a weakness through it first four games. Then was that little mishap in Boulder. And then the Sooners were able to barely survive a bad Iowa State team. OU is a different team at home than it is on the road. And the offensive line isn’t as good as we thought it was going to be this season.

        We all then thought that LSU was definitely the best. The Tigers were quite impressive in the early going. But they are no doubt beatable. Florida almost did it in the Tigers home. The same can be said about Auburn. And of course Kentucky spoiled any chances the Tigers had of going unbeaten.

       And let’s not forget you have the Les Miles factor. He almost gave Auburn the victory when he decided to throw a pass in the final seconds instead of kicking a field goal. LSU will lose either at Alabama or in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

       Now we have Ohio State and Boston College as the two top ranked teams in the country. I’m not buying any of that. Neither team has beaten anyone that matters. And I think BC goes down at Virginia Tech this Thursday and the Buckeyes may lose at Penn State on Saturday night.

       We all thought Cal looked really good after it beat Tennessee and won at Oregon. Well we now see that they aren’t that good when lost to Oregon State at home and then on the road at UCLA.

       Who is the best team in the country? Right now there could be eight or nine that might be. There is no one that is dominant. There is no one that you can say that is great on both sides of the ball.

       Yes, this would be a perfect year for a college football playoffs. But that simply isn’t going to happen. Do you know why? The school presidents don’t want it, the athletic directors don’t want it and the coaches don’t want it. Now do you understand why we’re not going to see one the the near future?  

       Yeah, Bob Stoops was happy last week with that win over Missouri. But he was also disgusted about some things. He knows that if his Sooners are going to run the table and have a chance to play in a national championship game, they have to be playing better than they are right now.

       There are a couple of things that bug him–the inablity of his team to run the ball and the screw-ups on special teams.

       “We are really disappointed in our running game right now,” said offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson. “We are only averaging 135 yards a game in Big 12 Conference play. That is definitely not good enough for us.

       “The biggest problem that we have is the offensive line isn’t doing the job they should be doing. We have not created the holes we need to create in the running game. This is something that we have really been focusing on this week in practice. We just have to get better. I thought running the ball would be a big strength of this team this year, but it hasn’t been thus far.”

       Last year Brody Eldridge spent a lot of time at fullback. He’s a devastating blocker and cleared the way many times for Adrian Peterson. This year he has played mainly at tight end.

      “The reason we hadn’t been playing him more at fullback was because he got injured in the spring and then didn’t practice much when we came back in August. So he was limited in some of the things that he could do,” said Wilson.

       “Last week we used him a little more at fullback and we are going to increase the number of snaps he gets at that position beause he’s such a good blocker. He can help us quite a bit.”

       And what has happened with the special teams? There are problems kicking extra points and field goals. The coverage of punt returns and kickoff returns have not been good lately. There have been fumbles when OU is trying to return the ball. And then there was Reggie Smith trying to return a punt from inside the Sooners five yard line last week.

       “We have to get better in these areas even if it means trying different people to get it corrected,” says Stoops.

      The answer on punt returns could be redshirt freshman Dominque Franks. He has been used sparingly, but will apparently now get a lot more chances.

       Don’t look for Oklahoma to get too fancy against this weak Iowa State team Saturday. The Sooners will force the running game and try to find some answers with their special teams. . .

       OKLAHOMA STATE has a big three game homestand coming up starting with Kansas State. The key for the Cowboys is that they have to win at least two of these games. If that happens they can be playing for the Big 12 South title in Norman on Nov. 24.

       The key for this Cowboys club is that they are playing with so much confidence right now. This isn’t the same team we were watching in September.

      The obvious key on offense was when the Pokes decided that Zac Robinson was going to be their quarterback. He has done a terrific job in both passing and running the ball. He has been a lot more consistent than Bobby Reid has been the last two years.

       And how about the Cowboy defense? What a shocker this unit has been. It was so bad early in the year and now just keeps on making balls.

       Kansas State is a good team. It almost won at Auburn and did win in Austin. That says a lot. Still, this game is in Stillwater, and that says a lot more.

       I’m going with Oklahoma State 24-21 over Kansas State and Oklahoma 52-14 over Iowa State.

       Now I’m not saying it’s a majority, but it’s a vocal minority that drives me crazy. It seems that a certain segment of Oklahoma fans always have to be bitching about an assitant coach.

       Remeber the outcrys about Chuck Long? In the coaching profession he was considered one of the best offensive coaches in the country. Just look what he did with a quarterback with two bad knees, Jason White. Didn’t he win a Heisman Trophy? Was Long perfect? Absoutley not. But he was well respected. When head coaching jobs opened, his name was tossed about. Now he resides in San Diego and is the had coach at San Diego State University. The jury is still out as to what kind of job he’ll do there. But I still think he’s a very good coach. Just ask Bob Stoops about him.

       Now a lot of the Oklahoma fans want to blame current defensive coordinator Brent Venables for everything that isn’t even his fault. He can’t do nothing right. These disgruntled people were complaining after a 10-point win over Missouri, a team that came into the game ranked No. 11 in  the nation.

       Hey, it was the defense that turned around this game in the second half when Curtis Lofton recovered a fumble for a touchdown. Later Nic Harris intercepted a pass and the Sooners were on their way to a victory.

       The bottom line is that Brent Venables is a very good defensive coach. And he has a very good staff surrounding him. No one is going to shut that Missouri defense down. They’re going to get yards and they’re going to score points. And let’s not forget that 14 of Missouri’s points came off of Oklahoma turnovers.

       There are a ton of Oklahoma fans who would love to see Mike Stoops return to town. Right now this former OU assistant is on the hotseat at Arizona. I still think he gets one more year at that school.

       Would Bob Stoops bring his younger brother back to OU? Absolutely! But there would have to be an opening on the staff. He’s not going to fire any of his guys. Venables is going to get a head coaching job in the near future. Then let’s see what happens. . .

       ALL NEBRASKA fans should be sending Mike Gundy a thank you note. All that Gundy and his Oklahoma State team did was hasten the departure of the arrogant Bill Callahan and his equally arrogant athletic director Stete Pederson.

       It was the most embarrassing Cornhusker performance in memory. This team has absolutely quit. They are a reflection of their head coach, which isn’t a good thing.

       Now you have to give Gundy and his staff some high grades lately. They are doing a terrific job. This team was on the brink of a disasterous season after that defeat at Troy State. Now they have shown a lot of improvement. That’s the mark of a well-coached team.

     And no one can complain about the Pokes making Zac Robinson the starting quarterback. It was absolutely the right move. All of a sudden the Cowboys are playing with confidence. That’s something they didn’t have three weeks ago.

      Now they have three home games coming up. Win those and this has been a terrific season.

       There has been some concern about the Oklahoma defense after the last three outings. Let’s now see what happens tomorrow.

       There was the game in Tulsa. The OU defense bent a lot, but did a pretty good job of not breaking. Still, the Golden Hurricanes had receivers running open all over the place.

       Next up was that disaster at Colorado. We knew the Buffaloes had a pretty good defense. But very few thought they would be able to move the ball on OU–but that’s what they did. It was shocking how much yardage they gained on the ground.

       Then last week it was Texas. Colt McCoy had struggled all yard long. The Sooners might have brought out the best in him as he made numerous big plays. However, I’m not faulting the Oklahoma defense on this one. I just think the Longhorns did a great job of executing their offense.

       So now it’s Missouri. There’s little doubt that the Tigers are one of the best offenses in the country. Chase Daniel is a big-time quarterback. The edge Oklahoma gets in this one is that I doubt Gary Pinkel’s club is going to be able to run the ball–especially with starting tailback Tony Temple out with an injury.

       Last year the Sooners made Mizzou one dimensional when they took away the running game. And I think a biggest thing OU has going is that the game is in Norman. Ever since Bob Stoops has arrived, Oklahoma has played extremely well in Big 12 games on their home turf.

       The Missouri defense isn’t something the Tigers like to brag about. You would think Sam Bradford, DeMarco Murray, Allen Patrick and Malcolm Kelly will have big games. If Oklahoma doesn’t turn the ball over too many times they move to 6-1 for the season. . .

       NOW LET’S SEE what Nebraska is all about. Oklahoma State is only a four point underdog in that game in Lincoln. Does it tell you that the Cowboys are making a lot of progress or that the Cornhuskers really stink?

       Remember Oklahoma State has won only one conference game on the road under Mike Gundy and haven’t won in Lincoln since 1960.

       But this Nebraska team could be falling apart. The folks in that state want to know how Bill Callahan could have gotten a contract extension before the season started. That’s a joke. Athletic director Steve Peterson could be fired before Callahan goes.

       However, until OSU wins a big road game, I just can’t pick the Pokes.

       I’m going with OU 35, Missouri 24 and Nebraska 31, Oklahoma State 28.

       For the longest time yesterday afternoon you had to be wondering how Texas struggled against the likes of Arkansas State and Central Florida and was beaten by Kansas State at home. The Longhorns were doing pretty well against Oklahoma.

       And their coaching staff was also doing a very good job. They looked at game film of the Sooners contest at Colorado. They quickly saw how the Oklahoma linebackers were having trouble in pass coverage. They decided to attack the way OU was playing.

       It worked to perfection in the first half. But then Bob Stoops and his staff made some adjustments. All of a sudden the OU defense was making some stops. And Longhorn quarterback Colt McCoy wasn’t having things quite so easy. Sooner defensive end Auston English became a big-time nightmare for him.

       It seemed absolutely impossible for the Sooners to climb back in the national championship hunt after that disaster in Boulder. I still don’t think it will happen. But hey, anything goes these days in college football. Sure, USC would lose at home to Stanford?

      Anyone who mentions Trojan quarterback John David Booty as a candidate for the Heisman Trophy should have their ballot taken away. All that Booty did last night was fire four interceptions. He’s not even one of the best signal callers in the Pac 10 Conference.

       All of a sudden Missouri is a huge game for Oklahoma. Chase Daniel is some kind of quarterback. He will give the OU defense a big time test. Wasn’t it funny watching the Tigers destroy Nebraska? It’s amazing that Bill Callahan was given an extension to his contract in the off-season. The Huskers are pitiful on defense and not much better on offense.

       And that’s where Oklahoma State heads this weekend. The Cowboys blew one at Texas A&M. When you’re up 17 points you have to seal the deal.  The defense did a nice job against the Aggies offense for the first half, but you have to do it for four quarters.

       The game this weekend against the Cornhuskers is huge for the Cowboys bowl aspirations. This is an encounter they can win. Right now it appears that Nebraska is in complete disaaray.

      On the other hand the Pokes still haven’t shown they can go on the road and win. This contest is a must. The schedule gets tougher with home games against Texas, Kansas and Kansas State and a road game at Oklahoma.

       Are the Cowboys a lot better than they were in September when they lost to Troy State? Absolutely, but they have to show they can win on the road.

       It doesn’t get much bigger for Oklahoma and Oklahoma State Saturday.

       Everywhere you go Sooner fans are still moaning about what happened in Colorado last weekend. They still can’t get over that shocking defeat. People, there’s a game against Texas this weekend.

       This could be a make or break game for Bob Stoops’ team.  A loss, and the OU faithful will be going nuts. They wanted some heads to fall last week. If you lose to a Longhorn team that isn’t very good, this season could take on a disasterous look.

       A defeat would mark three straight setbacks to Mack Brown. The Sooners appear to be out of the national championship hunt right now and a defeat would probably knock them out of the Big 12 title chase. Not good when a week ago so many so-called experts were saying this club might be invincible.

      This Texas team just isn’t very special. The Longhorns have problems on both offense and defense. That’s why OU is an 11 point favorite. Brown’s club can’t have a lot of confidence after getting routed at home by Kansas State.

       Let’s see what Sam Bradford is made of. He struggled in the second half against Colorado. Are we going to see the Bradford of the first four games or are we going to see the Bradford of last week?

       If this redshirt freshman plays like he did in previous games, there’s no doubt OU is going to win this week. One veteran journalist said this week, Oklahoma has played only one BAD half this year while Texas has played only one GOOD half.

       MEANWHILE OKLAHOMA STATE is on the road against Texas A&M. This is not a great Aggies team. They are somewhat in turmoil because of Dennis Franchone’s antics with selling inside information to boosters.

       The Cowboys can win this game because the Aggies aren’t one of those clubs who are going to throw the ball all over the place. They are conservative by staying on the ground for the most part.

      But it’s hard to pick Oklahoma State on the road. Since Mike Gundy has been the head man, OSU has won only one conference game away from Stillwater. That’s not good.

       There’s no doubt the Pokes are going to be able to score points. But can they hold Texas A&M to under 30 points?

       This is a key game for both teams. They have extremely difficult road games left on their schedule. The winner of this one takes a huge step toward a bowl appearance not to mention they will be 2-0 in conference play.

       With all that said, I’m going with Oklahoma 24-14 over Texas and Texas A&M tops the Cowboys, 31-28