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.