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.