Big XII Preview

By John P. Wise
One Great Season

NEW YORK -- Big XII fans make up 50 percent of the obnoxiousness that is the "best-conference" debate. I think we know where the other half lives.

I've never understood this argument. Who cares what the best conference is? Do Packers fans pound their chests about the NFC Central? Did Rays fans repeat an "AL East" chant during their surprising October run last year? It's just ridiculous.

What is also ridiculous is the amount of talent at quarterback -- again -- in the Big XII. Not only is Heisman winner Sam Bradford back at Oklahoma, and not only is Colt McCoy back at Texas, but so too are Kansas' Todd Reesing and Oklahoma State's Zac Robinson, and even Baylor has a QB you'll hear a lot about this year named Robert Griffin.

But a quarterback can't win the conference by himself. He needs a supporting cast, and that's precisely why I think Oklahoma State will be the surprise pick this year.

We've seen some seriously prolific offenses in the Big XII the last few years, but the Cowboys will be better than all of them. Robinson is merely one of three Heisman hopefuls in that OSU backfield. Running back Kendall Hunter and wideout Dez Bryant combined for more than 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns last year, and will pose nightmares for Big XII defenses, which aren't collectively all that good against even mediocre offenses.

Oklahoma State gets a great test right out of the gate when Georgia visits, then gets Texas at home in October and closes at Oklahoma on Nov. 28. If this offense stays healthy, it will win the South Division and play Nebraska in the conference championship game in Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 5.

Texas Tech and Missouri were cute the last two years, but without Graham Harrell and Chase Daniel, both teams should fall back to their more familiar reality. And though Nebraska appears to be the best of the North, that doesn't mean Kansas can't pull the upset when the Huskers pay Lawrence a late-season visit and claim a spot in the title game. It's not like Nebraska hasn't underachieved the last seven years or so.

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

North
Nebraska
Kansas
Missouri
Colorado
Kansas State
Iowa State

South
Oklahoma State
Texas
Oklahoma
Texas Tech
Baylor
Texas A&M

BEST GAME ON THE SCHEDULE: Oklahoma vs. Texas, Oct. 17