Big 12 Notebook For 09-21-2006 - College Football News And Picks

Big 12 Notebook For 09-20-2006
By Jeff Zell
Posted: 4:30 am PDT 2006-09-21

It wasn't the Big 12's finest moment.

The conference had a shot to make a big splash in the national scene on Saturday, and instead it reaffirmed what many experts believed: that the conference is weak. The Big 12 went 0-5 against teams in the Top 25 and held a 5-7 mark overall.

To make matters worse, Texas A&M needed a late defensive stand to hold off Army 28-24 on national television.

Heartbreaking Loss: Oklahoma allowed 14 points in 22 seconds to fall to No. 18 Oregon in Eugene. Two calls went against Bob Stoops' club. An onside kick and a pass-interference call both showed on televised replays that they should have been reversed Oklahoma's way. Stoops told USA Today: "Even though (the officials) acted like they did, at least the whole country and everybody...sees what really happened."

The Fab Four? There are four undefeated teams. All four of them aren't conference favorites. Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Missouri are undefeated - but who did they play? The four teams' opponents combined record is 9-24. Yes, that includes four Division I-AA opponents also.

Battle-Tested? Oklahoma State is in the same situation it was a year ago. Mike Gundy's squad started 3-0 last year before losing seven of its final eight. This year could be different because never in Oklahoma State history has a Cowboys team opened up by winning its first three games by at least 28 points. OSU's toughest test so far is this week with Houston, which sits at 3-0 and is averaging 39.33 points per game. "All we can ask them to do is to stop people, and they have until this point," Gundy told SportingNews.com.

A Strenuous Stretch: Iowa State knew after its first two games that the tough stretch was upcoming. On Saturday, the Cyclones lost to No. 16 Iowa, next week they travel to No. 7 Texas, and then Northern Iowa, which was Division I-AA runner-up in 2005. After UNI, it's Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. "It's a season of opportunity, and that's the way we're looking at it and we're not going to duck and hide," coach Dan McCarney told the Daily Kansan.

Looking Ahead: A couple of tough tests await Big 12 teams. It doesn't get easier for Colorado, which sits at 0-3. The Buffaloes head to Athens to play Georgia. Kansas State will finally be tested when it hosts Louisville. The Wildcats have a shot at an upset now that the Cardinals will be without both Brian Brohm and Michael Bush.

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