 "Photo: Karl Anderson")
Big 12 Conference coaches aren’t in denial, disbelief or doubt: The conference that featured high-profile offenses and marquee names last year is nowhere to be found this year.
The Big 12 enters Week 10 with two ranked teams in the Associated Press Top 25 and the BCS Standings — Texas and Oklahoma State.
At this point, the Mountain West, Southeastern and the Pac-10 Conferences have more teams ranked in the Top 25 and the BCS Standings than the Big 12. Last season, the Big 12 had three teams in the hunt for a berth in the BCS title game throughout the season.
“Last year was a real offensive year in this league; it looks like this year’s been more of a defensive year,” said Brown, whose Longhorns are No. 3 in the BCS Standings. “You just never know. Injuries impact it, schedules impact it.
“There’s a lot of different things that are impacting conferences. It doesn’t look like across the board there’s as many great teams this year as there normally are. Not just in our league, but across the country.”
Brown might be correct in pointing out that better defenses have emerged in the conference.
His Longhorns lead the nation in total defense and names such as Nebraska defensive end Ndamukong Suh, Texas Tech defensive end Brandon Sharpe and Texas A&M’s Von Miller have made headlines this season. Suh garnered Heisman consideration earlier this season and Miller and Sharpe are first and second in sacks this season, respectively.
Brown also made a point with injuries, with OU quarterback Sam Bradford and Baylor’s Robert Griffin not able to keep their respective teams from struggling.
Nebraska, Tech, Kansas and Missouri all have floated around the rankings this season, but the Jayhawks’ and Tigers’ recent slides have them hoping to get back to .500.
The Red Raiders, on the other hand, have a chance to turn heads Saturday with a match up against No. 17 Oklahoma State.
With Tech visiting Saturday, OSU coach Mike Gundy said the inconsistencies in college football today make preparation during the week much more important.
“There’s more parity now in college football than there ever has been and I think that with all that’s going on out there — with Internet and talk shows, the players being on campus and everybody being aware of what’s going on,” Gundy said. “I think it just changed the way college football is.”
Big 12 play also has taken a toll on many squads. While some have great wins, they also have bad losses.
For example, Texas A&M has beaten Tech, but took a loss to Colorado on Saturday. OU’s losses to Nebraska and Texas have set the Sooners back a little bit and Kansas State — a team with five wins last season — is atop the Big 12 North.
As a result, Tech players believe there still is an opportunity to make noise in the Big 12 this season.
Tech receiver Alex Torres said there is an opportunity to end up in a good spot in the Big 12 South if the Red Raiders can come away with three wins to finish the season, starting with OSU at 7 p.m. Saturday in Stillwater, Okla.
“We are not going to try and worry about what other people do and who beats who and this and that, we are just going to try and think about what we can control and really get out there and practice like we want to play,” he said. “That comes down to just getting out there every day and doing what we need to do.”
Instead of the Big 12 being in the limelight like it was last year, teams such as No. 4 TCU, No. 5 Cincinnati, No. 6 Boise State and No. 13 Houston have found a home in the AP Top 25 and BCS Standings.
Tech coach Mike Leach said seasons like this are inevitable, but in his opinion, there’s still no conference like the Big 12.
He also said the only way to prove that is to change the current system.
“If the Big 12 were to have a tournament with most of these other conferences, we’d win regardless of who’s ranked what,” he said. “Maybe we should have a tournament. The Big 12 versus the Big East. They can even do that — have a little round-robin conference tournament. You could have a playoff conference versus conference.”
“None of this ‘Have us some bowl games and play one more.’”
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