By Keith Whitmire
October 22, 2009

Big 12 Notebook

MANY BIG 12 QBs ARE MIA
A year ago the Big 12 was the Quarterback Conference. This year, it’s the Conference of the Quarterback Change. On Saturday, at least half the league’s teams could start quarterbacks that were not the starter on opening day. Some of the changes are the result of injury, others are by coaches’ decisions. The list:

Baylor: Starter and program icon Robert Griffin is out for the season with a knee injury. Freshman Nick Florence and senior Blake Szymanski have filled in with little success.

Colorado: Coach Dan Hawkins benched his son, Cody. New start Tyler Hansen just led the Buffs to a win over Kansas.

Kansas State: Original starter Carson Coffman was replaced by Grant Gregory.

Oklahoma: Sam Bradford was hurt, then back. Now he’s hurt again. Landry Jones has been a capable replacement.

Nebraska: Coach Bo Pelini is mulling whether to bench junior starter Zac Lee in favor of freshman Cody Green.

Texas Tech: Taylor Potts’ injury opened the door for Steven Sheffield to outshine him. Now Sheffield is reported to be out with a foot injury, which could mean the return of Potts or the first start for third-stringer Seth Doege.

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy suffered a thumb injury Saturday against Oklahoma. The injury won’t keep McCoy from playing, but the Longhorns are talking about McCoy needing to run more to open up the offense.

After all the injuries to quarterbacks this season, and not just in the Big 12, exposing your quarterback to more hits doesn’t seem like a good idea. McCoy’s running ability was a key to Texas’ success last year, so the Longhorns will roll the dice again that he can stay healthy.

KANSAS STATE ATOP THE NORTH
Kansas State didn’t exactly set the world on fire in non-conference play and looked headed for the North Division cellar a little over a week ago after a 66-14 loss to Texas Tech.

Since then, the Wildcats have run Texas A&M off the field, 62-14, and find themselves in first place in the North with a 2-1 record.

“I didn’t envision it because I never thought about it,” Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said. “More than I ever have in the past, we’ve just taken it one day at a time.”

Kansas State has a decent shot at maintaining its lead in the North with Colorado this week, although the once-lowly Buffs suddenly look strong again after upsetting Kansas, 34-30, last week.

PRESSURE OF BEING NO. 3?
Normally there’s pressure with being ranked No.1, but for Texas, being ranked No. 3 is just as intense. Because two SEC teams, Florida and Alabama, are ahead of them in the BCS rankings, the Longhorns know there will be a spot for them in the national championship game if they remain undefeated.

“The pressure is there being No. 3, because everybody says to every one of our kids that unless you win them all you’re not going to have a chance to get what you want,” Texas coach Mack Brown said. “There is pressure, regardless of whether you are [number] one or three and I don’t think that the kids feel there is any difference because they know that it changes.”

BIG 12 POWER RANKINGS
1. Texas: Win over OU wasn’t pretty, but it did the job
2. Texas Tech: A Tech team playing great defense could be scary
3. Oklahoma State: Just keeps winning, staying under the radar
4. Oklahoma: Bradford’s out, again, but the D is still strong
5. Nebraska: Might roll the dice with a new QB
6. Kansas State: Well heck, they’re in first place
7. Kansas: Can’t keep going to the comeback well
8. Colorado: New QB, new team?
9. Missouri: Another second-half shortout
10.  Iowa State: Arnaud and the offense starting to click
11. Baylor: Things are depressing in Waco these days
12. Texas A&M: At least it wasn’t 77-0 (but that was to OU)

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“They’re gonna look angry.” – Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads on how Nebraska looks after losing to Texas Tech, 31-10, last week. Iowa State plays at Nebraska on Saturday.

During his 12-year stint with The Dallas Morning News Keith Whitmire was a Big 12 and national college football columnist. He resides in Dallas.

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