DES MOINES, Iowa—The races in the Big 12’s North and South divisions have been settled, but there’s still plenty up for grabs during the season’s final week.
The Big 12’s five remaining matchups are rivalry games with major implications on bowl seeding and, for Oklahoma State, a possible trip to its first BCS bowl game.
Nebraska (8-3, 5-2 Big 12) beat Kansas State on Saturday night, earning the North’s spot in the league championship game for the first time since 2006. No. 3 Texas (11-0, 7-0) clinched what had seemed inevitable since the middle of October with a 51-20 win over Kansas and their embattled coach, Mark Mangino.
Before they meet up in Cowboys Stadium on Dec. 5, the Longhorns and Cornhuskers have tricky road games to survive.
Texas closes its regular season at Texas A&M, perhaps the toughest team in the nation to get a read on. The Aggies (6-5, 3-4) have twice bounced back from losses of at least 48 points with huge wins the following week, including a 38-3 drubbing of Baylor last week that followed a 65-10 loss to Oklahoma. Texas A&M also beat the Longhorns in College Station in 2007.
The Huskers will face a Colorado team that nearly stunned No. 11 Oklahoma State in Stillwater last week. It’s a huge game for the Buffs (3-8, 2-5) and their coach, Dan Hawkins, who has come under fire for yet another disappointing season in Boulder.
“I just know that the distractions are out there. You’ve got people out there taking about Texas and going to Dallas,” Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. “It’s important that we keep our football team in focus because I know Colorado’s going to be ready.”
Oklahoma State (9-2, 6-1) is in position for its first BCS nod, but the Cowboys must first beat Oklahoma (6-5, 4-3) in Norman. Though the Sooners collapsed in a 41-13 loss at Texas Tech over the weekend, they’ve won six straight against the Cowboys and 29 straight at home, the longest such streak in the nation.
Kansas (5-6, 1-6) needs to beat Missouri (7-4, 3-4) in Kansas City to become bowl eligible. If the Jayhawks lose, it could be the final game for Mangino, who is under an internal investigation into allegations of verbal and emotional abuse of his players.
“You can only focus on the things you can control in life, and that’s what I’m doing,” Mangino said.
Texas Tech (7-4, 4-3) faces Baylor in Cowboys Stadium with a chance to reach eight wins and vastly improve its bowl resume.
The Bears, Colorado and Kansas State won’t be eligible to play in the postseason.
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K-STATE DONE: Kansas State entered last week’s game against Nebraska in a unique spot—Big 12 title game or bust. The Wildcats not only needed to beat Nebraska to win the North but for bowl eligibility as well. Two of Kansas State’s wins were over FCS opponents Massachusetts and Tennessee Tech, and only one of those counted toward bowl eligibility.
In the end, Kansas State was done in by its offense. The Wildcats were held without a touchdown in season-ending losses to Missouri and Nebraska, spoiling what had been a promising start to coach Bill Snyder’s return to Manhattan.
“I was pleased with the progress that the youngsters made,” Snyder said. “I think we made vast improvements, but it was not on a continuum.”
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CYCLONES IN LIMBO: Though Iowa State lost its season finale at Missouri, 34-24, the Cyclones are eligible for a bowl for the first time since 2005. Though Iowa State (6-6, 3-5) isn’t guaranteed a spot in a bowl game, all signs point to the Cyclones playing somewhere in December.
Iowa State will gladly sign up for any bowl. The Cyclones were a near-unanimous pick to finish last in the North under first-year coach Paul Rhoads, their third coach in four seasons.
“In order to get them to believe, I think you just had to immediately get to work, show that there was a plan in place to develop and improve and win football games because of that,” Rhoads said. “The players, the team, they were very hungry. They suffered through three straight losing seasons. They suffered through transitions and coaching changes, and so they were hungry for structure and discipline and commitment.”
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PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
Texas quarterback Colt McCoy was named the league’s offensive player of the week after winning his NCAA-record 43rd game. McCoy completed 32 of 41 passes for 396 yards with four touchdowns in the win over Kansas. Nebraska safety Larry Asante earned defensive player of the week honors after making 10 tackles, causing a fumble and intercepting a pass in the Huskers win over Kansas State. Asante’s teammate, punter/placekicker Alex Henery, won the league’s special teams honor for the second time this season. He hit a field goal and two punts that pinned the Wildcats inside their own 3-yard line.
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QUOTABLE:
“My suspicion is Mark’s in the middle of a witch hunt, you know, which is unjustified,” Texas Tech coach Mike Leach of the investigation of Mangino.
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EXTRA POINTS: Baylor’s woes can be traced to its sluggish starts. The Bears have been outscored 153-26 in the first half in conference games. … Kansas’s six-game losing streak has coincided with a major drop-off in its running game. The Jayhawks averaged 189 yards rushing per game in starting 5-0, but they’ve gotten just 58 yards a game in losing six straight. … Nebraska’s defense was tremendous in home games this season, holding opponents to just 8.3 points per game. It’s the fourth time since 1980 that the Huskers held teams below 10 points per game in Memorial Stadium.
