Texas and Big 12 Capsules: Longhorns starting to talk about ‘national' goals

AUSTIN — Two months ago, Texas would have avoided any direct talk of playing for a national title.

Back when the No. 2 Longhorns (8-0) were initially scheduled to play Central Florida (5-3), anything so bold would have been waved off as too much, too soon.

Now, however, the Longhorns know what’s in front of them if they keep winning, starting Saturday.

"This becomes a national game now," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "If it were at the first of the season, it would not have been talked about a lot, but if you look at it now, we are in the mix at the end where everything we do is important. This game takes on a lot more importance than it would have if it were the third game of the year."

Texas is sitting at No. 2 in the Bowl Championship series standings and No. 1 in the Big 12 South with a four regular-season games left before the conference championship game.

Win out and Texas books passage to the BCS title game in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 7. That’s a much better feeling for the Longhorns than this time last year, when they were coming off their only loss of the season at Texas Tech.

"We know that feeling," quarterback Colt McCoy said. "We don’t want to feel it again."

Even with the talk of national goals, Brown said he senses a sharper focus for an opponent Texas is favored to beat by five touchdowns.

"The freshmen feel like they’ve got forever here. The seniors understand that bunch last year missed an opportunity of a lifetime to win a conference and national championship because of one game," Brown said.

"In fact, a couple of the seniors have said, ‘You’ve got the rest of your life, we’ve got four weeks. Keep your mouth shut and play.’ That’s kind of been the message around here," Brown said.

McCoy and the other seniors also remember a tough game with Central Florida in 2007, when the Longhorns escaped Orlando with a 35-32 win. They’ve also noted how the Golden Knights had six sacks in a 27-7 loss to Miami on Oct. 17. The Golden Knights were in that game until Miami pulled away late.

Another effort like those and Central Florida could hobble Texas’ championship march on the national stage.

"We got up a little bit and never put it away (in 2007). We just let them hang around and hang around. We had to make some plays at the end to actually win the game," McCoy said.

Brown is familiar with the tough defenses that Central Florida coach George O’Leary has put on the field over the years. The two used to square off in the ACC when Brown was at North Carolina and O’Leary was coaching at Georgia Tech.

"That’s the way they beat you, so you can’t let them hang around," Brown said.

For the Golden Knights, the key is to find ways to stand up to the Texas defense that ranks No. 1 in the country against the run and has surrendered only four touchdowns in the last three games.

"Texas has all the pieces in place to make a run at the national championship," O’Leary said.

Texas had already scheduled activities at the game to be a tribute to veterans, ceremonies that are sure to take on a more somber tone after the killings at Fort Hood, the sprawling Army post that is about 60 miles north of Austin. The ceremonies will include a military flyover with pilots who graduated from Texas.

Brown visited troops in Iraq last summer.

"We have also asked our players to dedicate the game to somebody, if they feel the need to, who is in their lives and is in the military," Brown said the day before the Fort Hood shootings. "We would like for them to play for them this weekend."

Scott’s departure could hurt Buffs’ future

BOULDER, Colo. — Darrell Scott’s departure from the University of Colorado will probably be felt more on the recruiting trail than on the football field.

Scott’s injury-filled career in Boulder ended Tuesday when the sophomore tailback texted his position coach to tell him he had decided to transfer. The No. 1 prep running back in the nation two years ago, Scott plans to join his uncle, former Buffaloes wide receiver Josh Smith, at UCLA next year.

His impact on the field during his 1½ seasons in Boulder was limited mostly to kickoff returns, so the Buffs’ special teams will probably miss him more than the offense will.

A series of injuries and an inability to quickly adapt to the college game kept Scott from ever living up to the hype in Boulder.

His legacy, however, will surely be pointed out by other schools the next time the Buffs try to lure a big-time recruit.

It’s also fodder right now for the growing ranks of critics who want coach Dan Hawkins to be the next one to leave town, and fast. Fed-up Buffs fans are planning a protest Saturday when the Buffaloes (2-6, 1-3 Big 12) host Texas A&M (5-3, 2-2).

A student launched a Facebook challenge for fans to wear powder-blue to the game instead of their usual yellow and black. Powder blue is the color the football team wore from 1981-84, when they went 10-34 overall during one of the worst stretches in school history, one rivaled by the last 3½ seasons during which they are 15-30 under Hawkins.

Scott, who packs 215 pounds on his 6-foot-1 frame, signed to much fanfare in 2008, the crown jewel of Hawkins’ recruiting efforts. But he showed up out of shape as a freshman after picking Colorado over Texas, Florida State and LSU and was quickly beaten out by Rodney Stewart, a 5-foot-6, 175-pound fellow freshman, who beat him out again this season.

Scott was slowed by injuries for much of his time at Colorado, where he started just four games in two seasons. He rushed for 95 yards on 23 carries this season, and most of that came in Week 2, when he gained 85 yards on a dozen carries at Toledo.

It was in that game that he banged up a knee that would slow him down and eventually require arthroscopic surgery on Oct. 22. He hadn’t played since but was expected back soon when his decision to bolt Boulder sucker-punched the Buffs.

At first, Hawkins decided to stay silent on the matter. But on his weekly radio show, he said: "I like Darrell and he’s a good kid, and any time a kid leaves, I feel bad for a number of reasons. One is I don’t think that quitting is always the answer. ... I feel bad when I’m not able to touch a kid or reach a kid and there’s those things that happen.

"Now again, I’m not perfect and I’m not going to save everybody. But our kids are great. They understand the nature of it and they practiced great and we wish Darrell nothing but the best and he’s a good kid and you know I want him to go on and be successful in life and football," Hawkins said.

Scott, who ranked second in the Big 12 with 564 kick return yards, said he sends the same wishes to his former teammates.

Stewart stands to get most of the carries again Saturday against the Aggies, who can become bowl eligible with a win.

"It’s something that obviously is hanging out there, but at the same time we’ll worry about that once that happens, or if that happens," second-year Aggies coach Mike Sherman said.

Although the Aggies have struggled on defense this season, allowing 400 yards and 30 points per game, pass-rusher Von Miller leads the nation with 13½ sacks, and the Aggies have blown out Texas Tech and Iowa State the last two weeks.

Miller must be licking his chops watching film of the Buffaloes’ 36-17 loss at Missouri last week. Colorado quarterback Tyler Hansen was sacked eight times by the Tigers, including once for a safety, while also losing three fumbles and throwing an interception.

-- Arnie Stapleton

No LT, but Frogs will still be motivated vs SDSU

SAN DIEGO — The No. 6 TCU Horned Frogs will have to do without their good-luck charm when they play in San Diego for the fifth straight season.

The Horned Frogs are 4-0 in Qualcomm Stadium with alum and San Diego Chargers star LaDainian Tomlinson cheering them on from the sideline. That includes two games against San Diego State and two appearances in the Poinsettia Bowl.

Tomlinson will miss Saturday’s game against the Aztecs because his San Diego Chargers play at the New York Giants on Sunday.

"He makes everybody want to play a little bit better," running back Joseph Turner said. "He’s a star. You want to play good in front of stars. Just him cheering us on, that helped us out a lot."

The Horned Frogs should do OK on their own, considering that they’re 24-point favorites.

Still, even an absent L.T. will be an inspiration.

"Of course. We’re playing in his stadium," Turner said. "As much as he did, we’ve got to go out and represent."

TCU (8-0, 4-0 Mountain West Conference) will try to remain unbeaten and stay on track for a chance to become the latest BCS-buster.

"They’re pretty good. Not better than we were, but they’re pretty good," Tomlinson said with a smile.

"It’s interesting, because this team has grown. It seems like they win 10 games almost every year now," Tomlinson said. "I know when I was there it was something that was big for us. But now it seems like it’s not even a goal anymore. BCS, national championship, that’s what’s being talked about around that campus. I’m happy to see where they are now. I hope they keep building and keep playing good football."

Tomlinson retains such strong ties to his alma mater that when he takes a direct snap, the Chargers call it the wildfrog offense rather than the wildcat.

Tomlinson said he’s become a fan of San Diego State and its first-year coach, Brady Hoke. Hoke seems to have the Aztecs headed toward respectability after 11 straight non-winning seasons. They’re 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the MWC.

"I hope, obviously, TCU wins in the end, but I hope it’s a good game," Tomlinson said. "I think it will be."

While the fans talk about the Horned Frogs’ BCS chances and undefeated record, coach Gary Patterson is simply trying to keep his team focused.

"Can we get through the next three to four games without a letdown? That’s the hard part," Patterson said. "And if you do, can you still find a way to win? Not that they don’t want to win, it’s hard to keep that level of intensity for X-amount of ballgames. and you always probably need it more on the road than you do at home."

Patterson is trying to keep the focus anywhere but on the BCS and talk of how TCU just regained the No. 1 ranking nationally in total defense. He certainly doesn’t want his players looking ahead to Utah.

"I think players take the coaches’ lead," Patterson said. "We’re talking about things we need to. If you want to talk about something, why talk about Utah and BCS, talk about the three turnovers we had in the first quarter. We have got to find a way to win."

In 2007, TCU had to rally from a 17-0 deficit.

"The last time we were in San Diego, we had to stop them, and we had to go on fourth-and-1 to keep the ball when they had no timeouts left to preserve the win."

If Patterson is looking ahead at anything, it’s the kickoff time.

"The good part is not playing in the middle of the night," he said "We’re going to play at 1 o’clock, play in the sunshine of San Diego."

Patterson points to SDSU’s 3-1 home record and how the Aztecs hung in against BYU before losing 38-28.

"They have got a chance, with two wins, to get a bowl game and go to the Poinsettia Bowl, the first time they’ve been able to do that in a long, long time," Patterson said. "For us we’ve got to keep our noses down and understand we’re going to have to fight and claw and scratch and do everything we can."

-- Bernie Wilson

No. 13 Houston, Tulsa continue wild rivalry

OKLAHOMA CITY — When Conference USA reshuffled its membership and divisional lineups a few years ago, a new rivalry was born — and predicting what’s going to happen when Tulsa and Houston get together can be an exercise in futility.

Kevin Kolb, destined to play in the NFL, led the Cougars into Tulsa two years ago and suffered a 56-7 defeat. A year later, Houston got revenge on its home field with a 70-30 rout of a Golden Hurricane team that had started the season 8-0.

With the wild history in the series, there’s no telling what Saturday night holds when the No. 13 Cougars (7-1, 3-1 CUSA) return to Tulsa.

"The bottom line: When we go into the offseason, we tell our kids, ‘If you want to win the Western Division, you’ve got to beat Houston. This is the game,"’ Tulsa coach Todd Graham said. "Before the season, I’m going to say we’re going to take it one game at a time and all of that. But this is the game. This is the game you’ve got to win.

"If you want to win the West, Houston’s got to beat Tulsa and Tulsa’s got to beat Houston. That’s the way it’s been in the last four years."

Tulsa (4-4, 2-2) bounced back from last year’s loss to get into the Conference USA title game for the third time in the last four years, taking advantage when Houston fell in its regular-season finale at Rice.

"We’ve won the Western side three times and Houston’s won it once. So, I think the winner of this game is in the driver’s seat," Graham said. "That’s the way we’ve approached it with our guys. Everything that’s behind us, you can forget about and just look at what’s in front of you."

Even with the Golden Hurricane entering this year’s rivalry game on a three-game losing streak, Houston coach Kevin Sumlin doesn’t want his bunch feeling overconfident.

While the Cougars are leading the nation in total offense, they’re also giving up the seventh-most yards in the nation and needed a score with 21 seconds left to beat Southern Miss 50-43 last week.

Tulsa led the nation in total offense the last two seasons before taking a step back this year.

"They’re a good team and you can’t take them lightly," Sumlin said. "They’re going to come out and play hard. I know some of their goals have been to beat Houston and it’s going to take a really good game for us to beat them."

Houston quarterback Case Keenum, the nation’s leading passer, threw six touchdown passes in last season’s rout of Tulsa and is coming off of a career-best 559-yard performance last week.

"Case is special," Graham said. "He’s just one of the best in the country. He’s just unbelievable, I think, and they’ve got great people around him. We’ve got to score points and we’ve got to keep him unbalanced. I don’t know that you stop him. You just have to keep him off-balance and you’ve got to make them earn everything they get and don’t give up cheap ones."

Graham expects to have his starting quarterback, G.J. Kinne, back after he had to leave last week’s game with a concussion. Perhaps just as important, Tulsa could have its starting offensive line intact for the first time in weeks. The line has given up 31 sacks this season, third most in the nation.

"He’s been hit a lot this year, and he’s been a warrior," Graham said of Kinne. "He’s had great courage and has done really well for us."

-- Jeff Latzke

Missouri tries to build on first Big 12 victory

COLUMBIA, Mo. — After hobbling on a sprained right ankle for three weeks, Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert is feeling a lot better.

Same goes for his team, although it’s still pretty deep in a hole.

The Tigers will try to build on their first Big 12 victory that was easy on Gabbert’s legs and further distance themselves from an 0-3 conference mark on Saturday against Baylor. They’re two-touchdown favorites against a team that’s scuffled since losing quarterback Robert Griffin for the season in late September.

Coach Gary Pinkel reminds players there’s still plenty of work ahead if Missouri (5-3, 1-3 Big 12) has any shot of winning its third straight North title. Even if the Tigers are 7-0 against Baylor in Big 12 play.

"Nothing’s changed," Pinkel said. "I tell our players ‘You think everything’s going good now, if you want to accomplish our goals it’s going to get tougher. I guarantee you that."’

Holdovers from the title teams haven’t forgotten Pinkel’s oft-stated belief that they’re starting the month that’ll determine their season. Another victory, and Missouri is bowl-eligible for the fifth straight season.

"We’ve been taught that November is where you’ll be remembered, ever since I got here," wide receiver Danario Alexander said.

Perhaps keeping them humble, the game will not be televised to end Missouri’s 13-game streak.

Baylor (3-5, 0-4) has lost four in a row and is averaging only 8.5 points in conference play. The Bears haven’t scored a first-half touchdown the last three games, getting an interception return for their only TD last week against Nebraska.

"We haven’t remedied the problem," coach Art Briles said. "It’s our job to score and we haven’t been doing it."

Baylor’s hope for an upset lies with a stout defense that held Nebraska to 11 first downs and no second-half points in a 20-10 loss last week.

"Watching tape on them, it’s a winnable game," senior defensive end Jason Lamb said. "We’ve just got to come out from a defensive standpoint and just play like we did the whole second half against Nebraska."

The first half was another story. Baylor surrendered points on Nebraska’s first three drives and also had a blocked punt returned for a touchdown while falling behind 20-0.

"I think we need to bring that second-half momentum and carry that to the start of the game," said senior linebacker Joe Pawelek, set to make his 42nd consecutive start.

A gimpy Gabbert, whose accuracy and mobility suffered during Missouri’s three-game skid, would give Baylor some reason to be confident. But the strapping sophomore was stepping lightly against Colorado, especially in the first half when he threw two touchdown passes to Alexander and helped Missouri score the first 33 points of a 36-17 victory.

"It felt good," Gabbert said. "That’s a nice feeling."

Gabbert wasn’t hit at all late in the first half and felt frisky enough to rush for 26 yards on six carries, although he did have an interception returned for a touchdown as Colorado mounted a bit of a threat in the second half.

"If he gets his speed back, that’ll impact our offense and allow us to do some more things," Pinkel said. "We’ve been restricted with some things on offense because we didn’t want to put him in a vulnerable position."

More production from running back Derrick Washington would help keep Gabbert healthy. Washington rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown last week.

Baylor gave Missouri a scare last year when the Tigers were ranked 14th, losing 31-28 in Waco, Texas. But this time the quarterback is Nick Florence, one of nine freshmen to play this season and three to start for the school.

"I think the quarterback runs well," Missouri defensive coordinator Dave Steckel said. "But he’s no Griffin."

-- R.B. Fallstrom

Big 12

Stakes not so high when No. 20 OU, Nebraska meet

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Mention the Oklahoma-Nebraska rivalry to longtime college football fans, and it conjures memories of November classics from yesteryear.

Those were the days in the 1970s and ‘80s when Big Eight championships and, often, national title hopes were on the line. Even as the Big Eight morphed into the Big 12, and the scheduling format allowed the teams to meet only twice every four years, the series still had its moments.

Unfortunately, Saturday’s game offers little for folks who still think of Barry Switzer and Tom Osborne when they hear the words Oklahoma and Nebraska.

Texas seems well on its way to winning the Big 12 South, leaving the 20th-ranked Sooners (5-3, 3-1 Big 12) to jockey for the best possible bowl bid.

Nebraska (5-3, 2-2) is still very much alive in the North despite an offense that has generated just three touchdowns in three games. If the Huskers win their mess of a division, the reward likely would be a date with a Texas team that will be favored by double digits in the conference championship game.

Sooners coach Bob Stoops tried to inject some oomph into Saturday’s game by showing his players Oklahoma-Nebraska video clips from back in the day.

"There’s a lot of amazing tradition and history," Stoops said. "I always wonder if our freshmen, sophomores and guys who haven’t been around very long have a true understanding of the tradition and history and pride of that program. I’ve always felt that playing them is tough."

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said his players understand the history.

"But we’re worrying about 2009 right now," he said.

The Sooners have won four straight against Nebraska, including last year’s 62-28 victory in Norman. For the Sooners, it was the first of five straight games they scored in the 60s before they lost to Florida in the national championship game. For the Huskers, it was their last loss before they started a six-game win streak that carried into this season.

Neither program has recaptured its momentum.

Sam Bradford, the Sooners’ 2008 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, injured his right shoulder in the opener against BYU and was knocked out for the season against Texas in mid-October. The Sooners had already lost All-America tight end Jermaine Gresham to a knee injury.

Landry Jones has been a capable replacement for Bradford, throwing 17 touchdown passes against six interceptions.

"It’s exciting to see what he has been able to do," Stoops said. "In five starts, he has been the player of the week twice in the Big 12 Conference, so he’s doing an excellent job."

The Sooners’ defense ranks 11th or higher in three of four major statistical categories. Still, losses to BYU, Miami and Texas have taken the air out of a season that started with the Sooners ranked No. 3.

Stoops said his players have kept a good attitude.

"They are pushing to get better," he said. "We’ve made some improvement. There is still a lot more to go though. We’re not at all where we can be."

Nebraska also expected to have achieved more by this point in Pelini’s second season.

The Huskers were in position to beat Virginia Tech on the road but ended up losing by a point after giving up an 81-yard play on the Hokies’ winning drive. They rose to No. 15 in the AP poll after rallying in the fourth quarter to beat Missouri last month, but embarrassing home losses to Texas Tech and Iowa State have left them out of the rankings and behind upstart Kansas State in the North.

"Hopefully we’ll move forward and it will allow us to get into the Big 12 championship and get into a good bowl game," Nebraska nose tackle Ndamukong Suh said.

For that to happen, the Huskers better find some offense. Freshman quarterback Cody Green is in line to make his second start after taking over for Zac Lee, who struggled against Texas Tech and was victimized by a school record-tying eight turnovers, three of them his own, against Iowa State.

"We haven’t put it all together," Pelini said. "We have been mixing and matching a decent amount trying to find the right combinations where we’re limited. We just have to execute more consistently. That will be even more magnified against a group like this."

-- Eric Olson

No. 18 Oklahoma St hopes Cyclones cure ills

AMES, Iowa — In the last few years, Iowa State was often the cure for whatever ailed the rest of the Big 12.

No. 18 Oklahoma State could sure use a pick-me-up after getting blasted by No. 2 Texas 41-14 in Stillwater last week. But the Cyclones don’t appear to be quite the pushovers they once were and the Cowboys (6-2, 3-1 Big 12) know that just because they throttled Iowa State 59-17 last season doesn’t necessarily mean they can do it again.

The Cyclones (5-4, 2-3), who host Oklahoma State on Saturday, are in the thick of the muddled mess that is the Big 12 North title chase just a year after finishing 2-10.

"You really can’t look past anyone. There’s a lot of upsets that happen in football and you don’t ever want to be that guy or that team that gets upset," Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon said.

To avoid that, the Cowboys will need to get senior quarterback Zac Robinson on track after a terrible outing against the Longhorns.

Robinson threw a career-high four interceptions in the loss to Texas, one more than he had all season. Robinson finished with just 143 yards passing against the Longhorns — who raced out to an 34-7 lead by taking two of Robinson’s picks back for touchdowns — and he didn’t complete a pass of at least 25 yards for the first time this season.

Robinson is still the Big 12’s highest-rated passer and is just 74 yards shy of passing his coach, Mike Gundy, for the most in Cowboys history.

Iowa State had its hands full with Texas A&M’s Jerrod Johnson, who completed 23 of 28 passes for 234 yards and three TDs in a 35-10 win.

Iowa State expects even to see an even more dangerous quarterback in Robinson, who sliced them up for 395 yards last season.

That’s not a good sign for the Cyclones, who rank 94th nationally in passing defense. Oklahoma State is also hoping that star running back Kendall Hunter, who’s been hobbled since a loss to Houston on Sept. 12, will play.

"Robinson is dangerous is all aspects," Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said. "Running the football as a part of the offense, running the football in a scramble situation and throwing the ball down the field."

The Cyclones are expecting more out of their quarterback as well this weekend, now that junior Austen Arnaud is back in the lineup.

Arnaud whacked his throwing hand on a defender’s helmet early in a win over Baylor on Oct. 17.

Iowa State gutted out a win at Nebraska behind backup QB Jerome Tiller on Oct. 24, forcing eight turnovers in a 9-7 victory. But Arnaud’s absence became more glaring in last week’s loss at College Station and the Cyclones have scored just 19 points in the two games he missed.

Arnaud has thrown for 1,246 yards and nine touchdowns and rushed for 434 yards and seven TDs. He leads the offense along with Alexander Robinson, the Big 12’s leading rusher at 101.6 yards per game despite a persistent groin injury.

"Austen is the starter for a reason. He’s got a better grasp of everything that’s associated with what we do. Having that back and the command that goes with that will be important to us," Rhoads said.

Despite the early loss to Houston, the Cowboys knew that a win over the Longhorns would have given them the inside track to a Big 12 South title and perhaps a BCS berth.

Those hopes are now in serious jeopardy.

"We didn’t lose to horrible team," Oklahoma State offensive lineman Shane Jarka said. "But we lost to them horribly because of a bunch of mistakes and mental mistakes and turnovers. Bouncing back is going to be hard, but we can do it because we have done it before."

-- Luke Meredith

WR Dez Bryant tells ESPN he will enter NFL draft

STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant is headed to the NFL.

Bryant told ESPN.com that he plans to enter the 2010 NFL draft, disclosing his intentions late Thursday after the NCAA rejected a final appeal by the school to reinstate the junior All-American who lied about contact with former NFL player Deion Sanders.

Bryant sat out the first five games while the NCAA investigated his offseason meeting with Sanders at a Texas athletic center. Bryant admitted that he lied to an NCAA investigator about the meeting and later apologized.

Bryant told ESPN.com that entering the draft is "the best decision for me" and that he will start training for the NFL combine next week in Florida.

"This year didn’t go the way I wanted it to," Bryant said. "It was so hard. And to be honest, I had my head down at times. But the NCAA has made their decision. And I respect that. And now I’ve made mine."

Bryant caught 87 passes for 1,480 yards and 19 touchdowns last season while also scoring twice on punt returns. He was the only one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award left in school this year.

In a letter to the NCAA that accompanied his request for reinstatement, Bryant had asked to be allowed to play again this season for the 18th-ranked Cowboys (6-2, 3-1 Big 12). The NCAA decided last week that Bryant should be suspended until next September, OSU appealed and the final word came Thursday from the NCAA’s Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee.

Bryant told ESPN.com he hopes to live up to the NFL production of receivers including Randy Moss and Anquan Boldin.

"When I talk to the NFL, I’m going to be truthful with them about what happened," he said. "It will be what I’m supposed to tell them, which is the truth."

K-State has edge over Kansas this time

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Kansas and Kansas State face each other Saturday in one of college football’s longest-running rivalries, 107 years and counting.

One team is leading the Big 12 North Division, the other reeling through a losing streak — just like always.

Well, not quite like always. This year, the roles are reversed, at least from recent years.

Kansas State is the team on a roll. Kansas needs a win.

This is more like the Sunflower Showdown, circa 2003.

"You never know where somebody’s going to be at this point in the season," Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing said. "I didn’t think we’d be where we are now, so it just goes to show you never know how things are going to play out."

Kansas State probably didn’t figure it’d turn out this way, either.

Picked to finish at the bottom of the Big 12 North, the Wildcats are the surprise leaders in the division after winning three of its first four conference games. Even in a loss to Oklahoma last week, Kansas State didn’t embarrass itself, scoring 30 points and gaining 364 total yards — both season-highs against the Sooners’ defense.

Not bad for a team that couldn’t beat Louisiana-Lafayette and lost to Texas Tech by 52 points.

"From where we started to where we are now, we’ve improved quite a bit, but I knew all along that we had potential to be a decent team," said Kansas State quarterback Grant Gregory, who opened the season as a backup to Carson Coffman. "We’re just starting to become a decent team."

Kansas has gone in the opposite direction.

Behind Reesing and a strong senior class, this was supposed to be the year of the Jayhawk. It started off that way: Kansas opened the season 5-0, reached No. 16 in The Associated Press Top 25, its offense rolling like it always has.

Then came an inexplicable loss to Colorado, followed by lopsided setbacks against Texas Tech and Oklahoma.

Now, the Jayhawks face their first four-game losing streak since 2006 and need to beat their instate rivals to have any chance at getting back into the Big 12 North race.

"I do not think you can look at the North standings," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. "I think you have to look at yourself and how we are going to get better. We can’t sit around and talk about winning the North, we have to talk about winning a game. I think that is what is really important to our team and to our players."

Getting that win will likely hinge on Reesing.

The senior who holds nearly every significant school quarterbacking record was benched with just over 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter of his last game. The Jayhawks trailed by 14 at the time, seemingly within Reesing’s reach, but Mangino brought in redshirt freshman Kale Pick, hoping to get a spark.

Bothered by a strained groin suffered two weeks earlier, Reesing wasn’t his usual mobile self and was unable to move the Kansas offense against the Red Raiders. He was sacked six times and Kansas lost 42-21.

Over the past three games, Reesing has just two touchdown passes and seven turnovers after throwing for over 1,600 yards passing with 13 touchdowns and three interceptions the first five games.

"Sometimes, when you get too tense, you get that snowball effect," Reesing said of himself and the rest of the team. "That has kind of happened the last couple of weeks. Play this game the way it should be played. You’re not supposed to be hanging your head and feeling bad, not having fun. The point where this game isn’t fun for you anymore, it’s time to hang it up.

"I still love playing this game. It’s still fun as heck for me."

How well Reesing plays will go a long way in determining whether Kansas can continue its run in this heated rivalry. The Jayhawks have won three straight and four of five in the series since Kansas State had an 11-game winning streak during Bill Snyder’s first stint as coach.

Rejuvenated after that shaky start to the season, the Wildcats control their own fate in the Big 12 North and would like nothing more to start the march toward the title with a win over their rivals.

"We’ve just got to go out and treat this like another game," Kansas State safety Tysyn Hartman said. "I mean, it’s a big in-state rivalry game that really means a lot to us right now, especially as far as contending in the North, but really, we’ve just got to see it as another game."

-- John Marshall