LUBBOCK - Get ready for another "biggest game in the history of this year."

That's what dry-witted Texas Tech coach Mike Leach called the Big 12's next Saturday night prime-time showdown, this one against eighth-ranked Oklahoma State a week after the Red Raiders rose to No. 2 by beating Texas for the program's first win against a top-story/">top-story/">top-story/">top-story/">top-ranked team.

Frankly, Cowboys coach Mike Gundy is worn out, and his team even got a relative break with last week's 59-17 home romp against Iowa State.

"This is getting kind of monotonous with the big games in this league," said Gundy, whose team helped kick off the Big 12 craziness a month ago with an upset of No. 3 Missouri the same day fifth-ranked Texas bounced No. 1 Oklahoma. "There's just not a lot of time to back off."

Under different circumstances, the chatter would be all about the first Texas Tech-Oklahoma State game since Gundy's "I'm a man" rant that became a YouTube sensation after last year's 49-45 Cowboys win.

Instead, everyone's talking about what a man Michael Crabtree is. The receiver's sensational 28-yard touchdown with 1 second left to beat the Longhorns gave Texas Tech a direct path to a shot at the national championship, although a trip to No. 6 Oklahoma is two weeks away.

It's an interesting juxtaposition because Crabtree had the biggest drop of his career in last year's loss to the Cowboys, an easy potential winning catch inexplicably slipping through his hands in the end zone on fourth down in the final seconds.

"We said if we're ever in that situation again, we don't want to be the ones that lose," said quarterback Graham Harrell, recounting a conversation he and Crabtree had about the drop. "We want to make the play. It was a big learning experience with us, and I think it really helped us get where we are."

One other significant thing came out of last year's game. The Red Raiders changed defensive coordinators after they lost while gaining 718 yards, including 646 passing by Harrell, the fourth-highest total in a college game at the time.

A year later, defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill has Texas Tech ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 in total defense (349.5 yards per game).

"From the beginning he inspired the group," Leach said. "They have gotten better playing together and play together as a unit."

The challenge last week came from Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, a Heisman Trophy contender. This week, it's Oklahoma State's powerful running game. Cowboys running Kendall Hunter is the nation's fourth-best rusher (135.6 yards per game) on a team with the country's No. 5 rushing offense (273 yards a game).

Hunter has gained 161 yards or more in four games this season and will be a big part of Oklahoma State's keep-away plan as the Cowboys try to win in Lubbock for the first time since 1944. If they pull it off, the Big 12 South could have four teams with one loss.

"Any time you can try to keep a good offense like Texas Tech off the field, you definitely want to do that," Cowboys quarterback Zac Robinson said. "We're going to try to just keep doing what we always do."

The Red Raiders have a history of getting burned by the Cowboys' running game. In the past five games, Oklahoma State has notched six touchdown runs of 46 yards or more, including a 95-yarder.

Texas Tech can't forget about the Cowboys' passing game because there's a standout sophomore receiver at Oklahoma State, too. Dez Bryant has as many touchdowns as Crabtree (15) and is four spots higher nationally in yards per game. Bryant is second at 117.11 yards to 102.33 for Crabtree, who ranks sixth.

Before his critical drop against Oklahoma State last year, Crabtree had 14 catches for 237 yards and three touchdowns in the game. That's what Leach remembers.

"He's caught an awful lot of balls since then," Leach said. "Crabtree is a great player, but he'll drop a pass every once in a while."

If it happens Saturday night, it'll be on a much bigger stage - but the Red Raiders have done well there so far.

Sooners quietly stay in Big 12 hunt

COLLEGE STATION - Oklahoma has quietly marched along as Big 12 South rivals Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State have taken turns playing marquee games in the national spotlight.

Since losing to the Longhorns in Dallas on Oct. 11, the sixth-ranked Sooners (8-1, 4-1 Big 12) have rolled to easy victories over Kansas, Kansas State and Nebraska. The softer schedule has hurt Oklahoma in the Bowl Championship Series standings - the Sooners dropped from No. 4 to No. 6 after beating the Cornhuskers 62-28 last week.

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops was surprised to see his team slip, but as long as the Sooners keep winning, the rankings should take care of themselves.

The Sooners will have their chances to make up ground, with top-story/">top-story/">top-story/">top-story/">top-10 teams Texas Tech and Oklahoma State still left on the schedule. First, they have to get past Texas A&M (4-5, 2-3) at Kyle Field on Saturday, another matchup on the conference undercard with the Red Raiders playing the Cowboys in Lubbock.

"I know we still have three big games left," Stoops said. "In the end, that's what matters, what you do from here on out. Other teams have some big games as well. There's a lot that still can happen and we're very aware of that."

Oklahoma delivered early knockout punches in its last two games, leading Kansas State 55-28 at halftime and Nebraska 35-0 after the first quarter. They're big favorites again this week and have won eight of the last nine meetings with the Aggies, who are 2-4 at home this season.

The Sooners still need to be careful. They've lost four of seven games at Kyle Field since the start of the Big 12 and their margin of victory in all three wins was a touchdown or less.

There's also a precedent for a monumental upset. In 2002, quarterback Reggie McNeal came off the bench to lead an unranked A&M team with a 5-4 record to a 30-26 victory over then-No. 1 Sooners.

"Who hasn't had some tough times down there?" Stoops said. "It's a wild atmosphere, usually. You have to play well, and they've had some good teams, too. There have been some exciting games, but you still have to take care of your business, focus on taking care of the ball and executing."

The Aggies have won two in a row for the first time this season, but their defense is still making bad mistakes under first-year coordinator Joe Kines. They rank 104th in yards allowed (427.11 per game), 102nd in points allowed (32.56 per game) - and this may be the best offense they've seen all season.

The Sooners have gone over 500 total yards in six games and have averaged 55 points in their last three. While Colt McCoy and Graham Harrell have gotten most of the attention lately, Sam Bradford leads the Big 12 in touchdown passes (34) and is one of only three quarterbacks in the country with over 3,000 passing yards.

A&M held Colorado to 392 yards in a 24-17 win last week, but that was the Big 12's worst offense. The Buffaloes have scored 166 points all season; the Sooners have scored 165 points in their last three games.

Kines' concerns start with the pace of Oklahoma's offense. The Sooners average less than 30 minutes of possession time per game and have 30 scoring drives under two minutes.

"You don't have time to celebrate or cry," Kines said. "If you made a good play, you better get lined up, ‘cause they're coming again. You make a bad play, you better get it out of the way, ‘cause they're fixin' to hit you with another one. They do a great job with their tempo."

Oklahoma's defense has had its own issues and will be without standout end Auston English, out "maybe three weeks" with a sprained knee, Stoops said.

A&M coach Mike Sherman said the Aggies must control the clock, limit turnovers and keep the ball away from Bradford. The Aggies have won 18 of the last 22 games in which they've won the turnover margin - though two of the losses came against Oklahoma.

The Sooners lead the Big 12 with a plus-12 turnover ratio, but the Aggies' offense has dramatically improved in recent weeks behind sophomore quarterback Jerrod Johnson, who will make his seventh career start. Johnson ranks 18th nationally in pass efficiency and he's thrown only four interceptions, two fewer than Bradford.

"You can see that he's getting more and more comfortable each and every game," Stoops said. "He's got the ability to run, but he's a really good thrower."

The Sooners will certainly keep an eye on freshman receiver Jeff Fuller, who verbally committed to Oklahoma, then changed his mind and chose A&M, his father's alma mater. Fuller is A&M's second-leading receiver, with 42 catches for 535 yards.

"I'm going to try not to make it too much of a personal thing," Fuller said. "I was committed there at one point and I made the decision to come here. Stuff like that happens all the time in college football."

-- Chris Duncan

Texas now needs to win and watch

AUSTIN - One week ago, Texas coach Mack Brown said style points don't count.

They do now.

After losing at No. 2 Texas Tech and falling from No. 1 to No. 5, Brown's Longhorns now are left watching how the round-robin in the Big 12 South plays out and whether they will still have a shot at the Big 12 and national titles.

They also have to take care of their own business the final three games, starting Saturday with Baylor (3-6, 1-4).

Style points count because the Longhorns (8-1, 4-1) not only need to win, they need to do it in convincing fashion so the pollsters in the complicated Bowl Championship Series system like what they see. Texas is still the highest-ranked team with one loss in the BCS standings.

"There are a lot of games still left to be played, and a lot of things are going to pan out," Texas quarterback Colt McCoy said. "If we put ourselves in the position we need to be, and we win the rest of our games, we'll be fine."

Will they? If the Big 12 South comes down to a three-way tie, BCS standings are part of the tie-breaking formula. Any little edge will count and the next three weeks promise to be a circus of calculating wins, rankings, strength of schedules, etc.

Anybody watching Texas' schedule over the last month certainly looked at Baylor as the breather after four straight games against ranked opponents. Then the Bears nearly upset No. 13 Missouri last weekend, losing 31-28 on a field goal late in the fourth quarter.

"Anybody who saw that game," Texas center Chris Hall said, "knows the ‘gimme' part of this week went right out the window."

Baylor hasn't beaten Texas since 1997 and really hasn't even been competitive. But even though they are one loss away from their 13th consecutive losing season, the Bears seem to have found new energy behind first-year coach Art Briles and freshman quarterback Robert Griffin.

"If you don't believe in yourself, no one else will. And right now, we are fighting for ourselves and trying to make other people believe in us as a football team," Briles said.

Brown sees a bit of Vince Young in Griffin. Not necessarily as a player who could lead Baylor all the way to a national championship, but one who can inspire his teammates and befuddle opponents with big plays and razzle-dazzle on the field.

"What he does for them is what Vince did for us as a freshman (in 2003)," Brown said. "Baylor has become a legitimate factor in this league with one guy at quarterback. ... He's changed the face of their program."

Griffin has passed for 11 touchdowns and didn't throw his first interception until last week against Missouri. He set a major college record for most passes at the start of a career (209) without an interception.

"They are a different Baylor team and they are way better," Texas defensive tackle Lamarr Houston said. "They are a lot tougher than they used to be."

But how tough is Texas? The Longhorns looked like the toughest and best team in the country as they fought for wins over Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and romped over Missouri.

Texas now has a loss and two of its best players and leaders, defensive end Brian Orakpo (knee) and receiver Quan Cosby (back) will likely be game-time decisions whether they'll play against Baylor.

McCoy who had part of the inside of his upper lip ripped open against Texas Tech, said the Longhorns should be ready to play the rest of the schedule while keeping an eye on who else is winning and losing in the Big 12 South.

"We've played a ridiculously hard schedule," McCoy said. "Our goals are still there. The only thing we can control now are ourselves and winning out. That starts this week."

-- Jim Vertuno