Tuesday, September 30, 2008
With each Big 12 Conference team having played four games and having finished its non-conference schedule, this week is as convenient a time as ever to stop, gather our thoughts and hand out some preliminary grades.
The season’s only a third of the way over, so there’s plenty of time to improve on these progress reports (Texas A&M and Kansas State, I’m talking to you).
Big 12 South
No. 1 Oklahoma: A+ (4-0) — Oklahoma boasts a versatile running attack with Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray, and the most NFL-ready quarterback in the nation in Sam Bradford.
No. 5 Texas: A (4-0) — Texas’ pass defense hasn’t had to face any Big 12-caliber competition yet, but the Longhorns have improved since last season: They’re allowing just 10.8 points per game and are ranked seventh in the conference in pass efficiency defense.
No. 7 Texas Tech: A (4-0) — Speaking of improving defenses, Texas Tech seems to have started its metamorphosis from an offense-only program to a well-rounded team. The Red Raiders held Nevada and SMU to 26 points in weeks two and three combined.
No. 21 Oklahoma State: A- (4-0) — Talk about sneaking up on the nation. Oklahoma State jumped into the AP poll for the first time this year after torching a decent Troy squad by 31 points last weekend.
Baylor: C (2-2) — Dual-threat quarterback Robert Griffin is one of the most exciting players in the nation, and the Bears’ narrow loss to undefeated Connecticut looks more impressive by the week.
Texas A&M: D- (2-2) — A win is a win, except when it’s a win against Army, by four points, at home. Pathetic.
Big 12 North
No. 4 Missouri: A (4-0) — Chase Daniel is the most jaw-droppingly proficient passer in the country (sorry, Mr. Reesing), and he’s got plenty of weapons around him. The Tigers’ pass defense still has some questions to answer heading into the Big 12 season.
No. 16 Kansas: B+ (3-1) — It hasn’t looked pretty at times this year for the young Jayhawks, but the results speak loudly: Kansas is still a good football team. Traveling to South Florida (now 5-0 and ranked No. 10) and coming away with a last-second loss isn’t anything to pout about.
Nebraska: B- (3-1) — New head coach Bo Pelini looked like a mastermind against New Mexico State in week three. In a home loss this past weekend to Virginia Tech, not so much.
Colorado: B- (3-1) — If the Buffaloes could play every game at home, they’d be contenders for the conference crown. But a neutral-site blowout loss to a so-so Florida State team looks pretty bad.
Kansas State: C- (3-1) — For an example of a team with some real problems, look west to the purple-clad ‘Cats, who yielded 335 rushing yards to Louisiana-Lafayette last Saturday.
Iowa State: C- (2-2) — The Cyclones aren’t any worse than everyone thought they’d be, but they need to at least challenge Kansas this weekend to prove they aren’t the Big 12’s worst.
— — Edited by Andy Greenhaw
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