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By David Ubben
It's been a fun year with a fun finale last night, but here's how the Big 12 sits to end the 2010 season.
For reference, here's how I ranked the league before the bowl games.
1. Oklahoma (12-2, 6-2, last week: 1) For all the bumps that 2010 brought the Sooners, they did what everyone picked them to do: Win the Big 12. They did the same in the Fiesta Bowl: Beat Connecticut handily.
2. Oklahoma State (11-2, 6-2, LW: 3) The way Texas A&M, Missouri and Nebraska played in the postseason, there's no doubt that Oklahoma State was playing the second-best football of anyone in the conference to close the year.
3. Texas A&M (9-4, 6-2, LW: 2) The Aggies played by far the best team of anyone in the Big 12 in their bowl game, and didn't play well on offense or defense, but Missouri and Nebraska don't warrant a jump after losing to unranked teams.
4. Missouri (10-3, 6-2, LW: 4) Missouri had the closest loss among the Big 12's top tier of teams in the league's weak bowl showing, but outside of Blaine Gabbert's inexplicable late interception, the Tigers played pretty well in the second half.
5. Nebraska (10-4, 6-2, LW: 5) Not many positives to the Huskers' flat showing in San Diego. Something to learn from, but Nebraska can't afford to get out-muscled up front in the Big Ten like they were against Washington.
6. Texas Tech (8-5, 3-5, LW: 6) The Red Raiders were one of just three Big 12 bowl winners, and got nice days out of long-time friends and teammates Lyle Leong and Taylor Potts to do it. Nice job to hold off an impressive Northwestern comeback, too.
7. Kansas State (7-6, 3-5, LW: 8) The Wildcats got robbed on a call, but there's nothing saying they would have won. K-State still needed a two-point conversion and would have had to stop Syracuse in overtime. The Orange racked up almost 500 yards of offense, and Syracuse running back Delone Carter had 198 rushing yards. Not a good recipe for a win, bad call or otherwise.
8. Baylor (7-6, 4-4, LW: 7) Baylor flopped in its return to a bowl, losing 38-14 to Illinois. But look for the Bears in the postseason again in 2011 and to turn in a better performance on a big stage. Bears didn't respond well to big games this year.
9. Colorado (5-7, 2-6, LW: 9) Not many common threads for Colorado from 2010 to 2011. New coaching staff, new league. Should be an interesting future.
10. Texas (5-7, 2-6, LW: 10) Texas has four of its five coaching vacancies filled. Know any good offensive line coaches? Longhorns new look should be fun to watch through the spring and into next season.
11. Iowa State (5-7, 3-5, LW: 11) Iowa State missed a pair of opportunities -- on the road against Colorado and at home against Missouri -- to qualify for a bowl, but Year 3 is perhaps the most important under Paul Rhoads and certainly the most telling of where this program is headed.
12. Kansas (3-9, 1-7, LW: 12) The Jayhawks managed a nice recruiting class in the middle of the Big 12, and snatched early-enrolling quarterback Brock Berglund from Colorado. A nice start for Turner Gill on the recruiting trail in his first full year.
Originally posted by ESPN.com - Big 12 Blog
Click here to view the article.
It's been a fun year with a fun finale last night, but here's how the Big 12 sits to end the 2010 season.For reference, here's how I ranked the league before the bowl games.
1. Oklahoma (12-2, 6-2, last week: 1) For all the bumps that 2010 brought the Sooners, they did what everyone picked them to do: Win the Big 12. They did the same in the Fiesta Bowl: Beat Connecticut handily.
2. Oklahoma State (11-2, 6-2, LW: 3) The way Texas A&M, Missouri and Nebraska played in the postseason, there's no doubt that Oklahoma State was playing the second-best football of anyone in the conference to close the year.
3. Texas A&M (9-4, 6-2, LW: 2) The Aggies played by far the best team of anyone in the Big 12 in their bowl game, and didn't play well on offense or defense, but Missouri and Nebraska don't warrant a jump after losing to unranked teams.
4. Missouri (10-3, 6-2, LW: 4) Missouri had the closest loss among the Big 12's top tier of teams in the league's weak bowl showing, but outside of Blaine Gabbert's inexplicable late interception, the Tigers played pretty well in the second half.
5. Nebraska (10-4, 6-2, LW: 5) Not many positives to the Huskers' flat showing in San Diego. Something to learn from, but Nebraska can't afford to get out-muscled up front in the Big Ten like they were against Washington.
6. Texas Tech (8-5, 3-5, LW: 6) The Red Raiders were one of just three Big 12 bowl winners, and got nice days out of long-time friends and teammates Lyle Leong and Taylor Potts to do it. Nice job to hold off an impressive Northwestern comeback, too.
7. Kansas State (7-6, 3-5, LW: 8) The Wildcats got robbed on a call, but there's nothing saying they would have won. K-State still needed a two-point conversion and would have had to stop Syracuse in overtime. The Orange racked up almost 500 yards of offense, and Syracuse running back Delone Carter had 198 rushing yards. Not a good recipe for a win, bad call or otherwise.
8. Baylor (7-6, 4-4, LW: 7) Baylor flopped in its return to a bowl, losing 38-14 to Illinois. But look for the Bears in the postseason again in 2011 and to turn in a better performance on a big stage. Bears didn't respond well to big games this year.
9. Colorado (5-7, 2-6, LW: 9) Not many common threads for Colorado from 2010 to 2011. New coaching staff, new league. Should be an interesting future.
10. Texas (5-7, 2-6, LW: 10) Texas has four of its five coaching vacancies filled. Know any good offensive line coaches? Longhorns new look should be fun to watch through the spring and into next season.
11. Iowa State (5-7, 3-5, LW: 11) Iowa State missed a pair of opportunities -- on the road against Colorado and at home against Missouri -- to qualify for a bowl, but Year 3 is perhaps the most important under Paul Rhoads and certainly the most telling of where this program is headed.
12. Kansas (3-9, 1-7, LW: 12) The Jayhawks managed a nice recruiting class in the middle of the Big 12, and snatched early-enrolling quarterback Brock Berglund from Colorado. A nice start for Turner Gill on the recruiting trail in his first full year.
Originally posted by ESPN.com - Big 12 Blog
Click here to view the article.