Sports
Tuesday, October 12,1999 Page 9
4?
The college football season has reached the halfway
point, and the race to the bowlsisun. „„- .,
Big 12 Conference teams have shown that they can
the top 25 iii both major polls.
Nebrask^ maveidipwNhr3WBih0iponrwfthiifiltr
over Iowa State on Saturday, and Kansas State
remained No. 9 in the AP Poll while moving up two
notches to ]>io. 8 in the Coaches’ Poll. NU (6-0) and KSU
(5-0) are the only undefeated Big 12 teams left. Texas
A&M is racked 13th (AP) and 11th (Coaches’); and
Texas is 19*f in both polls.
Let the>raee to San Antonio and the Big 12
Championship begin.
The Big 12 North has three undefeated teams in the
conference thus far. They are Nebraska, Kansas State
and Colorado. The Buffaloes are 3-2, but 2-0 in the con
ference. Iowa State is 3-2 - and 0-2 in the league - after
a 3-0 start. Losses to NU and KSU in the list three
weeks have stalled the Cyclones a bit.
Missour has shown that it cannot beafNebraska
again and can still find a Way to lose the dose game in
overtime (tee last Saturday at Colorado). Kansas
rounds out (he three teams in the north cellar at 0-2 and
2-4 overall. 1 -- - -~ ~
Here are the Big 12 teams, followed by the grade
earned thusf far
Nebrask? ______. ,
The Cornhuskers are coming off a 49-14 smashing of Iowa State at
home and enh r their first open date on an offensive roHlNU travels to
A&M and Kansas State on consecutive weeks in November. Colorado
on Nov. 26 co) ikt be a crucial game in seeing who will represent the
Kansas S late
The Wild :ats have cruised through their usual cream-puff
schedule but have shown that they belong with tough wins over
Iowa State ai d Texas. Nebraska is again circled on the schedule,
but it also pi lys Colorado in Boulder. If it can get by those two
games, the re it of its schedule will be easy.
Colorado
First-year |Coach Gary Barnett has his team playing well in the Big
12 despite struggling terribly through the non-conference schedule.
Early losses to in-state rival Colorado State and Washington have peo
ple skepticali ibout the Buffaloes’ prospects. An overtime win over
Missouri last' veek was huge, and a schedule that includes Nebraska,
Kansas State, Oklahoma and Iowa State will test them often.
Iowa State
C> Coach Dan McCarney is finally showing signs of turning
around the program after four years. Tough losses to two top-10
^ opponents arid injuries have hurt the Cyclones. A rough but not
Missouri „
C ^ Missouri pnd Iowa State have identical records, but the Tigers
^ receive a lower grade for blowing a win at CoIonc|!I.OnJllturday.
"""" Give credit ta the Tigers, who came back from a blowout against
Nebraska tojwin at Memphis the following week. Up next is a
tough schedule in which MU will have to improve if it wants to be
close. * s
P Kansas _ ‘ _.
_ Kansas has been blown out in both losses to Big 12 opponents.
Colorado and Kansas State tacked on 51 and 50 points respective
ly in those matchups. The Jayhawks are showing no sign of being
able to win-other than meeting with Baylor on Nov. 6.
The Big 12 Sooth is as jumbled as a box of cracker jacks with no prize. Texas leads
early with a 2-1 conference mark, but four teams have a 1-1 league mark up to this point.
Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech are all tied for second place.
Baylor, 0-3 and 1-5, brings up the rear.
Texas A&M
A&M is 4-1 after getting upset by Texas
—» Tech two weeks ago. The Aggies beat
Southern Miss, a good win for them. Still,
Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas remain.
Texas
- The Longhorns are in first place in a
very disappointing division. A win over
Oklahoma on Saturday is the only impres
£ sive one on the schedule. UT’s loss to
Kansas State will hurt in the long run. The
Longhorns host Nebraska after an'off
week, and that could make or break their
season. Iowa State and Texas A&M are also
barriers.
Oklahoma
CThe Sooners were billed before their
meeting with Notre Dame as an improved,
new team. This was believable until
second-half collapses to the Irish and rival
Texas left OU grasping for answers. The
win at Louisville was good, but the Sooners
most find a way to maintain their opening
success.
eThe Cowboys came back from a loss at
—^Nebraska to pound Texas Tech. The
Cowboys were hurt early by the loss of Tony
... ... Lindsay, but BJU Tiger performed well
against Tech - for what it’s worth. Kansas
and Baylor remain, and OSU could pull a
~ - Texas Tech and upset another Big 12 South
opponent.
T>, Texas Tech
jj*Tr Tech lost Heisman candidate Ricky
^ Williams early, and that cost the team its
season. Spike Dykesis doing the best with
what be has - which is not much. The
defense showed it was horrible against
Oklahoma State, coming off an upset of
A&M.
Baylor
The Bears receive their pins for finding
ways to lose the first two games versus Boston
College and UNLV. They got a win against
North Texas but have been obliterated by Big
12 competition. BU has been outscored 148
23 in its three conference games.
