Big 12 South Could Get Even Tougher

Just maybe the Big 12 football coaches thought they had seen the South Division at its most competitive in 2008 when they voted this spring not to change the league's three-way tie-breaker guidelines.

They might want to re-think that one.

The ultra-competitive Big 12 South could again have as many as three teams in a logjam for first place if the best teams take turns beating up on each other as they did last season. Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech all swapped wins and finished tied for first in the South with 7-1 league records at the end of 2008. They Big 12 had to sift through four tie-breaker stipulations before coming up on the fifth that named the Sooners the South champs by virtue of their BCS poll standing.
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As usual, Oklahoma and Texas will be the class of the South, but look for Oklahoma State and quarterback Zac Robinson to replace Tech as the third team in the division capable of beating anyone.

OSU coach Mike Gundy relishes the challenge of breaking into the top half of the division, but he also knows there is a steep price to pay for entry into the party.

"I'm going to guess it's going to be pretty tough," said Gundy, whose team returns most of its firepower on offense. "I haven't looked at any of the preseason polls or anything, but I'm guessing there are going to be at least four teams in the top 20 and maybe three of them in the top 10."

Much of those expectations have to do with these number of experience quarterbacks returning in the South. Five of the six teams bring back veteran quarterbacks, headlined by Oklahoma's Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford and Texas' Heisman runner-up Colt McCoy in this quarterback-driven league.

Texas Tech, which seems to grow NCAA passing record quarterbacks, is the only South school without a returning quarterback after Graham Harrell exhausted his eligibility last season.

"I think the fact that the quarterbacks are back are a big key because that provides a level of leadership," said Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, who seems to leaning toward Taylor Potts as Harrell's successor. "I think that leadership through the summer allows you to get really solid, productive work."

But even with so many experienced quarterbacks returning, it still looks as though OU will be the odds-on favorite to win its fourth straight South division and Big 12 championship. Bradford lost his two top receiving threats and four of his five starting offensive linemen, but there is enough talent in the wings to make the Sooners the best bet. They return their top three running backs, perhaps the best tight end in the country in Jermaine Gresham and pretty much every essential player on defense.

The schedule also doesn't hurt OU, with its toughest league road games at Nebraska, Texas Tech and Kansas.

UT, meanwhile, has some serious holes to fill on both sides of the football before McCoy can lay claim to his first division title. The Longhorns need to find go-to receivers, establish a running back and find a replacement for defensive end Brian Orakpo's skill and leadership.



But not surprisingly, UT coach Mack Brown isn't conceding anything.

"Our goals are to win the opening game, win the Big 12 South, win the conference championship and win a bowl game every year, hopefully that will be the national championship," Brown said. "So our goals really haven't changed since we've been here."

What could make the South even tougher this season is the improvement of the bottom half teams. Art Briles came to Baylor last season and immediately raised some eyebrows with exciting freshman quarterback Robert Griffin. Texas A&M should also be better in the second year of Mike Sherman and strong-armed quarterback Jerrod Johnson.

And then there is the Texas Tech factor with Leach's pass happy attack. The Raiders lost a lot defensively and on offense with receiver Michael Crabtree and Harrell. But they have plenty of young athletes ready to make a name for themselves in Leach's system.

The translation is there are not likely to be any easy Saturdays once again in the Big 12 South.

"This league continues to be very difficult ... you have to be ready to play each week," Gundy said. "You have to get your players prepared to play a Texas and if you win you'd better get them ready for practice Tuesday to play an Oklahoma or a Texas Tech or whoever it may be.

"That's the most difficult part as a coach to continue to take these young men and get them to play at high level each week. I don't think there is any question it's a difficult league but that's a good thing."