game day - dec 1, 2012

Dec. 1, 2012

Oklahoma at TCUChampionship in the cards?

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The Norman Transcript ■ Dec. 1, 2012 GAMEDAY 3

Oklahomaat TCU

Time: 11 a.m.

Place: Owen Field

Series: OU leads 7-4

Records: OU 9-2 (7-1 Big 12),TCU (7-4, 4-4 Big 12)

Rankings: OU No. 12Associated Press Top 25; No.11 USA Today coaches poll;No. 11 BCS Standings/TCUunranked but receiving votesin both polls.

Line: OU minus 6 1/2

TV: ESPN (Cox 29)

Radio: KOKC-AM 1520,KRXO-FM 107.7

Inside

■ All in front of Sooners 4■ Breakdown 5■ Rosters 6■ Two-deeps 7■ Poster 8■ Stats 11■ National Schedule 12■ Big 12 Glance 13■ Predictions 14

AP Photo

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops watches the action on the field during the Sooners’road victory at Iowa State. They’ll be looking for another one today.

THE VIEW

Finish strongWho’d have

thought?First, who’d have

thought Oklahoma couldever have lost two gamesat home, turning over theirshot at victory againstKansas State and going upand down the field to noavail against Notre Dame.

Second, who’d havethought the Sooners mightfind themselves wherethey find themselves todayhaving lost those twogames.

Still, with only thoseblemishes next to theirname and still with a chanceto win a Big 12 champi-onship, even if Kansas Statetopples Texas tonight inManhattan.

Of course, the Wildcatsown the tiebreaker that willsend them to the FiestaBowl. But back here in Big12 country, the conferencedoesn’t play favorites. Inantiquity, it will be remem-bered both OU and K-State

claimed the league crownshould both win today.

Bob Stoops hasn’t alwaysagreed with that kind ofthinking, but the man’s nota nitwit. When it serves hisprogram, he’ll take thehardware.

“It’s whatever theconference rules are,”Stoops said. “That’s whatyou go by.”

It’s convenient, yes, but itstill counts. And if the OUgets it, that would be No. 8since 2000, the second yearof the Stoops era. Andinstead of pondering therightness of the Sooners’right to claim their share ofthe title should they win

ClayHorning

Sports Editor

In a season of big games, today’s becomes the biggest

• See HORNING Page 14

By John ShinnTranscript Sports Writer

Come-from-behind victo-ries should leave a teamphysically and emotionallydrained.

Oklahoma has beenthrough two of those gamesthe last two weeks.

However, OU coach BobStoops was almost angeredwhen asked if his teammight struggle to rebound.

“I don’t know why itwould. In the end, there’snothing to bounce backfrom. Everything’s in frontof us,” he said. “We’ve got abig game, an opportunitywith championship implica-

tions. All of that in front ofyou; so if anything, I wouldthink it would give yousome momentum.”

So there are two thoriesbut only one will be validat-ed when the 12th-rankedSooners (9-2, 7-1 Big 12)face TCU (7-4, 4-4) at 11 a.m.today at Amon Carter Stadi-um.

OU really does haveeverything to play for. A vic-tory would clinch at least ashare of its eighth Big 12Conference championshipsince 2000. It could becomean outright title with a Soon-er victory coupled with a

Soonersmust refuel

THE BIG STORY: TURNAROUND GAME Brennan Clay wins theBedlamgame forOklahomawith thisovertime run lastSaturday atOwen Field.Today in Fort Worth,the Soonersneed onemore victoryaway fromhome, aplace they’veyet to losethis season,to claim atleast a shareof the Big 12Conferencecrown.

Transcript Photo by

Phillip Laizure

“In the end, there’snothing to bounce backfrom. Everything’s infront of us. We’ve got abig game, an opportu-nity with championshipimplications. All of thatin front of you; so ifanything, I would thinkit would give you somemomentum.”BBoobb SSttooooppssOU football coach

Will Bedlam prove draining or a source of motivation?

• See FOCUS Page 10

The Norman Transcript ■ Dec. 1, 20124 GAMEDAY

By John ShinnTranscript Sports Writer

On one hand, Okla-homa has to be happy it’sabout to play a run-orientated team. Consider-ing the points and yardsit’s givenup againstBaylor,WestVirginiaandOklahomaState, thiswill seemlike arespite.

On theotherhand, theSooners are 9-2 with twolosses against run-orientedoffenses that play prettygood defense (NotreDame and Kansas State).

So, what does OU need

to go its way against TCUtoday in order to come outwith victory? Here are fivekeys:

Win the turnover battle:The losses to Kansas Stateand Notre Dame came

down to turnovers. OUdidn’t collect any in eithergame and committed four.It’s a key in any game, butagainst ball-control teams

OKLAHOMA at TCU: BREAK ING DOWN TODAY’S GAME

Can’t be givingaway the football

Soonerfullback Trey Millardmakes amove duringOU’s victoryover Baylor.GettingMillardinvolvedcould go along waytoday for theSooners.

AP Photo

John Shinn

Fivethings to

watch


• See WATCH Page 11

RUNNING GAME PASSING GAME RUN DEFENSE

PASS DEFENSE SPECIAL TEAMS INTANGIBLES

■ A quarterback who canrun has proven to be anindispensable commodity.OU’s backup quarterbackBlake Bell can do it. TCUquarterback Tevone Boykincan, too. The difference ishe’ll be on the field for everyone of the Horned Frogs’offensive snaps. TheSooners will only have thatability on a handful of plays.

■ OU quarterback LandryJones makes his 48th starttoday. After two straight500-yard passing games,he’s clearly playing at thehighest level of his career.That experience is aided byfour proven and talentedreceivers to throw to. Boykinis a converted running backand it tends to show whenhe drops back to pass.

■ TCU’s rise over the lastdecade has been linked toits run defense. It will sell outto stop the run and it’s beena winning formula. OU’smanaged to win its lastthree games in spite of itsrun defense. The Soonersmight improve today, butthe track record points in theHorned Frogs’ direction.

■ OU’s removed the label ofa struggling road team. It’sbeen the same whether thegames have been at OwenField or elsewhere. TheSooners have to show thatpoise one last time. With aBig 12 title and BCS bowlberth both at stake, theyhave so much to play for.The stakes appear to giveOU the edge.

— John Shinn

■ A strong argument can bemade that special teams arethe reason OU’s still in theBig 12 title race. Big returnshave either set up or scoredsecond-half touchdowns inthe last two games.However, the gap here isn’tlarge. Special teams havebeen critical to the HornedFrogs’ success this season.They kick and cover as wellas any team.

■ The Sooners’ secondarygives them a decidedadvantage. The problem is itmay not matter. TCU has torun the ball to be successful.However, defensive endDevonte Fields could narrowthe gap considerably. Heleads the Big 12 in sacks.The Horned Frogs will needa great deal of pressure tomake this category competi-tive.

1 Tony Jefferson DB 5-11 212 Jr. Chula Vista, Calif.2 Julian Wilson DB 6-2 191 So. Moore3 Sterling Shepard WR 5-10 188 Fr. Oklahoma City4 Kenny Stills WR 6-1 190 Jr. Encinitas, Calif.5 Joseph Ibiloye LB 6-3 218 Sr. Garland, Tx6 Demontre Hurst DB 5-10 183 Sr. Lancaster, Tx7 Corey Nelson LB 6-1 219 Jr. Dallas, Tx8 Dominique Whaley RB 5-11 204 Sr. Lawton8 Joe Powell DB 6-0 173 Jr. Dallas9 Gabe Lynn DB 6-0 199 Jr. Tulsa9 Trevor Knight QB 6-1 197 Fr. San Antonio10 Rashod Favors DE 6-1 250 So. Fort Worth10 Blake Bell QB 6-6 254 So. Wichita,Kan.11 R.J. Washington DE 6-3 256 Sr. Fort Worth11 Kendal Thompson QB 6-1 184 R-Fr. Oklahoma City12 Landry Jones QB 6-4 218 Sr. Artesia, N.M.13 Durron Neal WR 5-11 201 Fr. St. Louis, Mo.14 Aaron Colvin DB 6-0 181 Jr. Owasso15 Drew Allen QB 6-5 226 Jr. San Antonio15 Lamar Harris DB 6-1 186 Sr. Gilmer, Tx16 Jaz Reynolds WR 6-2 198 Jr. Houston, Tx17 Trey Metoyer WR 6-1 190 Fr. Whitehouse, Tx18 Michael Hunnicutt K 6-0 173 So. Richardson, Tx18 Jalen Saunders WR 5-9 160 Jr. Elk Grove, Calif.19 Justin Brown WR 6-3 209 Sr. Wilmington, Del.20 Frank Shannon LB 6-1 230 R-Fr. Dallas21 Tom Wort LB 6-0 237 Jr. New Braunfels, TX 21 Austin Brown WR 6-5 202 R-Fr. Buffalo, Wyo.22 Roy Finch RB 5-7 175 Jr. Niceville, Fla.22 Cortez Johnson DB 6-2 191 So. NewOrleans, La.23 Kass Everett DB 5-10 180 Jr. Philadelphia, Pa.23 Danzel Williams RB 5-8 189 R-Fr. Arlington, Tx24 Brennan Clay RB 5-11 201 Jr. San Diego24 Trey Franks DB 5-10 184 Jr. Orange, Tx25 Aaron Franklin LB 6-1 212 So. Marshall, Tx25 David Smith RB 5-10 193 Fr. Midlothian, Ill.26 Zack Sanchez DB 5-11 170 Fr. Keller, Tx 26 Damien Williams RB 6-0 208 Jr. San Diego27 Gary Simon DB 6-1 180 Fr. St. Petersburg, Fla. 28 Alex Ross RB 6-1 204 Fr. Jenks29 Grant Bothun WR 5-11 183 Fr. Rowlett, Tx 29 Quentin Hayes DB 6-0 181 So. Lancaster, Tx30 Javon Harris DB 5-11 206 Sr. Lawton31 Daniel Franklin LB 6-2 224 Sr. Mount Airy, Ga.32 Marshall Musil FB 6-2 241 Jr. La Crosse, Kan.33 Trey Millard FB 6-2 256 Jr. Columbia, Mo.34 Daniel Brooks RB 5-8 163 Fr. Port Lavaca, Tx35 Julian Winters RB 5-11 169 So. Sacramento, Calif.36 Joel Ossom FB 5-9 235 Sr. Denton, Tx36 Tress Way P 6-1 215 Sr. Tulsa 37 Dylan Seibert P 6-3 215 R-Fr. Tulsa38 Brandon Young DB 5-10 173 So. Frisco, Tx38 Jack Steed K 6-5 200 Fr. Katy, Tx

39 Nick Hodgson K 6-2 189 So. N. Richland Hills, Tx40 P.L. Lindley LB 6-2 240 R-Fr. R. Rock, Tx41 Eric Striker LB 6-0 198 Fr. Seffner, Fla. 42 Jesse Paulsen DB 6-0 193 Sr. Albuquerque, N.M.43 Patrick O’Hara K 6-0 192 Sr. Topeka, Kan. 44 Jaydan Bird LB 6-2 236 Sr. Wichita, Kan. 45 Caleb Gastelum LB 6-1 196 So. Claremore 46 Eric Doughtie DB 6-0 197 Fr. Sugarland, Tx 47 Alex Christiensen FB 6-3 243 Fr. Edmond 47 Eric Hosek K 5-10 150 R-Fr. Sherman, Tx48 Aaron Ripkowski FB 6-1 260 So. Dayton, Ohio49 David Driskill FB 6-1 239 So. Oklahoma City50 Austin Woods OL 6-4 293 Jr. Rockwall, Tx52 John-Philip Hughes OL 6-4 250 R-Fr. Tulsa 53 Casey Walker DT 6-2 309 Sr. Garland, Tx54 Nila Kasitati OL 6-4 309 R-Fr. Euless, Tx56 Ty Darlington OL 6-3 266 Fr. Apopka, Fla. 59 Nathan Hughes OL 6-6 248 R-Fr. Spring, Tx 64 Gabe Ikard OL 6-3 288 Jr. Oklahoma City67 Robert Hollis OL 6-4 333 R-Fr. Tulsa 68 Bronson Irwin OL 6-5 307 Jr. Mustang69 Lane Johnson OL 6-7 303 Sr. Groveton, Tx71 Tyrus Thompson OL 6-5 303 So. Pflugerville, Tx 72 Derek Farniok OL 6-9 319 R-Fr. Sioux Falls, S.D.74 Adam Shead OL 6-4 307 So. Cedar Hill, Tx 75 Tyler Evans OL 6-5 315 Sr. Strafford, Mo.76 Jake Reed OL 6-4 300 Jr. Ardmore 77 Marquis Anderson DT 6-3 265 R-Fr. Cibolo, Tx 78 Kyle Marrs OL 6-5 320 Fr. San Antonio, Tx79 Daryl Williams OL 6-6 299 So. Lake Dallas, Tx80 Jordan Phillips DT 6-6 318 R-Fr. Towanda, Kan.80 Derrick Woods WR 6-1 185 Fr. Inglewood, Calif.81 Sam Grant TE 6-7 234 Fr. North Royalton, Ohio81 Lacolton Bester WR 6-3 205 Jr. Scooba, Miss. 82 Brannon Green TE 6-2 250 Jr. Altamont, Kan. 84 Mike Onuoha DE 6-5 235 Fr. Edmond 84 Don Caudill WR 6-1 194 Jr. Muldrow85 Geneo Grissom TE 6-4 247 So. Hutchinson, Kan. 86 Brandon Kitchens WR 5-11 161 Fr. Jenks87 Derrick Bradley WR 5-8 173 Sr. Houston, Tx88 Taylor McNamara TE 6-5 234 Fr. San Diego, Calif. 89 Connor Knight TE 6-4 212 Fr. San Antonio, 89 Chase Buck TE 6-3 231 Jr. Edmond90 David King DE 6-5 286 Sr. Houston91 Charles Tapper DE 6-4 265 Fr. Baltimore92 Stacy McGee DT 6-4 299 Sr. Muskogee93 Jordan Wade DT 6-4 290 Fr. Round Rock, Tx94 Torrea Peterson DT 6-3 277 So. San Antonio95 Damon Williams DT 6-3 305 So. Irving, Tx96 Mitch Tate DE 6-4 238 R-Fr. Bartlesville97 Jamarkus McFarland DT 6-2 288 Sr. Lufkin, Tx 98 Chuka Ndulue DE 6-3 256 So. Dallas99 Chaz Nelson DE 6-2 239 Jr. Columbus, Ohio

OKLAHOMA ROSTER1 Chris Hackett 6-2 200 S R-Fr. Tyler, TX1 Ja'Juan Story 6-4 208 WR So. Brooksville, Fla.1 Josh Doctson 6-4 185 WR So. Mansfield, TX2 Jason Verrett 5-10 180 CB Jr. Fairfield, Calif.2 Trevone Boykin 6-2 215 QB R-Fr. Mesquite, TX3 Brandon Carter 5-11 161 WR So. Euless, TX4 Jordan Moore 6-3 210 S Fr. Lithonia, Ga.6 Elisha Olabode 5-10 192 S Jr. Cedar Hill, TX7 Kolby Listenbee 6-1 185 WR Fr. Arlington, TX9 Jamie Byrd 5-11 190 S R-Fr. Dade City, Fla.10 Brian Alexis 5-9 160 CB Sr. Fort Worth, TX10 Matt Brown 6-1 189 QB So. Allen, TX11 Skye Dawson 5-9 183 WR Sr. Mesquite, TX12 Kolby Griffin 5-11 181 CB R-Fr. Houston, TX12 Tyler Matthews 6-3 215 QB Fr. Wichita, Kan.14 Tanner Campbell 6-2 200 S Jr. Houston, TX14 David Porter 6-0 195 WR So. Desoto, TX15 David Bush 5-9 180 WR R-Fr. Tyler, TX15 Scott Kujak 6-4 205 QB So. N.P. Richey, Fla.16 Hunter Havens 5-9 175 WR Jr. Prosper, TX16 Keivon Gamble 5-10 180 CB Jr. Dallas, TX16 Connor O'Modhrain 6-3 205 WR R-Fr. M. Viejo, Calif.17 Bo Galarza 6-0 187 WR Jr. El Paso, TX17 Sam Carter 6-1 220 S So. Alief, TX18 Carson Snyder 6-4 190 QB Fr. Aledo, TX18 Alex Adewunmi 6-1 210 LB Jr. Dallas, TX19 Antonio Graves 6-2 214 S So. Texarkana, TX20 Deante' Gray 5-10 180 CB Fr. Houston, TX20 Aaron Green 5-11 190 TB So. San Antonio, TX21 Zach Jackson 6-0 185 S Fr. Snellville, Ga.21 Chase DiStasio 6-1 182 WR R-Fr. Merrimack, N.H22 Quincy Aldridge 6-2 195 S R-Fr. Whitehouse, TX23 Trent Thomas 5-11 190 S Jr. Brenham, TX23 B.J. Catalon 5-9 185 TB Fr. Houston, TX24 Ryan DeNucci 5-10 190 PK So. Austin, TX24 Dalton Jones 6-1 200 S Sr. Shreveport, La.25 Kevin White 5-10 174 CB So. Round Rock, TX26 David Jenkins 6-1 193 CB So. Jena, La.26 Derrick Kindred 5-10 202 S Fr. San Antonio, TX27 Leekus Green 5-6 165 TB Jr. Katy, TX27 Travoskey Garrett 6-1 195 CB R-Fr. Lufkin, TX28 Geoff Hooker 5-10 180 S So. Sherman, TX28 Daniel Walker 6-3 187 WR Fr. Fort Worth, TX29 Matthew Tucker 6-1 227 TB Sr. Tyler, TX30 Aundre Dean 6-0 215 TB Sr. Katy, TX31 Devin Killpatrick 5-11 165 WR R-Fr. Pearland, TX31 Cale Patterson 5-11 185 P Sr. Kenilworth, Ill.32 Chris Kim 5-9 175 S Jr. Newton, Mass.32 Waymon James 5-8 203 TB Jr. Sherman, TX33 Jaden Oberkrom 6-3 182 PK Fr. Arlington, TX34 Preston Miller 5-9 170 WR Fr. Dallas, TX34 Joey Rowe 5-11 205 LB Fr. Phoenix, Ariz.35 Josh Carraway 6-3 225 DE Fr. Flower Mound, TX35 Phil Taylor 5-11 188 WR R-Fr. Lake Forest, Calif.36 Rahmaan Patterson 6-1 200 WR So. St. Paul, Minn.36 Joel Hasley 6-1 220 LB So. Aledo, TX37 Ethan Perry 6-4 230 P Fr. Spring Branch, TX39 Laderice Sanders 6-1 230 FB R-Fr. Arlington, TX40 James McFarland 6-3 240 DE Fr. West Monroe, La.41 Jonathan Anderson 6-3 208 S So. Corpus Christi, TX

42 Luke Benuska 6-6 255 TE R-Fr. San Marino, Calif.43 Cliff Murphy 6-4 280 TE So. Little Elm, TX44 David Stoltzman 6-0 210 LB Sr. southlake, TX46 A.J. Hilliard 6-2 215 LB Fr. Klein, TX47 Paul Dawson 6-2 230 LB So. Dallas, TX48 Carl Stephens 6-4 250 TE Fr. San Antonio, TX49 Stephen Bryant 6-5 242 TE So. New Deal, TX50 Daniel Shelley 6-1 228 SN Sr. Austin, TX51 Kenny Cain 6-1 225 LB Sr. Metairie, La.52 Ross Forrest 6-4 265 DE Sr. Odessa, TX53 David Johnson 6-2 270 DT So. Argyle, TX54 Marcus Mallet 6-1 216 LB So. Cleveland, TX55 Femi Awe 6-3 248 DE So. Mansfield, TX56 Joey Hunt 6-3 285 C Fr. El Campo, TX56 Christopher Cisi 5-9 195 LB Jr. Thousand Oaks, Calif.57 Davion Pierson 6-2 305 DT R-Fr. Oklahoma City58 Bryant House 6-4 267 DT Jr. Maud, TX59 Russell Williams 6-4 265 DE So. Eastland, Texa59 Tayo Fabuluje 6-7 315 OT So. Euless, TX60 Matt Johnston 6-5 300 OT Jr. Flower Mound, TX61 Rich Morgan 6-3 309 C Jr. Burlington, Ky.62 Griffin Fauntleroy 5-6 185 DS Jr. Temecula, Calif.63 Justin Trejo 6-4 305 OG Sr. St. Paul, Minn.64 James Fry 6-3 305 C Sr. Spring Branch, TX65 Brady Foltz 6-4 300 OG R-Fr. Rose Hill, Kan.66 Blaize Foltz 6-4 310 OG Sr. Rose Hill, Kan.67 Michael Clifford 6-3 285 OL Jr. Paris, TX68 Trevius Jones 6-5 315 OG Sr. Tyler, TX69 Aviante Collins 6-6 310 OT Fr. Houston, TX70 Jeremy Coleman 6-2 290 OG Sr. Missouri City, TX70 Sean Cady 6-3 200 DL Jr. Austin, Texa71 Michael Thompson 6-5 352 OG So. Farmersville, TX72 Bobby Thompson 6-6 310 OT R-Fr. Midland, TX73 Eric Tausch 6-3 300 OG Jr. Plano, TX74 Halapoulivaati Vaitai 6-6 305 OT Fr. Haltom, TX75 John Wooldridge 6-5 310 OG Jr. Houston, TX76 Chad Childs 6-5 280 OT Fr. La Grange, TX77 Jamelle Naff 6-4 311 OG R-Fr. Del City78 Nick Tutcher 6-4 290 OL Jr. Houston, TX79 Adam Bateman 6-3 310 OL R-Fr. Houston, TX80 Mason Orradre 6-1 192 WR R-Fr. S.L. Obispo, Calif.80 Buck Jones 6-4 228 TE Fr. Matthews, NC81 Bailey Desormeaux 6-3 195 WR So. Sugar Land, TX82 Josh Boyce 6-0 203 WR Jr. Copperas Cove, TX83 Gerren Ballard 6-6 250 TE Fr. Whitewright, TX84 Dominic Merka 6-4 230 TE R-Fr. Crosby, TX85 LaDarius Brown 6-4 220 WR R-Fr. Waxahachie, TX86 Corey Fuller 6-6 255 TE Sr. La Vernia, TX87 Griffin Gilbert 6-5 220 TE Fr. Austin, TX88 Cam White 6-3 200 WR So. Desoto, TX89 Walker Dille 6-4 242 TE Sr. Sugar Land, TX90 Stansly Maponga 6-2 265 DE Jr. Carrollton, TX91 Matt Anderson 6-3 245 DE So. Vanderbilt, TX92 Ray Burns 6-1 305 NT Jr. Maud, TX93 Michael Mosharrafa 6-3 210 DE Fr. Phoenix, Ariz.94 Taylor Oney 6-4 250 DE So. The Woodlands, TX96 Chucky Hunter 6-1 305 DT So. West Monroe, La.97 Jon Koontz 6-2 265 DE Jr. Aledo, TX98 Jon Lewis 6-2 290 DT So. Spring, TX99 Terrell Lathan 6-5 260 DT Fr. West Monroe, La.

TCU ROSTER


WHEN OKLAHOMA HAS THE BALL WHEN TCU HAS THE BALL

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Kansas State loss to Texas.There could very likely be

a BCS bowl appearance —the Sooners’ ninth since2000 — hanging in the bal-ance even should the Wild-cats win.

Everything that typicallyrides on the final game of theregular season will be dan-gling for the Sooners tograb.

Is it enough?“It would be huge. Huge

for us,” quarterback LandryJones said. “But to get to thatBCS bowl game, you have towin against TCU, so that’swhat we are focusing on thisweek.”

The ability to focus hasbeen OU’s best characteris-tic this season. A win todaywould mark the first time ithas completed a regular sea-son without losing awayfrom Owen Field since 2004.

“We’ve got a lot of seniorson the field and we’ve playedin big stadiums,” defensivetackle Casey Walker said.“Like when we were at Flori-da State, that’s one of theloudest stadiums I’ve everbeen in. Knowing you have

to tune out everythingaround you and focus onwhat you’re doing, I thinkthat we’ve done that. And it’sshown.”

There seems to be anobtainable goal under everynook and cranny of today’sgame. The Sooners havedone what’s required for thatto be the case.

“Everything is at stake inthis game. It’s basically achampionship gamedepending on what happens

with other teams. We couldwin it all,” linebacker TomWort said. “It’s definitely ahuge game for us and every-one is really focused for it.”

OU has been able toready itself for every gamethis season. Even after win-ning a thriller in Morgan-town, W.V., it was able tocome back just as strongand just as clutch last Satur-day against Oklahoma State.Those were tough games,but successful seasons

require difficult victories.OU’s got everything to

play for today at TCU. Play-ers have compared the reg-ular-season finale to a Big 12championship game.

A fitting comparison?The Sooners are playing

for a championship and verypossibly a BCS bowl berth.It sounds very much likeconference title game.

John ShinnFollow me @john_shinn

[email protected]

Total 368 1798 4.9 29 95 163.5

Opp. 423 2054 4.9 22 74 186.7

PassingEff C-A-I Pct Yds. TD

Jones 149.0 310-467-9 66.4 3745 27

Bell 119.9 9-15-0 60.0 107 0

Total 148.1 319-482-9 66.2 3852 27

Opp. 102.3180-354-12 50.8 2141 8

ReceivingNo. Yds. Avg. TD Lg A/G

Stills 73 876 12.0 11 68 79.6

Brown 62 795 12.8 4 46 72.3

Saunders 46 658 14.3 2 76 94.0

Shepard 38 549 14.4 3 52 49.9

Millard 27 306 11.3 4 73 27.8

Williams 25 262 10.5 0 38 23.8

Metoyer 17 148 8.7 1 27 16.4

Clay 14 90 6.4 1 25 8.2

Neal 4 62 15.5 0 25 6.9

Whaley 4 14 3.5 0 13 2.3

Green 3 45 15.0 1 18 4.1

Bester 3 29 9.7 0 13 2.6

Finch 2 6 3.0 0 5 0.5

Musil 1 12 12.0 0 12 6.0

Total 319 3852 12.1 27 76 350.2

Opp. 180 2141 11.9 8 75 194.6

Tackles (leaders)S A T Loss Sack

Jefferson 71 34 105 3.5-7 0.5-3

Harris 45 26 71 1.5-5

Colvin 36 13 49 2.5-15 2.0-14

Hurst 38 11 49 1.0-2 1.0-2

Wort 22 26 48 4.5-23 2.0-15

Nelson 20 23 43 3.5-13 1.0-8

Ndulue 20 19 39 5.0-10 4.0-9

Lynn 25 8 33 2.5-4

Shannon 19 14 33 3.0-13 2.0-12

Washington16 16 32 2.0-8 0.5-2

Wilson 21 8 29 2.0-3

McFarland 13 12 25 6.0-28 3.0-23

King 9 15 24 2.0-9 2.5-8

Sept. 1 at UTEP W, 24-7Sept. 8 Florida A&M W, 69-13Sept. 22 Kansas St. L, 24-19Oct. 6 at Texas Tech W, 41-20Oct. 13 Texas W, 63-21Oct. 20 Kansas W, 52-7Oct. 27 Notre Dame L, 30-13Nov. 3 at Iowa St. W, 35-20Nov. 10 Baylor W, 42-34Nov. 17 at W. Virginia W, 50-49Nov. 24 OSU W, 51-48Dec. 1 at TCU 11 a.m.

SCHEDULE

STATS(11 games)

RushingAtt Yds Y/C TD Lg Y/G

Williams 142 790 5.6 10 95 71.8

Clay 77 464 6.0 6 41 42.2

Whaley 39 243 6.2 1 18 40.5

Bell 54 182 3.4 11 55 16.5

Millard 26 162 6.2 0 20 14.7

Finch 7 62 8.9 1 17 5.6

Stills 2 22 11.0 0 13 2.0

Shepard 1 13 13.0 0 13 1.2

Team 7 -37 -5.3 0 0 -6.2

Jones 13 -103 -7.9 0 5 -9.4

Focus: Sooners must be ready• Continued from Page 4


OU Opp.SCORING 459 273

Points Per Game 41.7 24.8

FIRST DOWNS 304 211

Rushing 97 93

Passing 195 99

Penalty 12 19

RUSHING YARDAGE 1798 2054

Yards gained rushing 2022 2237

Yards lost rushing 224 183

Rushing Attempts 368 423

Average Per Rush 4.9 4.9

Average Per Game 163.5 186.7

TDs Rushing 29 22

PASSING YARDAGE 3852 2141

C-A-I 319-482-9180-354-12

Average Per Pass 8.0 6.0

Average Per Catch 12.1 11.9


TDs Passing 27 8

TOTAL OFFENSE 5650 4195

Total Plays 850 777

Average Per Play 6.6 5.4


3RD-DOWN Conversions 81/153 76/176

3rd-Down Pct 53% 43%

4TH-DOWN Conversions 7/10 6/13

4th-Down Pct 70% 46%

TE AM NUMBERS

TCU fans had much tocheer about inAustin lastSaturday,where theHorned Frogsbeat Texas.Today, they’ll be out inmuch highernumbershoping theirteam can stopthe Sooners.

AP Photo

it is magnified. Losing apossession can easily mean5 to 8 minutes without theball. Suddenly a quarter isoff the scoreboard and youroffense has spent ittwiddling its thumbs. OUhas the better offense.More possessions likelyequates to a victory.

Execute on first downdefensively: TCU can throwthe ball, but it relies onplay-action passes to do it.In order to be mosteffective it needs to be inshort-yardage situations onsecond and third down.Keep the Horned Frogs inthird-and-long situationsand OU’s defense gets theupper hand. Struggle onfirst down and it’s going tobe a long day.

Watch Lane Johnson:Oklahoma’s left tackle isgoing to be matched up onTCU defensive endDavonte Fields on everysnap. Fields leads the Big12 in sacks and tackles forloss. He might be the mostdisruptive defensivelineman OU has faced thisseason. If Johnson can

handle Fields by himself,OU’s offense should befine. Sliding a back to theleft side to help him inprotection means one lessoutlet in the passing game.

Come out throwing: TCUwill do whatever is neces-sary to stop the run. It’sbeen head coach GaryPatterson’s calling card foryears. It won’t changebecause OU’s in town.There should be plenty of

opportunities down thefield for OU receiversKenny Stills, Justin Brown,Jalen Saunders andSterling Shepard. TheSooners are going to needto run the ball, but there’snothing wrong with usingthe pass to set it up.

Utilize fullback TreyMillard in multiple ways:Isn’t it strange how goodthings tend to happenwhen Millard touches the

ball? OU’s offense seems tobe its most dynamic whenMillard gets the ball 10-15times in a variation ofcarries and receptions. TheSooners did a good job ofgetting it to him last weekagainst Oklahoma State.There should be opportuni-ties today.

John ShinnFollow me @john_shinn

[email protected]

Boyce 2 3 1.5 1 2 0.3

Perry 1 -18 -18.0 0 0 -1.8

Team 14 -67 -4.8 0 0 -7.4

Total 451 1771 3.9 11 46 161.0

Opp. 348 1070 3.1 9 49 97.3

PassingEff C-A-I Pct Yds. TD

Boykin 129.9 137-232-9 59.1 1622 14

Pachall 180.0 64-97-1 66.0 948 10

Brown 91.0 4-7-1 57.1 52 0

Team 0.0 0-3-0 0.0 0 0

Carter 320.0 1-2-0 50.0 25 1

Patterson 66.4 1-1-0 100.0 -4 0

Total 143.1207-342-11 60.5 2643 25

Opp. 117.2198-367-20 54.0 2493 19

ReceivingNo. Yds. Avg. TD Lg A/G

Boyce 56 756 13.5 7 94 68.7

Carter 33 499 15.1 5 68 49.9

Dawson 31 428 13.8 1 36 42.8

Brown 22 327 14.9 5 60 29.7

Catalon 21 150 7.1 1 22 13.6

White 18 229 12.7 2 27 20.8

Fuller 7 80 11.4 1 35 7.3

Tucker 7 64 9.1 1 16 6.4

Bush 4 36 9.0 1 18 4.0

James 3 38 12.7 0 30 19.0

Porter 2 18 9.0 0 14 1.6

Gilbert 2 11 5.5 0 6 1.0

Dean 1 7 7.0 1 7 0.8

Total. 207 2643 12.8 25 94 240.3

Opp. 198 2493 12.6 19 77 226.6

Tackles (leaders)S A T Loss Sack

Hasley 41 27 68 8.0-23 2.0-7

Cain 41 24 65 5.5-12 1.5-5

Olabode 40 17 57 3.0-7

Carter 34 22 56 6.5-31 3.0-26

Fields 31 16 47 17.5-80 9.0-63

Verrett 37 9 46 4.0-6

Hackett 30 13 43 1.5-4

Sept. 8 Grambling W, 56-0Sept. 15 at Kansas W, 20-6Sept. 22 Virginia W, 27-7Sept. 29 at SMU W, 24-16Oct. 6 Iowa State L, 27-23Oct. 13 at Baylor W, 49-21Oct. 20 Texas Tech L, 56-53Oct. 27 at OSU L, 36-14Nov. 3 at West Virginia W, 39-38Nov. 10 Kansas State L, 23-10Nov. 22 at Texas W, 20-13Dec. 1 Oklahoma 11 a.m.

SCHEDULE

STATS(11 games)

RushingAtt Yds Y/C TD Lg Y/G

Catalon 105 511 4.9 0 46 46.5

Tucker 105 467 4.4 5 29 46.7

Boykin 103 344 3.3 2 42 34.4

Dean 61 269 4.4 0 37 29.9

James 17 168 9.9 1 46 84.0

Dawson 9 44 4.9 0 11 4.4

Pachall 21 23 1.1 0 17 5.8

Brown 6 13 2.2 0 9 2.2

Carter 4 10 2.5 0 14 1.0

Sanders 3 4 1.3 2 2 1.0

Watch: Throw first, run laterThe Norman Transcript ■ Dec. 1, 2012 GAMEDAY 11

• Continued from Page 5

TCU Opp.SCORING 335 253

Points Per Game 30.5 23.0

FIRST DOWNS 223 186

Rushing 98 62

Passing 113 106

Penalty 12 18

RUSHING YARDAGE 1771 1070

Yards gained rushing 2146 1363

Yards lost rushing 375 293

Rushing Attempts 451 348

Average Per Rush 3.9 3.1


TDs Rushing 11 9

PASSING YARDAGE 2643 2493

C-A-I 207-342-11198-367-20

Average Per Pass 7.7 6.8

Average Per Catch 12.8 12.6


TDs Passing 25 19

TOTAL OFFENSE 4414 3563

Total Plays 793 715

Average Per Play 5.6 5.0


3RD-DOWN Conversions57/161 43/153

3rd-Down Pct 35% 28%

4TH-DOWN Conversions 10/18 9/16

4th-Down Pct 56% 56%

TE AM NUMBERS

OklahomareceiverKenny Stillsraces towardthe end zonelast weekagainstOklahomaState. TheSooners needone more wintoday at TCU.

Transcript Photo by

Kyle Phillips

COLLEGE FOOTBALL SATURDAYToday’s Games

Conference Title GamesSEC Championship

At AtlantaAlabama (11-1) vs. Georgia (11-1), 3 p.m.

ACC ChampionshipAt Charlotte, N.C.

Florida St. (10-2) vs. Ga. Tech (6-6), 7 p.m.

Big Ten ChampionshipAt Indianapolis

Nebraska (10-2) vs. Wisconsin (7-5), 7:15 p.m.

Conference USA ChampionshipCentral Florida (9-3) at Tulsa (9-3), 11 a.m.

EASTSan Diego (7-3) at Marist (4-6), 11 a.m.Kansas (1-10) at West Virginia (6-5), 1:30 p.m.Cincinnati (8-3) at UConn (5-6), 2:30 p.m.

SOUTHLouisiana-Lafayette (7-4) at FAU (3-8), 2 p.m.Pittsburgh (5-6) at South Florida (3-8), 6 p.m.

MIDWESTTexas (8-3) at Kansas St. (10-1), 8 p.m.

SOUTHWESTOklahoma St. (7-4) at Baylor (6-5), 11 a.m.Oklahoma (9-2) at TCU (7-4), 11 a.m.MTSU (8-3) at Arkansas St. (8-3), 2 p.m.N. Mexico St. (1-10) at Texas St. (3-8), 3 p.m.

FAR WESTNicholls St. (1-9) at Oregon St. (8-3), 1:30 p.m.Boise St. (9-2) at Nevada (7-4), 2:30 p.m.S. Alabama (2-10) at Hawaii (2-9), 10 p.m.

FCS PlayoffsSecond Round

New Hampshire (8-3) at Wofford (8-3), 1 p.m.C. Arkansas (9-2) at Ga. Southern (8-3), 1 p.m.C.Carolina (8-4) at O. Dominion (10-1), 1 p.m.Illinois St. (8-3) at App. St. (8-3), 1 p.m.Cal Poly (9-2) at S. Houston St. (8-3), 3 p.m.S. Dak. St. (9-3) at N. Dak. St. (10-1), 3 p.m.Wagner (9-3) at E. Washington (9-2), 5 p.m.S. Brook (10-2) at Montana St. (10-1), 6 p.m.

AP Top 25Record Pts Pv

1. Notre Dame (60) 12-0 1,500 12. Alabama 11-1 1,400 23. Georgia 11-1 1,331 34. Ohio St. 12-0 1,294 45. Florida 11-1 1,262 66. Oregon 11-1 1,242 57. Kansas St. 10-1 1,079 78. Stanford 10-2 1,061 119. LSU 10-2 1,056 810. Texas A&M 10-2 1,043 911. South Carolina 10-2 916 1312. Oklahoma 9-2 834 1413. Florida St. 10-2 764 1014. Nebraska 10-2 704 1715. Clemson 10-2 667 1216. Oregon St. 8-3 528 1617. UCLA 9-3 505 1518. Kent St. 11-1 355 2319. N. Illinois 11-1 349 2420. Utah St. 10-2 274 2521. Michigan 8-4 217 2022. Northwestern 9-3 189 NR23. Texas 8-3 185 1824. Oklahoma St. 7-4 174 2225. Boise St. 9-2 145 NR

Coaches pollRecord Pts Pv

1. Notre Dame (60) 12-0 1,500 12. Alabama 11-1 1,400 23. Georgia 11-1 1,331 34. Ohio St. 12-0 1,294 45. Florida 11-1 1,262 66. Oregon 11-1 1,242 57. Kansas St. 10-1 1,079 78. Stanford 10-2 1,061 119. LSU 10-2 1,056 810. Texas A&M 10-2 1,043 911. South Carolina 10-2 916 1312. Oklahoma 9-2 834 1413. Florida St. 10-2 764 1014. Nebraska 10-2 704 1715. Clemson 10-2 667 1216. Oregon St. 8-3 528 1617. UCLA 9-3 505 1518. Kent St. 11-1 355 2319. N. Illinois 11-1 349 2420. Utah St. 10-2 274 2521. Michigan 8-4 217 2022. Northwestern 9-3 189 NR23. Texas 8-3 185 1824. Oklahoma St. 7-4 174 2225. Boise St. 9-2 145 NR

It’s about defense in SEC

AP Photo

Georgia Tech running back Zach Laskey is stoppedby Georgia’s John Jenkins (6), Alec Ogletree andChristian Robinson (45).

By Paul NewberryAP Sports Writer

ATHENS, Ga. — Alabamalost a bunch of stars to theNFL, yet it’s hard to tellmuch difference. The Crim-son Tide still has the nation’stop-ranked defense.

There was never anyshortage of talent at Georgia,where all the best defensiveplayers decided to remain incollege for another year.Even so, the Bulldogs didn’tstart playing up to theirpotential until they werecalled out by one of theirown.

An outburst by safetyShawn Williams, whoaccused his teammates ofplaying “soft,” sparked a dra-matic turnaround at Georgia.It’s a big reason the third-ranked Bulldogs (11-1) willface No. 2 Alabama (11-1) forthe Southeastern Confer-ence championship today,with the winner claiming a

spot in the national titlegame.

One thing seems certain:Both offenses will have trou-ble moving the ball.

“When you play with ateam that has a great defenseor had a great defense beforeyou got here,” said Alabamacornerback Dee Milliner,“you want to keep the stan-dard going.”

Granted, the CrimsonTide has not been quite asdominant as a year ago,when the defense was led byfour players — Mark Barron,Dre Kirkpatrick, Dont’aHightower and CourtneyUpshaw — who were amongthe first 35 picks in the NFLdraft. Alabama gave up morethan 400 yards in two straightgames, managing to pull outa win with a last-minute driveat LSU, but going down in ashocking upset to TexasA&M in Tuscaloosa.

Still, the Tide leads thecountry in points allowed

(9.25 per game) and totaldefense (233.7 yards).

“Those two games, weknew and the coaches knew... we didn’t play our best,”linebacker C.J. Mosley said.“So after that loss, we kind ofgot back to the basics ofdoing what we have to do.Just doing the little things wedo every day in practice —wrapping up, tackles, foot

work. Once you lose sight ofthose things, that’s when thebig plays start to happen.”

Georgia’s best defenderspassed on last year’s draft,linebacker Jarvis Jones andsafety Baccari Rambo chiefamong them. Williams, cor-nerback Sanders Commingsand nose guard John Jenk-ins, also returned.

• See DEFENSE Page 13

Tide, Bulldogs stingy without ball


Defense: Bulldogs turned their fortunes around with 17-9 victory over Florida

Missing Championship SaturdayBy Dave SkrettaAP Sports Writer

MANHATTAN, Kan. —Kansas State coach Bill Sny-der still believes the Big 12should ultimately expand toat least 12 teams, creating twodivisions and a conferencechampionship game.

Snyder said Tuesday that“there are a number of pro-grams in our conference whohave and would profit fromthat type of system,” pointingout that teams with multiplelosses would generate moreinterest late in the season bystill having a chance to playfor a championship.

“You walk out here andyou walk through the lobby

and you see a trophy casehere, and if we didn’t havedivisions that would probablybe a single trophy case,” Sny-der said. “We had a chance toplay for division champi-onships, and then conferencechampionships, and that waspositive.”

The 73-year-old Snyder hasseen the Big 12 go through adramatic series of changessince he took over the once-downtrodden Kansas Stateprogram in the late 1980s.When the old Southwest Con-ference disintegrated, the BigEight expanded by four teamsto become the Big 12, andplayed a conference title gameevery year from 1996-2010.

The game has cut both

ways for the Wildcats: Theywere in position to play for anational championship in1998 before losing to TexasA&M in double-overtime, butmanaged to win the Big 12title and earn a Fiesta Bowlberth in 2003 by upsettingthen-No. 1 Oklahoma.

After conference realign-ment that saw Nebraska, Col-orado, Missouri and TexasA&M leave the Big 12, theleague picked up West Vir-ginia and TCU to remain at10 teams, and locked upbroadcast rights to stabilize aleague not long ago on thebrink of extinction.

The conference realign-ment merry-go-round hasbeen spinning again in recent

weeks. Maryland is leavingthe ACC and Rutgers the BigEast to establish a 14-teamBig Ten, while Tulaneannounced Tuesday it wouldjoin the Big East, with EastCarolina joining as a football-only member.

That’s left the Big 12 in aprecarious position: Stand patwith 10 teams or expand to 12or more, thereby re-estab-lishing its lucrative confer-ence championship game.

“You look at the NorthDivision,” Snyder said, refer-ring to the old six-team divi-sion of the Big 12. “I wouldsuggest there are probablyfour schools that profited bythat system. It gave teamsopportunities. When I first


When the Bulldogs kickedoff in the season opener,three key players were miss-ing. Rambo and linebackerAlec Ogletree were bothserving four-game suspen-sions. Commings missed two

games after being arrestedfor an altercation with his girl-friend.

Georgia gave up 23 pointsto Buffalo, 20 to FloridaAtlantic. Even when all thesuspended players returned,the defense continued to

struggle in a 51-44 shootoutvictory against Tennessee.

Next, South Carolinaromped to a 35-7 victory overthe Bulldogs. Then Georgiastruggled to beat Kentucky29-24. Williams decided itwas time to vent.

He said the defense was“just not playing with thesame attitude we were lastyear.” In particular, heappeared to single out a pairof teammates, senior line-backers Christian Robinsonand Michael Gilliard. They

took issue with the commentsand vowed to prove Williamswrong. That week, Georgiaturned in its best defensiveperformance of the season,beating the Gators 17-9.

“He didn’t do that to disre-spect anyone,” cornerback

Damian Swann said. “Hewanted everyone to give 110percent. He just felt likeeverybody wasn’t. Once hecame out and said what hehad to say, you’ve seen a bigchange in the statistics withhow the defense is doing.”

• Continued from

On the airToday11 a.m.Conference USA Championship,Central Florida at Tulsa (ESPN2)

TCU at Oklahoma (ESPN)

Oklahoma State at Baylor (FX)

1:30 p.m.Kansas at West Virginia (FSN)

2:30 p.m.Cincinnati at UConn (KOCO-5)

3 p.m. SEC Championship,Alabama vs. Georgia (KWTV-9)

6 p.m.ACC ChampionshipFlorda St. vs. Georgia Tech (ESPN)

Pitt at South Florida (ESPN2)

7 p.m.Big 10 Championship,Nebraska vs. Wisconsin

Texas at Kansas State (KOCO-5)

Sunday7:30 p.m.BCS Selection Show (ESPN)

Even though it wouldn’t benefit Wildcats this year, Snyder still wishes for Big 12 title gameBig 12 Standings

Con. OverallKansas State 7 1 .875 10 1 .909

Oklahoma 7 1 .857 9 2 .818

Texas 5 3 .625 8 3 .800

Oklahoma St. 5 3 .625 7 4 .636

TCU 4 4 .500 7 4 .636

Texas Tech 4 5 .444 7 5 .583

West Virginia 3 5 .375 6 5 .545

Baylor 3 5 .375 6 5 .545

Iowa State 3 6 .333 6 6 .500

Kansas 0 8 .000 110 .090

TodayOklahoma at TCU, 11 a.m.

Oklahoma State at Baylor, 11 a.m.

Kansas at West Virginia, 1:30 p.m.

Texas at Kansas State, 7 p.m.

came back, we were 6-6, nota very good team, but the lastgame of the season we wereplaying for a division cham-pionship. That has somemeaning.”

THE WAY WE SEE IT

Clay Horning John Shinn Corbin Hosler Michael Kinney

today, it’s more fun toconsider their journey.

The day after OU fell toK-State, OU slipped to No.16 in the Associated PressTop 25. Also, TCU was No.14, Texas was No. 12 andWest Virginia was No. 9.

Every one of thoseteams remained on OU’sschedule.

Landry Jones hadsuffered many difficultmoments, but never had hebeen so instrumental in aloss. People wondered if achange behind center waswarranted, and even ifJones got his game back,could he spend all seasonthrowing to Kenny Stillsand Sterling Shepard?

Meanwhile, the Soonerbraintrust was still talkingrunning back by commit-tee with Brennan Clay adistant third in the group.Trey Millard remained aguy Stoops loved to talkabout but Josh Heupelstruggled to include in theoffensive gameplan.

Then, two impressivevictories followed, overTexas Tech and Texas.Then came Notre Dame.

The Sooners played the

Irish tough long enoughnot to be sent reeling too farin the polls. They still hadthe respect of the nation.Also, they still had IowaState away, Baylor, WestVirginia away and Okla-homa State to play, not tomention the Horned Frogs.

How easy it would be toslip up. Only they haven’t.By a point over theMountaineers and in extratime over the Pokes, theSooners have found a way.

They have taken adisappointing story andmade it fun. They’ve taken adowncast season and madeit exciting. They have evendug deep within themselvesand come out on top.

OU is a very good story.It’s not what everybody

had in mind, but it’s been atriumphant couple ofmonths nonetheless.

Then there’s today.TCU is hardly an

historic rivals. But theHorned Frogs are in theway, of a championshipand a happy ending.

Biggest game of theseason? Oh, yeah.

Clay HorningFollow me @clayhorning

[email protected]

Horning: Must win



Oklahoma (-6 1/2) at TCUPick: Oklahoma 31-17

Oklahoma State (-4) at BaylorPick: OSU 42-31

Texas (+11 1/2) at Kansas St.Pick: Kansas State 42-17

Kansas (+19 1/2) at W. VirginiaPick: W. Virginia 52-24

Alabama (-7) vs. GeorgiaPick: Georgia 24-17

Florida St. (-14) vs. Ga. TechPick: Florida State 28-24

Nebraska (-3) vs. WisconsinPick: Nebraska 28-24

Central Florida (+1 1/2) at TulsaPick: Tulsa 31-28

Cincinnati (-5) at ConnecticutPick: Cincinnati 31-17

Boise State (+9) at NevadaPick: Boise State 35-31

Pitt (-6) at South FloridaPick: Pitt 23-10

MTSU (+9 1/2) at Arkansas St.Pick: Arkansas State 42-17*

Last week (overall)Straight up: 7-5 (99-33)Spread: 4-8 (71-61)* Lock: 1-0 (7-4)


Oklahoma State (-4) at BaylorPick: Baylor 48-41

Texas (+11 1/2) at Kansas St.Pick: Kansas St. 27-17



Florida St. (-14) vs. Ga. TechPick: Florida St. 38-17

Nebraska (-3) vs. WisconsinPick: * Wisconsin 31-21


Cincinnati (-5) at ConnecticutPick: Connecticut 21-20



MTSU (+9 1/2) at Arkansas St.Pick: Arkansas St. 34-24




Texas (+11 1/2) at Kansas St.Pick: Kansas St. 34-24

Kansas (+19 1/2) at W. VirginiaPick: W. Virginia 42-21*

Alabama (-7) vs. GeorgiaPick: Alabama 28-17

Florida St. (-14) vs. Ga. TechPick: Florida St. 38-21

Nebraska (-3) vs. WisconsinPick: Nebraska 31-24


Cincinnati (-5) at ConnecticutPick: Cincinnati 34-24



MTSU (+9 1/2) at Arkansas St.Pick: Arkansas St. 31-21




Texas (+11 1/2) at Kansas St.Pick: KSU 28-20



Florida St. (-14) vs. Ga. TechPick: Florida St. 35-29*

Nebraska (-3) vs. WisconsinPick: Wisconsin 24-20

Central Florida (+1 1/2) at TulsaPick: CFU 47-39

Cincinnati (-5) at ConnecticutPick: Cincy 28-24

Boise State (+9) at NevadaPick: Nevada 49-44

Pitt (-6) at South FloridaPick: Pitt 28-17MTSU (+9 1/2) at Arkansas St.Pick: Arkansas St. 45-40


Defense: Bulldogs turned their fortunes around with 17-9 victory over Florida

Missing Championship SaturdayBy Dave SkrettaAP Sports Writer

MANHATTAN, Kan. —Kansas State coach Bill Sny-der still believes the Big 12should ultimately expand toat least 12 teams, creating twodivisions and a conferencechampionship game.

Snyder said Tuesday that“there are a number of pro-grams in our conference whohave and would profit fromthat type of system,” pointingout that teams with multiplelosses would generate moreinterest late in the season bystill having a chance to playfor a championship.

“You walk out here andyou walk through the lobby

and you see a trophy casehere, and if we didn’t havedivisions that would probablybe a single trophy case,” Sny-der said. “We had a chance toplay for division champi-onships, and then conferencechampionships, and that waspositive.”

The 73-year-old Snyder hasseen the Big 12 go through adramatic series of changessince he took over the once-downtrodden Kansas Stateprogram in the late 1980s.When the old Southwest Con-ference disintegrated, the BigEight expanded by four teamsto become the Big 12, andplayed a conference title gameevery year from 1996-2010.

The game has cut both

ways for the Wildcats: Theywere in position to play for anational championship in1998 before losing to TexasA&M in double-overtime, butmanaged to win the Big 12title and earn a Fiesta Bowlberth in 2003 by upsettingthen-No. 1 Oklahoma.

After conference realign-ment that saw Nebraska, Col-orado, Missouri and TexasA&M leave the Big 12, theleague picked up West Vir-ginia and TCU to remain at10 teams, and locked upbroadcast rights to stabilize aleague not long ago on thebrink of extinction.

The conference realign-ment merry-go-round hasbeen spinning again in recent

weeks. Maryland is leavingthe ACC and Rutgers the BigEast to establish a 14-teamBig Ten, while Tulaneannounced Tuesday it wouldjoin the Big East, with EastCarolina joining as a football-only member.

That’s left the Big 12 in aprecarious position: Stand patwith 10 teams or expand to 12or more, thereby re-estab-lishing its lucrative confer-ence championship game.

“You look at the NorthDivision,” Snyder said, refer-ring to the old six-team divi-sion of the Big 12. “I wouldsuggest there are probablyfour schools that profited bythat system. It gave teamsopportunities. When I first


When the Bulldogs kickedoff in the season opener,three key players were miss-ing. Rambo and linebackerAlec Ogletree were bothserving four-game suspen-sions. Commings missed two

games after being arrestedfor an altercation with his girl-friend.

Georgia gave up 23 pointsto Buffalo, 20 to FloridaAtlantic. Even when all thesuspended players returned,the defense continued to

struggle in a 51-44 shootoutvictory against Tennessee.

Next, South Carolinaromped to a 35-7 victory overthe Bulldogs. Then Georgiastruggled to beat Kentucky29-24. Williams decided itwas time to vent.

He said the defense was“just not playing with thesame attitude we were lastyear.” In particular, heappeared to single out a pairof teammates, senior line-backers Christian Robinsonand Michael Gilliard. They

took issue with the commentsand vowed to prove Williamswrong. That week, Georgiaturned in its best defensiveperformance of the season,beating the Gators 17-9.

“He didn’t do that to disre-spect anyone,” cornerback

Damian Swann said. “Hewanted everyone to give 110percent. He just felt likeeverybody wasn’t. Once hecame out and said what hehad to say, you’ve seen a bigchange in the statistics withhow the defense is doing.”


On the airToday11 a.m.Conference USA Championship,Central Florida at Tulsa (ESPN2)

TCU at Oklahoma (ESPN)

Oklahoma State at Baylor (FX)

1:30 p.m.Kansas at West Virginia (FSN)

2:30 p.m.Cincinnati at UConn (KOCO-5)

3 p.m. SEC Championship,Alabama vs. Georgia (KWTV-9)

6 p.m.ACC ChampionshipFlorda St. vs. Georgia Tech (ESPN)

Pitt at South Florida (ESPN2)

7 p.m.Big 10 Championship,Nebraska vs. Wisconsin

Texas at Kansas State (KOCO-5)

Sunday7:30 p.m.BCS Selection Show (ESPN)

Even though it wouldn’t benefit Wildcats this year, Snyder still wishes for Big 12 title gameBig 12 Standings

Con. OverallKansas State 7 1 .875 10 1 .909

Oklahoma 7 1 .857 9 2 .818

Texas 5 3 .625 8 3 .800

Oklahoma St. 5 3 .625 7 4 .636

TCU 4 4 .500 7 4 .636

Texas Tech 4 5 .444 7 5 .583

West Virginia 3 5 .375 6 5 .545

Baylor 3 5 .375 6 5 .545

Iowa State 3 6 .333 6 6 .500

Kansas 0 8 .000 110 .090

TodayOklahoma at TCU, 11 a.m.

Oklahoma State at Baylor, 11 a.m.

Kansas at West Virginia, 1:30 p.m.

Texas at Kansas State, 7 p.m.

came back, we were 6-6, nota very good team, but the lastgame of the season we wereplaying for a division cham-pionship. That has somemeaning.”

game day - dec 1, 2012

Documents

season of big games

ou coach bobstoops

stoops era

soonersroad victory

victory againstkansas

lastsaturday atowen

abig game

losethis season