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Big 12 overview

Headed for another 'Huskers-'Horns showdown

By Tim Griffin, Special to CNNSI.com

Senior QB Eric Crouch leads a powerful Nebraska offense. Andy Lyons/Allsport

Order of Finish North 1. Nebraska 2. Kansas State 3. Colorado 4. Kansas 5. Iowa State 6. Missouri South 1. Texas 2. Oklahoma 3. Texas A&M 4. Texas Tech 5. Oklahoma State 6. Baylor

Top Storylines

With Tom Osborne away on the campaign trail, Frank Solich's Cornhuskers won't miss a beat and challenge for the national championship. Kansas State's David Allen should keep breaking punt-return records and provide an offensive spark for the Wildcats. The Texas quarterback controversy will be livelier than the presidential campaigns this fall, but the real story could be Texas' talented defensive tackle tandem of Casey Hampton and Shaun Rogers. And Kliff Kingsbury could be one of the nation's biggest surprises as he posts mammoth statistics early in the season against Texas Tech's weak early schedule.

Where They'll Be for the Holidays
BCS Blessed	Dot-Com Doomed	Confined to Couch
Nebraska Texas	Kansas State Oklahoma Colorado Texas A&M Texas Tech Kansas	Oklahoma State Iowa State Missouri Baylor

Best of All Worlds

Quarterback

Texas Major Applewhite, Chris Simms

Running Back

Nebraska Dan Alexander, Correll Buckhalter, Thunder Collins, Willie Miller

Ends

Nebraska Matt Davison, Bobby Newcombe, Tracey Wistrom

Offensive Line

Nebraska Dominic Raiola, Russ Hochstein, Jason Schwab, Dave Volk

Defensive Line

Texas Casey Hampton, Shaun Rogers, Cory Redding, Stevie Lee

Linebackers

Texas A&M Jason Glenn, Roylin Bradley, Cornelius Anthony, Brian Gamble, Christian Rodriguez

Secondary

Kansas State Dyshod Carter, Jerametrius Butler, Jarrod Cooper, Jon McGraw

Special Teams

Nebraska Josh Brown, Dan Hadenfeldt, Bobby Newcombe

Coaching

Kansas State Coach Bill Snyder, offensive coordinator Ron Hudson, defensive coordinator Phil Bennett

Status Report

Set to Go Skygliding

Texas Tech A dream early schedule will give the Red Raiders and new coach Mike Leach much confidence heading down the stretch.

Set to Go Cliffdiving

Texas A&M Sputtering offense and questionable quarterback don't bode well for the upcoming season.

About to Step Up

Kliff Kingsbury, QB, Texas Tech The new pass-happy offense has been made to order for Tech's new quarterback.

Hasn't Stepped Up Yet

Bethel Johnson, WR, Texas A&M Never has lived up to his billing as A&M's next game-breaking receiver.

Schedules

Brutal Schedule

Colorado How do you top a non-conference schedule of Colorado State, USC and Washington? By starting the Big 12 with games against Kansas State, Texas A&M and Texas.

Breather Schedule

Kansas State Another creampuff in the making with non-conference games against Iowa, Louisiana Tech, Ball State and North Texas.

Mark Your Calendar

Texas vs. Oklahoma, Dallas, Oct. 7 Look for a reprise of last year, when there were so many passes "Big Tex" almost choked on his corny dog. Oklahoma at Texas A&M, Nov. 11 Aggies still remember last season's 51-6 "Norman Conquest." Nebraska at Kansas State, Nov. 11 Eric Crouch still hasn't forgotten the whiplash he got from "the facemask penalty that wasn't" on his last visit to Manhattan.

Tim Griffin covers the Big 12 for the San Antonio Express-News and will write a weekly CNNSI.com conference insider this season.

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