SBNation Big 12 Roundtable - Week 3

by Jon Woods on Sep 17, 2009 3:57 PM MDT in College Football Roundtables

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1. The Big 12 has looked more unimpressive than impressive thus far. Do you attribute this to early season struggles, or does the conference look to have regressed from '08? Please explain.

Overall I think the conference has actually improved from last year as there is a lot more depth this year than last. However, the top 3 teams this year are not quite as strong as the top 3 teams were last year. I believe that Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Kansas are all top 15-20 teams while Nebraska, Baylor, Missouri, Texas Tech and Texas A&M (yep, even the Aggies) are all top 30 teams. If we could somehow see some improvement in Iowa State, Kansas State and Colorado then we would have a very good argument for the Big 12 being the deepest conference in the country.

2. When looking at our team's schedule, sometimes it's hard to get excited about non-conference portion of the schedule, except for maybe 1 game. In general, are you content with your team's non-conference scheduling? Is there an opponent you'd like to see on a regular basis, that you currently do not?

I'd say I wish that the Buffaloes schedule would have been a bit easier so that we could have acutally picked up a couple non-conference wins before the season started but this has been one of the easiest schedules that we have had in a few years. Next year's gaunlet gets really scary with CSU in Denver, at California, and Hawaii and Georgia at home. That is just plain scary. That being said I don't want our scheduling philosophy to change. I think the Buffs should continue to play 1-2 big non-conference games a year along with CSU. This program needs all the attention (although it would prefer it was good attention) and high profile games it can get. Just no more Sunday to Friday turnarounds please.

3. Over the years we've seen a fair share of teams lose the week they appear on the SI cover. Does the "SI Curse" exist, is it a coincidence, or is it something that we only take notice of when it rings true (but forget when it does not)? Explain.

Not really, but it certainly does add to the pressure that a team may face and it probably increases the odds that a team may buy into the hype just a bit much. I think the "curse" actually lies more in the fact that the teams and players featured are usually the best stories. More often than not those featured are there because they did something that they were not expected to, and they usually fall back to earth eventually.

4. What is the biggest question your team has to answer heading into Week 3?

Can the Buffaloes win a game? No, seriously. If cannot beat Wyoming this weekend we are facing the very strong likelihood of starting 0-6 or worse (@ West Virginia, @ Texas, Kansas).

5. Choose an Offensive Player of the Week (non-QB to make it a little more interesting) and Defensive Player of the Week from Week 2. Provide solid arguments for each.

Offensive POW - Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma - It may have been Idaho State, but Broyles ripped thourgh the Bengals to the tune of 155 yards and 3 TD's. Unfortunatley for the Sooners, none of the other receivers or tight ends did a thing.

Defensive POW - I am going to pick the entire Kansas Jayhawk defense. Holding an offense that is usually pretty decent to seven points on their home field is nothing to scoff at.

6. Big 12 Power Rankings! Rank the teams 1-12 (remember, this is based on power i.e., who would win on a neutral field)

1. Texas Longhorns
2. Kansas Jayhawks
3. Oklahoma Sooners
4. Oklahoma State Cowboys
5. Nebraska Cornhuskers
6. Baylor Bears
7. Texas Tech Red Raiders
8. Missouri Tigers
9. Texas A&M Aggies
10. Iowa State Cyclones
11. Kansas State Wildcats
12. Colorado Buffaloes