Colorado (2–4, 3–7)

Last week: L 17–10 @ Iowa State

This week: @ Oklahoma State

For the second week in a row quarterback Tyler Hansen threw for more than 200 yards. But unlike the 35 points the Buffaloes picked up in their 35-34 victory over Texas A&M two weeks ago, Colorado managed to score only 10 last week against Iowa State, falling 17-10 to the Cyclones. The Buffaloes had a number of chances, but three turnovers (two fumbles and one interception) ultimately led to their doom. Hansen did throw for 258 yards, but his accuracy was far from stellar, completing only 18-of-38 of his passes. Colorado was also done in by 11 penalties for 110 yards. With the loss, Colorado is guaranteed its fourth straight losing season. The Buffaloes have two more chances to add a slight reprieve to their troubles this season as they will face Oklahoma State and Colorado in the final two games of the season.

Missouri (6–4, 2–4)

Last week: W 38–12 @ Kansas  State

This week: vs. Iowa State

Blaine Gabbert passed for 298 yards and three touchdowns last weekend as the Tigers put together a somewhat surprising 38-12 throttling of previous Big 12 North leader Kansas State. Gabbert and running back Derrick Washington combined for 135 rushing yards to help push Missouri to a total of 433 offensive yards. Prior to Saturday, the Tigers had not scored a touchdown in the second half in all five of its conference games this season. Missouri ended that streak against the Wildcats, getting into the endzone three times after halftime. The win also secured bowl eligibility for the Tigers. Missouri hosts its final home game of the season this Saturday against Iowa State before its season finale border showdown with Kansas in Kansas City, Mo.

Kansas (5–5, 1–5)

Last week: L 31–17 vs. Nebraska

This week: @ No. 3 Texas

After starting the season 5–0. the Jayhawks are falling dangerously close to missing out on bowl eligibility. Kansas has two games remaining, this week against No. 3 Texas and next week against rival Missouri, and must win one of the games just to be eligible for post-season play.

Although the Jayhawks have lost five straight games, they have played competitively in almost all of them. They lost to Colorado by four points, Kansas State by seven and played close to Texas Tech before a couple of late turnovers cost them the game. Coach Mark Mangino has called out his senior quarterback and one of the team’s undisputed leaders Todd Reesing has struggled with a groin injury in the latter part of the season, and over the losing streak has completed just 51.2 percent of his passes along with throwing five interceptions in those games.

Nebraska (7–3, 4–2)

Last week: W 31–17 @ Kansas

This week: vs. Kansas State

The Cornhuskers are in the drivers’ seat of the Big 12 North after their win over Kansas last week, giving them a half-game lead over Kansas State. Nebraska and the Wildcats matchup this week in a winner-take-all game for the North title and the right to face Texas in the Big 12 Championship game next month.

The Nebraska offense is still struggling, even with the 31-point effort against Kansas last week. Roy Helu finally made an appearance for the Huskers after being largely ineffective since early October. However, in his last two games, Helu has racked up 294 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

Nebraska’s defense has been everything it has been all season and more in the last two games, the win over Kansas and the 10–3 win over Oklahoma two weeks ago. In the two games the Blackshirts have forced six turnovers and held both teams under 100 yards on the ground.

Kansas State (6–5, 4–3)

Last week: L 38–12 vs. Missouri

This week: @ Nebraska

A team that has overachieved all season, the Wildcats have started to come back down to earth a little bit in the last couple of weeks. After starting 5–3 and surprising all of the Big 12, Kansas State fell to Oklahoma, squeaked out a win over Kansas and got blown out against Missouri last weekend. Now, the Wildcats must win in Lincoln, Neb., this week to win the Big 12 North and achieve bowl eligibility. Because they played two FCS teams this season, the Wildcats must win seven regular season games to qualify for the post season instead of the customary six games.

In the last four games, quarterback Grant Gregory has been riding a proverbial roller coaster. In the games against Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, Gregory completed 50 percent, 63.3 percent, 43.8 percent and 70 percent of his passes, respectively. Gregory’s play is not directly related with the play of the Wildcats’ offense, though, as when he completes more than 60 percent of his passes they are 2–3, as opposed to their 2–0 record when he completes 50 percent or less — a stat that is much more likely to be a fluke than any sort of indicator of the team’s play.

No. 3 Texas (10–0, 6–0)

Last week: W 47–14 @ Baylor

This week: vs. Kansas

The Longhorns are on track to play in the BCS championship game, barring an unexpected collapse against an unranked team in their final three games (including the Big 12 championship game). Texas has been criticized this season for their inability to get off to a good start, but they certainly did not have that problem last week as they scored the first 47 points of the game before Baylor got a couple of meaningless fourth quarter touchdowns. This week, the Longhorns will host a struggling Kansas team that has lost five games in a row.

Texas Tech (6–4, 3–3)

Last week: L 24–17 @ Oklahoma State

This week: vs. Oklahoma

The Red Raiders have probably already qualified for a bowl game at 6-4, now they are jockeying for position in the Big 12, to decide which bowl they will attend. This week against Oklahoma could have a big impact on their bowl destination. The Sooners are also sitting at 6-4, but they have one more conference win than Texas Tech. In order for the Red Raiders to catch Oklahoma and get into position for third place in the Big 12, they must win this week.

Texas A&M (5–5, 2–4)

Last week: L 65–10 @ Oklahoma

This week: vs. Baylor

The Aggies are one of three Big 12 teams that are still fighting for bowl eligibility. Texas A&M currently sits at 5-5, one win away from the magical 6 win mark. They have struggled the past two weekends however, losing to Colorado and getting blitzed by 55 points against Oklahoma. The best chance for the Aggies to reach a bowl will be this weekend against Baylor, another Big 12 team struggling to reach bowl eligibility. If they cannot beat the Bears, their last chance will be against their fierce rivals — Texas.

Oklahoma (6–4, 4–2)

Last week: W 65–10 vs. Texas A&M

This week: @ Texas Tech

The Sooners were mad last week after their embarrassing 10–3 loss to Nebraska the week previous and they decided to take it out on poor Texas A&M. Freshman quarterback Landry Jones steered the Sooner Schooner to 640 total yards of offense, accounting for 392 yards and five touchdowns on his own. It was on the ground, though, that the Sooners did most of their damage.

Freshman running back Jermie Calhoun piled up 94 yards in his first game with significant playing time. Meanwhile, proven runners Demarco Murray and Chris Brown combined for 128 yards and two touchdowns in the game, while Murray had five catches for 143 yards and two receiving touchdowns.

The Oklahoma defense was more than effective as well, holding the vaunted Texas A&M offense to just 226 total yards and keeping them scoreless in the final three quarters of the game.

No. 12 Oklahoma State (8–2, 5–1)

Last week: W 24–17 vs. Texas Tech

This week: vs. Colorado

The Cowboys just want respect. All they have done this season is win close football games, and their two losses have come against No. 3 Texas and No. 24 Houston. Last week’s win over Texas Tech was no exception for this team, as they outran the Red Raiders to the tune of 243 yards to just 50 for Texas Tech. The running of both running back Keith Toston, 76 yards, and quarterback Zac Robinson, 99 yards, led the way for the Cowboys to their eighth win of the year.

Now Oklahoma State has matchups with Big 12 North cellar-dweller Colorado and with their arch rival Oklahoma for the last week of the year. A lot of things need to happen for Oklahoma State’s dreams of a BCS bowl bid to come to life, but a win over the Sooners in the Bedlam Game sure wouldn’t hurt anything in their quest toward their first berth in such a bowl game.

Baylor (4–6, 1–5)

Last week: L 47–14 vs. No. 3 Texas

This week: @ Texas A&M

Baylor didn’t exactly ride its win over Missouri very far into its game against Texas. The No. 3 team in the land proved to be far too much for the battered and bruised Bears in what turned out to be a blowout. Baylor managed just six yards on the ground against Texas and just 240 yards passing a week after getting over 400 yards against Missouri.

The Baylor offense came back down to Earth and scored just two touchdowns, which was still more than it had scored in any of its Big 12 games before the surprising win over Missouri. Baylor’s defense, one of the best units in the conference, was manhandled by Colt McCoy and the Longhorns to the tune of 411 yards.