As the Big 12 enters its fourth year as a conference, there is the definite possibility that the conference could yield the best season so far.

Perennial power Nebraska will be there as always, as they opened the season with a No.6 ranking in the Associated Press poll. Others ranked included Texas A&M (7), Colorado (15), Texas (17) and Kansas State (20).

Today we will take a close look at the Big 12’s North Division, while tomorrow will feature a look ahead at the Big 12 South.

As usual, the Nebraska Cornhuskers will be the favorite to win the north. They stumbled a bit last year en route to a 9-4 campaign that included losses to Texas and Texas A&M. However, the Huskers had a lot of trouble with injuries a year ago and with a healthy season, will be a major force.

Offensively, they feature the deepest quarterback position in the conference with Bobby Newcombe, who played sparingly last year because of injury, and Eric Crouch, who was very impressive in his freshman campaign.

Back to tote the ball for the Huskers will be DeAngelo Evans, whose career has been rocked by injuries. However, if he can stay healthy he has the potential to rank among Nebraska’s best.

On the defensive side of the ball, Nebraska will have to replace three of four starters up front. The linebacking corps should be solid with the insertion of top backup Carlos Polk in lieu of all-Big 12 LB Jay Foreman.

The real stars of the show on defense will be in the secondary. Ralph Brown, a three-year starter at CB, will be back, while Mike Brown will anchor the safety spot.

Colorado is a team that many expect big things from this season. They are now under a new coach, Gary Barnett, who returns to the school he was an assistant at for seven years after a successful stint at Northwestern. Barnett will inherit a team with 57 returning letterman, which is good considering that they completely lost out on the recruiting process due to the sudden change.

Mike Moschetti will be back under center, but that’s the only sure thing about the Buffs’ offense. A running game that did not come together until the departed Marlon Barnes got healthy will be the big question mark. The duty will likely fall on the shoulders of Dwayne Cherrington, a shifty senior tailback who was inconsistent a year ago.

The defensive side of the ball paints a happier picture, as the Buffs return six starters from a squad that finished fifth a year ago. The secondary will be the strong point, as the exciting Ben Kelly returns at cornerback, and Mike Wheeler will be on the opposite side. Both have been mentioned as potential All-American candidates.

Kansas State will also be in the race for the title, providing they can replace QB Michael Bishop, a task considerably easier said than done. They will try to do this by sticking in Jonathon Beasley, who has been impressive in reserve duty. They will also have to deal with the task of replacing 12 other starters, including three of the five on the vaunted offensive line of a year ago.

Running the ball will be David Allen, who showed huge promise in limited action last fall. A big key to the offense will be WR Aaron Lockett, who last year set a Kansas State record with 928 yards in receiving.

Mark Simoneau will be the team’s best returning defender, and the linebacker will look to lead a new look unit. There to help him will be standout DE Darren Howard and solid corner Jarrod Cooper. The Wildcats will be hindered a bit by their schedule, which includes the normal cupcakes in the non-conference portion followed by road games at Texas, Oklahoma State and Nebraska.

The Missouri Tigers will face similar problems, as two studs on offense, QB Corby Jones and RB Devin West, are gone along with 10 other starters. The 8-4 season achieved by Mizzou last year represented their best season in over 15 years.

The first priority in Columbia will be replacing Jones at QB. The leading candidate appears to be Jim Dougherty, Jones’ backup last season.

The new RB for the Tigers will probably be senior DeVaughn Black, who saw action in limited capacity a year ago.

Defense is where the club expects to shine. The Tigers are touting themselves as the best front seven in the league, and they just might have a case. The league’s defensive player of the year Justin Smith will be at defensive end, while Jeff Marriott will anchor the middle.

More key contributors will include LB’s Barry Odom, Carlos Posey and junior safety Julian Jones. If the Tigers can find suitable replacements for Jones and West, the defense should be able to win them a lot of games.

The success of the Kansas Jayhawks will largely depend on the arm of Sr. QB Zac Wegner and the feet of Jr. RB David Winbush. That talented duo returns for another year with the hope of avoiding another losing season.

Also helping the offense will be Harrison Hill and Termaine Fulton, who will combine with exciting sophomore Byron Gasaway to provide the Jayhawks with a deep and talented receiving corps.

The defense has been unable to stop the run in the Terry Allen regime, so the return of all six letter winners could be considered good or bad news. The schedule will be a tough one for the Jayhawks, as they open with Notre Dame, while the rest provides few breaks and includes contests at Kansas State and Texas A&M.

The Iowa State Cyclones will round out the field in the North Division. The big question that ISU will be facing is at the quarterback spot. Todd Bandhauer has quarterbacked the Cyclones for at least part of each of the last four years.

Sage Rosenfels and Derrick Walker figure to battle it out, and both will see playing time to start the season. Darren Davis will be vying for his third consecutive 1,000 yard season in the backfield. Damien Groce and Chris Anthony are both returning at the wideout spot.

The defense will again be the question, but the unit improved a great deal from a horrendous ’97 season.

James Reed and Reggie Hayward are solid on the defensive line, while linebacker Jesse Beckom was the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year a season ago.

All four secondary starters return to provide the Cyclones a glimmer of hope on that side of the ball.