With the Bowl Championship Series rankings coming out, many teams and conferences have stated their claim why they are the best. While the Southeastern Conference may be the best overall conference in college football, the best division, however, belongs to the Big 12 South. First, four of the six teams within the division are ranked in the Top 10 in the nation. Texas is ranked No. 1, Oklahoma is fourth, Texas Tech is No. 8, and Oklahoma State is 10th.
Next, the quarterback play in this division has college fans glued to their televisions. Four of the 13 semifinalists for the O’Brien Trophy (best quarterback in the nation) are from the Big 12 South. Colt McCoy of Texas, Sam Bradford of Oklahoma, Zac Robinson of Oklahoma, and Graham Harrell of Texas Tech have wowed many Heisman voters as well with their spectacular play on the field.
In individual NCAA stats, these four quarterbacks in this division are in the top six in quarterback rating. In passing yardage, Harrell and Bradford top the list, while McCoy is in 12th and Robinson is last in the group.
Also, Baylor freshman quarterback Robert Griffin has gotten attention for his performances on a sub-par team.
Offense has not been a problem in this division because many of the games within the division have been close, high-scoring affairs that keep fans on the edge of their seats. Many games have either been decided by which team will have the ball last or which defense can come up with the big stop to end the game.
In team stats, Texas Tech is atop the NCAA passing yardage category, while Oklahoma is third and Texas 12th. In first downs per game, Texas is second in the nation, while Texas Tech is third, Oklahoma is sixth, and Oklahoma State is eighth.
In third-down conversations per game, Texas, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M are in the top six. In scoring, this division has four teams in the top six in the nation. Lastly, in yardage per game, four of the top 10 spots are taken by teams in the Big 12 South.
In the past three weeks, the Big 12 South has been the center of the college football nation. This has every evident because the popular ESPN college football pre-game show, College Gameday, has been airing at a game within this division in two of the three weeks.
This week will include another week where the show will be on location in the Big 12 as Texas plays Texas Tech this weekend for the division lead. That game can be seen on ABC Saturday night.