Big 12: Now or Never for Teams Other Than Oklahoma and Texas

It's been seven long years since the Big 12 championship trophy has resided anywhere else other than Norman or Austin.  Even that 2003 game where Kansas State took the Sooners behind the woodshed was a huge upset. 

Since then, there have been some potential challengers to the throne, but for whatever reason no one has been able to break through.  Missouri and Nebraska have both had a couple opportunities, as have some of the South division teams.

The 2004 and 2005 seasons were clearly OU and Texas years.  Both squads were lights-out the entire season, and the conference championship was never in doubt. 

After the Vince Young year in '05, everyone knew the conference would be wide open in '06.  Most felt the Sooners had the edge coming in until Rhett Bomar happened.  Suddenly the Sooners went from top five nationally to out of the top 10, and it was anybody's conference.

The 2006 performance also had to be one of the Stoops coaching staff's finest achievements.  They were forced to move Paul Thompson back from receiver to quarterback and still went on to win the Big 12.  Nebraska gave them a game too, and the contest was in doubt until that classic 99 1/2-yard drive.

The year of the Tiger came in 2007.  Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin were bringing national attention to Columbia.  They actually went into Norman that year and played Oklahoma tougher than anyone else has played them in their house since 2005.  

Tiger fans could just taste the sweet victory, until Curtis Lofton gave Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin a piggy back ride into the north endzone.  Oklahoma used that game as motivation for their rematch in San Antonio and won their second consecutive conference title.

The 2008 season was about as wild as it gets.  Everyone remembers the three way race in the South with OU, Texas, and TTU.    Missouri still had Daniel and Maclin, and KU seemed to be playing well, but everyone knew it was Sooner or Longhorn, especially after the way TTU was dispatched in Norman that year.  Missouri was meat in the hands of the voters.  They just had to decide who would get to dine, and everyone knows how that turned out.

Coming into the 2009 season, there was no reason to expect anything different.  Oklahoma and Texas seemed firmly entrenched as kings of the mountain.  One has to wonder how big of a factor a Cincy/TCU vs Bama matchup was playing in the minds of the officials who awarded the extra second.  Something that will be debated for a long time to come.

If there's going to be a season where someone other than OU or Texas wears the crown, this has to be it.  Texas is breaking in a host of new young talent, with the emphasis being on the word "talent."  Oklahoma is as well; however, one fortunate circumstance to come out of the forgettable '09 season for them was much-needed experience.  

Most have Nebraska rated pretty high this year, and many expect A&M to give the Sooners and Longhorns a run for their money.  Kansas State is another team that Bill Snyder is quietly returning to respectability, and it wouldn't be surprising to see them representing the North this year.

Looking at the young talent and recruiting it appears if someone else wants a piece of the Big 12 title, it better happen now.  If not, the Big 12 title may never reside anywhere else.

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