Oklahoma Sooners

MORGANTOWN, W.V. -- The Sooners escaped their maiden voyage to Morgantown with a 50-49 victory over the Mountaineers in one of the craziest shootouts in Big 12 history.

It was over when: West Virginia QB Geno Smith's Hail Mary pass fell to the turf two yards in front of the end zone. The two teams combined to score 31 points in the fourth quarter, including Landry Jones' 5-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Stills on fourth down with 26 seconds remaining.


Game ball goes to: West Virginia's Tavon Austin, who was unbelievable in a losing effort. Austin rushed for 344 yards and two touchdowns on just 21 carries. He also had 82 yards receiving.

Stat of the game: This was the first time since 1993 the Sooners surrendered at least 250 rushing yards in back-to-back games. OU gave up 252 to Baylor last weekend and 458 to the Mountaineers. West Virginia’s 778 total yards were also, by far, the most against a Sooners defense in OU history.

Record performance: Austin shattered the Big 12 record for all-purpose yards in a game with 572. Texas’ Hodges Mitchell held the previous record of 375 yards since 2000. On top of having a monster game rushing and receiving, Austin had 146 yards in kickoff returns.

Unsung hero: Stills, who hauled in four touchdown passes to keep pace with Austin and Stedman Bailey. Stills had 10 receptions, but none bigger than his final one, which gave OU the lead for good.

What it means: The Sooners leave Morgantown with their BCS bowl hopes still intact. But a huge test awaits next weekend in Oklahoma State, which beat OU 44-10 last season. West Virginia is still searching for its sixth win to become bowl eligible. The Mountaineers have now lost five in a row.

Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops understands he has a difficult task this season as the Sooners defense will face Big 12 foes Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Baylor, which rank Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in total offense.

Each of the three teams has a quarterback who can test a defense with his arm or legs, a trait that Stoops holds in high regard.

“The quarterback run game is always the difference,” he said. “In the NFL it’s usually the difference, guys that can scramble and create plays with their feet are always going to create problems. You can’t just rush and let them run wild, you have to set edges, you’re rolling the dice, if he gets outside you have other issues.”

West Virginia’s Geno Smith is a Heisman favorite with his 1,728 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 98 rushing yards in four games. Baylor’s Nick Florence has stepped up admirably in following last year’s Heisman winner, Robert Griffin III, with 1,585 passing yards and 153 rushing yards through four games. J.W. Walsh of Oklahoma State, passed for 301 yards, two touchdowns and an interception and ran for 57 yards in the Cowboys’ 41-36 loss to Texas on Sept. 29.

The Big 12 got two swipes (should have been a third in 2011) at the SEC during the league's run of six national titles, but failed on both occasions.

Colt McCoy's shoulder suffered a freak injury on a usually harmless hit, and when McCoy trotted to the sideline, the Longhorns' chances of beating Alabama came off the field with him.

A season earlier, Florida twice stuffed Oklahoma on the goal line, giving Tim Tebow his second national title and denying the Sooners the school's eighth.

So, who among the Big 12's contenders this season is best suited to end the SEC's tyranny?

The Sooners are simply the best team, even though Oklahoma is loaded with flaws. Question marks on the offensive and defensive lines as well as at linebacker could prove problematic in a showdown with one of the SEC titans, but the Sooners would love for the play of four-year starting quarterback Landry Jones to answer it. He's got the skills to decipher complex SEC defensive schemes and the pocket presence to elude the rush. His arm strength assures that SEC secondaries will have to cover the whole field.

The Sooners would have to get past Texas in the Red River Rivalry to make that happen. (Never mind 2008. Just humor me here.) If the Longhorns can survive a brutal Big 12 schedule with six 10-win teams on the docket, they're probably the best Big 12 team suited to beat one of the SEC's best teams in a national title game.

The problem is producing enough offense to beat Big 12 teams. In an SEC matchup, though, it's all about the line of scrimmage. Texas' defensive line may challenge LSU as the nation's best, and the Longhorns have a crazy duo at defensive end in Alex Okafor and Jackson Jeffcoat, two of the nation's best at the position.

Texas' depth at defensive line is huge, too, but it likely has the Big 12's best offensive line. The loaded backfield of Joe Bergeron, Malcolm Brown and Johnathan Gray is a good sign, too. Mack Brown brought in assistants with SEC ties like Manny Diaz (defensive coordinator), Bo Davis (defensive tackles) and Stacy Searels (offensive line) to offer his team a little SEC flavor. You want power football, Nick Saban and Les Miles? Texas would love to play some power football.

What about a Big 12 newcomer who's never won the league and never played for a national title in the BCS era?

West Virginia is all about speed. There are plenty of questions on the defensive line, but the Mountaineers will test the mettle of any SEC defense that's feasted on weak offense all season. Geno Smith's got a big arm and the Big 12's two best receivers in Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin.

West Virginia has to play its best, but if Dana Holgorsen's team can hang 70 on Clemson like it did at the Orange Bowl, the Mountaineers' biggest stage last season, you've got to like its chances to at least put 30 or 40 on the board against an SEC team. Do that, and WVU will have a shot. Just have to survive the first year in the Big 12 and win a league title first.

There's no USC in the Big 12, a team built for a title run in 2012. The Big 12 does have plenty of contenders, though, and if any of these three teams gets a shot, they won't take it lightly.

Colleague Brock Huard checked in with the next installment of the top 10 at each position nationally, offering up his list of the nation's best quarterbacks .

Huard pegged three Big 12 quarterbacks in the nation's top 10, with surprises on who got in and who got left out.

The first no-brainers are Oklahoma's Landry Jones at No. 4 and West Virginia's Geno Smith at No. 5. They trail USC's Matt Barkley, Virginia Tech's Logan Thomas and Arkansas' Tyler Wilson.

Color me skeptical of Thomas, but Jones and Smith will be a season-long debate. You can rank them either way for now. Smith got the edge in the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year Award, but the voting was pretty close.

For Huard, 2012 is about Jones validating the top-five grade NFL scouts placed on him previously.

Smith is another gunslinger like ones Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen had during assistant-coaching stints at Houston and Texas Tech, but Smith possesses the arm strength and size that guys like Case Keenum and Graham Harrell didn't have, writes Huard.

The most conspicuous absence from his top 10 list? Kansas State's Collin Klein. No surprise, really. Huard, a former quarterback himself, clearly defines best quarterbacks as "best passers." Klein doesn't fit that mold, but he does fit the mold of a great football player and quarterback.

TCU's Casey Pachall snuck in and grabbed the No. 10 spot. Nice pick. I love what Pachall was able to do last season, even though he didn't have a ton of pressure. When his team needed him most (Baylor, Boise State), he was at his best. I'd probably lean Seth Doege ahead of Pachall, but it's close.

Check out Huard's full list with his comments. Good stuff.

We'll be walking through the top 10 players at each position in the Big 12 before the season, but we'll start with the most important, especially in this league.

Let's do this:

1. Geno Smith, West Virginia: Smith put up huge numbers (4,385 yards, 31 TD, 7 INT, 65.8 completion percentage) and did so efficiently last season. Both of his top two targets are back and the adjustment to Big 12 defenses shouldn't be too difficult.

2. Landry Jones, Oklahoma: Jones and Smith will go head-to-head all season for honors as the Big 12's top passer. Who comes out on top is anyone's guess, but Jones regressed last season, and his receivers let him down after Ryan Broyles' season ended with a knee injury. He'll try to bounce back with just one reliable target (Kenny Stills) to start the season. The rest of the receiving corps is loaded with potential, but very inexperienced.

3. Collin Klein, Kansas State: Clearly, I'm taking more than just passing acumen into account here. Klein is the Big 12's No. 2 returning rusher, and also threw for just under 2,000 yards last season, adding 13 passing touchdowns to the 27 he scored rushing. We'll see how much better he is as a passer this fall.

4. Seth Doege, Texas Tech: I refuse to hang last year's failures on Doege's shoulders. Absolutely not. He played well, at least as well as he could. The running game struggled and offered almost no support after Eric Stephens' injury. The defense was a disaster and there were injuries all over the place. Doege still went for more than 4,000 yards, 28 scores and just 10 picks. Don't be surprised if Doege throws his hat in the ring as the Big 12's best passer by season's end.

5. Casey Pachall, TCU: Pachall didn't have eye-popping numbers, but only because TCU rode on the shoulders of its trio of running backs. Still, Pachall's numbers are going to be better this year, and he's got great targets in Josh Boyce, Skye Dawson and Brandon Carter, not to mention youngster LaDarius Brown.

6. Nick Florence, Baylor: I like Florence to have a big year with really good receivers, but he's got too much to prove for now. He looked good in spot duty for RG3 against Texas Tech last season, but his senior season will look much, much different than his inconsistent freshman year all the way back in 2009.

7. Wes Lunt, Oklahoma State: The Big 12's only freshman quarterback is a true freshman, and Lunt earned this spot by beating out some really tough competition in J.W. Walsh and Colton Chelf this spring. Amazing stuff, and his coaches know good quarterbacks. Zac Robinson and Brandon Weeden have established quite the QB tradition in Stillwater. Here's guessing Lunt continues it.

8. Dayne Crist, Kansas: Crist's college career hasn't been what he imagined after coming to Notre Dame as one of the most highly recruited signal-calling prospects in his class, but he's got a chance to start something special at Kansas in his senior year, reunited with former coach Charlie Weis. Crist won't have the weapons some of the other guys on this list have, but he gives KU a big, big upgrade at the position.

9. Steele Jantz/Jared Barnett, Iowa State: These two have to cut down the turnovers, but they've both shown the ability to be playmakers. There's no guessing who wins this legitimate battle in the fall, but coach Paul Rhoads isn't afraid to bench either one if the turnovers don't stop.

10. David Ash/Case McCoy, Texas: Mack Brown insists it's still a contest. My jaw will be on the floor if Ash doesn't trot out on the field for the first game of the season. Ash has some potential and promising targets in Mike Davis and Jaxon Shipley, but he hasn't shown the big-play ability of Jantz or Barnett. Expect Ash to move up this list by season's end, but for now, it's all just potential.

Landry Jones is primed to become the winningest quarterback in Oklahoma history and is closing in on numerous NCAA career-passing records. But West Virginia’s Geno Smith -- not Jones -- was voted preseason All-Big 12 quarterback and Offensive Player of the Year.

“From a friend and a teammate, it’s frustrating, because I know what kind of talent he has,” center Ben Habern said of Jones. “I don’t know. Not taking anything away from Geno. He’s a great quarterback. A guy that’s proven himself. From Landry’s standpoint, it’s motivation. If he wants it, he can compete for it.”

Jones and Smith had virtually equal numbers in 2011. Jones threw for a little more yardage; Smith had a couple more touchdowns and a slightly better completion percentage.

Jones threw 15 interceptions, to Smith’s seven. But Jones competed against the tougher Big 12, while Smith cruised through the Big East, which claimed only two teams in the final AP Top 25 poll (No. 17 West Virginia and No. 25 Cincinnati).

So what did Jones think of the snub?

“We’ll see,” he said. “We’ll see what all happens with that whole deal.”

OU travels to West Virginia on Nov. 17.

SoonerNation writer Jake Trotter and HornsNation writer Carter Strickland chatted with readers on Monday in a special look ahead at this season's OU-Texas game. Here's the full transcript. If you didn't get your question answered, send it to Jake's mailbag.

Here are a few highlights from the chat:

Nicolai (Denmark, Europe): Who has the edge, Oklahomas offense or Texas' defense?

Jake Trotter: I give the edge to Texas' defense. But I also give the edge, probably a bigger edge, to OU's defense over Texas' offense.

Carter Strickland: Toss up for me. Really don't know how good the Texas defense is going to be until it plays WVU the week before.

Shane (Oklahoma City): With the questions remaining for Texas offensively, QB play & passing game, can UT seriously challenge West Virginia for second place in the Big 12?

Jake Trotter: No question. In fact, I'm sure many people will pick UT to finish 2nd in their preseason Big 12 polls. The key game for Texas will be Sept. 29 in Stillwater. Win there, and 2nd place is there for the taking (and maybe first place if UT can upend OU).

Carter Strickland: Have you seen WVU's defense? Yes. Texas is going to use the running game and its defense to try and slow down Geno Smith. WVU has some inflated stats because of the conference it has played in. KSU is the team to beat for the No. 2 spot in the B12.

Brennan (Austin): Which freshmen are already creating a buzz in Norman and Austin?

Jake Trotter: In Norman, it's WRs Trey Metoyer and Sterling Shepard. OU could end up starting two true freshman WRs this fall alongside Kenny Stills.

Carter Strickland: Johnathan Gray is getting a lot of buzz. Malcom Brown (the other one) is going to play a lot. Some of the wide receivers. Daje Johnson is a guy to watch out for.

What's the game on the Big 12 schedule that will have the most impact in 2012? Easy.

Get ready for an epic showdown when Oklahoma makes its maiden voyage to Morgantown on November 17.

The Sooners and Mountaineers are the favorites to finish the Big 12 with the best offense, and sure enough, they're the favorites to finish atop the Big 12 standings, too.

That should equal a fun-filled showdown in an amazing atmosphere in mid-November that could decide the entire Big 12.

Last season, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State met for Bedlam two days after Thanksgiving with the league on the line. Oklahoma State walked away victors. If Oklahoma wants to get back the Big 12 title for the first time since 2010, it'll have to pry it from West Virginia's home stadium. The newcomers are good enough to win the league, but are they good enough to knock off the Sooners with a whole lot on the line?

If the Mountaineers beat OU, they'll only need to beat Iowa State and Kansas (combined 8-17 in 2011) on the final two Saturdays of the season.

Texas and Oklahoma will meet for the Red River Rivalry, but the Longhorns still have plenty to prove, and there's a lot of football to be played after that game on Oct. 13.

Bedlam decided the Big 12 South in 2010, and could be a big one again this year, but the Cowboys are breaking in a new QB and only three first-year starters have ever won a Big 12 title.

West Virginia has a three-year starter in Geno Smith, who'll be playing on his home field with a game that could go down in Mountaineers' history. Oklahoma's four-year starter (basically, anyway) Landry Jones will be in the middle of a brutal late-season schedule, but he seemed to shed his road problems in 2011. He'll need to be at his best to knock off WVU.

What's a sure thing? That game will be the Big 12 at its best in 2012.