Elite offenses separate top teams

The first couple of weeks of the 2011 college football season featured a few big-game highlights, but Week 4 is loaded with showdowns between some of the nation's top teams. The national championship race might be impacted, and the edge for several conference championship races are up for grabs, too. After running up blowout victories in warm-up games, untested contenders finally get a chance to flex their muscle and see where they stand.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Texas A&M Aggies are both ranked in the top 10 and each has its eyes on a Big 12 championship. They'll have to take down the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners later this year, but this Saturday's battle is just as critical. Both teams have cruised to victory against lesser competition so far, and both teams feature playmakers on both sides of the ball.

We've discussed special teams play and its impact on field position in the last few weeks, but these teams are capable of scoring from anywhere. Does either team's offense have the edge?

To read the full story and see if an elite defense is actually the key to winning close games, sign up for ESPN Insider.

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