KANSAS CITY, Mo. - For a conference that entered the season
with so much hype, the Big 12 has had a rough couple of weeks.

Oklahoma was ranked third in the preseason, but lost to Brigham
Young in its opener. Oklahoma State, with its highest ranking in 24 years, lost to Houston last week.
Kansas State couldn't beat Louisiana-Lafayette on the road.
Colorado can't beat anyone.

Does this mean the end of the Big 12's rise to the top of
college football? Not quite yet, the coaches insist. It's still too
early to tell.

There was a time, not all that long ago, when the Big 12 wasn't
considered a strong conference. There was Texas and Oklahoma, Nebraska before that at the top, playing for national
championships; teams like Colorado or Kansas State occasionally put together impressive seasons.

The conference's depth has improved over the past couple of
years as most of its teams converted to wide-open offenses that no one can seem to stop. Kansas, Missouri and Texas Tech have each made national title bids and the rest of the teams have gotten better. At the least, the Big 12 is one of the deepest conferences in the country.

Expectations for this season were high. The conference had five
teams in The Associated Press preseason poll, including three in
the Top 10. Sending a team to the BCS championship game for the fifth time in seven years was considered realistic.

So what happens? Two losses to Mountain West Conference teams during the first weekend, then losses to Sun Belt and Mid-American schools last weekend. Granted, Toledo has seven wins over BCS schools the past nine years and BYU is no slouch, moving up to No.7 in the latest poll.

And it's not like the Big 12 is alone when it comes to upsets.
And the conference still has five teams in the Top 25, with
Missouri just missing the final spot.

BUMBLING BUFFS: Colorado coach Dan Hawkins made a winter
prediction of ``10 wins and no excuses'' in Boulder. So far it's
been two ugly losses and plenty of questions.

The Buffaloes suffered through the indignity of watching rival
Colorado State's fans storm their home field after a 23-17 loss in
the opener, then saw Toledo pull its starters in the fourth quarter
during a 54-38 loss this past Friday.

Colorado's defense has allowed 1,000 yards, 77 points and nine
touchdowns in two games, and it doesn't figure to get any easier
with Texas, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma State still on the
schedule.

Ten wins could be more like 10 losses if the Buffaloes don't
turn it around quickly.

CYCLONES ROAD WOES: Iowa State tackled one losing streak by beating North Dakota State in its season opener. Now it's time for the Cyclones to end their woes on the road.

Heading into Saturday's game at Kent State, Iowa State has the
longest road losing streak in the country at 17 games, a stretch
that dates to 2005. The Cyclones try not to think about it.

POTTS' START: Texas Tech quarterback Taylor Potts has made a seamless transition from Graham Harrell's backup to starter at
Texas Tech.

The junior was named the Big 12 offensive player of the week
Monday after throwing for 456 yards and seven touchdowns on
36-of-57 passing in a 55-10 win over Rice. Potts has 861 yards
passing and nine TDs in two games, still a long way from breaking all those records Harrell set, but not a bad start.

QUOTABLE: ``This should be a great fan game with balls flying
all over the place. Both defenses are improved and playing well,
but I'm telling you there's going to be some sparks flying in this
game,'' Texas coach Mack Brown on Saturday's home game against Texas Tech, a year after the Red Raiders beat the Longhorns in the final seconds.

EXTRA POINTS: Coach Mike Gundy said starting tailback Kendall Hunter is doubtful for No. 16 Oklahoma State's game against Rice after injuring his right leg Saturday against Houston. RB Daniel Thomas is the first Kansas State player since Cornelius Davis in 1966 to have consecutive 100-yard rushing performances to start his career after rushing for 240 yards the first two games.

Missouri LB Carl Gettis, a stalwart on Tigers' special teams,
is out for the season with a torn ACL.