Today IN THE BIG 12



Central Florida at Texas, 11 a.m., FSM

The tradeoff for Texas moving its game with Texas Tech up to Sept. 19 is the Longhorns get a breather in the middle of conference play. The way it looks now, the only thing that can keep Texas from the Big 12 title game is itself.

Kansas at Kansas State, 11:30 a.m., Versus

How muddled is the Big 12 North? If KSU and Nebraska both lose, the Wildcats will hang on to first in the division, yet be .500 overall. KU leads 65-36-5 in the Sunflower Showdown, which isn't the most intimidating name for a football rivalry. KU has won the past three meetings in the series, but lost its past three this season. KSU is 4-0 at home.

Texas A&M at Colorado, 12:30 p.m.

The Aggies are third in the nation (and tops in the Big 12) in total offense, grinding out 490.5 yards a game, but their defense — 91st in the nation and last in the Big 12 — is keeping them toward the bottom of the South. A Colorado student is trying to send a message to the university leadership about the state of the program by asking fans to wear powder blue to the game. That's the color the school wore in the early '80s when it went 10-34 in a four-year span.

Oklahoma State at Iowa State, 2:30 p.m., KDNL (Ch. 30)

ISU quarterback Austen Arnaud will be back in the lineup after being out two weeks and running back Alexander Robinson is healthy for the first time in more than a month. In the two weeks Arnaud was out, ISU scored two offensive touchdowns. OSU allowed just 275 yards of total offense to Texas last week, so yards could be hard to come by for the Cyclones.

Oklahoma at Nebraska, 7 p.m., KDNL (30)

This the Sooners' final game against the North and they have to be cursing the geography that puts them in the South Division. The Sooners, who have won four straight in this rivalry, are third in the nation in red-zone defense, rushing defense and tackles for loss. That's not good for the Huskers, who had 300 yards of total offense just once in four league games. In its past four games, Nebraska has lost 14 turnovers and picked up just six.