Throughout the next couple of months I’ll take a look at each position group leading up to the 2012 NFL Draft. Where should we start? Well at quarterback, of course.

The Best in Class: Andrew Luck, Stanford
There are many scouts who are intrigued by Robert Griffin III’s skill set and natural feel for the game, so there will be plenty of people suggesting that Griffin should be the first signal caller off the board in April. But “pound for pound” Luck is still the top quarterback prospect in this draft, if not the top all-around prospect, period. What impresses me most about Luck is his pocket awareness. He anticipates pressure and reacts to it instead of looking for it at the snap. He also keeps his eyes down the field, which is an attribute that all of the elite NFL quarterbacks posses. He goes through his progressions well, displays sound footwork, and has a better arm than people give him credit for. He’s also extremely bright, as evidence of his ability to call plays at the line of scrimmage in Stanford’s offense, and you rarely see him get frazzled. At this point Luck looks like a safe bet at the top of the draft, which is saying a lot considering the position he plays.

The Challenger: Robert Griffin III, Baylor
It appears that the Colts are set on taking Luck with the No. 1 overall pick but Griffin has plenty of time to change their minds. A smart, savvy player with the ability to create using his arm or his legs, Griffin has improved as a passer every year he’s been at Baylor. He has very good arm strength and can fit the ball into tight windows at the second level. He’s also a natural athlete with a high ceiling and plenty of room to grow if a team surrounds him with the right coaching staff. The main knock on Griffin is that he isn’t comfortable taking snaps from under center and isn’t particularly strong at reading the blitz at the snap. But he seems more “boom” than “bust” and certainly has the attention of fans in Cleveland.

Don’t Sleep On: Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State
Weeden isn’t drawing the same attention as Luck, Griffin, or even Texas A&M’s Ryan Tannehill. But at 6-foot-4 with a big, accurate arm, Weeden is worth a long look for quarterback-needy teams looking to either move up into the late first round or early second. His age (28) might scare teams away but the fact remains that he has all of the physical attributes and intangibles that pro teams look for in a quarterback. There are some concerns about his inconsistency and he has a habit of forcing throws into coverage, but he could be a perfect fit for teams like the Jets, Seahawks or Broncos.

Mid-Round Sleeper: Ryan Lindley, San Diego State
The biggest knock on Lindley is that he needs to improve his overall footwork and coordination inside the pocket. Thus, this isn’t a prospect that a team can plug into their offense and have him start in year one or two. But at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Lindley looks the part and has very good arm strength. He can make all of the throws at the next level and is an accurate passer. He would be perfect for a team that already has its starter in place but is looking to groom a developmental quarterback for down the line (i.e. the Giants, Falcons or Packers).

The Oklahoma State Cowboys had a clear shot at playing for the National Championship, but tonight they lost to the Iowa State Cyclones in overtime, 37-31.

The game was played in the aftermath of a tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of women’s basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant Miranda Serna. This tragedy came shortly after Oklahoma State commemorated the 10-year anniversary of the deaths of 10 men affiliated with its men’s basketball team.

In this somber setting, Oklahoma State took a lead but then blew it in the fourth quarter. The Cyclones stormed back and tied the game, but OSU had a chance to win it late in the fourth quarter with a field goal. On television it looked liked the field goal might be good as the ball sailed above the upright but it was called no good.

In overtime, Iowa state stormed out with a quick touchdown, but then Oklahoma State matched them. The the Cowboys got the ball again, but this time Brandon Weeden hit star receiver Justin Blackmon in what seemed like a perfect spot with a pass, but it bounced off of Blackmon’s hands and was intercepted by Iowa State. The Cyclones then quickly took advantage, scored a touchdown, and ended OSU’s great run.

Again, Oklahoma State showed serious holes on defense. I don’t know what’s happened to the Big 12 over the past 10 years, but the league looks like a flag football league at times. You don’t see tough, physical defense, so maybe Oklahoma State wasn’t the team to take on mighty LSU. Brandon Weeden threw three interceptions and didn’t play very well thus hurting his chances for the Heisman Trophy.

The result is BCS chaos. For those of us who think the current system is a joke, the upcoming discussions about which one-loss team “deserves” to play LSU if LSU wins out will be annoying as hell. At the same time, this scenario provides further ammunition for all of us who want the system to change.

We’ll have to listen to countless debates over whether Alabama deserves to pay in the title game, pitting two SEC teams in the final game. While this will get the most discussion, it’s also not likely if Oregon wins out just because most people would hate to see an all-SEC title game.

Yes, Texas is young. Yes, the Longhorns were overrated at No. 11 in the country. But the beating Oklahoma put on Texas today was one normally reserved for early-season patsies and not top-15 rivalry opponents.

I figured the Texas offense would struggle, and it did, managing just 10 points (one score came on a kick return) and turning the ball over five times. Freshman quarterback Case McCoy and David Ash combined to go 20-of-36 for 223 yards a touchdown and two interceptions. They had zero help from the run game, as it gained just 36 yards.

I did expect a bit more from the Texas defense, however, which was used and abused to the tune of 453 yards, most of it coming on the arm of Landry Jones (367 yards). All of these yards, and this game was well in hand at halftime.

As impressive as Oklahoma was, the one worry could be the run game, which gained just 86 yards. Texas’ run defense is certainly not as good as what the Sooners will see in a possible national title game against LSU or Alabama. They only had 19 carries, however, and averaged 4.5 yards per carry. Starting running back Dominique Whaley had 83 of those yards on 13 carries (6.4 ypc), so maybe I’m just looking for negatives in a game filled with positives.

This win, combined with the Florida State victory and a preseason No. 1 ranking, is normally good enough to be the consensus No. 1 team in the country. Not this year, however. Read the rest of this entry »

No. 21 Arizona @ No. 1 Oregon, 7:00PM ET, Friday
The Ducks have come a long way but they still have two daunting tasks left in order to reach the BCS title game. The first test comes this Friday against Arizona, which leads the Pac-10 at 300.6 yards per game offensively. Nick Foles is completing a conference-high 71.0 percent of his passes and has thrown for over 600 yards with four touchdowns and just one interception in his last two games. That said, the Wildcats gave up a whopping 426 rushing yards in consecutive losses the last two weeks and are now in danger of slipping out of the top 25. Can they pull off an upset this week or is Oregon set to wrap up a second-straight Pac-10 title?
CURRENT ODDS: OREGON –19.5

No. 5 LSU @ No. 12 Arkansas, 3:30PM ET, Saturday
The Tigers are looking to claim their sixth 11-win season in school history this week, but they face a daunting task in Arkansas this Saturday. The previous five meetings between these two teams have been decided by a total of 13 points and two of the previous three outings went into overtime. LSU has limited opponents to 286.9 yards per game, which is best in the SEC. But it was their offense that earned them a wild win over Ole Miss last weekend, as quarterback Jordan Jefferson threw for a career-high 254 yards and a touchdown both through the air and on the ground. The Hogs needed overtime to beat a pesky Mississippi State team and will need a better effort out of Ryan Mallett this year against the Tigers than in 2009. He threw for just 227 yards and an interception in a 33-30 overtime loss in Baton Rouge last year.
CURRENT ODDS: ARKANSAS –3.5

No. 13 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State
Usually when these two teams meet at this time of year, it’s Oklahoma playing for an opportunity to head to the Big 12 championship. But this season, it’s the Cowboys turn to play in a conference title game for the first time in school history. The Sooners have absolutely dominated the Bedlam series over the years, winning 80 of the 104 games between these two programs. But the Cowboys have a one-game lead in the Big 12 South standings and they won’t go down easy at home. This is only the fourth time in series history that OK State has been the higher ranked team. Can Brandon Weeden and company get one more win in order to play for a conference championship next weekend?
CURRENT ODDS: OKLAHOMA STATE -3

Michigan vs. No. 8 Ohio State, 12:00PM ET, Saturday
This is a nasty matchup for the Wolverines, who were absolutely hammered by a Wisconsin team last Saturday that has a lot of similarities to Ohio State. Both teams like to line up and play smash-mouth football, while Michigan prefers to win games with speed. Denard Robinson could have a hard time moving the ball against a stout Buckeye front seven. With a win, Ohio State would likely earn a BCS bowl berth (either a return trip to the Rose Bowl, should Wisconsin lose to Northwestern at home, or an at-large bid to the Sugar or Orange bowls). But they know the Wolverines won’t lay down without a fight and Michigan would love nothing more than to ruin the Buckeyes season when they have nothing to play for outside of pride.
CURRENT ODDS: OHIO STATE -17

College Football Top 25 Odds & Over/Under Totals:

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Here’s a quick and dirty look at how I see things playing out in the Big 12 this season:

#1 Oklahoma
In Sam Bradford, Gerald McCoy, Trent Williams, Jermaine Gresham, Keenan Clayton, Brody Eldridge and Dominique Franks, there’s no doubt that the Sooners lost a ton of talent from last year. However, this season is all about two names: Landry Jones and DeMarco Murray. Jones filled in admirably when Bradford went down last season, throwing 26 touchdown passes and gaining valuable experience throughout the year. Murray’s health history is a major concern, but if he can stay upright he’s scary good. He’s more versatile than Adrian Peterson was in that he can catch the ball out of the backfield or beat teams as a rusher. He’s big, he’s fast and he can get north and south in a hurry. He’s also going to get a ton of opportunities to shine this year as both a runner and a pass-catcher and again, if he can stay healthy he has the ability to be one of the best backs in college football. Defensively, Bob Stoops’ team has good depth and while the loss of McCoy hurts, don’t forget that Jeremy Beal was fifth on the team in tackles last season and first in sacks with 11. The linebacker corps has a chance to be special thanks to redshirt freshman Tom Wort and sophomore Ronnell Lewis. I know many pundits still like Texas in the South, but with Landry, Murray and nine starters returning on offense, I think Oklahoma reclaims the conference this season.

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Without quarterback Zac Robinson (concussion), No. 12 Oklahoma State was almost victims of the first big upset of Week 12.

The Cowboys needed a fourth quarter touchdown reception by Justin Blackmon from Brandon Weeden and two big defensive stops to beat Colorado, 31-28 on Thursday night.

Turnovers almost doomed OK State. They lost three fumbles on the night (two on muffed punts) and junior quarterback Alex Cate was also intercepted to give the Buffalos scoring opportunities the entire night.

Cate struggled to make an impact while starting in place of the injured Robinson. In fact, he didn’t complete a pass and finished 0-for-9 with the one interception. The sophomore Weeden had to come in and rescue the sputtering Cowboy offense, which he successfully did by completing 10-of-15 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns.

Of course, OK State’s offense got plenty of production out of senior running back Keith Toston, who compiled 170 yards with one touchdown on 30 carries. On the night, the Cowboys rushed for 232 yards and held Colorado to just 13 yards on the ground.

With this win, Oklahoma State keeps its slim hopes alive in the Big 12 South. The Cowboys would need to beat Oklahoma next week and have Texas (6-0) lose both its remaining games in order to leapfrog the Longhorns in the standings. But chances are Texas won’t slip up against a struggling Kansas, which has lost five in a row and whose head coach is facing allegations of player abuse.