Here’s a fluffy conversation to start everyone’s day-after Thanksgiving recovery: Who’s the best quarterback in the Big 12? Jimmy Burch of the Star-Telegram writes that Texas’ signal caller Colt McCoy holds the honors, even if the Heisman voters don’t eventually think so.

In short, McCoy is the league’s MVP. He is more valuable to the Longhorns as a rusher, passer and leader than any player on any other roster in the Big 12.

McCoy drove home that point against A&M. He threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for 49 yards and two scores. He picked up his 31st career victory as a starting quarterback, passing Vince Young for most in Longhorns’ history.

Most important, McCoy jump-started the Texas offense — time and again — on a night when the Longhorns (11-1, 7-1 in Big 12) struggled early to rack up the style points they needed to blow away BCS voters.

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford? He hands off to three players who could start ahead of any member of the Longhorns’ current tailback tandem. He is protected by a huge, veteran offensive line.

Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell? He throws to Michael Crabtree, the nation’s best receiver and a certifiable first-round NFL draft pick.

McCoy keeps the wheels spinning behind an offensive line that is good but not as dominant as others in the league. Most of McCoy’s most telling tosses wind up in the hands of Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby, two undersized and underappreciated guys who won’t wow any NFL scouts with their measurable qualities.

McCoy has my vote, too. I loved him as a freshman, believed last year was just a small setback and think he’s currently having the best season of any quarterback in the nation. Bradford is an absolute stud and Harrell executes Tech’s offense better than any quarterback before him. But McCoy does so much for the Longhorn offense in terms of passing and running that he deserves (at this point) to be the frontrunner for the Heisman. But I think we should wait to see how this year plays out before drawing any conclusions. What if he struggles in the Big 12 Championship Game or stumbles in the title game if UT makes an appearance? Those games ultimately should decide the value of a player – not the ones at home against Texas A&M on Thanksgiving night. (Although it’s also fair to judge a player’s entire body of work throughout the season, not just one game.)

Comment starter: Who do you think is the best quarterback in the Big 12?

Oklahoma’s reign as the best team in the nation lasted only one week as the top-ranked Sooners fell at home to Big 12 rival Texas 45-35 on Saturday. Below are six quick-hit observations from the game.

1. Colt McCoy has become more than a fantastic player. The Longhorns’ junior QB has been one of the more talked about players in college football since his freshman year. But it was evident in UT’s win over OU that McCoy has become much more than that – he’s also become a leader for Mack Brown. Despite being down 11 on two separate occasions in the first half and playing through four lead changes, McCoy never panicked. He also didn’t make a mistake and while fellow candidate Sam Bradford had flashier numbers, McCoy proved why he should be the front-runner for the Heisman this year. McCoy certainly benefited from Chris Ogbonnaya’s (15 carries, 127 yards) as well, who had one of most pivotal plays of the game when he broke a 62-yard run to set up a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

2. While it was in a losing effort, Sam Bradford’s performance was phenomenal. It’s easy to forget that he’s only a sophomore with how mature he has looked this year. And while he did throw two interceptions (one was on the last play of the game on a desperation pass), his performance isn’t why OU won’t find themselves at the top of the rankings when the new polls are released.

3. Where was the defense? For being the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, Oklahoma’s defense just wasn’t that good to begin with and it showed today. The Horns racked up 45 points and 438 yards of offense sure, but the bottom line is that the Sooners’ defense couldn’t come up with the big play when it mattered most. And they allowed UT wideouts to roam free too many times in the secondary.

4. What was the game plan again? Speaking of OU’s defense, coordinator Brent Venables continues to make zero adjustments when his unit is being scorched. The amount of openings that McCoy and the Longhorns had offensively couldn’t have only been because the Sooner defenders were missing assignments. OU’s overall defensive game plan was weak from the start.

5. The officiating in his game was brutal. Blown calls were the norm and there were two plays that were inexcusably not reviewed. At least it was bad on both sides.

6. The Big 12 is still up for grabs. Looking ahead, Texas certainly isn’t in the clear yet to win the Big 12. The Longhorns host No. 3 Missouri and No. 17 Oklahoma State the next two weeks, then are at No. 7 Texas Tech and No. 16 Kansas in November. OU hosts Kansas next week, but doesn’t have to face Missouri and gets Texas Tech at home before facing in-state rival Oklahoma State to wrap up the season.