DALLAS | Media days are about perception. They&#x92;re about possibilities based on what has happened, who&#x92;s returning the most studs, and we drain most of our batteries examining the top of the heap.</p><p>Oklahoma has the goods to win the national championship. Texas A&M believes the mojo is back. Missouri and Oklahoma State have the look of long-term power brokers. Only Texas Tech can claim bowl eligibility each year of its Big 12 existence.</p><p>And Texas. You might have heard a bit about its network. That&#x92;s going to get worked out in the next month, and the sense after two days of interviews is the broadcast of high school games won&#x92;t happen this year as college sports&#x92; governing bodies sort out the ramifications.</p><p>Media days aren&#x92;t much about the lesser lights, as measured by projection in the standings and the number of interview requests in the hallways.</p><p>But what will make the Big 12 one of the nation&#x92;s strongest conferences this season, its first as a 10-team enterprise, is the strength of its middle to lower class.</p><p>And media days are more fun for them, anyway. Everybody&#x92;s equal in stature for this event, and their thoughts on reaching the next level are just as compelling.</p><p>Baylor, Kansas State and Iowa State have in common plenty of positive vibes from last year &#x97; the Bears and Wildcats reached bowl games and the Cyclones beat down another power &#x97; and the promise of better things this season. Kansas separates itself from the pack and is widely projected to finish last because, at least in coach Turner Gill&#x92;s first year, it lacked the same qualities.</p><p>Gill spoke Tuesday of his team&#x92;s fragile nature when he took over, a team unsure of itself. That has never been the case at Iowa State under Paul Rhoads.</p><p>&#x93;We don&#x92;t have superstars, we don&#x92;t have players other teams fear,&#x94; Rhoads said. &#x93;The fact is, we&#x92;ve coached 25 games and I haven&#x92;t gone into one game where I thought our players didn&#x92;t think we could win the game.&#x94;</p><p>Coaches say that; Rhoads has backed it up with triumphs at Nebraska and Texas over the last two seasons. Belief, a strong buy-in approach by the players, whatever the quality is, the Cyclones have showed it and then posted the locker-room celebrations on YouTube.</p><p>Baylor has constructed its foundation from the inside out. Seven Bears have been drafted in the last three years. Five were interior lineman, including all three in the first round.</p><p>Gill talks about improving the Jayhawks&#x92; speed, and undoubtedly Kansas lacked Big 12 gears last year, but Bears coach Art Briles loves his stout chassis. He even told his players that when he got the Houston job in 2002.</p><p>&#x93;I said I didn&#x92;t care about the skill people; I cared about the offensive and defensive linemen,&#x94; Briles said. &#x93;Hey, you can find guys who can run, jump and dive, but it&#x92;s tough to find guys who are tough and mean, and that&#x92;s where it starts.&#x94;</p><p>It also helps to have a quarterback as dynamic as Robert Griffin III, but Briles insists Baylor doesn&#x92;t break its Big 12 bowl drought last season without measuring up in the trenches.</p><p>Kansas State, of course, owns the ultimate advantage, the man with the white hair. With a team that ranked last in rushing defense and without a game-breaking quarterback, coach Bill Snyder steered a team to a bowl game and resounding triumphs over two programs that the fan base loves to beat, Kansas and Texas.</p><p>Players were allowed to feel good after those victories. That&#x92;s not always the case.</p><p>&#x93;We&#x92;ve walked in after wins and have heard nothing if in his mind we didn&#x92;t get better,&#x94; quarterback Collin Klein said. &#x93;And we&#x92;ve walked in after losses, and he&#x92;s given us encouragement if he feels like we made progress in certain areas. From a player&#x92;s standpoint it&#x92;s a positive thing because you know you&#x92;ll get honest feedback.&#x94;</p><p>All of the programs are projected to finish in the bottom half this season. Of the group, Baylor has the best quarterback, Kansas State the best coach, Iowa State the best attitude and Kansas the longest way to go.