<table> </table> Kansas cornerback Chris Harris called last week&#8217;s game at Iowa State &#8220;the worst game since I&#8217;ve played football,&#8221; and quarterback Todd Reesing said the early going was &#8220;the worst collective half of football since I&#8217;ve been here.&#8221;</p><p>Jeez, what would the Jayhawks have said if they had lost the game?</p><p>Kansas didn&#8217;t, holding off Iowa State 35-33, and Harris suggested another reason for a sluggish start that plunged the Jayhawks into a 20-0 halftime hole:</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s conference play, you have to take it up a level, and we didn&#8217;t do that in the first half,&#8221; he said.</p><p>But Kansas has done precisely that the last few years. The magical 2007 season was simply a continuation of a pattern the Jayhawks started a while back: Begin with your own backyard.</p><p>Winning starts in the division, and there has been no better indicator of success in Big 12 history than division record.</p><p>Every North winner has the best division record. Missouri went 5-0 in those games last season, Nebraska the same in 2006. In 2005, Colorado shared the best record in the division, and that&#8217;s the only time a North winner didn&#8217;t have the best record outright.</p><p>Want to play in the Big 12 championship game? Climb over your brothers. Kansas and Missouri did last weekend.</p><p>The Jayhawks went 4-1 in those games last season, falling only to the Tigers. One game into this season Missouri and Kansas own the best record in those games since 2005, 11-5.</p><p><hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> <strong>1. OKLAHOMA VS. TEXAS AT DALLAS (11 a.m., Chs. 2, 9):</strong> We all figured the Longhorns would be 5-0 headed into this one, but they&#8217;ve earned enough style points to own a higher-than-expected No. 5 ranking. If none of the early victories impressed anyone, then last week&#8217;s romp at Colorado should have. Oklahoma has had the advantage in the Stoops/Brown era of the Red River Rivalry with Texas winning when it had Vince Young or when Oklahoma was between star quarterbacks. Both sides have star QBs now, and Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy each own a victory in this series. Oklahoma&#8217;s charge will be to keep Texas speed rusher Brian Orapko from getting to Bradford and take advantage of a below-Texas standard secondary. The Longhorns need to play ball control and limit the mistakes. They&#8217;re good enough to pull this off, but it will take some help from the Sooners.</p><p><strong>2. OKLAHOMA STATE AT MISSOURI (7 p.m., ESPN2):</strong> Spread-offense coaches should use this game tape as a teaching tool. No team is more dynamic than Missouri, none more balanced than Oklahoma State. The Cowboys have a much better chance of succeeding in a clock-chewing ground game than Nebraska last weekend. Running back Kendall Hunter has produced behind a terrific offensive line. Dez Bryant is the home-run hitter. Both defenses have had their breakdowns, but the Tigers&#8217; is better, and that&#8217;s the difference. </p><p><strong>3. COLORADO AT KANSAS (11:30 a.m., ESPN2):</strong> The Buffaloes have issues on offense. Injuries have decimated an offensive line that&#8217;s given up seven sacks in the last two games. Kicker Aric Goodman, given a scholarship after his game-winning kick against West Virginia, missed three against Texas. Reesing made his college debut against Colorado in Lawrence two years ago and led a comeback victory. He&#8217;s had big-time break-contain runs against the Buffaloes each of the last two years. </p><p><strong>4. KANSAS STATE AT TEXAS A&amp;M (1 p.m., no TV):</strong> Somebody&#8217;s going to feel good for the first time in a while, and depression will spread for the loser. K-State can&#8217;t stop anybody, and the Aggies are trying to be a power running team. A&amp;M leads the Big 12 in pass defense but hasn&#8217;t faced a quarterback as good as Josh Freeman. The Wildcats have the special-teams edge, but this one might come down to which side is more desperate. </p><p><strong>5. IOWA STATE AT BAYLOR (6 p.m., Fox College Sports):</strong> The Cyclones are doing an excellent job on takeaways, sharing the national lead with 17, and though Bears quarterback Robert Griffin is wildly talented, he&#8217;s starting his fourth college game and learning on the job. Still, teams have run on Iowa State, and Griffin is the league&#8217;s top rushing quarterback. </p><p><strong>6. NEBRASKA AT TEXAS TECH (2 p.m., FSNKC):</strong> The Cornhuskers said they would run last week. They have to mean it this time, or it&#8217;s going to be a long afternoon in Lubbock. Nebraska also has to force a turnover or four. That hasn&#8217;t been happening. Meanwhile, Tech leads the Big 12 with 10 interceptions. Oh, and the flags. The Huskers rank 115th nationally in penalties per game.</p><p></div>