Tulsa World: Big 12: Conference buzz

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Big 12: Conference buzz

Missouri’s Danario Alexander (right) is third in the nation in yards per game at 123.8 and fifth in catches per game at 8.1. CHARLIE RIEDEL / AP

By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
Published: 11/17/2009 6:57 AM
Last Modified: 11/17/2009 10:56 AM

Missouri wide receiver Danario Alexander has been fabulous in recent games with more than 200 receiving yards in the last two weeks.

Alexander’s numbers are getting some attention among All-America voters and may put his name among those being considered for the Big 12 offensive player of the year.

Alexander has caught 81 passes for 1,238 yards and 11 touchdowns this season.

He is third in the nation with 123.8 yards per game. He’s also fifth in the nation with 8.1 catches per game and third in the country with 11 touchdown catches.

“No question his numbers should be up for All-American honors,” said Missouri coach Gary Pinkel. “His numbers speak for themselves.”

Alexander had 10 catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns in the upset at Kansas State last weekend.

What about TCU?: Texas coach Mack Brown was asked about the possibility of playing TCU in a BCS bowl or even the BCS championship game.

“I don’t talk about hypotheticals,” said Brown.

Still, there is no lack of respect for the Horned Frogs by Brown.

He lives and works in the same state as TCU coach Gary Patterson.

“Gary Patterson has done as good of a job as anyone in the country,” said Brown. “They’ve done a great job of recruiting and they’ve been as consistent as anyone in the country.”

Brown doesn’t expect any of the talk about TCU or any BCS possibilities to impact his team.

“Our team last year was very consistent in how they approached every game, and this team has been an extension of last year,” said Brown.

Heading to Austin: Kansas has been falling off the radar in recent weeks and this week would appear to be totally overmatched at Texas.

While the Longhorns have been getting better in recent weeks, the Jayhawks have fallen to the bottom of the league.

“Texas has a lot of good athletes,” said KU coach Mark Mangino.

Texas has been very good on defense. That should look familiar to KU since the Jayhawks have faced two of the nation’s top defenses in recent weeks — Nebraska and Oklahoma.

“Texas has a very talented group of kids on defense,” said Mangino.

Gundy knows the feeling: OSU coach Mike Gundy said he “cringes” every time there is a vicious collision between two players.

When OSU quarterback Zac Robinson took a wicked hit near the end of OSU’s victory over Texas Tech, it reminded Gundy of his playing career.

He said he remembers a hit from a Nebraska player around 1989.

“That hit the other night reminded me of that hit,” said Gundy.

Gundy said there used to be three or four memorable hits in a season. Now, he says there are three or four in every game.

“Defenders are tackling higher,” said Gundy. “They are bigger and stronger than when I was playing.”

Wild swings: Oklahoma and OU quarterback Landry Jones have gone through some wild swings in production this season.

Jones had five interceptions at Nebraska and followed it up with five touchdowns against Texas A&M.

“He is still a young guy,” said OU coach Bob Stoops. “He’ll continue to develop.”

Iowa State’s upswing: The Cyclones are one of the biggest surprises in the Big 12 Conference.

Iowa State is bowl eligible after beating Colorado for its sixth victory of the season.

“We’ve made a lot of progress,” said Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads. “We had made a lot of progress before we got to the sixth win and bowl eligibility.”

By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist

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	Report Comment DontHaveToGuess, (11/17/2009 9:36:08 AM) I believe the Iowa State Cyclones are going to a bowl. Hope so
	Report Comment crimson forever, (11/17/2009 11:59:00 PM) Too many bowl games, I wish there were only the ones that mean something.

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