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Adam Schefter on Robert Griffin III moving up his pro day.

It's going to be, uh, a while before the Heisman heats up in 2012, but Ryan McCrystal took a look inside the Heisman Predictor at ESPN Insider to forecast what the 2012 picture looks like.

The Big 12 front-runner is pretty obvious: Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones.

McCrystal writes:

Typically, high-profile players have a leg up on other contenders entering the year, but that might not be the case for Jones in 2012. As a preseason favorite in 2011, Jones failed to live up to expectations and dropped out of the race altogether by season's end. Now, as a four-year starter, Jones will face expectations that are higher than ever -- and simply meeting them might not be enough.

That said, Jones certainly has the potential to win over his doubters. Oklahoma's offensive scheme is favorable for Heisman candidates, as Jason White and Sam Bradford can attest. Additionally, the Sooners have two games, against the Texas Longhorns and Notre Dame Fighting Irish, which are sure to receive national attention.

Jones checks in at No. 6 on the list, and West Virginia's Geno Smith checks in at No. 9.

Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein also gets a shoutout.

What do they need to do to win the trophy that Baylor's Robert Griffin III brought back to the Big 12 this year?

Check out the full post to see.

Kordell Stewart, Chris Broussard and Skip Bayless discuss who is the best quarterback in the NFL draft.

Baylor QB Robert Griffin III talks about how winning the Heisman Trophy has changed his life.

The Baylor Bears are 3-0 and the Heisman talk for quarterback Robert Griffin III begins on SportsCenter.

The Pac-12's quarterbacks are the class of the nation.

In the SEC, 2011 looks like it will be all about the running back.

The Big 12? There's no question what the best position is. Linebacker might have made a reasonable case a few months ago, but the best and deepest position in the Big 12 is wide receiver.

No league can duplicate its talent at the top.

Justin Blackmon at Oklahoma State returns after winning the Biletnikoff Award a season ago as college football's best receiver.

He'll be one of the favorites for the award, and with his quarterback, Brandon Weeden, back on campus too, there's no reason to believe Blackmon can't win it again.

The league's second-best receiver? He's also arguably the nation's second-best receiver. Oklahoma's Ryan Broyles was one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award and holds nearly every record in Oklahoma's school record book.

The two receivers were Nos. 1 and 3 nationally in receptions, combining to haul in a staggering 242 passes in a combined 26 starts last season.

Beyond the duo in the state of Oklahoma is physical, 6-foot-4, 215-pound Jeff Fuller at Texas A&M, who became the first Texas A&M receiver to ever record a 1,000-yard season.

Like Blackmon and Broyles, he turned down NFL money for another year in the college game and, you guessed it, he returns his quarterback, too.

Ryan Tannehill is back for the Aggies, who begin the season in the top 10, the program's highest ranking since 1999. Fuller is a huge reason why.

But past the talent at the top is a stable of fantastic receivers that could be set for even bigger seasons.

Missouri's T.J. Moe was the fourth receiver in the Big 12 to record a 1,000-yard season in 2010, and his teammate Michael Egnew (more a receiver than a tight end, anyway) could get close in 2011 after catching 90 passes for 762 yards alongside him.

Ryan Swope works the slot while Fuller dominates outside at Texas A&M, and Swope caught a handful of huge touchdowns, including a fourth-quarter, game-tying TD against Oklahoma State and a game-clinching score against Oklahoma. He finished with 72 catches for 825 yards and four touchdowns.

Baylor's Robert Griffin has a solid set of receivers to find, headlined by Kendall Wright, a speedy sub-6-footer who caught 78 passes for 952 yards and seven touchdowns, his third consecutive season leading the team in receiving.

Oklahoma State's Blackmon isn't alone. Josh Cooper worked the slot for the Cowboys last year and Hubert Anyiam could be in for a big year after battling through injuries in 2010, a year after leading the team in receiving in 2009.

Broyles is great at Oklahoma, but sophomore Kenny Stills broke both of Broyles' freshman records in 2010 with 61 catches for 786 yards. Could he be after more later in the season?

It should be a good year in the Big 12 with plenty of talent. But it's deepest at receiver.

Phil Bennett was still coaching for Pittsburgh, but he glanced at a TV at an airport while he was on the road.

There was Baylor and Texas A&M, with the Bears attempting a field goal on the final play of the first half. The Aggies blocked it, and Texas A&M defensive back Terrence Frederick recovered. With time having already expired, Frederick raced toward the end zone with a few Bears making chase.

He caught a few blocks and cut across the field, looking more and more likely to score.

But as Frederick neared the end zone, Baylor's Brody Trahan, a reserve quarterback, the team's holder and reserve punter, raced into view and took Frederick down at the 1-yard line to keep the Aggies off the board.

Bennett, thrilled by the play, liked what he saw.

A few months later, Bennett took a job as Baylor's defensive coordinator. He remembered Trahan, and knew his dad, a former Texas A&M quarterback. Bennett asked around, and the training staff told him Trahan's work ethic fit what he was looking for on his defense.

One of the first times they met in person, Bennett made his intentions clear.

"You need to switch to our side of the ball," he said.

"Let me know and I’ll be there," Trahan said.

He'd heard that before. During Baylor's bowl practices before facing Illinois, he played some safety, where he'd gotten some time back home in Dickinson, Texas, outside Houston. Some recruiting services had him rated higher as a safety than as a quarterback, despite his lack of experience.

When Trahan did line up on defense, he'd snagged a couple picks in high school.

"I want you to play linebacker for me," Bennett told him.

Trahan, anxious to get on the field, told him he'd do it.

"I didn’t know if he was being serious or what the deal was, but he kept coming up to me every other day and saying you’re going to be with me," Trahan said. "I was like, 'All right,' and then sure enough, when spring ball rolled around, I wasn’t in a red jersey anymore."

At 210 pounds, Trahan assumed he'd need to add some size, but Bennett told him not to bother. The coaching veteran loves speed, and he wanted Trahan, who says he runs a "high 4.6" 40 time, just the way he was.

The transition from quarterback/holder to linebacker wasn't a simple one. The amount of running -- "The most running I did in practice was dropping back or running to the running back and handing it off to him. Now I’m using the hips more, muscles I didn’t know I had, and running sideline to sideline," he said. -- might have been the easiest part.

"I hadn’t played linebacker since 7^th or 8^th grade. Freakin’ sandlot football was about all the linebacker experience I had," Trahan said. "I didn’t know anything about the technique or anything."

That's where he still has to improve. His footwork, too, and understanding how to read offenses before a snap the same way he read defenses as a quarterback. Hip flexibility -- the ability to change direction quickly -- will come with time, too. Mostly, he'll just have to get a feel for what he's doing and keep the position from feeling foreign.

"A couple times on a screen, I’ll mistakenly have my eyes looking the wrong way, and I’ll cut back inside and there’s big ol’ 6-foot-8 or whatever he is Robert Griffin, and he just swallowed me," Trahan said of the Bears' 330-pound guard who shares a name with the team's quarterback.

Every offensive line starter pancaked him at least once this spring, Trahan said, but his athleticism allowed him to hold his own against the running backs.

And to most people's surprise, when the spring game began, Trahan trotted out with the first-team defense.

"It was kind of a joke at first. We weren’t really sure if I’d earn some playing time," he said. "It kind of shocked everyone."

Bennett's defense still doesn't have a true depth chart, but if Trahan improves during fall camp as much as he did in the spring, it'd be shocking if the Bears' third-team quarterback from 2010 didn't get plenty of playing time -- maybe as a starter -- in 2011.

"They know I’m a hard worker and I’ll do anything, I’ll lay my body on the line to help the team," Trahan said. "I’m hoping everyone accepted it, a quarterback moving to linebacker."

For the first time since 2006, the Big 12 didn't have a representative at the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York City, but it did have a presence in the final voting.

Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon finished fifth overall in the voting, and impressive showing for a player with little hype and just 20 career catches to begin the season.

One voter had Blackmon at No. 1 on his ballot, he was No. 2 on 23 more and third on an additional 56.

I said it last week, but outside of Cam Newton, he was the most unstoppable offensive force in the country. You cannot underestimate the significance of gaining more than 100 yards and scoring a touchdown in each game for 11 straight games.

There's a reason why in all of the years of college football only one player has ever duplicated the feat. And he did it at Pacific. Blackmon did it against NFL-bound cornerbacks at Nebraska and Texas, among others.

While Denard Robinson, Terrelle Pryor and Ryan Mallett's production varied wildly throughout the season, Blackmon remained consistent. He finished higher than all of them in the Heisman voting.

If Blackmon comes back next year and does it again, he might finish even higher. As for the Big 12, Blackmon wasn't the only person to find a spot on various voters' three-man final ballots.

The Heisman Trust requests voters not disclose their ballots, but plenty of voters don't comply. That's to the benefit of sites like StiffarmTrophy.com, who compiles a yearly list of ballots and projects the winner each year.

On the 217 ballots it had compiled by Saturday afternoon, a few rogue Heisman voters had a couple of unexpected names on their ballots.

Colorado left tackle Nate Solder was on two ballots. Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III made one. So did Texas defensive end Sam Acho.

All three are great representatives of the ideal "student-athlete." Solder was a finalist for the Academic Heisman. Acho won it. Griffin is a sophomore in eligibility who is expected to graduate this month and enter graduate school. He took the GRE during the season and wants to attend law school in the future.

Additionally, all three are among the best at their positions on the field. It seems like a couple voters wanted both on the field and off-field accomplishments recognized.

Illinois Fighting Illini (6-6) vs. Baylor Bears (7-5)

Dec. 29, 6 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Illinois take by Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg: After doubling its wins total from 2009, Illinois enters somewhat unfamiliar territory Dec. 29 at Houston’s Reliant Stadium.

The Illini have been the nation’s ultimate all-or-nothing program the last decade, reaching two BCS bowls -- the 2002 Sugar and the 2008 Rose -- and enduring eight losing seasons. They haven’t played in a non-BCS bowl since the 1999 MicronPC.com Bowl, which also marked the program’s last postseason victory. Illinois can take a step toward consistency in the Texas Bowl against Baylor.

Illinois has made strides in all three phases this season, although the Illini remain prone to erratic play.

Junior Mikel Leshoure emerged as the Big Ten’s best running back this season, ranking eighth nationally in rushing (126.1 ypg). Paul Petrino’s offense is built around the run, and Illinois boasts plenty of ball-carrying options with Leshoure, classmate Jason Ford and redshirt freshman quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase.

The Illini defense surged at the start of Big Ten play but backslid down the stretch. Illinois needs standouts like defensive tackle Corey Liuget and linebackers Martez Wilson and Nate Bussey to perform at their peak against Baylor’s multitalented quarterback Robert Griffin.

The big question: Which Illinois team will show up in Houston? If it’s the one that pounded Penn State and Northwestern and beat a good Northern Illinois team, the Illini have a good shot to win. But if it’s the one we saw Friday night against Fresno State or Nov. 13 against Minnesota, it’ll be a long night.

---

Baylor take by Big 12 blogger David Ubben: You won't hear any complaints from Baylor on its bowl destination during the holidays. Bears fans stormed the field at Floyd Casey Stadium after a win over Kansas State in October gave the team its sixth win, officially qualifying for bowl eligibility for the first time since 1995. A three-game losing streak to end the season slowed some of the Bears' momentum after a 7-2 start, but the official announcement should serve as a jolt of energy and a reminder of the accomplishment's significance within the program.

The Bears boast an exciting set of skill position talent in quarterback Robert Griffin III, running back Jay Finley and five receivers with at least 40 catches this season. Baylor had to use that offense to outscore a handful of opponents this season, but they did it enough times to reach the team's ultimate goal when the season began: ending that infamous bowl drought.

The Bears bowl destination isn't exactly exotic -- just a short trip east to Houston -- but like I said, you won't hear them complaining.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy made the right call with an attempt to convert a 4th-and-3 at midfield late in the first quarter, but it might mean a chance for Baylor to get back into the game.

Quarterback Brandon Weeden was forced to his right and hit an open Justin Blackmon for what should have been a 45-yard touchdown catch, but Blackmon inexplicably dropped the ball, extinguishing the Oklahoma State fans' premature cheers and handing the ball back to Baylor, keeping a 10-0 lead.

Baylor nearly answered with a 55-yard touchdown pass to Josh Gordon, and almost had him again on 3rd-and-15, but Robert Griffin III underthrew the first attempt and overthrew the second.

The Bears haven't come back from a double-digit deficit to win this year, but they have an offense that can do it. Oklahoma State's defense has kept them from getting into scoring range so far, but the Bears have been close to breaking the big one.

They haven't been able to, but Baylor has to feel good about being down 10-0, rather than 17-0.

Here's a look back at the best and worst of the week that was in the Big 12.

Best offensive player: Tie, Justin Blackmon (OSU), Landry Jones (OU), Ryan Broyles (OU), Robert Griffin (BU). Call it a cop out if you must, but there's really no way to differentiate between these guys. Blackmon had a career-high 207 yards receiving and a huge 62-yard score. Jones completed 30 of 34 passes in a 52-point conference win. Broyles had 10 catches for 131 yards and a score two minutes into the second quarter. Griffin engineered a conference road win, throwing for 234 yards and running for 137 more. I honestly just can't pick between these guys. You could make a solid case for any one of them.

Best defensive player: Brad Madison, DE, Missouri. Splitting time with Michael Sam in place of injured end Aldon Smith, Madison sacked Jerrod Johnson three times to help Missouri beat the Aggies 30-9. Honorable mention: Orie Lemon, LB, Oklahoma State.

Best team performance: Texas. Shock the world is probably too strong, but the Longhorns mildly disturbed the majority of the population by knocking off the then-No. 4 Huskers in Lincoln, ruining one of the most anticipated games in Nebraska history.

Best offensive freshman: Joseph Randle, RB, Oklahoma State. Randle carried the ball 17 times for 95 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys 34-17 win over Texas Tech, providing a great second option to Kendall Hunter. Honorable mention: Baylor WR Tevin Reese and Oklahoma RB Roy Finch.

Best defensive freshman: Tre' Porter, CB, Texas Tech. Porter takes home the award for a second consecutive week, with eight tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup.

Best play: Eric Hagg, S, Nebraska. Yeah, it was in a losing effort, but Hagg's school-record, 95-yard touchdown return of Justin Tucker's pooch punt injected some unexpected late drama into a Nebraska-Texas game that needed it. He made plenty of guys miss, shook off a few tackles, and put Nebraska within a recovered onside kick of having a chance to send its game against Texas into overtime.

Worst play: Tie, Nebraska RB Rex Burkhead, WRs Niles Paul and Brandon Kinnie. All three dropped touchdown passes that weren't necessarily easy grabs, but trailing to Texas in a game of that magnitude, those are plays that have to be made. None of them did, and the team added a handful of other drops that added up to a frustrating day for the Huskers.

Worst call: Dan Hawkins, Colorado. If someone can explain to me the rationale behind going for two after first touchdown of the game late in the first quarter, I'm all ears. Going for it again (and failing again) only makes it worse.

"That is just the same thing that we did against Georgia. You get it and you`re feeling good," Dan Hawkins told reporters after the game. "And as it ended up it was kind of negligible anyway, so then we had to go for two in a sense the second time."

Maybe that's over my head, but the only teams in America that do that are dominant high school teams. Colorado would be a dominant high school team, no doubt. But this is the Big 12. Take the points. That's not hindsight. That's common sense.

Worst quarter: Kansas' second quarter. Kansas let Carson Coffman run in a pair of touchdowns, throw for another and gave up a rushing touchdown to get outscored 28-0 in the quarter. The Jayhawks were in it after 15 minutes, down just 3-0. After the second quarter, it was officially ugly.

Worst team performance: Kansas. I said enough on Thursday night, but still. Almost two weeks to prepare. Rivalry game at home. 52-point loss. Can't do that.

Best game: Texas 20, Nebraska 13. Baylor's win over Colorado had the drama and late heroics, but Texas' masterful job covering Taylor Martinez provided a shock of its own: Martinez getting benched in favor of Zac Lee. Lee played well and led a lengthy drive that nearly ended in seven points. The shock of the Nebraska crowd, as well as that of everyone watching, provided somewhat of a surreal scene.

Baylor beat Colorado 31-25, and now stands one win away from reaching the program's first bowl game since 1994.

Colorado had a chance late, but the Buffaloes final pass was batted down by Chance Casey to preserve the win.

Robert Griffin rushed for 137 yards on 15 carries, and running back Jay Finley added 143 on 14 carries, and a pair of touchdowns.

Baylor now needs to beat Kansas State in Waco next week to clinch a berth.

Colorado is a team sitting in the bottom third of the Big 12, but a conference road win is a conference road win. Baylor hasn't had too many of those in its history, but teams -- especially teams in the Big 12 South -- need some to reach a bowl game.

Now, Baylor has one.

Kansas showed some life with a second-quarter touchdown that brought the game to within 10 points, but Baylor is playing its most complete game of the season and dismantling the Jayhawks for the team's best win of 2010.

The Bears lead 48-7 after three quarters and have scored the game's past 31 points.

Up 34-7, Baylor scored two touchdowns in 12 seconds after Tim Atchison intercepted Kansas quarterback Jordan Webb and returned the ball 14 yards for the score. That interception came on the first play after Robert Griffin threw his third touchdown pass of the day.

The Jayhawks have no answer for Griffin, who has 380 yards and three scores on 26-of-36 passing. He's also run eight times for 64 yards.

Kansas was soundly beaten in its first road game against Southern Miss, and the Bears are doing the job even more decisively. Baylor is a good team, but Kansas will see better competition as the season progresses. If it doesn't fix the problems defending the pass that have arisen against Southern Miss and Baylor, it's going to be a long season in Lawrence.

My weekly predictions are on the way tomorrow, but keep this post on hand to know what's coming when during Saturday's full slate of 12 games across the conference.

Plenty of space for your predictions in the comments. All times ET.

No. 15 Georgia Tech at Kansas (Fox Sports Net, noon): Kansas needs to rebound off last week's loss to North Dakota State. Consider Georgia Tech Kansas' Charles Barkley: Not the team you want to try to rebound on. Of course, the Round Mound of Rebound is a little rounder these days, so you never know.

Idaho at No. 6 Nebraska (pay-per-view, 12:30 p.m.): Robb Akey's band of Vandals have the capability to knock off Nebraska, but after coach Bo Pelini called last week's performance by the defense an "absolute embarrassment," don't expect the Blackshirts to be off key.

Colorado at California (Fox Sports Net, 3:30 p.m.): Dan Hawkins validated some of the offseason optimism with last week's solid beating of Colorado State, but a road win in Berkeley would be an enormous step for the program.

No. 17 Florida State at No. 10 Oklahoma (3:30 p.m., ABC): The two storied programs have met just five times, but three have been in Orange Bowls, and the last time they met, Oklahoma beat the Seminoles for the national title.

Iowa State at No. 9 Iowa (ABC, 3:30 p.m.): Iowa State got off to a great start in last week's win over Northern Illinois, but hits the first major wall in its brutal schedule with the Hawkeyes.

Wyoming at No. 5 Texas (Fox Sports Net, 7 p.m.): Wyoming hung around early against the Longhorns in Laramie last year, leading 10-6 until a late first-half touchdown lit the fire for a 41-10 win. The Cowboys come to Austin with heavy hearts after losing a teammate in an auto accident earlier this week.

Texas Tech at New Mexico (The Mtn., 7 p.m.): The Lobos embarrassed themselves last week with a 72-0 loss to Oregon, while Tommy Tuberville's first year got off to a nice start with a win over SMU. Playing in New Mexico -- or anywhere, for that matter -- won't help the Lobos win this one.

Buffalo at Baylor (Fox College Sports, 7 p.m.): Buffalo lost Turner Gill and Baylor got back Robert Griffin. Receiver Kendall Wright needs to get back on track after an uncharacteristically poor showing (3 rec, -1 yard) in the Bears' opener against Sam Houston State.

McNeese State at Missouri (pay-per-view, 7 p.m.): Illinois made the Tigers sweat last week. Missouri should be safe at home against this week's FCS opponent.

Troy at Oklahoma State (7 p.m.): Troy knocked off Oklahoma State 41-23 in Troy, Ala., in 2007. A repeat performance seems unlikely. Oklahoma State returned the favor with a 55-24 laugher in 2008.

Louisiana Tech at Texas A&M (7 p.m.): Texas A&M's boring nonconference warm-ups for Arkansas at Cowboys Stadium in October will serve to shore up both sides of the ball before a showdown with Oklahoma State in a Thursday nighter in Stillwater on Sept. 30.

Missouri State at Kansas State (7 p.m.): UCLA's Bruins couldn't stop Daniel Thomas. Don't bet on a different, less difficult breed of Bear doing it either.

Baylor linebacker Antonio Johnson talks about his nickname of "Cuddy" and what it's like to defend Robert Griffin.