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COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Like virtually every coach in major college football, Kevin Sumlin understands the importance of recruiting.

It's the lifeblood of a program. As players graduate or move on, new ones must come in to keep success going.

Since taking over at Texas A&M, Sumlin and his staff have leveraged the power of playing in the SEC to their benefit, landing a top 10 recruiting class in the 2013 cycle while being on pace to do so again for the Class of 2014.

And this weekend could be the biggest yet when it comes hosting recruits.

While the college football world has long awaited the Alabama-Texas A&M rematch, the A&M staff has spent months preparing for the recruiting aspect of this weekend.

Roughly 75 recruits are expected to be in attendance for Saturday's highly-anticipated game between the No. 1 Crimson Tide and the No. 6 Aggies.

"I think [the game has] already had an impact," Sumlin said. "We have a large number of prospects that are going to be here. The move to the SEC has obviously been a boost for us. I think it wouldn't be as big of a boost if we didn't have some sort of success in the league last year. We didn't have all the success we wanted. We were extremely competitive and won a big game last year. But all that being said, I think the ability to compete and win in this league has really helped us too, in recruiting."

And that's the key. Without the 11-2 record, the Heisman Trophy run for Johnny Manziel or all the attention coming to the program as a result of that success in the SEC, widely considered the country's best conference, this weekend might not have been as big.

While the number of recruits who will be in attendance is impressive, so are the names. Topping that list are a host of highly-regarded 2014 ESPN 300 prospects: defensive end Myles Garrett, athlete Speedy Noil, safety Jamal Adams, defensive tackle Gerald Willis III, athlete Davion Hall, safety Edwin Freeman are among those expected. All of them are top 100 recruits.

“It’s going to be great, knowing A&M is in our top three," said Noil, who is making the trip with Willis, his high school teammate. "I want to see what they offer as an offense.”

Said Willis: “It’s going to be crazy. I’m very excited.”

A host of 2015 ESPN Junior 300 prospects are also expected in attendance. Receiver Tyron Johnson, outside linebacker Malik Jefferson, defensive end Anthony Wheeler and quarterback Kyler Murray are just a sampling of the impressive juniors that will make the trip.

If there's any doubt as to how important recruiting is to the Texas A&M staff, take this as evidence: Sumlin and defensive line coach Terry Price were out on the trail Thursday night via helicopter and trekked to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to see a prospect, fewer than 48 hours before one of the biggest games in program history.

The target? Garrett, the No. 7 player in the 2014 ESPN 300.

Coach Price and I strapped in headed to the Metroplex to find the next great Aggie! http://t.co/8d1BG3goMT

— Kevin Sumlin (@CoachSumlin) September 12, 2013

The swaggerchopper has landed. #swag http://t.co/n18uhrZ8nY

— Coach Terry Price (@Coach_TPrice) September 13, 2013

Sumlin and offensive coordinator Clarence McKinney also made a helicopter trip to Houston to see then-uncommitted 2013 ESPN 300 receiver Ricky Seals-Jones and 2013 Texas A&M quarterback commitment Kohl Stewart on a nationally-televised game between Sealy (Texas) High and Houston St. Pius X. Seals-Jones eventually committed and signed with the Aggies; Stewart signed but chose to play professional baseball after being chosen fourth overall in the MLB draft this summer.

While the Aggies continue to strengthen their position in recruiting statewide, their longtime rival, Texas, has a lot of question marks at the moment. After a decisive loss to BYU, the Longhorns fired defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. While the schools don't play each other anymore, they still battle for the same recruits. A win this weekend would further strengthen Texas A&M's position in the talent-rich Lone Star State.

This weekend has become something of a perfect storm for the Aggies. The chance to make a statement on a national level is there, with the eyes of fans across the country watching, not to mention dozens of recruits at Kyle Field to experience it all.

"You don't have a stage like this for this weekend if you're not a competitive program," Sumlin said. "And I think the high school coaches in this state do a fantastic job of coaching and regionally, recognizing that. And I think student-athletes are recognizing that, too, that we've got a great situation here from a stability standpoint, from a support standpoint, from a facilities standpoint and from a league standpoint.

"You don't have to go 700-800-900 miles away anymore to get all those things. That has been a big selling point for us since we've gotten here and I think that message has been driven home every week that we play in the SEC, not just play but play in meaningful games on big stages."

In Nick Saban’s news conference Monday, he was asked if he would like to make Johnny Manziel a pocket passer.

Saban’s response: "You are not going to make him be a pocket passer because if someone is not open, he is not going to throw them the ball. He is going to extend the play to run or to make a play throwing the ball.”

Is this true? Is it possible to keep Manziel in the pocket?
Answer: Manziel is almost impossible to keep in the pocket.

In 2012, Manziel gained 857 of his SEC-leading 1,410 rushing yards on scrambles. That’s 30 more rushing yards on scrambles than Taylor Martinez, Tajh Boyd and Braxton Miller combined.

Manziel had 15 scrambles that gained at least 20 yards. No SEC player had more total rushes of at least 20 yards, let alone on scrambles.

Manziel did not just tuck the ball and run when the play broke down. He threw for eight touchdowns and 26 first downs when scrambling, including six touchdowns and 14 first downs on third down alone.

Saban saw Manziel’s ability to make plays out of nothing firsthand. Against the Tide, Manziel completed all six of his passes outside the pocket for 78 yards and had an additional 94 rushing yards on scrambles. It was the most such yards that the Tide have allowed in a game in the past four seasons.

Florida and LSU were able to contain Manziel for a half. What did they do?
Answer: To start, Florida and LSU had talent.

They had a combined 11 defensive players selected in the first five rounds of the NFL draft, including four players taken in the first round.

Second, they stopped giving Manziel lanes to escape.

The Aggies had double-digit leads against both LSU and Florida in the second quarter, in part because Manziel made plays with his legs. He was a combined 6-of-9 passing outside the pocket for 80 yards and five first downs. He also had eight scrambles for 42 yards, including two scrambles for first downs.

But in the second half, LSU and Florida adjusted by sending fewer pass-rushers and having a player spy Manziel.

The Gators did not blitz once, and the Tigers blitzed only on obvious passing downs. The Aggies went from 5.3 yards per play and one three-and-out in the first half to 3.5 yards per play and six three-and-outs in the second half.

Manziel had a combined 38 yards outside the pocket in the second half.

Brandon Chatmon and Jake Trotter look at if Texas can really fix the defense in time for Saturday's showdown with Ole Miss.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- The word hasn't been used very often around Aggieland since Texas A&M joined the SEC but when the Aggies met with the media on Tuesday, it was spoken a few times.

Atlanta.

It's the home of the Georgia Dome, site of the SEC championship game. It has frequently been the defacto play-in game to the BCS National Championship throughout the last decade. If you win in Atlanta, chances are you're playing for the crystal football.

While players stuck to their talking points of this week being "just another game" or this week being "like any other week," the fact that the Aggies discussed their initial season goal indicates that they understand what's at stake Saturday.

Win and get an edge in the SEC West race.

If the sixth-ranked Aggies truly are to be considered a national title contender, then their chance to prove it is at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday at Kyle Field against No. 1 Alabama. Last season, the Aggies went 11-2 without much expectation from outsiders. This year, with a preseason top-10 ranking, a Heisman Trophy winner in tow and a level of coverage not seen, perhaps ever, of its program, there is an expectation for success externally.

Internally, there always has been since head coach Kevin Sumlin arrived. Despite what others said, he made it clear to his players last season that they had the talent to win every game on their schedule. The win over Alabama verified that, but the Aggies had slipups against Florida and LSU earlier in the year.

Before training camp began, senior running back Ben Malena approached Sumlin about taking an expanded leadership role in order to help the team get to a "championship level." So how's the progress on that front so far?

"I think we're doing a very good job of taking strides to getting to Atlanta," Malena said. "Correcting some mistakes that we made from Week 1 to Week 2 was very good and we're going to need to correct some more stuff, especially going into this game, because they [the Crimson Tide] will be ready coming into Kyle Field."

Quarterback Johnny Manziel is key for sure, but if the team expects to get to Atlanta, it must be more than just Manziel carrying the load. Offensively, that doesn't appear to be an issue thus far. With four capable running backs (Malena, Tra Carson, Brandon Williams, Trey Williams), a veteran offensive line that excelled in the first two games and perhaps one of the nation's best receivers in Mike Evans, there are plenty of weapons for the Aggies to go to.

Defense is where the question marks are now, though the Aggies have a chance to answer some of those question marks on Saturday. They haven't yet had their full complement of defensive players because of injuries and suspensions, but will have virtually their entire first-team unit intact on Saturday. Though Alabama struggled offensively, and particularly on its offensive line, in its season-opening win against Virginia Tech, the Aggies are still expecting a strong effort from the Crimson Tide running game and offense.

"Coach [Nick] Saban is going to do what Coach Saban does," A&M defensive coordinator Mark Snyder said. "They've won a lot of games doing it. Why change? There's not a dramatic dropoff between last year's team and this year's team. Their left tackle is still really good, their right guard is still really good. They got their feet wet for the first game and now they've had two weeks to kind of prepare and get those things fixed and we're expecting to get their best."

Some have said the Aggies entered the season with a target on their backs, whether it's because of their upstart inaugural season in the SEC or the exploits of Manziel, which have drawn plenty of headlines. In a way, the Aggies almost feel like underdogs though, because of how many around the nation feel that Saban and Co. will successfully redeem themselves with a win on Saturday.

"From last year, us beating them, people didn't expect that," Aggies receiver Malcome Kennedy said. "People probably don't expect it this year. But as I said, we just go week-to-week on a weekly basis and we just try to be 1-0 at the end of the week and that's how we're approaching this game."

No matter what happens, it's important to note that there's a lot of season left after this game. The Aggies have nine more contests, including road trips to Ole Miss and LSU, while Alabama has 10 more games. Despite the buildup, the SEC won't be won or lost on Saturday, though the result could play a critical role in deciding who gets the West division title at the end of the season.

In trying to get the team to a championship level, Sumlin has tried to keep his team focused on the game and not the noise around it while keeping their routine the same. Much like Saban's "The Process" axiom, Sumlin tries to keep his team consistent and avoid allowing them to "ride the wave."

"I'd probably be lying to you if I told you no, [that things haven't changed since last year]," Sumlin said. "In this room, it probably hasn't changed very much just because of our approach day-to-day with the players and our coaches.

“When we leave here, I take out my phone and all you guys are talking about what we're supposed to be and how big this game is and everything else, that's when the problems come,” Sumlin said with a smile.

"I think we're pretty visible right now and because of that, that's what you want as a coach. You come into situations and as things start to progress, you want to be in meaningful games,” he said. “You want your team to have a chance to play in meaningful games -- not just now, but in November."

Or December, in Atlanta.

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Mack Brown era will not end this weekend.

Know that and remember that before we dive into this bottomless pit of a topic. Brown has built up too much cachet among his bosses and boosters to be forced out that swiftly, and he knows it. And he hasn’t given up.

“I’m loving coaching,” Brown said Wednesday. “I’m passionate about getting us back where we want to be. We had a step back last Saturday, and I’m going to work my tail off to make sure I get us fixed. I see a lot of good things moving forward.”

And he seems to feels good about where he stands with the men in charge of his fate, athletic director DeLoss Dodds and UT president Bill Powers.

“I’ve got the two best bosses in the world. They get it. They understand. I have great conversations with them. They put me in a position to run it, they want me to do it, and I’m responsible for it. That’s what I’ve got to do. DeLoss has been around a long time. I don’t have knee-jerk bosses. They get it.”

As long as his Longhorns can avoid embarrassments like the one at BYU, Brown can control his destiny. If Texas wins, he can still end his tenure on his time and terms.

But the fact this is even a discussion is indicative of a climate that became far more uncertain the minute Taysom Hill started dashing for easy scores in Provo.

Brown’s answer for last week’s 40-21 loss was to fire defensive coordinator Manny Diaz and promote Greg Robinson. He made this surprising but justified decision entirely on his own. In doing so, he accepted ultimate responsibility for whatever comes next. Mack Brown has doubled down.

Brown set the bar high this summer, talking up a Texas program that he was sure was ready to contend again. He raised the stakes, and now his team must play up to them.

On paper, the schedule ahead seemed downright favorable back in the summer. But lose to Ole Miss, and suddenly it’s littered with mines. Kansas State can beat Texas; they’ve done so five straight times. Iowa State would love nothing more than to humiliate Texas in its home stadium on a Thursday night. And then there’s Oklahoma. Lose badly to Oklahoma again, and it’s pretty much over.

Texas can start this season 5-1 or 2-4. Something in between seems much more likely. The team that shows up Saturday against Ole Miss should tell us an awful lot about where this program is heading.

What a bizarre scenario this is, too. Texas faces a must-win game with a new defensive coordinator, without its top playmaker (Daje Johnson) and possibly without quarterback David Ash.

Brown’s staff has assembled a roster that’s far more talented than it appeared last Saturday. Their players are tougher and smarter than whatever they were in Provo. And now it’s Brown’s job to help get them fixed.

“You totally go back to work,” Brown said. “This isn’t the first time I’ve heard things said about me. It won’t be the last. The only way you can change the way things are outside is win. My total thought has been on beating Ole Miss.”

His track record of coming back from losses is a solid one, though not in recent years. Entering the 2010 season, Texas was 18-5 in the games after losses since Brown took over. Since 2010, the Longhorns have responded to losses by going 7-9.

He won big at No. 5 Nebraska in 2010, No. 6 Texas A&M in 1998 and in tough bowl matchups when coming back from losses. He also has endured enough losing to know backlash is coming his way anytime Texas doesn’t win.

“I learned that 16 years ago,” he said. “I didn’t have to be told this week that people would be upset.”

Bringing in Robinson to clean up the defense could be a masterful move, one that saves his job and sends Texas careening back on the path toward a conference title. If the move fails, Brown will be fully responsible.

If he beats Ole Miss, he’ll shut up the critics for one more week. If he can’t beat a team that Texas trounced 66-31 a year ago, the heat turns up.

This all can play out in so many wild ways. Mack Brown can still have the storybook comeback he’s dreamed up and make Texas a title contender again. He can win this gamble in the end.

Right now, though, the only thing Brown can control and worry about is winning.

Thanks to the fine work of the folks of ESPN Stats & Info and a sports information department near you, we’re excited to continue the tradition of ending the week with a large heaping of knowledge in the form of numbers.

Chew on these nuggets of fun info and random trivia, and you’re sure to be the smartest guy or gal at your tailgate.

Did you know…

• Texas Tech snapped its three-game losing streak in Big 12 openers on Thursday and got its first win over a ranked team since beating TCU on the road last year.
• Tech's win over TCU was its first September home victory over a ranked opponent since 1989, when TTU defeated No. 20 Arizona.
• The Red Raiders are now averaging exactly 400 passing yards per game. Three games into last season, Kliff Kingsbury’s offense was averaging 254.3 passing yards per game at Texas A&M.
• Baker Mayfield threw his first interception on Thursday. He’d thrown 100 passes without an interception to begin his career.
• Trevone Boykin rushed for a career-high 101 yards against Texas Tech. His previous best was 77 at Texas in 2012.
• Crazy stat: Boykin became TCU’s first 100-yard rusher since Waymon James went for 108 against Colorado State on Nov. 19, 2011.
• TCU has now lost its last four games at Texas Tech and hasn’t won in Lubbock since 1991. TCU is 5-18-3 in Lubbock all-time.
• Oklahoma State is the only school in the Big 12 with 100 percent efficiency in the red zone. The Pokes are 8-for-8.
• J.W. Walsh set an OSU school record last week against UTSA with a completion percentage of 88.9. He threw four touchdowns and three incompletions.
• Eleven different players have produced plays of 20-plus yards for the Oklahoma State offense.
• Oklahoma State hasn’t lost to an FCS team since 1948 and has a 16-game win streak against FCS schools going into the Lamar matchup.
• Through two games, nine different Baylor players have scored touchdowns.
• Bryce Petty now leads the nation in raw QBR with an average of 98.3 through two games.
• Baylor’s offense leads in the nation in total points and scoring margin. Oregon is No. 2 in both categories. Georgia Tech is actually No. 1 in points per game after scoring 70 in its only contest so far.
• Bob Stoops needs seven wins to pass Barry Switzer for No. 1 on Oklahoma’s all-time list.
• Oklahoma had 14 rushes of 10-plus yards against West Virginia, a number that ranked third-best in the nation in Week 2.
• The Sooners are one of 10 teams that have run the ball 100 times through two games. They’re the lone school in that group to have only one rushing touchdown.
• Oklahoma has the No. 1 defense in the Big 12 in scoring, total defense, third-down defense, pass defense efficiency and red-zone efficiency.
• Iowa State has won two straight Cy-Hawk Series showdowns and nine of the last 15. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz is 6-8 in his career against ISU.
• The Cyclones are breaking out throwback uniforms from the 1920s for this year’s matchup. They haven’t donned retro unis in a game since 2007.
• Since 1999, Iowa State is 5-2 when taking on Iowa at Jack Trice Stadium. A win Saturday would give ISU its fourth three-game win streak over Iowa.
• In its season-opening loss to Northern Iowa, Iowa State had 11 players make their first career starts, including seven on defense.
• Kansas also had 11 new starters take the field against South Dakota State, and 18 players making the first game appearances of their career.
• In its past 25 games, KU has thrown for more yards than its opponent only four times. The fourth was last Saturday, when KU put up 110 yards and SDSU had 67.
• Holding SDSU to 67 passing yards puts Kansas No. 2 in the nation in pass defense behind Alabama.
• Thanks to its loss to BYU, Texas’ defense now ranks last in the Big 12 in yards per game, rushing and first downs per game. Texas is currently No. 6 in pass defense.
• David Ash leads all Big 12 quarterbacks with 24 rushing attempts and is third behind Trevor Knight and J.W. Walsh in rushing yards with 125.
• Texas is 2-5 in games when quarterback Case McCoy attempts 15 or more passes.
• Kansas State is No. 1 in the Big 12 in punt return yardage and No. 2 in kick return yardage.
• KSU has returned at least one kickoff for a touchdown in nine straight seasons. No school in FBS can match that streak.
• The Wildcats have avoided being shutout for 205 consecutive games. That streak ranks eighth nationally. KSU was last shut out in 1996, a 12-0 loss to Colorado.
• West Virginia is converting 21.7 percent of its third-down conversions, a rate that’s ninth-worst in FBS.
• Despite that, the Mountaineers’ yards per carry average of 7.04 against Oklahoma was among the 10 best in the country last week.
• New West Virginia quarterback Ford Childress is the son of Ray Childress, a five-time NFL Pro Bowler for the Houston Oilers and a two-time All-American at Texas A&M.

Texas Tech won Thursday over TCU.

But Baylor, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma came out of the night looking like winners, too.

On a wild night in Lubbock, in which a fox dashing along the sideline hardly seemed abnormal, the Red Raiders held on to a 20-10 victory to move to 3-0 on the season.

TCU fell to 1-2, and, despite missing out on several controversial calls throughout the game, hardly looked the part of a conference title contender it carried into the season.

So far, the same goes for Texas, too. And considering the Horns are struggling just to dodge total calamity, the Bears, Cowboys and Sooners look like the three most solid teams in the league to this point.

It's true that Baylor has yet to play anyone of substance. And yes, Oklahoma State has all sorts of ongoing distractions to overcome. And who knows about Oklahoma's quarterback situation, which seems no less settled now than it did six months ago.

Yet even still, all three teams have looked more impressive than anyone else, and that includes the Horned Frogs, who have major offensive concerns moving forward without quarterback Casey Pachall. Trevone Boykin had just a 28.6 QBR (scale 0-to-100) in Lubbock as the Frogs struggled to string together drives all night. TCU could wind up with defensive concerns as well, as defensive end Devonte Fields was spotted hobbling around after the game with an injured foot.

On top of all that, TCU is just halfway through its early season gauntlet, with road trips looming at Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Lose both of those, and TCU would effectively be stripped from the conference race.

But while the Frogs seem to look less and less like a title possibility, Texas Tech has done the reverse. Sure, the Red Raiders had their share of issues Thursday. But they also have momentum building, and the opportunity to build even more.

After a hot first quarter, walk-on freshman quarterback Baker Mayfield struggled to complete passes against a stingy and aggressive TCU secondary. But the Red Raiders also played one of their best defensive games in years, prompting coach Kliff Kingsbury to call it the best defensive effort he’d ever been a part of as a coach.

Chances are, Mayfield will bounce back from a freshman-like effort, and if he doesn’t, the Red Raiders have other options at quarterback in Michael Brewer and Davis Webb, who made some nice throws after Mayfield left the game with a minor leg injury.

Even though Tech failed to put up the points Thursday, the skill talent is there. Tight end Jace Amaro is a nightmare matchup out of the slot, and Eric Ward, despite a quiet performance against TCU, is one of the better receivers in the league.

Combine all that with a defense that looks to be decent at the least, and the Red Raiders seemed primed to make a run into the top half of the Big 12 standings.

It’s not yet time to put Tech in the same tier with Baylor, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. But with an intriguing immediate schedule coming up, the Red Raiders could gradually work their way there. Up next, Tech faces Texas State, followed by Kansas on the road, Iowa State and West Virginia in Morgantown.

Could the Red Raiders jump to 7-0 against that slate? Absolutely. Which would then make them the viable conference title threat TCU was thought to be before the season.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — When Texas A&M went into Tuscaloosa, Ala., and upset No. 1 Alabama last November, the Aggies' offense, and specifically quarterback Johnny Manziel, were lauded for their efforts in taking down the Crimson Tide.

Often overlooked was the play of Texas A&M's defense, which was integral in the Aggies' ability to jump out to the 20-0 lead that paved the way for the eventual 29-24 victory at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

While nobody would confuse the Aggies' defensive efforts with that of the 1985 Chicago Bears that November day, A&M was opportunistic and effective.

On the first three drives of the game, the Aggies held the Crimson Tide to two three-and-outs and a turnover. The offense capitalized by scoring after each of those defensive stops to take the commanding three-score lead.

Turnovers were key for the Aggies throughout the game. They came up with three, the most the Crimson Tide committed since a 2011 season opener vs. Kent State, when Alabama committed five. Quarterback AJ McCarron hadn't thrown an interception in 2012 going into the game and threw two against the Aggies.

In several ways, the Aggies' ability to come up with stops and turnovers at key times was representative of what the unit accomplished as whole last season under defensive coordinator Mark Snyder. The defense came into the 2012 season with questions about depth and competitiveness in a line-of-scrimmage league like the SEC.

Those questions were answered resoundingly as the Aggies ranked highly in several key categories in 2012. They had the nation's 26th-best scoring defense (21.8 points per game) and one of the best third-down defenses, allowing conversions just 32.4 percent of the time (16th nationally, fourth in the SEC).

They were No. 1 in the SEC and No. 5 in the country on third-and-5 or fewer yards (44.6 percent conversion rate).

This season, with six key defensive players serving suspensions for part or all of the season opener against Rice and four more serving penalties for all or part of the second game against Sam Houston State, the numbers have taken a dip. On third down, the Aggies are tied for 73rd in the country, allowing a 39.4 percent conversion rate. On 3rd-and-5 or fewer yards, the Aggies are in the middle of the pack (59th, 52.9 percent conversion rate).

The Aggies are averaging 6.16 yards allowed per play, up from 5.22 last year.

Having almost the full complement of defensive players, including the return of starting linebacker Steven Jenkins, starting cornerback De'Vante Harris and starting defensive end Gavin Stansbury, should help the Aggies' defensive efforts.

"It'll be interesting once the game gets started," Snyder said. "They've got to knock a little bit of rust off. We've got a couple days here of practice first to get some of the rust knocked off. It was really good [Monday] to have our first unit out there together. It was very, very pleasing to see."

Starting safety Floyd Raven Sr. (collarbone) will miss the game because of his injury, and starting defensive end Julien Obioha's status is up in the air also. Cornerback Deshazor Everett said the country hasn't seen the Aggies' "real defense" yet.

"We can only progress, so I'm not going to say they've seen the real defense," Everett said. "But we have to get better, and we'll keep getting better, and this week of practice is crucial. But as a whole defense, we'll keep progressing and getting better."

Though the Aggies were able to intercept McCarron in the last meeting, Snyder said he expects the quarterback to be poised and confident coming into Saturday's game.

"He is a leader," Snyder said. "He runs their offense. He knows where his checkdowns are and obviously he is a great leader for them, because they have won a lot of football games. He drives that engine. He's the guy that's driving the car. And you can see his poise and patience, and it's hard to get him rattled. And if you do get him rattled a little bit, he has the ability to go over and sit down and get unrattled and come back out and play in his game. That's what I see in him."

The players know the national perception is that it's easy to move the ball on the Aggies, and because of the evidence presented by Rice (306 rushing yards) and Sam Houston State (240), it's hard to argue that, extenuating circumstances notwithstanding. But the players know the way to change what people think is by improving their play, starting Saturday.

"Yes. I think everyone looks at it that way," Everett said. "You can look at what a defense does well and what a defense doesn't do well, and you go off of that basically and see where you want to attack and what their weaknesses are. That's what we're trying to improve on, what our weaknesses are."

Every day, Baker Mayfield kept waiting for that scholarship to come. That scholarship he really wanted. That scholarship that never arrived.

In just two games, Texas Tech’s true freshman walk-on quarterback has become one of the unlikeliest of stories in college football.

But it wasn’t the Red Raiders he always dreamed of playing for. It was the team the Red Raiders are playing against Thursday night.

“TCU was the only school he really had interest in,” said Shaun Nixon, Mayfield’s running back at Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas. “That was the school he really wanted to go to.”

On Thursday, when Tech faces TCU in a Big 12 clash that could have conference title implications down the line, Mayfield will have the chance to show the Horned Frogs what they missed out on, live and in person.

“He’s going to have a chip on his shoulder because TCU didn’t want him,” said Nixon, an ESPN 300 prospect in the Class of 2014 who is committed to Texas A&M.

“He’s going to be ready for this one.”

How Mayfield ended up at Tech as a walk-on and not somewhere like TCU as a scholarship player is something his high school teammates and coaches are still trying to figure out. Even the Tech coaches aren’t quite sure. Even if they are thankful.

“It’s a great question,” said Red Raiders receivers coach Sonny Cumbie. “I think a lot of people who were close to pulling the trigger are probably kicking themselves now.”

Cumbie knows firsthand what it feels like to fall through the recruiting cracks. After running the wing-T for a small school just west of Abilene, Texas, Cumbie graduated high school with no FBS offers.

“It was before the era of summer camps,” he said. “I was completely under the radar.”

Despite being under the radar, Cumbie still wanted to play for an FBS program. So he reached out to Texas Tech, which had just hired Mike Leach, to see whether the Red Raiders might have any interest. Not only did Leach have interest, he invited Cumbie to visit Lubbock on a Sunday and personally gave him a tour of the campus.

“Especially now looking back on it,” Cumbie said, “when the head coach in the middle of the afternoon meets a walk-on quarterback in the parking lot -- it goes a long way.”

Due in large part to Leach’s hospitality, Cumbie decided to turn down his Division II offers and walk on at Tech, ultimately earning a scholarship before winning the starting job four years later.

Like Cumbie, Mayfield won the starting job at Tech after walking on. But it took Mayfield just a summer.

“That’s where the story starts taking a different path,” said Cumbie, who led the nation in passing in 2004. “He’s having a whole lot more success early on than I did.”

Is he ever.

Through two games, Mayfield is completing 71 percent of his passes and has thrown seven touchdowns with no interceptions, leading the Red Raiders to routs in their first two games.

“He’s a special type of talent,” Cumbie said. “He’s got the ‘wow’ factor to him.”

Mayfield had the wow factor to him in high school, too. He quarterbacked Lake Travis to a state championship and in two years as the starter threw 67 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. Yet even though Lake Travis had produced FBS quarterbacks before him like Todd Reesing (Kansas), Garrett Gilbert (SMU) and Michael Brewer (Texas Tech), Mayfield was lightly recruited. He had offers from New Mexico, Washington State and Florida Atlantic. But as Mayfield waited for a bigger offer, the rest of them dried up.

Hank Carter, his high school coach, said many of the schools that scouted Mayfield elected to go with bigger quarterbacks.

“People thought he was too short,” Carter said.

Mayfield is listed at 6-foot-2 now. But he was 5-5 as a high school freshman.

“He was a late bloomer,” Carter said. “We always made the comment, 'If Baker Mayfield ever grows, he’s going to be a freaking stud.' He’s such a gamer.”

Mayfield eventually grew, and eventually took over as quarterback at Lake Travis when the starter was hurt during the first game of Mayfield's junior season.

Nixon said he and Mayfield went to visit TCU often together, and he fully expected his quarterback to end up in Fort Worth.

“He thought he had found a home there,” said Nixon. “In the locker room, I’d ask him, ‘When you gonna commit?’ He’d say, ‘I’m still waiting on TCU. I’m still waiting on TCU.’"

Mayfield waited patiently. But less than a month before national signing day, Temple (Texas) quarterback Zach Allen decommitted from Syracuse when Orange coach Doug Marrone bolted for the NFL, and the Horned Frogs decided to take Allen over Mayfield. By that point, Washington State had moved on, too, leaving Mayfield without a home.

Texas Tech didn’t have a scholarship, either. But due to his connections to Brewer from high school, as well as new Tech assistant Eric Morris, who remembered Mayfield from his time at Washington State, Mayfield decided to follow the path Cumbie took and walk on in Lubbock.

“When he decided to walk on, we were not excited he was going to do that,” Carter said. “We didn’t think he was going to get a chance, at least for a while. But that shows how much we know. He always knew something we didn’t”

Mayfield turned heads the moment he arrived on campus over the summer. And when Brewer’s lingering back injury kept giving him problems, Mayfield found himself in a head-to-head competition with Texas Tech’s scholarship freshman quarterback, Davis Webb, for the starting job.

“It was one day after another, where [Mayfield] kept having good days,” Cumbie said. “The chains kept moving when he was in there.

“After awhile, we were like, ‘This dude is for real.’”

On Thursday night, Mayfield will attempt to prove to the school he dreamed of playing for that he’s for real, too. All while revealing what the Horned Frogs could have had.

“I’m sure he’s pretty psyched,” Carter said, “to go out there and show TCU they should have offered him a scholarship.”

Several intriguing games in the Big 12 this week. Will Texas put out the fire? How will Iowa State respond? Is Texas Tech for real? Should Blake Bell take over the reins at Oklahoma? Can’t wait to get those answers.

Here’s what to watch in the Big 12 for Week 3:

1. Can Texas rebound? Texas has brought in Greg Robinson to turn things around for the Longhorns’ defense. The veteran coach has experience but he’s been thrown into the fire and asked to make a miracle happen against Ole Miss in less than a week. The odds aren’t on his side, but if Robinson completely turns around the UT defense, the entire Big 12 landscape will have changed in a matter of days.

2. First real test for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders haven’t seen anything like TCU’s defense thus far this season. Tech quarterback Baker Mayfield has been outstanding, having thrown for 780 yards and seven touchdowns (he's also rushed for a TD) while leading the Red Raiders to a 2-0 start. But he hasn’t seen playmakers like TCU’s Devonte Fields, Jason Verrett and Kevin White. How Mayfield handles his first Big 12 game could define if the Red Raiders’ hope of becoming the Big 12’s surprise team can come true.

3. Character test for the Cyclones. Iowa State can redeem itself with a win over Iowa on Saturday. The Cyclones’ disappointing 28-20 loss to Northern Iowa was one of the most surprising results of the season’s first weekend, particularly since their defense couldn’t stop UNI on the ground or through the air. Nothing can get things back on track like a rivalry game and ISU is looking to make sure its horrible Week 1 performance doesn’t snowball into a horrible multi-game stretch to start the season.

4. Blake Bell’s opportunity. The Sooners quarterback gets the chance to prove he should have been OU’s starter when his squad hosts Tulsa on Saturday. Bell, the preseason favorite to replace Landry Jones, lost the quarterback battle to Trevor Knight. But Knight’s knee injury has opened the door; will Bell walk through it?

5. How will Oklahoma State handle a week of distractions? The Cowboys have been in the news throughout the week due to allegations of misconduct throughout the program in a series of stories by Sports Illustrated. OSU’s home opener against Lamar will be the first time to see the football program in action since the series was published and Boone Pickens Stadium promises to be a lively atmosphere. Nonetheless, it should be pretty easy to tell if the Cowboys are distracted. And if they are, it might be a sign that the distractions could affect them for the remainder of the season as the ripple effect continues.

6. Will West Virginia’s quarterback situation ever become clear? Dana Holgorsen plans to continue his search for a solid No. 1 quarterback until Paul Millard, Clint Trickett or Ford Childress separates himself from the pack. Holgorsen is extremely disappointed in the play of his offense and has shouldered the blame, saying, “It’s embarrassing, we have to put our guys in better position to make plays.” But one of those guys needs to seize the opportunity to trigger Holgorsen’s offense starting against Georgia State on Saturday.

7. Can Trevone Boykin take TCU’s offense to a different level? Boykin will be asked to shoulder the load for the Horned Frogs with Casey Pachall out. He’s much better prepared to be the main man in the offensive backfield this season and his dynamic running will test any defense. Much like Bell, Boykin has the chance to prove he should have been the guy in the first place.

8. Kansas looks to keep momentum. The Jayhawks opened the season with a win over South Dakota and will get the chance to start off 2-0 when they visit Rice. KU coach Charlie Weis is trying to build a quality program and a win over the Owls would be step in the right direction after several close calls in 2012.

9. Will Kansas State’s defense return to its 2012 form? The Wildcats replaced several starters, including linebacker Arthur Brown, but the cupboard is not bare. Yet the Wildcats have allowed 24 points to North Dakota State and 27 points to Louisiana-Lafayette in back-to-back weeks. Last year’s defense allowed 19.5 points per game in nonconference play. KSU needs a strong defensive performance against Massachusetts on Saturday to get its confidence going on that side of the ball with a road trip to Texas looming next weekend.

10. Are any Big 12 teams ripe for an upset? OSU has had a week full of distractions, Kansas State is still a work in progress, WVU’s offense has been substandard and OU can’t seem to create any offensive balance. All four teams host opponents they should beat with relative ease but it wouldn’t be a shock to see any of those squads struggle because, quite simply, no Big 12 team has looked like dominant squad during the first two weeks of the season.

Les Miles released a statement commenting on the allegations that he de-emphasized education to his players while coaching at Oklahoma State.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Aggieland has long been a special place for Kevin Sumlin and his family.

After his first stop at Texas A&M, as a young assistant rising through the coaching ranks, it was too early to know if fate ever would lead him back to the place where he made a little bit of history in 2002. The world of college football coaches can be fickle. Timing is everything. Choices made don't always work out, opportunities afforded don't last forever and can disappear as quickly as they present themselves.

Though he headed north to Oklahoma after the 2002 season, it set forth a chain of events that eventually would lead the Sumlins back the home of the maroon and white. There was unfinished business.

These days, Kevin Sumlin is in the process of trying to finish what he started.

The hype and anticipation surrounding this week's matchup has been predictable. You have the sport's No. 1 team and reigning national champion, Alabama, and the sport's most recognizable player, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, sharing the same field at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday.

It features two of the game's most respected coaches as well: Sumlin and Alabama's Nick Saban. The dichotomy between the two is compelling. Saban already has plenty of hardware in the form of four BCS national championships. He's the valedictorian of active college football coaches.

Sumlin doesn't have that hardware yet, but he's quickly rising. In just his sixth year as a head coach, he made significant impacts at both programs he led. At Houston, he guided the Cougars to a 35-17 record in four seasons, a Top 10 ranking at one point and a single-season school record for wins in 2011. He filled stadiums and brought exposure and prestige to a program not accustomed to it.

In his short time as Texas A&M's head coach, he has helped make the Aggies nationally relevant. Last season the Aggies shattered outsider expectations, going 11-2 in their inaugural SEC season. Manziel won the Heisman Trophy, and the Aggies finished with their highest postseason ranking (No. 5) since 1956.

And now he is just days away from perhaps the biggest game of his coaching career.

Don't expect Sumlin to say it. His demeanor is even-keeled, staying steady rather than "riding the wave," as he often puts it. Several players and coaches said he is treating this week just like any other, the swarm of national media coverage notwithstanding.

"[His demeanor is] exactly the same," junior receiver Malcome Kennedy said. "He has a strong sense of urgency every week. It goes down the chain of command to the staff, and it trickles down to us. He just wants us to stay calm and treat it like a normal game, and that's what we'll do."

Keeping everyone else steady can be difficult when dealing with some of the challenges Sumlin and the Aggies have faced this year. Texas A&M football was a regular in national headlines this offseason, whether it was for positive or negative reasons. Manziel's eventful offseason received unprecedented coverage and significant scrutiny. The school had to endure an NCAA investigation into an autograph controversy involving the quarterback. The team, less than a week before the start of training camp, had to cope with the death of a teammate, redshirt freshman defensive lineman Polo Manukainiu.

Never mind the extraordinary expectations placed upon them because of their end-of-season ranking last year and the returning players on the roster like Manziel, tackle Jake Matthews and receiver Mike Evans.

Whether it was trying to pull the team together through an emotional time or answer endless questions from the media, Sumlin has handled it with a certain poise and confidence that seems to permeate through the Bright Football Complex.

"Kevin Sumlin is a great leader when it comes to steering this team to be on the right path to making sure we don't take anything for granted," senior running back Ben Malena said. "[He makes] sure we don't count the number of days; we make the days count."

Though hope sprung eternal when he arrived as A&M's head coach in December 2011, there was plenty of uncertainty. The Aggies were coming off a season of unfulfilled expectations, a 7-6 record in their final Big 12 campaign. The SEC, widely considered college football's premier conference, wouldn't be kind to them, people said.

Instead, the Aggies turned the tables, experiencing immediate success and beating No. 1 Alabama in the process. The 29-24 victory in Tuscaloosa, Ala., last November was a seminal moment in A&M history for many reasons. It essentially became the fuel that led to Manziel's victory in the Heisman Trophy voting. Recruiting, which already was going well, kicked up yet another notch. The national conversation began to include the Aggies more prominently and more often, and suddenly, what once was predicted by many to be a torturous existence in the SEC became a bright future with thoughts of possible championships down the road.

That's what Saturday is about. There will be no trophies handed out or no finality for either team's ability to contend for an SEC West title, an SEC title or even a spot in the BCS title game, because there still will be at least nine games left for the Aggies and at least 10 left for the Crimson Tide.

But the winner will be in position to control its own destiny on the road to Atlanta for the SEC title game and, perhaps, to Pasadena, Calif., for the BCS title game. And these are the types of games and stakes for which Sumlin returned to Aggieland.

"I think everybody wants the same endgame," Sumlin said. "Everybody wants to be successful. Everybody wants our program, not just football, but our athletic programs across the board in the SEC to be successful. I think we're pretty visible right now, and because of that, that's what you want as a coach. You come into situations, and as things start to progress, you want to be in meaningful games. You want your team to have a chance to play in meaningful games -- not just now, but in November."

In 2002, just four games into the season, Sumlin was promoted from receivers coach to offensive coordinator when then-head coach R.C. Slocum decided shake up a struggling offense.

Then 38, Sumlin led the Aggies to averages of 33 points and 419 yards per game the rest of the year and helped orchestrate a memorable upset of No. 1 Oklahoma behind the arm of true freshman quarterback Reggie McNeal. Bob Stoops scooped Sumlin up the next season to join Oklahoma's staff, and after five seasons there, Sumlin accepted his first head coaching job at Houston in 2008.

Almost 10 years to the date of that upset of Oklahoma, Sumlin again oversaw an historic Aggie upset of a No. 1, team when Texas A&M stunned the Crimson Tide last year. This Saturday, Sumlin and the Aggies have a chance to do it again in what has been the most anticipated game of the young college football season.

Sumlin, now 49, keeps the same steady approach and laser focus on the task at hand, qualities that have been a constant throughout his career.

"I think just keeping it the same [helps]," defensive coordinator Mark Snyder said. "We have a game this week; we're going to prepare exactly like we prepare every week and kind of leave the zoo outside the lines when we get on the field. I think he's done a fantastic job with that."

Fans hope he can lead A&M to yet another takedown of a No. 1 team and set the stage for a truly historic season.

"Like I said beforehand, I think it's great for our university," Sumlin said. "The excitement level and particularly for this weekend and this year has been great. Managing that, I don't know that that's something that I have to manage. I don't know that you can manage it at this level of football. ... And as a coach, I spend my time managing the football team. I don't have a lot of time to manage what's going on outside of it."

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Not many of Alabama’s players watched No. 6 Texas A&M host Sam Houston State over the weekend. The truth is they didn't miss much. The 37-point blowout was little more than a tuneup for the Aggies. But Alabama's players couldn't have named the score if they were asked to. Many, if not most, of them were too busy relaxing on their off week to find the nonconference game on the television dial.

Anthony Steen, the Tide's veteran right guard, was out at the lake. AJ McCarron didn't even know the game would be televised.

"Were they on TV?" Alabama's senior quarterback asked. At the very least, it was available online. "I don't have a laptop so …"

There was no follow-up question, though his trailing voice certainly left room to ask about his cell phone and tablet situations. It's hard to believe that an athlete in this day and age could be without some method of accessing the internet. At least then he might have been able to get a taste for what the environment at Kyle Field will be like on Saturday when the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide travel there to face Texas A&M.

It was typical McCarron nonchalance. He wasn't too concerned with anything when he spoke to the media on Monday. When asked, he said he had no plans to communicate with his friend, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, this week. The last time the two spoke, he said, was at SEC media days in July. And then, he added: "We're just friends, guys. Y'all make this thing a lot bigger than it needs to be."

Downplaying the significance of their relationship was understandable. But downplaying the significance of the game they'll play in just a few days wasn't possible. For the first time since 1988, Alabama is going to College Station to play a football game.

And that was enough to get McCarron excited.

"It's going to be a fun experience," he said. "Their whole 12th Man and everything, it's going to be a very cool experience for myself. Hopefully it'll be a good experience."

Steen said he watched the Aggies home opener two weeks ago and thought the crowd noise wasn't as bad as he expected. Still, it will be an obstacle for an offensive line that had difficulty communicating in its season opener against Virginia Tech in Atlanta two weeks ago.

"Things weren’t as loud as people say it is at 12th Man Stadium," he said. "We expect to not be able to hear each other, especially our center making the calls. We just have to stay focused and each and every person on the offensive line has to know all the calls for every position."

Steen, like so many of his teammates, downplayed the hype surrounding the game. There was no talk of revenge or retribution, just winning.

"It’s just one of those things where it’s in the back of your head that you lost last year, so you want to try that much harder to make sure you win this year," Steen said.

"I guess for some people it does [add motivation], but for me it’s another game and I know we’ve got to win it and I’m not going to go out there and come out flat. I’m going to go out there and try to play the best game I can."

Amari Cooper, Alabama's star wideout, said he doesn't watch TV and that and a Saturday’s trip to Kyle Field is only one step of many.

"We don't buy into the hype here," Cooper said. "I think all the hype is really irrelevant because at the end of the day you have to go out there and play your game. All the hype is really not real, you know, the things they say on TV and stuff like that. It doesn't line up with what's really going on."