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AUSTIN, Texas – Jackson Jeffcoat said the words with equal parts self-assuredness and defiance. Last Monday, he laid down the law.

“This team is going to be a player-led team,” he said. “No matter who the coach is coming in, as leaders, we'll get this thing corrected.”

And if that’s what Texas’ senior defensive end is saying to the media, you have to wonder what’s being said behind closed doors, especially a week later, following another loss to kick off his final season in burnt orange with a 1-2 record.

The talk of these Longhorns being player-led sounds like a good thing. It sounds as if there are veterans stepping forward and taking ownership of this season.

But how exactly is that belief manifesting itself in the locker room? Reinforcing that culture is a lot easier when the wins are piling up, but it’s far more important now as Texas tries to break out of its two-game funk.

“The biggest thing is just making sure you keep everybody together and don’t let there become any dissention among the team,” senior lineman Trey Hopkins said. “That’s a thing the seniors have really been looking out for and making sure we don’t have any of that. I think it’s been good for us so far.”

In the wake of those two losses, Texas is trying to take a high-accountability approach to cleaning up its mistakes. On Sunday, the full team gathered for a film session. That’s not the normal routine -- usually, especially after wins, they review in their position groups.

Mack Brown and the staff played it all for them. The good, the bad, the ugly. If one guy screwed up, everyone else saw it. Everyone is clear on who is and isn’t doing his job.

This wasn’t about calling out the struggling players. The aim was to get everyone on the same page and it’s another step towards ensuring the players are looking out for each other.

A bunker mentality is setting in and the Longhorns are closing ranks. They’re concerned only with what’s going on in their building, in their locker room. Anything else – especially outside negativity – just serves as a distraction.

“We’ve stayed together pretty good with these two losses,” senior defensive tackle Chris Whaley said. “That’s going to help us out a lot. When people start falling apart, things can go bad. That’s our mindset right now. We’ve got to stay together and pull together even stronger.”

A year ago Texas didn’t have that luxury. Kenny Vaccaro and Alex Okafor were the leaders of a small senior class and much was made of how vocal they needed to become, and that switch got flipped around midseason.

This year, the senior class has 14 scholarship players, most of them starters. Hopkins said he gave a speech to the team laying out what this start means to the seniors and how ending their college careers on this note won’t be acceptable.

It’s times like these, junior linebacker Jordan Hicks said, that you find out which guys can lead and which ones want to follow.

“When a team goes through adversity, you find out a lot about your team,” Hicks said. “It’s the same in life. Once you go through adversity, you find out who you are. We’ve done a lot of good things. There have been a lot of positive actions that have been seen throughout the locker room, after practice, before practice.”

Co-offensive coordinator Major Applewhite remembers dealing with these kinds of hard times as a player. He could tell at practice on Sunday that the seniors, the guys who can count the number of games they have left, step forward in these times.

“It always meant something to me when a coach said you’ve got 44 games, but that guy over there has 11,” Applewhite said. “I felt a sense of obligation to make sure the seniors go out the way they want to go out. Now that we start conference play, you could feel that a bit in practice.”

Mack Brown says this team isn’t like the 5-7 group in 2010. That group, he says, was too selfish. These guys are giving everything to get the season turned around, and doing so together.

Texas players began the season with a new team motto: “For the man on my right and the man on my left.”

Three games into the year, they’re figuring out what that really means.

It’s a light week in the Big 12 with Kansas State’s trip to Austin, Texas, as the highlight matchup in the conference this weekend. West Virginia has an intriguing nonconference battle with Maryland while several conference squads have a bye week.

Here is what to watch in the Big 12 this week.

Texas looking to get back on track against Kansas State. Longhorns coach Mack Brown is trying to ignore the distractions while begging the UT fans to come out on Saturday and support his downtrodden squad. It’s tough to imagine the Longhorns getting off to a worse start, but their destiny remains in their hands. If they win on Saturday, they’ll be on the road to getting things back on track. If they lose to the Wildcats, all hope could be lost.

Is K-State back on track? The Wildcats suffered one of the biggest upsets of the season when the defending Big 12 champions fell to North Dakota State in Week 1. KSU responded with 20-plus-point wins over Louisiana-Lafayette and Massachusetts in the past two weeks, but the Wildcats still have to prove they can be Big 12 contenders. A strong showing -- and a win -- in Austin could provide a lot of momentum heading into the heart of Big 12 play.

Is Childress the real deal? The West Virginia quarterback was impressive in his first start, getting the Mountaineers’ offense clicking for the first time in 2013. Ford Childress was 25-of-41 for 359 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, but WVU coach Dana Holgorsen was more impressed with Childress’ cool demeanor and ability to manage the offense and interact with his teammates. Will the redshirt freshman perform even better against Maryland?

Can Baylor’s Petty continue his offensive efficiency? The Bears’ quarterback tops the nation with a total QBR of 98.3. Bryce Petty has eight incompletions in two games with zero interceptions and 11 completions of 20 yards or more. It’s been an incredible starting debut for the junior quarterback. Louisiana-Monroe is the next defense set to challenge Petty and the Bears’ offense.

Texas Tech must not suffer a letdown. The Red Raiders are off to a 3-0 start, including a Big 12 conference win over TCU last Thursday. When Texas State arrives in Lubbock, Texas, the Red Raiders will have to avoid any kind of letdown. If we’ve learned anything from the first three weeks, it’s that teams must be ready to play against lesser opponents or they’re likely to struggle or even lose to a team they paid to come to their home stadium.

Can Kansas surpass its 2012 win total after three games? The Jayhawks are 1-1 heading into their game against Louisiana Tech after finishing the 2012 season at 1-11. Last season they won their first game and didn’t win another. Can they change that trend when they host Louisiana Tech on Saturday?

Can Texas stop the run? The Longhorns might have answered this question already. And it’s a resounding no. Yet they’ll get another chance against the Wildcats. KSU is going to run the football with running back John Hubert and quarterback Daniel Sams, who might be the most dynamic running quarterback in the conference.

The Big 12 has been very average in nonconference play. WVU can help turn that around with a win over Maryland. True enough it’s not a major strike for the league in terms of national perception, but a loss would be yet another nonconference dent in the Big 12’s armor. The more wins over BCS conference opponents the better for the Big 12.

Is there a quarterback controversy in Lubbock? Baker Mayfield was outstanding in the Red Raiders’ first two wins but struggled against TCU. Davis Webb stepped in to lead TTU to a victory over the Horned Frogs. Although Mayfield remains the starter, Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury probably won’t hesitate to turn to Webb if Mayfield struggles again.

Will Baylor continue to look like the Big 12’s most impressive team? The Bears have been dominant and relentless in their first two wins over Wofford and Buffalo, but face their toughest test of the season in ULM. It’s an opportunity to compare scores as well since the Warhawks opened the season with a 34-0 loss at Oklahoma.

Instead of going to a game this weekend, I stopped by Waco, Texas, earlier in the week to check out Art Briles’ bunch in person.

Our guest picker this week is Roger Berman, a Red Raider who hails from Orange, Texas. Here is Roger’s guest picker submission:

I have been around a few years. Just turned 60 in August. I attended Texas Tech, and got my B.S. in chemical engineering in 1976. Older brother went to Oklahoma State. Little brother was smart -- he graduated from Texas Tech. I have been following the Southwest, Big 8 and Big 12 conferences for more than 45 years. I know I can pick 'em better than a young pup like you. What you say to that?

Well, Roger, compared to you, I suppose I am a young pup. Challenge accepted.

By the way, thanks to Roger’s Red Raiders, I dispatched of last week’s guest picker, James. Get ready to join him, Roger.

If you want to be next week’s guest picker, contact me, and tell me why. And, as always, creativity counts.

Now, to the picks for Week 4:

SEASON RECORD

Last week: 7-1 (.875)

Guest picker last week: 6-2 (.750)

Overall: 21-4 (.840)

Guest picker overall: 6-2 (.750)

Saturday
Kansas 33, Louisiana Tech 21: Jake Heaps struggled in the loss at Rice, but Charlie Weis said this week the one player he's not worried about is Heaps. I’m not worried about the Kansas quarterback, either. As for the rest of the team, well, that's another story. The Jayhawks will be fine in this one, before they embark on another long season in the Big 12.

Roger’s pick: Heaps takes it up a notch with more than 200 yards passing. Kansas, 28-17

West Virginia 30, Maryland 27: The Terrapins are 3-0, but their best win came last week over Connecticut, which fell to Towson in its opener. In other words, Maryland has yet to play anybody. The Mountaineers lost at Oklahoma, but they hung tough. That moral victory should give them the confidence they can win this game. Especially with Ford Childress now at quarterback.

Roger’s pick: I think Childress has a great day; once again, a freshman steps up in the Big 12. West Virginia, 35-27

Baylor 63, Louisiana-Monroe 10: By picking the Bears to score nine touchdowns, I’m actually picking them to have a down day. Baylor, which is averaging 70 points a game, has scored four touchdowns in the first quarter of both games this season. Mercifully for Monroe, the Bears don’t touch that first-quarter mark this game, due to a little rust coming off an open week. Not that it really matters. Baylor drops off four touchdowns in the second quarter to put another game away before halftime.

Roger’s pick: Bryce Petty has another good day; not sure who can stop this offense. Baylor, 49-7

Texas Tech 45, Texas State 13: The Red Raiders won ugly last week. This week, they get back to winning pretty. Boosted by Kliff Kingsbury’s vote of confidence, quarterback Baker Mayfield gets back on track with a 400-yard passing game. The Tech defense gives up a couple of scores early, but settles in to keep the momentum going from last week’s gutty performance against TCU.

Roger’s pick: Jace Amaro has a coming-out party; 150-plus yards and three touchdowns. Texas Tech, 56-14

Texas 31, Kansas State 28: The reasons to pick against Texas are many. The Longhorns have been an embarrassment stopping the run, and K-State’s Daniel Sams runs as well as any QB in the league. The Wildcats also own Texas with a five-game winning streak in the series. But QB David Ash should be back in the lineup for Longhorns, and K-State has had its own problems defensively this season. Plus, after K-State linebacker Tre Walker accused Texas this summer of always rolling over, the Longhorns -- if they have any heart at all -- have to show up for this game, right?

Roger’s pick: Texas finally gets it together; plus, very rarely has Texas lost three games in a row. Texas, 24-21

Each week, HornsNation teams up with the ESPN Stats & Info crew to dig into the numbers that matter most and find three statistics which could make a big difference on Saturday. Let's take a look at Texas’ first Big 12 game of the season against Kansas State (7 p.m. CT, ABC).


No. 1: Five

In the first half against Ole Miss, Texas produced five consecutive scoring drives, including on all three second-quarter possessions. Mack Brown said Wednesday he needs to see Texas' second-quarter offense show up for all four quarters this Saturday.

Texas went nine plays or more on three of those five drives. For an offense that too often gets derailed by three-and-outs when struggling, that was promising. The next step: finishing with touchdowns. Texas settled for field goals on three of the five drives, including one occasion in which Texas had first and goal at Ole Miss 2.

No. 2: 3-16

If you're searching for a reason why Kansas State has won five straight against Texas, here's an easy clue: In their past five matchups, Kansas State has turned the ball over a total of three times. The Longhorns, on the other hand, have 16 turnovers. That's a significant disparity in turnover margin.

Here's what's strange about that stat, though: Texas' offense has turned the ball over only one time in its two losses. That was the bizarre play when Case McCoy and Malcolm Brown collided for a fumble against Ole Miss. Turnovers are not the reason the Longhorns have come up short in back-to-back weeks. Getting a few more from its defense wouldn't hurt, though.

No. 3: 37

Once again, Texas is back among the nation's leaders in missed tackles. The Longhorns have missed 37 through three games, which is tied for second worst in FBS behind Northwestern's 38. Texas has recorded 12 more missed tackles than any other school in the Big 12.

There could be any number of reasons for this, though if last season told us anything the culprit is probably confidence. Texas is still getting inconsistent tackling from its linebackers and safeties, and players have said all along that the defensive schemes are putting them in the right place to make plays. They just need to execute.

Three more to remember

9: The number of passing yards Kansas State had in its 34-14 win over Texas in 2010.

23: The number of rushing yards Kansas State had in its 45-42 win over Texas in 2006.

1956: The last time Texas started its season 1-3. That was one year before Darrell Royal took over the program.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Unlike last week, there weren't national television production trucks parked outside the Bright Football Complex or Kyle Field on Tuesday. There isn't a sizeable buzz or buildup to Texas A&M's upcoming game against SMU on Saturday. The "zoo" or "noise," as Aggies coaches termed what was forming outside of the football facilities in anticipation of the A&M-Alabama tilt last Saturday, is gone for now.

Questions at Tuesday's weekly news conference centered not around national attention or off-the-field matters, but instead about the team, personnel issues, the aftermath of the Alabama game and even coach Kevin Sumlin's offensive principles and coaching roots.

Inside Bright, everything appears to be business as usual. Coaches and players are going about their regularly-scheduled business. Construction continues on the new lobby at the front of Bright, where the Heisman Trophy and other notable things will be displayed. And the players are focused on putting Saturday's 49-42 loss to No. 1 Alabama behind them.

Win or lose, that was going to be Sumlin's message to them.

"We have nine more games," Sumlin said Tuesday. "That's been my approach to how we've done things wherever I've been, whether [or not] they're big games. To you guys, they're big games and we get that. But they become big when you're winning or you're in a position to have success. So in order to do that, it doesn't matter whether you're mad or you're ecstatic. The next week, you've got to move on and that's what we've done."

The emotion and pageantry that came with Saturday's game, which pitted the Heisman Trophy-winner, quarterback Johnny Manziel, and the No. 10 Aggies (2-1) against the defending BCS champion Crimson Tide, was built up in large part because the Aggies were the only team to beat Alabama in 2012.

Despite the loss, expectations remain the same for the Aggies, who all cited Alabama's title run with one loss as evidence that they, too, can do it. Now that they do have a loss, senior running back Ben Malena feels it will be easier for the players to focus solely on their upcoming game.

"I think it will be easier," he said. "I think it's easier just for the fact that we do have a loss. We understand how important it is to take it one game at a time. It's a one-game season every week and you have to prepare for it like it is a one-game season. This week, we have SMU, we're looking at it, we accept the challenge from those guys and they're going to be coming at us, ready to knock us off. We're going to prepare like we did last week."

When asked after Saturday's loss if it was a "relief" to get past Alabama week because of all the hype and buildup, Manziel maintained that the Aggies as a team did not over-emphasize the game against the Crimson Tide over its other games.

"For me, to be honest, as much as people tried to say it was a big game, I know for the guys in the locker room and the guys who are experienced, I probably came out less nervous today than I was in the other games," Manziel said. "What did we have to lose? The pressure wasn't on us. The pressure was on Alabama to try and three-peat and do all this stuff. We were just going to try to go and play our hearts out and leave it all out on the field and that's all we could do."

A&M did that and came within a touchdown of the champs. If the Aggies can continue to do it, it's reasonable to believe that they have a chance to win the rest of the games on their schedule, though some of the tougher tests include a return trip to Oxford, Miss., against Ole Miss and to Death Valley to meet LSU.

Can the Aggies bring the same kind of emotion to this Saturday's non-conference game that they did to the latest "Game of the Century?" Malena believes they can.

"I don't think it'll be difficult at all for us as a team," Malena said. "That's what championship teams do, play at a consistent level. Have similar emotion within a week-to-week basis. We do understand that last week was a big game and it is going to be challenging to have that same kind of enthusiasm just because of the different circumstances but our play on the field is not going to change, our emotion is not going to change. We're still going to be the same team we were last week, this week."

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — After putting together the performance of his young career against the nation's top team, it was clear that the only thing that could stop Texas A&M receiver Mike Evans was his own body.

After cramping up toward the end of the Aggies' 49-42 loss to No. 1 Alabama on Saturday at Kyle Field, Evans received fluid intravenously to hydrate himself after a day that many Aggies won't soon forget.

Seven catches, 279 yards. One 95-yard touchdown and multiple highlight-worthy grabs. At the end of it all, Evans was drained.

"I gave it all I had," he said. "I caught cramps at the end of the fourth. I feel kind of beat up. I feel like I played the whole season."

Fitting, since his receiving yardage total is higher than that of 35 FBS teams so far in 2013.

Based on his early season performance, the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Evans is quickly making his case to be considered one of the nation's best receivers. The man who throws him the football, reigning Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, is already sold that Evans is No. 1.

"In my eyes, Mike Evans is the best receiver in college football," Manziel said. "I've seen him every day and I get to see how he works against defenders and it's just amazing. A big guy like that who can really run and gives his all every game, what a great player."

It's still intriguing to think about his success when you consider Evans played only one varsity season of football at Galveston (Texas) Ball High. He spent the majority of his high school career focused on basketball, He was one of the top players in Galveston County and the Greater Houston area.

But before his senior season, he decided to go out for football. The day of the first padded practice Evans participated in on Ball's varsity squad, Tulane offered him. Evans participated in football, basketball and track his senior season but eventually decided football was his future. He committed to Texas A&M in December of his senior year.

Evans redshirted as a freshman in 2011 and began developing a chemistry with the scout-team quarterback, which happened to be Manziel. That explains why the two had such a good rapport when they both made their A&M debuts last season.

"We used to have a lot of fun together," Evans said. "We played basketball. He's one of my best friends. I guess that's where our connection comes in."

The two are roommates in the team hotel the night before games. Manziel said that Friday night the two were talking about how the game was going to play out and "I knew he was going to come out and play pretty good."

Alabama had so much trouble handling Evans that they used three different defensive backs in the first half after Evans exploded in the Aggies' first two series. He caught four passes for 135 yards in the first quarter alone and though the Tide made their adjustments, he was still able to have an impact as the game went on. He kept the Aggies in the game with a career-high 95-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter.

"Mike's the best receiver in the nation," offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi said. "He works hard and the hard work carried over to the field [Saturday]. I'm glad for him, I'm happy for him. He's a great receiver and I'm glad it showed."

Evans is demanding of himself, though. When asked about his own performance after Saturday's loss, Evans critiqued his blocking in the running game. He was in no mood to discuss his catches and yards; the team's loss concerned him more.

Before the spring, when asked what would make the 2013 season a special one individually, Evans simply said one word: "Biltenikoff." If he continues to play like he did Saturday, winning the trophy that goes to the country's best receiver will become a foregone conclusion. His teammates are already sold.

"I just practice my butt off and try my best every day," Evans said. "If they want to say that, then I love them for that."

Tre Walker tried to soften it but it didn’t change the underlying message when he was asked about Kansas State’s 42-24 win over Texas last season.

“They kind of laid down a little bit,” the Wildcats linebacker said during Big 12 media days in July.

Undoubtedly, Texas players, coaches and fans look at that statement and scoff. Yet, if anyone in the nation has the right to make that declaration it would be Walker, who is part of a Kansas State program which holds the longest current winning streak against the Longhorns in college football. The Wildcats have the last five meetings starting in 2006.

“They have played better than us for sure and coached better than us,” Texas coach Mack Brown said. “We haven't played very well against them. They've been more physical than we have.”

The Wildcats won 45-42 in 2006, 41-21 in 2007, 39-14 in 2010 and 17-13 in 2011 during the winning streak. For Kansas State, the win streak could bring confidence but the past will only mean so much on Saturday.

“It probably depends on the individual,” KSU coach Bill Snyder said when asked about the Wildcat’s win streak. “Most of the youngsters are probably more concerned with preparation and ourselves than things that have happened in the past.”

In other words, they’re focused on playing K-State football. And K-State football is exactly what has provided the foundation of the win streak. The Wildcats have found a way to beat Texas the same way they usually find a way to beat any other team that has the overall talent advantage.

Defense, turnovers and special teams.

In KSU’s wins over the Longhorns, the Wildcats’ average turnover margin is 2.6 (13 turnover margin in five games) and their average starting field position margin was 9.2, meaning they consistently started almost 10 yards closer to the end zone than UT during the winning streak.

The Longhorns have had the clear advantage when they have ball and when playing defense. The Longhorns are averaging 369.8 yards while holding KSU to 274.2 yards during the streak. The Wildcats didn’t outgain the Longhorns in any of those wins. KSU’s offense has been horrible, going three-and-out 42 percent of the time and averaging 3.07 yards per carry during the win streak.

<How do you overcome being outgained by an average of nearly 100 yards?

Simply taking the ball away is a great start. On average, the Longhorns have had to make up 15.6 points off turnovers against KSU thanks to 16 turnovers in five games. KSU’s 45-42 win in 2006 was the only time the Longhorns didn’t have to overcome a double digit, points off turnover margin. It’s hard to spot a Big 12 opponent more than 15 points and expect to win.

The often overlooked third part of the game is another way the Wildcats win. KSU consistently produces terrific special teams play featuring a great return game and its victories over UT are no different. The Wildcats average starting line has been their own 39-yard line and they’ve averaged 22 yards per punt return and 28.64 yards per kick return during the win streak, including punt and kick returns for touchdowns in 2007.

And the Wildcats defense has had a bend but don’t break mentality, allowing 4.88 yards per play and only allowing UT to score points 33.3 percent of the time after the Longhorns have started a drive by making a first down. The Wildcats defense has been resilient and come up with key plays when they need them allowing UT to gain just 38.3 percent of the possible yards to gain on 69 total drives in those five games.

Defense, turnovers and special teams make Kansas State football come to mind, so it’s no surprise those three words have defined the Wildcats’ current five-game winning streak over Texas.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Even Mack Brown isn’t afraid to have a good laugh about Texas’ run defense.

“Kansas State will run the option,” Brown said Monday. “I told our defense this morning, if they didn't run it, they'll put it in. My gosh, we’ve got to stop it.”

The Longhorns’ new defensive coordinator, Greg Robinson, is hard at work trying to find solutions in his second week on the job. The past two Saturdays have taught his players that making those stops is easier said than done.

Robinson had to simplify his plans against Ole Miss, considering he hadn’t coached this defense since 2004 and had so little time to prepare. What the team didn’t know is just how straightforward the Rebels would be on offense.

Ole Miss’ offensive attack was stunning in its simplicity. The Rebels appeared to have two go-to sets on Saturday: A concept built around a sweep-read, and a read-option with an offset back.

Runs, passes, play-action passes, read-option keepers, screens. All built around and made possible by two looks. Those two sets, plus 10 plays out of a standard three-back pod formation, accounted for 56 of the Rebels’ 72 snaps on offense.

Twenty-five plays came from variations of the zone sweep, the play for which Texas had few answers on Saturday. Ole Miss picked up 218 total yards of offense on those 25 snaps, or nearly half its total yardage.

Speedy scatback Jeff Scott does deserve credit, as does the decision-making of quarterback Bo Wallace. The scheme suits their talents. The problem is, Texas defenders saw all of these offensive wrinkles on film. They knew this was coming, and they couldn’t stop it.

“We knew that Ole Miss was going to take a page out of BYU’s playbook, because we didn’t stop it,” safety Adrian Phillips said. “We knew that we had to come out there and if we wanted to be successful, we had to stop what we saw the week before. We couldn’t get the job done.”

Both BYU and Ole Miss leaned heavily on the read-option, probably more than they’d planned going in, because Texas just didn’t defend it with correct reads, gap integrity and in-game adjustments.

“If you have the quarterback, you have to take the quarterback,” defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat said. “If you have the dive, you’ve got to take the dive. You have to do your job. It’s just little things in there. Some people, including myself, are trying to make plays and miss their job. We have to get back down to technique and do our job.”

Texas’ run defense now ranks third-worst in the nation. The unit has permitted 30 rushes of 10-plus yards, second-most in FBS. The BYU blowout inflated those stats, no doubt, but they are what they are.

Might fatigue be a contributing factor? The Longhorns' defense has been on the field for 255 snaps, more than any team in the country. They’ll face several more high-tempo teams now that Big 12 play has begun, making depth a must.

Brown likes his defensive line and is confident he has two future NFL defensive ends in Jeffcoat and Cedric Reed. Ole Miss usually struggled when those two got in the backfield and pressured Wallace. But it takes 11 guys playing their assignments effectively to make a defense really improve.

Robinson had only three practices last week, and because of that, Brown understood why his new coordinator had difficulty against the Rebels. He’s raising his expectations this week.

“We had more trouble making adjustments against their option than we should,” Brown said. “Hopefully that will be better this weekend, because we have six days to prepare for that instead of trying to get things lined up right. We didn't make the decision for Greg for last weekend. We made it for the Big 12 Conference.”

The first four Big 12 teams Texas faces all have quarterbacks with rushing days of 70-plus yards on their resumes. The option game isn’t going away, especially not after Ole Miss made it look so easy.

One of the most famous (and misquoted) sayings in American literature is Henry David Thoreau’s “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

What he actually wrote was that “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

Johnny Manziel has been known to recite a few of rapper Drake’s lyrics, but there’s no word on whether or not he’s into Thoreau.

What we do know, unequivocally, is that Manziel hardly falls into Thoreau’s mass of men.

The only desperation associated with Manziel is trying to collar him if you’re on defense.

We were reminded yet again last Saturday in Texas A&M’s 49-42 loss to Alabama why he’s so marvelously entertaining to watch.

It’s the same reason he was constantly in the news this offseason.

He’s unfazed by consequences, detests convention, and above everything else, is going to do things his way.

And not only does doing it his way make him one of the most must-see football players anywhere on the planet, it also makes him the ultimate game-changer in college football today.

Take Manziel and put him on any other team in the country with a legitimate defense, and that team instantly becomes a player in the national championship race.

That’s not a knock on AJ McCarron, Marcus Mariota, Teddy Bridgewater, Tajh Boyd, Todd Gurley or anybody else.

It’s simply validation, as one coach in the SEC told me this week, that Manziel is one of those rare players, especially now that he’s had a full season in the league, who can consistently take a play that is seemingly going nowhere and turn it into a 30-yard gain or even a touchdown.

He’s also one of those guys you just have to see live to fully appreciate him and to truly evaluate him.

One of the reasons he wasn’t a slam-dunk to win the Aggies’ quarterback starting job last preseason was that when defenders would get near him on the practice field, the whistle would typically blow.

That’s just the way it is with quarterbacks.

But Manziel’s brilliance is really just beginning when the whistle is about to blow. He never gives up on a play, never seems to get hemmed in and never takes his eyes off his receivers down the field.

The game tape doesn’t do him justice in terms of his quickness and escapability, something more and more coaches and players in this league are learning the hard way.

How it all translates to the next level remains to be seen, but the NFL is changing.

One longtime NFL insider equated Manziel to a basketball point guard and one of the best we’ve seen in this era.

“If you lay off, he drives it to the hoop, and if you try to pressure him, he dishes the pass off,” he said. “He just has an uncanny knack of getting the ball out of his hands without perfect mechanics sometimes like when he throws back across his body.

“There are times you think you’ve got him flushed, and he will spot a guy at the last second. But he also has a quick release, holds the ball high and is never out of a play.”

Manziel has already thrown 11 touchdown passes this season and didn’t even play the first half of the opener against Rice. His 562 yards of total offense against Alabama (the most ever by a player in an SEC game) means he’s averaging 444.8 yards of total offense over his last six games going back to the start of November last season.

In those six games, he’s accounted for 23 touchdowns.

The surest sign of a player’s greatness, especially an offensive player, is when defensive players start lining up to give him his props the way Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley did on Twitter after the game.

Most of us said during the summer, when all hell was breaking loose off the field that what Johnny Football needed was exactly that -- a little football.

Well, he’s got it -- and while we can debate endlessly on whether or not the NCAA took it easy on him for all those autographs he signed out of the goodness of his heart -- we football junkies can be grateful that he’s playing and not sitting.

Give Johnny Football his due. He’s worth the price of admission every time.

And, yes, worth the headaches, too.

After the win over Tulsa, Bob Stoops scoffed when asked if Blake Bell would be his starting quarterback at Notre Dame.

“Well, that’s pretty obvious, yeah,” the Oklahoma coach replied. “So much for your (quarterback) controversy.”

So much, indeed. The Sooners have found their quarterback -- just in time for the Fighting Irish.

In a 51-20 rout of the Golden Hurricane, Bell was tremendous replacing freshman Trevor Knight, who was injured and benched last week after back-to-back ineffective outings. Knight beat out Bell for the job during the preseason. But Bell will be OU’s starting quarterback for the foreseeable future.

He completed 27 of 37 passes for 413 yards and four touchdowns with no turnovers, breaking Sam Bradford's school passing yardage record (363) in a starting debut.

On top of that, Bell finished the game with a Total QBR of 96.7. According to ESPN Stats & Info, that was the highest QBR (before opponent adjustment) for any qualifying OU quarterback in one game since Bradford registered a 99.9 at Baylor in 2008.

Before Saturday, Bell’s reputation was hardly that of a competent passer. In fact his career Total QBR as a passer (pass attempts and sacks) was below 2. But against Tulsa, Bell’s Total QBR as a passer was 99.0, thanks in large part to six completions of more than 20 yards and only one negative play, a sack.

The Sooners, obviously, will face tougher competition ahead, notably in two weeks when they travel to South Bend, Ind.

But Bell’s performance gave OU plenty of confidence about its passing attack for the rest of the season while ending any semblances of controversy about who the Sooners’ quarterback will be moving forward.

If only Johnny Manziel could have played defense.

Well, I guess he could have, considering Texas coach Mack Brown recruited him as a safety coming out of high school. Oh, what a show it would have been if Johnny Football went from schooling Alabama's defense with his arm and legs to intercepting one of AJ McCarron's passes.

But that's for PlayStation enthusiasts. In real life, Manziel did everything he could have to give the Aggies a second consecutive victory over a No. 1-ranked Alabama team. Instead, we're left applauding him for arguably the best performance in a loss to date.

Yes, Manziel's ill-timed interceptions helped Alabama pull off the 49-42 victory in College Station, Texas, on Saturday, but when you look at how Manziel brought his team back and was probably a converted onside kick away from sending Saturday's shootout into overtime, you can't help but be impressed with just how good Manziel is.

His Heisman Trophy should have been enough. But after a controversial offseason, we felt we needed to see more. Manziel made sure we did.

We bashed Manziel for his offseason escapades. From hanging with Drake, chillin' with LeBron, golfing in paradise and getting wrapped up in an autograph-signing controversy, we didn't think Manziel had enough focus to duplicate his record-breaking 2012 performance. We expected more fizzle in his encore.

Boy, were we wrong. For having so much fun off the field, it's clear that when Manziel was around the football during the offseason and in fall camp, he was as focused as ever. He's grown as a passer and game manager. That actually might say more about him than anything. He really can mix business with pleasure and excel at both.

In the biggest game of his career, all Manziel did was throw for a school-record 464 yards with five touchdowns. He ran for another 98 yards. The 562 yards of total offense he registered against Alabama rank second all-time in SEC history.

When Alabama took what we all thought was a commanding 35-14 lead after Vinnie Sunseri intercepted Manziel and took his pass 73 yards to the house in the third quarter, Manziel shrugged and the Aggies drove 58 yards to make it 35-21. He then opened the fourth quarter with a four-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to make cut Alabama's lead to 42-28. Following a T.J. Yeldon fumble, Manziel hit Mike Evans for a 95-yard touchdown pass to make it 42-35.

After Manziel again drove down the field for a scoring drive to cut Alabama's lead to seven with 15 seconds remaining, he needed an onside kick to go his way. It didn't, but imagine if it did.

When we thought the pressure of the big game -- some dubbed as the new Game of the Century -- would get to him, he got to Alabama. And when Manziel had every opportunity to gloat and show up his opponent when the Aggies took an early 14-0 lead, he didn't. The taunting that tainted his short-lived debut in Week 1 was nowhere to be found.

Actually, it was Yeldon who was flagged for doing Manziel's patented money sign celebration and adding the infamous double throat slash.

For once, Manziel didn't play the role of villain. He just made play after play. He even had an Eli Manning-David Tyree moment when he somehow slipped out of Jeoffrey Pagan's attempted bear hug and heaved an errant pass off his back foot into traffic on third-and-8 that somehow found the mitts of wide receiver Edward Pope for a 12-yard gain.

But this wasn't just any 12-yard gain. The play began at Alabama's 34-yard line, but Manziel flamboyantly scampered around to avoid Pagan's sack before launching his pass from A&M's own 40 in front of four Tide defenders rushing toward him.

If that isn't the play of the year, it will only be because of some other wacky play Manziel makes later this season.

Manziel didn't win the game on Saturday, but he had to have won over many of the people saying he wasn't focused enough for another magical season.

So bring on the tweets, Johnny. Take a short trip to Toronto. Spend a night in Austin, Texas. It clearly isn't getting in the way of that thing called football.

Here are the Big 12's unsung heroes in Week 3.

Receiver Quenton Bundrage, Iowa State: Overshadowed by the Cyclones’ struggles against Iowa, Bundrage could be emerging as a go-to target for quarterback Sam Richardson. He finished with seven receptions for 146 yards and three touchdowns. Four of his catches resulted in first downs for the Cyclones. He could be a reassuring option for Iowa State's offense if he can be consistent for the rest of the season.

Safety Isaiah Johnson, Kansas: The junior college transfer had a strong showing against Rice. He had nine tackles, including seven solo stops, and one interception against the Owls. It was a disappointing 23-14 loss for the Jayhawks, but coach Charlie Weis praised the performance of his defense and hopes that unit will continue to play well when Big 12 play opens. Secondary play is critical in this league, and Johnson could help the Jayhawks in that regard.

Running back John Hubert, Kansas State: It’s odd to call Hubert an unsung hero, but the Wildcats’ use of their star running back should be noted. He’s gotten more opportunities to get the ball in space and has seen the ball more in the passing game since KSU's season-opening loss to North Dakota State. Hubert had 168 all-purpose yards (118 rushing, 50 receiving) and one touchdown in KSU’s 37-7 win over UMass. With KSU facing Texas this weekend, Hubert could be a key guy to watch for the Wildcats.

Cornerback Zack Sanchez, Oklahoma: Sanchez is quietly off to an outstanding start in the first three games of his college career. He had six tackles, including 0.5 tackles for loss, and one pass breakup against Tulsa. The redshirt freshman has been competitive, trustworthy and confident as the starter opposite All-Big 12 cornerback Aaron Colvin. Sanchez gone from potential weak link for the Sooners to a potential strength in the secondary.

Running back Jeremy Smith, Oklahoma State: The senior had the quietest three-touchdown performance in recent memory with 10 carries for 40 yards and three scores. Smith makes the list because he will be critical for the Cowboys offense moving forward. If he can continue to be a physical, slashing runner who takes the attention off quarterback J.W. Walsh, the entire field opens up for OSU’s offense on the ground and through the air.

Running back Johnathan Gray, Texas: Gray had a productive day against Ole Miss despite the Longhorns’ 44-23 loss. He finished with 19 carries for 91 yards and one touchdown while adding four receptions for 12 yards. The Longhorns leaned more on Gray with Daje' Johnson out, and the sophomore responded with a solid showing. Nonetheless, UT will need even more from Gray if it hopes to get the ship turned back in the right direction.

Defensive back Derrick Kindred, TCU: The sophomore, a backup safety, was all over the field in the Horned Frogs’ 20-10 loss to Texas Tech on Thursday. He finished with five tackles, including one tackle for loss, while adding an interception and a pass breakup. Playing in a defensive backfield that features big names like cornerback Jason Verrett and safety Elisha Olabode, Kindred is looking like he can provide quality depth in TCU’s secondary.

Safety Tre' Porter, Texas Tech: The Red Raiders senior was a key reason Texas Tech was able to limit TCU to 10 points. He had a team-high nine tackles, all solo. His ability to tackle in space and limit game-changing plays by opponents could be critical for the Red Raider defense when it starts facing Big 12 offenses. He was moved to safety to provide a consistent playmaker at that position for the Red Raiders, and that's exactly what he's done.

Defensive end Kyle Rose, West Virginia: Rose had six tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, and one sack for WVU in the Mountaineers' 41-7 win over Georgia State. The sophomore provided quality depth last season and could become a key contributor along the defensive line if he continues to play well. He could also help lessen the burden and double-team opportunities on defensive tackle Shaq Rowell in the middle.

Note: Baylor did not play in Week 3.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Coming into the season, there were plenty of questions about Texas A&M's defense.

It didn't seem much different from the circumstances a year ago. Defensive coordinator Mark Snyder even said, on the first day of preseason training camp, that the challenges were "exactly the same."

By the end of 2012 the results were positive, with the Aggies performing much better on defense than many expected. If they're to do the same in 2013, they still have a long way to go. The Aggies statistically are among the worst defenses in the nation after a 49-42 loss to No. 1 Alabama on Saturday at Kyle Field.

"We're going to learn a lot of lessons come Monday when we watch this film," Snyder said. "Lots of lessons."

They had better, because on Saturday, once Alabama got its footing, it seemed able to do whatever it pleased. The Crimson Tide finished with 568 offensive yards -- 334 passing and 234 rushing. After forcing a punt on Alabama's first drive of the game, the Aggies allowed four consecutive touchdown drives, all of which covered 75 yards or more. In the second half, the Tide had three drives of 65 yards or longer, two that turned into touchdowns and another where the Aggies forced a turnover near the goal line.

One thing that stuck out to Snyder was how many big plays the Tide hit on. More than half of Alabama's yards (280) came on plays that gained 15 yards or more. Alabama had 11 such plays in the game.

"We knew it was going to be a day of big plays," Snyder said. "And I'm sure when I go back and look at the film, if you count up the number of big plays and subtract that yardage, you have a pretty good day. That's something we're going to have to learn from."

The Aggies generated virtually no pressure against Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron. He was never sacked and the Aggies only recorded one quarterback hurry as a team, by defensive tackle Kirby Ennis. Pressure was one of the Aggies' strong suits last year behind the efforts of defensive end Damontre Moore, who now plays for the New York Giants.

"You can't let a great quarterback like AJ McCarron not even get hit or pressured at all," sophomore defensive end Julien Obioha said. "They ran a lot of play action, which doesn't help the defensive line get any pressure, but we've got to come up with a way to get pressure on the quarterback. He can't sit there all day. He's too good."

Senior defensive back Toney Hurd Jr. detailed the struggles of the secondary, which allowed a 44-yard touchdown pass on a fleaflicker and a 51-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the first half to Kenny Bell.

"First and foremost, hat's off to AJ McCarron and their offensive coordinator [Doug Nussmeier]," Hurd said. "They dialed up some great plays. In the back end, I feel like sometimes we had bad eyes. Sometimes we just didn't trust our keys and techniques and they got us on a few big plays. But I'm sure on Monday we'll get back to work and get those things figured out."

Defending the run wasn't much better for the Aggies and that's been a consistent problem through three games. A&M yielded 6.3 yards per rush attempt on Saturday and it marked the third consecutive game that the Aggies have allowed at least 200 rushing yards.

In their first two games, the Aggies were missing starters at defensive end (Gavin Stansbury), linebacker (Steven Jenkins) and cornerback (De'Vante Harris) because of suspensions. All three returned to the lineup against Alabama, but it didn't stem A&M's struggles.

"Give Alabama credit," Snyder said. "They did a nice job; they had some nice wrinkles. It's hard if you haven't been playing and you haven't seen them to kind of adjust to them. But that's no excuse. We have our guys back and we just have to play better, period."

As it stands currently, the Aggies rank 112th nationally in total defense (489 yards allowed per game), 111th in yards allowed per play (6.92), 115th in run defense (260 yards per game) and 81st on allowing third-down conversions (44 percent).

It's worth noting that the Aggies have a lot of youth and inexperience on the field after graduating key players and suffering a key injury (safety Floyd Raven). True freshman linebacker Jordan Mastrogiovanni made his first start Saturday; junior safety Clay Honeycutt was making only his second career start. There are 11 true freshmen on A&M's defensive two-deep roster. Growing pains are a part of the deal.

But they'll have to grow up quickly. A&M players and coaches spoke on Saturday of their lofty goals still being intact despite one loss. But the defense must improve significantly for them to have a chance at fulfilling those goals.

Snyder believes his unit has that opportunity.

"I told the kids, 'I know what it looks like and we've got a chance to be good,' " Snyder said. "I thought last year as the season went on, we learned [how to minimize big plays]. Our big-play numbers came down and we started playing better defense. So for us today, it was a matter of big plays on our side of the ball and allowed them to get into a groove running the ball once they got the lead."