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2012 record: 9-4
2012 conference record: 5-4 (third in the Big 12)
Returning starters: Offense: 10; defense: 9; kicker/punter: 1

Top returners: QB David Ash, RB Johnathan Gray, WR Mike Davis, WR Jaxon Shipley, LT Donald Hawkins, RT Josh Cochran, G Mason Walters, DE Jackson Jeffcoat, LB Jordan Hicks, CB Quandre Diggs, CB Carrington Byndom

Key losses: P Alex King, S Kenny Vaccaro, DE Alex Okafor, WR Marquise Goodwin

2012 statistical leaders (*returners)

Rushing: Johnathan Gray* (701 yards)
Passing: David Ash* (2,699 yards)
Receiving: Mike Davis* (939 yards)
Tackles: Kenny Vaccaro (107)
Sacks: Alex Okafor (12.5)
Interceptions: Quandre Diggs* (4)

Spring answers:

1. Under center: Texas has finally ended all the debate about its quarterback situation and settled on David Ash. While Ash has yet to be stellar in his first two years at Texas, the junior has steadily improved -- he was top 25 in pass efficiency rating in 2012 -- and has won the trust of new quarterbacks coach Major Applewhite. Applewhite believes Ash is the quarterback best suited to run the new up-tempo, spread attack.

2. Loaded at linebacker: One year after being the worst tackling team in the Big 12, Texas went into the spring looking to shore up its linebacker position. And it had plenty of options. Texas has seven linebackers who have started at least one game. Included in that group is Jordan Hicks, who is back after missing 10 games last year because of a hip injury. Hicks will team with true sophomores, Dalton Santos and Peter Jinkens for what should be a much faster and aggressive unit in 2013.

3. Along the lines: While there were a sprinkling of injuries along the offensive line this spring (Josh Cochran and Trey Hopkins), Texas appears to have finally solved the depth riddle at that position. Tackle Kennedy Estelle was able to get quality snaps and should prove to be a solid backup and Sedrick Flowers finally emerged as an option at guard. While Texas returns all five starter from a year ago along the line, the Longhorns know that in the new up-tempo offense it will have to lean heavily on these backups.

Fall questions

1. Speed thrills: Texas wants to move the ball fast. So fast that the offensive players were even taught how to quickly get the ball back to the official so that they could put it down and Texas could line up and run the next play. But Texas only decided it wanted to play this way in mid-December when there was a change in playcallers from Bryan Harsin to Applewhite. So Texas has only had a handful of practices to get up to speed. With a schedule that has Texas at BYU for the second game of the season there doesn’t appear to be much time to get things perfected.

2. Safety dance: Texas’ defense was the worst in school history and that was largely due to the play of the back seven on defense. And now the best player in that back seven, Kenny Vaccaro, is gone. He was a first-round draft pick. That has left Texas wondering who will step up and make some stop at the safety position. Adrian Phillips takes over for Vaccaro, but he was inconsistent last season. The coaches blamed a shoulder injury and the fact he missed the spring. Mykkele Thompson and Josh Turner also missed their share of tackles but both are being called on to be possible starters.

3. Receiving praise: Texas has not had a 1,000-yard receiver since Jordan Shipley in 2009. Mike Davis had 939 yards last year and appears poised to break the 1,000-yard mark this season. But to do that he will need help. And right now there are some questions as to where that help will come from. Texas wants to go with four wide receivers but two of the four players expected to fill those roles -- Cayleb Jones and Kendall Sanders -- are currently suspended because of legal issues. Both will probably be back. But even then, Texas is very thin at wide receiver and needs some other players to step up to help take the double teams away from Davis.

After Texas' dramatic Alamo Bowl comeback, Mack Brown sat down and explained the significance of the win to his team. After winning eight games in 2011 following a five-win disaster in 2010, reaching nine wins in 2012 was important.

Sure, it signified progress. It also wasn't enough.

"Nine’s not enough at Texas. They understand that the last three years are not acceptable," Brown said. "They’re not the standard that we set forth for many, many years. They’re not who we want to be. We want to go back and win the conference championship and get back in the mix for the national championship, and at Texas, our expectations are obviously to win every game."

Brown is done calling his team "young" for a while. He still lacks a huge, experienced senior class, but quarterback David Ash, receiver Jaxon Shipley and running back Malcolm Brown have matured into juniors entering their third seasons as starters, and four starters return on the offensive line. Texas' 17 returning starters are the most in the Big 12.

"It’s been a fun couple of years and a tough couple of years for us getting it back on track, but I think we’re about to reap some rewards for those hard Saturdays," Brown said.

Brown would love to string together nine consecutive 10-win seasons, as he did earlier in his career, but has said on several occasions that while the losses aren't enjoyable, the process of rebuilding is more fun for him than trying to maintain an established team. Still, re-establishing the program and winning big is the end goal, and entering 2013 that looks like a realistic goal.

"That’s the reason (our players) came to Texas. That’s what they expect. They know that they want to please their fan base, and coaches understand as well that they didn’t come to Texas to win nine games," Brown said. "Everybody’s on the same page and everybody wants to win every game."

Lopsided losses to co-Big 12 champions Oklahoma and Kansas State showed how far Texas had to go to reclaim its status as a Big 12 title contender. The Longhorns can't afford close losses like they had to West Virginia and TCU last season, both at home.

The rebuilding job has been a success in filling the depth chart with quality talent and depth, but the Longhorns still have to prove they can be the best team on the field in every game (or close to every game) as they did for much of the 2000s, when Texas won a pair of Big 12 titles under Brown and played for a pair of national titles, winning one.

"We hope we’re getting ready to start that kind of run again," Brown said, "but it’s easier to build one than to keep one."

I'd peg receiver as the Big 12's strongest position in 2012, with lots of elite talent and a whole lot of depth, too. We'll continue our postseason position rankings with the guys who catch it.

Here's what you've missed so far:

• Quarterbacks
• Running backs

1. Terrance Williams, Baylor: Williams led the nation in receiving yards, with 1,832 yards and 12 touchdowns on 97 catches. He can do whatever you want him to do. He's big enough to box out defenders and be a possession receiver who fights for the ball, but he's speedy enough to stretch the field and break the big play. NFL first-round talent.

2. Stedman Bailey, West Virginia: Bailey was a touchdown machine who racked up 25 scores this season, more than Justin Blackmon or Michael Crabtree did in any of the four Biletnikoff Award-winning seasons between them. He caught a league-high 114 balls for 1,622 yards and played through a painful ankle injury in the middle of the season.

3. Tavon Austin, West Virginia: Let me be clear about this: I think you could arrange the top three on this list in any order and have a really, really compelling case. Don't let me stop you. I think Austin is a better overall player than anybody on this list, but this is a ranking of guys as receivers. When we're talking pure receiving talent, I've got to go with Austin at No. 3. That's nothing to be ashamed of. The guys ahead of him were Biletnikoff finalists. He also caught 114 passes, for 1,289 yards and 12 scores.

4. Josh Stewart, Oklahoma State: I've written a lot about Stewart this offseason, but he was probably the most improved and underrated player in the league. OSU needed a No. 1 target, and that was Stewart last season. He finished with 101 catches for 1,210 yards and seven scores.

5. Darrin Moore, Texas Tech: Moore's probably the most physical guy on this list. The 6-foot-4, 216-pounder hauled in 13 touchdown catches and caught 92 balls for 1,032 yards to become the first Tech receiver to surpass 1,000 yards since Crabtree back in 2008.

6. Eric Ward, Texas Tech: Granted, Ward did that whole 1,000-yard thing in Lubbock, too. He caught 82 balls for 1,053 yards and 12 touchdowns. He's not quite as physically gifted as Moore, but he's been Tech's most consistent receiver throughout his career there.

7. Kenny Stills, Oklahoma: Stills was disappointed with his season -- and it was a touch underwhelming -- but he still had a solid showing in a receiving unit that lacked a truly elite target but had a handful of very good receivers for Landry Jones. Stills caught 82 balls for 959 yards and 11 scores before electing to leave for the NFL early. He had a good career at OU, but never cracked the 1,000-yard threshold.

8. Chris Harper, Kansas State: Harper's numbers don't tell you the full story. He's one of the best route-runners in the entire league and might have the best hands, too. K-State's offense limits his targets, but he still caught 58 balls for 857 yards and three touchdowns.

9. Tevin Reese, Baylor: Reese was the most dangerous deep threat in the league outside of teammate Williams. Austin did his damage after catching the ball, but Reese caught eight passes longer than 40 yards this season. That was third in the league, and he finished with 58 catches for 857 yards and three touchdowns.

10. Mike Davis, Texas: Davis broke out in his junior season and could be due for a big senior year after catching 57 balls for 939 yards and seven scores. His 16.5 yards per catch were third among receivers with at least 30 catches, and Davis clearly helped (and benefited from) David Ash's growth as a passer and confidence to stretch the field.

Honorable mention: Jalen Saunders, Oklahoma; Josh Boyce, TCU; Tramaine Thompson, Kansas State; Jaxon Shipley, Texas; Justin Brown, Oklahoma; Tyler Lockett, Kansas State.

We're grading each Big 12 team's season right now, and we'll move on to the next team on the list: The Oklahoma State Cowboys.

OFFENSE: It was obvious from the start that this offense would only go as far as David Ash would take them, and the offense looked really, really strong in the first four games, including wins on the road against Ole Miss and Oklahoma State. He played well against West Virginia, but the wheels came off for everything in a blowout loss to Oklahoma. Ash was benched against KU and Case McCoy rescued a win, and McCoy got some run against TCU and K-State when Ash suffered a rib injury. Ash was OK this year, but has to eliminate the rough outings. The receivers were solid, but the running game still has yet to become the force that the raw talent at running back suggests it should be. It's been good, but the Longhorns still keep their backs healthy. The offense was better this year and earned Bryan Harsin a head-coaching job at Arkansas State, but there's a lot of room for improvement for this unit. GRADE: B-

DEFENSE: This is where it could get ugly, considering we generally grade these units on a curve relative to the talent present. Texas looked like a runaway candidate for the Big 12's best defense. The defensive line was beastly and deep at defensive tackle, and the linebackers were young, albeit promising. The secondary returned all of its best talents and Kenny Vaccaro and cornerbacks Carrington Byndom and Quandre Diggs could arguably be considered the Big 12's No. 1 and No. 2 corners. That was in the preseason, though. Texas never found much ability to slow the run, and Diggs and Byndom were disappointments compared to their 2011 seasons. The linebackers had to deal with the loss of leader Jordan Hicks for most of the season, so they get somewhat of a pass, and the defensive line recovered well from the loss of Jackson Jeffcoat. Alex Okafor was one of the Big 12's best defenders, but that inability to stop the run cost the Longhorns. GRADE: C-

OVERALL: That 4-0 start had plenty of folks, myself included, thinking Texas was back. The loss the following week to a top-10 West Virginia team (back then, anyway) was nothing to be ashamed of. That Red River loss, though, cast a huge shadow over the season and even a late four-game winning streak and a big win on the road at Texas Tech couldn't erase that. A Thanksgiving night disastrous loss to TCU might have repercussions on the recruiting trail in the future, and the Longhorns weren't ready to play 60 minutes with Kansas State, who ran away in the second half. The bowl win over Oregon State was Texas' best win of the season, but in a season in which Texas hoped to be back, it simply wasn't enough. Nine wins doesn't cut it at Texas. GRADE: C+

More Big 12 report cards:

• Baylor
• Iowa State
• Kansas
• Kansas State
• Oklahoma
• Oklahoma State

Texas receiver Mike Davis plans to forego his final year of eligibility and enter the NFL draft, colleague Joe Schad reported on Thursday.

From Schad's report:

"This is about my family and finances," Davis said. "It's a good time to take it to the next level. I enjoyed my time playing for Texas and it meant a lot to me."

Davis, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, had 57 catches for 939 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

He has been told he may be a third-round draft choice though he hopes to improve upon it.

Davis is physically gifted, but it's definitely a bit of a surprise to see him go. He has a great shot at an NFL future, and if his family needs it, then so be it. Every decision is different, and those factors must be considered for some. Congrats to him.

Texas' Jaxon Shipley will likely be the Longhorns' top receiver next season, but the rest of the unit will need to grow up fast without Davis to help quarterback David Ash this offseason and next year.

Time to hand out some superlatives from the week that was around the Big 12:

Best offensive performance: David Ash, QB, Texas. Ash took care of business against Iowa State, bouncing back after some struggles earlier in conference play. He completed a 47-yard pass to start the game on a trick play out of the wishbone formation. More on that in a bit. His day only got better. He completed his first 11 passes and finished with 364 yards and two touchdowns on 25-of-31 passing.

Best defensive performance: Meshak Williams, DE, Kansas State. Williams was everywhere for Kansas State in the Big 12's most dominant defensive performance of the weekend, a 23-10 win over TCU in Fort Worth. He had a pair of sacks and three tackles for loss among his seven stops. Those three TFLs accounted for a loss of 28 yards, too. Williams also batted down a pass. Honorable mention: Lyndell Johnson, LB, Oklahoma State.

Best game: Texas Tech 41, Kansas 34, 2OT. Another week, another OT thriller. This one, though, lacked the presence of TCU. All three Big 12 overtime games have gone multiple extra periods, but Tech's game-winning score came on a cheeky halfback jump pass from Eric Stephens to Darrin Moore. The Jayhawks erased a double-digit, fourth-quarter deficit to send the game into overtime, but once again, the Jayhawks came up just short from ending their painful Big 12 losing streak.

Best quote: Gary Patterson, to Bill Snyder after K-State, Patterson's alma mater, knocked off TCU in Fort Worth to go 10-0. "Go win it all," he said.

Best team performance: Texas. It started with a fantastic tribute to Darrell Royal, but the Longhorns' evisceration of Iowa State was as complete a beating as you'll see in a Big 12 game not involving Kansas. Texas' defensive woes looked like a distant memory as the offense outgained the Cyclones by more than 300 yards and won the turnover battle 2-0. The Longhorns had the ball almost twice as long as ISU, ran the ball well and played amazingly efficient offense. Add it up, and you get the worst beating Iowa State's received all year. No small feat. Honorable mention: Kansas State

Worst overall performance: West Virginia's special teams. What a nightmare for this unit. Two different kicks took odd bounces, hit WVU players and were recovered by Oklahoma State to account for both of WVU's turnovers. Another play resulted in a touchback when four different WVU special-teamers got greedy and decided to let a punt bounce one more time. That's a 20-yard mistake, and eight plays later, OSU capitalized with a touchdown to go ahead 48-34. Does that happen if OSU is pinned inside its 5-yard line? It's worth asking.

Worst explanation: Tommy Tuberville. Hey, only Tuberville knows exactly what he was trying to do when he aggressively swiped the headset off a graduate assistant on the sideline in the middle of giving him an earful. His explanation, though, that he was trying to get him off the field and meant to grab his shirt simply doesn't line up with what the video clearly shows. There was no urgency on the part of Tuberville to get the assistant off the field, and he missed his shirt by a long, long way with the swipe. I don't believe Tuberville deserves any truly serious punishment for an incident that looked worse than it actually was, but his explanation was an insult to viewers' vision and intelligence.

Best play: Jaxon Shipley/David Ash/Greg Daniels, Texas. The Longhorns announced to the world what formation they would open up in, and gained 47 yards anyway. Ash pitched it to Shipley out of the wishbone, a three-back formation popularized by legendary Texas coach Darrell Royal, who died last week. The Longhorns made the move as a tribute to Royal. Shipley threw the ball back to Ash in the backfield, who found Daniels for a 47-yard gain. There was irony in doing so in honor of a coach who said that only three things can happen when you pass the ball, and two of 'em are bad, but this one was very, very good for the Horns.

Most deserving of a thank-you card: Texas A&M. Kansas State looked likely to get squeezed out of the title game by Alabama and Oregon if the Tide, Ducks and Cats all went undefeated. Then the Big 12 expats knocked off the No. 1 team in the country on its home field. Snyder owes you one, Kevin Sumlin and Johnny Football.

Here's what I saw on a Saturday full of surprises across the Big 12 in Week 9:

Best offensive performance: Steele Jantz, QB, Iowa State. Cry about Baylor's defense all you want, but Jantz had to complete the passes. He had a huge career day, completing 36 of 53 passes for 381 yards and five touchdowns with an interception in ISU's 35-21 win over Baylor. He also ran for 54 yards on 10 carries.

Best defensive performance: Elisha Olabode, S, TCU. The Frogs safety had a huge day with 10 tackles and a forced fumble. His biggest play, though, was an 11-yard interception return for a touchdown that put TCU up 7-0 early.

Best team performance: Kansas State. Another top-15 team, another dominant performance from the Wildcats, who rode a huge second-half surge to a head-turning 55-24 win over Texas Tech. K-State made it look easy in the second half.

Best game: Texas 21, Kansas 17. This one was unwatchable for the first three-and-a-half quarters, but you've got to love some late drama. No other Big 12 game this week had it. KU kicked a go-ahead field goal with 2:28 to play, but Case McCoy entered in relief and rallied the Longhorns to a dramatic comeback, highlighted by a fourth-down conversion to Jaxon Shipley. More on that later.

Best quote: Tony Jefferson, S, Oklahoma. "I hate this. I hate this feeling." Sometimes, a few words says all you need to know. Simple, but poignant from the Sooners' star after a frustrating 30-13 loss to Notre Dame at home.

Worst play: Kansas State's latest red zone disaster. Facing a third-and-goal and the game tied at 10, Kansas State handed the ball off to Angelo Pease, who stopped short of the line of scrimmage and attempted a jump pass. The only problem? He was hit as he threw it, and it was some sort of weird two-handed, overhead toss that fell incomplete. Ugly stuff, and this is the second time this year K-State has earned this nod for a play in the red zone. Earlier this year, Collin Klein attempted a behind-the-back jump pass for a huge loss. At least K-State made the field goal this time. It missed it after the disaster against Miami.

Dirtiest play: Cyril Richardson, OL, Baylor. There are plenty of ways to get a player off you. Kicking them in the groin should be nowhere on that list. Richardson kicked upward and connected with the groin of Iowa State's Brandon Jensen, earning himself an ejection and helping prevent the Bears from scoring on the early fourth-quarter drive.

Best play: Case McCoy x 2. The first ignited a game-winning drive that hardly even started. McCoy found Shipley over the middle for an 18-yard gain to keep the Horns alive. Later in the drive, he found Mike Davis over the top for a 39-yard gain to set up Joe Bergeron's game-winning touchdown in the Horns' 21-17 win over Kansas.

Best special-teams performance: Quinn Sharp, P/K, Oklahoma State. Sharp made five field goals and pinned TCU inside its 20-yard line on two of his five punts. Nice day.

Worst team performance: Texas. Even with the win, I can't let the Horns off the hook here. Kansas has lost 17 consecutive Big 12 games now, but outplayed the Horns and held them to just seven points over the first 3 1/2 quarters on Saturday. Texas had 60 more penalty yards and needed a dramatic rally, despite winning the turnover battle 3-1. It also made an inexplicable switch to McCoy after David Ash struggled early. Once McCoy was in the game, Texas ran seven consecutive running plays on a touchdown drive, and now may have a quarterback controversy on its hands. That said, it should just play Ash.

Time to hand out some hardware for a job well done on Saturday across the Big 12.

Case McCoy, QB, Texas: Sometimes, all you need is one drive. McCoy replaced David Ash late in Saturday's 21-17 victory over Kansas, and led the Horns on a touchdown drive with seven consecutive runs in his first action. More was required of him on the next drive, and he delivered. He hit Jaxon Shipley for 18 yards on a fourth-and-6 to extend the game-winning drive, and found Mike Davis down the left sideline over the top for 39 yards. Once he got his chance, he made the most of it and saved Texas from an embarrassing loss to KU.

Collin Klein, QB, Kansas State: Optimus Klein is making this a weekly tradition. The Heisman frontrunner did it again against a top-15 team, one with the Big 12's top-ranked defense. He ran for two scores and threw for two more in the 55-24 win, rushing for 83 yards and completing 19 of 26 passes for 233 yards. Klein led the second-half charge for the Wildcats, who outscored Texas Tech 42-14 after intermission.

Quinn Sharp, K, Oklahoma State: Death by 1,000 paper cuts ... or five field goals. Sharp was money in a 36-14 win over TCU, nailing all five of his field goals and three extra points. His longest kick was just 34 yards ... but still. The game was out of reach because Sharp made it so. He also pinned two of his five punts inside the 20 and averaged 42.8 yards on those kicks.

Steele Jantz, QB, Iowa State: Jantz had a career night in a big spot for the Cyclones, tossing five touchdown passes and accounting for more than 400 yards of offense. He completed 36 of 52 passes for 381 yards and ran for 54 yards on 10 carries in the Cyclones' 35-21 victory over Baylor.

Joseph Randle, RB, Oklahoma State: TCU's defense is no joke, but Randle carried the Oklahoma State offense through a shaky day from freshman Wes Lunt, who made his return from a knee injury. His longest run of the game was only 12 yards, but he carried the ball a career-high 32 times for 126 yards and a touchdown. He also had 37 receiving yards. Quite the workhorse day against a physical defense.

Texas and West Virginia have a pair of quarterbacks leading the nation in passer rating.

That's no big surprise for the Mountaineers' Geno Smith, who earned a nod as the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year without playing a down in his new conference.

But the Longhorns' David Ash? No Big 12 quarterback had worse numbers a year ago, and he ranked last in the Big 12 in passer rating as a true freshman.

Smith and Ash had different stories entering the season, but through four games, they have one big thing in common: They're getting a lot of help from a corps of receivers who have been overshadowed by their quarterbacks' accomplishments.

That, and they'll both be playing Saturday night in Austin, Texas, when West Virginia heads to Texas for its first Big 12 road trip.

"You start looking at all three receivers, Marquise Goodwin, Mike Davis and Jaxon Shipley. They’ve helped us so much," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "[Receivers coach] Darrell Wyatt's got them blocking downfield, maybe more than ever before. They're very unselfish."

Shipley hauled in three touchdowns in the Longhorns' 41-36 win over Oklahoma State, but Davis had one of the game's biggest plays, catching a jump ball for 32 yards to set up Joe Bergeron's game-winning, albeit disputed, touchdown run.

Ash said after a 66-point outburst against Ole Miss that he was the "master of the underthrow," but his receivers made him look good, turning questionable accuracy into touchdowns.

Goodwin caught only two passes against the Rebels but turned them into 102 yards and a touchdown. He carried the ball just twice but rushed for 80 yards, highlighted by a 69-yard touchdown run.

"It's been a different guy that seems to get the ball in his hands each week, and they've caught the balls when they're thrown to them," Brown said. "This time last year, I don't think Marquise had even caught a pass. He was just trying to learn the offense. Mike Davis stayed hurt all year, and Jaxon Shipley was a true freshman.

"One of the reasons we're playing better on offense is all three of those receivers have really stepped forward."

At West Virginia, though? High octane has become even higher octane. Anybody who saw Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin a year ago had high expectations, and they've exceeded them.

"They made a lot of plays last year. You guys didn’t see it because of the different conference and all that, but you're still talking about two returning 1,000-yard receivers who made a lot of plays at a pretty high level," coach Dana Holgorsen said. "Year 2 in this system obviously helps, and just the rapport that they've got with Geno is helping as well."

The duo combined to catch 27 passes and make up 518 of Smith's 656 passing yards in last Saturday's 70-63 win over Baylor. Austin leads the nation in receptions per game, and he has topped his previous week's reception totals and receiving yards each week of the season.

Bailey and Austin are No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, nationally in receiving yards per game, behind only Baylor's Terrance Williams.

"The rapport they have with Geno is going a long ways," Holgorsen said. "They've been hanging out together for going on four years now, been playing a whole lot of football now for four years, and Geno and Stedman goes back even further than that."

The former high school teammates have hooked up for 10 of Smith's 20 touchdowns. Smith leads the nation in touchdown passes by four. Bailey's caught three more touchdowns than anybody in the country. Who's No. 2? Well, it just happens to be Austin (tied with USC's Marqise Lee and New Mexico State's Austin Franklin).

"There's a lot of reasons why things are working the way they are. It's always about what have you done lately and all that," Holgorsen said. "In addition to those guys, the O-line is playing tremendous. Joey Madsen’s probably had his best game since he's been here, and he's going on being a four-year starter. We've got some pretty good experience up front, and Year 2 in this system makes everybody a little more comfortable as well."

For Austin and Bailey, it shows. The same is true for Shipley, Goodwin and Davis in Year 2 under new coordinator Bryan Harsin in Austin.

Texas and West Virginia have seen better quarterback play than anybody in the country so far. It's clear, though, that neither has done it alone.

Not everybody can get a helmet sticker, and not everybody can get a mention in our weekend rewind. Still, there are plenty of performances worth mentioning. That's what we have game balls for.

Joseph Randle, RB, Oklahoma State: The guy broke about 17 tackles on his first touch of the night, running through and around Texas' vaunted defense for a 69-yard touchdown that ignited the Boone Pickens Stadium crowd and showed Texas early that it wouldn't have an easy night in Stillwater. Randle finished with 199 yards and two scores on 25 carries, including going full on truck mode in Oklahoma State's last scoring drive of the night to take the lead. He also caught a pair of passes for 12 yards.

Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia: Yes, somehow we made it through helmet stickers and weekend rewind without mentioning a dude who caught 14 passes for 215 yards and a pair of touchdowns. That's what happens when you have a game like West Virginia and Baylor did, combining for 133 points and more than 1,500 yards of offense. Crazy game. Austin made a ton of plays for the Mountaineers, even though the spotlight shone more brightly on his quarterback, Geno Smith, and teammate Stedman Bailey on Saturday.

Jaxon Shipley, WR, Texas: It's an all-offense set of game balls this week, and Shipley gets the last of the bunch. He caught all three of David Ash's touchdown passes on Saturday night in the 41-36 win over Oklahoma State. He finished with five catches for 82 yards, but the scores made the difference. He hauled in a deep ball for a 44-yard score to open the game for the Horns, and got open on a wheel route for a 20-yard score, giving him two in the fourth quarter. Late in the third quarter, he gave the Longhorns a 28-20 lead after going up and grabbing a seven-yard score on a fade route.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- This time, there was no time for David Ash to lean on his running game. A go-ahead touchdown drive with seven runs and two short passes didn't put Texas ahead for long enough, and down two points, Texas had 2 minutes, 34 seconds to become the first team to win in Stillwater since Oklahoma won a Big 12 South title at Boone Pickens Stadium in 2010.

The Longhorns sideline wasn't lacking for confidence in the eventual 41-36 victory over Oklahoma State that sent Texas to 4-0 and, most likely, into the top 10.

Texas coach Mack Brown was clear with his defense on the previous drive: "Hold them to a field goal, and we're going to win the game," he said.

"We were going to win the game," running back D.J. Monroe said. "That's just our mentality."

Ash stared a fourth-and-6 in the face with the Cowboys crowd louder than it had been all night. With three receivers on his left, Ash dropped back and hit D.J. Grant over the middle for a 29-yard gain on a play he admitted after the game was his first read all along.

The Cowboys were taking away the sidelines and his check-down throws to running backs. He had to get adventurous and test the middle of OSU's defense.

"It was not a time to be scared to make a mistake," Ash said. "It was a time to give it everything you had."

Two plays later, Ash indulged receiver Mike Davis, who, earlier in the night, begged him for a another chance after dropping what would have been a long touchdown grab. Blanketed by a future NFL cornerback in Justin Gilbert, Ash let it fly. Davis hauled in a jump ball for a 32-yard gain down to the 5-yard-line and Texas was officially in position to log the biggest victory for the program since a Big 12 title win at Cowboys Stadium over Nebraska all the way back in 2009.

"He will not be under any more pressure than this, and he couldn't have done this this time last year. He's really grown up," Brown said. "He's the leader of this football team."

When it was over, Brown joined his quarterback for a triumphant trot past a delirious pocket of Texas fans in the northeast corner of the stadium. Both flashed a "Hook 'Em" hand sign on their way to the locker room with a feeling that has been all too unfamiliar in Austin these past few years.

One drive to win a game, and Texas' quarterback led it to victory.

"It's a lot of fun. When you grow up and learn the position, it's what you dream of. What you lay down at night thinking about," Ash said. "Joe Montana, Joe Cool. Tom Brady. The guys that did it in the clutch."

Texas' brand-new quarterback grew up Saturday night. It's one thing to stay calm in blowouts against New Mexico or even on the road at Ole Miss. It's another to do so on the road against a team that beat you at home in each of the past two seasons on the way to 23 wins in two years. It's another to do so against that team facing a game-deciding drive when the probability of a loss is high.

Ash's teammates couldn't stop talking about his poise and composure in the difficult, frenzied environment.

"He stayed real composed the whole time and that's how we like him," Monroe said. "We don't like him to get all frustrated. We like him to stay the David Ash that we know: quiet, calm and collected."

He finished 30-of-37 for 304 yards, and three touchdowns, just one fewer touchdown than he threw all of last season.

"The four games this year, he's been near perfect," Brown said. "He's run the offense well and he didn't get flustered tonight, even with the sacks, because we didn't do as many things up front well offensively."

He also threw his first interception of the season, but he bounced back to lead the Longhorns to a pair of go-ahead drives in the fourth quarter, including the final one that clinched the win. After the interception, Texas scored touchdowns on three of its final four drives.

"Last year, he had bad body language. He was hard on himself," Brown said. "He moved on, forgot it and left it alone."

Texas was better off for it on Saturday night, and the scoreboard showed the evidence.

"He's a lot more mature, and he makes better reads," said receiver Jaxon Shipley, who caught all three of Ash's touchdown passes. "He's always had a great arm, but he's making a lot better decisions this year."

That will lead to plenty more outcomes like Texas saw Saturday, and maybe even a few more heroics.

Texas survived a back-and-forth 41-36 thriller in Stillwater, Okla., to move to 4-0 on the season.

It was over when: Oklahoma State wide receiver Charlie Moore was knocked out of bounds on the final whistle. The Cowboys took a 36-34 lead with 2:34 left in the game, but Texas came right back with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to secure its biggest victory of the season yet.

Game ball goes to: David Ash delivered his signature moment as quarterback of the Longhorns, leading Texas on a fourth-quarter touchdown drive to win the game. During the final drive, Ash coolly hit D.J. Grant on fourth-and-6 for a 29-yard first down, and lofted a pass to Mike Davis 32 yards to the Oklahoma State 5-yard line.

Stat of the game: Texas was lethal on third and fourth downs. The Longhorns converted 9 of 17 third downs, and all three of their fourth-down attempts, including Ash’s crucial completion to Grant. Texas has been tremendous on third down all season and Saturday night was no different.

Unsung hero of the game: Ash’s favorite target, Jaxon Shipley, had only five receptions. But three of them went for touchdowns. Shipley burned the Cowboys secondary twice for scores in the first quarter, then went up and snagged his third touchdown on a jump ball to give the Longhorns a 28-20 lead in the third quarter.

What it means: Texas’ victory sets up a showdown with undefeated West Virginia in Austin next weekend. The winner could be in the driver’s seat in what’s becoming a wide-open Big 12 race.

The Big 12 schedule is pretty awful this week, but here's the game with the highest likelihood of going the way nobody expects.

My pick: Texas at Ole Miss

The Longhorns go on the road for the first time this season, and will arrive in Oxford, Miss., as 10.5-point favorites. Texas should win, but there's no doubt about it: the Longhorns are untested to this point in the season. Slow starts against Wyoming and New Mexico don't cost much, but Texas must play well against Ole Miss or risk the upset.

The Longhorns are loaded with youth -- quarterback David Ash, running backs Joe Bergeron and Malcolm Brown and receiver Jaxon Shipley are all sophomores. To their credit, they all played well on the road in 2011. Texas dominated in wins over UCLA and Iowa State.

The Longhorns' road warriors also won a game at Texas A&M in one of the toughest atmospheres in recent Big 12 history to close the season. The lone road losses of the season came to Missouri and Baylor.

But this is a new year and a new Ole Miss team, complete with more dynamic weapons, most notably juco transfer quarterback Bo Wallace. Texas thought enough of him to briefly recruit him last January, but eventually backed off and Wallace went to Ole Miss. Through two games, he's completed 76 percent of his passes for 438 yards, five touchdowns and just one interception.

Last Saturday, he tossed two touchdown passes longer than 50 yards in a 28-10 win over UTEP, the same UTEP team who gave Big 12 favorite Oklahoma fits for three quarters in its season-opening loss.

By no means is Ole Miss a great team, but the Rebels are capable of knocking off Texas, especially considering the Longhorns don't have an offense that can hang 40-50 points at will, and know the scoreboard will be lit up every week. Who knows how big the margin of error is for the Longhorns' playmaking defense?

One or two busts in the secondary? One or two Ash interceptions or Brown and Bergeron fumbles? It'll be a ball game.

Texas will win if it takes care of business. If it starts slow again? Or if turnovers and defensive miscues become factors?

Prepare for the upset.

Texas coaches made it clear heading into the season: They weren't afraid to play both David Ash and Case McCoy.

So far, they haven't. In two convincing wins, Ash has been on the field for nearly every meaningful snap and it doesn't look like that'll change.

Why? Ash has earned it.

Through two games, he's completed 36 of 49 passes (73 percent), without an interception. Only West Virginia's Geno Smith has completed a higher percentage of his passes (at least 15 attempts), though Ash is sixth in the Big 12 in passing yardage, with 377 yards.

It'll get more difficult, but for now, Ash has done what Texas' coaches needed him to do: Move the chains and not turn the ball over.

What about the deep ball? Texas would like to be more explosive, but coach Mack Brown doesn't sound too worried about Ash's lack of big plays so far.

"I'm really not [concerned], because the short ones are working. Then it doesn't matter. When they take the short ones away, you get more long ones, to be honest with you," Brown told reporters this week, adding that the Longhorns missed on a long ball to start the 45-0 win over New Mexico on Saturday. "It was wide open. We need to hit that one. We took a couple of other shots that were wide open. But they were playing way off us."

Ash's longest completion in the season's first week was just 16 yards, to Jaxon Shipley. Ash completed a 45-yard touchdown pass to Daje Johnson on a short "flair" pass, but he also threw a 22-yarder to Mike Davis.

His biggest play of the year to date? A 49-yard scamper for a score on 4th-and-1 last week against New Mexico that opened the game's scoring.

Through two games, Ash has three touchdowns without an interception, but he'll get a tougher test this week on the road against Ole Miss, though the 2-0 Rebels are picked to finish last in the SEC West.

"We won't take them lightly, because they look good on video and they're undefeated. That is the thing that helps you going in. I think the thing is that the SEC winning the national championships, as of late, has made them a 'media darling.' So our players hear nothing but SEC all the time," Brown said.

On Saturday, unlike all of last season, expect to hear nothing but Ash at the Texas quarterback spot.

Time for our second round of predictions after a perfect round in Week 1.

This week, I'm heading north to the Little Apple. Prepare yourselves, Kansas State fans. It's been a little while since I've been to Manhattan, but I'll be covering the Wildcats' game against the U in person. Should be a fun trip.

On to this week's picks!

Last week: 9-0 (1.000)

Season record: 9-0 (1.000)

No. 21 Kansas State 27, Miami 20: Miami's offense looked solid in Week 1, but Kansas State is much better than BC. I'm not a big believer in Stephen Morris -- or the Hurricane defensive line's ability to slow Kansas State's running game. Collin Klein has to log a whole lot more than the 12 carries he got last week, but the Wildcats muscle out another win, and Klein tops 100 yards rushing.

Iowa 31, Iowa State 30: I wanted to pick Iowa State badly in this one. My gut's telling me to do it. Iowa is a middling Big Ten squad and the Cyclones have more playmakers than they get credit for with Shontrelle Johnson and Steele Jantz. My head, though? I just couldn't do it. These defensive lines are going to get dominated in the running game, but the Hawkeyes hold home field and give the Big 12 its first loss of the season. James Vandenburg makes the throws he has to make to get the win.

Kansas 38, Rice 20: KU got a win last week, but the Jayhawks are capable of playing a whole lot better. They do. Tony Pierson has another huge game and Dayne Crist gets his completion percentage back over 60. Confidence is building in Lawrence.

No. 17 TCU 59, Grambling State 13: The Tigers lost a heartbreaker last week in the final minutes to Alcorn State. It's not getting any better. The atmosphere in this one should be electric. The game itself? Bring a pillow, friends.

Texas Tech 37, Texas State 24: Danger, Will Robinson! Danger! For a while, anyway. I don't know what to make of Texas State, but it took some time for Tech to regain its footing last week against Northwestern State. I think the Red Raiders take care of business in this one with a strong second half, but on the road against a hyped crowd and a team hungry to prove something? Not many teams are immune to that kind of thing. Tech wears down the Bobcats late.

No. 5 Oklahoma 58, Florida A&M 3: Good grief, I hate games against FCS teams.

No. 15 Texas 41, New Mexico 13: More interesting game here than it seems. Still want to see more from David Ash, and for now, the defense doesn't really matter. Mike Davis and Jaxon Shipley can run by the Lobos' defense, but can Ash find them?

No. 16 Oklahoma State 44, Arizona 21: Why didn't I put OSU on upset alert this week? Going on the road as a double-digit favorite against a Pac-12 team? My instincts tell me OSU is a lot better than anybody thinks ... and Arizona is a lot worse. Pokes make it 3-for-3 in routs against the Wildcats in three different stadiums over the past 16 games. Wes Lunt hits 300 yards. Joseph Randle goes for 100 and two scores.