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Alabama might have fallen to No. 2 in ESPN colleague Mark Schlabach's Way-Too-Early Preseason Top 25, but I'd like to think that most of the college football world still considers the Crimson Tide to be the favorites to win the national championship again.

Alabama lost nine draft picks, including three first-rounders, but Nick Saban has a host of talent returning on both sides of the ball, and the Tide's schedule isn't too daunting after the first two games.

But there are teams that will test the Tide's road to a national championship trifecta in 2013. Colleague Travis Haney picked five teams from around the country that could challenge Alabama's title hopes this fall. Ohio State topped his list, while Texas A&M made it from the SEC.

No surprise there with the Aggies. Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel returns with a bundle of riches to accompany him in the Aggies' backfield.

Johnny Football might not have Luke Joeckel protecting him, but Jake Matthews provides quite the safety net with his move to left tackle, and there is still talent and experience up front. Mike Evans leads a young but talented group of pass-catchers.

The defense is a concern, with five members of last season's front seven gone, but the Aggies will still be equipped to win most shootouts.

A&M benefits from getting Alabama at home early in the season, but has to play Arkansas, Ole Miss, LSU and Missouri on the road. Even beating Alabama early doesn't guarantee the Aggies will make it to Atlanta over the Tide.

There's a new member of the $3 million club in the SEC.

Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin will earn $3.1 million in 2013 after signing a new deal that will run through the 2017 season. He received a $1.1 million raise after making $2 million last year, which placed him among the three lowest-paid coaches in the SEC.

The Aggies are coming off an 11-2 season, including a win against Oklahoma in the AT&T Cotton Bowl.

Sumlin is now just ahead of Tennessee's Butch Jones as the fifth-highest paid coach in the SEC. Jones' deal will pay him $3 million per year.

In fact, eight of the 14 head coaches in the SEC are to earn $3 million or more per year.

• Nick Saban, Alabama -- $5.6 million
• Les Miles, LSU -- $4.3 million
• Steve Spurrier, South Carolina -- $3.3 million
• Bret Bielema, Arkansas -- $3.2 million
• Mark Richt, Georgia -- $3.2 million
• Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M -- $3.1 million
• Butch Jones, Tennessee -- $3 million
• James Franklin, Vanderbilt -- $3 million-plus*

* Vanderbilt is a private institution and not required to release salary figures, but sources have told ESPN.com that the new deal Franklin signed following his first season at Vanderbilt pays him in excess of $3 million per year.

It's that time when we check out news and notes from this week's key SEC game:

• The Texas A&M at Alabama matchup is one of the two most efficient offenses in the SEC. The Aggies lead the SEC in highest average points per drive (3.09 / 336 points in 110 offensive drives) with the Tide second at 3.07 (332 in 108) points per drive. The Tide leads the SEC in overall scoring-efficiency percentage (50.9 percent / 55 scoring drives out of 108 total drives) and the Aggies are second at 49.6 percent (60 of 121). In touchdown scoring efficiency, the Aggies lead the SEC at 40.5 percent (49 TD drives out of 121 overall drives) while the Tide are second at 38.9 percent (42 of 108).
• Alabama leads the series history, 3-1. It’s the first visit to Bryant-Denny Stadium for the Aggies. The teams played in the 1942 and 1968 Cotton Bowls, in 1985 at Legion Field in Birmingham and 1988 in College Station.
  
• Alabama’s Jeremy Shelley is the only kicker in the nation not to miss an extra-point (40-40) or field goal (9-9) this season.
• The Aggies are 1-10 in games against No. 1 ranked teams, with the lone victory being a 30-26 win over Oklahoma in 2002.
• A&M has scored first in every game in 2012, and in 14 straight games dating back to 2011.
• Johnny Manziel has already broken A&M’s record for quarterback rushing yards in a season (922).
• Manziel is the only player in FBS to average at least 10 yards per rush and 10 yards per pass attempt in those situations, and his 11 touchdowns responsible for in those situations are three more than any other FBS player. He has gained 634 rushing yards on scrambles. That is 182 more yards scrambling than Denard Robinson, Braxton Miller and Collin Klein have combined. Manziel has scrambled for 28 first downs this season, including 18 first downs on third down.
• Manziel is completing 71.8 percent of his passes on first down this season, one of only six players to complete at least 70 percent of his passes on first down this season (min. 140 attempts).
• Alabama is 21-6 against the AP Top 25 during the last four seasons and 12-4 against AP Top 10 teams.
• Alabama QB AJ McCarron has gone 204 pass attempts this season and 289 dating back to last season without an interception. Since 2000, he is the only player in FBS with at least 25 career touchdown passes (38) and as few as five interceptions.
• The Tide defense averages 5.44 three-and-outs per game and its 45.4 percent rate is second highest in the nation.
• The Aggies and Tide have shared three head coaches in their histories -- Bear Bryant (A&M 1954-57; Alabama 1958-82), Gene Stallings (A&M 1965-71; Alabama 1990-96) and Dennis Franchione (A&M 2003-07; Alabama 2001-02).

For the past five weeks, teams have had no answer for stopping Johnny Manziel. Containment has been the goal, but the redshirt freshman quarterback has just been too slippery.

Since Texas A&M's opening loss to Florida, Manziel has averaged 424.6 yards of total offense per game and has scored 23 total touchdowns. He set the SEC record for total offense against Arkansas and then broke it last week when he put up 576 yards (395 passing, 181 rushing) on Louisiana Tech.

He has become a legit Heisman candidate, and has led the Aggies to five straight wins and to No. 18 in the BCS standings.

"If you watched the games, each week he's gotten better, especially with staying in the pocket and finding receivers down the field,” center Patrick Lewis said. “I believe as the weeks go, he's getting better as a football player and he's helping this offense improve every week."

Manziel is third in the SEC in passing with 1,680 yards and has 14 passing touchdowns to three interceptions. He also leads the SEC in rushing (676 yards) and is tied for the league lead with 10 rushing touchdowns.

He just does it all, from sprinting by defenders to chucking passes over defenders. He even saves kittens in his spare time! He’s your favorite All-American’s favorite All-American.

But major obstacles wait in this fairy tale. We already saw Manziel struggle against Florida’s top-notch defense, and now it’s time for him to take on the nation’s No. 2 defense in LSU. Manziel has toyed with subpar defenses for the majority of the season, but he’ll be thrown into the Tigers’ den Saturday.

“He’s fast and what not, but you’d be surprised how fast our D-line is,” LSU linebacker Kevin Minter said.

"Johnny Football" hasn’t seen the likes of Barkevious Mingo or Sam Montgomery off the edge, and they could really stunt his growth with their speed. However, Manziel has a chance to do the same to LSU.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, more than 70 percent of Manziel’s rushing yards (475) have come on scrambles. That’s 90 more scrambling yards than Denard Robinson, Braxton Miller and Collin Klein combined. Manziel leads the SEC in rushing touchdowns (seven), 20-plus yard rushes (nine) and rushing yards per game (79.1) when scrambling.

LSU’s opponents are averaging 7.7 yards per rush on 11 scrambles this season. And on third down, where Manziel leads the nation with 12 rushing first downs on third down and at least 5 yards to go, LSU opponents are averaging 11.5 yards per scramble and have three first downs on six scrambles, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

LSU coach Les Miles said he’d like to get at least two guys to “keep a wary eye” on Manziel on Saturday, but Minter said the Tigers will definitely have to spy to contain him.

“You got to. You gotta have somebody there to keep an eye on him,” he said. “If not, he’ll bust one for 70 [yards] real fast.”

Florida coach Will Muschamp, whose defense held Manziel to just 51 total yards in the second half earlier this season, has the formula for stopping Manziel: constrict the pocket, eliminate running lanes and make him a true pocket passer. Making sure he can’t escape the pocket is essential.

“That’s where he scares you,” Muschamp said.

But don’t think Manziel can’t launch a beauty when needed. Manziel has completed at least half his throws of 15 yards or more in each of his past three games. But he’s facing a defense that hasn’t allowed opponents to complete more than a third of their 15-yard throws this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Still, Texas A&M offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury believes that as the season has progressed, Manziel has turned into a better pocket passer and his attention to detail in the passing game has been his most impressive attribute.

“He can throw with anybody,” Kingsbury said.

“He’s really focused on having a plan before every play, knowing what his reads are, what his hots are, what we’re trying to accomplish with each snap.”

The unstoppable Manziel has been on a tear, but he’ll face LSU’s immovable defense Saturday. The first side to give loses, and Miles is making sure his defense doesn’t cave to Manziel.

“It’s going to take all of the strategy and all of the calls to defend a guy like that,” Miles said.

Now that Week 7 is over with, it's time to take a look at what we learned in the SEC:

1. LSU isn't going away: The Tigers limped into Saturday's showdown with South Carolina after being pushed around by Florida. By all accounts, the sky was falling in Baton Rouge and the Tigers had to face the music that they were playing for second place in the SEC West. But things feel much different on the bayou after an impressive win over the Gamecocks. The Tigers did all the pushing Saturday, outgaining South Carolina 406-211 and denying Marcus Lattimore to even touch the ball in the fourth quarter. Zach Mettenberger's performance wasn't pretty, but he didn't need to be with that running game churning out 258 rushing yards against one of the country's best defensive lines, and that kind of play can win in this league. LSU isn't out of the SEC or national race and the Alabama game just got a little more exciting.

2. Hot seats are only getting hotter: Things just aren't working at Auburn, Kentucky and Tennessee. And that means that their respective coaches are really starting to feel the heat. Heading into the weekend, Kentucky's Joker Phillips was probably in the most hot water, and it's boiling after a 49-7 loss to Arkansas. Derek Dooley entered the season on the hottest seat and his Vols are now 0-3 in SEC play and eight wins is looking tougher and tougher by the day. And Gene Chizik has a bad offense and defense at Auburn. The Tigers gave Ole Miss its first SEC win since 2010 in a blowout in Oxford. The problem is that things just aren't getting better at any of these three schools and fans are beyond antsy and upset. None of the three schools have a conference win this season and have a combined record of 5-14.

3. Arkansas isn't done just yet: Just when we thought the Razorbacks were dead in the water, they are slowly getting back into the bowl race. After a dismal September, the Hogs have shown tremendous pride the past two weeks with wins over Auburn and Kentucky. Granted, they are beating cellar dwellers, but there was a time when not many people thought the Hogs would win both of those. Arkansas' offense looks like we expected it to and could be a threat to its November competition. Arkansas is now three wins away from being bowl eligible. With home games against Ole Miss and Tulsa coming up, the Razorbacks might need just one win in the tough month of November to make it to the postseason.

4. Johnny Manziel might be the SEC's best: Forget Johnny Football being the league's best freshman, he might be the SEC's best overall player. Through six games, the youngster has passed for 1,680 yards and 14 touchdowns and is completing 67 percent of his passes. He's also thrown only three interceptions. But where he's even more dangerous is in the ground game. Manziel leads the SEC with 676 rushing yards and has 10 touchdowns. He's lightning-quick and can outrun just about anyone out there. You take Manziel off of this team and the Aggies aren't close to being as good as they've been. He can change a game in a second with his feet, but also has the ability to make some quality throws. It's like he doesn't have an off button.

5. The East race will be even more interesting: With South Carolina's loss to LSU, the East race is going to be even more fun to watch from here on out. The Gamecocks now share a loss with Georgia, while Florida sits atop the division. But the Gators host South Carolina next weekend before playing Georgia in Jacksonville, Fla. South Carolina certainly didn't want to lose, but with a win over Florida, the Gamecocks would own the tiebreaker over the Gators and Dawgs. So this loss won't sting as much. We could be headed to a similar situation as we saw last year in the West with Alabama, Arkansas and LSU. If these teams come out of this round-robin-style play with just one loss each, we'll officially be on "Tiebreaker Watch."

DESTIN, Fla. -- When SEC commissioner Mike Slive and the rest of the SEC elites leave the 2012 SEC spring meetings later this week, the hope is that there will be a concrete scheduling format for the 2013 football season and possibly beyond.

The addition of Missouri and Texas A&M means teams will have to play six divisional games instead of five, making things a little complicated.

Right now, it looks as though the most likely format, which could be set as early as Friday, will be a 6-1-1 model. That gives teams six divisional games, one permanent crossover game and rotating crossover. The rotating crossover no longer would be a traditional two-year home-and-home series. It simply would be a one-year rotation. It’s the same model that will be used for the 2012 season.

LSU coach Les Miles said he’d like the structure of future SEC schedules to be “definable,” and wouldn’t mind if the league re-examined how it chose permanent crossovers.

"Legitimately tell me about how you're picking crossover games,” Miles said at the spring meetings Tuesday. “Is it the best team in the East, the best team in the West, top three and top three? OK, if you guys want to do that, let's do that. It might change the matches, but if you want to say, 'Well, we really are going to seed the best teams versus the lesser teams,' well, OK, let's do that, but define the structure and let's stay with it.

“In my mind, here’s what happened: They added two teams this go-round, and very conceivably they could add another two. So let’s build a structure that’s desirable and helps build toward a champion.”

Slive said talks would become more detailed as the week continued, and while he wouldn’t go into detail about formats or permanent opponents, he did say he sensed that most of the schools wanted to keep their permanent crossover games.

Those games likely would be Alabama-Tennessee, Arkansas-Missouri, Auburn-Georgia, Florida-LSU, Kentucky-Mississippi State, Ole Miss-Vanderbilt and Texas A&M-South Carolina. However, there has been talk of the Florida-LSU series possibly not being renewed.

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said he expects Arkansas to become Mizzou’s permanent crossover, which should help create a rivalry between the two schools.

"That's what I'm told is probably going to happen," Pinkel said. "To me, just tell me who our rival is, and then they'll be our rival. Obviously, we're adjacent to [Arkansas]. Obviously, we've been associated with [Texas A&M] for years. That's above me. Nobody has asked me for my opinion."

Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen and Ole Miss’ Hugh Freeze said they’d prefer to keep their schools' current permanent Eastern Division opponents -- Kentucky and Vanderbilt, respectively.

“Having that, it gives you a little bit of a rivalry,” Mullen said about playing Kentucky each year. “I do think in the last three years being there … you see that rivalry spill over. I know in basketball it is that way for everybody, but because we play them every year in football, because there’s that familiarity it spills into basketball, it spills into baseball.

“That works for us, and geographically it works for us as far as East teams go.”

Added Freeze: “I’d like to continue with Vandy. That’s been a healthy rivalry game. In recent pasts it’s been very equal, and it’s a good game for fans to watch. We’ve got a lot of people in Nashville, and we recruit that area, and it’s just good for us and good for them.”

CBSSports.com reported Tuesday that the SEC will create a model for the next 12 years, but Slive told reporters Tuesday that wasn’t necessarily the case.

"That's a long time," Slive said. "I'm not sure that's what we'll do."

What seems sure is that the league won’t go to a nine-game conference schedule. It essentially forces the conference champion to play 10 SEC games, and adding just one more to the regular season has drawn little interest from coaches.

“None at all,” Freeze said. “Not from me.”

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy has been voted the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year by the 1,200-member Football Writers Association of America.

Gundy beat out LSU's Les Miles, Kansas State's Bill Snyder, Michigan's Brady Hoke and Clemson's Dabo Swinney to win.

He led the Cowboys to an 11-1 season and the school's first Big 12 title, as well as its first BCS bowl bid.

The 11 wins equaled a school record set in 2010, when Gundy was a finalist for the award.

"It's a testament to our players and our coaching staff that we are in the position that we are in," Gundy said in a release. "I want to thank the Football Writers Association of America for recognizing our team in this way."

Former Kansas coach Mark Mangino was the last Big 12 coach to win the award in 2007. Oklahoma's Bob Stoops also won in 2000.

Gary Patterson won the award at TCU in 2009.

I’ll preface this by saying that I think the BCS got it right.

LSU and Alabama are the two best teams in the country and they deserve to play each other in the BCS Allstate National Championship Game. It should be a great game and I guarantee that each team will get at least one touchdown this time.

You know you’ll be watching. Don’t act like you won’t.

But there is part of me that’s curious … very curious.

I can’t help but wonder what the national title would be like with LSU’s ferocious defense pitted against Oklahoma State’s high-powered, Playstation offense. For all the talk about how good SEC defenses are and how high-flying Big 12 offenses are, there’s part of me that wants to see it this season.

Besides, if the SEC truly wants to show its dominance, doesn’t it make sense to do it against someone outside of the conference?

Again, I believe the BCS actually got this one right, but it wouldn’t have bothered me if the Cowboys took the Crimson Tide’s place.

We’d actually get to see if Mike Gundy’s Pokes could muster up a way to score the 30-plus points he thinks they’d put up against the Tigers’ vaunted defense. You know, the same defense that ranks second nationally, allowing just 252 yards per game and has forced 30 turnovers. And the same defense that has waves of speed, athleticism and depth, and has dismantled just about everyone.

I don't know if Oklahoma State would look like, well Oklahoma State, against the Tigers, and I don’t think the Cowboys would even touch 30 points against LSU, but I think we’d have a pretty exciting game on our hands.

LSU might have the most aggressive defense out there, but it has a tendency to play too fast and too aggressive. We saw it at times against talented offenses. West Virginia racked up 533 yards, including 463 passing, on LSU. Both Arkansas and Georgia both made a some first-half plays against LSU, as well.

For as great as this defense has been all year, it hasn’t been perfect, and good passing games have found ways to make plays. Have they found ways to get wins over the Tigers? No, but there’s a formula there ... if you can combat LSU’s ability to go on hellacious runs and wear down defenses in the second half.

The Cowboys, who had the nation’s third-best offense (557 yards a game), have the pieces to give the Tigers headaches. Quarterback Brandon Weeden was a legit Heisman Trophy candidate at one point and finished the season third nationally with 4,328 yards and had 34 touchdowns. In that offense, he and the Cowboys could spread teams out and exploit plenty of mismatches. It didn’t hurt that All-World receiver Justin Blackmon accounted for 111 receiving yards a game and had 15 touchdowns.

Weeden had two other receivers record more than 600 yards as well, so there are weapons in Stillwater, Okla., to keep the Tigers’ defense on its toes.

Just imagine Blackmon, who might be the first receiver taken in next year’s NFL draft, trying to get space on Morris Claiborne, or Tyrann Mathieu making a mad dash from God knows where on the field to scare the daylights out of Weeden? Could Weeden's receivers match the track speed of LSU's secondary?

And don't forget about LSU coach Les Miles facing his old school. If ahead late, does he kneel early or kick a field goal?

Defensively, the Cowboys would have to tighten up, though. They allowed 180 rushing yards a game, and we all know the pounding LSU’s run game puts on opponents.

But the Big 12 offense-SEC defense matchup is what we'd all be salivating over. Winner shuts the other side up for a good year.

Unfortunately, we’re left only wondering. We don’t have the system in place to make this game possible.

LSU-Bama should be the game, but, man, LSU-OSU would have been fun.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- The proud Pokes finally did the deed.

The goalposts came down, and the Oklahoma State flags went up.

Red state? Blue state? For the first time since 2002, Oklahoma is an orange state.

The impact of Saturday's dominant 44-10 Oklahoma State win over Oklahoma was far-reaching. After voters from coast to coast slot LSU No. 1, they'll have to decide on No. 2: Alabama or Oklahoma State?

But on this night, the Cowboys had a chance to enjoy the simpler pleasures, too.

All that politicking and SEC mudslinging will last less than 24 hours.

This win on Saturday night? It'll last a whole year and bleed everywhere -- from coffee shops to elementary schools across Oklahoma.

Coach Mike Gundy says he's immune from the ever-present smack talk. But everybody else?

"I know it affects the players," Gundy said. "And coaches' families, their kids. I've got three kids that go to school, and all the coaches have kids. They want to win. That's what their dads do. That's just a fact. Whether you like it or not, there's legitimate reasons for us to win, so when they go in those restaurants, they don't have to listen to, 'Hey, y'all made it all the way to No. 2 in the country, but you still didn't beat OU.'"

They played this Bedlam rivalry for the 106th time on Saturday night. This was only the 17th time that Oklahoma State fans left with their heads held high.

"It's one thing to hear it around the rest of the state, but when you go home and you have to hear people talk to you about it, it makes it worse," said receiver Justin Blackmon, who hails from the heart of Sooner country. His hometown of Ardmore, Okla., is only about 80 miles south of Norman.

"I know they won't be able to talk," Blackmon said.

The simple truth: Wins like these are more special for the folks in orange. They don't see them quite as often, but that number is growing.

For a year, they'll relish the first outright conference title in school history and the first since they shared a conference crown in 1976.

Gundy called it the most gratifying football moment of his career, overtaking the first time he beat Texas in 2010.

"Nothing compares," said the career Cowboy, who has spent 21 years as a player, assistant and now head coach at Oklahoma State.

This one was special.

"We've earned their respect over the last four, five, six years, so it's different," Gundy said. "There were a number of years we didn't even have their respect. They respected us, and that helps, but still, you've gotta beat 'em. Otherwise it's always, OSU has got to this level or that level, but they've never beat OU."

And Gundy, in a fashion that turned the second half into a party atmosphere instead of a tense one, became the first coach since that coaching savant down in the Bayou, Les Miles, to knock off Oklahoma as the Cowboy-in-chief.

The Cowboys didn't beat Oklahoma. They beat the heck out of Oklahoma. The offensive line: "Phew, dominant," quarterback Brandon Weeden said with a shake of his head.

Weeden had enough time in the pocket for most of the night to craft each of his linemen a handwritten thank-you note to hand out in the postgame locker room, where Gundy obliged his team with another one of his patented dance sessions.

"I had no choice," he said. "I'm a YouTube sensation. There's no telling what'll be on there next."

That was only after a well-deserved Gatorade shower.

"God, that was cold," Gundy said.

Yeah, Oklahoma fans felt the same way.

Oklahoma State running backs Jeremy Smith and Joseph Randle -- who combined ran 22 times for 178 yards and four touchdowns -- found holes from the offensive line wide enough that if the two were Siamese twins, their numbers might not have been much different.

The last time Oklahoma State took the field, Iowa State fans stormed it. Saturday night, it was the Cowboys' turn, all before slapping on orange shirts and white hats declaring them "Big 12 Champions."

Fans braved the nine-foot drop from the stands to the field at Boone Pickens Stadium.

Weeden stopped and posed for an endless string of photos. Players celebrated among the mob.

"I had my helmet on, and I got slapped in the head so many times, I might have a concussion," Weeden joked.

He stopped and shook Pickens' hand after. Those hundreds of millions of dollars that Pickens handed over to the school he loves so much? BCS National Championship Game appearance or not, it's paying off.

Oklahoma State, for the first time, is the Big 12 champion.

"To see [the players] enjoy that, that's a huge thrill for me, because there's so much that goes into this," Gundy said. "I just want them to be able to enjoy it."

They will. And so will the rest of the Oklahoma State family.

While we still wait for the official word on Texas A&M's move to the SEC, people around the SEC showed their support for the SEC Wednesday.

South Carolina president Dr. Harris Pastides likes the way the conference is now, but if someone is going to join he'll be happy if it is Texas A&M.

“I am very pleased with the current 12-university configuration of the Southeastern Conference. But, if we are going to expand, a university of Texas A&M's quality is a great choice,” Pastides said in a statement Wednesday. “The conference has been very careful in its deliberations. As a league, we know that this is not something that will happen until all of the Big 12 universities are in agreement about Texas A&M's withdrawal. It is prudent to wait to ensure that everyone is aligned. At the point that happens, I will join my colleagues in welcoming A&M.”

LSU coach Les Miles has been very optimistic about the impending move and expressed excitement at the possibility of having the Aggies as part of the SEC brethren during the SEC coaches call Wednesday.

"I think it would make great sense, great rationale if the SEC, the view A&M would give it, and the view of those schools in close proximity, obviously they would come back to Texas to play," Miles said. "It's obvious the view of the [Texas] newspaper[s] will now be SEC. You would think the conference -- I know we would -- enjoy greater coverage and greater view and it becomes SEC country."

Increased coverage means increased attention from recruits and their families, and the SEC would love to dip into that recruiting pool. Adding Texas A&M would make that much easier.

While Miles would be happy about gaining the Texas market, he isn't exactly thrilled about the possibility of the Big 12 crumbling. He did coach at both Oklahoma State and Colorado back in the day.

"As happy as I am to realize there will be a greater, clearer view of Texas, I'm saddened in some respect that the old Big Eight and Big 12 are kind of fragile right now," he said.

"I certainly understand adding a Texas team into the conference. A&M's great historic following and a traditional football power, and will allow us a greater view of the great state of Texas."

When two LSU players, including the starting quarterback, were suspended leading up to the Tigers' season opener against Oregon at Cowboys Stadium, coach Les Miles must have been sweating.

If you think that's true, you probably don't remember Miles' history. A history that includes three years as tight ends coach for the Dallas Cowboys.

Columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor writes that Miles' time at Valley Ranch helped prepare him for the scrutiny and adversity he's had to deal with in the spotlight at LSU.

Here's an excerpt:

Do you think the scandal with quarterback Jordan Jefferson and linebacker Josh Johns, who were suspended indefinitely for their alleged role in a bar fight last month, is any more intense than scissor-gate that dominated the headlines at the Cowboys' training camp in 1998?

For of those of you who don't remember, that's when Michael Irvin stabbed starting guard Everett McIver in the neck with a pair of scissors during a dorm-room dispute while several players were getting haircuts.

Miles saw a player revolt lead to head coach Chan Gailey's firing and he saw how Gailey's replacement, Dave Campo, dealt with the scrutiny of the job.

Those experiences forged the man you see leading LSU today. It's why he knew LSU would play well Saturday.

In case you missed it, No. 4 LSU throttled No. 3 Oregon, 40-27.

Read Taylor's full column here.

Life should be good for the Big 12's veteran quarterbacks with little changing around them. But the league's top two passers are facing a lot of change. Here's a look:

Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State.

Weeden is facing the biggest change. The offense will be the same, but the voice on the headset will be different. Inexperienced playcaller Todd Monken replaces Dana Holgorsen for the Cowboys. Monken previously coached wide receivers with Mike Gundy under Les Miles at Oklahoma State and came to the Cowboys after four seasons at LSU and two as the wide receivers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL. He was promoted to quarterbacks coach before taking the OSU job, where he'll get the keys to what he's described as a "Ferrari." That's Weeden, Biletnikoff-winning receiver Justin Blackmon and the Big 12's best offensive line.

For Weeden, though, he'll have to deal with the loss of two-time 1,500-yard back Kendall Hunter. Joseph Randle and Jeremy Smith will try to fill the void, but Hunter was a steadying force last season for the Cowboys' offense, which loses just two receivers: Bo Bowling, who caught 42 passes, and Colton Chelf, who caught 11 passes.

Landry Jones, Oklahoma

Jones, like Weeden, lost his offensive coordinator to a head-coaching job in the offseason. Kevin Wilson left OU to take the job at Indiana, but Jones' new coach is a man he knows well, and a man Oklahoma knows well. Josh Heupel has coached quarterbacks for the past five seasons at Oklahoma (which featured three Big 12 titles under three different quarterbacks), and now takes over as the offensive coordinator under Bob Stoops. Heupel also quarterbacked the Sooners under Stoops to the program's last national title, in 2000.

Heupel shares coordinator duties with receivers coach Jay Norvell, but Heupel will call the plays, and did well in his first try, a 48-20 stomping of Connecticut in the Fiesta Bowl. Norvell, 48, is a more experienced coach, but Heupel, 33, is on the fast track for a head-coaching job.

Jones also must deal with life without DeMarco Murray, who carried the ball 282 times last season and caught 71 passes. That's a lot of touches to replace, but for the Sooners to reach their stated goal of a title, Jones will have to find a way to distribute those receptions elsewhere and support his new stable of running backs.

Heading into the season, I see five teams in the Big 12 with a realistic chance to win the league. I'll be breaking them down in order (which won't be the same as my post-spring power rankings) of their chances to leave the season with the Big 12 title.

No. 1 on the list was the favorites: Oklahoma

Today, we take a look at my No. 2: Texas A&M.

Why the Aggies will win the Big 12

1. They've got the most complete offense.

Center Matt Allen is the only offensive starter not returning, but the Aggies have a solid line, headlined by a maturing, but already talented pair of bookends with big potential, tackles Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews. At the skill positions, you won't find anything close to a weakness. Texas A&M returns the best running back corps in the league and maybe the best 1-2 punch in the nation with Christine Michael and Cyrus Gray. All of the team's top five receivers return, and Jeff Fuller, who chose to return for his senior season, is arguably one of the five best in the country. Ryan Tannehill doesn't have a ton of starts (six) under his belt, but he was great in a tight spot last year, and led the team in receptions his first two years on the field.

2. They're especially strong in great places on defense.

Those places: Secondary and pass-rushers. That's huge in the Big 12. New joker Damontre Moore, defensive end Tony Jerod-Eddie and linebacker Sean Porter should combine for more than 15 sacks this year and tons of quarterback pressures that could result in some big plays for another defensive strength: the secondary. All four starters return, and Terrence Frederick, Coryell Judie are experienced seniors at corner, while Trent Hunter and Steven Campbell hold down the safety spots.

3. They made it hard to win nine games last year.

Texas A&M already won a share of the Big 12 South last year, despite ranking 10th in the Big 12 in turnover margin at minus-5. Its 30 turnovers (15 INTs, 15 fumbles lost) were the most in the Big 12 and 111th most in the nation. You'd have to think that number will drop this year with Tannehill at quarterback. He struggled in the loss to LSU, throwing three interceptions, but he had just three in his six previous games at quarterback, compared to 11 touchdowns. Five of those 30 turnovers came from Jerrod Johnson in a loss to Oklahoma State, and if the Aggies take care of the ball then, or this time around, they're likely Big 12 champions.

Why the Aggies won't win the Big 12

1. The defensive losses will be too much.

Damontre Moore should slide in and replace Von Miller. I'd expect him to do well, but what about middle linebacker? Michael Hodges was the heart of the defense in 2010 and its leading tackler. When a knee injury forced him out of the Cotton Bowl against LSU, the Tigers gashed the Aggies' defense, which for the few weeks to end the season, looked like one of the Big 12's best and topped the league in rush defense. Hodges is gone for good now, and the Aggies left spring without a solid replacement. For now, it looks like Jonathan Stewart will slide in, but it could end up being true freshman Donnie Baggs. Either way, A&M won't be as strong there, and teams that can run the ball (i.e., OSU, OU) may take advantage. Lucas Patterson is the only other loss on the defensive side of the ball, but my money is on Hodges being missed the most on the field, even though Miller was the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft.

2. They have to travel to Norman.

Texas A&M has been outscored 107-24 in its last two trips to Norman, and Les Miles at Oklahoma State in 2001 is the only Big 12 coach to ever beat Bob Stoops at Owen Field. The odds are definitely against Mike Sherman becoming the second. The Aggies knocked off Oklahoma in College Station last year, but did it largely on the strength of the linebackers, and Hodges and Miller, who helped orchestrate those three goal-line stops to beat the Sooners, are gone.

3. Hype and the Aggies are not happy bedfellows.

Texas A&M looked like a possible Big 12 South contender last year, but the Aggies lost all three of their first real tests, and nearly lost to Florida International in College Station, erasing a 21-7 fourth-quarter deficit to avoid embarrassment. After being written off by most, they rallied for a share of the Big 12 South, but this year, the attention is back on the Aggies, who will likely be toting a top-15 ranking into the preseason. How will the team handle big games early in the season against Oklahoma State and an early trip to Lubbock before the showdown in Norman? Their recent history suggests "not well."

ARLINGTON, Texas -- LSU knew what it wanted to do, or needed to do, rather.

Texas A&M finished its season as the Big 12's best rush defense, reclaiming the "Wrecking Crew" nickname in the process.

"We had to mix it up," said Tigers offensive coordinator Gary Crowton. "We felt like if we could loosen them up with some big passes, we'd be able to run the football."

Few figured the Tigers would have the kind of success they did doing both, but they did. Quarterback Jordan Jefferson had thrown four touchdown passes in 12 games entering Friday's Cotton Bowl, including just two in his past 11 games.

He threw three on Friday, and two were longer than 40 yards, softening up the Aggies defense exactly as planned to help beat Texas A&M 41-24 in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic in front of 83,514 fans at Cowboys Stadium.

"I thought he threw the ball about as good as I've seen him throw on tape," Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman said. "He was decisive, aggressive and accurate."

With Jefferson keeping the Aggies honest, LSU rolled over the Wrecking Crew for 288 rushing yards. Running backs Stevan Ridley and Spencer Ware both topped 100 yards, and Jefferson made a handful of plays with his legs, extending drives on third down on plenty of occasions and finishing with 67 yards on 12 carries.

"For our run game, I thought we were doing a really good job of dominating the line of scrimmage," Crowton said.

Early on, the Aggies were up 10-0, but with one torque of a knee they were down a leader. Senior linebacker Michael Hodges suffered a sprained ACL in the first quarter, and Texas A&M's leading tackler never returned.

"He is the heart and soul of our defense in many ways," Sherman said. "At the same time, you can't use that as a reason why we didn't perform the way we should have been capable of performing. ... One guy gets hurt, another guy has to step in and make the play."

His replacement, Kyle Mangan, managed just four tackles, the same amount Hodges had already accumulated in the first quarter.

"I think Kyle, put in the situation he was in, he played well," defensive end Lucas Patterson said. "You can't replace a player like Hodges."

With Jefferson having one of his best games of the year, and the Aggies patching together a run defense that often looked out of character, there was little expectation after Texas A&M's 10-0 lead had evaporated that chants of "Wrecking Crew" would make an encore in Cowboys Stadium.

Early on, it might have. Jefferson's first deep pass -- and the Tigers first attempt to soften the defense -- was interecepted with one hand by Coryell Judie. But Jefferson's first of three connections in the end zone with senior receiver Terrence Toliver assured an end to the Aggies' six-game winning streak.

"I came back with the next deep ball call when we got in the right situation," Crowton said. "Jordan stood in there, took a big hit, but got the touchdown. I knew we'd be alright from that point on because we were going to run the ball. We pound it in there."

The Aggies had no answer for the majority of the night. Gaps went unfilled and runners sliced through wide lanes. The Tigers ran the ball 55 times, and averaged 5.2 yards per carry.

"Our offensive line came to play," LSU coach Les Miles said. "Our offensive line said this is a challenge they wanted. I think they played to that challenge."

Texas A&M already had the Big 12's best rushing defense, giving up just over 117 yards a game, 20 fewer than anyone else in the conference.

The assignment for the Aggies' defense may get a little easier for the Jan. 7 Cotton Bowl after LSU's top rusher, Stevan Ridley, was ruled ineligible and barring reinstatement, will miss the game.

"This was a one-time incident," LSU coach Les Miles said, declining to get into specifics. "The school has been compliant. Ridley has been compliant. We are appealing it. We are making our case."

Ridley carried the ball 225 times for 1,042 yards and 14 touchdowns, becoming just the 13th player in school history to record a 1,000-yard rushing season.

Redshirt freshman Michael Ford and senior Richard Murphy would replace Ridley if he isn't reinstated, but neither player has more than 41 carries on the season.

Ridley's 225 were second most among running backs in the SEC.

Texas A&M and LSU have the Big 12's best bowl matchup, and it figured to be a physical, low-scoring game similar to the Aggies' 9-6 win over Nebraska earlier this season.

It may still be, but the onus to keep it low scoring falls on LSU's defense. The Tigers' passing offense ranked last in the SEC, and unless Ridley can get back on the field, don't look for the Tigers' offense to do much.