Regeln » week gave the Gators the SEC East title.It was Floridas defe

NORMAN, Okla. -- In 2008, the Big 12 had unmatched star power.Four of the top five finishers in the Heisman race hailed from the conference, including the winner, Oklahomas Sam Bradford. Texas Colt McCoy was second, Texas Techs Graham Harrell was fourth and his teammate, Michael Crabtree, was fifth. Since then, the league has consistently produced top contenders for the award, with Baylors Robert Griffin III winning in 2011.This year, the conference will be lucky to land anyone in the top 10.Oklahomas Baker Mayfield, the Big 12s top contender heading into the season, finished fourth last year. He had a chance to make himself a front-runner this year, but struggled in losses to Houston and Ohio State.I believe Baker will shine for us as we go through the year, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. I really believe that. The guys works too hard not to. Like everybody, hell learn from these games and not press too much.Mayfield is among the Big 12 quarterbacks who will bring some excitement to the league, even though they wont have last years stage, when Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU and Baylor were in the running for a spot in the College Football Playoff. This year, the highest-ranked team is No. 16 Baylor . Texas is No. 21 and Oklahoma is No. 25.Baylors Seth Russell might have the best shot at being a Heisman finalist. He was in the conversation last year before he suffered a season-ending neck injury. Now, hes back, and the Bears are unbeaten. He hasnt put up numbers like last year, but that could change in conference play. Baylor hosts Oklahoma State on Saturday.Oklahoma States Mason Rudolph, a big, pro-style quarterback, passed for 540 yards last week in a win over Pittsburgh. The biggest strike against him? That loss to Central Michigan that came after the Chippewas were incorrectly awarded an untimed down.Texas Techs Patrick Mahomes leads the nation with nearly 500 yards passing per game heading into his conference opener Sept. 29 against Kansas. The strike against him is that the big numbers have come in wins over Stephen F. Austin and Louisiana Tech, and in a loss to Arizona State.Kansas coach David Beaty believes Mahomes is a special player.Hes really good, Beaty said. Hes very talented. Hes big. Hes hard to tackle. Hes very well-coached. Hes got a ridiculous arm. He can throw it from anywhere, and he breaks rules because hell throw it to the wrong guy and hell still put it in there.TCUs Kenny Hill has put up big numbers, too, but the Horned Frogs lost to Arkansas, and what appeared to be a chance to make a splash against Oklahoma on Oct. 1 isnt what it could have been because of the Sooners slow start.The receiver position doesnt have quite the star power as last year, either. Baylors Corey Coleman, TCUs Josh Doctson, Oklahomas Sterling Shepard and Texas Techs Jakeem Grant are all in the NFL. This year, the leagues most explosive receiver is probably Oklahoma States James Washington. He caught nine passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns against Pittsburgh and was the conferences offensive player of the week. Baylors KD Cannon is also a standout.The running back position is unusually weak, at least statistically. The leagues leading rusher, Texas DOnta Foreman, has 288 yards in two games. After that, there is a significant drop off. West Virginias Rushel Shell is second with 87 yards per game. That would have been eighth in the conference at the end of last season.Samaje Perine, one of Oklahomas all-time leading rushers, has pounded out just 149 yards in the first three games, and is actually second on the team in rushing behind Joe Mixon. Iowa States Mike Warren, a preseason all-conference pick, is averaging 51 yards per game and 3.6 yards per carry. Baylors Shock Linwood has just 213 yards through three games.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter (at)CliffBruntAPRockies Jerseys China . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Custom Rockies Jersey China . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. http://www.customrockiesjersey.com/ . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup. Custom Rockies Jerseys . Belfort (24-10) needed just 77 seconds to down Henderson in the headlining bout of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson" event at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil. The fight served as a rematch of the pairs 2006 meeting, which Henderson won by decision. Authentic Custom Rockies Jersey . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night.Something other than instate pride is on the line when No. 15 Florida State hosts No. 13 Florida.Florida State seniors are trying to accomplish a feat that no other class in program history has been able to do: Finish their careers with an 8-0 sweep of rivals Florida and Miami.They already won their four meetings with Miami to stretch the Seminoles winning streak to seven over the Hurricanes, and go for the sweep against the Gators on Saturday (8 p.m. ET, ABC).I think it means a lot to the seniors legacy here, and the foundation that we set, Seminoles senior cornerback Marquez White said of the possibility of going 8-0 against their two rivals. This is my last time playing in this stadium. Last home game.This is the way I want to go out. This is the way I want to be remembered. So, it means a lot to have this opportunity.All told, Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher is 12-1 against Miami and Florida since taking over the program in 2010. He is the first Florida State coach to have wins over Florida and Miami in three consecutive years.Its important to us, Fisher said. Its part of our goal. We always say that. The state of Florida is a dynamic football state. If you can play with Miami and Florida, youre usually in the national title hunt.Of course, that isnt quite the case this season. Miami isnt ranked, and though Florida (8-2) has the opportunity to create a little chaos by beating Alabama in the SEC championship game Dec. 3, the Gators arent in College Football Playoff consideration.That situation could been more likely had their offense matched their defense this year, but that hasnt been the case. The Gators produced an average of just under 355 yards in total offense, in part because coach Jim McElwain has had to replace his starting quarterback twice this fall.Luke Del Rio, a transfer from Oregon State, started the season, but was hurt in the third game and gave way to Purdue transfer Austin Appleby.dddddddddddd Del Rio returned after a three-game absence and started three games but went out injured again. Appleby started the last two games and will do so again at Florida State. He led the Gators to wins over South Carolina and LSU in their last two games.The latter victory last week gave the Gators the SEC East title.It was Floridas defense that sealed that win over the Tigers, however. The Gators stopped the Tigers on two plays from their own 1-yard in the closing seconds to preserve the 16-10 victory.For the season, the Gators are fifth in the country in total defense in limiting opponents to just over 282 yards a game with just 160 of that coming through the air.This is a very impressive team when you turn the film on, Fisher said. Defensively, they jump off the screen at you.The game in Tallahassee features two game-breakers, one for each team.Florida wide receiver Antonio Callaway has 37 receptions for 545 yards and two touchdowns and has returned 23 punts for 175 yards, including a 39-yarder. He has had two games with 125-plus yard receiving.Florida State running back Dalvin Cook has put himself at least on the fringe of the Heisman conversation with yet another outstanding season. The schools all-time leading rusher with 4,166 yards, Cook rushed for 1,467 yards this season with 17 touchdowns and a 6.1 per-carry average. He also boasts 400 yards receiving on 27 catches.This guy is the most explosive player in college football, McElwain said. You look at his running and his catching the ball out of the backfield, hes going to play at the next level for a long time.The Gators lead the series 34-24-1, but the Seminoles can match their longest winning streak against Florida with a victory. ' ' '