For the first time in the short, storied history of the Big 12 they held a championship game that had no bearing on the national title race.

It was greeted with all the excitement it deserved.

	Quentin Griffin carried Oklahoma to a Rose Bowl berth.

Oklahoma fans pulled for the Sooners. Colorado fans pulled for the Buffaloes. Everybody else seemingly found something else to concern themselves with, judging by the thousands of empty seats at Reliant Stadium.

The drama went out of the season that started with at least three teams primed for serious national title runs when Oklahoma inexplicably lost to Oklahoma State for the second straight year. That one game robbed the Big 12 of a national title player and Bob Stoops of the misguided title hung on him by a University of Texas official at halftime of the Sooners' win over the Longhorns' in Dallas. "He's the luckiest bad coach in America,'' the man harrumphed after the Sooners had lured the hapless Horns into jumping offsides on a fourth-and-1 in the final minutes of the first half.

Bad coach? Hardly. Lucky? In fact, nobody in the conference was lucky, good or bad, not this year. Stoops wasn't lucky. The Longhorns weren't lucky. Every year they turn their meeting with the Sooners in Dallas into a Sisyphean exercise in futility. Every year the Longhorns roll those tidy national title hopes up the hill, only to have the Sooners flatten them with them.

Colorado, gunning for its second-straight Big 12 title, didn't have its top two running backs for the rematch with Oklahoma and got stuffed. Kansas State had kicker problems and got booted from the title picture. Nebraska just plain stunk, certainly by Nebraska standards. Iowa State and Texas Tech both bowed up like title contenders only to get slapped back down by the Sooners.

In the end it was the two survivors -- OU and Colorado -- meeting with two things on the line. One was a spot in a BCS bowl. The second was the opportunity to avoid being tagged with a third or fourth loss.

That's what, after all the preseason chest-thumping, it came down to for the Big 12.

MVP: Halfway through the season this was Seneca Wallace's to lose. And he did it. Though the focal point of opposing defenses, the Iowa State quarterback had several embarrassing games (Oklahoma, Connecticut) and dropped out of the race. Though Colorado's Chris Brown posted big numbers, the Buffaloes were deep in running backs, lessening his value. OSU's Rashaun Woods and Texas Tech's Kliff Kingsbury were vital to their team's success, but OU running back Quentin Griffin (6.8 yards, 12 TDs) proved to the bedrock for a Sooner offense that had a less than stellar passing game. Give it to Griffin, whose biggest games came against the Sooners' biggest foes (Texas, Colorado).

Coach of the Year: Oklahoma State's Les Miles took a team that lost to a bottom of the pack WAC team (Louisiana Tech) in the season opener and turned it into a squad that beat Nebraska, Texas A&M and Oklahoma. OSU finished 5-3, 7-5 in the South Division despite a secondary that was porous at the start of the year and a rash of injuries at running back. Miles wins by a near coin flip over Bill Snyder, who revived Ell Roberson's flagging career and put together another strong defense and a serviceable offense despite having to replace seven starters. Granted, Snyder may be dogged by his own success -- he did a great job, but he's made it look routine.

Newcomer of the year: For the want of $50, Lance Mitchell dropped an English class. For the want of that English class, he was ineligible at Florida. For the want of someone to replace Rocky Calmus at linebacker, the Oklahoma Sooners welcomed the former City College of San Francisco star. That ended the wanting. Mitchell has been everything the Sooners hoped he would. Teddy Lehman gets most of the attention among the Sooner linebackers, but Mitchell did a lot of the dirty work.

Biggest surprise: Oklahoma went into its regular season ending Bedlam Series game against Oklahoma State armed with resolve, lessons learned and motivation. It didn't matter. Needing a win to stay alive in the national title hunt, the Sooners were beaten by the very weapon everybody expected OSU to bring -- deep play-action passes, like the ones A&M used in upsetting the then No. 1 Sooners. The Sooners couldn't stop Rashaun Woods and had to settle for something almost as galling as being knocked out of the national title hunt -- having to share the South Division title with Texas.

Biggest disappointment: Sit around and let Dan McCarney wax nostalgic for the good old days. Remember Wallace's amazing scramble against Texas Tech, the kind of signature play that wins the Heisman Trophy? Remember when the Cyclones were 6-1, including a win over eventual co-Big Ten champion and BCS team Iowa? Recall the No. 13 ranking? Remember going to Oklahoma on the third weekend of October and … um .. this is where it gets ugly. The Cyclones finished 1-5 including a regular-season ending loss to Connecticut at home and Wallace's Heisman campaign nosedived. Consolation prize? A spot in the Humanitarian Bowl, where even the turf is blue. But it was fun while it lasted.

Baylor
Kevin Steele said after he was fired that he knew he was doomed from the Bears' 70-22 opening day loss to California. Instability at quarterback and injuries, including one to linebacker John Garrett, sealed the fate of Steele, who was fired on Nov. 3 after a 9-33 record in four seasons. Bears had one bright spot -- their 35-22 win over Kansas ended a 29-game conference losing streak.

MVP: Reggie Newhouse set Baylor school records with 75 catches for 1,140 yards and was the only Bear to rank in the top eight in the conference in any individual statistical category. End of good news. He was a senior.

Biggest disappointment: Everything else. Beating Kansas this year isn't anything to brag about, but that's all the Bears have. They were shut out four times and ranked last in the Big 12 in scoring offense, kickoff returns, punting, turnover margin, sacks, penalties, third down conversions, third-down conversions allowed, sacks allowed and PATs.

Did you know: Hayden Fry was the runaway winner in the Waco Tribune-Herald's poll to name a new coach, receiving nearly three times as many votes (as of early Monday) as runner-up R.C. Slocum. Also among those receiving votes are Anna Nicole Smith, Hayden Fox, Moses, J. Fred Muggs and Alf. They had as many votes as the guy who's expected to get the job, Kentucky Coach Guy Morriss.

Colorado
The Buffaloes, using a the kind of power running game that used to make the Big Eight famous, edged Kansas State early in Boulder and then ran away with the North Division. Colorado was hurt when starting quarterback Craig Ochs left school after a series of concussion, though Bobby Hodge was a capable replacement. Buffs were last in the Big 12 in Red Zone offense, converting on only 69.5 percent of their penetrations.

MVP: A bruised sternum kept Chris Brown from making a run at the Heisman Trophy. A rich stable of backs, including Bobby Purify and Brian Calhoun, produced almost as well as he did, keeping the junior from making a run at the Big 12 MVP in our book.

Biggest disappointment: Colorado seemingly had this payback thing figured out, turning a 41-7 midseason rout by Texas last year into a Big 12 championship game upset win over those same Longhorns. This year the Buffaloes self-destructed in a 27-11 midseason loss to Oklahoma. In the title game rematch, minus Brown, they totally imploded, getting crushed 29-7 and failing to score an offensive touchdown.

Did you know: Colorado was the only conference champ in the seven year history of the Big 12 to return to the title game the following year to defend its title.

Iowa State
The Cylones' tantalizing near win over Florida State in the NACDA Pigskin Classic was deceiving. FSU wasn't as good everybody thought, but neither were the Cyclones. Led by quarterback Seneca Wallace, ISU made a run at the North, but his late season inconsistency and the defense's inability to stop opponents sent ISU staggering into a Humanitarian Bowl berth.

MVP: Seneca Wallace served notice early he was a special player, nearly leading the Cyclones to an upset win over Florida State. Even though he struggled late -- eight interceptions, one touchdown and six sacks in the last three games -- the senior quarterback still threw for a school-record 3,138 yards and is the reason ISU is going to a third consecutive bowl game.

Biggest disappointment: Wallace dropped off the Heisman radar with back-to-back bad games at Oklahoma and Texas. Completing only 43.2 percent of his passes and throwing four interceptions with zero touchdowns against Connecticut was enough to make people wonder how he was ever a Heisman frontrunner.

Did you know: ISU entered the season tied with Texas for the longest streak of having a 1,000-yard rusher, at seven straight seasons. Texas kept its streak going but the Cyclones didn't. Leading runner Hiawatha Rutland (615 yards) didn't even rank among the league's top 12 rushers.

Kansas
Mark Mangino didn't have much talent to work with his first season and it showed, particularly at receiver, where the Jayhawks were dogged by dropped passes. That was only one of Mangino's concerns, though, as KU was last in the Big 12 in total offense and total defense. With loss at Baylor, KU now holds the longest losing streak in conference at 14 games.

MVP: Bill Whittemore was the KU offense. After replacing Zach Dyer as the starting quarterback in the second game, the JUCO transfer finished as the team's leading passer and second-leading rusher and was named Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year by the league's coaches.

Biggest disappointment: Basketball season hasn't brought the relief everybody expected. Ranked No. 2 in the preseason, the Jayhawk roundballers have started off 3-3 and the grumbling has started.

Did you know: On the heels of the 0-8 Big 12 season football coach Mark Mangino got a one-year contract extension, through 2007.

Kansas State
The Wildcats were one of the hottest teams in the country toward the end of the year, and put a beating on poll darling Southern Cal in Manhattan that was worse than 27-20 score. Coach Bill Snyder picked Ell Roberson over Marc Dunn and the offense clicked, the defense was as stout as usual. But the school that had produced the first-team All-Big 12 kicker in four of the league's first five seasons couldn't kick a PAT -- and it killed them.

MVP: Cornerback Terrence Newman and halfback Darren Sproles share the honor. Newman's versatility -- he scored on offense, defense and special teams this season - make him an easy choice, but the diminutive Sproles gave quarterback Ell Roberson a dependable weapon.

Biggest disappointment: The Wildcats couldn't put the 'foot' in football. The inability to make extra points and a late field goal cost the Wildcats a home win over Texas in October, a game that would have put KSU in a BCS bowl for the first time since the Wildcats beat Syracuse in the Fiesta Bowl after the 1997 season.

Did you know: KSU is one of only seven schools to play in a bowl game in each of the last nine years. The Wildcats are tied with Virginia Tech for the sixth-longest streak, behind Nebraska (33), Michigan (27), Florida State (20), Tennessee (13) and Florida (11).

Missouri
Behind quarterback Brad Smith, the Tigers put scares into OU, Nebraska and Iowa State and beat A&M in overtime the week after the Aggies stunned OU. Wide receiver Justin Gage and bruising halfback Zach Abron provided a solid supporting cast for Smith and the Tigers lost only 12 turnovers all season. A weak pass defense, last in the league, kept Mizzou from winning games it had a chance to win.

MVP: Brad Smith was only 17 years old when the season began, but his precocious grip on the Tigers' offense gave Mizzou faithful reason to look toward a bright future. His 213 yards rushing against Oklahoma made his bones. How he'll do next season without leading receiver Justin Gage, the MU and Big 12 career leader in catches and yardage, will further test his skills.

Biggest disappointment: Missouri had OU beaten on Oct. 5 until a Sooner defensive back threw a touchdown pass into double coverage to the fourth-string tight end on fourth-and-1 in the waning minutes of the game. Mizzou lost 31-24, which not only cost second-year coach Gary Pinkel much-needed momentum but ultimately kept the Tigers from being bowl eligible.

Did you know: Marcus James' 81-yard punt return for a touchdown against Iowa State broke the nation's longest drought without such a score, which was more than 12 years.

Nebraska
The Cornhuskers had a record-setting year. Unfortunately for NU, it was for most positive streaks broken. First the Huskers fell from the AP poll for the first time in 348 straight weeks. Then long streaks of nine-win seasons (33), years ranked in final poll (33), home win streak (26 games) and years with a winning conference record (33) followed. Nebraska's talent drop may be most noticeable on the offensive line -- no first-team all-league players for the first time since 1969.

MVP: Eric Crouch. Yeah he's gone, but this year showed how valuable he was to the Cornhuskers even more than last season's Heisman Trophy winning season. Jammal Lord wasn't bad, but he wasn't consistent and the NU offense was a shell of its former self. If you have to give it to a current Husker, tab cornerback DeJuan Groce, at least as much for his punt return skills.

Biggest disappointment: The Blackshirts defense may want matching masks after their performance this season, when opponents gouged them like they hadn't in years.

Did you know: The Huskers qualified for their 34th consecutive bowl trip, longest such streak in the nation, even though their six losses this year were the most since 1961. The 7-6 Huskers must beat Ole Miss in the Independence bowl if they are to extend their streak of winning seasons to 41.

Oklahoma
Loss of quarterback Jason White with a knee injury robbed OU of an additional offensive threat, but Nate Hybl proved to be a very capable replacement, particularly when halfback Quentin Griffin dominated the Big 12. Sooners have best linebacking corps in the country and the secondary had the requisite short memory needed to play man coverage, unfortunately they also forgot that teams could and did beat them with play-action deep balls.

MVP: Slippery halfback Quentin Griffin had his low moments early in the season, but he was up to the task when the Sooners needed him. He closed the season with nine straight 100-yard games, including strong efforts against Texas and Colorado (twice). His 188 yards against the Buffaloes in the Big 12 championship game is a title game record.

Biggest disappointment: Bob Stoops' coaching aura took a shot this year when the normally well-prepared Sooners lost to OSU for the second straight year. OSU is the only school to beat a Stoops team in back-to-back years since he took over as OU head coach in 1999.

Did you know: Stoops .816 start at OU is the fifth-best record by a coach in his first three seasons heading a program in NCAA history. Heading into the Rose Bowl he's got a .824 winning percentage.

Oklahoma State
Josh Fields and Rashaun Woods formed one of the most threatening passing combinations in the nation and the Cowboys' running game, plagued by injuries and a suspension, played well at the end of the year. Defensively, the Cowboys were solid up front and tightened up a soft secondary. Bad news: If Woods goes pro, as expected, Cowboys would have to rebuild entire receiving corps for 2003.

MVP: Rashaun Woods routinely makes fools of good secondaries and his route-running, body control and ability to catch the "bucket" ball is unparalleled. Take that away and his 12 catches for 226 yards against OU alone make him the MVP in the eyes of Cowboys fans.

Biggest disappointment: OSU led Louisiana Tech by 18 points with 16 minutes left in the season opener only to get blitzed by the Bulldogs' passing attack and lose, 39-36. OSU had five early possessions that started in La. Tech territory and had only seven points to show for it.

Did you know: Of the 18 OSU head coaches who lasted two seasons in Stillwater, Les Miles is only the third to post a winning record in his second season after opening with a losing record.

Texas
Longhorns got closer this year -- they led OU 17-14 one minute into the fourth quarter -- but it wasn't close enough. Fourth quarter woes also cost them a win over Texas Tech, and wins in both those games could have put them in the national title game, something UT fans know all too well. UT defense was almost nonexistent all game against Tech and late against OU and the offense continued to struggle to mount a consistent running game. Next year …

MVP: A bum hamstring made Roy Williams just another receiver early in the season. When it healed, Williams took the Longhorn offense to another level. His game-breaking ability led to wins over Nebraska and Texas A&M and he kept the Longhorns in a shootout with Texas Tech. Will the junior be back next year? Williams puts it at 50-50.

Biggest disappointment: This season was built up as Texas' best shot at a national championship. The season ended, in those terms, on Oct. 12, when the Longhorns couldn't figure out a way to contain Oklahoma's Quentin Griffin, who helped overcome a four-interception performance by Sooner quarterback Nate Hybl and lead the Sooners to a fourth-quarter rally past the luckless Longhorns.

Did you know: Texas coach Mack Brown has coached in conferences for 15 of his 18 seasons as a major college head coach and has won at least 10 games five times but has yet to win a conference title.

Texas A&M
This was a year of revelation for the Aggies. Long without a decent pass game, they changed offensive coordinators and discovered not one, but two good quarterbacks (Dustin Long and Reggie McNeal). They found out they could be great (beating No. 1 OU) and horrible (losing in OT at home the next week to Missouri). Most of all, they decided R.C. Slocum's run was over. (Spellcheck for "Slocum's" comes up "Slouch's" Coincidence?). Dennis Franchione inherits offensive talent -- and a serious rebuilding job on defense.

MVP: Cornerback Sammy Davis and safety Terrence Kiel held together a defense that struggled at times through the year. Offensively the Aggies had several players who had their moments -- quarterback Reggie McNeal, receiver Bethel Johnson and Jamaar Taylor, tight end Greg Porter -- but none jump out as MVP candidates.

Biggest disappointment: It wasn't a good year for vaunted defenses with catchy nicknames. Like NU's Blackshirts, the Aggies' Wrecking Crew wasn't up to its usual standard. A&M, hit hard by injuries that revealed a lack of depth, allowed it's most yards and points per game since 1982.

Did you know: New coach Dennis Franchione may have left Alabama but he remains in Bear Bryant's shadow, albeit a smaller one. Though Bryant made his name at Alabama, he was 25-14-2 in four seasons at College Station before taking the Bama job.

Texas Tech
Texas was No. 3 when it went into Lubbock on Nov. 16 and the Red Raiders took the Longhorns apart with a display that showcased the best of the Tech offense. Quarterback Kliff Kingsbury and receiver Wes Welker had career games and a defense that allowed 57 touchdowns all season had a stop when needed. The next week, with the South Division title on the line, the Red Raiders got clobbered at OU 60-15. But did we mention they beat Texas?

MVP: There's a tendency to say quarterback Kliff Kingsbury is a product of the system. Tech has a heckuva system but the Red Raiders also have a heckuva quarterback. For all his numbers -- 39 school and seven NCAA records -- his biggest number is six. That's how many touchdowns he threw in Tech's upset win over Texas.

Biggest disappointment: One thing the Red Raiders could always be counted on to do under Spike Dykes is play tight defense. Mike Leach's offense has relegated the defense to second billing, and that's shown in the unit's performance. Despite top-notch players such as end Aaron Hunt and linebacker Lawrence Flugence the Red Raider defense ranks no better than 82nd in any of the four major NCAA Division I-A team defensive categories.

Did you know: With wins over SMU, Baylor, Texas A&M and Texas this season, Tech beat all of its instate opponents for the first time since 1954, when the Raiders bettered A&M, West Texas State, Texas Western, Houston and Hardin-Simmons.

Mark Wangrin covers college football for the San Antonio News-Express.