Big 12 South remains a wild four-team race

HOUSTON -- Texas Tech may have knocked off No. 1, but the upset settled nothing in college football's toughest division.

The Red Raiders (9-0, 5-0 Big 12) jumped to No. 2 in The Associated Press Top 25 and took control of the Big 12 South with their 39-33 win over then-top-ranked Texas on Saturday night.

The Longhorns (8-1, 4-1) fell one play short of escaping unscathed through a murderous four-game stretch. They lost literally in the last second in Lubbock after victories over Oklahoma, Missouri and Oklahoma State, all ranked in the top 11 when Texas played them.

Now it's Tech's turn to face the gauntlet. The Red Raiders host eighth-ranked Oklahoma State (8-1, 4-1) this week before playing No. 6 Oklahoma (8-1, 4-1) in Norman, where the Sooners are 59-2 in 10 seasons under coach Bob Stoops.

Amid the chaos after Saturday's victory, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach reminded his team of the road ahead.

"Coach Leach told us in the locker room if we don't come out there next weekend and get another 'W,' this win doesn't mean much to us," said defensive lineman Colby Whitlock.

The Cowboys and Sooners stayed one game back in the division race with impressive victories.

In Stillwater, Zac Robinson threw for 395 yards with five touchdowns in Oklahoma State's 59-17 win against Iowa State.

In Norman, the Sooners routed Nebraska 62-28, the most points for Oklahoma in the long history of that series.

Texas Tech's win revived both Oklahoma teams' chances of winning the South. If Texas had won in Lubbock, the Cowboys, Sooners and Red Raiders would've all been playing for second place, watching helplessly to see if the Longhorns could run the table.

Now, the three will play a virtual round-robin.

If the Red Raiders win their last three games, they'll play for the Big 12 championship. Another scenario? Tech loses to both the Sooners and Cowboys and the Oklahoma teams are 6-1 in league play heading into their annual Bedlam game on Nov. 29.

The Longhorns, of course, also are still in it and have the advantage of having the toughest part of their schedule behind them.

They'll be heavily favored to win their last three games -- against Baylor, Kansas and Texas A&M -- and could still win the South if Texas Tech loses to both Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.

Texas would have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the winner of the "Bedlam" game.

The North division is a bit more clear-cut and could come down to the Missouri-Kansas game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on Nov. 29.

The 13th-ranked Tigers (7-2, 3-2) and Jayhawks (6-3, 3-2) stayed tied for first place after wildly different wins on Saturday. The Tigers needed a late field goal to beat Baylor 31-28 in Waco, while the Jayhawks hammered Kansas State 52-21 in Lawrence.

The Tigers will be favored to beat Kansas State (4-5, 1-4) and Iowa State (2-7, 0-5), but Kansas plays at Nebraska (5-4, 2-3) and hosts Texas before the Missouri game.

The Jayhawks snapped a two-game losing streak with their third straight victory in the Sunflower Series.

"Our goal is to win the North and this sets us up to have that opportunity at the end of the season," said Kansas senior linebacker Mike Rivera.

While the contenders get ready for the stretch run, the Big 12's also-rans have more modest goals in mind.

Nebraska, Colorado (4-5, 1-4), Kansas State, Texas A&M (4-5, 2-3) and Baylor (3-6, 1-4) still have shots at bowl eligibility. Nebraska, A&M and Baylor are breaking in new coaches this season and an extra month of practice would do all of them some good.

The Cornhuskers play Kansas State and Colorado after this week's date with the Jayhawks, the most favorable schedule among the conference teams hoping to finish .500 or better. Every other team has a ranked opponent remaining.

"Our margin of error right now is small, and we keep trying to stress to our players that it's about us," said Nebraska coach Bo Pelini. "It's about taking care of what we do. When we don't play well, we don't execute our stuff well, that margin of error grows. We're not able to overcome that."

The Buffaloes lost 24-17 to Texas A&M on Saturday and probably lost leading rusher Rodney Stewart for the season. The freshman broke his right leg on a horse-collar tackle by A&M's Von Miller.

A&M, meanwhile, has won two in a row after opening league play with three straight losses. But the Aggies still have Oklahoma and Texas left on the schedule and a shocking, season-opening loss to Arkansas State could end up costing them a bowl berth.

The Bears are the longest shot to earn bowl eligibility, with No. 5 Texas, Texas A&M and No. 2 Texas Tech remaining. Baylor rallied from a 21-7 halftime deficit against Missouri on Saturday, but Chase Daniel guided the Tigers for the winning field goal with Jeff Wolfert's 34-yard field goal with 2:31 remaining.

On the play before the winning kick, Baylor's Jordan Lake made a diving attempt and and almost had an interception. Bears coach Art Briles hopes the near-miss gives his team confidence for the difficult tests ahead.

"We can play with anybody in the country, does not matter what number is in front of your name," Briles said. "That's the way we are going to be. When we line up on the football field, we expect to win the football game."

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AP Sports Writers Stephen Hawkins, Jeff Latzke, Murray Evans and Jim Vertuno contributed.