Oklahoma, Colorado deal with loss of QBs

DALLAS -- Oklahoma and Colorado watched their starting quarterbacks go down over the weekend, but unlike lots of teams, their hopes of success didn't go down with them.

The second-ranked Sooners lost Jason White to a season-ending knee injury in their 37-27 win over Alabama, and No. 17 Colorado rallied for a 34-14 victory over San Diego State after Craig Ochs suffered his third concussion in the past 14 months.

Oklahoma's Bob Stoops and Colorado's Gary Barnett say they still expect their teams to prosper without their top QBs.

"I think our team draws on that," Barnett said. "We've been in this situation before. That's just the way it is in college football."

Most Big 12 coaches agree that if both teams want to compete for a national title, let alone a Big 12 title, they'll have to prove their offenses can be effective with a second quarterback.

Just like they did last year.

"Our quarterbacks are going to get hit no matter who they are," said Oklahoma State coach Les Miles. "If you plan to have success in this conference, you better have two quality quarterbacks."

Oklahoma will again turn to senior Nate Hybl, who started 11 of 13 games last season, but was beaten out by White for the starting job during a training camp competition.

Last season, White earned the starting job playing in relief for an injured Hybl against Texas and Kansas, but went down with a similar knee injury against Nebraska. Hybl filled in for the rest of the season and led the Sooners to within one game of the national-championship game.

Hybl performed well in relief on Saturday, completing 16 of 30 passes for 251 yards and a 51-yard touchdown pass to Mark Clayton that gave the Sooners a 16-3 second-quarter lead. He also led an 80-yard touchdown drive with less than five minutes left that helped Oklahoma take a 30-27 lead, and ultimately, the win.

"Being out there the other night, Nate was comfortable right away," Stoops said. "When he went out there, he threw some excellent passes. We have great confidence in Nate."

Barnett is less sure about senior backup Robert Hodge.

Hodge, who was in for only 10 plays last year, was on the field for two second-half touchdown drives as the Buffaloes pulled away from San Diego State. But Hodge's numbers were less than spectacular: 2-of-7 for 8 yards.

"I was not encouraged by the way we threw the football," Barnett said.

Barnett is hoping the success of last year's team will inspire the Buffs to rise to the challenge.

Last season, Bobby Pesavento came off the bench for an injured Ochs and led the team to five straight wins, including Colorado's 39-37 victory over Texas in the Big 12 Championship.

To duplicate last season's run to the Big 12 title, Hodge will have to improve quickly. In the next three games, Colorado will play No. 17 Southern Cal, at No. 23 UCLA and conference rival Kansas State.

"We have a lot of confidence in Robert and ourselves," Barnett said.

Meanwhile, Ochs' third concussion within a year has led to speculation that his career could be over, but Barnett said that Ochs could return to practice by next week. A CAT scan and other tests performed on Ochs were negative.

Players of the week

Baylor running back Jonathan Golden, Nebraska cornerback DeJuan Groce and Kansas State's Terence Newman have been named Big 12 offensive, defensive and special teams players of the week.

Golden ran for 108 yards and scored six touchdowns in the Bears' 50-12 win over Samford.

Groce, the defensive player of the week, intercepted two passes for the second consecutive week as Nebraska beat Utah State 44-13.

Newman ook the special teams award. He ran a punt back 40 yards for a touchdown and had three punt returns for 42 net yards in the Wildcats' 68-0 win over Louisiana-Monroe.