Forget the Heisman Trophy. College football's toughest honor to win this season will be first-team quarterback on the All-Big 12 squad.

Missouri's Chase Daniel, a Southlake Carroll, Texas, graduate who was the conference's first-team quarterback last season, already is feeling the heat to repeat. Through four games, Daniel has increased his completion percentage (75.9), boosted his pass efficiency rating (193.4) and improved his touchdown-to-interception ratio (12-1) over last season, when he was a Heisman Trophy finalist.

Yet he's only the third-best quarterback in the conference, based on NCAA pass efficiency ratings. Daniel ranks fourth nationally, but he's staring up at Texas' Colt McCoy (209.7) and Oklahoma's Sam Bradford (209.1), who rank second and third, respectively.

"It's ridiculous the quarterback play we have around here," Daniel said during a Monday teleconference. "Colt is an exceptional player, as well as Sam Bradford."

So is Daniel, last year's Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. Between them, the threesome finished nonconference play with 42 touchdown passes against four interceptions. But they're only part of the league's stunning statistical story line heading into Saturday's Big 12 openers.

Mix in the ratios of Baylor freshman Robert Griffin (seven TDs, no INTs), Kansas State's Josh Freeman (11-2), Texas Tech's Graham Harrell (12-3) and Kansas' Todd Reesing (11-2) and the total -- 83 touchdown passes, 11 interceptions -- reads like a misprint. Or something from a sandlot, 7-on-7 session.

Because 10 teams have returning starters at the position, most analysts expected the Big 12 to be college football's version of Quarterback Central this season. But not to this extent. Heading into Saturday's games, four of the nation's top five passers (Oklahoma State's Zac Robinson is No. 5) play in the Big 12. So do 10 of the top 25, based on the latest pass-efficiency stats.

Daniel cautioned that the early statistics are "skewed" because many teams have yet to face defenses as daunting as those they'll see during conference play. He also praised the quality of Big 12 offensive linemen and receivers, saying, "As quarterbacks, we get too much credit. We're starting the play, but they're finishing it."

That's a valid point. But in this era of spread offenses, success in college football revolves around quality quarterback play.

That is why Tech coach Mike Leach said the Big 12, this season, is "the best it has been" from an offensive standpoint in the league's 13 seasons.

"It's because of returning quarterbacks. The rest of the offensive unit tends to draw from those guys," Leach said. "There is better work in the off-season and better work in camp because your offense already has a bit of an identity."

Don't be surprised if the identity of the league's all-conference quarterback matches the identity of the 2008 Heisman recipient. In this week's Rocky Mountain News poll of Heisman voters, the top three vote-getters -- in order -- were Daniel, Bradford and McCoy.

Obviously, the heavy proliferation of Big 12 quarterbacks at the top of the poll will diminish when players' teams begin losing games to league opponents. For now, it simply underscores the difficulty Daniel faces in earning repeat recognition as the league's top quarterback.

McCoy, who leads the nation in completion percentage (80.0), shed some light on his level of expectation earlier this week. The son of a high school football coach, McCoy chastised himself for misfiring on two throws in last week's 52-10 rout of Arkansas.

"My dad once told me the definition of a good ball is a ball that's caught. They're incomplete, so they're bad passes," McCoy said. "If I hit them right in the hands and they drop it, it's still a bad pass."

Daniel adopts a similar philosophy. During practices, he tracks how many balls hit the ground each week during passing drills. The season high was four, heading into the Illinois game. Subsequent totals have been two, two and zero.

"We'd like for it to be zero every week," Daniel said.

Eventually, the Big 12 quarterback who finishes with zero losses probably will earn all-conference honors in 2008. Don't be surprised if he wins the Heisman Trophy to go along with it.

Quick hits

Upset alert: Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is happy he can point to last week's four losses by Top 10 teams for motivational purposes as the seventh-ranked Red Raiders (4-0) prepare to play Saturday at Kansas State (3-1). Leach said the upsets serve as "very clear examples" of what can happen to a team that loses its focus against an underdog.

"We shouldn't be blind to that, and I hope we're not," Leach said.

That's especially true for Tech, which has a history of head-scratching losses in recent seasons.

Receiver Eric Morris, a fifth-year senior, knows.

"We have been known . . . . to have one or two big victories a year, like OU or Texas, and turn around the next week and lose a game that there's no way we should have lost," Morris said. "We're focusing hard not to get complacent over the course of the season and not to overlook anybody."

Stopping Scott: Although some Texas fans may harbor negative feelings toward Colorado running back Darrell Scott, a freshman who selected the Buffs over the Longhorns in February, coach Mack Brown said memories of the heated recruiting battle are "not an issue" for players and coaches heading into Saturday's game. Texas defensive tackle Roy Miller, a senior who backed out of a verbal commitment to Oklahoma before signing with the Longhorns, agreed.

"Guys make decisions. I have a lot of people mad at me from Oklahoma for changing my commitment," Miller said. "It just happens."

Scheming for upsets: Oklahoma is the new No. 1 team in college football, but Sooners defensive coordinator Brent Venables is wary of the frailty of his team's perch. In this era of increased parity, he says it's up to him to stay a step ahead of rival offensive coordinators.

"You can't just outman (opponents) anymore," Venables said. "It comes down to matchups and schemes. There's a lot of scheming going on and (underdogs) . . . know how to shorten the game. If they make a few big plays and get some turnovers, that's the game."

Burch's picks

Matchup of the week

Texas Tech at Kansas State: This is the type of game the Red Raiders have lost with regularity in recent years (favored on the road against a talented, but inconsistent, offensive team). History suggests it's upset time. But these Raiders should have the moxie to handle it. Pick: Texas Tech 34, Kansas State 27.

Other games:

Texas 31, Colorado 17: The Longhorns have enough offensive weapons to avoid a rocky night in the Rocky Mountains.

Oklahoma State 55, Texas A&M 24: OSU's balanced offense is a nightmare matchup for A&M's struggling defense.

Oklahoma 42, Baylor 21: The Bears will make some offensive noise, but not nearly enough to trigger thoughts of an upset.

Missouri 45, Nebraska 28: Another major offensive outburst lifts the Tigers to their first victory in Lincoln since 1978.

Kansas 41, Iowa State 19: Todd Reesing & Co. score early and often against the Cyclones' defense.

Last week: 7-0 Season: 44-3

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