This is third in a series of conference profiles as part of BCS Know How’s season preview. Today’s conference is the Big 12.

Conference: Big 12 Conference (Big 12)

Active Since: 1996

Current Member Schools: Iowa State Cyclones, Kansas State Wildcats, Colorado Buffaloes, Kansas Jayhawks, Missouri Tigers, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Baylor Bears, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Texas A&M Aggies, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Oklahoma Sooners, Texas Longhorns. (12)

Bowl Affiliations: Fiesta Bowl (BCS), Insight Bowl, Texas Bowl, Alamo Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl, Holiday Bowl, Dallas Football Classic Bowl, AT&T Cotton Bowl. (8)

2009 Results:
Conference Champion – Texas
Conference Runner-up – Nebraska
BCS Bowl Results: 2010 BCS National Championship Game – Alabama 37 vs. Texas 21
Overall Bowl Record: 4-4
Heisman Vote Recipients: Texas QB Colt McCoy (3rd Overall); Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh (4th Overall)

2010 Outlook: Sam Bradford. Colt McCoy. Ndamukong Suh. Gerald McCoy.

These were the names that reigned over the Big 12 the past few seasons. They, along with a bumper crop of Big 12 NFL recruits are all gone now, and the conference is looking to its youngsters to take the reigns from one of the most talent-laden conferences in BCS history.

Could it be that Colt and Sam’s replacements will battle it out for that crown, not to mention the Big 12 South Title, Big 12 Title and possibly the Heisman? Its too soon to tell, but QBs Landry Jones (Oklahoma) and Garrett Gilbert (Texas) will certainly be surrounded by talented squads in Austin and Norman.

That’s not to say that the rest of the South is lacking, either. Texas Tech and Oklahoma State look to improve upon good 2009 campaigns and could end up testing the top of the conference severely.

The Big 12 North, seemingly second fiddle to the South and the Red River rivalry, is reinvigorated after Nebraska nearly knocked off Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game. The ‘Huskers are joined by Missouri and even maybe Kansas State with legitimate shots at making the Championship Game.

2010 Heisman Hopefuls: Oklahoma QB Landry Jones; Oklahoma State RB Kendall Hunter.

BCS Know How’s 2010 Predictions:
Conference Champion – Oklahoma Sooners
Conference Runner-up – Nebraska Cornhuskers
BCS bids – Two: Oklahoma – Fiesta Bowl; Texas – Sugar Bowl
Heisman Finalists – None

Now that conference realignment talks have — at long last — settled down, let’s take a quick look as to where this leaves the FBS conferences moving forward.

First and most importantly, none of the changes you heard about last month will not be taking affect this season. The 11 BCS and non-BCS conferences you’ve come to know and love remain in tact for at least one more season.

However, starting in the 2011-12 season (still more than a year away), things will begin to get a little unfamiliar.

The first so-called “domino” to fall in last month’s conference realignment fiasco was surprisingly Nebraska’s move to the Big 10 conference. The Cornhuskers were an integral part of the Big 12, joining in 1996 along with the rest of the former Big Eight conference.

The Big 12 then saw Colorado follow in Nebraska’s footsteps out the conference door, with the Buffalos instead deciding to take to the west coast, joining the Pacific-10 conference.

The Utah Utes took a step in the same direction, vacating their seat at the head of the BCS-buster table as a part of the Mountain West conference to join an automatically-qualifying conference in the BCS-automatic-qualifying Pac-10.

As the Utes departure was written in the tea leaves for some time, the Mountain West went about replacing them before they had even made the announcement and came back with the Utes’ co-hosts at the top of the BCS-buster world, bringing Western Athletic Conference member Boise State into the MWC mix.

With the four teams sending shockwaves around the college football landscape in short order, more moves were expected, but conference members showed surprising loyalty, and the rest of the conference world was left unchanged.

So to wrap:

• Colorado and Nebraska left the Big 12, leaving the Big 12 with 10 teams.
• Boise State left the WAC and joined the MWC leaving the conference with nine teams after Utah left the conference.
• Colorado and Utah joined the Pac-10 giving the conference 12 teams.
• Nebraska joined the Big 10, leaving the conference with 12 teams.

With the net net gains and losses as such in regards to the rules of the BCS:

• With 12 teams the Pac-10 will be able to hold a conference championship game.
• With 12 teams the Big 10 will be able to hold a conference championship game.
• With only 10 teams the Big 12 will no long be able to hold a conference championship game.
• The Utah Utes is the first “BCS buster” school to move from a non-BCS conference to an automatically-qualifying conference.
• The MWC’s qualification and affiliation with the BCS remains unchanged.

Remember none of these changes are effective immediately, with the first move not planned until the beginning of the 2011-12 academic year.

Recently, it has come to light that many of the BCS conference are looking to expand and realign.

The consequences of this move could have ripple effects around the college football landscape and have immediate and large effects on the Bowl Championship Series.

During the past few seasons, the Atlantic Coast Conference, Southeastern Conference and Big 12 Conference have all been able to hold conference championship game because they all have 12 member schools. By the rules set out by the BCS, only conferences with 12 teams are allowed to hold conference championship games.

Teams from conferences that don’t have 12 teams have cried foul about the rule, saying that the ability of schools of these three conferences to hold a championship game and give one team another quality win gave those three conferences a better shot at securing a BCS National Title game bid, because of the effect of a final-week game on the human and computer elements of the BCS rankings.

And sure enough, this season saw the winner of the SEC Championship Game and the Big 12 Championship Game get bids to the national title game, a circumstance that was almost preordained before the season even started.

Now it has been revealed that the Big 10 and Pac 10 are both looking into securing enough teams to hold their own conference championship game. The reasons behind the expansion reach further than simply a boost in the BCS, as both are looking at gaining an upper hand in television rights negotiations, but the fact remains the same. Five conferences with 12 teams, and therefore five conference championship games would have a major impact on the BCS.

No longer would the Big 10 have the convience of waiting for good teams to loose and submit Ohio State to the BCS National Title game for all those years in the mid 2000′s. No longer would the Pac-10 be robbed of the chance to submit USC to the National Title game because they played a 6-6 UCLA on their final weekend, and not a 9-3 California or 8-4 Oregon State.

The Big 12 and SEC would no longer hold an upper hand on the final weekend, and the computers and even the human elements would have to notice. And this would change things drastically.

And with the current revolt in Congress and the Senate against the BCS, this move towards change could only further confuse what could be a huge opportunity for big change in the college football landscape and the way that the Football Bowl Subdivision crowns its champion.

Texas Longhorns (13-0) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (13-0)

The storyline of this BCS National Title game has been building since the beginning of the season, when it seemed — even then — a foregone conclusion that the SEC champs would face off against Texas for the BCS title. And all these weeks later, after Alabama and Texas finished their regular season just the way they hoped to when the season began, the two will meet up in Pasadena for the BCS national title.

Mark Ingram and Colt McCoy, two Heisman finalists, will once again continue a long trend of Heisman finalists featuring prominently in the national championship game.

Most importantly, since these storylines have been building all season, lets get into the meat of the preview, because you’ve heard anything else that could be said already.

Offense: Colt McCoy has proven time and again that he is a winner during his career. However, this will be his first opportunity to win a national title. McCoy leads one of the nation’s most prolific offenses as one of the nation’s most prolific passers. McCoy’s senior season took a cue from the rest of his seasons, high completion percentage, tons of yards and he kept the turnovers down. McCoy didn’t even need to play entire games for most of this season, as the Longhorn offense was good enough to carry games without him.

Mark Ingram and Greg McElroy picked apart the Florida Gator defense in the SEC Championship Game, and come into the BCS National Title game as one of the most explosive offensive units in the country. Obviously Ingram’s statistical marvel of a season has helped to key the Tide’s success this year, but that is not to say that other pieces are equally important as the team scored a strong 31 points per game.

Defense: The Longhorn defense certainly looked strong in the Big 12 Championship Game against Nebraska, but the Cornhusker offense doesn’t really hold a candle to what the Tide bring to the table in terms of sheer offensive power. Ingram, McElroy, Julio Jones, and even return man Javier Arenas will be tough to stop like the Longhorns stopped the Huskers. The Longhorn defense did struggle to stop some mediocre opponents this season, giving up 39 to Texas A&M and 24 to Texas Tech. Performances like that will doom the Longhorns early.

Alabama, for all its strength on offense, may actually be strongest on the defensive side of the ball. The unit ranked first in the nation in scoring defense and second in total defense and rushing defense. However, the challenge will be stopping Colt McCoy, Jordan Shipley and the Longhorn passing offense. Not to worry, however, the Tide also led the nation in pass efficiency defense.

Prediction: Alabama 32 vs. Texas 21. This is being cast as a David vs. Goliath-type matchup between the favorite Tide and “underdog” Longhorns. It’s certainly not that. However, Alabama is just better enough than the Longhorns on both sides of the ball and even on special teams to warrant the favorite status, one which they’ll live up to. McCoy, for all his winning in college, will leave without a national title.

Big 10

Conference Leader: Ohio State (10-2, 7-1) have clinched the Big 10 regular season title and will head to the Rose Bowl.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Iowa Hawkeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, Ohio State Buckeyes. Wisconsin Badgers, Northwestern Wildcats, Michigan State Spartans, Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Big 12

Conference Leaders: Nebraska (North Division; 9-3, 6-2)  and Texas (South Division; 12-0, 8-0) have clinched their respective divisions and will face each other in the Big 12 Title Game for a chance at a BCS bowl bid.

Game of Last Week: Oklahoma 27 vs. Oklahoma State 0. Oklahoama State was looking to make it to a possible BCS bowl this season, but a down Sooner team looking at the possibility of a .500 season instead took it to the Cowboys and ended their hopes of a BCS bowl.

Game of Next Week: Nebraska vs. Texas. For the Big 12′s automatic bowl bid.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Iowa State Cyclones, Missouri Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, Texas A&M Aggies.

Big East

Conference Leader: Cincinnati (11-0, 6-0)

Lurking: Pittsburgh (9-2, 5-1)

Game of Last Week: West Virginia 19 vs. Pittsburgh 16. The Mountaineers shocked the Panthers in the Backyard Brawl, payback for a couple years ago when the Panthers did just the same to a top-ranked WVU team. A field goal as time expired from Tyler Bitancurt sent the Mountaineers to victory.

Game of Next Week: Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati. Although the Panthers lost last week, a victory over the Bearcats would still get them the Big East crown in this de facto Big East Championship Game.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Cincinnati Bearcats, West Virginia Mountaineers, Pittsburgh Panthers, South Florida Bulls, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Connecticut Huskies.

Big 10

Conference Leader: Ohio State (10-2, 7-1) have clinched the Big 10 regular season title and will head to the Rose Bowl.

Game of Last Week: Northwestern 33 vs. Wisconsin 31. An upset of the Badgers likely allows the Wildcats a chance at a New Year’s Day or Eve bowl.

Game of Next Week: The Big 10 regular season is completed.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Iowa Hawkeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, Ohio State Buckeyes. Wisconsin Badgers, Northwestern Wildcats, Michigan State Spartans, Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Big 12

Conference Leaders: Nebraska (North Division; 8-3, 5-2) and Texas (South Division; 11-0, 7-0) have both clinched their respective division titles and will meet for the Big 12 Championship Game on December 5th.

Game of Last Week: Nebraska 17 vs. Kansas State 3. Jockeying for the Big 12 North title all season, these two teams met to finally decide the victor. In convincing fashion, the stingy Cornhusker defense kept the Wildcats at bay and clinched a trip to the Big 12 Title Game.

Game of Next Week: Oklahoma State vs. Oklahoma. Oklahoma would love to end its season with a big upset after a disappointing ’09 campaign. The Cowboys are looking to get a BCS at-large bid.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Iowa State Cyclones, Missouri Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, Texas A&M Aggies.

Big East

Conference Leader: Cincinnati (10-0, 6-0)

Lurking: Pittsburgh (9-1, 5-0)

Game of Last Week: Connecticut 33 vs. Notre Dame. With limited conference action, this overtime thriller was by far the best of the weekend for the Big East, and put the Huskies closer to being bowl eligible.

Game of Next Week: Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia. The Backyard Brawl is always a good one, and a victory here for Pitt would give the Big East, which has no conference championship game, a virtual conference championship game the following week as Cincinnati and Pittsburgh would go at it for the Big East crown.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Cincinnati Bearcats, West Virginia Mountaineers, Pittsburgh Panthers, South Florida Bulls, Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Big 10

Conference Leader: Ohio State (9-2, 6-1) has clinched at least a share of the Big 10 title and has the tiebreaker, clinching the conference’s BCS bowl bid.

Game of Last Week: Ohio State 27 vs. Iowa 24. Ohio State’s backup kicker, Devon Barclay kicked a game winning field goal in overtime to give the Buckeyes a Rose Bowl bid.

Game of Next Week: Ohio State vs. Michigan. Bowl eligibility rides on this one for the Wolverines, although no reason is necessary for this game to be the game of the week in the conference.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Iowa Hawkeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, Ohio State Buckeyes. Wisconsin Badgers, Northwestern Wildcats, Michigan State Spartans, Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Big 12

Conference Leaders: Nebraska (North Division; 7-3, 4-2); Texas (South Division; 10-0, 6-0)

Lurking: Kansas State (North Division; 6-5, 4-3)

Game of Last Week: Oklahoma State 24 vs. Texas Tech 17. Needing to win in order to keep hope alive of a Big 12 title, the Cowboys delivered, doing just enough to beat the Red Raiders.

Game of Next Week: Kansas State vs. Nebraska. For the lead in the Big 12 North.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Iowa State Cyclones, Missouri Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners.

Big East

Conference Leader: Cincinnati (10-0, 6-0)

Lurking: Pittsburgh (9-1, 5-0)

Game of Last Week: Cincinnati 24 vs. West Virginia 21. Tony Pike was the designated TD thrower, and the Bearcats kept hopes for a perfect season alive, barely escaping with the victory over the Mountaineers.

Game of Next Week: Louisville vs. South Florida. The Big East schedule is rather sparse next week, but Louisville can still become bowl eligible with victories in the next two weeks. They’ll need to beat South Florida to keep that hope alive.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Cincinnati Bearcats, West Virginia Mountaineers, Pittsburgh Panthers, Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

Big 10

Conference Leader: Iowa (9-1, 5-1)

Lurking: Ohio State (8-2, 5-1)

Game of Last Week: Northwestern 17 vs. Iowa 10. Week after week, Iowa looked on the edge of a loss, and this week they finally were unable to make a late comeback, losing to the Wildcats.

Game of Next Week: Iowa vs. Ohio State. This one will likely be for the Big 10 title, and for the chance to play in the Rose Bowl

Bowl Eligible Teams: Iowa Hawkeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, Ohio State Buckeyes. Wisconsin Badgers, Northwestern Wildcats.

Big 12

Conference Leaders: Kansas State (North Division; 6-4, 4-2), Texas (South Division; 9-0, 5-0)

Lurking: Nebraska (North Division; 6-3, 3-2)

Game of Last Week: Colorado 35 vs. Texas A&M 34. With just 2:04 left, the Buffaloes scored the winning touchdown in a back and forth game between the Big 12 foes.

Game of Next Week: Oklahoma State vs. Texas Tech. Two teams with bowl aspirations and winning records face off in an important Big 12 matchup.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Nebraska Corn Huskers.

Big East

Conference Leader: Cincinnati (9-0, 5-0)

Lurking: Pittsburgh (8-1, 5-0)

Game of Last Week: Cincinnati 47 vs. Connecticut 45. With the help of their replacement QB Zach Collaros, the Bearcats scored nine points in 21 seconds, and the Bearcats stayed undefeated.

Game of Next Week: Cincinnati vs. West Virginia. With a win, West Virginia would reinsert itself into Big East title contention, with Pittsburgh up next in the Backyard Brawl.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Cincinnati Bearcats, West Virginia Mountaineers, Pittsburgh Panthers.

Big 10

Conference Leader: Iowa (9-0, 5-0)

Lurking: Penn State (8-1, 4-1)

Game of Last Week: Iowa 42 vs. Indiana 24. Down in the fourth quarter again, the Iowa Hawkeyes made another late-game comeback, scoring 28 unanswered in the final period to stay unbeaten.

Game of Next Week: Ohio State vs. Penn State. The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions are gunning for second place in the Big 10, this will be their chance to stake their claim.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Iowa Hawkeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, Ohio State Buckeyes. Wisconsin Badgers.

Big 12

Conference Leaders: Kansas State (North Division; 5-4, 3-2), Texas (South Division; 8-0, 5-0)

Lurking: Nebraska (North Division; 5-3, 2-2)

Game of Last Week: Oklahoma 42 vs. Kansas State 30. Landry Jones continues to be a capable replacement for Sam Bradford, leading the Sooners to their fifth victory.

Game of Next Week: Oklahoma vs. Nebraska. Two teams stuck in second place in their divisions look to make big statements late in the season.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Big East

Conference Leader: Cincinnati (8-0, 4-0)

Lurking: Pittsburgh (7-1, 4-0)

Game of Last Week: Rutgers 28 vs. Connecticut 24. In their first game at home since the tragic death of one of their own, the Huskies were once again shocked in the final minutes, this time on a reception by Scarlet Knight Tim Brown with 22 seconds left.

Game of Next Week: Cincinnati vs. Connecticut. Looking to remain undefeated before their match up with Big East power West Virginia the following week, the Bearcats welcome the Huskies to Cincinnati in what could be a shootout.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Cincinnati Bearcats, West Virginia Mountaineers, Pittsburgh Panthers.

Big 10

Conference Leader: Iowa (8-0, 4-0)

Lurking: Ohio State (6-2, 4-1)

Game of Last Week: Iowa 15 vs. Michigan State 13. Ricky Stanzi’s pass with no time remaining on the clock went for a touchdown after three incompletions left the Hawkeyes with a 4th and goal to go for the last second victory.

Game of Next Week: Penn State vs. Northwestern. Two teams lurking under the Big 10 radar can make big statements with victories here.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Iowa Hawkeyes.

Big 12

Conference Leaders: Kansas State (North Division; 5-3, 3-1), Texas (South Division; 7-0, 4-0)

Lurking: Oklahoma State (South Division; 6-1, 3-0)

Game of Last Week: Iowa State 9 vs. Nebraska 7. Nebraska committed an incredible eight turnovers, including four inside their own five-yard line, gift wrapping the victory for the Cyclones.

Game of Next Week: Texas vs. Oklahoma State. For the South Division lead, and likely a berth in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Texas Longhorns

Big East

Conference Leader: Pittsburgh (7-1, 4-0)

Lurking: Cincinnati (7-0, 3-0)

Game of Last Week: West Virginia 28 vs. Connecticut 24. West Virginia prevailed over the heavy-hearted Huskies with a last minute touchdown run from Noel Devine to give the Mountaineers the much needed victory.

Game of Next Week: South Florida vs. West Virginia. Two teams with Big East aspirations early this year will need to win out to have a chance, this game will be integral in both team’s BCS hopes.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Pittsburgh Panthers, Cincinnati Bearcats.