College Confidential

Panel turns down Bryant's final appeal

Any longshot hope that Oklahoma State receiver Dez Bryant harbored of playing college football this season disappeared today.

The Division I Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement has upheld the NCAA decision that suspended Bryant for one year, through September 2010. Bryant had appealed to the committee after the NCAA ruling.

"We're obviously disappointed for Dez," Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said in a statement. "As a team, we'll move forward from here."

Bryant had been suspended after misleading NCAA investigators about a meeting with Deion Sanders.

Best guess: We've seen the last of Bryant, a remarkable talent, on a Big 12 football field. His next step should be the NFL.

-- Chuck Carlton

Thoughts from Saturday

A few thoughts about Saturday's games while waiting for the (drum roll please) first announcement of the BCS standings about 3:40 p.m. today on Fox.

1. Texas will probably be third in the first BCS rankings behind Florida and Alabama, especially with Virginia Tech's loss. Anything lower will be a shock. It will be interesting to see how the computers view the Longhorns. Texas proved it could win a defensive game against Oklahoma even though it registered few style points. The next two games, at Missouri and at Oklahoma State, will define the Texas regular season.

2. We don't know if we've seen Sam Bradford's last game in an Oklahoma uniform. That's his call. Hopefully, we did. He came to Oklahoma when he could have been a Top 10 (and maybe higher) NFL pick. He bounced from a serious shoulder sprain to return, showing grit. Now he's hurt again. He has nothing left to prove at OU and nothing he can prove to the NFL. Shut it down, heal, get surgery if necessary and get ready for the draft.

3. A couple of weeks ago, the pirate ship at Texas Tech looked to be taking on water. Now, the Red Raiders can make a legitimate claim, along with Oklahoma State, to being the second best team in the Big 12. (Hey, both lost to Houston). Backup QB Steven "Sticks" Sheffield was unfazed by a road start in Lincoln. And the defense - yes, the Tech defense - absolutely dominated with five sacks. Ndamukong who?

4. Speaking of a ship that may be sinking ... yeah, that's a transition to Texas A&M. At worst, I figured the Aggies could get two or three wins against the worst of the North and get to a bowl. After Saturday's 62-14 loss at Kansas State, the Aggies could be descending beyond the 2008 depths. "We got our butt kicked every which way," A&M coach Mike Sherman said. Unless Michael Bishop just gained some more eligibility, this isn't exactly a vintage Bill Snyder team. The Wildcats were coming off a 66-14 butt kicking of their own at Texas Tech.

5. SMU is 3-3 but could easily be 5-1 and a win away from bowl-eligibility. The Mustangs held second-half leads against Washington State and Navy and then lost in overtime in both games. SMU could still cobble together six victories, if it can post home wins against Rice, UTEP and Tulane. 

6. TCU has done pretty much everything it has needed to do as a potential BCS Buster. The Horned Frogs' biggest test comes Saturday at BYU, which has regrouped since that loss to Florida State. Since joining the Mountain West, TCU has split at Provo, winning 51-50 in 2005 and losing 27-22 in 2007. A win over Max Hall and Co. would be a major boost as TCU tries to climb past Boise State.

-- Chuck Carlton

Aggies down cold-shooting Cowboys

After Oklahoma State closed the gap to 50-48 with 9:55 to play, Texas A&M went on an 18-7 run and cruised to a 76-64 victory at Reed Arena. The point total was the lowest this season for OSU, which shot 6-for-27 (22.2 percent) from 3-point range and 24-for-63 (38.1 percent) overall. The Agges won the rebounding battle 40-32 and got strong games from Bryan Davis and Josh Carter, who scored 18 and 7 points respectively, after combining for four in the Aggies' loss to OSU three weeks ago.

-- Lori Dann

Cowboys charge back at A&M

Oklahoma State has gone on a 14-5 run to pull within two points of Texas A&M with less than 10 minutes to play at Reed Arena.

-- Lori Dann

Aggies rolling against OSU

Texas A&M has capitalized on its considerable size advantage against Oklahoma State, rolling to a 38-24 halftime lead behind strong inside play from Bryan Davis, Chinemelu Elonu and freshman David Loubeau, who have combined for 26 points, 14 rebounds and two blocked shots. Davis and Loubeau have 10 points each, while Elonu has six points and a team-high five rebounds. OSU is struggling on the offensive, shooting 30 percent from the field (9-for-30) and 18.2 percent (2-for-11) from 3-point range.

-- Lori Dann

Big 12 punters on Ray Guy Award watch list

Texas A&M's Justin Brantly is one of seven Big 12 punters who have been named to the watch list for the Ray Guy Award, which is presented annually to the nation's top college punter. Brantly leads the league and ranks eighth nationally with a 45.78-yard average, and more than half of his punts have not been returned by opponents.

Other Big 12 punters on the list are Texas' John Gold, Texas Tech's Jonathan LaCour, Baylor's Derek Epperson, Oklahoma State's Matt Fodge, Nebraska's Dan Tichener, and Colorado's Matthew DiLallo. Also on the list are SMU's Thomas Morstead and Houston's Chase Turner.
-- Lori Dann

Trip down memory lane

Never gets old watching greatness. A clip here of one of Barry Sanders' five touchdowns from the 1988 Holiday Bowl. Love the shot of his dad on the sidelines, sporting the 1980s headphones. -Trae Thompson

Cowboys lead 5-1

Thomas Belza's solo homer to right, along with Jordy Mercer's two-run homer to left, gave Oklahoma State a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth.

-Trae

Cowboys lead, 1-0

Oklahoma State scored in the bottom of the second on Thomas Belza's sac to center field, which sent home Rebel Ridling from third. Credit TCU's defense and starter Seth Garrison, which clamped down and kept two Cowboy runners on base to end the inning.
TCU's batting in the top of the third. -Trae

Pretty impressive

First glance at Oklahoma State's lineup, and you can't help but be impressed. Leadoff hitter Donnie Webb is hitting .368. The Cowboys have two more players, Matt Hague (.351) and Neil Medchill (.354) hitting over .350 at the No.3 and No.6 spots, then Thomas Belza (pictured) is eighth. He's batting .387.

-Trae Thompson