So when did the Pac-10 head east?

Commissioner Kevin Weiberg leaves, and the Big 12 suddenly turns into a pass-happy league that features four of the top 12 passing offenses in the country.

Defense and the running game have been replaced by a wing and a prayer.

On Saturday, the numbers bordered on ridiculous:

* Baylor quarterback Blake Szymanski passes for a school-record 412 yards and six touchdowns.

* Two other Big 12 quarterbacks throw five TD passes — Missouri’s Chase Daniel and Oklahoma freshman Sam Bradford.

* Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell throws for 484 yards and a ho-hum four touchdowns.

How do defensive coordinators even sleep at night?

OU coach Bob Stoops, a former defensive back at Iowa, said he would love the opportunity to play against the spread offenses that have popped up.

“Sure, you’d want to. You get more action,” Stoops said. “But I just think overall, offenses are putting it up more and spreading the field more. So you’ve got to be ready for it.”

Not doing it by themselves

Two games into the season, Bradford’s one of the best stories in college football. This guy was still competing for a starting job last month, and he’s 40-of-48 for 568 yards and eight touchdowns with no picks.

“It’s what we expected,” Stoops said. “Do your part, manage the game in the right way, make the plays that are there for you to make, and allow the players around you to help you. It isn’t just him. It’s everybody working together.”

Which is basically what Baylor coach Guy Morriss said about Szymanski. After throwing three picks in a 27-0 shutout against TCU the week before, the Bears’ sophomore quarterback was able to pick apart Rice’s defense because of the way the players around him picked it up.

“That was one of the things we talked about all week is the people around him doing a better job,” Morriss said. “That takes the pressure off of him, and he didn’t have to feel like he had to go win the football game all by himself.”

Texas coach Mack Brown, who still uses more of a traditional offense, had a little different take on the number of pass-happy offenses.

“People are throwing the ball better, because the defenses are getting so good against the run,” Brown said. “And they can put more guys up there than you can block. They’re forcing people to throw. And secondly, we have quarterbacks with more experience in the league this year.

“You start looking at our league, and everybody has a chance to move the ball, and there’s a lot of really good quarterbacks. Where last year it was a question mark.”

You have to wonder if the offenses will still be putting up these outrageous numbers come October and November, when they’re facing the Texas and Oklahoma defenses instead of Southeastern Louisiana.

But for now, I’ll just sit back, enjoy the show and be thankful that I’m not a defensive coordinator.

jhill@wacotrib.com

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