A look at Big 12 teams in predicted order of finish; DMN picks

SOUTH DIVISION

1. TEXAS — Colt McCoy threw for 2,570 yards and completed 68 percent of his passes. He says he's fully recovered from a pinched nerve in his neck that hampered him in the finale against A&M ... Duane Akina and Larry Mac Duff will share defensive coordinator duties ... Redshirt freshman Sherrod Harris and true freshman John Chiles will compete for the backup quarterback job.

2. OKLAHOMA — Starting quarterback Sam Bradford will have a loaded offense around him. Most of the line is back, as are the top five receivers from last year, including all-Big 12 pick Malcolm Kelly ... The Sooners may not miss Adrian Peterson all that much. Senior Allen Patrick (761 yards, four TDs) and sophomore Chris Brown (343 yards, six TDs) shared the load when Peterson broke his collarbone last year, and Stoops thinks redshirt freshman DeMarco Murray may be the most explosive back of the three.

3. TEXAS A&M — The Aggies have 15 starters back, including quarterback Stephen McGee. The junior threw for 2,295 yards and completed 62 percent of his passes in 2006 ... A&M has one of the league's most varied running back tandems with 265-pound battering ram Jorvorskie Lane (725 yards, 19 TDs) and speedster Michael Goodson (847 yards, four TDs) ... The defense allowed more than 330 yards in five of last seven games, including 476 in the Holiday Bowl loss to Cal.

4. OKLAHOMA STATE — WR Adarius Bowman (60 receptions, 1,181 yards, 12 TDs) might be a Heisman Trophy contender. Bowman averaged 19.7 yards per catch and had five TD catches of 50 yards or longer in 2006 ... Dual-threat quarterback Bobby Reid threw for 24 touchdowns and ran for five more ... The Cowboys gave up 26 points per game last season and ranked ninth in the league in total defense (364 yards per game).

5. TEXAS TECH — QB Graham Harrell threw for 4,555 yards in 2006, more than 1,000 yards more than the next closest quarterback in the Big 12 (Chase Daniel). He led the league in total offense (345 yards), completions (412) and TD passes (38), though he also threw 11 interceptions ... Texas Tech had the nation's third-best passing offense in 2006 (370 yards per game), though they led the nation in the previous four seasons.

6. BAYLOR — The Bears are looking for a starting quarterback. Kent State transfer Michael Machen is the front-runner, though coach Guy Morriss says junior-college transfer John David Weed "has closed the gap." ... Baylor had the worst rushing defense in the Big 12 (191 yards per game) in 2006.

NORTH DIVISION