I like the Thorpe Award because it recognizes defensive backs — to me the second-most pressurized position behind quarterback. In the past, I have suggested the Thorpe Award should go to college football’s best all-purpose player. It could recognize two-way players, those who start and double-up on special teams. This would be a great way to pay tribute to the greatest athlete of the 20th century. What’s most important, however, is that the award exists and has quickly gained nationwide respect.

The list of this year’s 12 semifinalists has been released and senior cornerback Perrish Cox is Oklahoma State’s first semifinalist since Mark Moore in 1986, the first year the award was presented.

The Thorpe committee looks at multiple aspects when picking its candidates, including athletic ability and character. Certain stats can be misleading. Superb defensive backs often lack opportunities for interceptions because no one throws their way. The committee considers kick returns yards, but not all defensive backs are returners, so it’s not the end-all, be-all.

Cox is the best of both worlds. He leads the nation with 1.86 passes defended per game and has done well against prolific receivers such as Georgia’s A.J. Green and Texas’ Jordan Shipley. Cox also is the Big 12’s all-time leader in kick return yards.

Cox unquestionably is worthy of being a semifinalist, but so is Oklahoma’s Brian Jackson. The Thorpe committee noted Jackson received honorable mention, which to me is not nearly high enough status for this senior cornerback, who tied a school record with at least one interception in four straight games. Not one for hyperbole, OU coach Bob Stoops has described Jackson’s play this season as “incredible.”

This year’s semifinalists are: Javier Arenas, Sr., Alabama; Eric Berry, Jr., Tennessee; Barry Church, Sr., Toledo; Perrish Cox, Sr., Oklahoma State; Joe Haden, Jr., Florida; Brandon Harris, So., Miami (Fla.); Taylor Mays, Sr., USC; Tyler Sash, So., Iowa; Darrell Stuckey, Sr., Kansas; Earl Thomas, So., Texas; Alterraun Verner, Sr., UCLA; Kyle Wilson, Sr., Boise State.

The Thorpe list will be narrowed to three finalists on Nov. 23 and the winner will be announced Dec. 10.

My guess is Berry will win. Mays and Haden will be the other finalists.

For roughly 45 minutes, fans of the road team outnumbered fans of the home team.

The Lakers are one of those sports franchises that have no boundaries. Their fans are everywhere, much like the Yankees, Steelers, Cowboys, Packers, Cubs, Dodgers, Celtics and Braves. The Lakers and Yankees probably top the list.

The reigning NBA champs also draw a media crowd. Writers were bumping elbows along the sideline and baseline inside the Ford Center. Also on hand were NBA-TV and NBA.com. Several reporters normally found courtside were shipped upstairs to the hockey press box in (C)Loud City.

Newspaper writers who make road trips with their NBA teams are about to be put on the endangered species list, yet there were five LA-area beat writers on hand Tuesday. Many NBA franchises struggle to have one beat writer on the road.

During Tuesday’s game, the sellout crowd in the Ford Center easily drowned out the Lakers supporters, but the “oohs” and “ahhs” that accompany the Lakers are definitely more contagious than with other franchises.

Playing the Lakers is more than a game, it’s an event. The Lakers return to the Ford Center on March 26.

PRESEASON TOP 25
1. Kansas: Jayhawks are experienced, talented and deep.
2. Texas: Overflowing in athleticism; a title contender.
3. Michigan State: Kalin Lucas leads 2009’s sentimental pick.
4. Villanova: Shotmaker Scottie Reynolds is (finally) a senior.
5. Purdue: Robbie Hummel, JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore.
6. North Carolina: Defending champs reload with Davis and Henson.
7. Duke: Will be led by multi-talented forward Kyle Singler.
8. West Virginia: The Da’Sean Butler and Kevin Ebanks combo.
9. Butler: Big-time front court in Matt Howard, Gordon Hayward.
10. Kentucky: Potent, but new players and a new coach must mix.
11. UConn: Thabeet, Price and Adrien gone, but talent remains.
12. California: Explosive and obvious choice for Pac-10 crown.
13. Tennessee: Last year’s entire roster returns, led by Tyler Smith.
14. Georgia Tech: Freshman center Derrick Favors is big-time good.
15. Oklahoma: Blake Griffin is gone; this is Willie Warren’s team now.
16. Syracuse: Frontcourt formidable; Flynn and Devendorf missing.
17. Ohio State: Evan Turner bypassed NBA to rejoin talented team.
18. Mississippi State: Five starters return, led by C Jarvis Varnado.
19. Vanderbilt: Experience, plus heralded freshman John Jenkins.
20. Washington: Slew of role players give Huskies the right stuff.
21. Maryland: Four returning starters, plus some big-time recruits.
22. Siena: Talented and led by Edwin Ubiles and Ronald Moore.
23. Michigan: Wolverines continue slow march back to prime time.
24. Minnesota: Tubby Smith returns top nine scorers from last year.
25. Dayton: Ten of top 11 players from secon-round team return.

Whenever possible, I prefer a conventional starting five when selecting All-American teams. This year fits that mold. AP simply wanted one All-American team (no matter what position). Here’s my first team, and also my and third second and third teams.

ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS
First team
G – Sherron Collins (Kansas)
G – Scottie Reynolds (Villanova)
C – Cole Aldrich (Kansas)
F – Kyle Singler (Duke)
F – Evan Turner (Ohio State)

Second team
G – Kalin Lucas (Michigan State)
G – Willie Warren (Oklahoma)
C – Luke Harangody (Notre Dame)
F – Patrick Patterson (Kentucky)
F – Greg Monroe (Georgetown)

Third team
G – Nic Wise (Arizona)
G – Isaiah Thomas (Washington)
C – Craig Brackins (Iowa State)
F – Robbie Hummel (Purdue)
F – Tyler Smith (Tennessee)

The NCAA is sending a message that it’s unacceptable to lie during an investigation — not once, but (at least) three times. Lying sheds a light of guilt, even upon the innocent.

Let’s say Bryant was suspended for six games, or half the season. The next time the NCAA holds this type of investigation, an athlete might be tempted to lie and receive a six-game suspension rather than tell the truth and risk losing his eligibility for good.

Bryant’s wound was self-inflicted. OSU’s compliance office apparently didn’t do him any favors, either. Where was Bryant’s advice and representation throughout this mess?

At Big 12 Media Day on Thursday morning, KU coach Bill Self said the brothers were quick to blend in once they arrived in Lawrence in August.

Asked what their biggest adjustment was to spending the summer away from their new team, Self said, “I think the biggest thing was just being a teammate. Hey, our guys bought into them the first day they walked on campus. These are real quality kids. They’ve done a real good job fitting in.”

Xavier is a swingman and one of the nation’s most heralded incoming freshmen this season. C.J. is a former pro baseball player and will be a redshirt freshman walk-on guard with the Jayhawks. His college education is being paid for by the New York Yankees, who signed him out of high school in the first round of the 2005 amateur draft.

Self acknowledged several KU players wondered why the Henry brothers didn’t arrive on campus in June.

“No doubt they said, ‘Hey, why aren’t X and C.J. here?’ ” Self said, “but they didn’t hold it against them. I will tell you this, they (KU players) were all looking forward to them getting back here. They were all, ‘Hey, I can’t wait to see these guys in pickup games’ or whatever, which is good. That’s the way it should be from a competition standpoint.

“I told Xavier and C.J., ‘Just so you know, there’s going to some guys lined up to try and guard you when you get here.’ And I think they held their own.”

Self said C.J. has been slowed by various injuries.

“He just gets nicked up,” Self said, “whether it be a knee, an ankle, a hyper-extended elbow, but it’s nothing serious.”

The journey to reach that point commences when the first BCS standings are released on Oct. 18.

For pretty much this entire decade, OU fans have been engulfed in the BCS standings, with the Sooners making four national title game appearances in the last nine seasons. Cowboys fans were hoping this would be the year they could acquint themselves with the BCS process.

Bill Hancock, a native of Hobart, is head administrator for the BCS and sent a Cliff’sNotes’ version of the selection process. Should OU and OSU get on a roll in the upcoming weeks, local fans can follow the progress and the inner workings, which Hancock shares below:

With BCS Selection Sunday (Dec. 6) two months away, this week’s Bits topic is “How are the teams chosen for BCS games?”

The answer really is quite simple: some earn automatic berths, others are selected by the bowls.  Basically there are four ways to qualify:

1.  The top two teams in the final BCS Standings qualify automatically.  

 2.  The champions of six conferences have annual automatic berths.

 3.  Other teams can qualify automatically as follows:

 A. The highest-ranked champion from the MAC, MWC, WAC, Sun Belt or C-USA qualifies if it finishes in the top 12; (or top 16 if ranked higher than the champion of a conference that has an automatic berth).

B. Notre Dame qualifies if it finishes in the top eight.

4. If spots remain after the above teams are slotted, a bowl can select any other team that finishes in the top 14, but no more than two teams from a conference can participate.

The ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, and SEC earned their automatic qualification by virtue of contracts with the host bowls and by meeting performance standards. As agreed by all 11 conferences, the 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 regular seasons were evaluated using three criteria:  rank of the highest-ranked team, rank of all conference teams and number of teams in the top 25.  Those six met the standard.

The 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons will be evaluated to determine if a seventh conference achieves automatic qualification for the BCS games that will conclude the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

Weekly polls, for the most part, represent preseason expectations against how a team has done to date. This Power Poll represents how teams would do against each other at a neutral site.

This isn’t simply about which team has the better record each week. This isn’t about 4-0 vs. 3-1 or 2-2 vs. 3-2.

As it stands right now in the Power Rankings, Texas would have the best chance of beating everyone in the Big 12, so the Longhorns belong at No. 1.

Kansas would have the best chance of beating everyone, except Texas, and is at No. 2; Nebraska would beat everyone but Texas and Kansas, and is at No. 3; and so on.

I believe right now Texas, Kansas and Nebraska would beat Oklahoma at a neutral site, while Oklahoma State would lose to Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, OU and Missouri.

This is a very fluid situation. It represents how a team’s status improves or gets worse. Plus, power rankings tend to work themselves out naturally when common opponents are involved.

The Sooners and Cowboys have underachieved to date.

The two teams that beat OU have already suffered lopsided losses. Every team OSU has played this season lost last weekend, as did the Cowboys’ next opponent, Texas A&M. These losses will hurt OU and OSU in the BCS computer rankings, but quality victories against quality opponents in conference play will change all that. 

And as their status changes, so will the Power Rankings.

The Associated Press poll has varied throughout time, from when they were released to how many teams were ranked.

- From 1936 through 1949, there was no AP preseason poll and the first poll was not taken until early October.

- Polls were not taken after bowl games until 1968.

- In 1989, the AP Top 20 was expanded to the Top 25.

Obviously, the overall records against ranked opponents for Stoops (33-15; .688), Switzer (43-21-4; .662) and Wilkinson (28-18-1; .606) remain the same.

The AP poll consisted of 20 teams throughout the college coaching careers of Switzer and Wilkinson.

Against teams ranked No. 21-25, Stoops has a record of 6-2 (.750).

As for Wilkinson, there was no preseason poll for his first three seasons at OU, but during that time none of his early season opponents likely would have been ranked.

There were advantages and disadvantages for each coach.

- Switzer had to face an elite Nebraska team every season, and still went 12-5 against Tom Osborne and the Cornhuskers.

- Stoops has had to play Texas Tech and Texas A&M on seven occasions when they have been ranked. Kansas State, a program Stoops helped build as an assistant, has been ranked four times in six head-to-head meetings. The Wildcats were never ranked in 33 meetings against Switzer and Wilkinson.

- Wilkinson went 1-5 against Notre Dame, but the Fighting Irish were ranked only twice.