BIG 12 TITLE GAME Sooners hope not to be Buffaloed

Oklahoma is focused on Colorado, not a potential Orange Bowl bid.
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -- At Colorado, the trip to the Big 12 title game is basically a bonus, a nothing-to-lose shot that could turn a remarkable season into something even more memorable.
At Oklahoma, it's a reason to take a deep breath and worry, a must-win game that could net a chance at the national title, but also could ruin an otherwise stellar year.
That, in a nutshell, is the problem with championship games. Some conferences play them -- like the Big 12 and Southeastern. Some don't -- like the Pac-10 and Big Ten. It simply adds another layer of confusion to the vagaries that surround the Bowl Championship Series.
"I have no idea, really," Sooners coach Bob Stoops said when asked how Saturday night's game in Kansas City might affect the BCS. "The bottom line is, we've got to win this game to have the opportunity."
A win probably will give the second-ranked Sooners (11-0) a chance to play for the national title in the Orange Bowl.
Conference title is priority
Remember, this is college football, where winning is only part of the equation. Another part is which team you play. Another part is how you look. Another part is the computers.
Because Northern Division champion Colorado (7-4) is unranked -- and probably only the fourth- or fifth-best team in the conference -- if Oklahoma only squeaks by, the computers or the voters could move the Sooners below No. 3 Auburn (11-0).
That would be more likely if the Tigers play well in the SEC title game against No. 15 Tennessee, which will conclude around the middle of the second quarter of the Buffaloes-Sooners game.
No. 1 Southern California, meanwhile, finishes its regular season Saturday against UCLA, a game that will also have an impact on who plays in the Orange Bowl. But USC already has clinched its conference, and the UCLA game shouldn't be construed as an additional hurdle to the national title.
It is complications like these that led Stoops' old boss, Steve Spurrier, to always list a conference title as his main goal. Spurrier felt there were too many strokes of luck involved to make a national championship a realistic goal every year.
"It's not just the top goal, it's what comes first," Stoops said of the conference title. "It's probably a more tangible goal every single year. It's something to take great pride in, and it comes before a national championship."
Colorado coach impressed
The Sooners are going for their 39th conference title and their eighth national championship. They are 21 1/2-point favorites over Colorado. They have a pair of likely Heisman Trophy finalists in quarterback Jason White and running back Adrian Peterson. They average 35 points and allow just 14. Among their weaknesses this season has been the secondary.
The Buffaloes have lost the last three meetings to the Sooners -- including in the 2002 championship game -- by a combined score of 90-38. Colorado coach Gary Barnett, the Big 12 coach of the year, believes this Oklahoma team is better.
"A year ago, I thought they were one-dimensional in offense," he said. "Now, they're two-dimensional. They don't have any apparent weaknesses."