Nebraska isn't the only losing Big 12 team with a coach on the hot seat. After Saturday's action, here's a look around the conference as the season winds down.
NU coach Bill Callahan is facing even more scrutiny after the embarrassing 76-39 loss to Kansas. It was the most points ever scored on Nebraska (4-6, 1-5) in its 117-year football history.
Callahan's squad has now lost five in a row for the first time since 1958. To make matters worse, interim athletic director Tom Osborne was on hand and watched the drubbing from a suite in the press box.
Immediately after the game as Callahan walked off the field, it appeared as though he walked right past Osborne without acknowledging him. The two did briefly speak later, though Osborne declined to talk to reporters.
Callahan now has the top two losses in school history on his record. The 76 points Kansas dropped on the Huskers beat the record of 70 Texas Tech scored in 2004 during Callahan's first season.
"I'm not the type of person or coach to ever sit up here and give you an excuse for something that's gone bad and I won't do it now," Callahan said.
"I love our players and coaches and we're doing the best we can. It's not what we wanted today (Saturday) and we're very disappointed. There's no words to describe it. We need to help the players get through this because this is a tough time for us."
The Baylor Bears know the feeling. Baylor lost its sixth straight game when Graham Harrell threw for 433 yards and three touchdowns as the Texas Tech Red Raiders cruised to an easy 38-7 win.
Baylor (3-7, 0-6) is now guaranteed the team's 12th consecutive losing season. And while coach Guy Morriss' job may be in jeopardy, despite having a year remaining on his contract, he's not thinking about it.
"I'm focused on trying to get these guys ready to play," said Morriss, who is 18-38 in five seasons at Baylor. "All of that other stuff is out of my control."
"We don't mess with that," said quarterback Blake Szymanski. "He's our coach right now." Yet the persistent rumors are hard to ignore. "You don't want to get caught up in what everybody else is saying, the rumors and this and that," said linebacker Joe Pawelek.
"You also have to understand that college football is a business. It's just the way things go."
Things aren't exactly going according to plan for Texas A&M this season. They were routed 42-14 by fourth-ranked Oklahoma (8-1, 4-1) on Saturday. It's been a tumultuous season for the Aggies (6-4, 3-3). Earlier in the season, coach Dennis Franchione was caught giving out inside information about his team to boosters in a secretive for-pay newsletter.
Now, the Aggies are in the midst of a brutal stretch. They've dropped the first two games of four straight contests against ranked teams. They play No. 7 Missouri next week and at home against No. 15 Texas on November 23rd. "I know that will motivate them," Franchione said.
Missouri was flying high after a 55-10 win over Colorado in Boulder, a place the Tigers (8-1, 4-1) hadn't won since 1997. "It's huge," said quarterback Chase Daniel, who threw five touchdown passes. "We've been breaking down barriers and that was one of them."
The Jayhawks (9-0, 5-0) improved to 9-0 for the first time since 1908 and did so in impressive fashion. Kansas scored touchdowns on 10 straight drives against the Huskers.
"I thought we had a chance to have a really good football team," Jayhawks coach Mark Mangino said. "Those kids have stepped up and developed and here we are."
The Texas Longhorns (8-2, 4-2) rallied to beat Oklahoma State, 38-35 on Ryan Bailey's 40-yard field goal as time expired. Texas had to overcome a 21-point deficit in posting its second-largest comeback in school history.
Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy wasn't the least bit worried. "I was always a positive guy. I kept my head up and kept my teammates believing in me. As you can see, when we believe, we're going to do good things."
Iowa State (2-8, 1-5) snapped a six-game losing streak with a 31-20 win over Kansas State and earned coach Gene Chizik his first Big 12 victory. "I think we've gotten better as a football team the last three weeks," Chizik said. "I think it's been long overdue."
Kansas State (5-4, 3-3) missed out on a chance to become bowl eligible. "We aren't really worried about bowl eligibility," linebacker Eric Childs said. "We just want to go out and beat Nebraska (next Saturday)."
That's everyone's philosophy these days, get the Huskers while they're down. Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing threw a school-record six touchdown passes against the beleaguered Cornhuskers. "This is one of those games that you're never going to forget," said Reesing. "Anytime you can score over 70 points against a team like Nebraska, it's unbelievable. We're ecstatic."
Nebraska still don't know what happened. "I can't tell you what they were doing that we couldn't stop," safety Bryan Wilson said. "It got out of hand real fast."
The Bears can empathize as the Red Raiders (7-3, 3-3) led 38-0 before Baylor scored late in the fourth quarter. Texas Tech has now won 12 in a row over Baylor.
"By no means are we going to give up on the season," Baylor safety Jordan Lake said. "We're not going to just throw our hands up in the air. We're not going to go to a bowl game, but we're still playing for Baylor and we're still playing for pride."