Kevin Sherrington

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Nothing incites a first-rate intraleague rivalry quite like the notion that one school has ratted out another, a practice that ruined the Southwest Conference but could pump up ratings today in College Station.

Meanwhile, in a not-so-minor subplot, the Big 12's stature fades as another star falls.

The latest is Oklahoma State's terrific Dez Bryant, who won't play against Texas A&M. He's been indefinitely suspended for lying to the NCAA about his relationship with Deion Sanders.

The trail gets a little difficult to follow at times, so hold tight: The NCAA started asking questions, Sanders says, because of Gary Oliver, who runs Fieldhouse USA in Frisco. Sanders implies that Oliver called the NCAA out of spite because Sanders wouldn't do business with him. Oliver admits talking to the NCAA about Sanders, but only after an official showed up at his office asking questions.

And then there's this conspiracy theory for the message boards:

Oliver played for the Aggies in the late '80s.

Granted, the timing of Bryant's suspension works nicely for A&M, which needs all the help it can get just covering average receivers, much less one of Bryant's caliber.

Voila! Up steps the NCAA, like Champ Bailey in front of Sam Hurd.

But, frankly, I have trouble believing that Oliver has so much against Bryant or Oklahoma State, or was so rabidly loyal to his alma mater, that he'd take a page from an old SWC booster.

Here's Oliver's story: On June 19, an NCAA official came by Fieldhouse USA, a youth sports facility similar to the Plano Sports Authority, asking about Sanders' football camps. Oliver says he told him that Sanders had been in the field house on several occasions, but he'd never seen Bryant. Oliver declined to reveal anything else he discussed with the official but once again called Sanders' statement "absolutely untrue."

As for another possible reason why the NCAA might find its way to Sanders' front door, it's a little like playing six degrees of Kevin Bacon. He's connected to more people in football than the NFL Network, for which he happens to work.

Anyway, published reports now indicate that, because of eligibility questions, Oklahoma State also risks possible forfeits of wins in which Bryant played this season.

Perfect. Just what the Big 12 needs. More big hits.

Already this fall, two of the league's best talents, Baylor's Robert Griffin and Jermaine Gresham of Oklahoma, have been knocked out with season-ending injuries. Sam Bradford was out just long enough to eliminate Oklahoma from national title contention.

Bob Stoops and Mike Leach have now lost twice, and we're just two weeks into October. Last year, both made it all the way to January before they lost so much.

Of course, it was in January when questions about the league's actual strength started picking up. Critics said the Big 12's great offensive numbers were the result of soft defenses. Couldn't keep the SEC out of its end zones, either. So far this season, little has transpired to give critics a decent argument.

A pair of upper-echelon Big 12 South teams, Oklahoma State and Tech, were both knocked off by Houston, which was run into the ground by UTEP, which stands as Buffalo's only win.

The Big 12 has played 11 other BCS schools and won four times. Among the SEC, Pacific-10, ACC, Big East and Big Ten conferences, the Big 12's 4-7 record is the worst of the bunch against BCS rivals.

To be fair, injuries to star players haven't helped. Baylor simply isn't the same without Griffin. Gresham was Oklahoma's best receiver. With Landry Jones subbing for Bradford, OU's offensive coordinator, Kevin Wilson, had to run a more conservative offense.

And now Mike Gundy has to figure out how to jazz up an offense that won't have the league's best playmaker. For the Aggies, he may not need Bryant or an inflated rivalry, but good luck after that.