Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford (14) throws a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla. on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008. (AP Photo/Brody Schmidt)

Sooners dominate Big 12 honors

Bob Stoops earned coach of the year honors, quarterback Sam Bradford was chosen as offensive player of the year, linebacker Travis Lewis was picked as defensive freshman of the year and center Jon Cooper was offensive lineman of the year in the individual Big 12 honors announced Tuesday.

Stoops shared the award with Texas Tech coach and former OU assistant Mike Leach.

The Sooners also had seven players — Bradford, running back DeMarco Murray, fullback Matt Clapp, tight end Jermaine Gresham and linemen Phil Loadholt, Duke Robinson and Trent Williams — selected for the First Team All-Big 12 offense, by far the most in the conference. The closest school behind OU was Oklahoma State with four. Texas had only one, lineman Adam Ulatoski.

Wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias and Cooper were also named to the second team offense, meaning nine of OU’s 11 offensive starters were selected for one of the All-Big 12 teams.

On defense, defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and safety Nic Harris were selected for the first team, while Lewis, cornerback Dominique Franks and safety Lendy Holmes were picked for the second team.

In all, the Sooners had 14 players picked for an All-Big 12 team. Texas had 10 players selected, Missouri had nine and Texas Tech and OSU had seven each.

Bradford Heisman campaign begins

The OU media relations office began its push for Sam Bradford’s Heisman campaign Tuesday with an e-mail sent by Senior Associate Athletics Director Kenny Mossman to media outlets.

In the e-mail, Bradford’s statistics so far this season were compared to the previous 10 Heisman-winning quarterbacks.

Bradford’s passing efficiency and touchdowns are already better than any of the previous 10 winners, while his completion percentage is second and his interception total is tied for second, both behind only Florida State’s Charlie Ward, who won the award in 1993.

He is also second in passing yards, 87 yards behind Florida State’s Chris Weinke, who won the Heisman in 2000. Bradford should easily pass that mark after Saturday’s game against Missouri.

Bradford currently has thrown for 4,080 yards, 46 touchdowns and six interceptions, and is second in the nation with a passing efficiency of 190.97.

Tim Tebow, last year’s winner, threw for 3,286 yards, 32 touchdowns and six interceptions with a passing efficiency of 172.46.

Voting remains open for Davey O’Brien Award

Sam Bradford is among three finalists for the Davey O’Brien Award, given annually to the nation’s best quartback.

His two competitors are also from the Big 12, Texas’ Colt McCoy and Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell.

Fans are encouraged to vote for their preferred candidate online by visiting www.VoteOBrien.org. The voting will be open until Dec. 7, and the fan vote will make up part of the award selection process.

Big 12 to consider changing tiebreaker

Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe told ESPN Tuesday that the conference will look into changing the way a three-way division tie is solved.

The current Big 12 system sends the team with the highest BCS ranking, and Beebe said that is the standard because it sends the team most likely to compete for a national championship.

In the SEC, the team with the highest BCS ranking also advances, unless the top two teams are ranked within five spots of each other. In such a case, the tiebreaker is then decided by head-to-head competition.

If the Big 12 used such a system this year, Texas would be playing for the Big 12 Championship Saturday.

While Beebe said he would consider a change to the system, he did not say he necessarily thinks the current one is incorrect.

“You can’t create a rule for every scenario,” Beebe said. “If you win all your games you don’t have to worry about this scenario.”