KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson is on nearly every short list for the Heisman Trophy. He wouldn’t make any predictions about the award Wednesday, deflecting every question about it thrown his way.

“I don’t think about the Heisman,” he said. “It’s something I would love to win and it’s something that I’ve dreamed about since I was a little kid, but it’s not my main focus. I feel like if I take care of everything else, then individual awards might fall my way.”

But Peterson did raise a few eyebrows when he announced what he expects to rush for this season — 2,200 yards.

The total would smash the single-season record he set his freshman season and certainly make the junior the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.

However, Peterson said the bold prediction had nothing to do with those things.

“My dad always told me to reach from the moon. If you fall short, you’ll still be among the stars,” he said. “That’s why I set my goals high. I’m going after it and if I fall short I’ll still be among the stars. That’s how I look at it.”

Texas talk

When Peterson chose OU over Texas one of the biggest reasons he cited was he thought he had a better chance of winning a national championship with the Sooners.

Since Texas won the national championship last season, he was asked if he had any regrets.

“No regrets at all,” he said. “If I could go back and change things, I wouldn’t do it. Things happen for a reason. When we play Texas this year we’re going to find out who is the better team.”

Peterson even admitted having a rooting interest in last year’s Rose Bowl.

“I watched it and I was rooting for (Texas),” he said. “I have a lot of friends that play at Texas.”

Avoiding agents

How to keep agents away from players is always an important topic to coaches. The Reggie Bush matter at Southern California was a big issue Wednesday.

Bush’s family accepted a rent-free home while he was still playing for the Trojans.

The question came up because Peterson will have to decide whether to return for his senior year following this season.

“People are always going to approach you,” he said. “It’s just how you handle the situation.”

OU coach Bob Stoops said it’s up to coaches to take a strong stance against players who accept illegal benefits.

“I’ve been in places, and I kind of feel the same way, where if someone knowingly does something that’s against the rules, it’s like your picture is off the wall and you’re out of here,” Stoops said. “If you did that and sacrificed the team for it, to me it’s like you could be banned from the program, because you chose something over the team.

“If you know it’s wrong then it’s wrong. It’s that simple. It isn’t tough.”

It doesn’t matter

Unlike most seasons, OU will play its first conference game against Texas Oct. 7. The last time it occurred was in 1999.

But linebacker Rufus Alexander doesn’t see any problem with The Red River Rivalry being the Big 12 opener.

“We can’t look ahead to Texas anyway,” he said. “As soon as you do that someone will sneak up and beat you. We’ll just play every game how it comes. It doesn’t matter where it is on the schedule.”

Raising the bar

Missouri and Iowa State both took turns with the media Wednesday and their biggest concerns are finding a way to break out of the shell of being .500 teams and instead winning eight or nine games.

The Cyclones have been one win short of winning the Big 12 North the last two seasons. Coach Dan McCarney said it’s just a matter of making everything gel at the right time.

“What we need to do is make that one play, to make that call together, to put ourselves in position to be a part of history,” he said. “Those are the things we analyze and review all the time.”

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel prefers not to analyze it.

“It’s not real complex,” he said. “You’ve got to go out and win games.”

Season of change

Texas A&M; will look vastly different this season after losing four-year starter Reggie McNeal at quarterback and changing its defensive scheme under first-year coordinator Gary Darnell.

But coach Dennis Franchione said the schedule could have the biggest impact on his team. The Aggies’ first five games are in the state of Texas and four are at Kyle Field.

It should help the Aggies ease into the season, but they’ll pay for it late in the year. They finish the season against Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.

“That will be three tough games right there at the end,” he said. “You take the good with the bad.”



— John Shinn