Kansas State football coach Ron Prince was asked last week for his reaction to his Wildcats being picked in a Big 12 preseason media poll to finish third in the North Division.

“Well, I don’t know,” Prince told reporters at Big 12 media days in San Antonio. “I think you let the pickers pick and the players play and you don’t get any trophies for how things start out.”

But hey, it’s fun to forecast. So, no need to tarry. Here are this particular picker’s picks:

North Division

1. Nebraska. Two things about the Huskers stood out in San Antonio: Bill Callahan’s sense of calm, confidence and growing ease around reporters. And Bo Ruud’s sense of urgency.

“There are no excuses now,” said Ruud, a preseason All-Big 12 linebacker, alluding to the fact Callahan’s recruits are in place. “There’s nothing to fall back on. We have to take that next step.”

Callahan has amassed enough starting talent to compete with any team in the nation. Now it’s a matter of building depth, particularly on defense.

Nebraska has made especially significant strides in the offensive line, and its defense is just good enough to win a second straight title in a division in which nobody plays great defense.

2. Missouri. “I think maybe we’re gaining a little bit of respect,” said Missouri coach Gary Pinkel, whose offense may be the most explosive in the Big 12. “But, ultimately, to receive the respect you want to have, you have to win at a higher level than we’ve done.”

Which means the Tigers must play better defense. Much better defense. They surrendered 184 rushing yards per game in conference play last year as teams tried to chew up large chunks of time to keep Chase Daniel and his fleet receivers off the field.

I could see Missouri beating Nebraska on Oct. 6 but finishing 5-3 in the North — good for second place.

3. Kansas State. Sophomore quarterback Josh Freeman was relaxed to the point I thought he was going to doze off during Big 12 media days. Better wake up, young fella, because you open the season at Auburn and have six road games. The Wildcats were surprisingly good last year in Prince’s first season at K-State and will be better this year. However, mostly because of a difficult schedule, improvement might not show up in the record.

4. Colorado. It’s hard not to be inspired by Dan Hawkins’ booming personality and unrelenting enthusiasm. He said anything shy of the Buffs winning a bowl game would be considered a disappointing season. That might be asking too much, but you have to appreciate his optimism.

“To sit around in the offseason and watch everybody else play in bowls, you’re pounding yourself on the thumb with a hammer about three times a day. That’s hard to take,” said the second-year CU coach, whose son Cody Hawkins, a redshirt freshman, is expected to take over at quarterback.

5. Kansas. The Jayhawks are symbolic of the Big 12 North as a whole right now. Not great, not terrible — just OK and sort of bland.

Kansas missed out on a bowl game last season. The Jayhawks may need to be bowl-eligible this season if Mark Mangino wants to keep his job.

6. Iowa State. After watching Gene Chizik work the room in San Antonio, it’s easy to see why he has ascended into the head-coaching ranks. Smooth. Well-spoken. Quick on his feet. He’s got “it.” ISU may not be down for long.

South Division

1. Texas. Here we go. Texas or Oklahoma. Oklahoma or Texas. It’s easy to overthink this pick. But let’s keep this simple: The Longhorns possess a decisive edge at the most important position — quarterback.

“I remember when people would ask me about Colt (McCoy) a year ago,” Texas wide receiver Limas Sweed said in San Antonio, referring to the Longhorns’ sophomore signal caller. “I said he’d be fine and I’d say it with a grin.

“I’m going to say the same thing this year, with the same grin. He has improved — and that’s the scary part about it.”

Especially for the Sooners. They’ve lost two straight games to Texas, going on three.

2. Oklahoma. Don’t get me wrong. The Sooners once again have the requisite talent to contend for all of the BCS marbles. Remember the name DeMarco Murray. Insiders are projecting him as the Sooners’ next great running back, and the secondary is superb. But what about the quarterback position, where OU must break in a starter for the third year in a row?

Bob Stoops didn’t sound a bit concerned in San Antonio, noting he’s had four different quarterbacks guide Oklahoma to four different Big 12 championships. Then again, does Stoops ever sound worried about anything?

No coach in the Big 12 exudes confidence quite like Stoops.

3. Oklahoma State. All that money flowing out of Boone Pickens’ pockets into OSU athletics is making Big 12 foes nervous. But the Cowboys’ unreliable defense is making their fans even more fidgety, as is OSU’s brutal 2007 schedule: At Georgia. At Troy. At Texas A&M. At Nebraska. At Oklahoma.

4. Texas A&M. Dennis Franchione is 25-23 in four seasons at A&M. In that span, the Aggies are 3-13 against ranked teams and have never been ranked higher than 17th. And this year the schedule is a bear: At Miami. At Texas Tech. At Nebraska. At Oklahoma. At Missouri. Yes, Franchione’s seat is hot. Stay tuned.

5. Texas Tech. The Red Raiders’ lines on both sides of the ball are rebuilding, and philosopher/coach Mike Leach understands the importance of strong lines. “That’s why we have football to begin with, because of linemen,” he said. “We’d be playing some other sport — everybody would be involved with basketball or soccer or something if it weren’t for linemen. It’s the most important part of this whole thing.”

6. Baylor. Concerning the Bears, well, let’s just say they have too many concerns for this particular picker to pick them anywhere beside the cellar.

Enough picking and nit-picking. Time for the players to play.

Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.