The door that was opened by Oklahoma’s fall from elite status has been slammed shut by Texas. The Longhorns, by virtue of their gritty victory over Ohio State, now are far and away the favorites to win the Big 12 Conference.

But now who’s knocking on the Longhorns’ door? A quick scan of the standings reveals more shaky 2-0 counts than the Texas Rangers’ pitching staff.

We’ve only seen one game from Texas A&M, a not-so-inspiring, but close, loss at Clemson. Missouri looked good in its opening romp over Arkansas State but came back to earth this week. Iowa State manhandled a top-10 Iowa team, but let’s see the Cyclones do it against someone who isn’t an archrival.

No, the team that’s looked the best out of the gate besides UT is the team few people will be paying attention to in September. That would be your Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Unless the Red Raiders put up 100 against Indiana State, Tech won’t get a lot of notice early because of its notoriously weak nonconference schedule. However, the Red Raiders, in their 56-3 debut against Florida International, look like a team that will be 6-0 heading into an Oct. 22 showdown in Austin.

Yes, it was just Florida International, but Tech doesn’t always start this fast with a new quarterback. Last year, in Sonny Cumbie’s first game, Tech managed just 27 points against SMU and lost the next week at New Mexico.

The year before, Tech routed SMU, but B.J. Symons was held under 300 yards passing and threw an interception in his debut.

Tech’s newest starter, Cody Hodges, began with these numbers: 29-of-37 passing, 454 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. And for an extra wrinkle, Hodges ran for 44 yards and a touchdown.

It wasn’t just Hodges that was new to the starting lineup. Two receivers were making their first starts, and Tech’s best wideout, Jarrett Hicks, was sidelined because of “personal issues.” There also were three new starters on the offensive line.

Hodges distributed the ball and ran the offense like he’d been doing it for years. Three players caught touchdown passes, and 11 players caught at least one pass.

Granted, this was against Florida International, which had no clue how to defend Tech’s passing attack. As Nebraska’s defensive staff found last year, and Cal found in the Holiday Bowl, it’s not easy facing Mike Leach’s offense for the first time.

Yet Florida International was far from inept or unskilled, even for a team in its first season as a Division I-A member. A week before, FIU stayed with Kansas State for most of the game before falling, 35-21.

Against Tech, FIU’s balanced attack netted 349 yards but couldn’t find the end zone. Tech’s defense could become an issue if the Red Raiders continue to bend. The good news is that they didn’t break.

The scary thing about the offense is Tech usually gets better as the season goes along. Leach said the opening performance was “sloppy” but that’s probably to keep the egos in check. You could hardly ask for much more in terms of productivity.

Again, it was just Florida International, but we’ve already seen other Big 12 teams struggle against supposedly weaker opposition. At least Tech looked good in its debut.

The Red Raiders next two games are against I-AA opponents, then Tech opens conference play with a trio of Big 12 North foes: Kansas University, Nebraska and Kansas State. If Tech’s offense is as tuned up as it appears, none of the next five opponents should be able to keep pace.

Tech doesn’t face Iowa State or Colorado, which right now appear to be the most complete teams in the North. Texas A&M could fully bounce back from its opening loss, just like last year, but the Aggies have to travel to Lubbock.

Oklahoma, because of its recruiting, could have its act together by the time it ventures Nov. 19 to Lubbock. By then, Tech could be a lot better, too.

Texas is the sole tenant in the Big 12 penthouse. Come Oct. 22, the Red Raiders may be knocking.