Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez gets past Kansas State cornerback Ty Zimmerman, right, to score a touchdown during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game Thursday, Oct. 7, 2010 in Manhattan, Kan. Martinez rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns leading Nebraska to a 48-13 win. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

One of my favorite segments from the Chappelle Show, a Comedy Central classic by now, was “When Keeping it Real Goes Wrong.”

Usually, the segment involved a character who entered a questionable situation with a decision to make. Take the safe route and don’t cause any trouble. Or take a gamble, live a little bit and keep it real. Every time, the character would keep it real in a careless way that would backfire in exaggerated and hilarious fashion.

Hence, when keeping it real goes wrong.
When watching a Big 12 football game on Saturday, it felt like I was watching a sports version of the Chappelle segment.

Texas Tech lined up to kick off to Baylor with the game tied at 7. The Red Raiders had two choices. Play it safe and kick it deep. Or keep it real. See the video below to see how it turned out.

Texas Tech attempted to trick Baylor and try an onside kick. Only problem was the Red Raiders special teams players forgot the rules. Even if the football doesn’t travel the required 10 yards for the kicking team to recover, it’s still a live ball.

With three Red Raiders players standing over the ball like they were getting ready to down a punt, Baylor’s Terrance Ganaway alertly picked up the pigskin right in front of them and promptly returned it for a 38-yard touchdown.

Texas Tech special teams: When keeping it real goes horribly wrong.

I’m happy to report that I finally had the undefeated week I was looking for in predicting Big 12 games. For reaction on what took place in the Big 12 in week 6, check out the latest episode of Conference ChatterTV:

Time to move on to the week 6 awards for Big 12 players who went above and beyond:

Player of the week: Taylor Martinez, QB, Nebraska.

T-Magic destroyed Kansas State for 369 total yards and five touchdowns. He exploited the Wildcats’ run defense, shattering them for 241 yards and four scores.

Martinez ranks fourth in the country with 147 rushing yards per game. Even more remarkable: He averages a first down (10.84 yards, first in the country) every time he records a rushing attempt.

Martinez is probably the Big 12’s lone Heisman Trophy threat at the moment.

It’s crazy to think there was a quarterback controversy in Lincoln, Neb. in the spring and summer. Sorry, Cody Green and Zac Lee. Barring injury, you’ll never see the field again at QB in meaningful minutes. Martinez is only a red-shirt freshman.

Kansas call of the week: The Jayhawks seem to match up well with Kansas State.

This year’s edition of the Sunflower Showdown, set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, will undoubtedly lack the national interest it’s produced the past few seasons. But it should be a close game in Lawrence.

The Jayhawks (2-3), who have won four of the past six Sunflower matchups, will go up against a K-State team that has opened up another quarterback competition. Probably not a good thing in the seventh week of the season.

K-State (4-1) is clearly a one-dimensional team on offense. If Daniel Thomas is contained, or if the Wildcats fall behind and are forced to pass, they struggle. The Wildcats rank 107th in the country in passing offense. The core of what they do best is not built around staging rallies.

I’m no coach, but there’s the blueprint for KU’s success: Contain Thomas and build an early lead.

Kansas State opened as three-point favorites. Thoughts?

Looking ahead: Upcoming game of the week: Texas at No. 5 Nebraska.

Big game in a rematch of last year’s Big 12 Championship. Motivation seems to be easy to find on both sides.

For Texas: Nebraska launched a video before the season that looked ahead to the Texas game and said, “Be Loud. Wear Red. Beat Texas.” The Beat Texas part has since been removed, but you think UT coach Mack Brown doesn’t know about it?

For Nebraska: One second. That’s how much time remained on the clock last year in the Big 12 Championship after Colt McCoy calmly took a gamble and threw the ball out of bounds like there was much more time on the clock. On the next play, Texas kicked a field goal, beat Nebraska and advanced to the BCS Championship.

The following is the latest edition of the Sorrentino Scale. The number that follows in parentheses is what the team was ranked last week:

1 (1). Oklahoma (5-0): Sooners still have better victories than Nebraska. But it’s close.
2 (2). Nebraska (5-0): Neck-and-neck with Sooners for top spot.
3 (3). Oklahoma State (5-0): Eventually, OSU defense is going to have to play better for Cowboys to keep this spot.
4 (4). Missouri (5-0): Tigers defense underrated? Third in the country in scoring D with only 11.20 points given up per game. Top mark in Big 12.
5 (6). Texas (3-2): Could climb back up with win at Nebraska.
6 (5). Kansas State (4-1): Defense lacks speed.
7 (7). Texas A&M (3-2): Played Arkansas tough, but suffered second straight close loss.
8 (11). Texas Tech (3-2): Season saved with shootout victory over Baylor.
9 (8). Baylor (4-2): Defense must help out Robert Griffin and Co.
10 (10). Colorado (3-2): Failed to put up a point in 26-0 blanking at Missouri. Road losing streak extends to 14. Ouch.
11 (9). Iowa State (3-3): 68-27 loss to Utah. Double ouch.
12 (12). Kansas (2-3): Victory over K-State could get Jayhawks out of scale cellar.

That should be all for now, friends. As always, discuss.