For those desperate for perspective after a frustrating evening in West Texas last night, just look at the rest of the Big 12.  It offers you all the perspective you could ask for.  Was last night annoying?  Absolutely.  And it was, at best (or worst), the fourth-most annoying loss in the conference.

* Texas -- TEXAS! -- just lost their fifth game in six tries.  And for those Missouri fans who are befuddled that the same team that beat Oklahoma could lose to Texas Tech ... Texas' one win since September 19 (!) was against ... Nebraska.

* Bob Stoops opened himself up to ridicule by trying to keep the scoring margin close against Missouri so that, when they won out, Oklahoma might still be in position for a BCS title bid.  Instead, they got whipped by a team whose coach was considered on the hot seat not very long ago after getting crushed by Mizzou.

* Colorado just allowed 35 points in the fourth quarter to epic cellar dweller Kansas, a team who had scored 40 points in their previous four conference games.  Not only that, but apparently their coach wasn't fired before the team landed back in Boulder.  (I'll be honest: I'm clearly not one for overreacting -- that's been made very clear over the years -- but I absolutely would have fired Hawkins before the team left Lawrence.  Every loss is inexcusable in one way or another, I guess, but this loss was five steps beyond inexcusable.)

And while we're at it, Nebraska followed up a near-flawless performance against Missouri by trying as hard as they could to lose to Iowa State before the wind knocked down a wide-open go-for-the-win two-point conversion, and Baylor followed up their first moment in the spotlight in ages and staked their claim to the South title by ... allowing over 700 yards to Oklahoma State and getting rolled.  This has been a chaotic year in college football, and a ridiculous year in the Big 12.  Missouri showed last night that they are not immune to the chaos, and while that was amazingly frustrating (drop! bad pass! drop! another defensive injury! bad pass! drop!) and we wish Mizzou weren't capable of that poor a performance this late in the season ... they're 7-2.  Only two (TWO!) teams in the Big 12 have been better over the season as a whole.

So do whatever you have to do  -- vent, ignore the Internet, whip Texas Tech 17 times on NCAA '11 -- to get past this, and then suck it up and head to Faurot next Saturday for Senior Day and a big conference game.  There is plenty of more chaos to follow.  If Mizzou plays well, they could end up 10-2; if they don't, 8-4.  It's up to them, and they'll need some support.

(And remember: the Internet never forgets, so choose your words wisely.  To the guy on Twitter last night who said that Missouri would never be better than an eight-win program under Gary Pinkel -- because clearly 12-2 or 10-4 isn't possible with this incompetent dolt in charge, ahem -- this is a lesson you might try to let sink in at some point.)

And if you want more perspective, head on over to KBIA Sports Extra to see what our boy UribeAuction had to say.

Also: the sun came up this morning, everybody got an extra hour of sleep, the basketball team looked great Friday night, and the volleyball team might have staked a claim to an NCAA tournament bid last night.  Life could be much, much worse.

Tech Beats Missouri: Recaps

• MUtigers.com: No. 14 Missouri Falls to Texas Tech, 24-17
• The Trib: Tech-nical knockout: MU falls flat in Lubbock
• The Missourian: Missouri offense fades in loss to Texas Tech
• KC Star: Texas Tech topples No. 14 Missouri 24-17
• Post-Dispatch: Tigers roar early, then go silent
• Fox Sports MW: No. 14 Missouri upended by Texas Tech
• PowerMizzou: Down and out

What the Hell Happened to the Offense?

• The Missourian: Blaine Gabbert oddly ineffective in Missouri's upset loss
• KC Star: Replacing Gabbert wasn't considered
• Post-Dispatch: Mizzou's running game gets a workout vs. Tech
• The Trib (Joe Walljasper): Tigers show their stripes ... and it isn't pretty

Miscellaneous

• SB Nation KC: Chase Daniel Tired of 'Fair Weather' Mizzou Fans
• The Missourian: Missouri running back's mom relishes son's dazzling touchdown run
• PowerMizzou: Sunday Grade Card
  PowerMizzou: By the numbers: Losing in Lubbock

Multimedia

• Photos
  The Missourian: Texas Tech overtakes Missouri
  The Missourian: Pre-Gaming in Lubbock

Big 12 Links

• KC Star (Upon Further Review): Big 12: More Exciting Than Ever
• Tulsa World: Race for the Big 12 title
• Oklahoma State 55, Baylor 28
  ESPN.com: Justin Blackmon returns from suspension as Cowboys ring up 725 yards of offense
  ESPN.com Blog: OSU outguns Baylor for South supremacy
  Daily Oklahoman: Cowboys prove they're the real deal in blowout of Baylor
  Daily Oklahoman: Justin Blackmon spectacular in return
  Tulsa World: Record-setting Cowboys blitz Baylor 55-28
  Tulsa World: OSU defense shines in shutting down high-powered Bears
  Tulsa World: Justin Blackmon returns with force
  Dallas Morning News: Disciplined OSU receiver responds with fan outreach, big game
  Dallas Morning News: Mistakes, porous defense cost Baylor
  Houston Chronicle: No. 19 Oklahoma State routs No. 22 Baylor 55-28
• Texas A&M 33, Oklahoma 19
  ESPN.com: Balanced attack leads Texas A&M's upset of No. 8 Oklahoma
  SB Nation: Texas A&M 33, Oklahoma 19: Aggies Upset Sooners; Shake Up BCS, Big 12
  Tulsa World: OU falls on road to A&M, 33-19
  Tulsa World: Missed opportunities haunt OU in loss
  Daily Oklahoman: A&M upsets No. 8 Oklahoma, 33-19
  Daily Oklahoman: Texas A&M's Cyrus Gray -- 'I was so hungry'
  Daily Oklahoman: Run game fails Sooners in College Station as Aggies stuff OU
  Houston Chronicle (Richard Justice): Win marks turning point for A&M's Sherman (because as we've seen, turning points are real, and once you play well, you never play poorly again)
• Kansas State 39, Texas 14
  ESPN.com: Kansas State cruises past struggling Texas
  Dr. Saturday: K-State blows out Texas with 9 yards passing, and other tales from the Longhorns' ongoing collapse
  KC Star: K-State takes down Texas
  Topeka Capital-Journal: Cats trounce UT for win No. 6
  Topeka Capital-Journal: On Big 12's crazy day, Cats roll in crazy way
  Houston Chronicle: Kansas State extends Texas' misery in 39-14 rout
  Austin American-Statesman: Nothing wrong with trying a substitute
  Austin American-Statesman: Not many explanations for Longhorns' latest low
  KC Star: There's no reason for Texas to be this bad
• Kansas 52, Colorado 45
  ESPN.com: Kansas runs off 35 straight in fourth to stun Colorado
  Ralphie Report: EPIC COLLAPSE - Kansas Scores 35 Unanswered in 4th Quarter to Beat Colorado
  Rock Chalk Talk: Kansas Rallies From 28 Down To Complete An Improbable Comeback Win Over Colorado
  Rock Chalk Talk: Could Kansas' Comeback Be A Much Needed Catalyst?
  KC Star: Miracle on Mount Oread: KU stuns Buffs in comeback
  Lawrence Journal-World: Onside kick turning point in KU's 52-45 comeback over Colorado
  Lawrence Journal-World: You did stay until the end, right?
  ESPN.com Blog: Kansas pulls another shocker
  Topeka Capital-Journal: KU finally wins turnover battle
  Topeka Capital-Journal: Gill shows emotion in win
• Nebraska 31, Iowa State 30
  ESPN.com: No. 7 Nebraska holds off Iowa State on final play as Taylor Martinez sits
  Clone Chronicles: Tough Loss: Iowa State 30, Nebraska 31 (OT)
  Omaha World-Herald: Huskers stop ISU 2-point try, hold on for OT win
  Omaha World-Herald: Holder's OT pass fails to trick Hagg (um...a good pass would have)
  Omaha World-Herald: Pelini happy NU survived (best headline ever, by the way)
  Omaha World-Herald: Paul Rhoads is resourceful and resilient
  Lincoln Journal-Star: Martinez and Lee expected back against KU