BY DON WILLIAMS
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

Seven of the top 20 passers in the nation in terms of total passing yards are doing their thing in the Big 12 Conference.

In contrast, none of the Big 12 teams rank in the top 50 in pass defense, and nine come in at No. 77 or worse.

Texas Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill figures it’s no coincidence. That doesn’t mean McNeill enjoys Tech’s No. 103 ranking in pass defense, but it does mean he has company.

“In the Big 12, you’ve got to be able to defend pass, but you’ve also got to be able to defend the run and defend a running, mobile quarterback,’’ McNeill said. “So we’re not the only team that’s facing that problem.’’

Tech’s No. 103 ranking seems to indicate the Raiders sprung a leak in the secondary just when they got tough against the run. In that category, Tech is No. 12 in the nation. Opposing running backs are averaging only 2.95 yards per carry against Tech. Tech also is top-30 nationally in third-down defense, sacks per game and red-zone defense.

All but two of the team’s first seven opponents, however, have hit Tech for at least 210 yards through the air.

“We always want to be better,’’ McNeill said. “We keep working at it. I’ve got a lot of confidence in our kids. I’ve got the utmost confidence in our coaches. We work hard at it, we study it and we emphasize it here in practice. We have at least two periods set aside for defending pass, period.’’

The pass defense faces its stiffest test yet on Saturday at Kansas. The Jayhawks’ Kerry Meier (57 catches, 632 yards, three touchdowns) leads the league in receptions per game. Teammate Dezmon Briscoe (43-705-8) is third in receiving yards per game. In a 45-31 loss last week at Oklahoma, Briscoe set school records with 12 receptions for 269 yards.

“That’s like a (Mike) Crabtree kind of night,’’ Tech safety Darcel McBath said. “We’re going to have to bring our ‘A’ game in the secondary.’’

Even some of the Big 12’s best teams are having a hard time defending the pass. Going by this week’s BCS standings, No. 1 Texas is 111th against the pass; No. 4 Oklahoma is 61st; No. 6 Oklahoma State is 77th; No. 15 Missouri is 114th; and No. 23 Kansas is 99th.

“Everyone in the Big 12 is in that lower part. Every one of us,’’ McNeill said. “Everyone in the Big 12 is running the spread. Everybody in the Big 12 has a mobile and faster quarterback.’’

McNeill said playing good first-down defense is a prime objective, so that a defense is in position, to some extent, to limit the offense’s play selection. Tech’s also taken its base defense off the field about half the time in favor of substitution packages that put five and six defensive backs on the field.

“It’s sort of hard to survive against those (spread) teams playing base on third down and second-and-long,’’ McNeill said. “You’ve got to put in some guys that can (both) cover and play run. Those guys that we put in there have to be able to defend the run. We practice defending the run as well as pass, because people are still running in second-and-long.’’

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