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Ranking the Top 25 Big 12 players: No. 4

The official list of the Big 12's top 25 players is locked away in a vault in an undisclosed location, but we're revealing the list day by day here on the blog. Here's a refresher on my exact criteria.

We're in the top 10 now, so it might get a bit heated.

Got beef? Let's squash it.

No. 4: Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma

2010 numbers: Completed 405 of 617 passes (65.6 percent) for 4,718 yards, 38 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Most recent ranking: Jones was ranked No. 11 in our postseason list of the Big 12's top 25 players.

Making the case for Jones: The only knock left on Jones is his propensity to make big mistakes in big games. He's eradicated all the others. He's trimmed the number of mistakes as his pass attempts have ballooned to 617, more than any other quarterback in college football.

He's also proved he could be his best on the road. Mistakes aside, Jones makes huge plays in those huge games, too. For his two costly interceptions early against Oklahoma State, he bounced back with two pinpoint passes for 76 and 82-yard touchdowns against the Cowboys that iced the game in the fourth quarter.

Meltdowns in the first half against Texas A&M and the fourth quarter against Missouri (as well as an early interception in the red zone against the Tigers) look pretty far in the rearview mirror for one of the fastest-growing talents in the Big 12 and an early Heisman favorite.

Here's guessing Jones checks off his biggest criticism this season and with loads of talent everywhere he looks and throws against in practice, carries the Sooners to a huge season.

The rest of the list: