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Despite his broken collarbone, Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson still appeared among the 15 semifinalist for the Maxwell Award for college football's best player.

"While we recognize that Adrian is unable to play at this time, we felt that he was deserving of being on this list as one of the top players in college football," said Mark Wolpert, Maxwell Club Senior Vice President for Collegiate Awards.

Peterson was the only player from the Big 12 Conference on the list, which included Steve Slaton from West Virginia, Northern Illinois' Garrett Wolfe, Notre Dame's Brady Quinn and Troy Smith from Ohio State.

Voting for the award begins Nov. 3 and ends Dec. 1. It is unlikely Peterson will return to the field before voting concludes.

Peterson said Oct. 18 that he expected to miss four-to-six weeks with the injury.

He ranks No. 3 nationally in rushing with 155.8 yards per game. He is first in all-purpose yards at 204 per game and fourth in scoring at 11 points per game.

Peterson will remain in the national rankings until his percentage of games played drops below 75 percent.

• Visible growth: OU defensive coordinator Brent Venables can see his defense progressing. It's visible in the statistics, as well as the game tape.

"If you go back and watch (the Oregon game), it's obvious to see the growth we've had, the improvement that guys have made at a lot of the little things," Venables said. "We learned a great deal as a staff and as a defense, with how we let that game slip away.

"Unfortunately, we have a loss under our belt because of it, but we learned from it."

• Ziggy's back: To help fill the void of injured defensive end Brian Smith, Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel is shuffling his defensive line.

Sophomore Stryker Sulak will start in Smith's place and Ziggy Hood, a sophomore defensive tackle, has been moved into the starting role.

• Old teammates: True freshman Trent Williams will make his first start for the Sooners at right tackle Saturday.

Williams is from Longview, Texas, and played there with OU receiver Malcolm Kelly, who is a true sophomore.

Both players agreed that Longview was predominantly a running team. It might seem Kelly's talent was wasted in that type of offense, but Williams said the team found Kelly when it needed him.

"He was kind of a life jacket for us when we'd get in third-and-long," Williams said. "We'd just throw it to him."

By Scott Wright