There was a mix-up in the Arizona secondary. Cornerback Robert Golden gave a half-hearted chuck to Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon and let him run by.

Problem was, there was no safety to help.

Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden easily connected with Blackmon down field … and then the real fun began.

Blackmon, nearing the goal line all alone, ran along the goal line, crossing the hashmarks from right to left before dipping into the end zone as defensive back Adam Hall closed in.

It was a 71-yard touchdown.

It wouldn’t be — at least it shouldn’t be — this season.

The major rule change in college football is that any taunting penalty that occurs before a touchdown will be a 15-yard infraction at the spot of the foul. In other words, no touchdown.

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Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon runs past Arizona cornerback Robert Golden in the Alamo Bowl.
Photo by Matt Strasen-US PRESSWIRE

It’s been mostly good news.

There wasn’t much doubt that Arizona Wildcats junior quarterback Nick Foles was coming back … and he is. The case of junior receiver Juron Criner was, as he put it at one point last month, 50-50. But he has told coach Mike Stoops that he will be back in 2011.

Now, the bad news.

The Wildcats’ schedule for the first half of the 2011 season is loaded with five teams that defeated Arizona last season. The Cats have to play Oklahoma State, Stanford and Oregon in September; those teams were a combined 35-4 in 2010 and each finished in the top 10 of the final coaches poll.

Now, the worse news.

The stars of those teams are all coming back.

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Juron Criner is running away with some postseason honors.
Photo by Rick Osentoski/US PRESSWIRE

Arizona Wildcats junior receiver Juron Criner has been chosen a second-team All-American by CBSSports.com.

And yet he’ll be the second-best receiver in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29.

Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver on Thursday night. Blackmon has 102 receptions for 1,665 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Criner was one of the four unanimous selections to the All-Pac-10 team, announced earlier this week, after a season in which he made 73 receptions for 1,186 yards and 10 touchdowns.

I asked Criner, a junior, after last week’s loss to Arizona State if he would use need to use the time before the bowl game to consider his future, perhaps petition an NFL advisory committee for his likely draft status.

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UPDATE: It’s official.

Arizona will play Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl.

Says Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne: “We know that with our strong Arizona connections to Texas, as well as a program like OSU on the other side, that there will be a lot of support from the University of Arizona family.”

The Alamo Bowl will be held Dec. 29 in San Antonio, beginning at 7 p.m. Tucson time.

The matchup is a bit awkward. The teams will meet in the second game of next season in Stillwater, meaning they will play each other twice in a three-game span.

Coach Mike Gundy’s Cowboys are 10-2 and finished 14th in the BCS standings.

The programs haven’t met since 1942, with the series tied at 3.

Quick thoughts on the matchup: Arizona’s secondary better come to play.

Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon is the nation’s leading receiver (102 catches for 1,665 yards and 18 touchdowns). Just today, I voted for him to win the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top wideout. He has had 11 consecutive 100-yard receiving games.

With Blackmon, All-Big 12 running back Kendall Hunter and 27-year-old former minor-league pitcher Brandon Weeden (4,037 passing yards, a school-record 32 touchdowns), this will be another supreme test for the Arizona defense, which didn’t hold up well against the high-powered offenses such of Oregon and Stanford.

The Cowboys have set several school records for offense, including points (539) and total offense (6,451 yards).

Here’s a stat for you: Oklahoma State, which installed a new spread offense before the season, leads the nation in total offense, averaging 537.58 yards per game. Over the course of 12 games, the Cowboys had one more yard than Oregon (6,451 to 6,450).

Oklahoma State is third nationally with 44.92 points per game.