As conference expansion talk boils to the brim this week, columnists across the country have fixed their eyes on Tom Osborne and Harvey Perlman. Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com put it bluntly: “The future of the national college athletics landscape may hinge on whether Nebraska acts within two weeks to stay in the Big 12.” Here are a few other snippets of what they're saying around the country:

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Matt Hayes The Sporting News

Later this week, the fate of college football as we know it likely rests with Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman. His decision is essentially this: Commit to the Big 12 and college football barely changes course, or leave the Big 12 and begin a shift in conference affiliation so profound, so permanent, that the storied sport will never be the same ...

One wrong move by Perlman, a staunch proponent of the BCS system, and college football evolves into four power leagues with 16 teams each — and a more significant gulf between the haves and have-nots that can't possibly be bridged. Not even with a national playoff.

If Nebraska doesn't commit to the Big 12, according to a report by the Austin American-Statesman, six teams from the Big 12 will be inclined to leave the league and join the Pac-10. That likely sets in motion these events:

• The end of the Big 12.

• The end of the Big East.

• The SEC, Big Ten and ACC playing footsies with the remaining heavyweights in college football to reach 16-team megaconference status.

At that point, does it really matter who ends up where?

The BCS? Gone. Decades of bowls and polls — those sweet elements that separate the college game from the sterile, homogenized glop that is the NFL — and history and tradition? Gone.

... And to think this all began because the Big Ten wanted to take one more shot at Notre Dame and came up with a unique — and, in hindsight, reckless — plan to force ND's hand by floating rumors of expansion eliminating the Irish's comfy non-football marriage with the Big East.

The SEC then said it would respond with full force in the event of a Big Ten megaconference. And then the Pac-10 went and did it.

The nuclear option we all thought was so ridiculous not so long ago is now staring Perlman directly in the face.

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Kevin Haskin, Topeka Capital-Journal

Red is indeed Big in this matter. Control rests with Nebraska. The move it makes could well dictate the very existence of the Big 12.

Calls can, and probably have, been made to Osborne by his coaching friend, Bill Snyder. In addition, Lew Perkins should attempt to capitalize on whatever relationship he's developed with Osborne on the administrative front — solid enough that the KU athletic director was influenced by Osborne's recommendation to hire Turner Gill.

The problem in college athletics is it's only natural to look out for yourself first and foremost.

Osborne may sense, especially given any perceived grievances, the Huskers are better off in the Big Ten. If that's the case, only Perlman can overrule. And that won't be easy considering that Osborne, the icon, is involved in Nebraska's football recovery.

Still, it's important for any Kansan with political clout to get involved in this critical phase of the Big 12 “process.” Especially if a time frame — firm or not — exists stipulating Nebraska divulge its intentions.

Hey, if Nebraska stays, the rest of the Big 12 could agree to throw the Huskers a bone. Stage the Big 12 title game in Lincoln one time. Send the basketball tournament to the Qwest Center. Keep Osborne supplied for life in Centrum Silver.

Kansans should be first to take up a collection. That Big 12 revenue stream that looked somewhat puny compared to the Big Ten or SEC would dwindle to almost nothing if KU and K-State are left in some Midlands abyss.

Just try covering the costs of scholarships, travel and salaries without the benefits of BCS affiliation. Good luck retaining Bill Self. Or Frank Martin.

This is serious stuff. ... Pacify Osborne. Stroke Perlman. Beg if you must. And don't hesitate to wear red.

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Chuck Carlton, Dallas Morning News

Right now, the unstable Big 12 landscape resembles nothing more than one giant game of Jenga, with the Cornhuskers the critical piece. If they refuse to commit to the conference, then everything collapses.

Nebraska hasn't been in this big a spotlight since the BCS title game against Miami after the 2001 season. With chancellor Harvey Perlman and athletic director Tom Osborne keeping a low profile, nobody knows how Nebraska might be leaning.

Nebraska can swallow its pride, pledge allegiance to the Big 12 and agree to stay in the league through 2016. The Cornhuskers could work the phones with the expansion-minded Big Ten and opt for a new home if the news is favorable.

Or, in what could be a case of calling the conference's bluff, Nebraska might just ignore the ultimatum.

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Berry Tramel, The Oklahoman

When Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe emerged from a presidents meeting Friday and talked about a “process” by which the league will decide how to sort the dalliances of some schools with the Big Ten, what he meant was, Nebraska has been called out.

I don't know for sure. I wasn't in the room. But I've talked to people who know what they're talking about. And this is about Nebraska.

This isn't about Missouri. Nobody cares about Missouri. Stay, go, drop football, get mad all over again that the Insight Bowl invited Iowa State. Doesn't matter.

If only Missouri leaves the Big 12, the league is fine. Heck, the league thrives. TV revenues wouldn't go down, plus there's one less mouth to feed. Heck, the NCAA might even give the Big 12 a waiver and let it keep the football championship game.

This is about Nebraska. Everybody cares about Nebraska. Nebraska helps make the league go. Without Nebraska, Texas' and Oklahoma's enthusiasm for the Big 12 wanes.

I really believe the six (in the Big 12 South) would prefer to stick it out in this part of the country. I believe Dodds when he says Texas, which drives the boat, likes things just the way they are.

Wouldn't surprise me if all kinds of Oklahomans and Texans called Nebraskans, from football coaches to state politicians, saying don't turn your back on tradition and history and roots. Don't cash in the known and the revered for the unknown and riches.

But if Nebraska won't commit by the deadline, the Big 12 is finished.

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Teddy Greenstein, Chicago Tribune

The Big 12 apparently isn't big enough for both Nebraska and Texas, so I'm forecasting a split along Rose Bowl lines — Big Ten and Pac-whatever.

Nebraska appears to hold the cards, even though Texas is the equivalent of a royal flush, desired by all.

If the Cornhuskers leave for the Big Ten, the Big 12 might come crashing down. The conference can live with losing Missouri, but Texas might feel like a Huskers-free party is worth bolting.

So the key question is will Nebraska be invited to apply for Big Ten membership? If the Huskers don't get the call, then something's wrong.

Nebraska has the tradition, the obsessive fans, the football stadium and the Association of American Universities membership.

The Big Ten is big enough for two NUs — Northwestern and Nebraska.

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