Big 12 Football

fuckyeahtx: RIP Darrell K Royal. The Eyes of Texas will always...

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 08:57:20 -0600

RIP Darrell K Royal. The Eyes of Texas will always be upon you.

RIP and Hook ‘Em

KState Keeps Rolling (Over Everyone)

Sun, 04 Nov 2012 11:14:00 -0600

I’m biased in favour of the Big 12; thought the Bama-LSU game last night was pretty sloppy (with several idiotic decisions by Les Miles, whom I especially loathe); and the Oregon-USC game exposed Oregon’s defense.

KState is definitely one of the best teams in the nation, and they aren’t getting the respect they deserve. Watching KState roll through the opposition week after week has left we with this image in my head every Saturday:

I don’t see them losing their last few games, and if they don’t, I think they will represent the Big 12 well in the championship.

PS I know I need to post on this blog more often.

NCAA Football Week 1 Big 12 Predictions

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 18:36:55 -0500

dailysportspredictions:

My predictions for the Big 12 Conference in week one of the NCAA Football season.

Baylor win over SMU

Iowa State win over Tulsa

Kansas win over South Dakota State

Kansas State win over Missouri State

Oklahoma win over UTEP

Oklahoma State win over Savannah State

Texas win over Wyoming

Texas Tech win over Northwestern State

West Virginia win over Marshall

Tradition matters, Texas and Oklahoma keep Red River Rivalry in Cotton Bowl through 2020

Sat, 12 May 2012 15:06:58 -0500

Tradition matters, Texas and Oklahoma keep Red River Rivalry in Cotton Bowl through 2020:

saturdayfootball:

There are days when it seems like nobody cares about tradition in college football. With rivalries coming to an end with realignment and schools moving from one conference to another and to another, sometimes making moves that make little geographic sense in hopes of richer paydays it is easy to grow tired of the changing landscape of the sport.

Thankfully, there are some traditions that will live to see another day, despite better options perhaps being available. The Red River Rivalry between the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners will remain at the Cotton Bowl as part of the State Fair of Texas. Representatives from both schools signed an agreement Friday to keep the game in the Cotton Bowl, with revenue split evenly between the schools.

Big 12 Offers Stanford AD Bob Bowlsby Commissioner's Job

Thu, 03 May 2012 11:50:29 -0500

Big 12 Offers Stanford AD Bob Bowlsby Commissioner's Job:

chrishengst:

Dan Beebe got fired. Chuck Neinas didn’t want it long-term. Now the Big 12 turns to Bob Bowlsby to lead them past the realignment hysteria.

Big 12 Draft Recap - Rounds 2-7

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:02:10 -0500

Round 2

Ryan Broyles (Oklahoma) - WR to the Lions

Kelechi Osemele (Iowa State) - T to the Ravens

Round 3

Donald Stevenson (Oklahoma) - T to the the Chiefs

Jamell Fleming (Oklahoma) - CB to the Cardinals

Round 4

Frank Alexander (Oklahoma) - DE to the Panthers

Philip Blake (Baylor) - C to the Broncos

Keenan Robinson (Texas) - OLB to the Redskins

Ronnell Lewis (Oklahoma) - OLB to the Lions

Round 6

James Hanna (Oklahoma) - TE to the Cowboys

Markelle Martin (Oklahoma State) - FS to the Titans

Terrance Ganaway (Baylor) - RB to the Jets

Robert T. Griffin (Baylor) - G to the Jets

Emmanuel Acho (Texas) - OLB to the Browns

Round 7

Kheeston Randall (Texas) - DT to the Dolphins

Travis Lewis (Oklahoma) - OLB to the Lions

Bryce Brown (Kansas State) - RB to the Eagles

Big 12 Draft Recap - Day 1

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:00:30 -0500

NFL Draft Round 1

2nd pick - Robert Griffin, III (Baylor) to the Redskins

5th pick - Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State) to the Jaguars

20th pick - Kendall Wright (Baylor) to the Titans

22nd Pick - Brandon Weeden (Oklahoma State) to the Browns

DeLoss Dodds Takes Aim At Big Ten, Pac 12 On College Football Playoff

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:37:54 -0500

DeLoss Dodds Takes Aim At Big Ten, Pac 12 On College Football Playoff:

chrishengst:

Tired of their rigid commitment to the Rose Bowl, Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds levels with the Pac 12 and Big Ten.

Mack Brown, Big 12 coaches sound off on BCS changes

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:31:36 -0500

Mack Brown, Big 12 coaches sound off on BCS changes:

saturdayfootball:

Texas Longhorns head coach kicked off the Big 12 coaches conference call on a sour note, stating the reasons why he is not a fan of the current BCS system.

“I don’t like our current system,” Brown said. “I don’t like the fact that last year two teams played twice.”

Last years BCS Championship game paired up SEC West division rivals Alabama and LSU. Alabama lost the regular season match-up in Tuscaloosa but won the rematch in the BCS title game. Brown is not necessarily against the idea of two teams who have already played being in the championship game if they are truly are the best teams, but after watching Oklahoma State be left out of the game with what some suggest was a tougher schedule, Brown would like to see more emphasis on the season résumé.

“The BCS doesn’t give credence to strength of schedule,” Brown said. Later this week BCS officials will be meeting to discuss future plans for the postseason system, with a number of options reportedly on the table. Brown was in favor of some form of a playoff format.

Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops seemed to agree on the basic premise, but was clearly not a fan of anything more than a plus-one format that utilizes the BCS bowls on a rotating basis, with a BCS championship set a week later.

One of the new head coaches in the conference, Gary Patterson, was someone expected to have some strong opinions on the BCS system, after taking two TCU teams to BCS games in recent years with undefeated records.

“I never said the Plus 1 would ruin [the bowl experience,” just that it wouldn’t be as good,” Patterson said.

Kansas State’s Bill Snyder, the elder statesman of the conference, said he was happy with the way things are now.

“I’m comfortable with the way things are now,” Snyder said of the current BCS format. “I can’t imagine us getting in to an eight or 16-team playoff. That wouldn’t work, in my opinion,” Snyder added.

Luck details WVU Big East exit, Big 12 move - Big 12 Blog - ESPN

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:25:08 -0500

Luck details WVU Big East exit, Big 12 move - Big 12 Blog - ESPN:

wvsports:

saturdayfootball: (via NCAA Football 13 cover features Robert...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 11:33:29 -0500

saturdayfootball:

(via NCAA Football 13 cover features Robert Griffin III with Barry Sanders)

saturdayfootball: Get an inside look at line drills at...

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 08:19:37 -0500

saturdayfootball:

Get an inside look at line drills at Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Drill (Offensive Perspective) (by soonersportscom)

West Virginia's Oliver Luck Calling For More Big 12 Expansion

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:32:04 -0500

West Virginia's Oliver Luck Calling For More Big 12 Expansion:

chrishengst:

The Mountaineers athletic director might be right in the long-term but he’s a bit hasty on asking for favors. Lucky for Oliver, I’ve got some Big 12 guidelines.

TCU and West Virginia; welcome to the Big 12

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:58:50 -0600

TCU and West Virginia; welcome to the Big 12:

sbrforum:

The departures of Colorado and especially Nebraska were crushing blows to the Big-12 conference which was reduced from 12 schools to 10. The conference has now added TCU and West Virginia.

Recovery process

Losing a school with the enriched history and amount of success that the Nebraska Cornhuskershad to the Big 10 was in a sense a major defeat to the Big 12 Conference. Recently the Big 12 finalized a deal with the West Virginia Mountaineers after the Mountaineers endured a court battle with the Big East Conference and this conference can once again be truly considered the “Big 12”.

Invitation returned?

TCU remains a member of the Big-12 Conference but they haven’t gotten off to a respectable start.

On February 15th, 4 members of the TCU football team were arrested for selling drugs on campus (18 students in all). According to police, Tanner Brock; junior defensive tackle D.J. Yendrey; junior safety Devin Johnson and sophomore offensive tackle Ty Horn were selling marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, acid, and various other prescription medications. University officials are doing an investigation of the situation and the future of these players remains to be seen.

Let’s put it bluntly, this is as bad as it gets for a new team entering a conference to have it’s football players selling drugs and “hard drugs” nonetheless. TCU is coming off a season where they were the 18th ranked team in the nation and also coming off of a victory in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsetta Bowl.

I don’t know how you introduce this after the arrested players have already introduced themselves but, let’s take a look at the team.

High powered offense

TCU was ranked 9th in the nation in points scored, scoring over 40 points per game and it starts with their quarterback, junior Casey Pachall. Pachall had a breakout season throwing for 2921 yards with 25 TD and 7 INT on the season. Pachall’s biggest game of the year came in a 36-35 upset of Kellen Moore and the Boise State Broncos. Pachall threw for 473 yards with 5 TD and 1 INT. This is basically a 200 yard passer per game that had a huge game against one of the best teams in the nation and is known for not making mistakes. Pachall should be much improved in the 2012 season.

TCU is stacked at running back with the trio of Waymon James (875 yards, 6 TD), Ed Wesley (726 yards, 6 TD), and Matthew Tucker (702 yards, 12 TD).

Casey Pachall also has his top 3 receivers returning, led by Josh Boyce. Boyce caught for 998 yards and 9 TD in 2011 and his biggest game of the season was also against Boise State in where he caught for 163 yards and 3 TD.

Simply stated, this is an offense with depth and talent and will play a key role in TCU’s success.

Defense: Guilty of a penalty!

The defense is the area that gets hit the most with the drugbust as safety Devin Johnson and defensive tackle D.J. Yendrey commit the ultimate foul.

Last season both players were major contributors as Johnson had 47 tackles (8 for losses), 2.5 sacks, 3 passes broken up and 1 forced fumble. D.J. Yendrey contributed with 39 tackles (5 for losses) and 3 sacks. Linebacker Tanner Brock was sidelined with a foot injury last season but in 2010, this linebacker led the team in tackles with 106 and was a major force. Stay tuned as this could be a real blow to the TCU defense.

Losing 2 of it’s top 3 tacklers, linebacker Kenny Cain (72 tackles, 1 INT, 1 sack) returns for TCU for his senior season. Also returning for the Horned Frogs is junior defensive lineman Stansly Maponga who dominated with 9 sacks on the season.

Prediction

You’re looking at a similar season or possibly better as this is a deep team at key positions. Look for TCU to possibly go 12-1 or 11-2 in their inaugural season in the Big-12 Conference.

Welcome!

The Big East fought hard to keep West Virginia but ultimately lost the battle. The Big-12 will be getting another top 25 team in WVU and the Mountaineers were 10-3 last season and embarrassed 15th ranked Clemson in the Discover Orange Bowl 70-33. Yes folks, that’s no typo.

West Virginia also has the 6th best passing team in the nation and ranked 13th in points. The addition of these two teams has certainly made the Nebraska Cornhuskers an afterthought.

WVU is led by senior quarterback Geno Smith out of Miami, Florida. Last season, Smith had a huge season, throwing for 4385 yards with 41 TD and 7 INT. Smith also went huge at the Discover Orange Bowl. He threw for 407 yards and 6 TD. The Mountaineers and Geno Smith will be coming into 2012 with major momentum.

Both of Smith’s 1000 yard receivers of last year, Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin will both be returning. These are short receivers that are 5 foot 10 and 5 foot 9, rescpectively, with speed. Last season, Tavon Austin caught 101 passes for 1186 yards and 8 TD’s. Can anyone say Wes Welker? The Mountaineers were led by junior Stedman Bailey with 1279 yards and 9 TD’s. West Virginia loses receivers Devon Brown, Willie Millhouse, and tight end Tyler Urban, but this receiving group is still stacked.

The running game looks to be promising as sophomore Dustin Garrison led the team in rushing last season while senior running back Shawnee Alston managed to find himself in the endzone 12 times.

The Big 12 certainly caught lightning in a bottle with the combination of TCU and West Virginia’s offenses.

Defense

West Virginia didn’t have one of the better defenses in the league last season, giving up almost 27 points per game but this is a high scoring team and you’re going to see shootouts as you did in the Orange Bowl.

WVU losses 2 of it’s top 3 tacklers to graduation but junior defensive back Darwin Cook returns. Cook had 85 tackles, 2 INT, and a fumble recovery for 99 yards and a TD last season. Although there are some senior losses, Cook will be supported in the secondary by Terence Garvin (72 tackles, 3.5 sacks) and Pat Miller (66 tackles, 2 INT’s(1 for a TD)

The defensive line take’s a real hit with the losses of it’s 2 top sackmasters in Bruce Irvin and Julian Miller. WVU also say’s goodbye to linebacker Najee Goode. Defensive lineman Will Clarke will try to fill the void but there are some holes.

Prediction

Look for a similar 10-3 season out of West Virginia. The passing game is top notch but the defense has suffered some losses and although this is a team with momentum and potential, there’s no substitute for a good defense.

We’ve taken a look at the new editions to the Big-12 Conference. They were mocked for playing just 10 teams last season but they’ve found top notch additions in TCU and West Virginia. Let’s hope that the TCU incident is a one-time occurrence to a great conference.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Big-12 Conference and our college football picks later in the year.

Big 12 Expansion: Where Do We Go From Here?

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:06:09 -0600

Now that the Super Bowl is out of the way (congrats to the former Big 12 players who made it all the way to the big game, btw), there is the issue Big 12 expansion still to consider. Nothing like jumping in the deep in when just getting back to posting.

With the exit of Mizzou and Texas A&M, the Big 12 added TCU and West Virginia. Some good teams to take the place of those leaving. However, the addition of West Virginia for the 2012 season has hit a snag. The Big East is suing West Virginia and West Virginia is counter suing the Big East (Source).

The interim Big 12 Commissioner - Chuck Neinas - has sayed he’s been assured that West Virginia will be able to join the conference for the 2012 season, and has already put together a super-secret schedule which apparently includes the Mountaineers (Source).

The further question is whether the Big 12 should stay at 10 teams or expand to 12. Neinas has said that this isn’t likely right now (Source). But the talk is there, and some teams who were considered last year, may come up again in the conversation about expansion:

Should the Big 12 expand?

Big 12 has big, long-term decision looming regarding expansion

Back In the Saddle

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:02:30 -0600

I’ve really neglected this blog the last couple of months, especially poor timing given that teams were playing in bowls during my hiatus. But I’ll try and post more now that things have settled down for me. I’ll at least be post once a week on Sundays with kind of a weekly round-up of Big 12 news.

Only in the Big XII

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 09:12:39 -0500

elvickyo:

Texas destroys Iowa State

OU destroys Texas

Texas Tech ruins OU’s win streak

Iowa State beats Tech

What the heck.

When this happens in the SEC, folks talk about conference depth, so let’s consider that the Big 12 is better this year than many people might think.

Go K-State: Missouri Grants Chancellor OK For Move

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:57:26 -0500

Go K-State: Missouri Grants Chancellor OK For Move:

Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The governing board of the University of Missouri has given its chancellor the authority to move the school out of the Big 12 Conference if that’s what the school decides to do.

Chancellor Brady Deaton was given the authority following a two-day Board of…

Boren: More Exansion on the Way

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:53:01 -0500

Boren: More Exansion on the Way:

Oklahoma’s President David Boren said the following today:

“TCU is an excellent choice as a new member of the conference. They bring strong athletics and academic credentials and were enthusiastically and unanimously supported by all of the members of the conference. There could be other additions in the future.”

Louisville and Cincinnati have also been mentioned as possible additions, so it looks like the Big 12 is going to raid what’s left of the Big East to further stabilize the conference. BYU is another possible candidate as well. It looks like the conference intends to get back to 12 teams, regardless of what happens with Missouri.

Sources: TCU meeting to discuss Big 12 invite

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:59:16 -0500

Sources: TCU meeting to discuss Big 12 invite:

fuckyeahcollegefootball:

TCU’s board of trustees is meeting Thursday as part of discussions with the Big 12, according to a source close to the negotiations.