Is that the face of a 72-year-old man who has just beaten another whippersnapper? (US Presswire)

When I was younger, I couldn’t get enough pickup basketball. Playing against guys you knew, your classmates, peers, was exciting.

The rules were simple. First to 15 wins. Make it, take it. Winners kept the court. Fun times.

But things got dead serious when the “old men” showed up. Dudes in their late 20s. Some even more ancient, in their 30s. They didn’t laugh or find as much fun in the game as we did. They were grayer, paunchier, slower.

They were like a bunch of Larry Birds. They couldn’t jump an inch off the ground. Tenacious on defense. Deliberate on offense. They always found the open man.

And dammit to hell, Old Man Ball nearly always won.

I bring this up because the OU football team has been victimized by Old Man Ball. In the first three games, the average age of the opposing coach is 67 years old, beyond typical retirement age.

That’s 15 years on Bob Stoops, who is 52.

By the time the Sooners reach the midpoint of the regular season, the average age of the opposing coaches will be 62.5 with Kansas’ Charlie Weis being the baby at 56.

Next week, the Sooners catch a break by opposing a coach who’s only 58 (Tech’s Tommy Tuberville). In the second half of the season, the coaches get significantly younger with Baylor’s Art Briles being the oldest (56) and West Virginia’s Dana Holgorsen being the youngest (41). Mike “I’m a man, I’m 40!!” Gundy is 45.

For the season, the average age for OU’s opposing coaches is 55.3. In comparison, the average for No. 1 Alabama’s opposing coaches is 48.8. Nationally, the Decatur (Ill.) Herald-Review determined the median age of Football Bowl Subdivision coaches to be 50.

The average current age of the coaches who’ve handed the Sooners their past six losses is 58.

We know that old coaches can be stubborn and wily. Bill Snyder, who is nearly 73, looked to be a chessmaster in K-State’s 24-19 victory last week. It was typical Old Man Ball. Play it safe. Let the young guys beat themselves.

Is Old Man Ball sustainable? Probably not. Will athletes in their 20s listen to someone three times their age? Probably not.

But Old Man Ball has value. When I reached the age of 23, some high school kids on the basketball court saw me and other old-timers walk up to challenge. One of the kids said aloud, “Oh, man. Old Man Ball! I hate Old Man Ball.”

MORE OLD MAN RESEARCH: If Stoops ever wins another national title, he will be the oldest OU coach to do so. Barry Switzer was 48 years old when he won the title in 1985. Bud Wilkinson was the youngest in 1950 when he was 34. Bob Stoops won his title when he was 40 in 2000. The average age: 39.428.

ABOUT THE GAME: From a fan’s perspective, it won’t seem like the Sooners will have an easy time of it. But the players realize the pressure’s off. They’ll be looser. They’ve heard the chatter on the radio and on social media. They’ve had a week off. Besides, I have a feeling that most of them are in it to get out of Norman after three years. The national championship is nice, but it’s not as meaningful on the bio as it once was. Right now, the K-State loss is a good reference point for the coaches who weren’t reaching the chuckleheads before. Plus, OU has a week to scout Tech.

•  LSU Tigers- And In any place This game is VERY OVER DUE!! This game was suppose to happen in New Orleans in 2004 (BCS Title game) But due to the Computers, which ran the BCS Polls at the time, ranking a Oklahoma team that lost the day before the BCS games were announced the Trojans and Tigers ended up sharing the National Title after winning their respective games. Apparently there was a Story that floated around that USC wanted to play LSU but LSU declined the chance. Ever since then Tiger and Trojan fans exchanged words over the matter. Look I don’t care if its a Neutral Site Game in the Coldest part of Alaska or what but this game has to happen. No offense to Oregon what so ever but a USC/LSU game has to be a game the Nation wants to see.

• Alabama Crimson Tide- Ok I’m going to make these SEC schools the obvious choise and this by no means is in any order. We ALL remember the game that changed Alabama Football when USC traveled to the south to play Alabama and in that game Sam “Bam” Cuttingham played a monster game. So good that the Legendary Bear Bryant took Sam into the locker room and showed his Alabama players “What A Real Football Player looks like” (Those are his words Alabama fans and SC haters look it up!) Since then USC is 5-2 in their meetings with the Tide. Two historic programs going at it would be a classic to see. Lane vs Nick Sabin who ALMOST came to SC (Him turning it down lead to Pete carroll.) So why not see this? USC’s offense with Robert Woods Barkley and Lee vs the Alabama Defense? That’ll be nice.

• Miami Hurricanes- I’m throwing this out there. USC vs Miami would be sweet. Two NFL factories going at it on the field and the Trash talk from Pro Trojans and Hurricanes would be crazy. Ok yes Miami isn’t really Miami but seeing USC and The U go at it would grab so much attention its not even funny. This is another one of those games thats pretty much overdue just like a LSU-USC game.  Who wouldn’t want to see USC annd Miami play each other…OK Miami isn’t what they are but still.

• Bosie St- I threw Bosie State in here because it’ll be fun to see USC play on the Smurf Turf…Now the real reason why they make the cut. Bosie St these past few years have been that team that bust the BCS and pull off Trick plays as well as see them Run the table to finishing the Season in the Top 5 why not have them match up against USC? It’ll be pretty awesome to see the Broncos and Trojans go at it I mean the BCS Buster against a Traditional Power in USC. Finally get to see USC match with high prestige team and see with they are REALLY made of.

• Michigan Wolverines- Im talking in a Regular season  Home and Home series. Yes USC and Michigan met many of times in the Rose Bowl where USC blown them out the water but when do we ever see USC visiting the Big House in Ann Arbor or Michigan in the Coliseum? Exactly! Brady Hoke has done a good job with trying to turn around the Michigan program it’ll be great for a Home and Home against the Wolverines. Pat Haden you may want to work on something in the future to make that happen.

• Oklahoma Sooners- Boomer Sooner in a primetime game against the Trojans. Why not? Last time USC and OU met was the Orange Bowl in 2005 (The game that the NCAA “Magically” Made disapear) 55-19 Stomping by USC. Last time they met in the regular season? 1981…Marcus Allen was playing at that team. A OU and USC Home and Home or Neutral site  game would be pretty good to see. We all know Bob Stoops is going to want to get some payback for that National Title game. You and I both know this. Then again Oklahoma DID come close to becoming a conference member.

  Best of the Rest: TCU, Florida, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Florida State, Oklahoma State, Georgia, Navy.

  There you have it Trojan fans. Let the debate begin Let me know if you agree or disagree. Who should be in the Top 6 that you would like to see USC play. I know all of these games would be a straight up classic. Hopefully Pat Haden gets something done to where we see these games happen or they end up happening in a Bowl game.

Baylor took care of business against ULM, but it is so hard to tell how good the defense is (giving up over 500 yards in all three games this year). Looking back on ULM’s previous 2 games (on the road against good SEC defenses) they had 550 yards against Arkansas and 410 yards against Auburn. That’s the same Auburn defense that held LSU to 390 yards this weekend. My point is, ULM has some game on offense, as do SMU and SHSU. So it’s hard to say. Even the Waco Tribute Herald is trying to figure it out.

Regardless of what you think of Baylor’s first three opponents on offense, there is no doubt that West Virginia and Geno Smith will be the best offense Baylor has faced this year. My fear is that the Baylor offense will fall into the same trap as last year against Oklahoma State where the offense felt the pressure to score on EVERY possession.

There is one other thing about the ULM game and how it compares with the WVU game this weekend: the crowd. The ULM crowd was 31,000-strong and pretty pumped. Frankly, I was impressed that ULM didn’t get overwhelmed by the emotion and play poorly. The most excited Baylor crowd I’ve ever been a part of was the ’91 game against A&M. Unfortunately, the game was over by halftime–A&M killed us. Well, the WVU crowd will be twice the size and just as pumped about WVU’s first Big 12 game. The ULM crowd was a good primer for the Bears, but they will face an even tougher environment this weekend.

As for the Bears against ULM, I am so impressed with Briles. I just love his demeanor, his “coach-speak” cliches, and his ability to keep the team from panicking when they face adversity. Florence keeping his cool after the two interceptions is an example. Briles taught him how to respond to mistakes and the whole team followed. That demeanor will help them against WVU and their crowd. I also really like ULM coach Todd Berry. I watched his press conference from last week, and he really presents himself well. He just seemed like someone who is  comfortable in his own skin (to quote the Dove commercials).

By the way, the win propelled Baylor to its first appearance in the AP and Coach’s Polls this week, the first time it has been in the polls three consecutive years since 1974-1976 (that’s hard to believe). That gives the Big 12 6 teams in the AP top 25 and 9 out of 10 in the top 37.

Around the Conference

Kansas State beat Oklahoma in Stoops’ first home loss to a ranked team. As Bill Snyder put it after the game, “It was a little bit of a struggle offensively, but they just kept sawing wood, so to speak, and making plays.” I’ll have a lot more regarding my respect for what Snyder has done at K-State the week Baylor plays them, but what kept coming to my mind during the game was that they just grind and grind and grind. It isn’t flashy, it won’t win Klein the Heisman, but it might put him in the national championship game. Here are the links for the local paper articles for both Kansas State and Oklahoma.

WVU had a tougher time beating the Terps than a lot of people expected, including me. I think I made a comment earlier in the week about them blowing away the over/under, but that didn’t happen. Were they looking ahead to their Big 12 opener next week with Baylor? It’s difficult to say. When I went to the Charleston Gazette’s WVU page the lead article on the page has a big picture of Baylor and the heading “Big 12 Opener a Real Bear.” There were other articles below it about their win over Maryland, but it is obvious that they have moved on and are excited about Big 12 play. Their fans will be too.

TCU took care of Virginia to run their nation-leading winning streak to 10 games. If Baylor can get by WVU next week and TCU can beat SMU and Iowa State, then the Baylor/TCU showdown on October 13 will be for the longest active winning streak in the nation (I know, that’s a lot of “ifs”). From what I understand, TCU is fighting a lot of key injuries. I have a feeling that they are about to find out that depth is the difference between success in the Mountain West and success in the Big 12. Regardless, I think Patterson is a good coach. According to the Star Telegram, their defense was able to carry them to a good win over UVA.

I saved the Kansas game against Northern Illinois for last. I told my mother on the phone tonight (she grew up in Lawrence and met my dad when he was a senior at KU) that this is actually looking worse than Baylor’s worst years in the Big 12. At least Baylor at its worst used to beat teams like Rice and Northern Illinois. I won’t say it’s impossible for KU to win a Big 12 game this year. After all, my mom and I were in Lawrence for the Baylor/KU game last year when Baylor pulled the fat out of the fire in the 4th quarter and set the stage for the rest of the season. They now have an off week to regroup, but it would have been a lot easier if they had beaten NIU. Now, they have two weeks to sit and question everything about what they are doing. I even saw that NIU’s coach said that his team was more physical than the Jayhawks. Incidentally, their upcoming schedule is @Kansas State, Oklahoma State, @Oklahoma, Texas, and Baylor. Not promising if NIU is more physical than you are.

Kansas State has been somewhat of a surprise this season and Saturday night they continued to surprise people. The Wildcats beat the Sooners on their home soil 24-19 in a game that wasn’t very pretty like most K-State games. Prior to this matchup, Sooner coach Bob Stoops has beaten his mentor Bill Synder 8 straight times while Synder only victory against his pupil came in the 2003 Big 12 Championship.

The Wildcats came into this game with revenge on their mind. Last october they hosted the Sooners in a top ten battle that was supposed to be a great game, instead the Wildcats received their first loss of the season 58-17. Funny how things can change in less than a year. The Wildcats didn’t out-gain the Sooners in total offense, 362 to 386, but they did out gain them in rushing yards 202 to 88. Junior RB John Hubert was a primary reason for that. Hubert ran for 130 yards on 23 carries and the game-clinching TD. Hubert 9 yard touchdown couldn’t be anymore scripted. Standing at only 5’7, its easy to lose him behind the line but the Sooners had him in what looked to be a 2 yard gain but Hubert bounced out the pile and sprinted to the endzone and flexed on the Sooner crowd. K-State don’t have much of a high-powered offense but it gets the job done. Senior QB Collin Klein played a decent game for a dual-threat QB, 228 total yards (149 passing, 79 rushing) and he also scored the go-ahead TD in the 4th quarter. For those of you that are not up to speed with the Wildcats style of offense this is it. Running the ball is their recipe for success. Even though they are ranked 102 in passing offense, they still average 40 points a game.

I thought the Sooners would lose this game. They are not the Sooners we are used too. Landry Jones came into this season as a Heisman Hopeful but not on Fan-I list. Not taking anything away from Landry, but I always thought he had so much talent around him that he had no other choice but to look good. This year its more on him. He still has junior wideout Kenny Stills, who caught 6 passes for 60 yards this game. Kenny was the 2nd receiver behind Ryan Broyles(61 rec 849 yards 8 TDs in 2011). Landry didn’t play bad but it wasn’t Heisman material, 28/43 298 yards 1 TD 2 turnovers in a loss. He fumbled after being sacked in the second quarter and threw an interception in the third, both led to K-State touchdowns. The Sooner running backs never showed up either. 5 backs combined for 23 carries 113 yards 0 TDs. 5 backs couldn’t equal up to what 1 K-State back did. If I use 5 backs, those numbers better be doubled. I’m sure Bob Stoops is disappointed in his boys. They did something that could have been avoided and that was play a K-State type of game.

K-State is not going to beat you pretty. No Air Attack, No fancy spread offense, just good ol fashion football, pound the rock and play defense. Nothing more nothing less. The Sooners are not that type of team, well not anymore. If Barry Switzer was coaching this game and Adrian Peterson was still in the backfield then the Sooners would have been ready but not this team. The fact that 5 backs couldn’t surpass 200 yards together tells you you didn’t have the right personnel for a smashmouth game. K-State now is the big dog in the Big 12. They still have to play #17 TCU, #25 Baylor, and #12 Texas in that order. On paper that look like a tough road to go through and lets not forget the Big 12 championship if you make it. But in order to be the champ you have to go through the toughest road and conquer it, especially in the BCS. Reason why you should get your victories SOON as possible.

Blake Bell needs to put that fumble behind him … wait that’s what happened. Never mind.

It was 8 o’clock Saturday night, and I was in a full-blown panic.

I had reason to believe it would work: Be at an event at 3 p.m. 30 miles away, make a quick stop at another place, then be back at home in front of TV for OU’s 7 o’clock kickoff.

Not so much. As I sped down the freeway on the way back, my wife asked whether I wanted her to drive instead, believing that another one of my Tourette’s-like outburst over an OU play was going to lead to a fatal wreck.

“No!!!! I can listen to an OU football game and drive!!”

Well, barely. I made it in time to catch the fourth quarter of OU’s 24-19 loss to Kansas State. But not before I’d made the experience miserable.

This, too, is the OU football team’s problem … night games. Too much time to manage. It’s turning into a miserable experience.

Consider this: The Sooners’ last six losses over the past three seasons have been in games after 6 p.m. In those losses, OU has given up an average of five touchdowns per game.

Does OU have trouble maintaining focus for a late kickoff? Is there too much lag time during the day to get your minds straight for all the complexities of a modern-day football playbook? Is too much going on?

Football players have always had their focus derailed with travel time, team meetings, family time, girlfriends, classmates, remaining eligible, Big Red Sports and Imports, internal politics, etc. But today’s players also have to worry about social media, video games, smart phones, ESPN.com — at least.

That’s a lot to absorb before a night kickoff.

To be fair, OU has won night games. In its past 16, the Sooners have won 10, which is a .625 winning percentage, which is lower than the school’s all-time percentage (.717), which can get you fired at OU. Of the Sooners’ past 30 games, 21 have been under the lights.

Is there a solution? If they have a choice, OU athletic officials should decline any network requests to schedule night games. The Sooners put themselves in prime time by producing high TV ratings.

But OU is getting to be like vampires. The Sooners’ last victory when the sun was out was 10 months ago, a 26-6 win over Iowa State on Nov. 26.

Until OU gets its legs back, I recommend that all games be played while the sun is out. It’s much easier to have breakfast, check into the stadium and kick off. No girlfriends and no kinfolk until after the game. Much less time for interacting via social media or firing up a video game.

Or in my case, it’s much easier to sleep in, turn on TV at midday and wait for family time after the game. And I’ll save my outbursts for after the game on Facebook or Twitter.

ABOUT THE GAME: So many people are having panic attacks over quarterback Landry
Jones’ play against K-State. Yep, he had a bad game. He doesn’t seem to be improving. All
that off-season work with the Yoda of quarterback instructors didn’t seem to pay off. Obviously, he’s not Jedi material. But I’m not going to pile on. What are you going to do? He seems like a nice, young guy who really wants to be at OU. He married a coed. But he’s surrounded with a cast of players who don’t make him any better for his faults (it reminds us of how good Ryan Broyles really was). In Fox Sports Net’s pregame feature, I had a bad feeling about Landry laying a big egg. And he did. But what’s now? I know he’s disappointed OU’s national championship hopes are shot. Bob Stoops should start Landry from here on out. Landry, who’s closing in on being OU’s winningest QB, deserves that much. But Stoops should integrate Blake Bell earlier into games and not just during Bulldozer moments and mop-up. Open up the playbook for Bell. He’s the future.

SPEAKING OF THE FUTURE: The player who stood out most Saturday night was freshman wide receiver Sterling Shepard. My favorite storylines at OU are the ones that involve OU legacies (the Shepard family, the Peters family, the Owens family, the Littrell family). The younger ones seem to try harder and appreciate and try to uphold the program’s tradition, which sets them apart.

MORE ON THE FUTURE: Cody Thomas of Colleyville Heritage High School (video below) continues to be a good find for the Sooners, if he rides out the commitment. I saw him play a few weeks ago. He’s a 6-foot-5, 220-pound prototype QB. He’s a taller version of Christian Ponder, who also went to Colleyville Heritage. Against Denton Guyer last week, Thomas threw for 394 yards, rushed for 70 yards and was responsible for seven of the team’s eight touchdowns. He’s committed to OU, spurning Southeastern Conference powers and Oregon, among others. It helps that his girlfriend, whose parents attended OU, wants to be a Sooners cheerleader and made a video to get the message across. OU better hope that Cody and his girlfriend stay on good terms.

Landry Jones looked indecisive and panicked in the pocket, getting flushed by phantom pressure and unable to see open receivers down field. Our running backs failed to find holes created by the offensive line in front of them to get loose for long runs. Our receivers failed to shake loose and get open running routes in time for Jones to find them before he was spooked by his own shadow. Josh Heuple, Jay Norvell, and Cale Gundy failed to get the right personnel on the field in key times during the game. Mike Stoops was outcoached by Bill Snyder as Kansas St. consistently spread out our defensive backs with thier pre-snap spread formations. In the pre-game, Bob Stoops stated that a key to success against Collin Klein was to be mindful of the extra blocker when the QB ran with the ball, yet the Wildcat offensive formations forced the defense to spread out leaving less defenders in the box to defend the run. Klein never was forced to prove he could hit a receiver in man coverage down the field. The K-State offense wasn’t forced to work the short-middle of the field to exploit the space in the defense between the linebackers and the defensive backs until the fourth quarter and by then the defense was pressing and was susceptible to it. The defensive line held up well but never pressured Klein into making a decision. And where is the ball hawking defense we all expected to see when Mike Stoops returned to Norman? With all these glaring problems on Saturday, if the offense protects the ball we come away with a double digit win.

What we think we know: There will be calls for a change at quarterback and a change in play calling but we know that is not how Bob Stoops runs his team. He is loyal to a fault with his coaches and his quarterbacks which produces great stability in the program, for better or worse. Landry Jones has hit his ceiling as a college quarterback and he will not develop into a more effective quarterback as the season progresses. He is as good as he is going to be and it is up to the coaches to develop a game plan and to surround him with the players that are going to help him maximize his talent. This means an increased dependence on the running game, an increased role for Blake Bell, and a shuffling of the wide receivers. Trey Metoyer is a future star but he is dead-weight in the starting line-up right now. His main role seems to be deep routes down the sideline and he is not providing Jones with a target he can hit. Kenny Stills needs to step back into this role as he has a proven connection with Jones down the field. Sterling Shepherd is the next Ryan Broyles. How many times during the game and during the past few weeks have we heard that Jones needs his go-to guy to develop? During the broadcast last night, the announcers revealed that Jones told them in interviews that he wants a go-to guy, a security blanket. We are forcing Stills into that position at the expense of down-field passing when the obvious choice for his go-to guy is Sterling Shepherd. He consistently is getting open and he catches everything that comes close to him. I love how they are using Justin Brown. He is everything we always hoped Dejuan Miller could be and he is a beast to bring down. I’d like to see them expand his role and let him catch some of those quick swing passes on the outside from the trips formation. Double D Williams needs to be the starting running back. I know, as Stoops says, both Williams and Whaley play a bunch, but it is clear to this point of the season that Williams brings more to the table and he should be out there to start. They need to develop a running package involving Blake Bell, Roy Finch, and Trey Millard. It may be too late into it to integrate something like this, but if it is, that is on the coaching staff for not working something like this in to this point. That “shuffle pass” to Finch by Jones was really difficult to watch no matter how much you slowed down the replay. That isn’t Jones. You can’t expect him to execute a play like that and the coaching staff should know that by now. However, if you had a seperate package and brought in Bell he could execute that play to Finch because he has less on his plate than Jones does.

Our defense is fine. I would argue with some personnel, but across the board I think they will continue to progress and develop in Mike Stoops’ system and will continue to be a solid unit throughout the season. If I were to nitpick, I would say that Grissom should make the switch back to DE because he is losing a year right now as the third-string TE. A move back to DE would allow more flexibility to slide King inside and get more athletes on the field against spread offenses. I would also move Byrd back to LB. There is no reason to have him listed as a FB when he is going to get into the game for maybe 2-3 plays per game. He has the size that is more suitable for Mike Stoops’ defense.

What we know we will see: Bob Stoops is going to dig in the next two weeks and refuse to make adjustments amid a myriad of criticism. He will get defensive on the topic of Heuple and Jones and adamant of the personnel being utilized when a larger role is suggested for Finch, Bell, and Shepherd. The receivers and running backs will be called out and the offensive line will be praised for a clean game (agree with this whole-heartedly — O-line was not our problem). The coaches will talk about the importance of being balanced and they will prepare that way. During the upcoming games, Heuple will continue to put too much on Jones and the passing game ignoring the running game for long stretches in key situations. Jones will continue to make those mistakes that we have all come to expect and they will happen at horrible times. Our defense will continue to play well, but will be put into tough situations and forced to spend too much time on the field. Unless we improve our play on the field, we can expect to lose to Texas Tech, Texas, Notre Dame, and West Virginia. Tech, because we haven’t won in Lubbick since 2003. Texas because we are do for a loss in that rivalry. Notre Dame because we are no longer invincible on Owen Field. West Virginia because it will be in a tough road environment.

Despite his success it appears that Soonernation and Bob Stoops have come to a crossroad. Although Coach Stoops is nearly a lock  for nine wins every year and favorite to win a Big XII Championship every year so much more is expected. There was time when winning was enough but in Norman another nine win season and another Big XII Championship is expected and is considered by Soonernation to be underachieving.

Stoops has raised the bar so high in Norman that his own success has become his downfall. Although he has collected his fair share of awards and trophies besides their dominance in the Red River Rivalry the Sooners have failed to win when it truly counts: 1-3 in Title Games (55-19 to USC; 24-14 to UF;  21-14 LSU) 2-5 BCS Games; 7-6 Bowl Record.

When the Sooners leave the comfort of the Big XII and face non-conference foes with equal talent Bob Stoops fails miserably making several pundits question why are we paying $4 million dollars to a coach who chokes when it TRULY counts.

His struggles have put the Athletic Director, Joe Castigilone who hired him into a conundrum. Although you may be unhappy with his performance how do you fire a coach whose won 7 Big XII Championships? And if you fire him who do you get to replace him? There is no easy answer to either of these questions, there only hope is that Stoops leaves to take another coaching somewhere else.

However, the secret is out and although several prominent programs were looking for head coaches to fill their vacancies traditional powerhouse like his hometown Ohio State Buckeyes or former employer the Florida Gators did not even give Bob Stoops any consideration choosing instead to hire an unproven defensive coordinator in Will Muschamp and his Youngstown Ohio native Urban Meyer who had retired the year before due to health complications.

It appears that the Sooners and Bob ‘USED TO BE BIG GAME’ Stoops are stuck together and although they will have the talent to contend for the National Championship, Soonernation may have to continue to settle for another Big XII Championship, unacceptable losses (Texas Tech, BYU, and Baylor) and a poor showing in a BCS Bowl Game. 

On Saturday the Sooners were out-toughed and out-executed by Optimus Klein and the undermanned  Kansas State Wildcats. It looks like another disappointing and underachieving Sooner team. Will Coach Stoops and the Sooners ever be able todo what is unexpected and fulfill their promise of bringing the National Championship back to Norman? With Texas Tech next Saturday we shall see how Landry Jones and the Sooners respond. Stay tuned… I know I will – A. Denmark (@eatdrnkslpsprtz)

That doesn’t mean he isn’t finding ways to learn from him still.

Stoops and the sixth-ranked Sooners (2-0) borrowed from Snyder’s playbook last year in creating their “Belldozer” short-yardage run package featuring backup quarterback Blake Bell. The powerful running plays were successful for Kansas State’s Collin Klein, and then Stoops turned them against the Wildcats in a 58-17 win last season.

Klein says he was humbled when Stoops told him at Big 12 media days that he was the model for Oklahoma’s offensive set.

He and the 15th-ranked Wildcats (3-0) will get their chance to avenge last year’s loss on Saturday night.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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In October 2000, a newly resurgent OU team beat the 2nd-ranked K-State Wildcats. It was Bob Stoops’ second year leading the Sooners. He had just left Florida as their defensive coordinator, but before Florida he had worked for Bill Snyder at K-State. And just to make matters more interesting, he had hired some coaches away from Snyder to complete his staff (Brent Venables, Mike Stoops, and Mark Mangino).

The thing that struck me about this article, however, was the difference in the lifestyles that a K-State assistant coach could lead vs. the lifestyle an OU coach had.

So here it is, in honor of my most anticipated game for this Saturday (my Bears play on Friday), a link to the SI Vault from October 23, 2000. I wonder what, if anything, has changed since then.

One final thought. Regardless of what you might think about Bill Snyder, has anyone ever done a more impressive coaching job in bringing a school back from the dead–twice? I can’t think of anyone. He’s amazing and he gets the absolute most out of his teams.

By Kolby Paxton

The list of things that I like about my apartment is short. It includes items like air conditioning and windows.

To say that my living conditions are primitive may be an overstatement – it may not be. Admittedly, I was spoiled by my accomodations in Oklahoma City, Edmond and Fayetteville, Ark. Still, taking into account factors such as neighbors and functioning garbage disposals, one could make a strong argument in either direction, I’m sure.

Anyway, on that relatively brief checklist of pros, is my proximity to a convenience store. I feel confident in saying that I could consistently lob a baseball from my balcony to the back door of this establishment, provided the absence of a headwind. Good news as it pertains to the availability of potato chips and beer. Bad news as it relates to my checking account after a week of Hunt Brothers pizzas.

I’m there all of the time. It’s too easy not to be. Gatorade? Fifty yards away. Caffeine? Fifty yards away. Paper towels, cheese, candy bars, charcoal, all just a few first downs from my front door. Over the course of my frequent patrondom, I have developed a friendly acquaintanceship with an employee named Paul.

Paul reads my column faithfully, and for that I am grateful. He’s a generally knowledgeable fan of sports – particularly football, I’ve noticed. Our conversations routinely last beyond the point of sale, irritating the foot-tapping, thumb-twiddling customer standing behind me. Last week, however, I drew the ire of Paul, an Oklahoma fan, for giving the Razorbacks clock in quarters one and two.

“If I want to read about Arkansas, I’ll pick up a Southwest Times Record,” he told me.

My argument? Simple. The University of Arkansas is nearer to Tahlequah – 57 miles – than any of the in-state schools, including Tulsa.

The truth? I’m an Oklahoma alum. I attended TU, as well. But I was raised in Springdale, Ark., just minutes from the Fayetteville-based campus. My mother has two degrees from the school. My girlfriend will join her on the sidewalk in eight months. Arkansas Media Relations Director Zack Higbee, a Tahlequah-native, gives us far better access than OU – where I was locked out of Notre Dame, and force-fed FAMU and Kansas State (instead of KU and Baylor) in spite of the fact that I’ll be in town for neither.

Gun-to-head, I’d probably have to admit to caring more about the Hogs. This is the Tahlequah Daily Press, not the Times Record, or even the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. But as long as I’m here, Paul is going to have the read about the Razorbacks from time to time.

This week, though, at the urging of the man behind the counter, I will not spend the first quarter on Arkansas. It has nothing to do with losing to someone called Louisiana-Monroe. I’m just taking the feelings of a reader into consideration. I’m not avoiding the subject of John L. Smith, just trying to courteously avoid playing favorites.

Honest.

Wes Lunt was forced into a shootout in Tucson, thanks to a defense that was routinely victimized by the run and gun duo of Rich Rodriguez and Matt Scott.

1.) Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon didn’t play defense.

It doesn’t seem to matter, though. The Oklahoma State coaching staff propped up the defense all summer. The unit was supposed to be talented enough, stingy enough, that the departure of the school’s most accomplished passer and pass-catcher would not mean its departure from the Top 25.

So much for that.

After a 59-38 loss to an Arizona team that averaged 26.2 points per game a season ago, it appears as though the best avenue through which to achieve/maintain national relevance remains rapid pistol firing from the quarterback position – even if that quarterback is a true freshman.

This defense looks to be no different than the one that ranked 104th in 2011. It was supposed to serve as a crutch for Wes Lunt. Instead, it was Lunt – throwing for a Big 12 freshman record 436 yards on 60 attempts – carrying the defense in Tucson.

2.) Justin Brown making early impact

The Penn State transfer has only six receptions for 87 yards through the Sooners’ first two games. He has zero touchdowns. Still, he has left his finger print on both victories.

In the west Texas desert, it was Brown’s effort that stood out. He is Oklahoma’s best blocking wide receiver, evident on multiple occasions, including Damien Williams’ game-clinching touchdown tote.

Saturday, Brown was the recipient of the game’s longest pass play – a 46-yarder – and covered 102 yards on just two punt returns. His performance in the return game triggered comparisons to OU-great, J.T. Thatcher.

“What makes him such a good punt returner, and reminds me of the days of J.T. Thatcher, is he can run through some people,” said head coach Bob Stoops. “He’s not a guy, you get ahold of his jersey and swing him down. He’s got a lot of strength to him.”

Even better, Brown seems to be the consumate teammate.

“Actually my punt return team made the play,” Brown said of his 62-yard return to the FAMU 4. “The return team held them up and made a nice little crease for me to run through. It’s not the returner, its the return team.”

3.) Kenny Stills playing more than he’s Tweeting (finally)

Stills hasn’t Tweeted since Aug. 26. He hasn’t put on a dress since early-July.

Perhaps coincidentally, the Broyles Effect that seemed to hamper the flamboyant receiver every bit as much as his quarterback was a thing of the past through the first two weeks of the regular season.

Stills has effectively been the No. 1 receiver that Sooner Nation fancied him for when Ryan Broyles went down last fall, compiling a team-leading 16 receptions, 241 yards, and two touchdowns.

Nearly half of Landry Jones’ 28 pass attempts were intended for Stills on Saturday; 10 were caught, one was intercepted and one led Stills into the brick wall behind the north end zone.

In other words, when Jones isn’t testing Stills’ durability or firing the ball to the other team, Oklahoma’s mohawked playmaker has portrayed Broylesesque reliability in the passing game.

4.) I hope John L. Smith is renting.

Ah, that’s right. Michigan State fired John L. Smith because he wasn’t a very good head coach. I knew there was a reason that I was uncomfortable about his role as duct tape – you know, other than everything about his general demeanor.

The Razorbacks are totally and completely void of coaching leadership this season; an even more glaring omission in the aftermath of the Bobby Petrino dictatorship. Which brings me to…

Is there any reason that Paul Haynes was hired, other than the fact that he’s one of Bobby’s guys? Would he have been given the job without his time as the Jaguars quality control coordinator? Or without spending those years under Petrino at Louisville? Haynes only had experience as a defensive coordinator because Luke Fickell was busy interiming.

With Urban Meyer in, Fickell was getting a demotion. Haynes was getting a pink slip. Bobby needed to replace Willy Robinson without introducing a personality that might rival his own. Haynes was introduced as the new coordinator in Fayetteville – over the likes of former-Miami head coach Randy Shannon.

Go figure.

And then there’s Paul Petrino. He was good in Louisville – when his big brother called the plays; and during his first stint at Arkansas – when his big brother called the plays.

After the Fighting Illini offense fell flat a season ago, Paul – who left to “pursue a head coaching career” in the first place – was rescued by big brother Bobby once again; allowing him the opportunity to rebuild his fraudulent reputation as a play-caller.

Just one problem: Bobby’s gone, and none of these guys are qualified to do what they’re being paid to do – let alone overcompensate for their former boss’ absence. Instead, Smith – whom Weber State so narrowly avoided – is left staring blankly out onto the field, as Petrino refuses to call a run-play, Brandon Mitchell watches the wrong Brandon play quarterback, and Haynes makes Robinson look like a defensive innovator.

In the history of the Southeastern Conference – and surely in the history of the Razorback football program – this has to be one of the worst coaching staffs ever assembled. Bad enough, even, to lose to a Sun Belt Conference foe, at home, as a 30-point favorite.

It’s going to be a long season in the Ozarks.

Spread: No line

Watchability: Unless you’re either 1) a diehard OU or FAMU fan, or 2) just desperate to see if the Sooners can shake off the cobwebs after a lethargic performance in their season-opening win over UTEP, there is absolutely no reason to pay your hard-earned money to watch this on television.

Shining stars: Florida A&M: Brandon Hepburn. The season started in disappointing fashion for FAMU, which lost 17-14 at Tennessee State. But Hepburn, a linebacker, turned in a solid showing, registering 10 total tackles (including 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks) and a fumble forced and recovered. Oklahoma: Damien Williams. One of the few bright spots in OU’s 24-7 win at UTEP was the junior running back, who turned in a 103-yard performance on only 10 carries. His 65-yard run for a touchdown served to finally end any notion of an upset.

Who could steal the show: Florida A&M: Eddie Rocker. The Rattlers’ offense struggled in the team’s season-opener, but Rocker had a strong showing, finishing with 90 yards on 13 carries. FAMU will need him to hit for several big plays (he had a 33-yard scamper against Tennessee State) to stay even remotely competitive. OU did allow 177 rushing yards for UTEP’s Nathan Jeffery. Oklahoma: Trey Metoyer. The highly touted freshman receiver had a quieter-than-expected season opener, finishing with only 21 yards on four grabs. Given a week to stew over that showing and a softer opponent to face, Metoyer may do big things against the Rattlers.

You going? Ranking the road trip: The Sooners are the rare traditional power in college football who actually opened the season with a true road game, so fans in Norman should be fired up to see their team play in person. The place just missed CBSSports.com writer Bruce Feldman’s list of the 10 loudest stadiums he has ever been to — though if the place gets that loud this weekend, it will probably be because the fans are getting restless.

Magic number for Florida A&M: 1979. That was the last time the program beat an FBS program, a 16-13 win over Miami (Fla.). Since then, every FBS opponent the Rattlers have faced has scored at least 38 points and won by at least 20.

Magic number for Oklahoma: 170-2. That is the combined score of Bob Stoops’ three games (all wins, obviously) against FCS foes during his time at OU. To say things might get ugly for the Rattlers could be a bit of an understatement.

The game comes down to: How angry the Sooners are after the disappointment of the opening week. Stoops was probably not fun for players to be around this week (if his Monday press conference was any indication, he hasn’t been fun for anyone to be around). Oklahoma is expected to thump Florida A&M, and this time, it should make good on that promise.

Prediction: Oklahoma 59, Florida A&M 3

It wasn’t easy tuning into OU football games in the 1970s.

I can trace my OU football consciousness to 1972. Bored with a visit to a nursing home in Eufaula, I retired to the fam’s sedan and began to channel surf AM radio, looking for a way to kill three hours, maybe find some Three Dog Night.

What I happened upon was something that, for over four decades now, would cause me to obsess over a certain team and become a recluse on fall Saturday afternoons.

That day in 1972, I tuned into a McAlester station and found Bob Barry calling OU’s methodical 49-0 rout of Utah State. Bob described it in such a clinical way, not frantic nor over the top, like my dad was explaining the game to me. The next week, back in the same parking lot, I tuned to OU’s 68-3 blowout of Oregon. The next week, same place, it was 49-3 over Clemson.

So, through AM radio, I was beginning to see the big deal about OU football. My dad was a big OU fan who went to all the games in the Bud Wilkinson era. I had seen the Selmons when they played at Eufaula High. I watched the 1971 Game of the Century, but I barely understood the significance until I found it all being presented to me on radio.

I bring this up because on Saturday night, 40 years later, I’ll be tuning into the Sooners’ game with Florida A&M on radio. Well, not exactly radio. It’s a smartphone app, but it’s my best option since I don’t plan on paying $40 to see this game on pay-per-view.

The year after that season of OU consciousness, things changed — dramatically. OU was slapped with NCAA probation. No bowl games. No TV. No Bob Barry.

With the TV ban, that meant OU was only available via radio. And not only were things changing because of the probation (new players, new coaches), the guys calling the game were changing. John Brooks and Mike Treps were the new play-by-play guys, but they, of course, weren’t Bob Barry, whose station lost the broadcast rights.

John Brooks

It seemed strange at first. But after a while, Brooks and Treps began to grow on me. They brought me into the Barry Switzer era. I especially liked Brooks’ signature “Jiminy Christmas!” call. I liked Treps’ style, including his 1973 call of Joe Washington’s 71-yard touchdown run against Missouri (click on video below).

Still, it was hardly the good old days of OU radio. Listening to OU play-by-play was a challenge — especially at night and especially if you lived in the country. Nothing would make you punch the dashboard more than a rockabilly station bleeding over into OU play-by-play, especially when the Sooners were locked into a big game with USC or Miami.

Over the years, the signal improved and the voices changed. And I lost interest in who was calling OU games when the Sooners started appearing on TV on a regular basis. I know that when I start up the app Saturday, I’ll hear one familiar voice, Merv Johnson, who provides that bridge between the Switzer and Bob Stoops eras while bringing insider context and perspective into the broadcast.

Bob Barry returned in 1991, but unfortunately it was about the same time OU slipped into its dark era under Howard Schnellenberger and John Blake.  Frustrated at OU’s program,  it was difficult to make the same connection with Bob Barry — or OU football on the radio — that I had in 1972.

I’ll give it another try, but it won’t be the same.

ABOUT THE GAME: Bob Stoops’ biggest challenge will be when to take out Landry Jones. OU will have its way with Florida A&M and might score in the 80s (Stoops won’t let that happen). Landry will play until halftime and the first series of the third quarter with Stoops, who’s been criticized for not substituting earlier, will defend the move by saying he wanted Landry to get more snaps. Blake Bell QBs the rest of the third quarter and half the fourth. Drew Allen finishes it out. About 15 receivers will catch passes and OU will intercept about six passes. OU wins 77-0.

BLOWOUT TIPS FROM DANTE: From 1984-87, linebacker Dante Jones was around for several of the Sooners’ routs, including 77-0, 65-0, 63-0. In his day, was OU’s approach any different for an obviously outmanned opponent? Heck, no. “We wanted to beat everyone as bad as we could. You could see the teams that were scared and didn’t have much fight in them. The old saying, ‘If you let a under dog stay in the fight. They start thinking they have a chance to win.’ … It’s true, so we went out and punched teams in the mouth early. Showing them everything they heard was true.” Jones also expressed a “kids-these-days” moment: “We were always motivated. [Defensive back] Javon Harris missed four tackles last week. On the team I played on, he wouldn’t be seeing the field this week.”

MY FAVORITE LINE ABOUT BLOWOUTS: For Huskers Illustrated back in 1993, I wrote this just before North Texas was about to take on Nebraska for a big payday and lose 76-14: “Who knows how many more Christians would have taken on the lions for a bigger paycheck?”

Last Season: 9-4/5-3 Big XII
Bowl: Beat Iowa 31-14 Insight Bowl
Final 2011 Ranking: 19th
Head Coach: Bob Stoops, 14th season at Oklahoma (139-34 career)
Stadium: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (82,112)
Conference: Big XII Conference

2012 Schedule (* = Conference Opponent) all times central since that’s where I live.

Sept. 1 – @UTEP, 9:30 pm/FSN
Sept. 8 – Florida A&M, 6 pm/TBA
Sept. 22 – Kansas State*, 6:30 pm/FOX
Oct. 6 – @Texas Tech*,  TBA/TBA
Oct. 13 – v. Texas* (Red River Shootout errr Rivalry/Cotton Bowl/Dallas, Texas), TBA/ABC
Oct. 20 – Kansas*, TBA/TBA
Oct. 27 – Notre Dame, TBA/TBA
Nov. 3 – @Iowa State*, TBA/TBA
Nov. 10 – Baylor*, TBA/TBA
Nov. 17 – @West Virginia*, TBA/TBA
Nov. 24 – Oklahoma State*, TBA/TBA
Dec. 1 – @TCU*, TBA/TBA

Previous Previewed Teams:
Number 24 – Boise State Broncos (MWC) 08/08/12
Number 23 – South Florida Bulls (Big East) 08/09/12
Number 22 – Ohio Bobcats (MAC) 08/10/12
Number 21 – Kansas State Wildcats (Big XII) 08/11/12
Number 20 – TCU Horned Frogs (Big XII) 08/12/12
Number 19 – Stanford Cardinal (Pac-12) 08/13/12
Number 18 – Arkansas Razorbacks (SEC) 08/14/12
Number 17 – Central Florida Golden Knights (CUSA) 08/15/12
Number 16 – Michigan State Spartans (B1G) 08/16/12
Number 15 – Texas Longhorns (Big XII) 08/17/12
Number 14 – Georgia Bulldogs (SEC) 08/18/12
Number 13 – Florida Gators (SEC) 08/19/12
Number 12 – Nebraska Cornhuskers (B1G) 08/20/12
Number 11 – Ohio State Buckeyes (B1G) 08/21/12
Number 10 – Michigan Wolverines (B1G) 08/22/12
Number 9 – Oklahoma State Cowboys (Big XII) 08/23/12
Number 8 – Clemson Tigers (ACC) 08/24/12
Number 7 – Wisconsin Badgers (B1G) 08/25/12
Number 6 – Oregon Ducks (Pac-12) 08/26/12
Number 5 – Alabama Crimson Tide (SEC) 08/27/12
Number 4 – LSU Tigers (SEC) 08/28/12
Number 3 – Florida State Seminoles (ACC) 08/29/12

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The Big 12 raided the Big East and took West Virginia and a TCU program that had already committed to the Big East.  Not only did it save this conference and keep it at 10 schools, it received two conference champions to boot. 

Not only is the Big 12 stronger than ever, from number one to number eight, it is the equal of the strongest conference in the nation.

Looking at the aggregate schedules this year, the Big 12 has a chance to do something special.  It is possible that the league could go 30-0 in non-conference games.  There are just two non-conference games where the Big 12 team will be the underdog.  Because of this, eight teams should become bowl eligible, and if Iowa State can upset Iowa, then nine teams could gain bowl eligibility.

Here is the pre-season media poll.

The PiRate Ratings and PiRate Vintage Ratings disagree somewhat with the media poll, but not at the top.

Can a team that has not been a semi-power in college football almost two decades produce another ranked team following the loss of the Heisman Trophy winner, a 1^st round NFL pick wide receiver, and a 6^th round NFL pick running back?  Consider also, that these three players led the Big 12 in passing, receiving, and rushing.  Of course, the Bears are coming back to Earth this season, but it won’t be a bear hunt like it was between 1995 and 2007.  Yes, Baylor will struggle in league play this year.  However, as we stated in the preface above, most of the Big 12 teams will enter conference play with 3-0 records and need go only 3-6 in the league to become bowl eligible.  Baylor is one of five league teams that figures to be in the 3-6/4-5 range this year.

Have you ever heard of a baseball player named George Selkirk?  I doubt you ever heard of Bob Fothergill.  Most of you remember Lou Brock and Carl Yastrzemski.  Besides being baseball players, these four gentlemen share something in common.  Selkirk replaced Babe Ruth in right field.  Fothergill replaced Ty Cobb in the batting order.  Brock replaced Stan Musial, and Yaz replaced Ted Williams.  Selkirk hit over .300 with 20-HR power.  Fothergill hit over .360 for the immediate seasons after he replaced Cobb.  Brock led the Cardinals to an amazing pennant and World Series Championship.  Yaz became a big star with the Red Sox, eventually becoming baseball’s last Triple Crown winner.

Will Nick Florence become another Selkirk and company?  He only has one year to replace Robert Griffin III.  In three years as the understudy, he passed for 1,992 yards with eight touchdowns and nine picks.  He could top the 3,000-yard mark this season, but remember RG3 passed for almost 4,300 yards last year.  Obviously Baylor’s offense will retreat by at least two touchdowns if not more this season.

Replacing Kendall Wright and his 108 receptions, 1,663 yards, and 14 touchdowns will also be impossible.  BU has a potential all-American on its roster here, but Terrance Williams will see defenses concentrate their efforts on stopping him.  Last year, Williams was the “other guy,” and defenses played him looser than they will this year.  Williams caught 59 passes and averaged more than 16 yards per catch with 11 touchdowns.  His reception total will swell this year, but his average per catch will likely go down some.

Tevin Reese was another receiver that benefitted from being the secondary option and the defenses’ third priority last year.  He should top the 51 receptions he made in 2011, but like Williams, his yards per catch average will not be as high as last year’s 17.2.

Tight ends Jordan Najvar and Jerod Monk will see more balls thrown their way this year.  As reserves last year, they combined for 24 receptions and 246 yards. 

Jarred Salubi takes over at running back for Terrance Ganaway, and former Oregon back Lache Seastrunk will get a lot of action here is as well.  This duo could approach the yardage gained by Ganaway last year (1,547), but they will not team for 21 rushing touchdowns.

The offensive line returns three starters, but guard Cameron Kaufhold has lost his spot to Jake Jackson.  Center Ivory Wade and guard Cyril Richardson give the Bears a solid inside blocking wall.

Most schools would be happy with 28-32 points and 375-400 total yards, which is where we think this offense will be in 2012.  Of course, BU scored more than 45 points per game and gained almost 600 yards per game last year.  The Babe has left the building.

If Baylor is to get to six wins in 2012, the defense will need to show marked improvement over last year.  No BCS school surrendered 37+ points and close to 500 yards per game and won 10 games until this team did it last year.

Eight starters return to this side of the ball.  The secondary is the best unit of the three, as all four starters return from 2011.  But, these four were chiefly responsible for BU giving up 291 passing yards per game.  Nickel back Ahmad Dixon and cornerbacks Joe Williams and K. J. Morton gave up some big plays, but the trio teamed up for 27 defended passes.  Morton picked off four balls.

The rest of the defense is rather mediocre.  Ends Terrance Lloyd and Gary Mason teamed up for just five sacks, and neither proved to be a force against the run.  Middle linebacker Rodney Chadwick was not the answer at the key spot of the 4-2-5 defense, and sophomore Bryce Hager replaced him.

The opening game this Sunday afternoon against SMU may be similar to Baylor’s opening game against TCU last year.  BU won that one 50-48.  The Bears get 13 days to prepare for might Sam Houston State.  We are not being facetious here; the Bearkats could make this game close.  Baylor faces UL-Monroe in Monroe on the following Friday, and if the Bears are 3-0 on September 22, they will be in the hunt for a bowl game.  

Paul Rhodes has taken a page from former ISU coach Dan McCarney.  He has surprise league experts every year and produced better results than expected.  The Cyclones have now played in bowls in two of his three seasons in Ames.  His other year, they finished 5-7 and lost an overtime thriller to Nebraska that would have given them a sixth win.

Iowa State should continue to surf on the edge of bowl eligibility this year, as the Cyclones return enough talent to continue to hang around.

On the offensive side of the ball, ISU returns both of their co-starting quarterbacks this year, and both will play regularly this season.  Steele Jantz would have been the clear-cut number one had he not been injured early in the year.  Jared Barnett kept the offense going when Jantz was unable to play.  The duo teamed for better than 2,700 passing yards, but their TD/Int ratio was 16/17. 

The receiving corps has experience, but none of the players will play in the NFL one day.  Tight end Kurt Hammerschmidt should more than double his receptions this year after catching just 13 passes a year ago.  Aaron Horne has the potential to break out with a big season, after he caught 38 passes in a reserve role last year.

James White and Jeff Woody both return to the backfield after teaming for more than 1,100 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.  White is the speed back, and Woody is the power back.

The offensive line is not going to generate many headlines, but it actually is the best unit on the offense.  Three starters return, most notably center Tom Farniok.

ISU averaged 23 points and 390 yards per game last year.  We believe those numbers are approachable and possibly beatable this season.

The defense is more of a question as the season starts.  For starters, the defensive line has to be rebuilt, as three starters must be replaced.  Nose tackle Jake McDonough was pushed around a bit last year, but he made 35 tackles with 4 ½ going for losses.  Willie Scott and Roosevelt Maggitt are the new starting ends, while Cleyon Laing gets the vacant tackle spot.  Former Wyoming starter Ben Durbin will see action here as the fifth lineman.  He can rotate at three of the four line spots.

ISU’s top two tacklers return at linebacker.  A. J. Klein (116 tackles) and Jake Knott (115 tackles) need to improve on their 11 ½ TFL.

Iowa State had trouble stopping the pass, but then again, the Cyclones had to face seven premier quarterbacks last year.  Jacques Washington picked up 90 tackles at the free safety spot.  He only caught one enemy pass, but he broke up eight others.  Cornerback Jeremy Reeves tied with Knott for second on the team with two interceptions.

Iowa State is one of two teams that will be an underdog in at least one non-conference game.  They are a slight underdog at home against Tulsa, and they will more than likely be an underdog against Iowa.  Their third non-league game comes against Western Illinois.  Coach Paul Rhoads has outperformed expectations every year since he came from Auburn to Ames to replace Gene Chizik, who left Ames for Auburn.  This looks like a year where his Cyclones will fail to qualify for a bowl.  If there are any surprises with this team, we expect it to be on the wrong side of the norm.

Charlie Weis was well-liked by his players at Notre Dame.  That’s why some of them left South Bend and ended up on the roster in Lawrence.  In fact two starters on offense began their careers playing for Weis in South Bend.

Dayne Crist is one of those players.  He will start under center this year.  At Notre Dame, he was the starter in 2010, but he was benched last year.  Expect Crist to top 2,500 passing yards this year, but he will have to run for his life more than he ever did with the Irish.  If he cannot make it through a full season, redshirt freshman Mike Cummings will take over.  KU fans need to pray for Crist’s safety.

The cupboard isn’t necessarily bare at receiver.  Expect last year’s top two receivers, D. J. Beshears and Kale Pick, teamed for 74 receptions and 781 yards.  We expect those two to team for more than 100 catches this year.  Another transfer from ND is tight end Mike Ragone.  Ragone is a sixth-year player after missing two seasons with injuries.  When he was healthy, he was considered one of the top recruits at his position, and he started for the Irish.

Kansas will have to get by without its best running back for the first three games following a DUI arrest.  James Sims might have challenged for 1,000 rushing yards this year, but he won’t come close to that number now.  Tony Pierson may actually have better skills, and he may not relinquish his newfound status.

KU’s offensive line is a liability.  Weis is a good teacher, and he will mold this unit into a competent quintet, but there will be games where enemy defensive lines get the better of them.  Guard Duane Zlatnik and tackle Tanner Hawkinson will protect Crist’s blind side.

The defense was on the defensive too much last year.  The Jayhawks gave up more points against Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, and Texas A&M (64.0 ppg) than their basketball team gave up in many games.  All of KU’s defensive units have a long way to go to become competitive in the Big 12.

Up front, end Toben Opurum is one player that belongs in this league.  He led the ‘Hawks with four sacks and 10 ½ stops for loss.  Those four sacks represented 40% of the team total.  His counterpart, Keba Agostinho, recorded just one sack and two TFL.

In the second line of defense, middle linebacker Darius Willis made 81 tackles with eight for loss, but he will be unseated by another former Notre Dame player.  Anthony McDonald is a graduate student, and he will play one year in Lawrence (like Crist and Ragone).

The back line returns three starters, but this is clearly the weakest secondary in the Big 12.  KU allowed QBs to complete 70% of their passes.  These were not cheap passes thrown two yards downfield either.  Cornerbacks Tyler Patmon and Greg Brown teamed up for 10 defended passes.  Safety Bradley McDougald made 89 tackles, picked off two passes, and broke up five others.

Games against South Dakota State and Rice give KU a shot at a 2-0 start.  After that any win would be an upset.  We figure Weis is good for one upset, so we’ll go with 3-9 as the ceiling this year.

Coach Bill Snyder has used the same formula for his previous 20 seasons in “The Little Apple.”  He schedules winnable non-conference games to increase his team’s confidence.  He relies on a ball-controlling power running game mixed with longer than average passing routes to spread the field vertically.  Defensively, his teams play a bend, but don’t break style that forces opponents to make sustained drives.

Last year, Snyder guided the Wildcats to a surprising 10-win season, when they looked to be in rebuilding mode.  This year, he has considerably more talent returning than he had at the beginning of last season.  However, this league is much tougher in 2012, and his conference schedule is really difficult with road games against Oklahoma, West Virginia, and TCU.

If any team could go back to the Single Wing offense and succeed with it, KSU would be the one.  Quarterback Collin Klein is really more like a single wing tailback.  He ran the ball about 25 times per game last year, gaining 1,141 yards and scoring 27 touchdowns!  He is a modern day Bronko Nagurski.  As a passer, Klein completed 57% of his tosses for 1,918 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Klein’s top three receivers return this year (top four when you add the running back).  Tramaine Thompson is the breakaway threat.  He caught just 21 passes, but he averaged better than 16 yards per catch.  If he can remain healthy and play a full season, he could improve to 40-50 receptions.  Chris Harper has similar traits, but he is more durable.  Harper led KSU with 40 receptions last year.

John Hubert narrowly missed joining Klein in the 4-digit club last year, as he rushed for 970 yards.  He also caught 24 passes.  Angelo Pease gained 144 yards in a limited role, but he can pick up a tough couple of yards when the situation warrants it.

The offensive line is the only liability here, and if it cannot get the job done, K-State will suffer on this side of the ball.  Center B. J. Finney and guard Nick Puetz are the only starters returning.  Two redshirt freshmen will start against Missouri State this weekend.

The defense is about as talented this year as it has been for the last three seasons since Snyder returned to the sidelines.  It is around the middle of the pack with all three units.  Up front, Adam Davis proved to be a nice addition last year at the end position.  He dumped enemy passers four times and threw runner for losses four more.  His counterpart, Meshak Williams, was more of a third down end, and he led the Wildcats with seven sacks and 10 TFL.

Mike linebacker Arthur Brown is the star of the defense.  He led the Wildcats with 101 tackles, 9 ½ going for negative yardage.  Tre Walker returns to the Will linebacker spot.  He was a better pass defender than run stopper, which may be more important in this league any way.

One of the top pass defenders in the league is cornerback Nigel Malone.  Malone led the Big 12 with seven interceptions last year and earned 1^st Team All-Big 12 honors.  Safeties Ty Zimmerman and Thomas Ferguson and cornerback Allen Chapman round out this group.

Kansas State has one of the better field goal kickers around.  Anthony Cantele connected on 17 of 23 field goal attempts, and was 4 of 7 from beyond 40 yards with a high of 54.

After a 3-0 start against rather easy competition, the Wildcats will be able to test their confidence at Oklahoma on September 22.  We think they will leave Norman with much less confidence.  Still, this team should rebound from that loss and win enough games to return to a bowl.

On July 15, when we first began to run the numbers through our computer programs, Oklahoma emerged as the top-ranked team before personnel losses began to chip away at their rating.  When you lose two starting offensive linemen who both were expected to be all-conference performers, it costs you on the scoreboard.  Of course, OU picked up a couple points when they received wideout Justin Brown in the Penn State fire sale.

Such is life trying to be a 21^st Century ratings compiler for college football.  The Sooners will still contend for the national title, but if their two studs had been able to play, this team would have been number one in the PiRate Ratings and number two in the PiRate Vintage Ratings.

Landry Jones should still have a stellar senior season.  Already the school’s number one passer, Jones should add another 4,500 yards onto that record this season.  He needs to cut down on his interceptions, as he threw 15 to the wrong team last year.

Jones loses his go-to guy this year (he actually lost him in the final weeks last year and OU dropped two games).  Ryan Broyles is now Matt Stafford’s new best friend in Detroit.  Jones will have to make do without three of his expected key receivers this year.  Jaz Reynolds, Trey Franks, and Kameel Jackson were all suspended indefinitely for violations.  The trio combined for 75 receptions last year.  Brown will immediately need to become a star.  At Penn State last year, he caught 35 passes.  Kenny Stills will need to step up as well and top 1,000 receiving yards after gaining nearly 850 last year.  Juco transfer LaColtan Bester will need to contribute immediately as well.  He will back up Brown.

OU’s top two running backs return after teaming for more than 1,200 yards last year.  Dominique Whaley and Roy Finch both averaged 5.5 yards per carry.

The offensive line is an even bigger question than the receiving corps, because the Sooners did not have the luxury of picking someone from Penn State’s roster.  Expected starting guar Gabe Ikard has made the switch to center to replace Ben Habern.  With guard Tyler Evans out, Coach Bob Stoops had to find two new guards.  Bronson Irwin and Adam Shead are capable blockers, but they are not 1^st Team All-Big 12 linemen at this point of their careers.  Tackles Daryl Williams and Lane Johnson would have been the least talented of the projected starters, but now they are second and third best.

There is much more stability on the defensive side, but the stop troops are far from perfect.  OU gave up 44 points to Oklahoma State, 45 to Baylor, and 41 to Texas Tech.

The strength of this side is at linebacker, where two potential future pros return.  Corey Nelson and Tom Wort teamed for 130 tackles with 13 going for losses.  They added eight passes defended.

Two of the Sooners’ top three tacklers were defensive backs, and that is something that cannot happen this year if OU is to contend for the national title.  Cornerback Aaron Colvin and safety Tony Jefferson were responsible for 158 tackles.  Jefferson picked off four passes.  Cornerback Demontre Hurst finished among the conference leaders with 12 passes defended.

The Sooners have a rebuilding job to do up front.  They lost two NFL Draft picks (Ronnell Lewis and Frank Alexander), who teamed up for 14 sacks and 32 TFL.  David King and R. J. Washington replace the two stars on the terminals after combining for seven sacks as reserves.

Oklahoma only plays two non-conference games before starting league play, and they will win both by large margins (UTEP and FAMU).  They host Notre Dame in the middle of league play.  We tend to believe that they will fall at least one time, and it will come in the final three weeks against either West Virginia, Oklahoma State, or TCU.  Of course, they cannot overlook Texas.  A loss in November may be very difficult to overcome in the now lame duck BCS standings.  This league does not have a championship game, so the league champion needs to go undefeated in November to make it to the National Championship Game.  The odds are now stacked against Oklahoma.

Coach Mike Gundy has gone from “A Man” who “could take it” at 40 to “The Man” who can dish it at 45.  Last year, Gundy’s Cowboys had the school’s best season since 1945.  That 1945 undefeated team beat Oklahoma 45-0; last year’s team won 44-10.

The best pass-catch combo in the nation will be impossible to replace.  Brandon Weeden is now the starting QB for the Cleveland Browns, and Justin Blackmon is now a future star for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Wes Lunt is a true freshman, replacing a quarterback that was 28 years old last year.  The number two man is redshirt freshman J. W. Walsh.  Expect a drop in pass yardage by maybe 150 yards per game.

Besides losing Blackmon (122 receptions), the Cowboys must find a replacement for number two receiver Josh Cooper, who made 71 catches last year.  Tracy Moore becomes the new leader after finishing third with 45 receptions.  Josh Stewart should emerge as a dependable slot receiver.  He should at least triple his number of catches this year (19 in 2011).

OSU will need to rely more on its running game this year.  Gundy knows a thing or two about the running game at his alma mater.  As QB in Stillwater in the late 1980’s, he handed the ball off to backs named Barry Sanders and Thurman Thomas.  We’re not saying that Joseph Randle and Jeremy Smith can be mentioned in the same breath as Sanders and Thomas, but we would not be surprised if the two backs combined for 2,000 rushing yards this year.

A quality offensive line from last year gave up just 12 sacks in 13 games.  Only guards Lane Taylor and Jonathan Rush return from that starting unit.  New center Evan Epstein is serviceable, and he saw action at Air Force before coming here.  Parker Graham and Daniel Koenig have limited playing experience.  Expect the sack total to at least double this year.

In this league, giving up 27 points and 450 yards is cause for celebration.  In fact, in conference games only, OSU finished first in scoring defense.  Eight starters return from last year, but one is no longer listed as a starter on the depth chart.  End Cooper Bassett has moved ahead of Nigel Nicholas.  Bassett’s 17 tackles last year included four for losses. 

All three starting linebackers return this season.  Alex Elkins, Caleb Lavey, and Shaun Lewis should improve upon their joint effort of 225 tackles, 3 ½ sacks, and 19 ½ TFL.

Free safety Dattawion Lowe led the team with 97 tackles.  He intercepted just one pass.  Cornerbacks Brodrick Brown and Justin Gilbert both picked off five passes and combined to break up 25 more.

Quinn Sharp handles both punting and kicking duties, and he is exceptional at both jobs.  He was a 1^st team All-American, making 22 of 25 field goals and averaging better than 46 yards per punt.

The Schedule is a big ally for the Pokes this year.  They should start 3-0 with a non-league slate of Savannah State, Arizona (which could be tough in Tucson), and UL-Lafayette.  They get an extra week to prepare for Texas when the Longhorns come to at Boone Pickens Stadium, and then they get another week off before travelling to Kansas, hosting Iowa State and hosting TCU.  By this time, it would not be much of a surprise if OSU was 7-0.  We believe another double-digit win season is coming to Stillwater.

After a rare losing season in 2010, Coach Mack Brown’s Longhorns rebounded with a respectable 8-5season last year.  Of course in Austin, going 5-7 and 8-5 better be followed up with a double-digit win season, or else the coach may be thrown on the grill with a couple of sirloins. 

The pieces are in place for Texas to win 10 or 11 games this year, but the league is really strong at the top this season.  We feel the Longhorns will have to win their bowl game to get that tenth win.

After scoring around 35-50 points per game during the times of dominance, the Longhorns averaged just 24 points per game in 2010 and 28 last year.  The offense figures to return to an average in the 30’s this year.  Both of last year’s co-regular quarterbacks return this season.  David Ash will begin the year as the starter.  As a true freshman, Ash completed 56.6% of his passes with four touchdowns but eight interceptions in 173 attempts.  Case McCoy (Colt’s little brother) completed 61.4% of his passes with seven touchdowns and four interceptions in 145 attempts.  Ash is the better runner, while McCoy has the better arm.  Both need to cut down on their interceptions.

Last year’s three starting wide receivers are back again this year, so the passing game should see improvement.  Mike Davis, Jaxon Shipley, and Marquise Goodwin split the receptions rather democratically, teaming for 122 catches and 1,637 yards.  All three showed the ability to run after the catch.  The ‘Horns have three quality tight ends in D. J. Grant, Greg Daniels, and Barrett Matthews.

The one-two running punch of Malcolm Brown and Joe Bergeron is not the most talented tandem in the league, but they get the job done.  Last year, the teammates combined for 1,205 rushing yards and 10 TDs.

With all the turmoil up in Norman, UT now has the top offensive line in the Big 12.  Guards Mason Walters and Trey Hopkins have no peers in the league, and they will team up with center Dominic Espinosa to open nice holes inside.  Tackle Josh Cochran started as a true freshman last year and could sneak onto the second or third All-Big 12 team.

There was little slippage on the defensive side the last two seasons.  Yes, the Longhorns gave up 55 points to Oklahoma, and they gave up 48 to Baylor.  They also “held” Oklahoma State to 38, which was more than 10 below their average.

This year, Defensive Coordinator Manny Diaz has a top-flight defensive line and secondary.  If the linebackers can develop quickly, Texas could return to allowing less than 21 points per game.

Almost every college team would take ends Alex Okafor and Jackson Jeffcoat as their starters.  Okafor, a 1^st Team All-American, Should be a first round pick in the next NFL Draft.  He comes off a season in which he made seven sacks, 14 tackles for loss, and 17 QB hurries.  Jeffcoat led UT with eight sacks and 21 TFL.

Jordan Hicks is the only returning starting linebacker.  He was a fairly good pass defender but average run stopper.  Middle linebacker Steve Edmond has the potential to become a star.  As a freshman reserve last year, he made 16 tackles.

The secondary will shine once again this season.  Cornerbacks Quandre Diggs and Carrington Byndom teamed up for six interceptions and 36 passes defended.

Coach Brown has signed a kicker and a punter that graduated from other colleges.  It makes this team much stronger to have former Penn State kicker Anthony Fera over a true freshman.  Fera was perfect on his PATs and hit on 14 of 17 field goal tries for the Nittany Lions.  Alex King comes to Austin from Duke, where he averaged better than 42 yards per punt.

UT opens with three easy wins (Wyoming, New Mexico, and Ole Miss).  They get a week off to prepare for Oklahoma State, but they have to play that one on the road.  They follow that game with a home tilt against West Virginia and then the Red River rivalry game in Dallas against Oklahoma.  They could be 3-3 or 5-1 after this game, but they will more likely be 4-2.  After these three tough games, the Longhorns should run the table through November and be no worse than 8-3 when they head to Kansas State.  We think Texas improves their won-loss record again this year, but the Longhorns will not win the Big 12 title.

TCU is in a similar situation that is facing Temple.  The Horned Frogs were members of the old Southwest Conference through the 1995 season.  They were perennial fodder for Texas, Texas A&M, Houston, and before they left for the SEC, Arkansas.  Yearly, they fought with Rice to avoid the basement.  When the Big 12 was created, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor joined the former Big Eight teams to create the membership.  TCU was not invited, and the Horned Frogs joined the WAC for five years.  In that time, the Frogs rode the legs of some fantastic runners, including LaDainian Tomlinson, and became relevant in football for the first time since the mid-1950’s.  In 2001, the moved to CUSA for four years.  Current coach Gary Patterson became the coach and began to make defense the staple in Ft. Worth.  TCU joined the Mountain West in 2005 and dominated the league for the next seven seasons, moving as high as number three in the final polls after going 13-0 and winning the Rose Bowl in 2010-11. 

The Horned Frogs were supposed to become Big East members this year, but when a spot opened up in the league they always wanted to be a part of, they jumped at the chance.  Too bad, this comes in 2012 and not two years ago, because this could be the weakest TCU team in eight years.

At least, the Horned Frogs return their quarterback from the 2011 MWC champion team.  Casey Pachall was second only to Kellen Moore in the MWC.  He is third, fourth, or fifth best in this league.  In 2011, he completed 66.5% of his passes for more than 2,900 yards and with a TD/Int ratio of 25/7.  Redshirt freshman Trevone Boykin backs him up, and it will be quite a drop if Pachall were to be injured.

Pachall has a nice team of receivers with talent and experience.  Josh Boyce led the team with 61 receptions, 998 yards, and nine touchdowns last year.  Skye Dawson gained an even 500 yards on 45 grabs.  Brandon Carter showed some breakaway speed when he caught 23 passes and averaged better than 15 yards per catch. 

The running game took a small blow this summer.  TCU would have returned a trio of quality backs that all topped 700 yards rushing last year.  However, one of those backs, Ed Wesley has already graduated, and at the 11^th hour, he decided to turn pro.  After placing his name in the supplemental draft, he went unselected and then signed a free-agent contract with Dallas and was released.

That leaves Waymon James and Matthew Tucker to possibly both top 1,000 rushing yards this season.  Tucker has the punch to crack through the inside of the line and burst to the outside, running to daylight.  James is more of a speedster that gets to the outside quickly.

The big problem on offense is the offensive line, where just two starters return.   Blaize Foltz is a quality guard, and center James Fry is more than adequate.  There are a host of options to fill out the other three spots.  Tayo Fabuluje, a BYU transfer, figures to be one of the new regulars.

The great TCU defense will take a step backwards this season.  Joining this league will inflate the numbers without any changes in the talent level.  Unfortunately, there has also been a change in the talent level.  10 talented contributors out of the Horned Frogs’ top 15 defensive players are no longer on campus.  One of those five returning players, end Ross Forrest, has missed practice time nursing an injury.  Forrest joins holdovers Stansly Maponga and tackle David Johnson to make the D-line the only defensive area that is not a concern to Patterson.  Chuck Hunter rounds out the front four.

The Horned Frogs have dealt with some adversity in their two-man linebacking crew.  Kenny Cain returns as the Frogs’ leading 2011 tackler, but two of the players expected to spend time in the lineup with Cain have missed practice time with injuries.  When fully healthy, look for Joel Hasley to emerge as the other LB starter.

The secondary has to almost start over from scratch.  Cornerback Jason Verrett returns after intercepting just one pass last year.  However, there are four positions that will be manned by inexperienced or mildly experienced players, and that spell trouble in the wide open Big 12.

TCU has a major weapon at kicker.  Jaden Oberkrom may have the strongest kicking leg in the Lone Star State since Tony Franklin and Russell Erxleben kicked in the 1970’s.  Oberkrom nailed a 60-yard field goal in high school, and he has hit two 61-yard field goals in scrimmages this year. 

TCU’s non-league slate should be worth three wins.  Beginning conference play with Kansas and Iowa State should allow them to start 5-0.  Their first big test comes at Baylor on October 13, and the Frogs can win that game.  A home game against Texas Tech follows, and there is a chance TCU will be 7-0 when they venture to Stillwater to face Oklahoma State.  A trip to West Virginia follows, and the Horned Frogs could be hit with back-to-back losses for the first time since September 2007.  With their confidence reeling, the final three games against Kansas State, Texas, and Oklahoma could give this team their first five-game losing streak in 15 years.

Tommy Tuberville is quickly finding out how hard it can be to follow a legend.  Tubs replaced Terry Bowden at Auburn, but Bowden was not in the same legend league with Mike Leach.  The Texas Tech fans wanted their team to continue throwing the ball all over the field on any play in any down and distance.  Tuberville came from the old school, where you won games by establishing a strong ground game that kept your defense off the field.  What he inherited in Lubbock was like trying to put Charlie Sheen in charge of a dairy.

TTU suffered through its first losing season since 1992, and the fans in Lubbock want an instant turnaround in 2012.  It isn’t going to happen this year, as the Red Raiders at best will win one additional conference game, which should make them bowl eligible.

Tuberville welcomes back eight offensive starters, led by quarterback Seth Doege.  Doege quietly passed for more than 4,000 yards with 28 touchdowns, but he underperformed down the stretch, and TTU lost its final four games.  Redshirt freshman Michael Brewer could cut into Doege’s playing time, as he is a prototypical Tuberville quarterback.

There are no Michael Crabtree’s on this roster.  Eric Ward is a fine possession receiver. He will catch six to 10 passes per game and pick up at least a half dozen first downs or score a touchdown when TTU is deep in the red zone, but he will not catch a five yard pass and turn it into a 75-yard touchdown.

We can feel it in our bones; Tubs wants to get more production out of his running game.  He wants a Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown banging through the line and running for big gains.  Eric Stephens, Kenny Williams, and DeAndre Washington won’t pull a Williams and Brown act and make Tech unstoppable on the ground.  In fact, as of this writing, Stephens and Washington aren’t 100% healthy.  When all three are healthy again, expect Tech to rush for more than they have rushed in many years—maybe even 150 yards per game.

The offensive line needs two new starters, but there is some talent here.  Center Deveric Gallington and tackles (former guard) Terry McDaniel and LaDrian Waddle make up three-fifths of a fine blocking corps.  Le’Raven Clark and Alfredo Morales should keep this unit up to its usual standards.

Tuberville has suffered through the tribulations of coaching in a wide-open passing league, and he has not figured out how to get his troops to stop enemy movement.  Tech gave up close to 40 points and 500 yards per game last year.  At Auburn, his defense were usually good for about 16 points and 300 yards allowed.

Nine starters return on this side of the ball, but two will not begin the season on the first team.  End Dartwan Bush gives way to Jackson Richards.  Richards is quicker off the ball, and Tech needs to find someone that can rush the quarterback.  16 sacks won’t cut it in the Big 12.

The back seven starters by the end of the year returned intact this season until a week and a half ago.  Linebackers Terrance Bullitt, Sam Eguavoen, and Daniel Cobb teamed up for 156 tackles and 18 tackles for loss.  Junior college transfer Will Smith will take over for Cobb following his dismissal from school due to an felony arrest.

As we preach here many times, your defense cannot be outstanding if your secondary is making all the tackles.  Tech’s top two 2011 tacklers were safeties Cody Davis and D. J. Johnson (176 total).  Davis had no interceptions, and Johnson had two.

The Red Raiders have three easy non-conference games and will start 3-0.  They could outscore Northwestern State (La), Texas State, and New Mexico by 100 points or more.  Tech will continue to struggle against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, and Kansas State, and they will not like facing West Virginia even on homecoming.  It adds up to a probable 6-6 season.

The knock against Geno Smith was that he produced fat stats playing the weak Big East defenses.  Smith will get the chance to prove his critics wrong this year.  Of course, if anybody still holds that belief after watching what he did to Clemson in the Orange Bowl, they probably aren’t intelligent enough to waste the time needed to explain.

Smith thrived in Coach Dana Holgorsen’s offense.  His passing yardage ballooned up to 4,385 with 31 touchdowns against just seven picks. 

It helps that the top three targets from last year return to give Smith an excellent opportunity to top 4,500 yards this season.  Tavon Austin led finished second in the Big East with 101 receptions and third with 1,186 receiving yards.  He was not even the best receiver on his team!  Stedman Bailey led the Big East with 1,279 yards on 72 receptions, scoring 12 times.  It’s hard to believe that number three receiver Ivan McCartney (49-585) might lose his spot in the starting lineup to a true freshman, but it appears that Jordan Thompson might be that freshman.  If this is the case, this receiving corps might be impossible to stop.  It could become this year’s Oklahoma State (where Holgorsen was offensive coordinator until last year).

A knee injury to starting running back Dustin Garrison has thrust Shawne Alston into the starting lineup.  Alston is more of a three yards and cloud of dust bulldozer, whereas Garrison was a quick as lightning mighty mite. 

The offensive line returns four players that have been full-time starters at one point in their career.  The three inside players (center Joe Madsen and guards Jeff Braun and Josh Jenkins) could be the top three inside trio in the league.

Holgorsen’s wide open approach forced the Mountaineer defenders to defend more plays and stay on the field for more minutes per game, because the offense scored quickly and gave the ball back to the other team.  If WVU can replicate the same defensive numbers of last year, it will be a successful Big 12 debut.

The defense gets more talented the farther back you go.  In the secondary, six of the top eight players return, but the two lost may have been the best two.  Still, this group has some fine players.  Darwin Cook made 85 tackles from his safety position, and he picked off a couple of passes.  Corners Pat Miller and Brodrick Jenkins teamed for 15 defended passes. 

WVU will switch from a 3-3-5 to a 3-4 alignment this year, but there will be little change in the personnel.  Terrence Garvin simple becomes a full-time linebacker rather than a hybrid linebacker/safety.  Garvin contributed to the defensive effort with 72 tackles, 3 ½ sacks, two interceptions, and five passes defended.  Jewone Snow returns at the buck linebacker position, but he needs to do better than 1 ½ sacks if he is to remain a pass rusher.

Up front, end Will Clarke returns after posting five tackles for loss.  Nose tackle Jorge Wright might need to add some meat to his bones to avoid getting pushed back by all the quality centers and guards in this league. 

WVU should be an exciting team to watch in their first year in the Big 12.  They perfectly fit the mold of a Big 12 team even though they are the farthest outpost in the league.  Look for the Mountaineers to win eight or maybe nine regular season games.

Coming Tuesday evening, August 28: A look at the Southeastern Conference, where the Western Division is more like the ninth division of the NFL.  Will LSU and Alabama do it again?  How will Arkansas be affected by a coaching change?  Who is going to win a wide open SEC East race?  How will the two new members affect the way the game is played in the perennial top conference?

Note: Our initial PiRate Ratings and PiRate Vintage Ratings will be posted Wednesday, August 29.  We will take our initial stab at selecting some pointspread winners Thursday morning.  Our NFL ratings will be released Tuesday, September 4.  Our first Presidential election ratings will be released following the end of the second convention in Charlotte.

3 Things

1. Sooner or later Oklahoma has to live up to preseason hype.

Every preseason the Sooners have high expectations and often are picked atop the Big 12 but every year since winning the Championship in 2000 the Sooners have some how manage to disappoint by either losing to an inferior conference opponent or losing a BCS Bowl game. Since their Championship Oklahoma has played in 7 BCS games and lost 5 of them. Oklahoma is once again ranked high in the preseason and Bob Stoops needs to start getting it done to maintain his top coach status in this what have you done for me lately world we live in.

2. Texas 2-step with Ash and McCoy

Since Colt McCoy’s departure Texas has struggled to find an adequate replacement. David Ash has apparently won the job early but I’m sure the leash is pretty short and a bad performance may lead to Case McCoy getting his shot. With a good defense and a great running game the Longhorns just need one of these guys to not mess up. They don’t have to win games, just don’t lose them.

3. The Newcomers make an impact.

Over the years TCU has had pretty good teams but unless they were to finish undefeated they wouldn’t get much National Championship love. They would argue that they were as good as any of the BCS conference school but it was obvious they didn’t play the same type of competition. So now they join the Big 12 and they have the opportunity to prove their selves. West Virginia is a top program who jumped ship from a sinking Big East. They landed in a better situation in the Big 12 but can they compete in the much better league.

Surprise Team  

Kansas State unexpectedly won 10 games last year. People don’t think they can duplicate that success but Collin Klein might have something to say about that. Last year Klein ran for 1,100 yards and 27 TDS. He threw for another 2,000 and 13 TDS. Klien is a force to be reckoned with.

The Rest

Baylor and Oklahoma State have to replace star QBs and Receivers. Texas Tech is having identity crisis. Weis gets another job and chance to fail in Kansas,( How many chances do this guy get) while Iowa State lives in the basement.

Best Non-Confernce Game

Oklahoma Vs Notre Dame

This game is probably bigger in name alone and for the history of the two programs, Oklahoma has to win this game to be taking serious.

Best Conference Game

Oklahoma vs Texas

The Red River will once again decide the conference champ.

Champion

Texas Longhorn

The Defense and the run game is just to good and I don’t think Ash or McCoy can mess this up.

Best Coach-Bob Stoops(Oklahoma)

Best QB-Geno Smith( West Virginia)

Best Skill Player- WR Tavon Austin(West Virginia)

Best Defender-DE Alex Okafor(Texas)

Impact Freshman- QB Wes Lunt(Oklahoma)

Using Booktango, the 2012 Sooner Football Guide is now an ebook instead of a magazine.

For this season, Matt chose to publish an e-book this year using Booktango. So The 2012 Sooner Kickoff report is available for download on any device anywhere and at anytime. For a publication that is typically  in a magazine format, an e-book is an interesting and cost-saving alternative to connect with fans. In addition, by using Booktango, enabled Matt to publish his e-book and distribute it to all major e-reading devices and to leading book resellers for free. He no longer has to worry about unsold magazines and shipping costs, and now can reach a broader audience and never have to worry about running out of copies to sell.

The 2012 Sooner Kickoff book includes:

• In-depth previews for all 12 of Oklahoma’s 2012 opponents
• Special features on Landry Jones, the return of Mike Stoops and the Cali Trio
• Position breakdowns
• Team procedures
• A look at each 2012 newcomer

“The expectations are always high at Oklahoma, and this year is no exception,” writes CrimsonandCreamMachine.com. “With a four-year starter at quarterback and an experienced offensive line the foundation is there for 2012 to be a great season. Will the Sooners be up to the challenge of their schedule?” Only time will tell.  But I thought this was a very interesting way to use a fast free and easy e-book publishing platform to get content into the hands of rabid fans.

By Kolby Paxton

Landry Jones apologists beware. You might want to skip down a few paragraphs.

The senior signal-caller is Oklahoma’s all-time passing leader with 12,379 career yards, and the proud owner of 13 school passing records. In 2011, Jones tossed for 4,463 yards; down from a 4,718-yard sophomore campaign, when he fell two merciful yards shy of breaking Sam Bradford’s mark. If healthy, the Artesia, N.M.-native will double Bradford’s career passing yards (8,403) by season’s end.

He will also quadruple his predecessor’s interception total in what feels like the longest. four. years. ever.

Wait, before you fire your No. 12 jersey in my general vicinity, allow me to play a more coherent version of yourself. “Landry Jones throws for a gazillion yards,” you’ll tell me. “He won the Fiesta Bowl and the Big 12 Championship. He’s 2-0 as a starter versus Texas. He’s a first round NFL Draft caliber talent.”

Crimson-tinted glasses look ridiculous, even on Elton John. They also make it nearly impossible to read and react objectively. So, before you attempt to peruse through the following, you’ll want to remove the nonsensical spectacles and place them upon the brim of your Bob Stoops visor.

Jones is the byproduct of a quarterback friendly system and, more pointedly, abundant volume. You’ve heard it before. But have you really?

Consider: Only Houston’s Case Keenum and Texas Tech’s Seth Doege attempted more passes than Jones in 2011, and the two combined to equal the Oklahoma quarterback’s number of completions to the wrong color jersey (15) – on 622 additional tosses. And, while his total production – the big, shiny, five-digit yards total – dwarfs that of the statues across the street,  the finer details of his stat line do not. For example, his yards per attempt average (7.6) is good for 11th best in school history among quarterbacks with at least 200 pass attempts. Eleventh. The University of Oklahoma has only been throwing the football since 1999, during which time, the Sooners have started only seven different field generals. Holy checkdown, Batman.

Jones’ yards per completion average is percentage points ahead of… Danny Bradley. His career efficiency rating is just behind… wishbone specialist Jamelle Holieway.

Jones’ Big 12 Championship triumph – a feat that he has accomplished exactly once in three years as the Oklahoma starter – came versus the team that used to be Nebraska. Rumor has it, that team immediately defected to the Big Ten, and no one has seen or heard from the Cornhuskers since. The Fiesta Bowl that followed pitted the Sooners with Big East sacrificial lamb Connecticut. The season-ending loss to Oklahoma was UConn’s fifth of the season. That’s the same number of L’s as every other Fiesta Bowl  participant combined (Texas vs. Ohio State, ’08; Boise State vs. TCU, ’09; Oklahoma State vs. Stanford, ’11) since 2008-’09

As for that whole 2-0 record versus the Longhorns, do we really need to discuss the state of the Mighty Mack Browns? Case is not Colt. Suffice it to say that no one in Austin is pointing to the Red River tilts of the early ’90′s in an attempt to validate the quarterbacking prowess of Peter Gardere. And, while he may have an NFL-level skill set versus air, whatever team spends a first round pick on Jones should just be aware that I successfully started a “Go pro Landry” chant during the second quarter of the Bedlam beat down – and that was before he started fumbling footballs over his own head.

Fullback Trey Millard led the Sooners in special teams tackles (14) in 2011, and currently holds the “Good Things Happen When…” distinction.

Making matters worse, the greatest receiver in program history is now a member of the Detroit Lions, starting running back Dominique Whaley is recovering from a not-quite-Patrick-Edwards-but-close broken leg, two offensive lineman have been lost for the season due to injury, and five days ago, defensive tackle Stacy McGee became the fifth suspended Sooner of the off-season.

Having said that, all of that, the Chase for Eight appears to be alive and well in 2012 – thanks, in part, to a FBS field full of flawed contenders, a relatively favorable schedule, and yes, even Landry Jones.

Jones is reasonably adept outside of the opponents 10-yard line, and once the Sooners get within 30 feet of paydirt, well, there’s a Belldozer for that.

On the perimeter, despite the loss of Broyles and mass suspensions, the Oklahoma receiving core is very good. Junior Kenny Stills is among the top pass catchers in all the land when he’s not Tweeting or wearing dresses. His production dropped when Broyles went down with a knee injury last season, but newcomer Trey Metoyer figures to reduce the Broyles-less-induced stress level considerably.

The backfield is deceptively loaded, if void of the feature back for which the program is known. Junior fullback Trey Millard is among the Sooners’ most valuable assets. Someone once coined the phrase, “Good things happen when you go to J.D. (Runnels).” Well, better things happen when you go to Millard.

The ball carriers lining up behind OU’s do-it-all fullback come in all shapes and sizes. From the diminutive Roy Finch (5-7, 175), to Whaley (5-11, 204), to impact freshman Alex Ross (6-1, 208), offensive coordinator Josh Heupel has a wealth of horses in the stable.

Mike Stoops is back, and with him, come expectations of a return to defensive dominance. Big 12 offenses of today are not the Big 12 offenses of 2003, but after a season in which Brent Venables’ group surrendered a combined 89 points in losses to Oklahoma State and Baylor, attaining a considerable level of improvement is well within reach.

The defensive line is in flux as a result of McGee’s suspension, leaving Casey Walker and Jamarkus McFarland as the only true tackles in the rotation. End David King will slide over and start ahead of McFarland in his place. Rarely, in recent history, has the defensive line been a weakness at Oklahoma, but it is in 2012.

The linebackers, on the other hand, are a strength. Tom Wort is hard-nosed and physical, and figures to take the leadership role in his third year as a starter. Corey Nelson had 5.5 sacks in 2011, and is on the cusp of becoming a star.

Previously, under Stoops, the secondary was elite. When he left, the consistency in the defensive backfield left with him. Upon his return – and with Tony Jefferson’s move back to safety – the unit is primed for a resurgence. Demontre Hurst is among the most gifted cover corners in college football. When the Sooners take the field versus UTEP, Hurst will play in his 41st game as a Sooner. Aaron Colvin started at cornerback as a true freshman, but was moved to safety in 2011. Stoops moved Colvin back to corner in the spring, creating the best duo of air traffic controllers in the Big 12.

Prediction: 11-1 (8-1)

Oklahoma should be favored in each of its 12 regular season contests. Texas, inexplicably, cannot seem to find a quarterback. The Notre Dame secondary is vulnerable. Baylor is back to being Baylor and Oklahoma State, well, is back to being Oklahoma State. Only late-season road trips to Morgantown, W.V., and Fort Worth, Texas, appear to stand in the way of another trip to the BCS National Championship. Of course, with Landry Jones under center, Morgantown might as well be Baton Rouge, La.