SB Nation - Austin Box

Breaking Down Bedlam

ccmachine — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 08:16:33 -0000

There are so many things that could go right or wrong for Oklahoma in today's Bedlam football game that I really have no idea what to expect. On one hand you consider how well the Sooners play at home and you think that they have an outstanding chance to win. Then you consider how bad they've played in their five losses and add the fact that the competition at home hasn't been that great and suddenly there's a huge knot in your stomach because you realize the realistic possibility that the nation's longest home winning steak very well could come to an end.

The roles are already reversed coming into the game. O-State is the ranked team with a shot at going to a BCS Bowl. Regardless of what the final score is the Cowboys are going to finish ahead of the Sooners in the Big 12 standings and will get a better bowl invitation. The only thing left to happen is for OSU to actually win the game and they come in as a legitimate favorite and for OU to avoid losing their sixth game of the season they must win one of the game match-ups that they're not supposed to.

Quarterbacks

Landry Jones is completing 58% of his passes this year and has 23 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. At times he's look exceptional and then at other moments he's look completely out of his element. The knocks against him are that he's not stable in the pocket and doesn't read through his progressions.

Zac Robinson has completed 63% of his passes with a touchdown to interception ration of 15 to 7. Robinson is a dual-threat quarterback who has rushed for 302 yards this year but has also been known for turning the ball over on a big hit when he runs.

Robinson's experience and leadership give him a clear advantage over Jones but there's the chance that he may not play due to injury or that he'll be playing at less than 100%.

Advantage: OSU

Running Backs

Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray are averaging 4.3 and 4.4 yards respectfully with 12 touchdowns between them but they are a far cry from the dynamic duo that we saw them become last season. After rushing for over 1,000 each last season the two have a combined 1,251 yards this year. The problem has been getting them in space to make plays and clearing holes for them to run in between the tackles. That's on the line and not necessarily the running backs.

Keith Toston is the Big 12's second leading rusher with 1,130 yards. He's averaging 5.5 yards per carry and has crossed the goal line rushing the football 11 times. He's a powerful runner with good speed and is one of only two players (KSU's Daniel Thomas) to average over 100 yards rushing per game.

Toston has clearly had the better season of these three backs and despite Murray having the added dimension of being Oklahoma's second leading receiver the Sooners don't have a rushing threat like Toston has been this season.

Advantage: OSU

Receivers/Tight Ends

Ryan Broyles is one of the most electrifying receivers in the country. He's averaging 12.9 yards per reception and has 861 yards with 12 touchdowns. He's on target to break 1,000 receiving yards this season and it would go a long way for the Sooners if he surpassed that mark today. Behind Broyles is a massive drop off as Brandon Caleb has almost 40 fewer receptions and only 2 touchdowns. Dejuan Miller is coming on and is has pretty much inserted himself as Oklahoma's #2 receiver.

O-State was dealt a huge blow when the NCAA took Dez Bryant away from them. Since then Hubert Anyiam has become the Pokes' top receiver. He's caught 39 passes for 482 yards and 3 touchdowns.

After Anyiam the Cowboys don't have another receiver playing in this game with more than 15 receptions. Conversely the Sooners have four receivers with more than 20 receptions. What's a tight end?

Advantage: OU

Offensive Line

I don't have the words to describe how disappointing Oklahoma's offensive line has been this season. Now this unit has become decimated with injuries and literally a walking triage unit. The latest victim is Trent Williams who may have to sit out today's Bedlam game due to a head injury. Oklahoma has given up 12 sacks this season.

Oklahoma State has only given up 7 sacks this year and is much stronger in both run and pass blocking than the Sooners are. The have a future NFL All-Pro in Russell Okung as their anchor.

Advantage: OSU

Defensive Line

Oklahoma's defensive line against OSU's offensive line is the match-up that could determine the game. Jeremy Beal is third in the conference in sacks with 11 and third in tackles for loss with 16. Gerald McCoy is fifth in the Big 12 in tackles for loss with 14.5.

Ugo Chinasa has 4 sacks for the Pokes and 6.5 tackles for loss. However, you have to go all the way down to 11^th O-States leader board for tackles to find Chinasa, a defensive lineman, listed.

Advantage: OU

Linebackers

Travis Lewis is third in the Big 12 in total tackles with 99 and Keenan Clayton is 39^th with 58. Oklahoma will be without Ryan Reynolds who is a field general for the Sooners defense and that may hurt the Sooners more than missing his 67 tackles. In his place Austin Box will step in and try to get a head start on taking over the middle linebacker position full time next season.

Donald Booker leads the Cowboys in sacks with 5 and tackles for loss with 7. He and Patrick Lavine lead the team in tackles with 80 and 67 tackles respectively. Lavine also leads the team in interceptions with 5.

Both team's linebacker units attack down hill and are solid run stuffers. O-State is second in the conference against the rush (82.6 yards per game) and the Sooners are third (91 yards per game)

Advantage: Even

Secondary

Oklahoma is second in the conference against the pass by holding opponents to just 197.5 yards per game. The OU secondary has a combined 11 interceptions led by Brian Jackson's 4. Jackson and Dominique Franks are one of the best corner duos in the conference and safety Quinton Carter is a hard hitter who's second on the team in tackles with 76.

Perrish Cox is not only the best athlete in Oklahoma State's secondary he's most likely the best athlete on the team. He has 32 tackles and 4 interceptions but as a whole the Cowboys are 9^th in the conference in pass defense.

Advantage: OU

Special Teams

Oklahoma State is last in the Big 12 in kickoff return average (18.6 yards per return) and while the Sooners aren't sitting pretty at #10 (21.2 yards per return) at least they're not last. Punt returns are a different issue for the Sooners where their 14.3 yards per return average are tops in the Big 12. OSU isn't too far behind at 13.9 yards per return which places them 3^rd in the Big 12.

In punting average the Sooners have a 39.6 (Best in the Big 12) to 37.5 advantage. Oklahoma's place kickers have missed seven field goal attempts this season while the Cowboys have missed five.

If this game becomes a field goal kicking contest then I'm not sure that I like Oklahoma's chances. However, in the battle for field position OU's special teams units are outperforming O-State's in just about every category.

Advantage: OU

Idaho State Game Position Grades

ccmachine — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:38:32 -0000

More photos » by Sue Ogrocki - AP

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Oklahoma bounced back, as expected, against Idaho State with a dominating defensive performance and offensive speed. However, even against an FCS team the grades weren't perfect as the Sooners showed that they've still got some work to do.

Quarterback B+

At times Landry Jones was exceptional (18/32, 286 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) and yet at other times he struggled in reading through his progressions which led to one interception and should have been more. Still, Jones managed the game well and showed that OU can continue to run their offense with him under center.

Running Backs A+

DeMarco Murray was his old self, rushing for 101 yards on 12 carries (8.4 ypc), and Chris Brown provided workman like 5.9 yards per carry going for 65 yards. In garbage time the young backs ran hard as well. Jonathan Miller carried the ball 9 times for 88 yards and, to my surprised, looked stronger and faster than Jermie Calhoun who rushed for 26 yards on 7 carries. All four of the running backs scored at least once with Murray crossing the goal line twice.

Receivers/Tight Ends C+

DeMarco Murray said that having Brody Eldridge out on the edge made a huge difference in the running game. I'd still like to see OU develop a passing game that includes the tight end because dropped passes by Brandon Caleb, Cameron Kenny and Dejuan Miller along with Adron Tennell last week are becoming too common. Ryan Broyles had 155 yards on 7 receptions with 3 touchdowns but unfortunately we have to grade the unit as a whole.

Offensive Line B-

Oklahoma's offensive line held up fairly well against a lesser Idaho State defense but my chief complaint against them is not being able to punch it in from inside the 1. That obviously is an issue with the line and running up the middle clearly shouldn't be an option for this team in those situations anymore. Regardless they line helped lead the team to a rushing average of 6.3 yards per carry.

Defensive Line A

Due to limited defensive snaps (Idaho State punted 12 times) and the rotation of younger players there weren't a lot of stats to be passed around. Gerald McCoy accounted for one of Oklahoma's two sacks and the Sooner defensive line stopped the Bengal offense at the point of attack all night. Frank Alexander recovered a Kyle Blum fumble and returned it for a touchdown.

Linebackers A+

The telling stat for Oklahoma's linebackers is 32/-22. That's how many rushes and rushing yards the Bengals had against the OU defense. Travis Lewis and Austin Box led the team with a combined 9 tackles each. Ronnell Lewis tackled Clint Knickrehm for a safety.

Secondary A

Like the other spots of the defense Oklahoma's secondary saw a lot of new faces on Saturday night and no one disappointed. ISU's only positive yardage came on passing plays but the Sooner secondary was more than stout and laid the wood of Bengal receivers and running backs all night. Dominique Franks and Jamell Flemming led the secondary with a combined 4 tackles each.

Special Teams B+

Maybe it was just me but it seemed that if Idaho State had more team speed they would have been able to exploit some of the seams in Oklahoma's kickoff team. Maybe I'm just nitpicking because the Bengals only averaged 14 yards a return. In the punting game Tress Way averaged 42.8 yards per kick while Idaho State had -2 yards per return. OU did have a missed extra point but I'm choosing to blame that on the weather.

Things We Learned In College Football - Week Two

dishingoutdimes — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:45:08 -0000

"Bueller? Bueller?" We'll try to make the learning experience more exciting than this guy from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

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College football is two weeks into it's wonderful season, and it seems like it already has the makings of a wild season, much like the 2007 season that brought us the sport's first 2-loss national champion. Crazy things have already happened, but before we launch into the entire college football world, let's make a few points about the Sooners' 64-0 victory over the Idaho State Bengals:

Landry Jones can throw the ball, and apparently the Sooners' coaches aren't going to hold him back. Despite forcing a few passes, one of which resulted in an interception, Jones made more good throws than bad. He completed 56% of his passes for 286 yards and three touchdowns, about all you could ask of a redshirt freshman in his first career start. He seemed poised, kept mistakes to a minimum, and probably would have had a better completion percentage if it hadn't been for a couple of drops.
Against a better opponent, the offense would have probably looked sluggish again. The Sooners were still only 4-13 on 3rd down, not a terribly good rate. They also turned the ball over twice, and Landry did try to squeeze the ball into some places where there was really no shot at a completion.
We might be the worst team at converting from within the 2-yard line. Stuffed from the 1/2 yard line by Idaho State? Are you kidding me?
Austin Box played well in garbage time. It may not permeate through the stat line, but Box was flying all over and knocking guys down behind the line. He looked really good, and much more instinctive than last year.
The defense continued to play well. A shutout against anyone is great. It's even better when you limit the opponent to 6 first downs and 44 yards of total offense. The third down defense improved, holding Idaho State to 1-14 on third down opportunities.

As I alluded to in the introduction, this season has all the early signs of a crazy one. Obviously our loss to BYU was one of those red flags, but there have been some other interesting games as well. Before we talk about those, I will defer to this ESPN article which summarizes the point I'm trying to make quite nicely:

The first two weeks of the 2009 college football season looked a lot like two years ago, when ranked teams seemed as safe as Virginia coach Al Groh's job.

The 2007 season opened with defending FCS national champion Appalachian State shocking Michigan 34-32 in the Big House. Over the next 14 weeks, the country's No. 2-ranked team would lose six times. Non-traditional powers such as Boston College, California and South Florida briefly climbed to the sport's penthouse, and Stanford -- a 41-point underdog -- shocked USC at the Coliseum.

What's been so crazy about this season, you ask? Virginia, a team from the ACC (a "BCS Conference"), lost at home to William and Mary, an FCS team. Not to be outdone, Duke (ACC) lost to Richmond (FCS) at home as well. Boise State steamrolled Oregon on the smurf turf, and BYU knocked off #3 Oklahoma in Arlington. Both of those teams are from "non-BCS conferences" and have seen their stock rise in the rankings. Oklahoma State beat Georgia soundly, causing them to jump up in the rankings to #5, only to be defeated at home one week later by unranked Houston. Another FCS team almost notched another victory over an ACC team as Jacksonville State led Florida State for most of the game before the 'Noles scored two touchdowns in the last 35 seconds of the game. Not to mention, Central Michigan knocked off Michigan State in East Lansing with a thrilling and improbable comeback late in the 4th quarter. And that was only some of the insanity from the first two weeks!

Rank The Conferences

The Big 12 is an interesting conference this year. There are still some very solid teams at the top, but the bottom end of the conference seems to have gotten worse. Iowa State didn't even look competitive against Iowa, although that's more than you could say for the likes of Kansas State and Colorado. The Wildcats lost to Louisiana-Lafayette a week after barely beating FCS Massachusetts. Colorado, meanwhile, is 0-2 after losing to Colorado State and then getting throttled by Akron. We also have to point the finger at ourselves as Sooners, as we got upset by BYU. Granted, BYU is looking like a really solid team after manhandling Tulane 54-3. Oklahoma State also dropped one to Houston at home only a week after attaining the #5 ranking and seemingly verifying everyone's suspicions that they may crack the BCS this season. However, Oklahoma and OSU are still two dangerous teams, and Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, Texas Tech, and even Baylor all seem as though they will be dangerous as well. Nevertheless, the Big 12 seems to have lost a little of the magic from the 2008 season.

The SEC, for the time being, seems like the best conference from top to bottom this year. The teams at the bottom of the SEC are certainly better than those in the Big 12. Florida seems like it will have an easy run through the East Division this season, while the SEC West will be extremely competitive with Mississippi, LSU, and Alabama all having ambitions of reaching Atlanta, and Arkansas and Auburn both still undefeated.

The Mountain West Conference may single handedly reshape the way the college football post-season is done. The conference currently has three teams ranked in the AP poll (BYU #7, TCU #15, Utah #18). They have scored some impressive victories over the past few seasons, including Utah's stunning dominance over Alabama in last year's Sugar Bowl. The Mountain West also has some decent teams from top to bottom. Despite all of that, the conference still doesn't get an "automatic BCS bid", which seems unfair when the ACC does - a conference that has had two teams drop games to FCS opponents already this season, and another that almost dropped a third. USC and California are both still looking solid in the Pac-10, but beyond those two teams, there doesn't seem to be many others challenging to reach the top-25.

Meanwhile, the Big 10 is looking like every team could have 1 to 2 conference losses, as none of the teams seem dominant. Minnesota struggled against Syracuse. Wisconsin barely squeaked by Fresno State at home. Iowa barely beat Northern Iowa (FCS). Northwestern barely beat Eastern Michigan. The list could go on and on.

Look Out For...

Cincinnati: The Bearcats are charging forward this season, a year after they qualified for their first BCS bowl (Orange Bowl). They rolled over SE Missouri State like any quality team is supposed to, 70-3, last week. However, they also blew out a solid conference rival - Rutgers - by a score of 47-15. They have a senior quarterback (Tony Pike) who has been nearly perfect - 44 of 57 for 591 yards and 6 touchdowns over his first two games. The defense has been solid too, holding opponents to 3.6 yards per play and only 235 yards per game, and they've been very opportunistic with 6 interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Brigham Young: Bronco Mendenhall has the Cougars humming like a well-oiled machine. After upsetting #3 OU, they demolished Tulane in New Orleans 54-3. They now return home to face a Florida State team who has been underwhelming. The only two currently ranked teams left on their schedule are TCU and Utah, and both of them are conference rivals who they will play at home. They are a solid team who plays fundamental football and limits mistakes. The schedule is set up favorably for them to run the table, which would prompt all sorts of hypothetical BCS questions for the rest of the season.
California: Living by Barry Switzer's half-a-hundred philosophy, the Golden Bears have put up 52 and 59 points in their first two games. It hasn't been against the best competition, but they have all the makings of a high-octane offense, and a team that should challenge for the Pac-10 title. They will also get to play other front-runner USC at home in Berkeley, which is a huge advantage. Oh yeah, and Jahvid Best has put his name in the Heisman Watch by averaging 10.4 yards per carry.

Odds and Ends

Congratulations to Washington for beating Idaho and snapping a 15-game skid that stretches back to 2007...I feel bad for Miami (OH) who has been outscored in their first two games by a combined score of 90-0...When was the last time UCLA went 3-0 to start a season? They have a good chance to reach that mark when they host Kansas State next week...USC QB Matt Barkley is riding a wave of media love right now after piloting a long scoring drive to win the game. However, his 48% completion rate and interception vs. no touchdowns suggest to me that USC is very beatable this year...Auburn has been running the ball very well, totaling almost 700 yards on the ground in the first two games...The latest bowl projections are in and apparently one person thinks that Oklahoma State is still going to the Fiesta Bowl...Tennessee fans are probably growing restless after the second defeat to UCLA in two years, and Jonathan Crompton throwing three picks...The Virginia Cavaliers have twice as many turnovers as touchdowns. Yikes!...Boise State's defense has been superb, not giving up a touchdown pass and only giving up 8 points in two games. Not surprisingly, they are at the top of a lot of defensive stats.

Next Week

Reunion: USC visits Washington and the Huskies will be coached by Steve Sarkisian, former USC offensive coordinator.

Gameday: ESPN's morning college football show heads to Austin. Texas Tech rolls into town fresh off of a big win over Rice, a win in which Taylor Potts threw 7 touchdowns.

Don't Miss: #14 Georgia Tech visits #20 Miami in an early ACC showdown on Thursday Night.

Uh Oh: Lane Kiffin made some pretty snappy comments about Florida in the offseason, even accusing Urban Meyer of recruiting violations. Don't be surprised to see things get ugly for the Vols when they visit the Swamp.

Most Intriguing: #19 Nebraska visits #13 Virginia Tech. Va Tech has a tough non-conference schedule, and surely they will be looking to avoid a second loss this early in the season. Meanwhile, we find out if Nebraska is legit.

Can They Win One: Colorado hosts Wyoming, who put up a huge fight against Texas on Saturday. Virginia heads off to play Southern Mississippi, who is currently undefeated.

Poll

What is the most likely Week Three upset of the games listed below?

Tulsa over #12 Oklahoma

42 votes

Texas Tech over #2 Texas

113 votes

Fresno State over #10 Boise State

50 votes

Toledo over #11 Ohio State

22 votes

Minnesota over #8 California

12 votes

Tennessee over #1 Florida

21 votes

Florida State over #7 Brigham Young

117 votes

Rice over #16 Oklahoma State

7 votes

384 votes | Poll has closed

Five Questions With Crimson and Cream Machine

Jeremy Mauss — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:00:42 -0000

The football season is just around the corner, and throughout the non-conference season here at the Connection and we will be interviewing various bloggers with five questions about the upcoming game. This first blog up is Crimson and Cream Machine which is an Oklahoma Soonner blog. Also, check out their site for my answers to the five questions later this week.

How seriously are the Sooners taking BYU?

If you’re asking if the Sooners are overlooking BYU then the answer is emphatically, no! OU learned the hard way in 2005 what happens when you overlook a season opening opponent when TCU came to Norman and shocked 85,000 screaming fans. This is a big game for Oklahoma as it will be nationally televised and the last time the nation saw them Tim Tebow was stuffing Gator down their throats. Florida is playing Nobody State School of the Lame and Blind and Texas won’t be televised so Oklahoma needs to come out poised, focused and make a statement to the nation.

If you’re asking if this game rivals the OU/Texas game, the OU/Oklahoma State game or the Big 12 Championship then once again the answer is emphatically no! Mike no mistake, this is a big game for the Sooners but it won’t be the biggest game they play in this year.

The offensive line seems to be the only area of inexperience how confident are you of the line being able to protect Sam Bradford?

I’m pretty confident that they’ll be okay. You are right in the fact that they lack experience but they aren’t completely in experienced. Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said that left tackle Trent Williams is the best offensive lineman that he’s ever coached, left guard Brian Simmons is a senior and saw action in all 14 games last year, center Brody Eldridge was impressive enough to be moved from tight end, right guard Jarvis Jones saw action in seven games as a freshman at LSU and right tackle Cory Brandon saw action in nine games last year. So it isn’t like the Sooners are throwing five guys out there who’ve never played a down of college football before.

What is the plan of attack of the Sooner defense against BYU's offense?

I think that initially the plan is to use the defensive line to overpower what should be an outmatched BYU offensive line to both stuff the run and put pressure on Max Hall. If Oklahoma’s d-line can continually push the Cougars back up front then Hall will be under pressure all night and the linebackers will be clear of blockers to clean up the run plays.

If the Sooners aren’t allowed to get pressure on the quarterback with the front five then look for a myriad of blitzes from all over the field. Defensive coordinator Brent Venables is a master at disguising coverage and blitzers. He’ll mix it up and have Max Hall second guessing all night. If he can also get Hall on the run then it’s a huge advantage for OU.

Is LB Mike Balgoun not playing going to affect the defense?

What the NCAA is doing to Mike Balogun is just ridiculous but it shouldn’t have an impact on the game unless staring middle linebacker Ryan Reynolds goes down. Balogun is a reserve linebacker who received playing time and even started the BCS Championship due to injuries to both Ryan Reynolds and Austin Box.

What need to happen for BYU to upset Oklahoma?

In my mind the only way the Cougars win this game is if Oklahoma comes out and falls on its face offensively. The Sooners are going to be very stout on defense and although I don’t expect them to shutout BYU I don’t see the Cougars winning unless the Oklahoma offense gives them a few gifts.

Countdown To Kickoff

ccmachine — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:03:30 -0000

The Latest Across The College Football World

dishingoutdimes — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:56:24 -0000

More photos » by Steve Cannon - AP

Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles made next year's OU-FSU matchup much more interesting. (AP Photo/Steve Cannon)

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Before we dive into other topics, first there are a few major stories related to the Sooners. The first has to do with the ongoing Mike Balogun case. Matt Hinton over at the Yahoo Sports Dr. Saturday blog draws some interesting conclusions:

When I read the headline, I assumed it was just a matter of Florida State pointing out Balogun as a precedent, to argue on Surrency’s behalf: "If he can do it, why can't we?" But apparently not; apparently, FSU went after another team's player – a team it doesn't even play (Balogun will be long gone no matter what when FSU and OU hook up in 2010-11) – out of something like pure spite. Law-abiding spite, but spite nonetheless. Even if they couldn't keep their own guy from getting the ax, you have to respect the pure mercenary venom in that compliance department, if nothing else. That is cold, 'Noles.

There's no way to know how things went down, but we can be sure that Florida State was the one that sounded the alarm bells. Not only that, but consider this from ESPN's Tim Griffin:

Interestingly, it appears that Florida State officers went to great lengths to check out Balogun's case. They initially told the Big 12 Conference, but were told the conference was satisfied with Oklahoma's original findings.

But Florida State's compliance office apparently delved much deeper after that, the Oklahoman reports.

I'm not going to draw any conclusions. However, I would bet that most people around OU football and even football fans in Oklahoma are marking September 11, 2010 on their calendars - as that is the day that Florida State will visit Norman for a non-conference football game.

In some somber news, the rumor is that Tom Wort, a backup middle linebacker, will be lost for the season with a torn ACL. This impacts depth at that position, but the most probable scenario would have Austin Box backing up Ryan Reynolds.

More news and notes after the jump!

Andre "Doom and Gloom" Ware: On ESPN's College Football Live, TV analyst Andre Ware predicted the Sooners would go 8-4. He also predicted that the Sooners would lose the opener against BYU and then lose three more from a combination of @Miami, Tulsa, Texas, @Nebraska, Oklahoma State.
Texas Tech Shut Out?: Apparently the Texas Tech defense shut out the offense in a scrimmage. When was the last time you expected a Mike Leach offense to put up a 0?
Oklahoma State Trying To Minimize Distractions: No media obligations for players or coaches all the way up to Oklahoma State's season opener. Mike Gundy with this gem: "You've got a lot of cute girls out there. There's a lot of things going on. Guys have to focus. We're trying to reel them in."
Missouri Had A Few Sloppy Scrimmages: Gary Pinkel thinks that his team should have made more progress by this point. Not surprising given the star players that have departed.
Texas A&M With Much Better Offense or Much Worse Defense?: Apparently the offense went on some long drives in scrimmage and running backs are "breaking a lot of tackles". The offense shined, so it's tough to tell whether it was offensive improvement from last year or defensive regression from last year.
Remember the Texas-Texas Tech Game: Blake Gideon is using his dropped interception that would have resulted in a win for Texas as motivation for this year. I don't blame him, that was a big moment.
Tweet Away: SEC fans can now tweet from games.
The "Captain Obvious" Statement of the Day: SEC teams generally don't have tough non-con schedules. No I'm not saying that, this was written from deep in the heart of SEC country. Only 6 of the 48 non-con games are against top-25 teams and 3 of those 6 are against Georgia Tech.
Double Standard: Florida is retooling their offensive line. Funny that doesn't worry people as much as OU retooling theirs. I will admit that OU does have to replace 4 starters (more than Florida), but OU will be starting a few guys with experience.
Don't Write Off The Big Ten: Dennis Dodd says that you should be careful writing off the Big Ten.
Remember Keith Nichol?: Yeah, he transferred from OU and it looks like he might be leading the quarterback race in East Lansing (Mich St.)
Minnesota Going To Use Wildcat: Apparently they have a lot of athletes, and why not on that fast track at the Metrodome?
USC Quarterback Race: If Aaron Corp can't go in the opener, Matt Barkley could be the first true freshman to start for USC at quarterback...ever.
Greg Paulus: Goes from backup on Duke basketball team to starter on Syracuse football team - at quarterback!
Oregon Giants: Oregon has five receivers who are at least 6'3", including one who is 6'7" and two who are 6'5". Yikes!

That's it for now, Boomer Sooner!

Torn ACL Will Sideline Linebacker Tom Wort For Entire `09 Season

ccmachine — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:53:59 -0000

Reports are coming out this morning that freshman linebacker Tom Wort has a torn ACL and will be out for the season. The good news for Wort is that he’s only a freshman and will be able to take his redshirt and then start over in the spring or possibly next fall.

For Oklahoma it means more shifting in a position that has suddenly become volatile. Thanks to a temporary restraining order Mike Balogun is still able to practice with the team but his future as a Sooner is still very uncertain right now. That means Austin Box will be back in the mix at middle linebacker after previously being moved over to backup Travis Lewis.

Other players to take an interest in are J.R. Bryant and Jaydan Bird. Bryant is a senior who could back up Keenan Clayton but has yet to insert himself as more than a special teams player. Bird is a freshman who was ranked as the nation’s 23^rd outside linebacker. While he hasn’t had the type of camp that Wort was having he has had his moments and could also become a suitable backup at the outside linebacker position. If either one of these guys, if not both, could be ready to step in on the outside linebacker positions it would help Box focus more on being the man in the middle if needed.

Backup MLB Problem - Tom Wort Injures Knee

dishingoutdimes — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:16:50 -0000

More photos » by Anonymous - ASSOCIATED PRESS

4 months ago: Oklahoma linebacker Mike Balogun is pictured during a team football practice in Norman, Okla., Monday, Aug. 18 2008. (AP Photo)

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Combine Mike Balogun's eligibility challenges (thanks a lot Seminoles) and the latest news, and we have a problem with our backup middle linebackers. From Tulsa World:

Oklahoma freshman Tom Wort, whose promising camp combined with Mike Balogun’s eligibility issues had made him a potential backup to middle linebacker Ryan Reynolds, suffered a knee injury during practice Thursday night.

"He was just jumping up for a ball and came down funny," OU coach Bob Stoops said. "We’re worried about his knee. We’ll see what the doctors say. I can’t detail it here today without them having a chance to thoroughly look at it."

If neither can play, that probably leaves Austin Box to shift back over to the middle, and someone else will fill in behind Travis Lewis.

Football Season Quickly Approaching

dishingoutdimes — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:19:36 -0000

More photos » AP

4 months ago: In this photo taken in Norman, Friday, Aug. 7, 2009, Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables is pictured during media day. Between 2000 and 2005, the Sooners were ranked among the top 13 defenses in the country every year. That slipped to 16th in 2006 and 26th in 2007 before last year's big drop-off to 68th. Now, players are talking about coming out with a new attitude, one that's mean, nasty and stingy. (AP Photo)

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Practice continues in Norman for the fast approaching football season. There has been a fair amount of information about these practices and the team, so I'll try and condense that in a short briefing here for you.

Stoops' Surprising Players (link)

Bob Stoops had high praise for Chris Brown, Frank Alexander, Auston English, Quinton Carter and Tom Wort, saying that all of these players are unheralded but have a big impact, or the potential to make a big impact. Apparently, Quinton Carter would have started last season had he not pulled a hamstring. And of Tom Wort, Stoops said:

"Tom Wort is going to be pretty special, if not this year, then awfully soon," Stoops said.

Wide Receiver Question Mark

It's hard to say who will be starting at wide receiver for the Sooners when they open up against BYU. It's pretty safe to say that Ryan Broyles has one of the spots locked up. The Sooners employ three wide receiver sets a lot, which leaves two more spots open. Junior college transfer Cameron Kenney has started with the first unit in both of the open practices in 11-on-11 drills. Apparently he has made quite a few plays. I wouldn't be surprised to see him get a shot. The other front runners appear to be Adron Tennell and Mossis Madu, the latter of whom was converted from running back this summer.

The Center of the Problem

Center is obviously a position of concern with the top two people on the depth chart suffering injuries a couple of days into practice. The Sooners have been rotating a bunch of other people into the center position at practice in the meantime, in order to have "emergency plans". The list of emergency centers include Trent Williams, Stephen Good and even Brody Eldridge who has been commonly referred to as the "team's best blocker".

The good news is that it looks like the injured centers are on their way back. From the Oklahoman:

Habern, who has participated in some contact drills, has shown gradual improvement since sustaining the injury and doesn’t appear to be too far away from being cleared all the way for practice. When that happens, Patton said Eldridge will move back to tight end, where his blocking acumen is so valuable.

And from the Monday practice report from the Tulsa World:

Ben Habern, competing to replace Jon Cooper at center while battling a strained back, took part in a one-on-one blocking drill. He drove defensive tackle DeMarcus Granger several steps backward after one snap.

Defensive Depth Chart

Here is how the defensive depth chart is shaping up, according to Jake Trotter at the Oklahoman, who watched the open practices:

At the moment, the first-team defense looks like this:
DL: Jeremy Beal, Adrian Taylor, GK McCoy, Auston English
LB: Travis Lewis, Ryan Reynolds, Keenan Clayton
DB: Brian Jackson, Dom Franks, Sam Proctor, Quinton Carter

The second-team defense look like this
DL: RJ Washington, Casey Walker, Cordero Moore, Frank Alexander
LB: Daniel Franklin, Tom Wort, Austin Box
DB: Demontre Hurst, Marcus Trice, Emmanuel Jones, Lamar Harris

No real surprises on the first team. Daniel Franklin has edged out JR Bryant at linebacker, but no significant news on the second team either. The defense is projected to be improved from last year, and they have a ton of talent two-to-three deep on their depth chart.

Bradford Still Sharp

From all accounts, it seems like Sam Bradford has benefitted from another summer of conditioning, learning the system, and practicing. I haven't heard anything negative about Bradford, and most everything has been strongly positive.

BYU Injury Problems

The Sooners' first opponent - BYU Cougars - have had their share of injury problems. Starting QB, and one of the biggest stars on their football team, Max Hall dislocated his finger in a scrimmage on Monday. Max told reporters that his finger was fine, but it is still something to take note of.

Like the Sooners, BYU also only returns one starter on the offensive line. The only returning starter (LT Matt Reynolds) had to have surgery on his left hand and his status is questionable for the OU-BYU game. To top it off, BYU also lost the odds-on-favorite at their left guard spot for the season with a shoulder injury.

This means that BYU could be short handed on Max Hall's blindside for their season opener against OU.

Bevo's Daily Roundup - The season has arrived

dimecoverage — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 20:12:38 -0000

27 days until the Louisiana-Monroe game

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy talks about why he returned for his senior year and his expectations for the Longhorns in 2009. From ESPN.

Think Oklahoma-Texas is a heated rivalry? Wait until October. Texas' players may have forgotten about losing the South Division to OU on last year's tiebreaker, but I don't think Texas coach Mack Brown has. Neither has OU's Bob Stoops. "You want to throw out our win over Tech?" he said. "Fine. Then throw out Texas' win over us."

From DenverPost.com

Video and interviews from practice.

Some questions to anwser in preseason camp. Some of the most important have to with the defense. Will Muschamp is gearing up for his second year at UT with a lot riding on his unit's success.

Can the defense play to a level that would make Colt McCoy proud? Will Muschamp be twice as good, now that the head coach-designate more than doubled his salary to $900,000 a year? Will a defensive back intercept a ball or two? Can the defense stay multiple, get the most speed on the field and maintain a physical toughness?

Texas won 12 games a year ago, but its defense overshadowed its offense probably only four times, if you consider great performances against Colorado, Oklahoma State, Kansas and Ohio State in the bowl game.

What was Mack Brown's advice to the Longhorns as they start practice for the season?

"I told our kids in the spring and I told them again tonight to forget the system ... forget any of it," Brown said. "They need to be the best team they can be. Let's enjoy being Texas and not sit around and answer questions and worry about the system all the time."

"The Big 12's tiebreaker won't change, short term for sure, and the BCS won't change for at least a year," Brown said. "You've got what you've got so quit worrying about. You play the best you can play and we'll go wherever they tell us."

The Horns are not planning too far ahead.

Texas fans always demand a lot from Brown and the Longhorns, but there hasn’t been this kind of buzz around Austin since 2005, when Vince Young and the Longhorns won the school’s first undisputed national title since 1969.

"You walk in the locker room, nobody’s talking ‘Let’s win the national championship,"’ McCoy said. "All (the players) are talking about is winning the first game."

And if the Longhorns win all their games, they know they’ll get their shot, just as they did in 2005.

The USA Today Preseason Coaches' Poll is out. We came in at No. 2 behind Florida. (ESPN video)

Does it matter where you start in the poll?

But see Florida, Texas and Oklahoma sitting 1-2-3 in the USA TODAY coaches' preseason poll released Friday — and Boise State, TCU and Utah ranked a more modest 16-17-18 — and take it seriously. In a sport that settles its national championship, in part, by popular vote and not by a playoff, early positioning matters.

All too much, some coaches say.

"We've been ranked among the Top Five in the coaches preseason poll several times recently and that's rewarding because it shows respect for our program from coaches around the country," head coach Mack Brown said. "It also is a tribute to how strong we’ve finished in winning our last five bowl games. But, at this point, no one has earned the right to be in the upper part of the polls. I’ve always said I think we should start the polls in October like they do with the BCS Standings. That’s a much truer evaluation of a team because at that point you’ve proven it on the field.

"All of that said, Coach Royal told me a long time ago that preseason polls are like beauty contests, and if they're going to enter you, you want to be near the top. We’re proud of everything we've built and the hard work our guys are putting in, but also realize that the preseason ranking means nothing. We need to be sure the guys understand that where you finish at the end of the year is important; where you rank at the first of the year is simply respect."

From Mack Brown Texas Football

The top three teams have the top three quarterbacks in the country.

This fall could be exceptional for several reasons — three, in fact. "It's a wonderful thing for those three to be the face of college football," Texas coach Mack Brown says.

"They're all three high-character guys," Florida coach Urban Meyer says. "College football needs that."

McCoy doesn't mind being the leading rusher... again.

"I don't mind running the football," said McCoy, who was the only Big 12 quarterback to lead his team in rushing. "I would love it if we had a back who stepped up and said they wanted the ball and said to feed me the ball. The guys back there are motivated and are really trying to be effective in our offense."

What's our biggest need this season? Besides the whole running game issue? Tight end.

Coach Mack Brown said one of his primary goals is to find "two or three" tight ends who can be viable receiving options and allow the offense more flexibility than last season, when the Longhorns leaned heavily on four-receiver sets (with no tight end) after Irby was injured in a Sept. 20 victory over Rice. The ground game, Brown said, became more inconsistent without a tight end in the mix.

"Trying to run the ball with four receivers is a lot different than having a 250-pound tight end who can pound on people," Brown said.

There are no "wildcat" formations in our future.

Despite plays from the single wing becoming the rage in college football and in the NFL during the last several years, Mack Brown does not expect the Longhorns to experiment with the "Wildcat" formation.

Brown also pronounced that the Longhorns' ballyhooed "Q package" as dead. That formation featured Colt McCoy and John Chiles in the lineup at the same time with Chiles occasionally receiving snaps from center and McCoy at wide receiver.

"We got into it some last year," Brown said. "It was not productive for us. We want the ball in Colt's hands."

Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley have been named to the 2009 Walter Camp Football Foundation Player of the Year award watch list.

Sergio KIndle's leadership was apparent at Woodrow Wilson HIgh Schhol in Dallas. His leadership and play could determine the Horns' defensive success this season. KIndle has also been named to the 2009 Ted Hendricks Award watch list.

"Sergio emerged as a strong, forceful leader," Woodrow Wilson coach Bobby Estes said. "I notice that same maturity this year at Texas. Before, there was Brian Orakpo and the other guys in front of him. In talking to [Kindle] and watching him go through drills this spring, he's returned to, 'This is my year. This is my time.' "

Texas can only hope Kindle's college career tracks the same as his prep career.

How Kindle plays and how he leads could partly determine whether Texas' BCS hopes were merely deferred by the Big 12 tiebreaker of a season ago. One tick of a clock in Lubbock separated Texas from the conference title game and a probable date against Florida for the national championship.

The Los Angeles Times believes that the Horns are the most motivated team to win the title this year.

Which team is most motivated to win the national title this year?

That's easy. Texas. Imagine what it was like for the Longhorns to watch Oklahoma, a team they beat in Dallas, play Florida for the BCS title. And all because of a Big 12 tiebreaker rule that broke a three-way tie among Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech in Oklahoma's favor. That's why the 2008 Big 12 title team from Norman will always be remembered in Austin as the Oklahoma Asterisks.

Mack Brown will not be voting in the USA Today coaches' poll this season.

"They selected six coaches from the Big 12 at random, and I wasn't one of the ones selected," Brown said. "I'm OK with it."

In 2008, the Big 12 had seven coaches voting in the poll, which counts as one-third of the BCS standings.

And, for the record, Oklahoma's Bob Stoops is voting this season. Stoops did not vote in 2008.

Did Sporting News forgot someone in their 50 greatest head coaches of all time?

Charlie Tanner reports from training camp.

You may not recognize some of the players this August. Some of the team decided that they wouldn't shave during camp.

SI's Andy Staples expects Aggie true freshman Christine Michael to have a big impact on the season.

The Aggies averaged just 2.9 yards a carry last season thanks mostly to an offensive line ravaged by injuries. Texas A&M boasts a pair of quality backs in Cyrus Gray and Bradley Stephens, but the 5-11, 200-pound Michael possesses the strength to break tackles and the speed to break away for scores. Expect him to get a chance to earn carries in camp.

Aggie punter Ken Wood decided to attend A&M after hearing about the 12th Man lawsuit against the Seattle Seahawks.

Texas A&M's flap with the Seattle Seahawks over the "12th Man" trademark keeps paying dividends for the Aggies.

Three years ago following a lawsuit filed by A&M, the Seahawks agreed to pay the Aggies a licensing fee to continue using the term, which A&M had trademarked.

Now, it appears the commotion helped land the Aggies their potential starting punter. Sophomore Ken Wood, a Washington state native who punted for the University of Montana last season, first became aware of A&M through the 12th Man ruckus.

Wood describes himself as a big Seahawks fan — and he became a fan of A&M after learning more about the school and its 12th Man tradition through its Web site, aggieathletics.com.

"I was constantly visiting their Web site," Wood said Thursday. "It looked like an awesome place — even just on the computer screen."

So, what happens if A&M is successful this season?

Defensive lineman Paul Freeney and tight end Ben Bass are no longer on the Aggie football team.

Oklahoma State

Finding a second receiver for Zac Robinson is critical for the Cowboys.

Dez Bryant's importance to the Cowboys was best illustrated in their 42-31 Holiday Bowl loss to Oregon as he produced seven receptions in the first quarter and nine in the first half to help spark an early Cowboys lead.

But after Bryant sustained a knee injury, the Cowboys' offense sputtered. Oregon outscored OSU 35-14 in the second half en route to the comeback victory.

It's made finding a second wide receiver one of coach Mike Gundy's critical tasks during fall camp.

Defensive coordinator Bill Young has five goals for the Cowboy defense. Mike Gundy has his own list.

Gundy wants his receivers to stop thinking.

The Oklahoma State receiving corps has been dropping the ball more than head coach Mike Gundy would like to see in the first few days of fall practice. But Gundy isn’t worried, because he knows it’s an issue caused by too much thinking, not a lack of ability.

"It looks like it always has this time of year," Gundy said of his receivers’ early drops in practice. "There’s a lot of thought and thinking going on. They’ll start playing better in 10 or 15 days. We never encourage the ball being on the ground, but the reason it is is because they’re thinking so much."

Oklahoma

The Sooners are back in Norman. Bob Stoops is very optimistic.

"Hopefully we can be a game or two better (than last season)," said Stoops, whose club made it all the way to the national title game in 2008. "You have to go earn all of that, you have to get back with your team, get back out on the field and start competing and working to see truly where you are.

"We have a chance to be every bit as good or hopefully maybe a little better."

Did you know Stoops has a sense of humor?

Jermaine Gresham came back for one reason and one reason only:

"Anything less than a national championship would be (a disappointment)," Gresham said. "That's what we work for and play for. Nobody on this team plays for individual awards — nobody. We play as one and the ultimate goal is to win every game."

Sooner injury reports. DeMarco Murray is hurt. Again. Linebacker Ryan Reynolds is back and he is healthy. For now.

But one of the many bright spots was the return to the field of senior linebacker Ryan Reynolds, who wore only a brace in his first practice back since suffering a third major knee injury midway through last season.

And Ryan Reynolds felt he needed some luck so he changed his number from 11 to 4.

Linebacker Austin Box is making progress.

Austin Box drew praise from Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops during the Sooners’ Media Day Friday.

The redshirt sophomore linebacker is coming back from an elbow injury which kept him out of spring practice.

"He looked great,’’ said Stoops of Box’s effort in OU’s first practice Thursday. "He was running well and his conditioning was good.’’

NewsOk has a Q&A with DeMarcus Granger. Granger now calls himself the Comeback Kid, because of the injuries and adversity he has dealt with. Most of his own making.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson is a little fed up with all those pesky questions about the offensive line.

It was apparent that Wilson has about had it up to his chinstrap with those critics who have zeroed in on OU's inexperienced offensive line as being the only glaring weakness on a team ranked No. 3 in the first USA Today Coaches Poll.

"It's documented that everybody is concerned about our line," Wilson said. "I'm not ... at all."

ESPN analyst Andre Ware isn't sold on Bardford's front line just yet.

During Thursday's edition of College Football Live, ESPN analyst and former Heisman winner Andre Ware made a bold, if not bizarre, prediction.

The Oklahoma Sooners, ranked No. 3 in the preseason and returning the Heisman winner at quarterback, would lose four games this season, including the opener to Brigham Young.

His rationale?

OU's inexperienced and unproven offensive line.

Need an introduction to the Sooner o-line? Notice how many Texans there are?

Sam Bradford is impressive. He is just a really nice guy.

Bradford, meanwhile, sat for two hours in a chair under a shade tent, wearing his crimson No. 14 jersey and flip-flops, signing autographs, posing for snapshot and just saying hi.

One young fan across the ropes in line for the tight ends got near Gresham, then shouted, "Hey, Sam Bradford!" Bradford looked up from signing a football, peered between shoulders and made eye contact. The boy smiled and waved. Bradford waved back and smiled. The boy jerked his little brother into a better perspective through forest of bodies and said, "See? See? He waved at me!"

Guess who else was left off Sporting News' list of the 50 all-time best coaches?

Sooner Sports has an update on Corey Wilson.

Four Big 12 teams make the USA Today Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Texas was ranked No. 2 by the coaches and defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma was third. Oklahoma State was ranked No. 11 and preseason North Division media favorite Nebraska was picked by the coaches at No. 22.

Kansas was just on the outside at No. 26, 27 points behind No. 25 Oregon State.

Everyone still seems to think the conference is lopsided, definitely heavier in the South.

"I think what we have is two top programs who are playing at a high level year in and year out," said Kansas coach Mark Mangino. "And there are people like us at Kansas who aspire to be in their shoes."

And that can only make everyone better, the coaches will tell you.

The South

You can never tell what a bear will do.

Those Bears are confident. Safety Jeremy Williams has some ideas about the season: Baylor will play in a bowl game this season.

Baylor strong safety Jeremy Williams isn’t in the prediction business. Then again, maybe he is.

Asked if he felt comfortable guaranteeing a specific number of wins for the Bears this season, Williams at first was hesitant. Then, he blurted out:

"I’m not going to give you any guarantees or any predictions. I just know we’re going to play hard every week and we’re going to win more games than we did last year and we will go bowling this year."

Good news, everyone. Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin is just as fast, plus he is bigger and stronger than ever before. And, no, he is not the least bit concerned about his offensive line.

"I trust those guys," Griffin said. "I know if they make a mistake in one game or one play, they'll recover and make up for it on the next. It's not a problem like I'll be looking over my shoulder on every play to check and see somebody is coming."

The two new tackles will be the Bears' biggest offensive question marks and perhaps the biggest determining factor in whether Baylor can break a 15-season bowl drought that ranks as the longest in the conference.

You can't miss the Bear o-line. They have mohawks.

Baylor transfer Terrance Ganaway's memory of his mother keeps him going.

He’ll remember the love and support she gave him as he became a star running back at DeKalb, a small town near Texarkana. He’ll live out the lessons Charlor taught him, especially the ones dealing with hard work and sacrifice.

When she died last summer after a battle with kidney cancer, it floored him.

But after taking a year off from football, Ganaway wants to honor his mother.

"I know that if it wasn’t for my mother, I wouldn’t be at Baylor right now," Ganaway said. "She is what keeps me motivated. She was the backbone of our family. I looked to her for guidance and wisdom and my spiritual needs. She was a great woman."

Whatever 6-4, 355-pound Baylor defensive tackle Phil Taylor wants, he gets.

The Red Raiders are determined to have another successful season.

“We do have a lot to prove,’’ new quarterback Taylor Potts acknowledged. “A lot of people are saying that we’re not going to be very good; we lost too many good players; we lost certain key players that we can’t replace.

“But I don’t think that’s the case, and I don’t think anybody else out here thinks that’s the case. Everybody has a sense of urgency, and everybody’s really positive and thinks we can do this thing.’’

Another product of the system? Mike Leach really likes freshman quarterback Jacob Karam.

Of all the quarterbacks who have ever got in line to play quarterback for Leach, Karam might have the most kid-in-a-candy-store demeanor, the most high-strung personality. He channels it well, well enough last year to lead his Class 4A Friendswood High School team to the state semifinals. Austin-based recruiting analyst Randy Rodgers, a former Division I coach, said Karam was one of the best at leading a two-minute drill in crunch time.

At 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, Karam might be a little short for an ideal quarterback, but what the heck. He figures he can make up for it by acting tall to the guys in his huddle.

Ryan Erxleben, son of former Longhorn Russell Erxleben, is a walk-on kicker for Tech.

The North

Bo Pelini is popular in Nebraska.

But progress is important, and Nebraska showed enough of that in Pelini's first season to keep the enterprising T-shirt folks in business:
"Bo knows Nebraska," "reBOrn," and presumably for the women, "Bo-licious."

What does Nebraska's defense have to do this season to improve? What about special teams?

Just call Cornhusker workouts Camp Confident.

"They're excited and ready to go," second-year coach Bo Pelini said after the season's first workout. "I sense that they feel like they have something to prove. I think we do have something to prove."

Tight end Mike McNeill described the Huskers as a confident team.

"We're just a little more sure of ourselves," he said. "Last year, I think we had a little bit of doubt."

But the Cornhuskers are trying to keep the expectations in check.

Players, feeling stronger and refreshed after a summer's worth of weight exercises and pad-less drills, are showering in optimism — because all teams, no matter last year's outcomes, are undefeated in August.

It's the coach's job to provide the reality check, to keep the upbeat players from developing a sense of complacency as they absorb all the offseason's positive vibes.

Bo Pelini's been doing that since the Gator Bowl, as the program's expectation levels have heightened along the way.

There is a new era in Missouri football: The Blaine Gabbert era.

But when it comes to the sophomore, Yost and others are ready for comparisons to the program's all-time leading passer to be set aside.

"He's not going to be the next Chase Daniel," Yost said. "He's going to be the first Blaine Gabbert."

Coming off a 2-10 season, Iowa State needs improvement from both the defense and the offense. But the offense is key to the win.

"We're going to control and dictate the tempo, and you're certainly going to see us go fast at times," Herman said of his version of the spread offense that doesn't include a huddle. "When we feel like we've got our foot on (the opponent's) throat, we're going to go for the kill.

"The advantages are, obviously, the fact that defenses can't substitute (against the no-huddle). We want to wear those defensive players down as much as we can, so in the third and fourth quarter when we're in better condition and those big 310-pound defensive tackles are sucking wind and trying to tap out and get off the field, we're on the ball and ready to play."

Herman promises you'll see four-wide formations, and quarterback Austen Arnaud - tabbed the starter heading into fall workouts - will spend his Saturday afternoons in the shotgun, something the junior from Ames says he relishes. But Arnaud also knows much of the burden will fall on his shoulders.

The Cyclones are starting with the basics during practice this year: tackling.

ESPN"s Tim Griffin expects some good things from Kansas State this year.

Snyder's coaching acumen will enable KSU to claim a victory or two that some might not expect this season. The Wildcats are expected by most to struggle to stay out of the North Division basement. I think they'll be better than that, coming close to qualifying for a bowl berth and sneaking in an upset from one of three late-season home games -- against Missouri, Colorado or Kansas. If they can win two of those games, the Wildcats might go bowling this season.

The only certainty for the Wildcats is uncertainty. One of the decisions Bill Snyder will have to make is the starting quarterback. Carson Coffman does not have a lock on the job just yet.

Kansas State may a duel passing/running threat in Daniel Thomas.

Coach Bill Snyder calls Thomas, a junior transfer who wears No. 8, a running back. Thomas, 6 feet 2 and 227 pounds, played quarterback at Northwest Mississippi Community College. He can run and throw well enough to present a threat for the Wildcats as a surprise weapon.

"He can do a lot of damage with that," receiver Lamark Brown said. "He has the running-back style, and he’s a quarterback. Either way, it gives us a chance to do some special things."

The Jayhawk's defense had issues last season. This year should be different.

As tacklers go in the Big 12, the Jayhawks were middle-of-the-road last season. Which is to say they got flattened way too often.

Any opportunity for the Jayhawks to contend in the North is based on the return of primary playmakers within each skill group of the offense. But to cash in on a title run, the defense must stiffen.

"I think we'll have a chance to have a pretty good offense, no question about that," said KU coach Mark Mangino, who enters his eighth season coming off back-to-back bowl victories. "But I think our defense will be better than a lot of folks outside of our program think."

Kansas receiver Dezmon Briscoe has been cleared to practice.

Colorado running back Darrell Scott bulked up for the season.

There's a Buff camaraderie that just hasn't been there before.

The SEC may be buying into the spread offense.

The marketplace, needless to say, has changed. Florida has won two national championships in the past three seasons and it led the SEC in scoring and total offense last season. Pages on the spread offense are now incorporated into playbooks all around the conference.
Spread offense hysteria has not completely replaced the rugged culture of the SEC, as it has in the Big 12. Most SEC teams still use a tight end, a fullback and massive tackles to open holes for a 215-pound running back. But there have been adjustments, including fewer tight ends and fullbacks on rosters, and smaller, quicker defensive backs who can stick with receivers better in the open field.