The pre-season media poll is out and if the writers have it right, OU and Nebraska would meet for the first time in a Big XII conference championship game (this season in Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium).

Does Oklahoma have the offensive line to spring Adrian Peterson and compliment what will be another stellar defense? Can QB Rhett Bomar provide a credible passing threat to take some of the pressure off of Peterson?

Nebraska returns 17 starters, but will the team that pounded Colorado and beat Michigan show up? Or will it be the team that lost big to both Kansas and Missouri? The Huskers have the distinct pleasure of playing both of last season's BCS title game participants: USC (in LA) and Texas (in Lincoln).

Are people underestimating a loaded Texas team? Yes, Vince Young is gone and a QB with little experience will lead the offense, but the defense will again be tough and the QB will have an experienced supporting cast with talent at every position.

Can Iowa State provide enough defense to support what should be an exciting offense to survive a brutal schedule that includes a six week stretch with games @Iowa, @Texas and @Oklahoma, and home games against Nebraska and Texas Tech?

How will Colorado and K-State fare under new coaching staffs? Will Missouri and Kansas continue their middle-of-the-pack seasons or challenge for a Big XII North crown?

Will Texas Tech continue it's high-scoring trend with a young, inexperienced QB at the helm? Will Baylor continue it's push towards respectability? Will Texas A&M be the surprise team of the south and save Franchione's job? Will the Okie State team the pushed Texas last year show up?

Is it August yet? Read about it here

[ July 21, 2006, 10:43 AM: Message edited by: NorCalHusker ]

Good questions.
OUs chances rest squarely on that o-line. If they can perform at a high level each week they are the team to beat I think.
Texas is being written off too early and easily in my opinion. Where is the weakness? Quarterback people will say, but how much throwing will they really need to do? If the qbs can avoid costly turnovers and complete the occasional play action UT will be a tough mountain for OU once again.
I think Tech will continue to light people up and they may have their best defense to date. It'll be interesting to see how much improvement that side of the ball has made since last year.
I don't expect too much out of Baylor, A&M, or Okie State though I do think each will be better overall. Too much depth in the top 3 and I'm still not wowed by Fran in the least.
The North is a tough call. K State and Colorado have the talent on paper to win the division but adjusting to a new coach and having to face a very experienced Husker squad may prove to be too much.
I also believe that ISU has too tough a schedule to break through this season.
No matter who comes out of the North I think we can all agree that the winner of the South division will most likely be a huge favorite to win the championship game.
August is coming fast and I cannot wait for this season to start!!

Bad news for Sooner fans -- Bomar has been kicked off the team. Some summer job earnings violation.

Looks like Bomar bit the big one today. Something about Bomar and another player punching the time clock at a Norman car dealership, doing no work yet drawing very large paychecks. Sounds like the stuff that got SMU the death penalty back in the late 1980s, just on a smaller scale.

Normally, I would take great interest in this story. That was until yesterday when I attempted to buy two tickets from the OU ticket office for the Oklahoma-Washington game (the only decent opponent on the home schedule, and that ain't saying much). The cost of the tickets was $70 apiece for nosebleed seats. I declined the purchase.

$70 per ticket for a lower-tier Pac-10 opponent is ridiculous in my opinion. Now with the "Bomar-is-out" news, I'm really glad I didn't buy those tickets. And in the back of my mind, I'm thinking OU got exactly what it deserves. Bomar has been arrested twice already, convicted once, for minor in possession. Not necessarily a big deal until it comes out that he was collecting large paychecks for doing no work. Makes me wonder who was doing his homework for him. The whole thing just stinks.

And the University of Oklahoma wants me to pay $70 per ticket to support all this?

This is hard for a life-long OU football fan (and OU alum) to say, but the University of Oklahoma got exactly what it deserves today.

Got my season tickets in the mail today! It is almost time for football, only 31 days and counting. The Big 12 should be interesting this year and the North looks like it is can be any of the teams! GO HAWKS!

Is it too early for unofficial Week 1 predictions?

Toledo at Iowa State - Iowa State 38 Toledo 12
North Texas at Texas - Texas 60 North Texas 9
Murray State at Missouri - Missouri 37 Murray State 0
Montana State at Colorado - Colorado 29 Montana State 10
Louisiana Tech at Nebraska - Nebraska 34 Louisiana Tech 21
Missouri State at Oklahoma State - OSU 44 Missouri State 6
UAB at Oklahoma - Oklahoma 36 UAB 24
Citadel at Texas A&M - Texas A&M 52 Citadel 3
Northwestern State at Kansas - Kansas 28 NSU 10
Southern Methodist at Texas Tech - Texas Tech 38 SMU 17
Illinois State at Kansas State - Kansas State 24 Illinois State 0
TCU @ Baylor - TCU 28 Baylor 21

[ August 08, 2006, 03:49 PM: Message edited by: Cougar Fan ]

OKC Sooner, I know what you mean. It's bad when the temptations of cash permeate the college ranks so bad and the schools expect us to pay pro level prices for games.

Fortunately it hasn't gotten so bad in basketball (YET).

Sorry to hear about the Bomar thing. The Texas-OU game was going to be damn good this year.

BTW, it looks like Dallas will be the vortex of the gay universe that weekend. There are like 3 or 4 gay events going on during that weekend, the biggest being the Gay Bowl VI . Final game is supposed to be played in Texas Stadium.

I can't wait to experience my first Red River Shootout! It will be a great day for me.

First Red River Shootout? OMG, a Texas-OU virgin?

You are going to have a blast. Especially this year. There is SO much going on this year in Dallas that weekend, including the Superbowl of gay flag football.

Should be a great game. Can't wait to see how both teams match up. I haven't read the final scouting reports on both teams so hard to comment at this time.

Hook 'em HORNS! (Had to throw that in SportzGuy)

wow..yes i am a virgin to the Red River Shootout..I am so excited for the game and the whole experience before and after. Its been a while since I've been to a fair..haha..and please private me about the gay superbowl deal. I would love to watch some games..

OU will not have a TCU of last year. UAB is going down in 2 days for sure nigga..haha..

Well, my Cyclones nearly choked on another one tonight. Managed to beat Toledo in 3OT. This in itself is rather impressive since we had lost all previous five overtime games (three of which were just last season). Toledo played their guts out and nearly pulled it off. ISU's pass defense was horrible - giving up over 300 yards to a guy who had just started only his second game. We'd had a lot of injuries on defense, so there is a lot more youth than there was going to be anyway, but it's still jaw-dropping to watch our guys sag off their assignments by ten yards or so and then have to play catch-up after they get the ball. McCarney has no killer instinct when it comes to the game. Rarely is he able to put teams away, unless he actually gets help from the opponent (fumbles, bad passing, whatever). A win against Toledo was a MUST if ISU is going to have any hope of making a bowl game this year. I've seen most prognosticators giving ISU seven wins vs five losses. If the way they played tonight is any indication, they'll be luck to reach four Ws with this schedule (nine bowl teams from last year and the 1AA national runner-up).

[ August 31, 2006, 10:54 PM: Message edited by: CycloneMatt ]

The Dan Hawkins era at Colorado is not starting well.

Montana State 19, Buffs 10 .... 2 minutes left.

Colorado is going to be rebuilding for a while....the last coach left it a mess. Give Hawkins a few good recruiting years and he'll be in good shape.


I was disappointed with Nebraska though, they should have done a bit better.

Rebuilding or not, a Big XII team that reached the Big XII championship game a year ago should NEVER, EVER, EVER lose at home to a Division I-AA team. This is a shocking loss that will be talked about by many... not just a case where people will say, "oh they're rebuilding... it's no big thing."

I would agree with that point about the championship game...however, last year and in previous years the Big XII North was no doubt the worst division of a conference, and even worse than some mid major conferences (such as MAC)...so its not really surprising all things considered.

Here's how the AP covered it:

"BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - The Dan Hawkins Era in Colorado started not with a bang but a bevy of blunders and a stunning 19-10 loss Saturday to Division I-AA Montana State.

Hawkins, who was brought in from Boise State to restore a program soiled by scandal under Gary Barnett, was hoping to join Rick Neuheisel as only the second Colorado coach to win his debut since 1932. It looked like a good bet seeing as how Montana State was the first Division I-AA school the Buffaloes had ever faced.

Colorado quarterback James Cox opened the game with the longest first play from scrimmage in school history, a 42-yard strike to wide receiver Patrick Williams, who raced past Fuller and hauled in the pass along the Buffs' sideline. It was the highlight of the afternoon for Colorado, which bumbled its way through the afternoon before a stunned crowd of 45,513 that had expected to witness a blowout in Hawkins' inaugural game."

I am shocked that Colorado was beat today by Montana State. What do you say in the locker room after being beat by the first Division I-AA team your school has ever played in football?

I just didn't realize things were that bad in Boulder...

psulionstorm07: I totally disagree. It was a Great game yesterday in Lincoln. Very balanced between passing and rushing, which we have suffered with for a while. Although we got off to a slow start, once we got going we didn't look back. A 49-10 victory over Louisian Tech is a good win I feel.

The excitement at Memorial Stadium yesterday was incredible! With the expansion complete, a new record for home attendance was set at 85,131! The new north stands, the tunnel walk from the northwest corner now, and the largest screen were unbelievable. The place just rocked even more than before.

Setting the NCAA record for opening game wins at 21 was an added bonus. I think this is going to be a great year for us. The USC game should be good in 2 weeks, and I can't wait to see how we do against the Longhorns next month in Lincoln.

GO BIG RED!!!!!!!!

What is this "largest" screen you speak of???

Godzillatron is biggest high-definition video display board in world

Yes, Godzillatron is slightly bigger. But everything's bigger in Texas, right?

I laughed at the lame announcers during the game. They were talking about how impressed they were with the new facilities, said the videoscreen was the largest TV in the state "and might even be the largest in the . . . . geographic."

Say what?

And as for psulionstorm's comment, if he only watched the first quarter and the half, I can see him being less than impressed. But I think he must have switched over to Cal-Tennessee, because Nebraska looked pretty damn efficient the last 2 1/2 quarters.

[ September 04, 2006, 06:22 AM: Message edited by: NorCalHusker ]

CBS Sportsline on the Buffs' home loss to Montana State: "Yes, CU lost to a program that hadn't beaten a I-A opponent since 1984. It is an upset so monumental that you wonder if CU will win a game this year under new coach Dan Hawkins. Montana State is so lightly regarded that Hawkins allowed safety Tyrone Henderson to transfer there 11 days ago, not even dreaming he could help beat the Buffs."

Considering that Kansas State barely squeezed out a victory against Illinois State yesterday and the lame performance by OU against UAB, I gotta believe this is gonna be another weak year for the Big XII overall.

After ten years, the Big XII still hasn't lived up to the promise of becoming a true super-conference in college football. Always just one or two teams truly worthy of a national ranking surrounded by ten average to below-average teams. Why is this? It can't possibly be a resource issue.

I am really impressed with the level of play from the SEC and ACC teams but can't say the same about the Big XII. It's really disappointing. And I understand every conference has schools that don't play well in football (Kentucky, Vandy, Duke). But the Big XII seems so absolutely mediocre compared to other conferences. Why is this?

Here funny tribute from an Oklahoma fan made directed toward Colorado Football.


http://s55.photobucket.com/albums/g130/jso...CTribute_1_.flv

HOOK'EM HORNS!

"Crush them Nuts"

You know, it's days like
today that really test my loyalty
to the great state that is Texas.

Do I root for the Buckeyes today or
do I disregard every fiber of my being
and (gulp)pull for the whorns.

Of course, my Aggies are STILL rebuilding
and should pull out another win over
ULaLa today. If they get past Tech
in College Station on September 30th,
WATCH OUT!

The Aggies could find themselves
9-0 heading into the final stretch with home
games against OU and NU and on the road
against whorns. (and don't give me that baylor
b.s.).

Who do I root for today?



Not Just Any Farmer
Can Work This Field

[ September 09, 2006, 06:22 AM: Message edited by: A&M 12th Man ]

2 1/2 hours before the big clash. I've seen all kinds of analysis and lines. Not sure who to believe. I think the topper was seeing Lee Corso wearing the Bevo mascot head on College Gameday. That's got to be the most unique way to call the pick.

Hook 'em Horns!

It's Sunday morning, September 10th
and all is right with the world.

Ohio State - 24
texas - 7

Oh look...it's yet another aggy moral victory.

Good luck against your arch rival Baylor this year.

It's Sunday morning, and (as usual) aggy is more concerned with big brother than their own "big" win...

How did KU lose to Akron last night? That freshman QB looks like he's got some talent, but the interceptions were brutal! How you stop someone in OT, and yet still lose the game is beyond me....

Actually Kansas lost to Toldeo, not Akron. Surprisingly Toledo was actually favored by 4 points at home. They were 0-2 going into the Kansas game and had lost to another Big 12 team, Iowa State, in triple OT. Maybe the MAC is on it's way up. And Kansas barely escaped against Louisiana Monroe last week.

Add this to Colorado's loss to Montana State (who has subsequently lost to something called Chadron State) and the Big 12's overall rating is taking a huge hit.

[ September 16, 2006, 06:32 AM: Message edited by: George Twins fan ]

Holy Toledo, it wasn't Akron...but you post a good question about Kansas. Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory (especially in OT). If I remember correctly, Toledo had 0 first downs in the 2nd Half.

How bout those two head coaches last night? "Two Tons of Fun" Part Deaux. eek!

I also just read that Kansas has won only 6 road games in the past 10 YEARS! I realize Kansas hasn't been one of the upper echelon of Big 12 programs, but that is just crazy.

Chadron St. is home to Don Beebe, so they've had some relevance in the FB world.

Wild finish in Eugene as Oregon hangs on for dear life in the last :25 after Oklahoma had just returned a kickoff into FG range. Ducks blocked the last FG to win 34-33.

Welcome to the world of Autzen Stadium officiating, Big XII fans! Typically horrendous were the refs again, and it's always in Oregon's favor.

Fresno State lost its last two games in Eugene thanks to the biased officials so Bulldog fans can feel your pain, my dear Sooners.

On the NE-USC game,

That may be the best fake punt I've ever seen

Go Huskers!

Hey other, I thought we were friendly. Grrr.

If, in fact, there was a break, the Ducks are hardly the first team to get a "break" from a bad official's call. Just because the television announcers scream something, doesn't make it true. I watched the various angles of the play the 100 times they showed it and I couldn't really see what had happened. What if the official(s) on the field actually saw what happened?

Quack,
Rob

[ September 16, 2006, 05:57 PM: Message edited by: weirdblackdog ]

OOPS! My bad. It was Toledo....I was half asleep last night while watching the game....

As much as I like Oregon, and dislike OU, OU really deserved to win that game. The officials really assisted the Ducks tonite...

If you watched 100 replays from different angles and you couldn't tell then your eye sight is worse than the official in the booth and the one's on the field. Beloitti is 25-1 at home against non-confernces foes. With officiating like that we all know why.

Though, the officials are that biased when the quacks are playing Pac 10 teams as well.

Terrible officiating all day!!!!!!!!

If Oklahoma was so great, why didn't they stop the touchdown after the alleged bad call? And, why did they allow a blocked field goal? Oklahoma's defense hardly even breathed on Dixon all day.

Officiating is part of the game - cameras and instant replay and the SCREAMING media notwithstanding. I think the team that plays better usually wins.

Bust the myth!

Smooch,
Rob

[ September 17, 2006, 08:00 AM: Message edited by: weirdblackdog ]

Sorry, weird. I was even rooting for an Oregon win today, but even an impartial observer could see that the Ducks were handed the win today. I guess if this was something that rarely happened in Eugene, it would be different. In a way, I'm glad it happened because maybe it opened up the eyes of the casual football fan around the country who was unaware of the gifts that Oregon has been given by Pac-10 refs at Autzen Stadium over the years. Nobody thinks anything of it when it's Fresno State or some other non-BCS team who gets jobbed at Autzen, but maybe somebody will actually take a look at the officiating if it's a team like Oklahoma that gets the shaft. Even I felt bad for the Sooners today and I've never been a fan of theirs.

I agree - it's a conspiracy.

Are we sure that they were Pac-10 officials? Here at Iowa State, when a non-conference team plays the Cyclones in Ames, the officials are always from the opponents conference. When ISU played UNLV last week, the refs were from the Mountain West. I didn't know if it was a Big XII thing or if it was national. Since OU was the visiting team, I would have assumed the refs were from the Big XII.

They were Pac-10 officials.

This is the way Collegefootballnews.com covered it:

"Memo to the people of the fine state of Oklahoma: don't riot or do anything destructive tonight... even though you'd be justified to feel like doing something violent. After all, this game was violently taken away from a deserving bunch of Sooners by inept officiating and even more inept replay evaluators.

Yes, it's very rare for analysis of a football game to so frontally, emotionally and nakedly talk about the officiating; this is a very rare practice, precisely because it seems like bad form on the part of the writer. An article about lousy officiating is almost never written because fans can easily interpret such an article as a sign of bias--entrenched and unprofessional--on the part of the author.

But in the wake of Saturday's game in Eugene--won by Oklahoma in every true sense, but not on the official scoreboard--normal practices have to give way to a rare approach. After all, what happened in the final minutes of this game was anything but normal.

There's no way to sugar-coat it or talk around it, and there's no need to be indirect in speaking about it: plainly put, the Pac-10 officiating crew made an incorrect ruling on Oregon's recovery of an onsides kick in the final 75 seconds. However, that is supposed to be acceptable in this day and age, because if the zebras mess up, the replay review system is supposed to set things right. And when all of America saw the replay of that onsides kick, the country's football fans saw that an Oregon player touched the ball after it had traveled 9.5 yards. Not 10, but nine and a half. That much was obvious.

Not to the replay official, though, for reasons that boggle the human mind. Oregon--a dead team--was given the football equivalent of several organ transplants... unethically. Oklahoma--who had earned a tough road victory with a surprisingly mature effort from Paul Thompson and an overwhelmingly physical second half--was given the football equivalent of hidden poison delivered by a friend, lover, or anyone else you'd expect to treat you with kindness and decency.

When this kind of an outrage occurs, the rest of the proceedings are rendered irrelevant. Sad, because a lot of players spilled their guts in Eugene. Adrian Peterson was a man among boys. OU's defense picked itself off the deck after being stunned in the game's opening minutes. Dennis Dixon overcame flop sweat to regather himself for the game's frantic finish, but it's a finish he--and Oregon--didn't deserve to have.

Oklahoma made a big statement with its performance on Saturday; with this level of football, the Sooners can compete with Texas and the rest of the Big XII. But sadly, Bob Stoops and his players were robbed of a celebration they deserved to have. Such is the awful reality of this game, and its astonishing, ugly... and tainted... outcome."

It's official, the PAC-10 Commissioner admitted this afternoon errors in officiating during the Oklahoma-Oregon game in final 1:12 of game and suspended the ref and replay crew for one game.

http://www.newsok.com/article/2849681/?tem...plate=home/main

Give credit to the Pac-10, they told the truth! But is one game enough?

This follows the September 2005 announcement by the head of Pac-10 officiating that mistakes were made in favor of Oregon at the game in Eugene between Fresno State and the Ducks. I guess it doesn't do much good because it's always the case for games played there.

Again, I knew this would happen. It's suddenly a national story because it happened to Oklahoma.

Time for the Pac 10 to change its policy of having their own refs for all NC home games. Barry Alvarez too came out yesterday calling for it to happen, citing Wisconsin's 2001 loss in which Joey Harrington (anyone remember him? ) lost the ball in an apparent fumble near the end of the game -- but the Pac Ten homers called it an imcomplete pass. Oregon won by 3.

Or they should just have the clause to let the opposing teams conference refs officiate in Autzen. The other 9 schools can still have Pac 10 officiating.