Big weekend of Big 12 football coming up with the North and South titles still up for grabs. All Oklahoma, Nebraska and Oklahoma State need to do is win and they're in the final Big 12 Championship game while Missouri needs some help and Texas A&M needs a miracle. College basketball is in full swing now as well which means SBN's Big 12 blogs are busy.
There's no reason to sugarcoat this: Oklahoma is woefully over-matched against Kentucky. Yes, Oklahoma has won its first three games. And both teams are incredibly young. But Jeff Capel and John Calipari had very different recruiting hauls: Calipari reloads (replacing five first-round NBA draft picks with three stud recruits and a solid transfer); Capel has a much more modest class headlined by ESPNU Top 100 recruitsCameron Clark and T.J. Taylor. - Big 12 Hoops
All of the NU fans who are whining about the officials need to ask themselves when they last won a game they scored 6 points in. - I Am The 12th Man
Exiting Folsom Field Saturday, many thoughts entered my mind as the Colorado Buffaloes beat the Kansas State Wildcats 44-36. First and foremost, congratulations to the seniors for stepping up and leading the team to victory. Can't say enough about QB Cody Hawkins (202 yards, 3 scores), WR Scotty McKnight (74 yards, 2 scores), OT Nate Solder (RB Rodney Stewart had 195 yards), CB Jimmy Smith, CB Jalil Brown, LB BJ Beatty and all the other seniors who performed well yesterday. That is how seniors are supposed to go out and play on senior day. - The Ralphie Report
Nebraska didn't play a great game last night. A&M outexecuted the Huskers, and they won the game. In all the criticism of the officiating, that little observation is getting lost. Whining and complaining about the officiating might make us feel better, but it's not going to do any good other than the cathartic effect. We know not to expect Dan Beebe to do anything about it, even if he possibly could. - Corn Nation
This might be lighting a powder keg but I feel like this is certainly a relevant topic and needs to be discussed. This game between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State is probably the most important match up between the two squads since 1984. The winner of this game will represent the South in the Big 12 Championship against a reeling Nebraska team (that's assuming they beat Colorado this week...). OSU has never been in this position before. The Cowboys are the 1st place team in the south and control their own destiny.
With all that said, a game of this size usually would record a sellout crowd. Not in this case, though. The only people who will be able to see this historic game in person will be season ticket holders and 5,000 Sooner fans that the school has alotted tickets for. That will equal a little under 50,000 total in attendance when the stadium can hold 62,000. - Cowboys Ride For Free
Reflecting on the season, I thought 2010 was a successful year, even though ISU did not get that 6th win. I know some fans on the internet are melting down and are angry as if the team was trying not to win or something. People quickly forget we barely won 6 games, and that was with a schedule that was rated in the 60-70 range. We just miss out on 6 wins, but with a schedule that's going to be rated in the Top 10. When you look at how much this team has improved during Rhoads' tenure There were a lot of highs to this season and a lot of lows. Some of the most fun moments I have had as an Iowa State fan have occured this year. I hope fans can step back and appreciate the good times. - Clone Chronicles
First of all, I can't mention Oklahoma State without saying what an absolute disaster of a fight song they have. I mean holy cow this thing is brutal. To give them a bit of credit though, Okie State fans hate it too.
As ugly as that song is, the football game on Saturday was just as bad. Kansas was down just 6 going into the half, but the lack of depth really showed up. It is probably no coincidence that the two coaches on the hottest seats head up the S&C and special teams, as both of those weaknesses showed up in a big way this past weekend. - Rock Chalk Talk
The bigger news, however, might be that Young's career as a Titan could also have come to an end. After leaving the field abruptly, chased by former Texas teammateMichael Griffin, to whom Young reportedly directed some choice words, Tennessee head coach Jeff Fisher announced to the media after the game that Young is no longer his starting quarterback. Fisher also revealed that Young made a comment to him after the game that he would not reveal, but which likely put an already strained relationship to or past the point of no return.
The scene seems eerily reminiscent of Young's behavior two years ago when he responded in a similarly poor manner to an injury and some boos from the home crowd, which likewise cost him his starting job to Kerry Collins. - Burnt Orange Nation
Vince Young...is there a current NFL name more associated with psychological instability than his?
The guy shows his true grit again today. I could care less about him as a player - he'll always be on the fringes of good in the NFL, but will never quite realize the potential. However, as a human being I hope he gets his crap together or his ESPN 30:30 episode could be a tragedy. - Double T Nation
The Big 12 has contracts this year for 8 Bowl slots. Right now there are 8 teams bowl eligible. If Colorado can pull the upset in Lincoln this Friday they will become #9. Also if Texas can be Texas A&M they too could be bowl eligible.
That means the Big 12 could have 10 teams bowl eligible, but with only 8 contracted slots. That doesn't mean those teams won't go bowling. In fact this year we have 35 (count em!) 35 bowl games which means 70 of the 120 FBS schools will be going bowling. Several conferences will not have enough eligible teams, so there will be some bowls needing to fill slots from other conferences. (on a side note, the NCAA has allowed for this year a waiver of the 6 win requirement in case there are not 70 teams qualifying for bowls) - Crimson And Cream Machine
The 1960 game is the most infamous in the long MU-KU football rivalry. In the regular season finale that year, KU beat No. 1 ranked MU, thus squashing MU's hopes for a national championship. However, KU was later ordered to forfeit the win due to their use of an ineligible player. Was it simply a case of KU cheating, as some Tiger fans claim? Or was MU a sore loser that pulled some post-season shenanigans to unfairly strip KU of the victory, as some Jayhawk fans maintain? To judge for yourself, read on. - Rock M Nation
Story lines that will be mentioned on tonight's telecast: Curtis Kelly is back, Frank Martin likes to yell, and K-State andJacob Pullen are/are not missing Denis Clemente (depending upon how the game goes, of course) . - Bring on the Cats