New Big 12ers

Here are some of the top newcomers in Big 12 college football. Keep an eye out for these guys:

LB Will Smith

Texas Tech

QB Dayne Crist

Kansas

DT Brandon Moore

Texas

WR Trey Metoyer

Oklahoma

RB Lache Seastrunk

Baylor

Big 12 Near Huge Deal with FOX

After almost folding last season, the Big 12 is on the verge of securing a big contract with FOX. The deal will pay the 10-team league more than $60 million a year, well up from the $20 million it now receives from its cable contract, industry sources say. This would provide even more exposure with FOX for the Big 12 and it's teams. Big 12 is a big conference and this just made it bigger.

Big 12 Football will never be the same

You would have to be living under a rock to not know that the Big 12 Football conference will never be the same. Nebraska is officially heading to the Big Ten Conference and the University of Colorado announced it is joining the Pac-10 Conference.

So will the Big 12 be the “Big 10?” Or will the Pac 10 lure more of our teams away and dissolve the Big 12 all together? It will be an interesting next couple of weeks for Big 12 Football fans – STAY TUNED!

Niles Paul Ticketed with Minor

The Cornhuskers top receiver, Niles Paul, was ticketed with his second alcohol possession related incident during his career at Nebraska. Paul was also ticketed for publicly urinating on campus. Paul's blood alchohol level was .104, over ten times the legal limit. He pleaded guilty to drinking as a minor and for his reckless driving earlier in the year. Head coach Bo Pelini stated that the matter is already being dealt with internally and Paul already was forced to sit out many of the Spring practices for his reckless driving incident.

Lots of Big 12 Talent in NFL Draft

In the first round of this year's NFL draft, the Big 12 was represented really well. five of the first six picks were players who played in the Big 12 and each of the first four picks were members of the conference. Eight players overall were taken in the first round

(1) Sam Bradford, Oklahoma

(2) Ndamakong Suh, Nebraska

(3) Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma

(4) Trent Williams, Oklahoma

(6) Russell Okung, Oklahoma State

(14) Earl Thomas, Texas

(19) Sean Witherspoon, Missouri

(21) Jermaine Gresham, Oklahoma

(24) Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State

Texas Longhorns Team Preview

The Texas Longhorns shouldn't miss much with the loss of Colt McCoy. Now a sophomore, Garrett Gilbert performed admirably in the place of McCoy during last seasons championship game and is ready to take over as the teams new starting quarterback. The Longhorns return six players on offense and 6 on defense, but they're loaded everywhere on the field. They have running back Tre' Newton, wide reciever Malcolm Williams and quarterback Garrett Gilbert to lead the offense. Defensive end Sam Ancho and linebacker Keenan Robinson will anchor the defense. Even though they're one year removed from playing in the BCS Championship, the Longhorns might get there again very soon.

Garrett Gilbert is More Than Ready to Take Over.

During last season's National Title Game, you could probably hear fans moaning and crying when their Heisman Trophy Candidate quarterback Colt McCoy, but what they didn't know was that Garrett Gilbert was more than ready to handle the situation and they also got a glimpse at the future. He threw two touchdowns and four interceptions, but many analysts said that he played much better than his stats indicate. Gilbert was groomed for this moment. He sparked a comeback for the Longhorns as he led them on a scoring drive to bring the score to 21-24, but Alabama went on to win the game. He was the 2008 Gatorade Player of the Year and is regarded as the most talented quarterback of his class. He's the son of former NFL quarterback Gale Gilbert. Former college head coach Jackie Sherill said that Gilbert is the best high school quarterback prospect since Dan Marino. Don't worry Longhorn fans. Just the hand the keys over to Gilbert because he'll take you places.

Can the Cornhuskers Score Enough?

Ndamukong Suh was taken with the 2nd pick in the 2010 draft and received prestigious awards such as the Associated Press's College Football Player of the Year Award and the Outland Trophy. Suh also finished 4th in the Heisman voting. Even though the Huskers are losing Suh, he says their defense should be even better next year. I wouldn't argue with an NFL lineman with the first name that means "The House of Spears." Head Coach Bo Pelini has recruited extremely well and now "his guys" will be the ones playing for the Big Red. The defense ranked 7th in efficiency last season and if it's better than last year's, it should be one of the best in the nation. Nebraska had one of the least efficient offenses last season but the Huskers return most of their starters and are hoping that with another year of experience that the offense will blossom. Pelini's defense is going to keep the Huskers in every game and if they get anything out of their offense they will win a lot of games. If the offense blossoms into something special, the Huskers will have a shot at the National Title.

Baylor Bears and the linebacker lineup

Joe Pawelek, a four-time all-Big 12 linebacker for the Baylor Bears, has been a show stopper the past four years. Now with Pawelek graduated, the Bears will need a player to step up to the line and take his place on the field. Living up to the skill level Pawelek had brought to the field would be intimidating to any player, but the Bears have a few up their sleeve. The Baylor Bears’ coaches are hopeful to keep up Pawelek’s momentum and the status of having the more talented line backing unit in the conference. Veterans, like Antonio Johnson and Chris Francis, are ready to show their school that they can still bring a solid performance to a Baylor Bears football game.

Big 12 ranks 3rd in attendace

The Big 12 has been ranked third in the BCS conferences for average attendance at 62,875. The SEC was No. 1 (76,288) and the Big Ten was second (71,769), while the Pac-10 followed the Big 12 at fourth. Here is the list of the 12 teams and their individual attendance ranking:

1. Texas... 101,175 -Leading the Big 12 conference, Texas is also ranked fourth in the nation for having such loyal fans at every game they play during the 2009 season.
2. Nebraska... 85,888 - This earned them the No. 10 ranking in the conference
3. Oklahoma... 84,778 - Oklahoma captured No. 12
4. Texas A&M... 76,800 - Earning them the No. 16 spot
5. Missouri... 64,120 - This gave Missouri the No. 28 ranking
6. Oklahoma State... 53,719 - up 5,458 which is the ninth-best increase
7. Kansas... 50,581
8. Texas Tech... 50,249 - up 3,129 which is the 17th best
9. Colorado... 50,088
10. Kansas State... 46,763
11. Iowa State... 46,242
12. Baylor... 36,306 - up 2,182 which is the 26th best move up in the BCS conferences

Looking for a Last Minute Holiday Gift? Order Big 12 Jerseys online!

I'm going to go ahead and state the obvious... you are online. Why does this matter you ask? Because if you are like me you have a gift or two left on your Holiday Gift List... with the holiday's screaming towards us, I would like to suggest that you stop procrastinating and purchase Big 12 Jerseys for everyone left on your list. Why you ask? Well, there are lots of benefits to giving Big 12 Apparel for gifts....

1) You can customize each Big 12 Jersey or Big 12 Gear to the person you are giving it to, everyone can have something from their team, in their size and a plethora of colors

2) As previously stated, you are online now... you are just a mouse click away from being able to purchase Big 12 Jerseys

3) Big 12 Jerseys have great deals right now because football season is basically over... you save money this way (always good)

4) With the time and money you saved buying Big 12 Jerseys online you can get yourself a little gift as well, I suggest a Big 12 Hooded Sweatshirt, so comfy! Or Big 12 Tickets for next season!!

Big 12 Bowl Games

Get excited Big 12 Fans, there are 8 count them 8 Big 12 Football Teams playing in Bowl Games. Below is the list of all the Bowl Games and when they will air! Don't miss a moment of the Big 12 Bowl Game Action!!

Citi BCS National Championship Game, Jan. 7, 8 p.m. ET, FOX Sports, Pasadena, Calif. -- Texas (13-0) vs. Alabama (13-0). Alabama will be the home team.

AT&T Cotton Bowl, Jan. 2, 2 p.m., FOX Sports, Arlington, Texas -- Oklahoma State (9-3) vs. Mississippi (8-4). Mississippi will be the home team.

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl, Dec. 30, 8 p.m., ESPN, San Diego -- Nebraska (9-4) vs. Arizona (8-4). Nebraska will be the home team.

Valero Alamo Bowl, Jan. 2, 9 p.m., ESPN, San Antonio – Texas Tech (8-4) vs. Michigan State (6-6). Texas Tech will be the home team.

Brut Sun Bowl, Dec. 31, 2 p.m., CBS, El Paso, Texas -- Oklahoma (7-5) vs. Stanford (8-4). Stanford will be the home team.

Insight Bowl, Dec. 31, 6 p.m., NFL Network, Tempe, Ariz. – Iowa State (6-6) vs. Minnesota (6-6). Iowa State will be the home team.

Advocare V100 Independence Bowl, Dec. 28, 5 p.m., ESPN, Shreveport, La. -- Texas A&M (6-6) vs. Georgia (7-5). Georgia will be the home team.

Texas Bowl, Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m., ESPN, Houston -- Missouri (8-4) vs. Navy (8-4) - Missouri will be the home team.

Oklahoma State Cowboys are still chasing the Big 12 Title

The Oklahoma State Cowboys are still chasing after the Big 12 Conference Title. Despite a big loss to Texas last week the OSU Cowboys are still hopeful that they can pull together a strong finish to the season and be Conference Championship contenders.

“There’s still a chance at a Big 12 title,” said OSU offensive lineman Brady Bond. “The way the Big 12 has been played this year, there’s still a chance. We’re just going to play one week at a time and worry about what we can worry about. We can’t control how Texas plays. We’ll take it one game a week and we’ve got Iowa State this week so we’ll go from there.”

OSU plans on letting the loss go and looking to the next few games including the match-up with Iowa State this weekend. If the OSU Cowboys can pull out a few big wins, critics are saying that they really are still in the running.

Texas Longhorns are at risk for repeating history

The Texas Longhorns are almost always a powerhouse within Big 12 football... yet they have ended up just short of powerhouse status on the national scale. In the past seasons the Longhorn Roster has been just inches away from pulling in a title. This season is no exception. The Texas Longhorns have done very well in the Big 12, but with big games still ahead and other teams like Boise State, Cincinnati and Iowa all also boasting undefeated records the Longhorns have no room to slip.

Longhorns players and coaches all seem to be aware of this and are hoping that this pressure will propel them through the rest of the season. "We controlled our own destiny last year being No. 1 in the country after this game and we let one second take it away from us and put it back in the system," says Mack Brown Longhorns Head Coach, referring to the Red Raiders' game-winning TD with one second remaining. "We would rather continue to control our own destiny."

Well UT, we're rooting for you! Hook Em Longhorns!

The Big 12 Press Release for Week 5

Big 12 Football is in full swing, in this weeks Big 12 Conference press release Big 12 officials released match-up information and games to watch.

The following information came from the official Big 12 site

--Six games are on tap for Week 5. Iowa State and Kansas State meet up in
Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium in the Big 12’s second Conference game
of the season. ISU and KSU have a two-year agreement to play their 2009
and 2010 games in Kansas City. Iowa State will serve as the home team in
the first matchup.

--One Top 25 matchup is slated for Week 5 as No. 9/8 Oklahoma travels to
No. 22/21 Miami (Fla.). The Big 12 also has its second non-conference
game at Cowboys Stadium when Texas A&M takes on Arkansas. Other
games feature New Mexico at Texas Tech and Kent State at Baylor. Kansas,
Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Texas have the weekend off.

--All six of this week’s games will be televised with one each on ABC, ESPN,
ESPN2, FSN, FSNSW and FCS. Including Oct. 1 & 3 games, 36 of 49 season
contests to date have been telecast on some type of media platform.

Go Big 12!!

Baylor Bears are out one Star QB, but team reamins positive

The Baylor Bears Star Quarterback Robert Griffen tore his ACL last Saturday in the first quarter of the game against Northwestern State. Some critics had called Griffen, "fastest quarterback in the country" and several had noted Griffen as "the team" for the Bears.

Bears head coach, Art Briles wants to dispell this rumor. Briles said that while the loss of Griffen is sad and we all hope for a speedy recovery, the rest of the roster is strong and will pick up the slack. We’ll grow from it, and in a few months, it will be fine. It’s unfortunate that it happened, but we’ll deal with it in a positive way.”

The Baylor Bears have a game against Kent State this saturday in Waco... hopefuly the hometown crowd is enough to make up for one very injured QB!

Colorado Buffaloes Coach loses it (sorta)

Head Coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, Dan Hawkins was recorded earlier this season, um lets call it complaining, that the parents of his players should not complain about the rigors of Big 12 football programs... in his words, "they should play intramural". While this video is a little old, I think it is worth viewing. In my opinion no coach should talk about his players or his parents this way. You are a role model act like one!

Kansas Jayhawks Schedule starts up in full-swing

The Kansas Jayhawks opened their season last week against non-conference opponents the Northern Colorado Bears. This weekend the Jayhawks take on the University of Texas at El Paso, another non-conference team. The two football programs will face off Saturday in El Paso. The Jayhawks are looking forward to their first road game and my guess is will walk away with an easy win. CBS College Sport will air the game which kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Central Standard time.

After the UTEP game, the Kansas Jayhawks will meet some tougher opponents at home where they play their next three games. Jayhawks fans should look into tickets for the KU-Duke game, which is also K-club weekend or the Jayhawks-Cyclones game which is homecoming in Lawrence. Both games will be really popular and I suggest that if you want to go you should order tickets soon! GO JAYS!

Bad News for the Baylor Bears?

Critics are saying that the Baylor Bears have been over-hyped. Although changes were made and there was a shake up in the preseason to the Baylor Bears roster, many say that Baylor Bears fans are optimistic if the bears do better than 5-7 record. Last year the Bears posted a 4-8 record from the regular season and made it 15 straight seasons without a Bowl Game appearance.

In the early preseason, some Big 12 analysts began to spread rumors and hype that this would be the season that the Bears come back… now many are saying it is like watching the Bad News Bears, the team is just not as competitive as its larger Big 12 counterparts and waiting for a miracle is pretty pointless.

Honestly, I can’t say one way or the other. For me Iowa State should always be at the top and we are always under-rated, so who am I to hate on another Big 12 underdog… but at the same time, if you have the bark of a big dog and the bite of a little guy maybe it is time to re-evaluate. After next week’s game against Connecticut fans and critics alike should have a better idea of what type of team we will see this season.

Texas Aggies player Jamie McCoy named to Mackey Award watch list

Jamie McCoy, the senior tight-end for the Texas A&M Aggies was named to the “watch list” for the John Mackey Award. The John Mackey Award is given annually to the best tight-end in the nation. Jamie McCoy was placed on the unofficial watch list by the Nassau County Sports Commission in late July.

2008 was the first season that McCoy was listed as a tight end on the Texas A&M Aggies roster. He came out on top of the Big 12 Conference as one of the best top pass-catching ends. McCoy made 43 catches for 500 yards and 5 touchdowns. Last season he only trailed the 2008 Mackey Award winner and an All-American for catches. He was originally recruited as quarterback. There are a total of six Big 12 Conference members on the Mackey Watch list for the 2009 award and the Texas A&M Aggies will face all of them in regular conference play.

Big 12 Conference fans can look forward to watching as Jamie McCoy and the rest of the John Mackey Award candidates battle it out to prove that they are the best!