Frank Haith to go from UM to MU

Frank Haith/Courtesy: msn.foxsports.com

Interesting. Not the pick that we would've expected. Reports started trickling out late Sunday that Missouri is set to hire the University of Miami's Frank Haith to be their next basketball coach.

Haith has had some success in Coral Gables with an NCAA and NIT Tourney bids under his belt. He's a somewhat middling 126-94 at Miami, a lower tier ACC School.

You can read the report from the Kansas City Star RIGHT HERE

The Miami Herald reports a shorter version of the same story RIGHT HERE

Haith, for his part is a fairly well respected guy who has stabilized things in Miami, a program with barely a pulse before his arrival. They aren't a dominant team, and Haith never really came across as a rising coaching star.

It also speaks a bit to baskeball in the ACC if an ACC coach is willing to bolt for the greener(?) pastures of the Big 12/10.

After being spurned by now former coach Mike Anderson and used by Matt Painter to enhance his situation at Purdue, the options for Missouri were minimal. All-in-all, they probably did the best they were able to, knowing that a Shaka Smart or Brad Stevens would not be in their futures.

According to the KC Star newspaper, the only stumbling block is logistical. Any new contract with Haith must be signed off on by the Missouri Board of Curators. The Board called an emergency meeting for Monday night. It’s expected they will approve Haith becoming the next head coach.

Now, it's Miami's turn. Early returns have them chasing after K-State's Frank Martin.

1600 UPDATE: The University of Miami has released the following statements from important personnel

Tony Hernandez, Acting Director of Athletics
“Frank Haith has been a steady leader and made a positive impact on the University of Miami men’s basketball program. We want to wish him well at Missouri and will begin a national search for a new head coach immediately.”

Donna E. Shalala, University of Miami President
“Coach Haith has been an outstanding member of our community. His integrity, leadership ability and commitment to young adults are exceptional. I will personally miss him and wish the entire Haith family the best in the years to come.”

TUESDAY UPDATE: Here's two more pieces of video work on the Haith hire...
((HT: NBCActionNews.com))


And, then, NBC41's Jack Harry is none too positive on the new guy...


The Curators guaranteed five years and $7.5-million plus $100,000 in deferred annual compensation, with a one-year automatic extension that would kick in on May 1, 2012.

Not popular at all...

BREAKING: Painter Stays At Purdue

((HT: IndyStar))

Jeff Rabjohns lets us all know that Matt Painter is staying at Purdue after being courted heavily by Missouri...

Purdue on Tuesday said it had “clearly demonstrated Purdue University’s commitment to him and to our men’s basketball program.”
Especially after raising Painter's salary from $1.3-million to $2-million...

From Rabjohns, when he contacted Gene Keady about Painter's thought process:
“It’s about having the opportunity to win a national title with the backing of everyone,” Keady said during negotiations. “He wants to know if an assistant coach needs a car, he can get it. If something needs to be done, they’ll do it, so he doesn’t have to worry about all the nickel and dime stuff.

“It isn’t about money.”

More when we know more...

Mike Anderson To Arkansas, Or Not...???

Okay... this is quoting those "numerous confidential sources close to the situation..."

The HQ will check with ours to confirm...

But it looks like Mike Anderson is going to Arkansas from Mizzou...

Anderson, who played for Nolan Richardson at Tulsa and coached under him at Arkansas for 17 years, is expected to accept the head coaching job.

Chris Lincoln started the madness last night... in a Tweet...
Reports out of Arkansas say Mizzou coach Mike Anderson to be introduced tomorrow in Fayetteville as Razorbacks new head basketball coach

KFSM-TV in Fort Smith is reporting that there is a group of Hog Boosters that may be trying to stop the hire because of the association with Richardson...

From Mike Irwin's commentaries:
((KOCO-TV Sports Director Dean)) Blevins wrote that sources close to the job search at Arkansas told him that two factions are in play with different preferences with regard to Anderson.

A group of former Richardson players at Arkansas are pushing Jeff Long to hire Anderson, the source told Blevins. However, according to Blevins’ source, "long-time Razorback people of influence who basically don’t want to have anything to do with anyone connected to Nolan Richardson" are against the hire.

More when we know more...

Hawkeyes Outduel Mizzou In The Desert. Iowa Wins Insight Bowl

Replay was not the Mizzou Tigers friend in Tempe, AZ

Tiger quarterback Blaine Gabbert completed a 4th down pass to T.J. Moe to keep the Mizzou drive alive however after further review it was overturned. Watch below and you be the judge.

(Thanks ESPN/Youtube.com)



That play secured Iowa's 27-24 Insight Bowl win over Mizzou, the Hawkeyes third straight bowl win, a school record.

More from our friends at KCRG-TV Cedar Rapids, Iowa



Iowa's Marcus Coker was awesome running for 219 yards on 33 carries and named Offenisvie Player of the Game and Coker is just a freshman. Like any good running back Coker thanked the big guys on the offensive line.

"I already knew before the game that the O line was going to do a great job." Coker said after the game. "I was pretty comfortable after the first couple plays. I felt like I was a little bit more comfortable than I was before that."

"We are really proud of what Marcus did tonight and it was a big part of the win." Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said."We felt like we needed him to run the ball for us to have a chance in this one."

TWTW: Kansas Continues Playing Badly, Losing To Mizzou 35-7

((HT: NBCActionnews.com/KSHB-TV))

Blaine Gabbert directed scoring drives on 15th-ranked Missouri's first two possessions leading the Tigers to a 35-7 victory over Kansas in the 119th renewal of college football's second-oldest rivalry.

De'Vion Moore scored two touchdowns for the Tigers are now 10-2/6-2 in the Big 12/11/10. Nebraska's victory over Colorado made it impossible for the Tigers to finish higher than second in the Big 12 North.

The Jayhawks, now 3-9/1-7, have now lost 16 of 19 after opening 2009 with five straight wins.

Lance Veeser is sitting at the adult table...

TWTW: Mizzou Takes One Away From K-State

((HT: NBCActionNews/KSHB-TV))

Missouri's Blaine Gabbert accounted for three scores, and Kansas State turned the ball over four times in a 38-28 loss to Missouri.

The Tigers rushed for 232 yards. Gabbert led the way with 89 yards and a touchdown on the ground while also completing 17-of-25 for 208 yards and two touchdowns in the air.

The Wildcats fall to 6-4 overall, 3-4 in the Big 12/11/10.

Missouri finishes the season 6-0 at home as they beat Kansas State for the fifth straight time, they are 8-2/4-2 in the 12/11/10.

How scary is the Big 12/11/10 compared to the South these days...???

Lance Veeser knows of what we speak...

TWTW: Texas Tech Takes Out Mizzou...

((HT: KCBD-TV Lubbock))

Missouri was ranked in the top 25 before heading to Lubbock and getting their game handed to them by Texas Tech ((of all teams)). The Red Raiders have the same personnel post-Mike Leach, but the system isn't reall the same...

Honestly, neither is the output...

But the defense handcuffed Tigers QB Blaine Gabbert, and that's all we wrote...

So, we decided to take a bit of a right turn here. Texas Tech, Utah, and Maryland are schools directly tied into the Click-Clack's Wounded Warrior Project.

They wore special jerseys and have special gear ready for auction.

In Lubbock, some Red Raider fans/wounded warriors got to walk the team into the stadium Saturday.

How cool is that...???

Michael Slother, looking no older than 12, covered the story and stood in front of a green screen to deliver...

TWTW: Nebraska Brings Mizzou Back To Reality

((HT: KSHB-TV Kansas City))

Roy Helu Jr. rushed for a school-record 307 yards and Number 14 Nebraska knocked 7th-ranked Missouri from the ranks of the unbeatens with a 31-17 victory.

Helu surpasses guys like Mike Rozier and Calvin Jones on only 26 carries. He had three scores from over 50 yards in length, and has six of those this year.

The Cornhuskers, now 7-1/3-1 raced out to a 24-0 lead and into a first-place tie with the Tigers in the Big 12 North. Nebraska ended a 13-game losing streak against Top 10 teams.

Missouri, now also 7-1/3-1 was off to its best start since 1960. The Tigers have lost 17 straight road games against Top 25 opponents since 1997...

Enough stats for you...???
Here's one more... Blaine Gabbert was 18-for-42 on the day and got sacked six times.

Here's your highlights, thanks to our friends at NBCActionNews...
Justin Unell sits at the adult table...


Oh, those of you freaking out about Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez's injury...???
Bo Pelini says that his right knee is just "bruised" and he'll be okay for the Iowa State game next week.

Of course, it's just a bruise...

TWTW: Does Anyone Want To Be Number One...? OU Falls In Columbia

((HT: Newsok.com))

That seems to be the question around these, or any other, part of the country since the evil early January-college football standings came out last week...

For the third week in a row, the team on top got knocked off by someone motivated.

And, really, it seemed like nothing went right for Oklahoma against Missouri.
Sho' nuff...

The Sooners couldn't do anything on special teams on the opening kickoff, couldn't play catch-up when down by 15, and couldn't keep from turning the ball over.

Blaine Gabbert solidified himself as one of the quality QB's in the country in the 36-27 win, and the Missouri fans solidified themselves as a group that doesn't listen to public address announcements when it comes to storming the field...

Berry Trammel and Jake Trotter discuss since they're the only ones left in Columbia on the football field... and they're trying to get back inside before the rain...

Mountain West picking at Big 12's carcass....

It appears as though the Mountain West conference is trying to position itself as the "Best of the rest" conference.

According to several reports, along with adding Boise State yesterday, they have been gauging the interest of the potential Big 12 leftovers. Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri are all having to explore their options since neither the newly expanded Pac 10 and Big 10 aren't very interested.

Check out some more details from the Idaho Statesman RIGHT HERE

((Mountain West Logo//Courtesy: Wikipedia))

Is there anyone else that thinks this all sucks if you are Kansas? Here they are, one of the best basketball programs in the country and nobody wants them. It speaks volumes about how the NCAA presidents think, doesn't it? The message appears to be Football is everything.

With these teams, the MWC will be pretty good in football. They'll be even better in hoops. No, they still don't have an invite to the "Elite" schools BCS party...yet. It just speaks as to how screwed up and corrupt the whole college sports game has become. (My opinion)

Big 12 tells Nebraska and Missouri to get it over with... UPDATE: Pac-10 OK With Expansion...

((ht: austin american-statesman))

We, much like the rest of the college football world are eagerly awaiting the end of the conference realignment dance. Nobody is perhaps more anxious than Dan Beebe, the commissioner of the Big 12 Conference.

According to a story in today's Austin American-Statesman, the Conference has told Nebraska and Missouri to make up their minds where they are going. And they added "Do it by Friday".

Both schools have been allegedly linked to the Pac 10 and the Big 10, but nobody will "On the Record" confirm that as being true.

That is all well and good, but Beebe and the "12" might want to pay a little more attention to what is happening with 6 other of its teams. Teams that are being wooed by the Pac 10.

The Pac 10 is meeting this weekend in San Francisco and one of the topics of conversation has been raiding roughly half of the "Big 12", a move that would cripple the conference. Nothing has been decided as of the writing of this story.

We don't, at this point really know who or what to believe. The alleged sticking point in all of this has allegedly been the University of Texas. On one hand the story goes that the Pac 10 wants them as one of their "6". The other is the steady trickle of stories saying that the "Big 10" has tried hard to get them. However, a sticking point may be the Texas legislature, which is trying to have a voice on which teams "They" would allow to move with UT.

Like everyone else, we will sit back, watch and wait. We are beginning to get the feeling that even after all of the talk, nothing will get done before this years football season begins. That doesn't mean that it won't....it will. There is too much money involved for it not to.

Check out this really cool video that the University of Nebraska did. One football gameday...in a One Minute and 43 second time lapse:



SUNDAY UPDATE: The Pac-10 muckety-mucks have given Commissioner Larry Scott the official okey-dokey to expand. Mark Saxson of ESPNLosAngeles has emerged from the conference meetings with the notion that the Pac-10 should know what they're doing by the end of the calendar year... or even as early as July 27 - Day One of Pac-10 Media Days In New York City.

The schools that would be a part of the Big West ((Or whatever in the hell they're going to call it)) wouldn't join until the 2012-13 season.

There are also reports emerging that the Texas state legislature is pressuring the idea of Baylor going to the new conference instead of Colorado. John Werner of the Waco Tribune-Herald trails another orangebloods.com report that 15 legislators will back the Bears and not the Buffs.

“If you’re going to have an exported commodity involved in this, do you think we’re going to allow a school outside the state of Texas to replace one of our schools in the Big 12 South?” a high-ranking member of the Texas Legislature who asked not to be identified told Orangebloods.com.

College Football: A Tough Week To Be A Tiger

If you went to the zoo this week and the tigers were lying on their back well that's the perfect metaphor for what happened to all the "Tigers" in college football.

You are well aware of the issues the Clemson Tigers and the Auburn Tigers are going through, no need to beat a dead horse (or tiger).

The Missouri Tigers had a chance to gain a #1 ranking in the college football polls. But the fighin' Gundy's of Oklahoma State marched into Columbia and denied Mizzou's moment on top of the college football world. The Pokes won a thriller 28-23.

"First of all I want to congratulate Oklahoma State they have a great football team." Mizzou head coach Gary Pinkel said. "I knew it from the video, so nothing surprised me. They are athletic and they run well. It was a game with a lot of mistakes on both sides. They certainly did the things necessary to win. I was proud of our football team, we battled, we got ourselves in the fourth quarter back in it and had an opportunity to possibly get a comeback win and we just fell short."

The LSU Tigers marched into Florida's Swamp and got swamped as Tim Tebow and the rest of the Gators put up half a hundred on the LSU defense with a 51-21 win.

"They executed extremely well. We spotted them 20 points in the first half. We never got out of that hole." LSU Head Coach Les Miles said. "I thought our effort was good, but we made too many mistakes in all three phases: offense, defense and special teams. Certainly when you play quality football teams you can’t afford to make those mistakes. When you make those mistakes, you give your opponent the short field. They’re very talented as it is, so they get the opportunity to score."

Even the Memphis Tigers couldn't come through for the ferocious felines losing to Louisville 35-28 Friday night.

The tiger torment didn't stop there. The Idaho State Bengals were pummelled by Northern Colorado 29-9.

More proof of a hex on the tigers, the Princeton Tigers lost to Colgate 27-24.

But you can't kill all the tigers, 2 tiger teams bucked the trend and both come from the SWAC.

The Jackson State Tigers defeated the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff 21-10 and the Grambling State Tigers whipped Alabama A&M 27-9.

This week is wasn't so good to be an Auburn, Clemson, LSU, Mizzou, Memphis or a Princeton Tiger and it was a bummer to be a Idaho State Bengals.

Photo Courtesy: National Geographic

The Dirty Dozen Live!

God Bless College Football

Does it get any crazier than last weeks College Football action? 3 of the top 4 teams going down, that folks...is really cool. It's hard to get cynical when stuff like that happens but it also proves the point that Preseason Polls are just plain stupid.

Let's get to this week:

1. Oklahoma (They get this by default, I'm still waiting for them to play someone, but they've been pretty convincing so far)


2. Missouri (Again, because they've been here. The defense is VERY suspect, they aren't going to outscore everyone, they will lose before Oklahoma does)


3. Alabama (What they did to Georgia was impressive. They look like an NFL team. The lack of depth may eventually do them in at some point)


4. LSU (These guys are always good. Can't wait to see them face off with Alabama, it could be a blood bath)


5. Texas (Again, the Big 12 will settle out. In fact these guys square off with Oklahoma very soon, don't expect them to stay here)


6. Penn State (Hoodlum U lives. Joe Pa is getting performances from his guys, but his guys have a peculiar odor about them. No competition in the 10 puts them here)


7. BYU (They are fun to watch, I don't know that they can run with the big boys, but imagine them squaring off with Missouri, wouldn't that be fun?)


8. South Florida (No competition in the East-can't call the East "Big" this year. They are here because I won't put them below teams with a loss.)


9. Texas Tech (Similar to USF because they haven't lost yet, but they will)


10. Georgia (Love the players and the coach, but they have holes. Will finish in the Top 10 because the skill guys are pretty damn good)


11. USC (They get here because they lost to a team they shouldn't have. They won't lose again, but that won't get them to Miami in January)


12. Florida (Good, but not great. They appear to be skilled but soft. Don't be surprised if LSU gets the best of them in a couple of weeks.)

Nelson Notes: Oklahoma, USC, Alabama, LSU, Mizzou, Texas, Penn State, BYU, Texas Tech, Georgia, Florida, and Utah...

This will change, but not this coming week. The SEC and the Big 12 are far better than everyone else, but the shakedown games haven't been played yet, they are coming next week.

Now for the worst of the worst, the bomb of the bombs, the gross underachievers, the bottom 5:

5. Tennessee (They have already lost 3 and still have Georgia and Auburn to face this month. Yeah, that was me laughing)
4. Virginia (Duke kicked their ass. Need we say more?)
3. Washington State (Ewww!)
2. Syracuse (I think they may be here a while, is there a Greg Robinson countdown yet?)
1. Washington (Now Jake Locker is hurt too. Geez, there is some bad college football played up there in the great Northwest. Can you say "Bye, Ty?")

Sadly, these teams all have had success over the past 10-20 years, but the world has apparently passed them by. Oh well, if they don't like being here, maybe they should try and do something about it!

Nelson Still Notes: Agreed... but did you hear that Wazzu is holding an open audition for their starting QB...? Anyone on campus is encouraged to attend... we're not kidding...

Wilkie notes: Agreed on the Dirty Dozen but would trade Tennessee for Arkansas in the bottom 5. It hurts but my Razorbacks are bacon this year. Can't score and can't stop the opposition from scoring. Tim Tebow should have a great game Saturday in Fayetteville.

College Football Week 1

I love it. College football kicks off this week so break out your game jerseys and your new hat of your favorite school, grab a bag of tortilla chips and salsa dip and sit on your throne. You won’t be moving for the next 5 days.

Best Game Of The Week (Gold Medal) – Illinois vs. Missouri

Sorry, I’m still in the Olympic spirit thanks to the Chinese food I had for lunch. This is a braggin’ rights border war to kick off the season plus, both teams are ranked. Kind of rare for week 1. This game features 2 great QB’s, Mizzou’s Chase Daniel & the Illini’s Juice Williams. This game should be entertaining with both teams scoring 30 points.

Best Game Of The Week (Silver Medal) – Alabama vs Clemson

You would think all the pressure would be on Clemson with all the expectations heaped on the Tigers for this season, but Alabama is feeling some to since this is suppose to be the breakout season under Jolly Ole St. Nick Saban. I initially thought Clemson might come in tight but the more I think about, the Crimson Tide might be a little anxious. Clemson will also want to put on a good showing for the ACC as well. This will be a good game however, a Clemson beat down might happen as well.

Best Game Of The Week (Bronze Medal) – Utah at Michigan

Wolverine fans still have nightmares over last years opening week loss to Appy State. This year for Michigan, new coach, new offense, you get the picture. Utah’s got some talent and can sneak up on an uncertain Michigan team. Get ready for more close ups of Michigan fans in denial. Go Utes.

Repeat for Appy State?

Can it be Upset Shocker 2 for Appalachian State? Appy State opens at LSU’s Death Valley. I give Appy State a shot because it’s a 4pm CST kickoff so the game will be played in the day light. But with over 70,000 LSU fans full of the Tiger Spirit (translation: drunk as hell) and an ultra talented Tiger team, it won’t happen.

Go Watch High School Football

Friday Nights college football offerings, Temple at Army and SMU at Rice. Both games are on TV. Do yourself a favor, go watch a high school football game, it will be a better game.

Game Note Of The Week

The winner is this little nugget I received from the sports information office at Clemson:

Todd McShay of ESPN named his top 15 seniors by position this week and Clemson has the top senior
in the country at two positions according to his fi ndings. Cullen Harper (Alpharetta, Ga.) is ranked as
the number-one senior quarterback and James Davis (Atlanta, Ga.) is ranked as the number-one senior
running back.. Aaron Kelly (Marietta, Ga.) was listed fi fth among senior wide receivers and Michael
Hamlin (Timmonsville, SC) was listed sixth among defensive backs, second among safeties.

1st the 4-letter word conquers the SEC now one of their minions tells us who the best seniors are in the nation. How many times will Brent Musburger bring this up during ESPN on ABC’s game broadcast? You could make that a drinking game.

Enjoy your college football

Big 12 Media Days Report

The Big 12 Conference put 2 teams in the BCS last year. Oklahoma got the automatic bid and Kansas, yes Kansas got the at-large bid. It was a split decision for the Big 12 in the BCS. Oklahoma saw its BCS losing streak extend to 4 games losing to West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl 48-28. I don’t blame Bob Stoops if he never wants to step foot in University of Phoenix stadium again because life for the Sooners is no fiesta in the desert. Kansas, yes Kansas rolled into Miami and took the Orange Bowl over Virginia Tech 24-21, now that’s representing the Big 12.

This year, Oklahoma and Missouri are the picks to click in the Big 12 with Oklahoma the pre-season favorite to win the championship game. Do the Sooners a favor BCS, send OU somewhere else than Phoenix, Arizona.

Bringing Back The Nebraska Way

Bo Pelini faced the media for the first time at Big 12 Media Days Monday. Pelini’s job is to restore the Nebraska way that Bill Callahan dropped his doors and defecated on. The Cornhuskers have a quarterback that can get the job down. Senior Joe Ganz was the only bright spot once the 2007 season went down the toilet. Ganz threw for 1,435 yards and 16 touchdowns but that didn’t impress Pelini until this spring. Ganz showed his talent, leadership ability and confidence during spring football and won over his new coach keeping the starting job.

“He’s more athletic than I thought when I first got here.” Pelini said. “And he’s a dynamic leader, somebody who plays with a tremendous amount of confidence and has that toughness about him, attitude.”

If the Nebraska way is truly back in 2008, Ganz won’t have to win games on his own. He’s got Marlon Lucky in the backfield and an offensive line, always a beefy bunch and off the scale strong during the Tom Osbourne/Frank Solich era, is almost to that level. Expect a big year for Ganz.

Lubbock, Texas Is On The Map

Let’s face it, Lubbock, Texas is out in the middle of nowhere. Not much happens out in West Texas but Mike Leach has brought excitement to the Red Raider fans from all over the prairie. This year Texas Tech is catching the attention of the national media who do see that Lubbock, Texas is on the map. This has the potential to be the best Red Raider team ever. Head Coach Mike Leach isn’t succumbing to the hype.

“Expectations are already high. So what that means to me is we just need to ignore expectations and everybody needs to do their job, improve on their role and just do their job within the scope of what it is.” Leach said.

Leach’s studs, Quarterback Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree didn’t make the trip to Kansas City. You got to go to Lubbock to catch them “where we have some great steak places.” Leach said. OK if there are some great steak places in Lubbock, I might have to make a return trip.

Sherman Catches The Spirit Of Aggieland

Former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Sherman returns to College Station, Texas where he coached as an assistant earlier in his career.

“I know the landscape well and I know what it’s all about.” Sherman said. “It’s as similar as I can get to a place like Green Bay, Wisconsin, where you come to work every day, the expectations are very high and the fans are very passionate.”

I love to see Joe Kines back in college football. Sherman hired the veteran coach in February as Defensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach. I was covering the Arkansas Razorbacks when he was Defensive Coordinator there in the early 1990’s. He’s a stand up guy, an ole ball coach if there ever was one. Coach Kines has football in his blood.

“This is a guy that thinks about football when he goes to bed and thanks about it when he wakes up.” Sherman said. “When you combine that with the passion he brings to the table, it’s just a great mix for us and he fits in very well.”

Expect the A&M defense to be in full attack mode this year.

Mizzou ‘ Rah

As a fan of Mizzou football, it’s great to see that football matters in Columbia for the first time in my lifetime. The Tigers accomplished a lot last year including a #1 ranking, a Big 12 Championship Game appearance and a Cotton Bowl win over Arkansas. That alone should have Mizzou fans in frenzy but leave it to Head Coach Gary Pinkel to provide a cold splash of reality.

“We certainly haven’t arrived.” Pinkel said. “We won the Big 12 North last year. University of Missouri hasn’t won the Big 12 championship yet.”

That might change with Chase Daniel running the show again and with weapons like Jeremy Maclin and Chase Coffman, the Tiger offense will be potent. The Defense is stout to. This group just might get the Big 12 Title this year and perhaps play for the crystal ball in January plus, Chase Daniel might want to rehearse his Heisman Trophy acceptance speech in November.

They Do Play Football At Kansas

Kansas may have won another NCAA Championship in Men’s Basketball but the expectations for the Jayhawk football team are just as high.

“You know, coming off a pretty good season last year, expectations are very high for our program in Lawrence, the state of Kansas and around the country.” Said Head Coach Mark Mangino. “We embrace those expectations because there was a time when I first arrived here that there were no expectations for Kansas’ football program and the fact now that people are taking a look at our program and seeing that we’re competitive and we’re able to compete at a high level here in a great conference like the Big 12.”

Kansas’ schedule is brutal. The Jayhawks pick up Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech from the Big 12 South this year and has a non conference game at South Florida. It will be tough to repeat a one loss season like 2007.

Cowboy Up

This year, Oklahoma State Head Coach Mike Gundy is still a man…. He’s 41 now. “I’ve been a pretty popular guy over the last year.” Gundy said. Yes his tirade last year is still on the radar screen.

“I don’t care much for the off-the-field issues and it’s not something that I contemplated.” Gundy said. “It was something that happened in a reaction and I felt it needed to be talked about from a head coach that should do the right thing for a player on his team.”

The Pokes have a talented team and if they put it together, might upset things in the Big 12 South. Should OSU fall into mediocrity again, Mike Gundy might have another blow up for all of us to enjoy.

2008 Preseason All-Big 12 Football Team (Media Vote)
Offensive Player of the Year: Chase Daniel, Missouri (QB, 6-0, 225, Sr/3L, Southlake, Texas)Defensive Player of the Year: Auston English, Oklahoma (DE, 6-3, 257, Jr/1L, Canadian, Texas)Newcomer of the Year: Darrell Scott, Colorado (TB, 6-2, 215, Fr/HS, Ventura, Calif.)