Most folks outside of the midwest believe that the Big 12 Conference is 2nd nationally amongst conferences in terms of football strength. Much of the talk points toward the Big 12 South. As we roll into the 2009 season, we find some teams reloaded, some teams are out of ammo, and the rest either misfired or are shooting blanks. We’re gonna see where they all stack up and how they will finish in 2009, according the Purple Yeti’s crystal ball. There are some shifts in power, but the top stack will stay the same and most of the close calls will still be close. Hopefully the crystal ball pulls through.
Continue reading Big 12 Preview 2009 →
The year of Kansas State wasn’t so much of a year as it was an eternity. There were mediocre hopes going into the season, despair running through the season, mania during the end of the season and into the offseason, then back to a numbed out mediocre hope of building a solid team. There are still burn marks on my belly from the selt belt holding me in from the ride the Wildcats took me on in the last year. Right now, they are known as the Mildcats. They brought back an old legend to patch up the nuclear meltdown and now are looking to rebuild. Let’s take a look and see how they will stack up coming into the 2009 season.
Continue reading Kansas State Wildcats Football 2009 Preview: More Like Mildcats →
You may have noticed something different here at KCCGD. Yes, we have a new site design! We got rid of the pukey looking orange design that’s been riding us the last 2 years and dropped in a more elegant, and somewhat green, look. We’re still keen on adding more features throughout the season but for now, take some time to bask in site. If you feel compelled to do so, drop us a comment and let us know how it looks. Otherwise, tune often as we start chucking out more posts on the best sport in the world, college football.
Here we go people! We’re strapping on the helmet and hunkering down for another season of college football. To get us ready, we have a cavalcade of previews and a new redesign coming down the pipe. Until then we’ll produce another news heavy Crib Sheet for all of you to digest. Depending on the schedule, we may be dropping the Crib Sheet here and there during the season. There’s always news to munch on. So grab a bib and some silverware and chow down on this week’s Crib Sheet:
- It’s the wave of the future for the Texas Longhorns and monitoring football players. They make select players swallow temperature pills to make sure their body temperature doesn’t get too high during practice. The NCAA should take a look at these little doo-wops for all of the players that have a high risk for sickle cell disease.
- There’s a big jumble and shuffle going down in Manhattan. Kansas State coach Bill Snyder is moving around transfer Daniel Thomas from quarterback to running back, among other movements that also saw running back Logan Dold moving to safety. It seems that ‘Wildcat’ might mean more than just a team this year in Snyder-land.
- It seems Florida State is getting a head start on the 2 game series with Oklahoma by being the snitcher on old guy type linebacker Mike Balogun. Balogun is suing the NCAA for eligibility because of some issues with semi-pro playing before he joined Oklahoma. One of the Seminole officials noted the story of Bolgun during last year’s national championship game and dug further after the Big 12 was okay with Oklahoma’s ‘light’ investigation. Ruh roh. Seems like there will be some major unsportsmanlike penalties in this two game series.
- Oklahoma State has gone dark until the week of their opener against Georgia, at least to the media. They need to prepare all they can for the big game because it will set the tone for the Cowboy’s whole season. It should be a great game and has the potential for being the game of the week.
- Oklahoma backup linebacker Tom Wort went down with an ACL injury and is out for the season. Combine that with the questions of Tom Balogun’s eligibility and we’re looking at a depleted linebacking core for the Sooners. This may affect their chances of going all the way this year.
- Joseph Kassanavoid, redshirt freshmen quarterback for Kansas State, up and got arrested for domestic battery. Officials for Kansas State stated that the incident will be handled internally. We won’t be surprised if this guy gets booted from the team. Tune in to find out.
- The Associated Press Top 25 Preseason Poll came out over the weekend and in the biggest non-surprise of the year, the Florida Gators are number one, followed by the Big 12’s Texas and Oklahoma. Everyone and their mother are picking the Gators but the ball is up in the air for who will meet them in the title game. We’re not sure who will be there, but tune in for our preview in the next couple of days.
- Meanwhile, Lou Holtz gives his analysis on the AP poll and pulls a prediction of all predictions out of his always sounding drunk mouth. According to Holtz, Notre Dame will be in the national title game. Give to Lou for being a homer. He makes a good case pointing to 11 returning offensive starters, 7 home games, and a weak opponent’s schedule. The schedule is going to kill them and we’re not to sure they are that big on offense. Nice to hear Lou slur his words again, though.
- Husker running back Quentin Castille was dismissed from the Nebraska squad due to team rule violations. That’s a shame as it will hurt their chances to live up to the preseason Big 12 North title prediction. Even ESPN Big 12 blogger Tim Griffin is switching his prediction. Indeed, maybe the media were drinking the red kool-aid, but there are questions all over the North this year. Again tune in for our Big 12 predictions in the next couple of days.
It’s the last Mascot Monday of the offseason and the KCCGD offices are all over the place. We’re getting ready for the start of a new season and we have time for one more send up to our favorite distractions, mascots. We had some crazy mascots, some hardcore mascots, and some live animal mascots paraded across every Monday. For our final one, we will take a look at a mascot from a preseason top 25 team in Ole Miss. Except that there isn’t a mascot, or at least not an official one.
Continue reading Mascot Monday: Colonel Reb →
Here at KCCGD headquarters, we are drawing up game plans and doing walkthroughs for the upcoming football season. We have some goodies coming up in the next couple of weeks, including analysis, predictions, and some new looks. We’re busting a major sweat and pouring it out into everything we do here to make KCCGD the best place to go for you Kansas City college football needs. Be on the lookout. Until then, here’s this week’s Crib Sheet:
- Kansas State’s lawyers are bringing the full “he said, she said” stating that no such attempts were made to quiet Ron Prince, which his lawyers accused the school of. This is a real bad case of a coach and school parting ways. It’s only gonna get worse. Please remember to hug a coach and a school official today.
- Backup Nebraska quarterback Cody Spano is out for the year with a torn ACL. The Husker’s projected starter is Zac Lee and if he goes down there really is nobody left behind him. Plus, it’s his first year as a starter. Husker fans need to hope Zac stays healthy if they want to live up to the pre-season hype of a projected Big 12 North title.
- 15 Duke football players have symptoms of the swine flu. Usually colds and flus make their way through teams and then move on. What’s interesting about this article is that Heather Dinich called it the swine flu. Not H121. Way to go Heather! We like realistic names and not ones deemed okay to say by Congress.
- Oregon football players (or as new ESPN sportscaster Jon Gruden calls it, OrEEgon) are now wearing cameras on their helmets during practice. The more tape, the better. Our guess is the next step in the evolution of video games will include this footage. Then, in turn, football players could practice by playing the video game. Geekery abound!
- Colorado cornerback Ben Burney had his blog axed after the first draft. Being the blogging realm we are disappointed to see such speech revoked. Although the kid probably shouldn’t have touted how well in the sack he is. That’s not quite the inside look people are looking for in football.
- New Mexico State is asking fans to pitch in for snacks for the football team after practice. Seriously? We know the economic downturn is affecting everyone, but what’s the deal with a school not springing for orange slices and Capri-Sun after a workout?
- Mike DeArmond from the Kansas City Star profiles Missouri’s defensive secondary. They were the worst in the Big 12 last year and are looking for a turnaround. With many of the offensive players from last year drafted away to the NFL, the defense needs to step up and help shoulder the load (and transition).
- Speaking of defense, bot the Topeka Capital Journal and the Manhattan Mercury talk about Kansas State’s defense. There’s no place to go but up for the defense as they ranked below 100 in the terms of total defense last year. To help the attempted turnaround, they are featuring nickel defense much more this season. Hopefully that will help counteract the explosive offense most of the Big 12 teams bring into the year.
- Former Duke basketball starter Greg Paulus will now be the starter for the Syracuse Orangemen. We’re not sure if it’s because he’s super talented (he was a five star football recruit in high school) or if the rest of the quarterbacks on the team stunk. At any rate, the school will sell more tickets because of this guy and that’s a good thing.
- Former Rivals #1 recruit Bryce Brown and Tennessee are under investigation by the NCAA for alleged violations in his recruitment to the university. The question is whether funds raised for Brown’s trip out to Tennessee was legit or not. Brown, a Wichita native, tread the news waters earlier this year when he was waffling back and forth between schools after his commitment to Miami expired, including Kansas State. This guy smells like trouble and chances are he won’t turn out well.
College football teams are knee deep in practices and scrimmages this week so we are strapping it on and hitting the pads here at the KCCGD. Part of our preseason includes a yearly trek up to Big 10 country and Des Moines, Iowa. So in honor of scrimmaging up in the Hawkeye State, we will take a look at the Iowa Hawkeyes and Herky the Hawk. We’ll figure out why Iowa became the Hawkeye state. We’ll also find out why Herky is such a rambunctious bird. Come fly with us and Herky.
Continue reading Mascot Monday: Herky the Hawk →
Practices are rocking this week as the schools are getting ready for some real hitting here in a couple of weeks. Some may think that we’ve been practicing every week in this but column but it’s been prime time, every time. We are still deliberating as to whether or not we’ll continue the Crib Sheet in the regular season. Feel free to drop a comment below to let us know. Here’s this week’s Crib Sheet:
- The Michigan Defense couldn’t mow him down last year, so Appalachian State’s quarterback Armanti Edwards did it himself. Yup he’s out a couple of weeks with a foot injury.
- The 12th Man talked a Montana punter to transfer to Texas A&M. Ken Wood was big on the NFL Seattle Seahawks and when A&M sued them for the use of the 12th Man moniker. Wood saw this and fell in love. It’s great, too, because the punter will probably be the MVP on that team this year.
- The USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll for the preseason came out today and Florida eats the top spot. Big 12 wise we have Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Nebraska at 2,3, 11, and 22 respectively. That’s great and all, but the better poll/list for the week was put out by Fox Sports in their Top 10 most annoying fans list. Oklahoma’s number 4 on that one. It’s a good list even though it trends to teams that have been traditional powerhouses, sans Clemson.
- Speaking of Clemson, they are docked two practices for a non conforming uniform modification under NCAA rules. The crime? Wearing girdles at practice. Let’s hope they don’t catch them wearing leggings or panties. Yikes!
- Dezmon Briscoe from Kansas is no longer stupid. Er, no longer too stupid not to play football that is. He completed summer courses and can play this fall for the Jayhawks. He’s sorely needed, too, as he is expected to be a top receiver in the conference this year.
- Bobby Bowden wants another national title before he retires from Florida State in a couple of years. Bobby, it’s not gonna happen but we wish you the best of luck. If only your conference was stronger.
- There’s a great article about Kansas State quarterback Carson Coffman. Carson comes from a long lineage of NFL tight ends, with his dad Paul and now his older brother Chase. So this version of Coffman will try his hand a quarterback this year, but don’t be too excited because he has alot of transferred competition coming his way.
- Utah spend the offseason crying to everyone that would listen about how they were screwed out a title game and now they a shutting off communication for ‘instantaneous reports’ from any staff and media. BYU is doing it too. So, are they breeding whiners or hypocrites up there?
- Everybody is high on Notre Dame this year, but Charlie Weiss is more interested in walk than talk. That’s kinda paradoxical when you think about it. Then again, he was running his mouth from day one so let’s see if a quieter Weiss will help the Fighting Irish live up their hype. Maybe he’s learning all about walking from his new-found buddy, St. Louis Cardinals’ player Albert Pujols.
- Ron Prince and his lawyers are asking for an additional $3 million on top of the $3 million he’s already owed by Kansas State after they canned him last year. The reason? They state that the school knew of the buyout terms and even went as far as saying that the school wanted Prince to keep terms of the contract confidential. With that much money on the table originally, it would seem very weird that top brass overlooked that. Plus it’s punitive. The way K-State is trying to weasel out of the deal forced Prince’s hand. This is very ugly indeed. A contract is a contract no matter how insane it is. The quicker this goes away the better it will be for the school. With this lawsuit, the chances are it will stick around for a long, long time.
We’re winding down to the end of the off season and the end of our first foray into Mascot Mondays. We have a couple of more to go before we pack the suit away in the trunk and turn off the lights. But before we go away, we have a couple of more guys, er gals, er blobs to feature. So this week we will take a look at one of the influences to this here series. We’ve always known mascots to be fun and lovable while at the same time be fearsome and intimidating to opponents. But every time we see Western Kentucky’s Big Red, we wonder just what the heck does this thing do? We’ll try to figure that out on top of answering why he’s so dang popular.
Continue reading Mascot Monday: Big Red →
Media days are over and the flood gates have opened up for college football news. Practices start this week and the preview magazines are all over the place. We are so close and the Crib Sheet has made it so far. We’re not sure yet if we’ll continue this in the regular season or not, but for the next couple of weeks prepare to get bombarded with news from all sides. Bring a snorkle, here is this week’s Crib Sheet:
- Wrapping up Big 12 Media we have K-State and Bill Snyder still angry about the audits after Jon Wefald left. Bill, it happens after every school president leaves. Relax. The sad thing is people are talking about that and not his return at the media days. Maybe he is spending too much time keeping up with technology.
- Colorado coach Dan Hawkins backtracked from the 10 win guarantee and stated that it was a challenge to his team to win 10 games. There is no way he is going to achieve that goal. The way the North is looking in the Big 12 and the toughness blowing up from South, it would be hard pressed for this Buffalo team to compete.
- Sergio Kindle from Texas made a surprise appearance at the media days. Awhile ago he crashed a car into an apartment complex apparently while texting. We think he was drunk. He got away and Mack Brown will make sure he leaves the phone at home from now on.
- Big 10 media days happened as well. The big surprise is they might adjust the schedule to pad some games at the end of the season. They need that to actually compete in the big bowls that happen around the start of the year. The not so big surprise is that Joe Pa is not going to retire soon.
- Steven Sipple seems to be the only one crying about the new Cowboys Stadium in Texas. He makes a good point but the massive complex might help draw more money for the league. Yes, it would continue the South slant perception in the Big 12, but that’s a perception and not a reality.
- Hawaii coach Greg McMakin apologized about a remark he made at the WAC media days when the Rainbow Warriors played The Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Hawaii Bowl. He essentially said the Fighting Irish danced like they were little things that the British call cigarettes. Yeah, he probably shouldn’t have said it in a press conference. But it’s a little ridiculous that he is now suspended for 30 days with no pay.
- Looks like Jake Trotter polled 29 of the 38 football players at the Big 12 media days and found that Ralphie is the most favorite mascot, followed by this week’s Mascot Monday entrant Bevo. We here at the KCCGD think that maybe the football players polled should take a better look at some of the local talent (Willie the Wildcat, Truman, Big Jay, and Baby Jay) before they plunk down their choice.
- When Lee Corso suffered a stroke in May, everyone thought his career would be over. Well, not so fast my friends. The former coach and now goofy commentator is hitting the weights hard to get ready for his return to College GameDay on ESPN. Good luck, Lee.
- Looks like Oklahoma will be playing Army for a 2 game series in 2018. No, they won’t be playing at Yankee Stadium, it will be at each team’s home field. We’re gonna go out on a limb and say that Army will be competitive by then, either from the Black Knights rising or the Sooners dropping. Hopefully they’ll keep those cool camo uniforms for the game.
The eyes of the college football season are upon us and we are beginning to wipe the eye boogers away to gaze into the crystal ball and see who will come out on top. Last year, there was a three way tussle in the Big 12 South that left the Texas Longhorns out of the Big 12 title game and out of the National Championship race. This year they are back with their Heisman runner up in Colt McCoy and are one of the sexy picks for a national title run. We thought it would be fitting in the last couple of weeks of this year’s Mascot Monday to take a look at the final Mascot we’ll do from the Big 12 from the school that has the best title shot. So we present to you the famed Bevo and a couple of other mascots that barely have any press or history.
Continue reading Mascot Monday: Bevo (and Hook ‘Em, et al) →
College Sports, Kansas City style
