Ah yeah, the Big 12 is back baby! Oh well, it didn’t really go anywhere. Compared to last year, this offseason was a walk in the park. Why is that? Well, we have some new faces in the mix and some old faces hit the road. I think truly for the first time in the last 3 years, there is some stability here. That makes me happy. What makes me happier is the new season so let’s see how this conference shakes out. Continue reading A Better Big 12 For 2012
Tag Archives: Justin Blackmon
Crib Sheet: The End Is Nigh
Yup, we have a handful of games to go for this bowl season. It’s been a pretty great run so far. The weekend saw some great finishes and exciting shootouts. I’m going to miss college football much like everyone else out there after the last whistle blows. Until that whistle tweets its last tweet, we got a few more Crib Sheets to pass around as well. The news wasn’t too quiet as we get to see more coaching changes and draft declarations now. So let’s get right down to it:
Crib Sheet: Prizes Inside!
It’s that time of year again. The time to hand out awards for special play by special players. The Big 12 awards popped out and there were a couple surprises. The one that jumps out at me is the ‘All-purpose’ award for Kansas State’s Collin Klein. Was that ever used before in the past? It seems like they cooked it up just for Klein. I mean, he’s no Heisman winner, but he was the most important person on the team for the Wildcats. I guess as a Kansas State fan, I’ll take what I can get. You have to take what you can get with this week’s Crib Sheet as well, so lets’ get doling:
Crib Sheet: Winter Break
This Purple Yeti is too busy chopping wood for the fire to bring you much for the rest of January. Look for some new giblets starting February. In the meantime, I have the Crib Sheet to you warm. Check it out:
- So ESPN’s David Ubben points us to the overall bowl record for conferences. The Big 12 finished at the bottom, tied with the Big 10. It’s pretty bad for the conference when they notch the same record as an overrated conference that needed to expand to stay relevent.
- It looks like an imminent NFL lock out is scaring at least some college players from coming out early. Oklahoma State’s Brandon Weeden and mega star Justin Blackmon are both staying behind for one more round. The Cowboys will be a tough cookie next year to chew on.
- Michigan contacted Gary Pinkel’s agent to ask for an interview. Pinkel turned it down. One dis from the Big 10 deserves a dis right back. That and Missouri already competes for the title now. It will take Michigan a couple of years before they get back on track.
- RichRod dumped about 430 maize and blue gear on the Salvation Army on his way out of Michigan. At least he did one good thing while he was up there. I wonder if he cried on his way out of the store.
- That said, things are looking up for Michigan, now that they’ve replaced RichRod with Brady Hoke. The ‘Predator’ Denard Robinson decided to stay and Hoke landed the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Greg Mattison. I swear this is the last Michigan news for a long, long time.
- The Big 10 is keeping the Legends and Leaders division name for the 2011. Dang, I was hoping they’d change it to the Losers and Lamers divisions.
- Help me out on this one: So the NCAA shut down a proposal that would stop head coaches from offering scholarships to kids as young as middle school age but they then want tougher rules against parents shopping around their kids. So, the NCAA wants coaches to bribe kids without parents getting in the way? Um, usually middle school kids need a legal guardian to represent them. This seems very contradictory. Or obvious. The NCAA wants to take full advantage of the kids and no one else, including the parents of the kids.
- Rodney Jones, a former university official, plead guilty to in his part of the $2 million ticket scalping scandal at the University of Kansas. Cue the Law & Order music.
- Continuing on our legal theme, John Lomax III plead no contest to the killing of UConn football player Jasper Howard. Again with the Law & Order music.
- Texas Tech was so impressed with Tommy Tuberville’s first year that they’ve already given him an extension. Can he keep it up? It’s doesn’t matter now because his buyout will probably be sweeter.
Crib Sheet: Season’s Greetings
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Happy holidays from KC College GameDay! It’s bowl season and I’ll do a couple of recaps in the next couple of days as well as run down some bowls I’m in to. In the meantime, we have a fat Crib Sheet so let’s get to it:
- Iowa’s Derrell Johnson-Koulianos got the hook by the police for a bunch of drug charges. It looks like he’s suspended from the Insight Bowl against Missouri. That should help out the Tigers defense immensely as Johnson-Koulianos was the Hawkeye’s all time leader in receptions and receiving yards. And yes, two of their running backs are out as well. It should be an easy game for the Tigers.
- Here are some national award winners from the Big 12: Texas defensive end Sam Acho won the William V. Campbell Trophy or the Academic Heisman. Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones wins the Sammy Baugh Award for the nation’s best passer. Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon won the Biletnikoff Award. Meanwhile, fellow teammate Dan Bailey wins the Lou Groza Award.
- Meanwhile, the Nebraska Huskers suspended defensive tackle Baker Steinkuhler for getting a DUI last week. He’ll be out of the Holiday Bowl and the Husker’s rematch against Washington.
- Even though I think Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany is evil incarnate, I do agree with him on holding back the college football playoff. His reasons come from a wealth of ego. Delany says that the Big Ten sacrificed enough by letting other conferences play in the Rose Bowl. There’s enough ego around other commissioners that there would be no way a playoff would bubble up.
- Urban Meyer resigned from Florida. The only reason this is news is that he should’ve stayed gone last year. Urban Meyer’s resignation was again due to health concerns. It seems as though this time, Florida didn’t give him a chance to second guess himself.
- Let’s take a look at how some Big 12 coaches voted in the final coaches poll of the year. Interesting stuff here, especially the one where Bo Pelini ranked his Cornhuskers #8 even though they lost to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game.
- Speaking of coaches, the USA Today has a break down of some interesting contract provisions for some of the coaches out there. Bill Snyder 2.0 gets a free ride and tickets to basketball games. If Mack Brown resigns, he’ll be reassigned to another a part of the school. Mike Sherman gets a cool $100K for appearing or being named a national champion.
- Keeping with Bo Pelini, he had to shoot down rumors of taking the Miami job that’s up for grabs now. Usually, when rumors like that happen, it means that something is ticking. It makes sense, too. Miami got rid of an upstanding Randy Shannon because he wasn’t winning games. Shannon did turn around the program in terms of class act athletes. Bo Pelini coaches the opposite way.
- It looks like Missouri is putting on a cheap-o way to get down to the Insight Bowl. Bus rides and hotel stays abound! They are pulling hard to shake the no fan travel stigma. I hope it works.
- Conference expansion time! Hawaii is joining the Mountain West Conference for football only in 2012 and will be doing all other sports in the Big West Conference. It looks like the WAC is falling apart.
- Auburn quarterback Cam Newton won the Heisman Trophy. No surprise there. I watched him torch South Carolina in the SEC Championship game and knew then he had a lock on it. It didn’t stop the proud sports media to take pot shots at him. Some writers left him off completely and he was absent from the Football Writers Association of America’s All-American team.
- Okay, there’s been huge amount of coaching changes in the last week. Let’s run them down. Northern Illinois hired Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Doeren. Louisiana-Lafayette hired Mississippi State assistant coach Mark Hudspeth. The Miami Hurricanes notch down Temple head coach Al Golden as their new head coach. The biggest move, of course, goes to Florida hiring Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp as their new head coach. The Longhorns thought they had him next in line for whenever Mack Brown retires, but it looks like Florida was too big of an opportunity not to pass up. Texas had a down year this year and it looks like rebuilding may take longer than expected.
- The Big Ten unveiled it’s new logo and what the division names, the ‘Legends’ and ‘Leaders’, for next year when Nebraska joins the league. I’m glad they got rid of the eleven hidden in the logo. The color is a little bit lighter than I expected though.
- Just in case you were wondering, Oregon will have new digs for the BCS National Championship Game. Fashionable Ducks, they are.
Crib Sheet: Going Bowlzerk
Another regular season over and another bowl season is set. I like the matchups for the Big 12 this year. Yes, no two teams are in BCS bowls but there is a chunky 8 teams going bowling. I don’t want to hear the yipping from Missouri fans this year as their game against Iowa is way bigger than the game Nebraska has against Washington. Kansas State’s in the first ever Pinstripe Bowl against Syracuse. That should be a fun one too. We have the Army vs Navy game and then the week after is all bowls. Right now, it’s the Crib Sheet:
- Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon is your Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and Oklahoma defensive end Jeremy Beal is you Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. I knew about Blackmon’s dominance but wasn’t so sure about Beal’s. Congrats to both.
- I was ignoring it but, but now I can’t help but comment on the Miami coaching situation. Randy Shannon was canned and a couple of candidates have cropped up. That’s not exciting. What IS exciting is that Donald Trump wrote a letter to Miami to hire Mike Leach. The U might just become pirates.
- Beano Cook is the 2011 recipient of the 38th Bert McGrane Award, which I guess goes to football sports writers each year. I listen to him on the ESPN College Football Podcast each week and has quickly become one of my favorite sports media personalities. Congrats to him too.
- Cam Newton is cleared of any allegations by the NCAA. Looks like his dad can’t hang around the program now, though. It looks like the sabotage job by Mississippi State didn’t work too well. I’m now pegging Auburn as the favorite to win the BCS title game.
- I didn’t pay attention to the RichRod situation at Michigan until now. He’s crying again and this time it’s about how happy he is being the head coach for the Wolverines. I ignored the talk before because I thought he was pretty much safe, but this latest crying makes me wonder if he’s in trouble. He may be.
- It’s one thing when an undefeated non-AQ conference team doesn’t make a BCS Bowl, but it’s another when a 6-6 AQ conference team like Arizona State gets denied a bowl appearance. I thought the slots were so abundant this year that there might have been a 5-7 team in a bowl? Oh well, it looks like they needed one more game.
- The site for a new College Football Hall of Fame will be by Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia. It will open around March of 2013. Make plans now!
- Just in case you were wondering, the expansion search committee for the Big 10 that they will not actively engage in expansion for awhile. Yeah, right.
- The Cincinnati Bearcat was citied for starting a snowball fight during the Pitt game last Saturday. It’s a good thing they had a backup mascot ready for the rest of the game.
- The Bowls are set! Here’s the Big 12 version. I wonder how many Missouri Tigers fans will complain. Oh I know Nebraska fans will, but they are gone after this game so their voice is a little quieter.
- Coaching changes are starting to fire up now that the regular season is over. First off, outgoing Colorado hired from Washington Redskins assistant coach and alumni Jon Embree. On the flip side, long time Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis resigned due to the poor performance on the field that saw the Longhorns miss a bowl for the first time in forever.
- Rob Long of Syracuse has a benign brain tumor and will undergo surgery. He will not play the Pinstripe Bowl. As being someone who’s had someone close go through the same thing, all I can say is that my thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family.
- I was wondering when this would happen: two men stole the mascot head of Lee Corso. It’s now back and the dudes are in trouble.
Lazy Saturday for Lew’s
Another actual barspot and I’m keeping up on the known favorites with Lew’s Grill and Bar. I’ve been here a couple of times and have begun to become a regular here. They’ve upgraded the televisions and also the food. The day of football was long and fun, so I was glad I got the sweet spot for watching in the bar. Regarding the action on field, we saw some tight games and some surprising blowouts. It was a lazy day, but it sure was a weird one too.
Crib Sheet: McRib the Vote
In the wake of one of the most massive events in history ever yesterday, not the election but the reintroduction to the McRib, I have yielded time to this week’s Crib Sheet introduction. Ronald McDonald Bless America:
- With the historic win over Oklahoma, Missouri gets the coveted Peace Pipe. You know, the somewhat annual trophy given to the winner? Welp, apparently even the two teams forgot about it and lost it. You know a rivalry is lopsided when that happens.
- Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon ended up with a suspension for the Kansas State game last Saturday. That’s what happens when you drink and drive, kids. It didn’t really stop the Cowboys, though, as they throttled the Wildcats.
- The Big 12 suspended Nebraska’s Eric Martin for last Saturday’s thumping of Missouri, due to a helmet to helmet hit. Do you see a pattern here? Meanwhile, Gary Pinkel wants the conference to review a hit that fellow Cornhusker Courtney Osborne put on Tigers quarterback Blaine Gabbert. If the conference follows through, then look for Nebraska to win this weekend against Iowa State.
- The Big Sky Conference just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Now North Dakota and Southern Utah will be joining the fold starting in 2012. Look out Pac 12!
- Notre Dame student Declan Sullivan died after injuries received from a blown over video tower. Look for the school to either ban it or put in a more permanent solution.
- Missouri won’t press charges against the 30 fans that were arrested after they stormed the field in their win over Oklahoma. That’s a good thing. The Tigers don’t often get the chance to make the field storm-worthy so you need to allow it when they do.
- Paul Rhoads is turning things around at Iowa State and now he will help turn on a new scoreboard, along with a bunch of sports complex projects. They are upgrading everywhere in Ames. Hopefully some of that money will go to better flood protection, too.
- Will Ferrell said on ESPN College GameDay that, “It’s scientific law that Baylor cannot beat Texas at Texas.” Baylor ended up winning that game. I’m betting Ferrell picked USC to win over Oregon as well. Those are some funny pics.
- Expansion, as we have learned, is never done. The Big East will get on the expansion bandwagon as they voted to expand to 10 teams at board of director’s meeting Tuesday. Who will they grab? Notre Dame of course.
Pick It and Stick It: It Hardens When It Gets Cold
Chilly times are ahead folks and its time to wrap yourself up into some nice and tasty picks. This week sees some hot action on the cold, cold fields of Lincoln, Nebraska. Will Missouri continue to roll or be tripped up by the scrappy Cornhuskers? No matter, we’ll be staying warm the best way we know. Hot chocolate helps. So does coffee or fried mac n’ cheese wedges. I’ll probably have all this Saturday. Grab your favorite warm-upper and check out the picks for the week. Remember, he colder and longer the season goes, the harder the picks get.
Continue reading Pick It and Stick It: It Hardens When It Gets Cold
Crib Sheet: Nice With Pumpkin Spice
Halloween is Sunday and we are cooking up various items around the place with pumpkin in them. The roasted pumpkin seeds with cinamon and nutmeg were awesome but so where the pumpkin muffins. Grab your favorite pumpkin related food and check out this week’s Crib Sheet: