We continue the journey across the nation to get you ready for kickoff in less than two weeks. Today, Gary weighs in on the newest incarnation of the Big 12 conference.

With all the Conference re-aligning going on it has been tough to keep track of what team is going where. Many conferences are taking on small changes while many are undergoing complete makeovers. Today, we take a look at the Big 12 conference, which has changed drastically over the last couple of years.

Baylor Bears
2011 Record 10-3
Pre-Season Rank: NR
Head coach Art Briles has his work cut out for him after losing all three of his stars from last year’s offense. QB Robert Griffin III, WR Kendall Wright, and RB Terrance Ganaway all lead the Bears at their respective positions and have all left for the NFL. The Baylor offense still returns three talented wide receivers in Terrance Williams, Lanear Sampson, and Tevin Reese. All three had 1000+ yards last year. The question is can incoming QB Nick Florence get them the ball. Only time will tell if he can and that is why they will start this season outside of the Top 25 until that question is answered.

Iowa State Cyclones
2011 Record 6-7
Pre-Season Rank: NR
Last year was a very difficult season for the Cyclones as they struggled in every aspect of their game. The lone bright spot was the unexpected upset of the Oklahoma State Cowboys (their lone loss on the season). Head coach Paul Rhodes has very few things going for him in 2012 with a QB battle between Senior Steele Jantz and Sophomore Jared Barnett brewing which we all know is never a good thing this close to the season. Rhodes also lost his offensive coordinator Tom Herman to Ohio State. One things that is going for is the return of linebackers Jake Knott and A.J. Klein to lead their defense. Look for the Cyclones to struggle against a very strong conference and be towards the bottom of the standings again in 2012. Read More

Tags: 2012 Season, B12, B12 Conference, Baylor, Big 12, Conference Expansion, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, West Virginia
Categories: College Football

Yosemite = Buckeye Nation

On Tuesday, I was impressed by Danny from 11W posting his “OHIO” photo from the top of Mt. Baker, for a couple of reasons. First, I’ve lived in WA and skied at Baker all the time. Second, I was hoping to have a similar photo from the top of Mt. Whitney under my belt by the end of this summer, but a couple of family issues prevented me from enhancing the highest peak in the continental US in such a glorious way. Finally, I love shots of the outdoors, and just got back from a week long trek as well- the photo on the right is much lower than Danny’s, but includes at least one Michigan fan. Always good to spread the gospel, right?

It’s good to be back… right before the team goes camping as well.  And here… we… go…

Buckeye 411

• Somebody’s watching- The pre-season lists keep being kind to Buckeyes, with John Simon being named to the Hendricks List (since there’s not a Chuck Norris list) and Big Hank being tabbed as a CBS All American.
• One Bad Motha’-  So, the Tuesday Newsday saw reports that Brionte Dunn would not be facing drug charges, as the officer in charge did not believe that the substance and paraphernalia in question belonged to the freshman running back. According to the rumor mills of several Ohio State message boards, this was due in part to Brionte’s mom reporting to the scene to take responsibility and ownership of the “goods”, which means that someone is getting a really awesome gift this May.  We’ll find out Friday what consequences will result from this situation, as that’s when the Buckeyes report for the beginning of fall training.
• Productivity? Yeah right-  Particularly as we grow closer to fall practice it gets harder for those of us who have real jobs to focus on our “responsibilities”. I’m just attributing it to OHIOADHD and leaving it at that. It also doesn’t help that the Sports Information Department is enabling my problems by releasing the media guide during a work week.  Here’s the link- the effing TPS reports can wait, right?
• Feeling Inspired? As if the media guide weren’t distracting enough, here’s a clip of the video that Friday Night Lights participants got to experience. Of course, you’ll have to imagine the huge scoreboard screen and thundering sound… unless, that is, your office is a whole lot cooler than mine. Read More

Tags: 2012 Season, B12 Conference, Brionte Dunn, Central Florida, Champion's Bowl, Costumes, ESPN, Florida State, Friday Night Lights, John Simon, Jonathan Hankins, Louis Freeh Report, Michigan, NCAA, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northwestern, Penn State Nittany Lions, PSU, Rob Bolden, SBP, SEC, Silas Redd, Uniforms
Categories: College Football, Humor, Michigan Football, NCAA Investigations, Ohio State Football

Somehow, we managed to avoid burning our eyebrows off during Monday’s festival of lighter fluid and are still able to get you thought hump day with the scoop across college sports.

Buckeye 411

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  You're gonna' want to jot this down

  Vested Interest- Hopefully you were able to check out our Monday series honoring Coach Tressel, particularly the articles from those who knew him on and off the field. What we missed, though, was the words of the man himself. Luckily, though, Doug Lesmerisis gave us an article tonight that did just that, as Tressel reflects on the last 12 months of change in his life. As you can imagine, though, there’s a lot of “Senator Speak”- polite words, nothing revealing… and to be honest, it made me miss him even more.

• Say Seis- Today, the good folks at Athlon emailed us to let us know that they were releasing their pre-season rankings, and the Buckeyes came in at number six. Not in the conference, in the country. Sweeter still? A certain group of “Sun and blue” folks find themselves at number seven.  Check out the totality of Athlon’s coverage, and feel free to forward it to any mitten state friends you might have.
• Getting Rank- Speaking of arbitrary numbers, Rivals updated their top 100 recruits in the country this morning, and lo and behold the Buckeyes find themselves with 4 in the top 50 and three in the top 20. Other B1G schools have two top 50 recruits combined, and no other school has three in the top 20.  Not that there’s not room for growth, but that’s yet another handy thing to send north via the interwebs.
• That Being Said- All of you knuckleheads who have taken it upon yourself to act more childish than the young adults who do stupid things from their unformed prefrontal cortex… knock it the hell off.  You are SOOOOO not helping.
• That Being Said, Part Deux- Illinois HS standout and rumored OSU lean Ethan Pocic gave his verbal to LSU today. You know what they say about the grass being tastier and all that.
• Where Credit Is Due- Hats off to the Ohio State men’s tennis doubles pairing and women’s crew boat for winning national titles last weekend. I would have led with this earlier, but everyone knows that OSU is a tennis and crew school.
• Speaking Of Boats- This news allows me to be among the last to link to this.

Read More

Tags: B12 Conference, Ethan Pocic, Expansion, Jamal Turner, Playoffs, Rivals, SBP, SEC
Categories: College Football, Conference Expansion, Ohio State Football, Recruiting