Big 12 Preview - Nebraska

Nebraska gets year 2 of Bo Pellini this year, combined with a weaker North division, and I expect them to end the season as the North Division champion. They’ve got to replace the QB, but expect Zac Lee to fill in capably for Joe Ganz. Defensively, the Huskers have had a full season and two springs to acquaint themselves with the Pellini defense, and I expect the Bugeaters to continue to improve there as well. I’ve got the Bugeaters going 10-2 overall and 7-1 in conference play, with their lone loss in regular season Big 12 play coming at the hands of Sooners. The non-conference loss is on the road at Virginia Tech. If my prediction of 10-2 is correct, this gent will have plenty to celebrate in Lincoln.

Big 12 Preview - Kansas

Phog U lost the heart of their defense with the departure of their linebacking corp to the NFL and CFL, and only return one of their top 4 tacklers from last year. However, Todd Reesing is back, as is the entire receiving RB corps. Kansas first four games are against Northern Colorado, UTEP (on the road!), Duke and Southern Mississippi. I see them winning those and their first two conference games, but then the wheels come off with as they lose four of their next five, with the losses coming to the Sooners, Dust Pirates, Bugeaters and Austin County Correctional Facility. The Jayhawks will end the season at 8-4, second in the Big 12 North and in a bowl game. If Mangino’s team can sneak in a couple more upsets, perhaps this lady will change her tattoo to incorporate the football team.

Big 12 Preview - Missouri

The Tigers lost six players to the NFL last year, in addition to college great Chase Daniel. The Tigers hadn’t had that many players go to the NFL since the 1981 draft. After that draft, the Tigers went 8-4, but didn’t match that win total again until 1998. I don’t expect the Tigers to be very good this year (they lost a lot on offense, and not enough on defense), but the bottom has fallen out of the Big 12 North again. The Tigers will lose on the road to start the year against the Illlini, on the road to Nevada, to the Bugeaters, Boone State, Austin County Correctional Facility, at home against Baylor (!), and to border rival Missouri. Just don’t tell this guy. That’s still good enough for 3rd in the Big 12 North.

Sooner Great Rick Bryan Dead

Rick Bryan died at the age of 47 last night of an apparent heart attack. The Tulsa World has an excellent article here. My condolences to the Bryan family and friends.

In an unrelated note, two county deputies were killed in my hometown of Seminole, Ok while attempting to serve an arrest warrant last night. My prayers are with the families.

What a crappy way to start out the day.

Big 12 Preview - Colorado

Phil Steele points out that Cody Hawkins became the first 1-A QB to play for his father since Rodney Bryant played for Steve Bryant at Ohio in 1989. The Ohio Bobcats went 1-9-1 that year, and Bryant was replace by Tom Lichtenberg. Anytime you’re replaced by someone whose name rhymes with the Hindenberg, that’s not a good sign. Anyway, back to the Buffs. The Buffs return nine starters on an offense that – to put it mildly – sucked. They were last in the conference in rushing and points per game, and 11th in passing. I’m not sure it’s a good thing to return starters in that instance. I see Colorado finishing 4th in the North and going 4-8 this year, with losses at Toledo, at West Virginia, at Texas, to Kansas, Missouri, Cash Machine U, at Boone State and to the Bugeaters. There's little margin for error at this point in the Buffs history, so they need to make sure they listen to the coaches.

I would expect this from the Big 10

The LandThieves Investigative Team was unsuccessful today in the search for the truth. You see, here are the preseason poll results for the North

Bugeaters 172
Phog U 164
Mizzou 124
CU Later 100
Willie and Friends 81
Iowa State 33

This totals 674. Problem is, it should tally 672 (32*[6+5+4+3+2+1]). I sent a message to a spokesperson at the Big 12, but they apparently are getting ready for a media conference or something, and completely blew me off.

Same problem, except different, in the South:

Texas 174
Sooners 174
Boone State 130
Dust Pirates 89
Baylor 75
Cash Machine U 33

This totals 675. Again, we should get to 672, but we're three points off here. Where are the three extra points? Well, we can presume they are NOT in the Texas Aggies total, unless someone else voted them seventh in the division.

If the conference responds, you'll be the second to know.

Big 12 Media Poll 2009

Last year, I broke down the pre-season media poll for your. This year, it's a little tougher, as the math doesn't work, but the LandThieves Investigative Team is on the case. Here are some quick highlights from the release:

• Only 32 votes this year, as opposed to 51 last year.
• 31 of 32 voters picked Texas A&M last in the South.
• Baylor has several fourth place selections as well, my guess is around 12 writers selected Baylor 4th, with Tech 5th.
• OU and Texas were picked tied for first. I don't know what the tie-breaker format is for the Preseason poll. Mack Brown will be politicking to be declared the champion on College Football Live later today, I'm sure.
• Four voters picked someone other than OU and Texas to be in second place. These votes appear to be split between Boone State and the Dust Pirates.

In the North:

• Three voters selected Missouri for first. These voters must have mistakenly mailed in last year's ballot.
• Iowa State was the nearly unanimous pick for last in the division, with the Wildcats presumably garnering the other last place vote.
• While Nebraska and Kansas were selected the top 2 teams in the North, there were at least ten writers that has someone else in the 2 slot.
• Second place in the Big 12 North is a crapshoot to figure out without the detail of number of votes for each team for each slot. However, from the information I could back into, it looks like Colorado had the most second place votes, and the most fifth place votes.

With the handing chads/math mistake, it's tough to break down with more certainty.

As the LandThieves Investigate Team finds out more on this story, we'll keep you advised.