ACC | Big East | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-10 | SEC | UWIRE Top 10
Baylor, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech
Conventional wisdom: Boomer Sooner and Hook ‘Em Horns. After that, uh, well, I guess someone’s going to earn a bowl bid. The North division, as usual, looks especially blah. … That great mass of mediocrity indicates a conference in transition. Gene Chizik at Iowa State is the lone new coach, but six others have been at their schools no more than five years — Colorado’s Dan Hawkins, K-State’s Ron Prince, OK State’s Mike Gundy, Nebraska’s Bill Callahan, Baylor’s Guy Morriss and A&M’s Dennis Franchione. Some of these are barely known outside of their own living rooms. What happened to the days of Bill Snyder and R.C. Slocum?
Richest man in town: Mack Brown, Texas
A big raise and contract extension for the Longhorns coach. True, he’s got a national title and all, but seriously, at this point he’s getting bonuses just for making it to practice without tripping on his shoelaces.
Most anxious to get started: Oklahoma
Have Longhorns and OK State fans been mailing potatoes to their Sooners brethren all year? They should have been, after the insane way in which the Sons of Barry Switzer lost to Boise State in January’s Fiesta Bowl. Bob Stoops’ boys got it out of their heads by mashing North Texas and Miami the first two weeks.
Biggest sigh of relief: Tony Temple, Missouri
Mizzou’s feature back gave his team a tremendous scare when he went down, screaming in pain, during practice the first week of August. Turns out it was just a knee bruise, not a ligament tear. As the conference’s leading returning rusher, he’s obviously a huge key for the Tigers.
Most mind-blowing: Nebraska’s West Coast offense
I know this isn’t the first year the Huskers have run Bill Callahan’s dink-and-dunk attack, but I still can’t get over it. Nebraska? West Coast offense? Really? How long can I keep this string of rhetorical questions going? Not long. We’ll see if Sam Keller has the stuff to put it all in motion this fall.
Most surprisingly large shoes to fill: Derek Epperson, Baylor
When you think about it, it’s not surprising that the perennially woeful Bears would prioritize punters in recruiting. Epperson averaged 43 yards per kick in high school, but the freshman (and potential orthopedic doctor) succeeds Daniel Sepulveda, now with the Pittsburgh Steelers after becoming the first two-time winner of the Ray Guy Award as the top college punter. Epperson better have ‘em laced up tight this fall, because Baylor … will, generally speaking, again be Baylor.
Best chase scene: Chase Daniel and Chase Coffman, Missouri
It’s not exactly the Marks Brothers, but Daniel and Coffman were each among the top recruits at their position when they got to Columbia in 2005. Their junior season should be their most productive yet.
Most likely to be secretly Cockney: Texas WR Limas Sweed
He wears the same No. 4 as former Longhorns wide receiver Roy Williams, but the name sounds more like something out of Dickens. Maybe a rapscallion pickpocket or a miserly misanthrope. Sweed is an All-American in waiting, leading perhaps the best group of receivers Mack Brown has had at Texas.
Most regretful: Colorado
Colt Brennan never got on the field for the Buffaloes, redshirting for one season before he got booted from the team after pleading guilty to burglary and trespassing charges. He regrouped at a community college and has emerged at Hawaii as one of the nation’s most productive passers. Maybe he’s just a system quarterback, but the man was sixth in the Heisman voting. He’s got to be better than what the Buffs have now.
Most likely to take advantage of the situation: Kansas State
Aiming to avoid a sophomore slump, coach Ron Prince should have the Wildcats in contention with Nebraska and Iowa State for the North title. And if there’s anywhere you want to be this season, it’s the tissue-paper Big 12 North.
Quickest on the trigger: Graham Harrell, Texas Tech
Speaking of system quarterbacks, Harrell is the man at the helm now in Mike Leach’s unique offense, passing first, second and third. If that doesn’t work, pass again. The junior threw for 4,555 yards last season as a first-year starter — though the fact that he only earned all-conference honorable mention points to the general belief that the playbook, not the QB, does most of the work.