Big 12's 12th season offers 12 big stories

Big 12's 12th season offers 12 big stories


The 12th season of football in the Big 12 Conference is loaded with intriguing story lines to follow over the next six months.

This week, the Big 12 Countdown looks at 12 to follow closely:

12. Remember the Alamo(dome): San Antonio’s Alamodome plays host to its third Big 12 championship game and its first since 1999. Both times the title game came to the River Walk - the first came in 1996 - Nebraska was the winner, defeating Texas A&M and Texas, respectively.

11. Is it finally the Year of the Tiger?: Missouri fans have waited since 1969 for a conference championship. These days, they’d be happy with a division title. But with quarterback Chase Daniel throwing to a variety pack of receivers as good as any in the nation - plus a favorable schedule - this might be Missouri’s best chance to capture the North Division. Anything less might be considered a disappointment.

10. Golden receivers: No other conference has a wide receiver trio better than Texas’ Limas Sweed, Oklahoma’s Malcolm Kelly and Oklahoma State’s Adarius Bowman. Add Missouri’s Will Franklin into the mix - plus his tight end teammates disguised as wideouts, Martin Rucker and Chase Coffman - and the Big 12 might be home to the best pass-catchers in the country. And don’t forget Iowa State’s Todd Blythe, the conference’s active leader in catches, yards and touchdown grabs.

9. Sam I Am: Nebraska’s Sam Keller, the country’s most celebrated and scrutinized Division I transfer, has one season to salvage his career. Keller and his NFL arm left a messy situation at Arizona State last year. In Lincoln, he replaces Big 12 player of the year Zac Taylor with the weight of Husker Nation riding on every pass he throws this fall. Will Keller be a one-year wonder and take Nebraska back to San Antonio? Or will he conclude a once-promising career with a disappointing finish?

8. Ron Prince, Act II: Kansas State probably overachieved a bit last season, winning seven games despite starting freshman quarterback Josh Freeman in eight games during Ron Prince’s first season as a head coach. Can Prince orchestrate another winner during his encore? The schedule gets nasty, with trips to Auburn, Texas, Oklahoma State and Nebraska. A greater concern might be the questionable offensive line protecting Freeman.

7. Dan Hawkins, Act II: Early on, more eyes will be on Dan Hawkins’ second season at Colorado, but only because CU’s brutal nonconference schedule includes nationally televised games against Colorado State, Arizona State and Florida State. The Buffaloes must improve on Hawkins’ 2-10 debut last year, or it might get unseasonably warm in Boulder.

6. After Adrian: Just how does Oklahoma replace superstar running back Adrian Peterson, the seventh pick in the NFL draft? That’s easy. The Sooners have done it already. Backup Allen Patrick carried the load just fine when Adrian Peterson suffered a broken collarbone last fall, leading OU to victories in all five of his starts. Patrick is back this year, along with redshirt freshman DeMarco Murray, who might be the Big 12’s newcomer of the year if he gets enough carries.

5. A September to remember: In recent years, Big 12 athletic directors came together to beef up their nonconference schedules, collectively adding series against some of the premier teams in the country. Gone are the cupcake slates of years past. This year, Kansas State plays at Auburn, Oklahoma State goes to Georgia and both Oklahoma and Texas A&M face Miami. Nebraska takes on the mother of all nonconference foes, playing host to national champion favorite USC.

4. Gene therapy: The only new head coach in the league is no stranger to the Big 12. Iowa State brought in Texas co-defensive coordinator Gene Chizik to inject some energy into a program that couldn’t sustain the mild success generated by Dan McCarney. Handed a salary rare for most first-time head coaches, Chizik has a few building blocks in Blythe and quarterback Bret Meyer but more questions than answers at this point.

3. Young guns: Question: Which conference has more talent at quarterback than the Big 12?

Answer: The AFC.

A year ago, the conference was full of question marks under center. Now, it’s flooded with superstars. Texas sophomore Colt McCoy is the favorite to earn preseason league honors, but he’ll have competition for the postseason award from Missouri’s Daniel, Texas A&M’s Stephen McGee and Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell. Don’t forget Oklahoma State’s electric junior Bobby Reid, K-State’s budding Freeman and Iowa State’s Meyer, the most experienced quarterback in the league.

2. Heat is on: In four years at Texas A&M, Dennis Franchione has gone just 25-23. That’s not good enough considering his hefty salary and the enormous expectations in College Station. Will another seven-win season be enough to keep Fran around? The leash won’t be any longer for Baylor’s Guy Morriss, a likable guy who’s led a dismal program to just 15 wins in four seasons. And what about Kansas’ Mark Mangino? He’s had a few big wins, but he’s still 10 games under .500 after five years in Lawrence. Will Lew Perkins settle for another bowl-less December?

1. Changes all around: The most significant news in the Big 12 probably won’t happen on the field this year. The times, they are a-changing, and the future of the conference could be at stake. Who will succeed outgoing Commissioner Kevin Weiberg, and how will his or her vision of the conference affect the Big 12 dynamics?

Fueled by the revenue-sharing system for TV games, will the chasm between the haves and have nots continue to divide the league into separate divisions?

Will retooled TV deals with ABC/ESPN, Fox and Versus increase the league’s visibility and satisfy the masses?

And how will Weiberg’s new employer, the 24-hour Big Ten Network, impact college football TV coverage and business deals around the nation, including Big 12 country?

Stay tuned - for everything.

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