ESPN College Football

Magic.

• Travis Hines of the Ames Tribune writes about Paul Rhoads' "Ride to Remember" fundraiser. Cool promotion.
• Enjoyed this column from colleague Gene Wojciechowski about how much one guy can change the face of a football team.
• Nice new painting in Kliff Kingsbury's office, but look closely for a nod to one of the greatest Tech football moments ever.
• Kansas has a new TV deal with Time Warner Cable and KC's Metro Sports. Matt Tait of the Lawrence Journal-World has more details.
• Ex-West Virginia coach Don Nehlen talks with Bob Hertzel of the Times West Virginian about the way the game has changed since he's been gone.
• Lots of Big 12 talk in Matt Hayes of Sporting News' 10 non-SEC storylines to watch for 2013.
• Oklahoma State sports hype video!
• Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman looks back with Bob Stoops on Jimmy Stevens' infamous kick against Florida State back in 2011.
• West Virginia grabbed an offensive line commit for its 2014 class.

• How will Texas Tech use its Big 12 payout? Don Williams of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal asked around.
• Good story from Jeremy Fowler on how Mike Gundy dug up Mike Yurcich as his new OC, and a few thoughts from Yurcich on the game. Gina Mizell of The Oklahoman has more on Gundy's process.
• Don Williams of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal writes about the cornerbacks at Texas Tech.
• Texas made a few additions to its 2014 recruiting class over the weekend. Oklahoma State grabbed a defensive end from Tulsa, too.
• Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram profiles TCU AD Chris Del Conte for a special Father's Day piece.
• Paul Myerberg of USA Today breaks down Iowa State in advance of the season.
• Jason Orts of the Waco Tribune-Herald introduces you to a new Baylor commit.
• Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh sat down for a Q&A with Jason Kersey of The Oklahoman. He also writes about the post-graduate transfer rule and its impact on the Sooner State.
• West Virginia needs an independent study of its finances, writes Bob Hertzel of the Times West Virginian.

If you've been without an internet connection since Alabama clinched the SEC's seventh consecutive national title in January, you might not have noticed a bit of saber-rattling on the part of Big 12 coaches.

Bob Stoops started the parade by trumpeting the Big 12's depth and said the SEC's mystique and reputation are attributable in part to "propaganda."

Texas coach Mack Brown later patted Stoops on the back, saying he was proud of his Oklahoma counterpart for sticking up for the conference. In an interview with ESPN.com, Kansas coach Charlie Weis, too, said that Stoops had a point.

Still, it's going to take more than talk to knock off No. 1.

Phil Steele ranked the college football conferences for his preseason magazine, and he's got the Big 12 sitting in second place, behind the SEC. The Big 12 actually finished ahead of the SEC in the computer rankings in 2011 and held a lead for much of 2012, but in tabulations by ESPN Stats & Information, the SEC was king by the end of that season.

Steele explains that without a preseason top-10 team in the Big 12, his ranking of the league might be a bit surprising, but notes that Texas and Oklahoma State were in his top 10, and could both be 9-0 when they meet Nov. 16 in Austin. The Big 12 has four more teams in Steele's top 40 and he pointed out that the conference had the best mark (26-4) in nonconference games last season.

He also notes, and I agree, that those numbers can be influenced by scheduling. This year, though, the Big 12 can settle more on the field. By the end of September, the Big 12 and SEC will have played three games and will meet in the Cotton Bowl at the end of the season. The two leagues met on the field just once in the 2012 regular season, with Texas routing Ole Miss in Oxford. Texas A&M famously rolled over Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl.

The 2013 meetings between the leagues -- including TCU/LSU and Oklahoma State/Mississippi State on neutral fields on opening weekend -- should be fun, with plenty of bragging rights up for grabs.

Still, no amount of victories will do much to change anyone's mind about the SEC's superiority -- unless they get to take home a crystal football after the game's over.

Thanks for all the emails this week, everybody. Here's where you can reach me if you've got more to say.

Doug in Philadelphia writes: Now the Alamo Bowl get the first pick of Big 12 teams not going to the playoffs to play a Pac-12 team? What happened to the champions bowl or whatever it was going to be called? I thought it was supposed to take the champion (or the first team that didn't make the BCS/playoffs) of the Big 12 and SEC. I've talked to some other people about this and we're all pretty confused, can you please help clear this up for us?

David Ubben: I'm getting a lot of questions about this, and the Alamo Bowl talking about getting the Big 12's "No. 1 team" inspired much of that. First off, the Champions Bowl is no longer a thing. That was a placeholder name for the bowl game between the SEC and Big 12 "champions" that is now the Sugar Bowl. The Big 12 won't be officially associated with the Fiesta or Cotton Bowls once the playoff kicks in in 2014. Both of those will be access games and either feature at-large CFP bids similar to BCS bowl games, or they'll be the playoff semifinal games.

If the Big 12 champion misses out on the four-team playoff, it'll face an SEC team in the Sugar Bowl. If the Big 12 champion or two Big 12 teams get into the playoff, the No. 3 Big 12 team will go to the Sugar Bowl and the No. 4 team will head to the Alamo. The most frequent scenario I'd say fans can expect is the Big 12 champion getting into the four-team playoff, the No. 2 team heading to the Sugar Bowl and the league's No. 3 overall team heading to the Alamo.

The reason you're hearing talk about the Big 12's "No. 1" team heading to the Alamo Bowl is because the bowl gets first dibs on teams after all the CFP teams and access games are filled.

Hope that clears things up.

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Aryton in El Paso, Texas, writes: "How heartbreaking would it be, though, for a solid Oklahoma State team in 2014 to be banned from the postseason?" Mr. Ubben, isn't it more heartbreaking that OSU is ranked dead last in APR in the Big 12? At the least, it should be pretty embarrassing that a university has a booster drop a cool $150 mil in their laps and they end up dead last in the primary mission of the school. Just an observation ...

DU: I mean, I hear you on that, Aryton. A decent point. The issue is, the Academic Progress Rate doesn't have anything to do with academic excellence, which is actually the chief mission of universities (or so we're told). The APR is basically a penalty system for programs who don't graduate players or have players leave the program. A 4.0 student and a student barely eligible are equal in the eyes of the APR.

A coach has a responsibility to bring up the bottom of the team academically and keep players in the program and on track to graduate, but it's a shame to me that the APR doesn't reward teams for having high-achieving students, too.

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Andrew in Phoenix writes: I keep hearing about the preseason predictions, and as an ISU faithful, I always think "this will be the year." I'm going out on a limb here, but I don't think Iowa State is going to be a 6-6 team. Either everything is going to fall apart due to the lack of talent, or this team is going to be the best example of Coach [Bill] Snyder's greater-than-the-sum. My guess? 9-3 or 3-9, but no repeat of the last four seasons. Either way though, Coach [Paul] Rhoads is always welcome in Jack Trice. Go Clones!

DU: I don't buy that. I just can't see Iowa State reaching 9-3, even if it's theoretically possible. The defense is replacing its most integral pieces and the offense is reloading a bit, too, from a unit that hasn't been explosive or capable of scoring anywhere near enough points to be a major threat in the Big 12 title race. I see Iowa State basically in the same place it has been for awhile: Fringe bowl team. The Cyclones are much, much better than 3-9, but far from 9-3. I'd say somewhere between 5-7 and 7-5 is the most likely range.

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Justin Keller from Amberg, Germany, writes: Guten Tag David from Germany. Do you think the conference has given any serious thought to changing the name from the Big 12 to something else? Something involving the number 10 perhaps? It seems weird to me that we're still calling ourselves the Big 12 yet [commissioner Bob] Bowlsby has expressed again and again that we are comfortable with where we are at school-wise with 10. I understand there's a marketing factor here and maybe that's it. It's probably easier to stay with the same conference name than to spend money changing the conference name and your brand. I'm curious to find out your thoughts on this matter.

DU: Guten tag, Justin. Love Germany. My sister lived there for a few years and I spent a spring break in high school once exploring around Stuttgart, the Alps in Switzerland and a few other surrounding areas, so I've got a soft spot for the country.

To your question: I get it a lot. The league explored a name change most explicitly entering the 2011 season when Texas A&M and Missouri were members. It's like you said: A marketing decision. Look at what the American Athletic Conference is going through right now. The college football diehards won't be all that confused, but for the casual fan, it's going to take a lot of getting used to. The league decision-makers basically decided the name recognition outweighed its mathematical inaccuracy. Good decision, if you ask me ... which you did.

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Shawn in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, writes: Alright I have two questions for you Dave. For starters, I'm going to assume its safe to say that after Kendal Thompson's arrest he is out of the race for starting quarterback [at Oklahoma], so what do you think the chance is for Trevor Knight to beat out Blake Bell? My second question is do you see any resemblance of Blake Bell to former Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow?

DU: Thompson's not explicitly out of the race, but I'd say his spot has a lot more to do with the way Blake Bell performed during the spring than anything he did off the field. Bell looked the part of a solid Big 12 quarterback, and Knight's wheels aren't going to unseat him.

As for the Tebow comparisons, sure, Bell's got a similar build, but how about we hold off on that kind of talk until he's made his first official start? Or hey, maybe even two?

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Finally went to Pecan Lodge on Thursday. It was magical.

• Good story from Randy Peterson of the Des Moines Register on Iowa State's Wally and Shane Burnham's ability to mix family and football.
• Clark Kent in the the new Man of Steel movie is a Kansas football fan. He watches a game in one scene.
• Texas Tech's new scoreboard is coming into shape, writes Don Williams of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
• Athlon ranks the Big 12 football stadiums.
• Texas added a commitment to its 2014 class on Thursday.
• Former Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones officially signed his contract with the Steelers on Thursday. Former West Virginia do-everything talent Tavon Austin signed his with St. Louis, too.
• Looks like Justin Gilbert and Ra'Shaad Samples finally raced.
• Another day, another regrettable tweet from a recruit.

Phil Steele is continuing his march through the top 15 units at each position group across the country, and took a look at the nation's best wide receivers and running backs for the 2013 season .

As you might expect, the Big 12 was well represented.

Texas had the highest unit among both groups, ranking No. 3 with its talented, deep group of running backs. Johnathan Gray and Malcolm Brown were both the No. 1 running backs in their respective recruiting classes and both have been productive throughout their careers. Bruiser Joe Bergeron and speedster Daje Johnson add more depth. No surprise seeing Texas there.

I might have included Kansas on this list, actually, but Oklahoma and Baylor made appearances at No. 10 and 11, respectively.

Baylor has better overall running backs for me, but the Sooners' depth likely landed them at No. 10, led by Damien Williams, who Steele had on his All-Big 12 first-team earlier this month. Williams is showing up on plenty of NFL draft lists heading into the season, so the former juco transfer will have a lot to play for in 2013. Still, the Bears' Lache Seastrunk is the league's best overall back heading into 2013.

The departure of guys like Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey and Terrance Williams left a weak class of elite receivers in the Big 12, but there's still plenty of above average talent.

Oklahoma State's Josh Stewart is the league's leading returner in receiving yardage, and headlines the Big 12's best group according to Steele. The Pokes are at No. 4.

I'm betting by season's end, Baylor would have a case on this list, but the Bears are a no show for now.

Texas and Oklahoma are Nos. 10 and 11 on the list respectively. I'd probably case a vote for Texas Tech and Baylor ahead of Texas, and maybe even TCU, but Mike Davis and Jaxon Shipley could both break out on a national level this year.

Go check out Steele's rankings. You'll need Insider to see them all, but what do you make of the Big 12 candidates?

People always forget how icy the Zack-Slater relationship was in the beginning.

• Texas Tech is looking into recruiting violations possibly committed by alum Wes Welker.
• Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman compares the new Big 12 bowl lineup to the old one.
• Take a closer look at Iowa State. You'll learn something here.
• Baylor coach Art Briles has a biography coming out, with a foreward by Robert Griffin III.
• West Virginia is looking good in the latest APR report. Bob Hertzel of the Times West Virginian has more on what that means.

Incoming freshmen have started arriving at Big 12 campuses for the summer, taking part in offseason strength and conditioning programs as well as 7-on-7 work with teammates, an especially important exercise for spread offenses popular in the Big 12.

Wide receiver Ra'Shaad Samples signed with Oklahoma State last February as the nation's No. 19 receiver, No. 166 overall recruit and the Cowboys highest-ranked signee of the 2013 class, but just a few months later, he's already turned a few heads when he announced via Twitter that he'd run a 4.32 40-time in summer workouts. He got some corroboration on the social networking site when starting quarterback (probably) Clint Chelf congratulated him and said in addition to running the 4.32 40, he "balled out" in a scrimmage.

Now, spare me your arguments on the faulty times we constantly see on 40s. I agree with you. It's silliness. Samples did not run a 4.32, no matter what the stopwatches in Stillwater tell you. The only times I truly trust are those at the NFL combine, and Samples' 4.32 would have been faster than all but Texas' Marquise Goodwin at last Feburary's combine in Indianapolis. That means guys like Tavon Austin, Denard Robinson and others would be left in Samples' dust. I don't buy it.

Still, to quabble over tenths of seconds is even sillier. Samples is clearly fast, and he claimed the time was the fastest ever for a freshman in Oklahoma State history. I believe that, but cornerback Justin Gilbert, who'll get a shot of his own at next year's combine, chimed in on Twitter with a little smack talk that one can only assume was directed at Samples.

"Might i add...we didnt run fortys when we came in as freshmen lol," Gilbert tweeted.

Gilbert's a guy with a case as the fastest man in the Big 12, an informal title that Baylor receiver Tevin Reese and Kansas State WR/KR Tyler Lockett all have a claim to, but I'd love to see Oklahoma State settle this at some point in fall camp. Maybe a little after practice showdown?

I joked on Twitter earlier this week that if Oklahoma State set up and hyped the event, it could bring in at least 2,500 fans at a dollar a pop. The general consensus I got from OSU fans was that number was way, way low.

Either way, I'd love to see it happen. Samples vs. Gilbert. Who you got?

The best.

• A lack of experience is Iowa State's biggest hurdle this time around.
• The sting of losing Louisville got worse with the baseball team booking a ticket to the College World Series, writes Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman.
• Kliff Kingsbury will turn around Texas Tech quickly, writes Matt Hayes of Sporting News.
• Plenty of intriguing nuggets here from Baylor AD Ian McCaw from his live chat on Tuesday.
• Schools in Oklahoma have raised $160,000 so far in tornado relief funds by selling T-shirts.
• The jewel of Iowa State's recruiting class paid a visit to Notre Dame. How did it go?
• Oklahoma State is bringing on a walk-on quarterback from Texas.
• Get to know Kansas better with this in-depth preview of the Jayhawks.
• West Virginia fans can point to 2005 for reasons to be optimistic about 2013.

Oklahoma State had better be careful. Look for an emphasis from Mike Gundy's staff on graduation and grades in the year to come, or it could mean a postseason ban in 2014.

The NCAA recently introduced the Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores, and for the second consecutive year, the Cowboys are flirting with danger.

Here's how the NCAA's website describes the score:

A Division I Football Bowl Subdivision team awards the full complement of 85 grants-in-aid. If 80 student-athletes remain in school and academically eligible, three remain in school but are academically ineligible and two drop out academically ineligible, the team earns 163 of 170 possible points for that term. Divide 163 by 170 and multiply by 1,000 to determine that the team’s Academic Progress Rate for that term is 959.

The number represents the past four years and rolls over each year, but in 2014-15, schools must average at least 930 over a four-year period or 940 in a two-year period to avoid a postseason ban.

Schools that average less than 925, have a player who failed academically and left school can lose scholarships, too.

Iowa State also checked in with a score of just 928 and could be in danger of missing the postseason as well. Those two scores were the seventh- and eighth-lowest APR scores among BCS schools, according to colleague Brett McMurphy.

The good news for Oklahoma State? It's trending in the right direction. From The Oklahoman:

After scoring a 903 in the 2010-11 term alone, OSU did improve dramatically with a 947 in 2011-12. That means it would need to score a 933 for the 2012-13 term to qualify using the two-year average.

So, enough to be uncomfortable but not quite enough to be very, very concerned. How heartbreaking would it be, though, for a solid Oklahoma State team in 2014 to be banned from the postseason?

Iowa State is in a similar situation to Oklahoma State. The Cyclones are trying to outrun an 889 APR from the 2008-09 school year, but haven't had a mark below 934 in the last three years.

No Big 12 teams made the national top 10 for APR, according to McMurphy.

Here's how the rest of the Big 12 measured up:

T-1. Baylor -- 962
T-1. TCU -- 962
3. Oklahoma -- 960
4. Kansas -- 958
5. West Virginia -- 950
6. Kansas State -- 948
7. Texas Tech -- 941
8. Texas -- 936
9. Iowa State -- 928
10. Oklahoma State -- 926

Dubai! ... DUBAI!

• Has Bob Stoops taken Oklahoma as far as he can? Matt Hayes of Sporting News talked to a lot of folks about that idea and Stoops' legacy at Oklahoma, and his recent efforts to get the Sooners over the top.
• Missed this over the weekend, but TCU quarterback Casey Pachall will need permission from his probation officer to leave his county for road games, TCU 360 reports.
• Oklahoma State added a pair of commits who are both defensive ends.
• Berry Tramel of The Oklahoma ranks the Big 12 nonconference schedules.
• Nice story here on an emotional weekend for Charlie Weis' family. His daughter moved into the Hannah and Friends community.
• Andy Staples of SI.com has a realignment report card and breaks down the four teams who came to or went from the Big 12.
• Iowa State's self-imposed sanctions after NCAA violations may be enough for the NCAA to not add more, writes Randy Peterson of the Des Moines Register.
• K-State AD John Currie is happy with a season full of success, but wants more for the Wildcats, writes Joshua Kinder of the Manhattan Mercury.
• Oklahoma quarterback signee Cody Thomas will be staying with the Sooners and not playing baseball after he was drafted over the weekend, reports Jason Kersey of The Oklahoman.
• Baylor RB Lache Seastrunk joined Silas Redd with this distinction after transferring.
• Can West Virginia dig up the next Tavon Austin?

You never know who will break out in their first year in the league. Last season, we saw a true freshman in TCU's Devonte Fields capture the league's Defensive Player of the Year Award, and plenty of other freshmen, redshirt freshmen and juco transfers had major impacts across the league.

Here are a few first-year players to keep an eye on this season.

Cassius Sendish, CB, Kansas: Sendish was part of the juco blitz that came to KU this spring, but had an immediate impact on and off the field. Coach Charlie Weis loves his leadership, and he provides a big boost in the secondary that badly needed one after ranking eighth in the league in pass defense. The 6-foot, 187-pounder already made an impression on everybody in the program with his wit and the way he carries himself, and he should be fun to watch this fall.

Jake Waters, QB, Kansas State: Waters hasn't officially won Kansas State's quarterback job yet, but he was the nation's No. 78 overall juco prospect and earned plenty of notoriety for breaking some guy named Cam Newton's completion percentage record on the way to a national title last season. He's still got to beat out Daniel Sams to be able to replace Collin Klein, but the 6-foot-2, 215-pounder could bring some accuracy to the table that's been missing awhile.

Robbie Rhodes, WR, Baylor: Rhodes is one of the highest-ranked recruits to ever step foot on Baylor's campus, and could have an immediate impact for a receiving corps trying to replace Lanear Sampson and Terrance Williams. He was ranked as the nation's No. 3 receiver and No. 35 overall recruit, as well as the fourth-best player in Texas. The Bears beat out TCU and Texas for his services, and the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Fort Worth, Texas native could crack the field very early. Only two players in the Big 12 were ranked higher than Rhodes in the class of 2013.

Kevin White, WR, West Virginia: White is a big body at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds and a different kind of receiver than West Virginia is used to suiting up, but after losing Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey, a ton of targets will be available in a receiving corps that has little experience, even with the boost of Ivan McCartney's return. He already showed his ability in the spring game, turning a screen pass into a 46-yard score. He'll get plenty of opportunities to do that some more this fall.

Kansas State athletic director John Currie was one of four named the Under Armour AD of the Year.

Kansas State has had one of the best seasons in the major sports of any program in the country. The football team captured a Big 12 title and a BCS bid, and the baseball and basketball teams also won Big 12 titles.

Only four BCS schools have done that in the three major sports in a single year since 1998. It was also the first Big 12 school to have all three teams named coach of the year in the respective sports.

Currie will accept the award on Saturday in Orlando.

Still got it.

• Bobby La Gesse of the Ames Tribune writes about a new technology that's transforming Iowa State's strength and conditioning program.
• Mack Brown doesn't want to be the AD at Texas, but he's not going anywhere, writes Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman.
• Oklahoma State safety Daytawion Lowe says Wes Lunt's transfer shocked him.
• Some people might look at Daniel Franklin and see a "bust." He explains to Jason Kersey of The Oklahoman why coming to Norman was one of the best decisions of his life.
• Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News writes about TCU and West Virginia loving life in the Big 12, despite some growing pains.
• Texas flipped a TCU commit to their 2015 class, and he says he was dreaming for this day, writes colleague Max Olson. Two more players committed to Texas in 2015 this weekend.
• A former Kansas linebacker is looking to help people get fit, writes Matt Tait of the Lawrence Journal-World.
• Don Williams of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal writes about Texas Tech's hopes to replace an experienced offensive line.
• TCU defensive lineman Chucky Hunter was among a handful of athletes across the Big 12 who helped out at a children's hospital in Fort Worth this weekend.
• Gina Mizell of The Oklahoman talked with OSU's newest QB's high school coach about his future arrival in Stillwater.
• Here's a closer look at the modest expectations for West Virginia this fall.

Thanks for all the mail this week, everybody. Plenty of intrigue. Here's where you can reach me if you've got more to say.

Dave in Dallas writes: How do you think the Big 12 will do against SEC this year. TCU/LSU, OSU/Miss St, Texas/Ole Miss.Everyone is high on Ole Miss this season, what do you think? Which is going to be the best game?

David Ubben: First off, great name and location, sir. Seems like we've got a lot in common. To your question, the Big 12 should do well, but this could quickly turn nightmarish for the Big 12. TCU is a touchdown underdog, but Oklahoma State and Texas should be solid favorites. The problem: Both of those teams are definitely good enough to beat the Pokes and Horns.

On paper, the Big 12 should go 2-1, but both leagues could definitely go 3-0. No doubt about it, conference bragging rights will be on the line. Ole Miss is still a year or two away from being a real force, but they'll be solid this year.

For me, the best game should definitely be TCU and LSU. It'll be physical, low-scoring and really intriguing in terms of storylines in what should be Casey Pachall's return to the field. It's also the Big 12's chance to go up against a solid SEC defense. The league's been clamoring for more matchups against the SEC after playing just two games last year, and just one in the regular season. It's happening now. The Big 12's been doing a whole lot of talking this offseason. We'll see if the league can back it up with some good games that it has opportunities to win.

Josh in Wichita, Kan., writes: I think that K-State (and Texas for that matter) both have proven numerous times that games are not won/lost on paper.

DU: Obviously, but those are two extreme cases. More often than not, you put a team of top-tier recruits on the field against a bunch of overlooked guys and juco transfers, I can tell you who'll win. Not everybody has the volume of recruiting misses Texas has and not everybody has the kind of development and coaching in Bill Snyder that Kansas State has.

Paper's still relevant. There's a reason Oklahoma and Iowa State are almost never close to one another in the Big 12 standings.

Paul Rhoads in Ames, Iowa, writes: Hey Ubbs. So I'm over here looking at the kickoff times for my first 4 games and I think I've got the best schedule in the Big 12! A home opener against an in-state FCS school at night will get the fans excited, an evening game for the Cy-Hawk trophy at home (it's been a LONG time since we've had a late-day Cy-Hawk battle), a Thursday night game at our newest bitter rival Tulsa, and then a Thursday night game for our Big 12 opener against Texas at home! It may be a little weak, but do you think the national attention would be greater because of the schedule set-up if my team was 3-0 going into the Texas game?

DU: It's a solid lineup. There's no reason Iowa State can't be 3-0. I'll probably pick that to be the case, and the environment for that night Cy-Hawk game should be so, so much fun. They've played some classic games the past couple years. It's a shame they've been stuck at 11 a.m. kicks. It's within reason that Iowa State could be 1-2 heading into that game, but if they're 3-0 against an undefeated Texas game for the Thursday nighter at home, it'll be a really intriguing game with two teams who have a lot to prove. Texas wouldn't necessarily prove their worth as a Big 12 title contender with a win in Ames, but that'll be a tough win, no doubt. A win for Iowa State, though? Huge. Very easy to believe ISU has taken that famed "next step" if they knock off the Horns on a big national stage.

Scott in Stillwater, Okla., writes: So, I kind of thought Gundy was being kind giving Lunt the option to transfer somewhere without sitting out a year. The precedent seemed to be that if you transfer in most instances, then you have to sit a year. Is that not the case?

DU: I've seen a lot of confusion about this lately, so let's clear this up: The only scenario in which players can transfer and not sit out a year (barring extenuating circumstances like the Penn State/Sandusky sanctions):

• If they've completed their undergraduate degree and enroll in a graduate program not offered at their new school
• If they sign a letter of intent but don't play for the school yet and are released from the NLI by their current coach.

Dylan in Jacksonville, Fla., writes: Ubbs, I've noticed a lot lately that you have been leaving out WVU players from your polls. After the bad debut last year, I guess that is warranted. I do disagree though when you left Joseph out of your defensive player of the year poll. My question is are you leaving them out because we just don't have talent, or because WVU fans usually ruin every poll and always vote for our guy? Keep up the good work.

DU: It's a combination of a couple things, and none have anything to do with the latter scenario you brought up. One, the offense is so inexperienced and lacks any elite returning talent. Karl Joseph is a good player, but there were just five better players on defense and it's tough to really campaign for a guy as the best player on a defense as bad as West Virginia's was last year. It's the same deal as James Sims at Kansas on a very bad offense. The awards just aren't going to come his way until KU starts winning.