ESPN College Football

Our RecruitingNation staff dropped the first ESPN 300 of the recruiting season on Monday, aka the list of the nation's top 300 overall prospects.

You can see the full list here, but here's a look at the guys on the list who are committed to Big 12 schools:

No. 74: Davion Hall, ATH, Baylor

No. 79: Derick Roberson, DE, Texas

No. 97: Justice Hansen, QB-DT, Oklahoma

No. 103: Kyron Watson, LB, Kansas

No. 138: Jerrod Heard, QB-DT, Texas

No. 162: Mason Rudolph, QB-PP, Oklahoma State

No. 165: Jermaine Roberts, CB, Texas

No. 172: Otaro Alaka, OLB, Texas

No. 199: Dallis Todd, WR, Oklahoma

No. 202: Devon Thomas, RB, Oklahoma State

No. 214: Gyasi Akem, OLB, Oklahoma State

No. 222: Samaje Perine, RB, Oklahoma

No. 224: Allen Lazard, WR, Iowa State

No. 231: James David, OLB, Baylor

No. 237: Lorenzo Joe, ATH, Texas

No. 247: Donald Catalon, RB, Texas

No. 282: Carson Meier, TE-Y, Oklahoma

A couple thoughts:

• More Big 12 teams are in the mix for top 300 guys than we're used to. Oklahoma and Texas are the usual suspects, but it's a new to see Kansas and Iowa State hauling in top 300 recruits. Baylor and Oklahoma State aren't a big surprise, but both of those rising programs have nice hauls among the top 300. Four different programs are represented among the top six players currently committed to Big 12 teams.
• Oklahoma State's got to love this list the most. First off, new QB commit Mason Rudolph makes a nice debut at No. 162, the highest-ranked recruit in the class. Thomas and Akem give the Pokes three players in the top rung of the recruiting ladder. OSU hasn't seen its on-field success translate a ton to the recruiting trail just yet, but this could be the start of very good things for the Cowboys on that front.
• Lots of uncommitted players still out there and plenty of those guys are from Texas with Big 12 schools in the hunt. On the flip side, these guys still have almost eight months and entire seasons of high school ball (and watching their future college teams play) to change their mind. These commitments are anything but set in stone.

Wes Lunt finally opened up about his decision to transfer. The reasons aren't too complex, but he also dropped some rather major news in an interview with Channel 1450, an Illinois radio station:

Former Oklahoma State quarterback Wes Lunt says Cowboys coach Mike Gundy had lifted restrictions that blocked Lunt from transferring to 37 schools -- including three of his top five before he made his final decision on Illinois. ... Gundy called Lunt's high school coach, Rochester (Ill.)'s Derek Leonard, to notify him of the decision, but Lunt said he'd already lost contact with coaches at other schools in his top five and decided to stick with Louisville and Illinois. Lunt announced plans to transfer to Illinois on Monday.

Very, very surprising. Mike Gundy's next media availability is going to be fascinating, and the questions have changed a bit. He's declined numerous interview requests, including one from ESPN.com, on the Lunt issue. I've got no idea what would make Gundy change his mind on the issue, but it was clear what made Lunt change his mind on why Oklahoma State wasn't the place for him.

"It kind of happened during the season when I didn't go back in again. I wanted to play it out through spring ball, because I just loved it there," Lunt said. "I didn't want to leave. After spring ball and talking to Coach Gundy, it was just the right thing to do for me."

A bit ironic that Oklahoma State's decision to make a true freshman their starting quarterback ended up shortening his career at OSU. You can't predict injuries, and giving Lunt the reins was probably the right call, but it's obvious that when he didn't get them back after recovering from a head injury against Kansas State, he wasn't pleased.

That's fair, but I'd say it's clear Lunt wasn't willing to sit on the bench (barring a Clint Chelf injury) for a season away from home. That's his call. I'm sure Gundy and Co. weren't thrilled at that news, but you can't really blame him.

Lunt doesn't sound very vindictive about Gundy's restrictions, but it's also clear that the move irked him a bit, even though I'd say there's a great shot he might have still ended up at Illinois even if Gundy hadn't applied any restrictions to begin with.

"It was difficult. I didn't understand the process, so when they were blocked, I knew I could appeal but it was going to take awhile," Lunt said. "It was frustrating. I understand the Big 12 . That's obvious. The others, it was a little frustrating, but that's part of it and I understand it. It's all good."

Interesting stuff. By the time Gundy lifted the restrictions, Lunt had lost contact with the coaches he'd had previous relationships with, so Gundy's gesture, while the right one, didn't seem to have much of an effect.

 

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.

Wes Lunt confirmed his plans to transfer to Illinois in an interview with ESPN, but also made allusions to his relationship with coach Mike Gundy.

From our report (emphasis added):

Lunt called Illinois coach Tim Beckman on Monday to inform him of his decision.

"I am OK with how I left Oklahoma State," Lunt said. "God had a plan for me. No hard feelings with Coach (Mike Gundy)."

Lunt, who grew up an Illini fan, believes that the spread offense operated by offensive coordinator Bill Cubit would be a good fit.

"I like this offense," Lunt said. "The quarterbacks get it out quickly. They go vertical. And they pass for a ton of yards. It's a pass-happy offense."

Gundy drew major criticism when reports leaked that he blocked Lunt from transferring to the entire SEC, Pac-12, Big 12, Southern Miss and Oklahoma State's future opponents, but Lunt won't be joining in that chorus.

It doesn't benefit Lunt to call out his former coach for his actions, but for now you have to take Lunt's quotes at face value. I'd say skepticism toward them is fair, but Gundy at least doesn't have to worry about a high-profile former player bashing him in the media. I'd expect Lunt to be at Illinois a long time, and it'll be interesting to see how much more he talks about this process and his opinions on how it shook out (three of Lunt's reported top five schools were blocked by Gundy) during the weeks, months or years to come when he's in Champaign.

Here's a few more thoughts on Lunt's departure from Oklahoma State to Illinois.

Wes Lunt has finally decided on a new home. He's transferring to Illinois, a source told colleagues Joe Schad and Brett McMurphy.

Lunt, who grew up an Illini fan, believes the spread offense operated by offensive coordinator Bill Cubit would be a good fit.

Lunt also has a relationship with coach Tim Beckman and could potentially succeed as a senior starter and help turn around a program in front of his home-state fans.

Lunt heading back to the flagship school of his home state was mostly predictable all along (I called this one in print on May 17), and it's probably the best move for him after he decided to leave Oklahoma State. Homesickness had to play a big role in his decision to leave.

From purely a football perspective, his decision to transfer made no sense. Still, people far too often forget that the guys in helmets every Saturday in the fall are human, and if you don't enjoy the other 352 days a year when you're not playing football, it's hard to stay somewhere if you're happy just for those precious 13.

He won't win as much at Illinois as he would have in Stillwater in the next three years, but he's still got a path to the NFL and he'll probably enjoy his day-to-day life a little better, too. That's nothing against Oklahoma State -- it's mostly just a "different strokes for different folks" type of situation.

Lunt's exit and coach Mike Gundy's decision to limit him from nearly 40 schools drew criticism from plenty of folks (rival coach Bob Stoops was the only notable person I heard come out in support of the decision), but Lunt landing back close to home to help rebuild a program he loves likely won't draw any complaints from the Lunt camp.

Good spot for him. He'll have to sit out 2013, but will have three years of eligibility remaining. That's a lot of time to rewrite a legacy for a player who showed he's got a whole lot of talent, even in an abbreviated season in Stillwater.

• 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?