ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

It would hard to imagine the day that Tom Osborne totally walks away from working for Nebraska.

Sure, he had that dalliance with politics for a few years earlier in this decade, but we always knew he would be back at Nebraska in some role.

So his announcement yesterday that he will remain in his job as Nebraska's athletic director wasn't that much of a surprise.

In fact, Omaha World-Herald columnist Tom Shatel expects Osborne to stay in his job for at least five more years. He said that Osborne looks refreshed being around coaches and athletes again, mentioning how robust he now appears compared with how he looked as a political candidate or U.S. congressman.

And Lincoln Journal-Star columnist Steve Sipple reports that Osborne still will be challenged by bringing several projects on his bucket list to fruition, including an expanded learning center for the athletic program, a new basketball training facility and a new downtown arena in Lincoln.

Getting them won't be easy. But Nebraska couldn't have a better man pitching for them than Osborne.

Until then, here are some links from across the conference.

• The Kansas City Star's Mike DeArmond writes that Missouri athletic director Mike Alden is getting the last laugh after nearly losing his job three years ago.
• Venerable Oklahoma play-by-play announcer Bob Barry Sr. is recovering from replacement surgery on his right hip that was performed on Wednesday. Barry, 78, had replacement surgery on the other hip performed in April, the Oklahoman's Mel Bracht reports.
• The Sporting News college football guys disagree on which Big 12 team is headed for the biggest fall. Dave Curtis predicts it will be Texas Tech and Matt Hayes has tabbed Missouri.
• Robert Cessna of the Bryan Eagle discusses the importance of the next year's Kansas-Texas A&M game.
• The Boulder Daily Camera's Neill Woelk advocates the NCAA utilizing some "frontier justice" to punish miscreants in college athletics.
• An $11.5 million renovation to concourses on the east side of Jack Trice Stadium should result in a better experience for spectators at Iowa State games this season, Randy Peterson of the Des Moines Register reports.
• The Heisman Pundit writes that Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford's accomplishments make any comparisons with former Oklahoma quarterback Jason White faulty.
• Former South Florida quarterback Grant Gregory has officially arrived at Kansas State, Austin Meek of the Topeka Capital-Journal reports. Gregory will compete with Carson Coffman for the Wildcats' starting position.  
• Former Oklahoma quarterback Steve Davis tells the Oklahoman's Berry Tramel that he's humbled by the adulation he still receives from Sooner fans, more than 30 years after his career ended.
• The Williams and Hyatt Sports Blog isn't buying TCU as a fantasy matchup for Texas Tech for a lot of reasons.
• Massive 287-pound center Ryne Reeves of Crete, Neb., has become Nebraska's first commitment of the 2011 recruiting class, Rich Kaipust of the Omaha World-Herald reports.