ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

After watching my first practice of the season Thursday, I came to a quick revelation after only a few minutes.

Practice assuredly is easier to follow in an air-conditioned facility like Baylor opened yesterday than watching from the grass fields and 102-degree temperatures that we experienced earlier in the afternoon.

There's really no comparison.

While I enjoy some air-conditioned surroundings from my house, here are some lunchtime links to send you charging into the weekend.

• The legal battle over the "12th man" between Texas A&M and the Seattle Seahawks apparently helped the Aggies land potential starting punter and Washington state native Ken Wood, the San Antonio Express-News' Brent Zwerneman reports.
• Oft-injured Oklahoma linebacker Ryan Reynolds had a strong first day of work Thursday as the Sooners began fall practice, the Oklahoman's Jake Trotter reports.
• New Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads is intent on improving his team's tackling techniques, the Cedar Rapids Gazette reports.
• New Colorado offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau tells the Boulder Daily Camera's Kyle Ringo that his team will look nothing like the Buffaloes did last season.
• Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports.com ranks Bob Stoops and Mack Brown among his top 10 coaches of the last decade and listed Vince Young, Kerry Meier and Chase Daniel among his favorite players who wore the uniform number 10 during that period.
• You can tell it's early in training camp. Bob Stoops is plotting practical jokes and cracking one-liners, the Oklahoman's Jenni Carlson reports.
• College Football News provides some interesting predictions for the 2009 season, including a third-straight Oklahoma-Missouri matchup in the Big 12 championship game, a 9-3 record for Texas and a 4-8 record for Baylor.
• The Austin American-Statesman's Kirk Bohls wonders how the Sporting News can leave Darrell Royal off its list of the top 50 coaches of all time.
• Troy Banning of the Mason City Daily Freeman-Journal examines the nuances of new Iowa State offensive coordinator Tom Herman's spread offense.
• The Los Angeles Times' Chris Dufresne calls Texas the most motivated team to win the national championship.
• The five major aims for new Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Bill Young are detailed by the Oklahoman's John Helsley.
• Stu Durando of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes about the beginning of the Blaine Gabbert era at Missouri.