ESPN College Football

Thanks for all the questions in today's chat. It was one of the most fun in awhile. Here's the full transcript.

Got more to say? Reach me here.

Time for some highlights from today's chat.

Nick (Ames): Heard anything on the QB situation here? Steele Jantz looked real good in the spring game but Barnett lead the Cyclones down the stretch last year. High expectations here for this season!

David Ubben: Yeah, I still think Barnett is the guy for ISU. The difference is negligible, but the Cyclones need to keep building for the future. The 2012 team won't be all that different either way, but if you play Barnett, the 2013 team gets a whole lot better, without a doubt. That has to be taken into consideration. My expectations aren't too high, but ISU's going to be a good team. That said, it seems to me like the Big 12's depth is going to make it really difficult for the Cyclones to crack a bowl game.

Justin (Stillwater, OK): 41 wins in 4 years for an OSU program that has never experienced that much success. Give us your 3 keys to sustain that success over the next several years. Record wise, what would you consider to be a successful season next year for the Cowboys?

David Ubben: 1) Above all, make sure you have a QB and at least one more (preferably two) preparing to take over. 2) Keep instilling the idea that OSU can't do this without developing players and working. They're never going to bring in top 10 recruiting classes annually. 3) Give Mike Gundy everything he wants. As for this year, success would be probably nine wins.

W (Anaheim): D - What are the odds K-State repeats as the State of Texas football champs?

David Ubben: Not great. But here's hoping the Cats make "Back to Back Texas State Champs" shirts if they repeat.

David (Somewhere in Sooner Nation): I know it's highly unlikely, but let's say that OU runs the table in the Big 12, USC runs the table in the Pac 12, someone runs the table in the Big 10, and ditto on the SEC. Other than being a perfect argument for a 4 team playoff, who gets left out?

David Ubben: Ouch, that's tough. USC and the SEC team would probably play, for the simple reason that they started higher in the polls. It would depend on what each team's strength of schedule shook out to, but if it was close, the preseason polls would hold. Sad, but true.

Miles (Austin, TX): Do you think Texas can win the Big 12 with its new offensive identity? How about the SEC as it is more in the power run style that the horns are running now?

David Ubben: Yes. Its defense is going to be absolutely nasty. If they run it as well as they think they'll be able to by next year or so, Texas should be very, very scary.

Jason (Tyler): Are Coach Brown and Coach Stoops still by far the top 2 coaches in the Big 12 or are Coach Gundy and Coach Snyder catching up?

David Ubben: You could easily make the case Snyder is better than all of them. Gundy is knocking on the door of the nation's elite for sure. Big 12 lost a really good one in Pinkel, too. He was just behind Gundy in my book.

State43 (Iowa State): Have you been to a Big 12 game at your Father's Alma Mater yet in your capacity as Big12 Blogger? We would love to have you and will treat you like family.

David Ubben: Ha, I haven't as Big 12 blogger, but I've been to games there twice. Would have loved to have seen the field stormings last year vs. Iowa and Oklahoma State. Keep winning, Clones. I'll be there soon.

Curtis (Dallas): Percentage that everything can fall right and Texas can will the Big 12 this year? Percentage for 2013?

David Ubben: Eight percent. 37 percent.

Coty (WV): Best Football/Basketball school in Big12?

David Ubben: I mean, there's no question it has to be Baylor in 2011-12, right? It's not really even close.

Tony (Richmond, CA): Geno Smith is receiving most of the preseason love for 1st team All Big XII. Do you think the offseason work Landry Jones has put in with George Whitfield is enough to tighten up his footwork, leading him to a monster senior year, and first team honors?

David Ubben: That race will be really, really interesting. I'll have to do a lot of thinking on my ballot. I probably lean Geno for now, but man, I could see that vote getting split and them sharing first-team honors.

John (Tulsa, OK): Ubbernator. Does Lunt win the starting job in Stillwater? He seems to have the most long-term upside.

David Ubben: I don't know what to think anymore. I've talked myself into all three guys. For now, I'm sticking with my pick of Walsh.

Big 12 Tourney Time. Should be some great games today. Who's watching?

• Missouri coach Gary Pinkel on the Border War living on? "Of course it’s going to happen. We’re going to make too much money doing it, first of all."
• Keith Whitmire of Fox Sports tells you the story of TCU linebacker Tank Carder, who could be a lot of places, but he's about to realize his NFL dream.
• Minnesota coaches visited Baylor this offseason to try and help solve their problems at QB.
• Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops opened up about his recent trip to play at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
• How long will Mike Gundy be at Oklahoma State? He talks about that and more with Gina Mizell of The Oklahoman.
• Hey, look who might be the new starting quarterback at Colorado? Texas transfer Connor Wood.
• Texas Tech is on spring break in the middle of its spring practice, but the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal's Don Williams breaks down the last scrimmage.
• Tommy Tuberville's business partner and fellow defendant in a civil suit is in some more trouble, but Tuberville was left out of the latest legal action.
• West Virginia went out poorly on Wednesday, but the Mountaineers are free at last from the Big East, writes Bob Hertzel of the Times West Virginian.

TCU and West Virginia don't "officially" join the Big 12 until July 1.

But nothing happens in July. In March, we have spring football, and in every meaningful sense, the Horned Frogs and Mountaineers have become the first teams to join the Big 12 since its creation back in 1994.

Big 12 teams are showing up on both programs' new film for 2012. Recruiting efforts are shifting.

It's a new world in the Big 12. If you lost track, it still has 10 teams.

Since June 2010, though, it has lost four teams (Nebraska, Colorado, Texas A&M, Missouri) before gaining two more back in October.

The Big East let TCU, which had promised to join the league in 2012, go without incident. Months of legal wrangling and a hard-to-swallow $20 million price tag for leaving were needed for the Mountaineers to make it official.

The Big 12 lost a lot when storied Nebraska left for the Big Ten. It lost nowhere near as much when Colorado left for the Pac-12.

Two big programs with lots of eyes, in Mizzou and Texas A&M, are gone. There's no getting around it: They'll be missed in some ways. You can't replace a century of rivalries without a century of new rivalries. And even then, it's difficult.

Missouri-Kansas? Texas A&M-Texas? You can't replace that, no matter how hard you try. Both rivalries -- annual staples on the college football calendar -- are dead now.

But what you can replace?

Texas A&M and Missouri's modest-to-OK results on the field since the Big 12 began.

TCU and West Virginia will be every bit the teams the Aggies and Tigers were on the field. They'll lack the history, sure. They'll lack the familiarity even more.

But they won't lack the success, however moderate it was for the Aggies and Tigers.

TCU coach Gary Patterson revitalized a historically mediocre program to unprecedented success, winning 11 games in six of seven seasons in the Mountain West Conference, including BCS bowl appearances in consecutive seasons in 2009 and 2010, capped by a win in the Rose Bowl.

TCU won't make winning 11 games an annual occurrence in the Big 12, but would Texas A&M have done much better with a similar schedule?

Meanwhile, West Virginia is 3-0 in BCS bowl games of its own, winning six Big East titles since 2003.

Could Missouri have done much more in the Big East?

Doubtful.

The Tigers have won eight games in six consecutive seasons, one of just a handful of teams to duplicate the feat. It won at least a share of the Big 12 North in three of the division's final four seasons before the Big 12 moved to 10 teams in 2011.

A 12-win season in 2007 was the highlight under Gary Pinkel, but the Tigers have yet to reach the BCS and never won a Big 12 title, getting blown out by Oklahoma in both Big 12 title game appearances.

WVU, though, won 32 games in the final three seasons under Rich Rodriguez and won 27 games in three seasons under Bill Stewart. Dana Holgorsen won 10 games in his first season.

The Big East isn't the Big 12, but Missouri won 63 games in that same span. Add up West Virginia's? The Mountaineers have 70 wins.

Why can't WVU step in and duplicate, if not exceed, what Missouri was able to do?

The Mountaineers can -- and will.

Meanwhile, the Big 12's most frustrating question -- why can't Texas A&M be a national power? -- is the SEC's problem now.

The Aggies have had all the facilities, all the support and all the resources necessary to become one. It has exactly one Big 12 title to show for it and still yearns for the days of R.C. Slocum. The legendary coach won four conference titles, but the program has been blanked since 1998.

TCU, meanwhile, is poised for a rise in the new Big 12. Recruiting will get a boost now that the school has major conference affiliation to offer prospects. Win totals will take a knock from recent totals but stabilize.

For the curious: TCU won 77 games in its past seven seasons. Texas A&M won 47 games in the same span.

Call it a small sample size. Call it a down period for the Aggies.

It's both, but now is now, and TCU looks more than capable to replace every bit of what Texas A&M brought the Big 12 on the field while the Aggies try to swim in the cutthroat SEC West, college football's toughest division.

The Big 12 is adjusting to a new world.

Off the field, the Aggies and Tigers will be sorely missed. To argue otherwise is foolish.

But on the field?

Credit the Big 12 on this one. The conference can easily say "Sayonara" without shedding a tear.

We're handing off Missouri from the Big 12 blog to the boys at the SEC blog today, and as part of the proceedings, it's time to get a bit sappy.

Ol' Mizzou, here's what I'll miss about you when you leave for the SEC.

And, if you were curious, here's our past installments of this series:

• What I'll miss most about Nebraska
• What I'll miss most about Colorado

1. Columbia. I called the city home for four of the best years of my life and earned a degree that I had so much fun earning it almost felt stolen. That doesn't affect how I cover the team, but I'd be a liar if I said I enjoyed visiting any Big 12 campus more than Mizzou. Sorry, Austin. Whether it's a Booche's burger, a slice of Shakespeare's Pizza or a stop by The Heidelberg, which somehow gets consistently left out of the "Must Go" places in Columbia, I love it. And if you didn't know, now you know, Tigahs.

2. The Border War. Nebraska and Colorado checking out didn't cost us any big annual rivalries, but this one hurts. The Kansas-Mizzou hate flows 365 days a year, and now, they'll have no chances on the football field or basketball court to give that hate an outlet. It's a shame. Please, please, play this game. I understand Kansas' side of the debate and why it wants to end it. That doesn't make it any less ridiculous.

3. The coaching staff. This was always a fun group to work with. Offensive coordinator David Yost -- we had some fun with him on Twitter last week -- will tell it like it is and offer some solid insight, too. He's always good to help folks better understand what's happening on the field, but the Tigers have a great mix of coaches. The fiery nature of defensive coordinator Dave Steckel balances well with the straight-laced Gary Pinkel, who handled an embarrassing incident this year with about as much class as you'll ever see, personifying the idea that character isn't mistakes, it's how you react to them.

4. Senior Day at Mizzou. The Tigers have one of the least-publicized, coolest senior day traditions around. After a player finishes his career on Faurot Field, he runs down, hops the fence surrounding the field and grabs a rock from the Rock M to keep for good.

5. Seeing DGB's career play out. Top recruits at schools that traditionally don't get them are much more interesting than ones who go to factories like Texas and OU. Dorial Green-Beckham will be a fun, fun player to watch over the course of his career. Unfortunately, I won't get to see it. But, good luck to him in Columbia.

We introduced Mizzou to the SEC earlier Tuesday, but now it's time to get dirty.

Big 12 blogger David Ubben and Edward Aschoff debate: What awaits Missouri in the SEC?

The decline of one of college football's rising programs? Or new heights in a foreign conference that's college football's toughest?

Let's hash this out.

Edward Aschoff: So, with the Tigers joining the SEC, some are wondering if the Tigers will make more of an impact in basketball, rather than football. After all, the Big 12 hasn't exactly had its way with the SEC lately. But Mizzou does bring back a slew of talent on both sides of the ball and could compete in the SEC East in its first season. David, why should we believe that Missouri will be anything more than just a one-hit wonder?

David Ubben: Gary Pinkel. You'll hear this stat parroted often, but the Tigers are one of just a handful -- six, I believe -- teams in college football to win at least eight games in six consecutive seasons. TCU and Boise State have done it, too, but doing so outside of a power conference is nowhere near as impressive.

The Tigers haven't necessarily won big. The program is still seeking its first BCS bowl appearance but they've won consistently on the back of solid recruiting and even better development. Even in the program's glory years under Dan Devine in the 1960s, it never saw this kind of consistent success.

Players know what is expected of them under Pinkel. He wants to retire at Missouri, a point he's reiterated several times. The fans love him after this six-season stretch that followed some rough years early on, and would love to have him there as long as he wants. He's got the program rolling, and deep enough where a nightmare year of 4-5 wins just isn't going to happen.

Of course, he's done much of this on the back of Texas recruits, a luxury afforded many of the teams in the former Big 12 North after the Southwest Conference merged with the Big 8.

We've already seen them shift some recruiting focus into your neck of the woods, Florida and Atlanta. What does this program have to do to make some recruiting inroads there and continue this success?

EA: Well, getting into the Florida and Atlanta areas is a good start, but Missouri can't forget about the entire Southeast. There are some other states that can be Missouri's friends as well. One thing going for Missouri is that St. Louis and Kansas City are pretty close. Both are about two hours away from Columbia and kids just love the those big cities! But the bright lights and the big malls can only take Missouri so far. Missouri has to prove that it can really compete on the SEC's level for an entire season and beyond. Winning just comes naturally in this conference, so Missouri will have to prove that it can keep up for years to come. One thing that will really get the athletes' attentions in the Southeast will be starting things off on the right foot. Playing in the SEC East and returning a good amount of starters should help with that. But make no mistake about it, there will be tons of negative recruiting thrown Missouri's way because of the Big 12 past and the fact that those starters will soon be gone after their SEC introduction.

Missouri's coaches are going to have to get very aggressive when it comes to recruiting over here. It's a rough game in the South. There are no unwritten rules about being respectful of committed prospects. SEC coaches play for keeps down here.

Also, Missouri's coaches are going to have to compete with the distance factor. Columbia is almost 700 miles away. There certainly are players who travel away from the Deep South, but most of them stay home. Can Missouri build enough of that family atmosphere to get these players to venture over to its neck of the woods?

We've hit Missouri's returners, but in order to win in the SEC you have to play well up front. Everyone says this a line-of-scrimmage league and from what I've read it sounds like Missouri's defensive line could have/should have played better in 2011. How do the Tigers make sure they're strong and tough enough up front to compete in this league?

DU: Good points on Mizzou's recruiting trying to spread its wings. The problem? They'll try to maintain those ties in Texas and it'll have to make sure they don't get spread too thin.

These are all issues Mizzou's coaching staff will have to figure out. I'm glad I don't have to.

You're right about the defensive line. They were good in 2011, but not as good as people thought. They'll have to be better. Landing a couple of those big defensive tackles down south would serve the Tigers well. For now, they've got great size coming back in a St. Louis kid, Sheldon Richardson. He's a 6-foot-4, 290-pounder with great athleticism who went to junior college before coming back to Mizzou. Monte Kiffin almost got his hands on him out at USC, but the Tigers have him and need him to have a huge season as a senior in Year 1 in the SEC.

The defensive line lost three starters, but they were deep in 2011 and have good pieces to fill the losses of Terrell Resonno and Dominique Hamilton at tackle and Jacquies Smith at defensive end. The time is now for promising ends Michael Sam and Kony Ealy.

Richardson's the biggest piece at tackle. Brad Madison was a Big 12 preseason Defensive Player of the Year candidate at defensive end, but had a disappointing season after playing through a shoulder injury that really limited his effectiveness and flexibility on the line. He'll be hungry as a senior in 2012. Memo to SEC offensive lines: look out for the spin move.

Players like Richardson come down to recruiting, though. The kinds of players Mizzou needs on the defensive lines are much more plentiful in their new recruiting soil. Getting their feet on the ground in junior colleges will be huge.

What about the offense, though? You've seen these SEC defenses up close all season. I'd argue that outside of Alabama, LSU and Georgia, the SEC's defenses were way overrated based on reputation this season.

Will the Tigers' spread offense work in the SEC East? What, if anything, has to change?

EA: Well, you certainly won't make friends down here with that sort of talk. South Carolina fans will surely let you know just how they feel about being left out of the defensive discussion. After all, South Carolina ranked third nationally in total defense and the SEC had six defenses ranked in the top 25, including five in the top eight. But I digress. We've seen the spread work before in the SEC. Florida's 2007 and 2008 offenses were two of the best in the country. The 2009 team put up a good bit of yards too. We've seen elements of the spread in other offenses as well around the SEC and Arkansas does a great job of spreading defenders out with its passing game. Mississippi State also utilized a pretty successful spread offense in 2010.

In order for it to work, the offensive line has to be beefy and athletic. I know, it's an interesting concept, but you won't survive in this league without some real athletes up front. You've said in the past that Missouri's offensive line was a better than average, well that won't cut it in this league.

You also need some elite speed at the wide receiver position and a sound running game. Getting Dorial Green-Beckham out there could be a major get for this offense because of his size and speed. As for running, mobile running backs and commanding the read option are key. Missouri will have to find ways to combat the tremendous speed off the edge from SEC pass rushers every week. That's James Franklin's running ability comes in. Working the option is huge in the spread.

Well, let's wrap this thing up. I think Missouri will be fun to watch next season, but I'm not sure how well the Tigers will do afterward. You've been around Missouri a lot longer, where do you see Missouri stacking up in the next few years in the SEC?

DU: Good point on those SEC defenses being awesome. I know guys like Morgan Newton, Justin Worley and Clint Moseley give defensive coordinators nightmares. Somebody get the Gamecocks a medal for not letting Arkansas score 50 and getting lucky enough to dodge LSU and Alabama on the schedule.

But I'm getting off target here, much like SEC quarterbacks' passes.

As for the Tigers, it's going to be tough when the current players begin to leave. I don't think they'll have as much success recruiting in Texas, but I've got no idea if they'll be able to get a foothold near the SEC East and, like you said, convince some of these kids to come to Missouri.

Neither outcome would surprise me, but I think as the transition happens and the current talent begins to drain out of the program, the Tigers will hit some lean years. Whether they bounce back depends on what everything in college football depends on: recruiting.

Can Mizzou do it? Only time will tell.

Friends, today is the day.

Mizzou officially announced its move from the Big 12 to the SEC back in November, but today we'll make the move official on our blog network.

Mizzou will now officially be members of the SEC blog and moved off the Big 12 blog. We'll have a full day of posts today commemorating, debating and celebrating, but we'll kick things off the right way: with an introduction.

Big 12 blogger David Ubben introduces the SEC to its newest member on the blog with a Q&A with SEC blogger Edward Aschoff.

Edward Aschoff: Once the Texas A&M talks with the SEC heated up, Missouri's name was thrown right in. It wasn't much of a secret the Tigers would join, but what was your reaction to Missouri joining the SEC?

David Ubben: It's a complicated one. This move has so many facets to it. In terms of stability, I totally understand. When Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State started looking west at forming the Pac-16 for the second consecutive year, Mizzou knew it didn't want to have to wonder where it's future league home was going to be. The summer of 2010 when it looked like Mizzou, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State and Baylor were going to be left out of these new "superconferences" was scary for the Tigers. A move to the SEC, above all, ensures those conversations won't have to occur anymore.

A ticket to the SEC became possible. The Tigers chased it and caught it.

Well, now they're here. Fans are going to have to travel a whole long way to see road games. The recruiting game is going to be vastly different, and much more cutthroat, perhaps a world the Tigers are a bit unfamiliar with.

This season, they were right outside the national top 25 in recruiting, but that ranked ninth in the SEC. The bar has been raised. The big question is can Missouri clear it and be a successful program in the long run?

EA: Travel will be really interesting. Columbia, Mo., is almost 900 miles away from the other Columbia and Gainesville is more than 1,000 miles away. Talk about Delta miles. Missouri won't have to worry about filling opposing fans' ticket allotments because SEC fans travel well. So, when these fans get on campus, what are some of the new traditions they'll be exposed to from the Missouri faithful?

DU: Good question. There are teams with stronger traditions in the Big 12, but Mizzou's are solid.

The most evident one will be the Rock M at the North end of Faurot Field. Every August, they add a few rocks and the university's freshmen offer a fresh coat of paint to keep it looking fresh, which it always does.

For the biggest games, the Rock M and the field surrounding it will be packed with fans. Lately, the Tigers have had a few big wins to celebrate with ripped up goalposts. Wins over Oklahoma and Nebraska come to mind. When that happens, those goalposts are toted up that field and carried almost a mile to Harpo's, a bar downtown, where fans will cut them up and take home a piece.

If Bama goes down in Columbia next season, the Tide fans will see that up close and personal.

During the game, you'll get a taste of the Missouri Waltz, which is a pretty recognizable song featuring the fans waving their arms to the music.

They'll also get to meet Truman the Tiger, who treks around the track surrounding the field in a fire truck before the game with a hose to spray fans on hot days.

Faurot Field only seats a little more than 70,000 fans, but it's a solid atmosphere more often than not. It won't wow many folks, but it's got a very unique feel, and the stadium is set into the ground, so it feels a little underground, too.

EA: I also hear homecoming is a pretty big deal in Columbia as well. Let's hit the team a little. Some guy named Dorial Green-Beckham signed with Missouri and from all accounts he's a pretty big deal. The Tigers return a couple of solid receivers to help James Franklin, but Green-Beckham might really be special. How big was that pickup and how do you think he'll be used in the Tigers' offense this fall?

DU: Ah yes, how could I forget?

You want to be wowed by Mizzou? Come to campus during homecoming weekend and check out house decorations. I've seen plenty on several campuses in my day. None top Mizzou.

The DGB signing might honestly be bigger off the field than it is on it. He signifies that if you're one of the nation's top recruits, you don't have to go to somewhere like Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma or Texas. It's OK to go somewhere in state or somewhere you feel comfortable.

Most importantly, you can go to Mizzou, and DGB will vouch for that.

On the field, I don't think you can expect him to walk in and be a gamechanger. The SEC is a lot different than Missouri high school football. That said, I'd be surprised if he had fewer than 40 catches this season, and of course, he has the potential to become one of the best receivers this game has ever seen.

That idea is kind of crazy to think about. Mizzou's offense will give him a chance to fulfill that potential.

EA: Well, the guy throwing the ball to DGB ain't so bad. We saw quite a bit of Franklin last season and he was pretty impressive running and throwing, but this is the big league. SEC defenses prevent shootouts. So how do you see Franklin adjusting to all that speed on defense? And I might as well put you on the spot and see how you think Missouri will do in its first season in the SEC. What's your prediction, David?

DU: I think he's well-suited for the SEC, really. He doesn't get his yards on the ground with a lot of speed. He's really instinctive and runs when he should run. He does it with power and a great feel for creases in the offensive line and some nice wiggle that makes it hard to lay a good knock on him like SEC defenses will want to do.

Mizzou's production will dip a bit, but I still think the Tigers' offense will be effective.

As for my pick for the Tigers in Year 1?

Nine wins. Second place in the SEC East. Not a bad first season, eh?

Some voters find Claire angry and unlikeable. To those voters I would say ... wait 'til she reads this.

• John Hoover of the Tulsa World reflects on Brent Venables, who was at his best in his darkest moment.
• Gary Pinkel is, it's safe to say, is recruiting like a bawse. He swooped in on a helicopter on Thursday to visit perhaps the most wanted man in America: the nation's top receiver, Dorial Green-Beckham.
• New Oklahoma coordinator Mike Stoops needs to cool down his sideline antics, writes Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman.
• The last Longhorn on a legendary magazine cover is gone, writes Suzanne Halliburton of the Austin American-Statesman.
• Kansas coach Charlie Weis, a Jersey straight talker, hasn't been shy about hyping up his new quarterbacks. Weis has also completed his new staff ... with a former Missouri player.
• Two Big 12 games make Ivan Maisel's five most interesting nonconference games in 2012.

Honey, don't you think it's weird that one of your friends is an 80-year-old man?

• Bob Stoops should be ecstatic that Landry Jones is coming back, writes Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman, who informs us that eight Big 12 championships have been won by quaretbacks that at one point finished in the top three of the Heisman voting. Two Big 12 titles have been won by first-year starters.
• Texas' football progam is worth $805 million, reports Darren Everson of the Wall Street Journal. How much is that? It's $175 million more than any other college program and the Jacksonville Jaguars just sold for $45 million less.
• Is 2011 the best K-State team ever? There's a case that could be made, writes Kellis Robinett of the Wichita Eagle. The Wildcats fans may think so. They showed up 15,000 strong at Thursday night's pep rally.
• K-State officials unveiled their plans for a stadium upgrade there, too. Here's the video explaining more.
• Gary Pinkel made it official on Thursday: Alex Grinch is his new safeties coach.
• This right here? This is what happens when you find out that enormous anthropomorphic orange you clotheslined earlier in the night was a female.
• What's life like as an ageless wonder trying to coach? Or, perhaps more accurately, win? Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City talked to a few in reference to Bill Snyder.
• Texas A&M linebakcers coach Dat Nguyen says there's "no chance" he'll be joining Kevin Sumlin's staff, reports Brent Zwerneman of the San Antonio Express-News.
• Players have faith in Charlie Weis, and you need not look further than the ones he just got to sign up, writes Tom Keegan of the Lawrence Journal-World.
• K-State cornerback Nigel Malone is a testament to determination.
• Josh Kinder of the Manhattan Mercury says you should get to know "that other guy" in K-State's backfield.
• Bowl attendance is down, and colleague Kristi Dosh shares a few reasons why that may be.
• The BCS is likely to change, and the Cotton Bowl may benefit.
• Oklahoma co-offensive coordinator Jay Norvell confirmed to Guerin Emig of the Tulsa World that he's not going anywhere.
• Barry J. Sanders, an Oklahoma City running back, will pick between Stanford and Oklahoma State, and denied reports that he'd already chosen the Cardinal, reports colleague Robert Przybylo.

The Big 12 bowl slate kicks off with what's technically not a Big 12 bowl. Mizzou landed in the V100 AdvoCare Independence Bowl after the league had more bowl-eligible teams than bowl tie-ins, and will be heading to the SEC next season.

Before that happens, we'll preview its finale as a member of the Big 12.

WHO TO WATCH: James Franklin, QB, Missouri. Franklin's the center of everything Missouri does offensively, especially since Henry Josey went down with a knee injury. When Franklin finds some running room, it opens up the passing game. And when he hits on a few passes down the field, it opens things up for his leg. He can do either to set up the other, and Missouri's offense goes as he goes. A big day for one means a big day for the other. A bad day for one means a bad day for the other.

WHAT TO WATCH: Missouri's defense vs. North Carolina's skill positions. The Tigers are strong up front, but have struggled in the secondary at times. The Tar Heels boast a 1,200-yard rusher in Giovani Bernard and an 1,100-yard receiver in Dwight Jones. Quarterback Bryn Renner has a lot around him, and Missouri's defense has to play well to win this one.

WHY TO WATCH: Missouri's had a few classics in bowl games under Gary Pinkel, and this is a good matchup that could be another. The Tigers erased a 21-0 deficit to beat South Carolina in this game back in 2005. The next year, Mizzou lost the Sun Bowl when Oregon State converted a two-point conversion with 23 seconds left. In 2008, the Tigers beat Northwestern in overtime in the Alamo Bowl. Last year, a late Blaine Gabbert interception was returned for a touchdown and the final dramatic drive came up short in a close loss to Iowa in the Insight Bowl. Stay tuned this year.

PREDICTION: Missouri 34, North Carolina 28: The Tigers match up pretty well with UNC, and take care of business with a solid performance from Franklin, who tops 125 yards rushing and throws for 225, accounting for four touchdowns. The Tigers head to the SEC on the right note.

Nebraska left the Big 12 after the 2010 season. Some, myself included, contended that their exit would parallel the eventual erasure (perhaps not completely) of the recruiting pipeline to Texas that so many Big 12 programs have built since the Big 8 merged with four Southwest Conference teams in 1996.

Early returns suggest this may be the case. We updated the Big 12 recruiting scorecards last week, but in the process, I took a gander at Nebraska's, too.

The Huskers have just eight commits so far this year, the same number as Kansas, who has the fewest in the Big 12. The 2012 class figures to be small, but here's what the numbers from Texas look like for the Huskers in the past.

• 2006: 1 of 25 signees from Texas
• 2007: 7 of 28 signees from Texas
• 2008: 9 of 27 signees from Texas
• 2009: 8 of 21 signees from Texas (four of top five recruits were from Texas)
• 2010: 5 of 22 signees from Texas
• 2011: 5 of 20 signees from Texas (Three of four ESPNU 150 signees were from Texas)
• 2012: 1 of 8 commits from Texas

So, what's to take from this?

Nebraska is a national brand, much more so than Missouri, another non-Texas school in the Big 12 leaving the league after this season. Missouri is going to the SEC, which is much closer to Texas than the Big Ten. Colorado left for the Pac-12, but the Buffaloes never quite asserted themselves in the Lone Star State the way Missouri and Nebraska did. The Huskers look likely to supplant that loss with players from Ohio and elsewhere around the country.

Nebraska offered fewer players in Texas this year, but that looks like a sign they know it could be difficult to pull the same number of players from the South when all their games are in Nebraska or further north.

So, will the same fate await Missouri? The Tigers don't have the history or brand strength of Nebraska, but they do have a recent winning tradition on their side, moreso than even Nebraska.

Missouri has 34 players from Texas on its roster, and that number would seem likely to fall. How far, though?

Here's how the recruiting in Texas has looked for Mizzou since 2006:

• 2006: 9 of 25 signees from Texas (four of top six signees)
• 2007: 5 of 27 signees from Texas
• 2008: 12 0f 24 signees from Texas (three of top five signees)
• 2009: 7 of 25 signees from Texas
• 2010: 9 of 23 signees from Texas
• 2011: 8 of 17 signees from Texas
• 2012: 8 of 15 commits from Texas (three of top six commits)
• 2013: ??

Missouri has already added recruiting responsibilities in Florida (two coaches) and Atlanta (one assistant), in addition to their responsibilities in Texas.

Coach Gary Pinkel says his team will reassess its recruiting strategy soon.

Unlike Nebraska's original exit, though, the Big 12 won't just be subtracting teams. It will add two teams. TCU, after joining the Big 12, figures to steal a few of those recruits in Texas that traditionally would have gone out of state to programs with less tradition and history than Oklahoma or Texas. West Virginia, coached by Dana Holgorsen, should grab a few Texas recruits too. Holgorsen coached at Texas Tech and Houston for a decade before moving on to Oklahoma State and now, West Virginia.

Florida is the only other state in SEC country with a depth of football talent comparable to Texas, and it would seem paramount that the Tigers shift their future pipeline from finding hidden gems like Danario Alexander and Sean Weatherspoon in Texas to finding others in Florida.

Can they do it?

We'll see what the long-term effects are in Texas on Nebraska, but the early results seem to suggest Missouri will have to if it wants to keep winning.

Is this toothbrush approved by the American Dental Association?

• Texas AD DeLoss Dodds tells Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports that "In the next five years, the Big 12 will be making as much [money] as anybody in the country."
• Mike Gundy's loyalty isn't being rewarded with a big contract, writes Dave Sittler of the Tulsa World. Sources told Sittler that Gundy was a major candidate for the Texas A&M job, but his desire to be an OSU lifer kept him from going to Aggieland.
• Meanwhile, in Morgantown, WVU coach Dana Holgorsen still hasn't signed a contract. That makes him a flight risk to a new team in West Virginia's new conference, writes Jack Bogaczyk of the Charleston (W.V.) Daily Mail. (I 100 percent agree.)
• West Virginia's road out of the Big East continues to be sticky. The league asked for an injunction to make the Mountaineers play in the Big East next year, not in the Big 12, reports Jenn Menendez of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• Oklahoma's once-deep running backs corps is trimmed to just two, writes Travis Haney of The Oklahoman. Even in tough times, though, Bob Stoops' leadership isn't wavering.
• Blaine Irby of Texas is leaving football, but he's leaving in style.
• You've heard about it, but have you ever really learned about it? Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman takes you inside OSU quarterback Brandon Weeden's minor league baseball days.
• New helmets and uniforms for Mizzou? Tigers coach Gary Pinkel addresses the possibility with Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star.
• A joke turned to reality for Mike Gundy, too.
• Colleague Corey Long gets you ready for Wednesday's start of junior college signing period with a primer.
• Arizona AD Greg Byrne offered an interesting look inside his recent coaching search. Cool read, regardless of conference.
• Iowa State fans can purchase tickets to the Pinstripe Bowl to be donated to troops.
• Tom Timmerman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tracks Missouri QB James Franklin's growth into his new role this year.
• Kansas coach Charlie Weis had successful hip surgery in Florida this week.

There really is not a better draw in the NFL this year than one Timothy Tebow.

• Winning isn't the biggest concern in the Holiday Bowl for Texas. It's using bowl practices to answer some of the team's biggest questions, writes Cedric Golden of the Austin American-Statesman. (FWIW, my answers to the three big questions posed: No, Yes, Yes.)
• Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman highlights a forgotten man in Oklahoma State's rise.
• With Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III attracting big attention, the Alamo Bowl could be headed for a record crowd.
• Before Brandon Weeden's final game, The Oklahoman's John Helsley looks back on where Weeden came from.
• Arkansas wants to keep its game with Texas A&M at Cowboys Stadium once the Aggies join the SEC.
• RG3's parents are interviewing agents in anticipation that he might declare for the draft, reports Jason Cole of Yahoo.
• Harry Plumer of the Columbia Missourian takes you inside Missouri's preparations for North Carolina. Dave Matter of the Columbia Tribune has a dispatch from Missouri's departing coach, Barry Odom.
• Kellis Robinett of the Wichita Eagle compares the one common opponent between Kansas State and Texas A&M.
• Travis Haney of The Oklahoman grades the Sooners' season.
• Sounds like Missouri coach Gary Pinkel will be hiring a familiar face as his new safeties coach.
• New Kansas offensive line coach Tim Grunhard is a man who knows what he wants in his Offensive line, writes Matt Tait of the Lawrence Journal-World.
• MU cornerback E.J. Gaines might be joining Albert Pujols in one respect soon, writes Vahe Gregorian of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
• A longtime Notre Dame follower shares his memory of the Charlie Weis Era. It's not a fond one.
• Looks like an Oklahoma former blue-chip recruit is headed to Texas A&M.

Both Big 12 coaching vacancies have been filled. Charlie Weis replaced Turner Gill at Kansas and Kevin Sumlin replaced Mike Sherman at Texas A&M.

There's still a few coaching openings, though, and colleague Gene Wojciechowski, in a cool column, pieces together the perfect coach made up of his favorite traits from coaches around the country.

A few Big 12 gems:

The perfect coach loves to win, but like Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, doesn't put winning above his values or sense of perspective.

And [has] the calm, reassuring presence of Kansas State's Bill Snyder.

The perfect coach has the ego of Kansas' Weis.

The perfect coach, such as Baylor's Art Briles, rebuilds patiently.

The perfect coach doesn't distance himself from a school's traditions, but instead, like Mack Brown did at Texas, gives them a huge bear hug.

The perfect coach knows you have to be willing to fail in order to succeed, which explains all those calculated risks Texas Tech's Tommy Tuberville has taken with the game on the line.

The perfect coach answers an honest question the same way Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy answered them this season: honestly, and from the heart.

The perfect coach can win on the road like Texas' Brown (of coaches with 35 or more road games, Brown has the best winning percentage and is 43-8).

The perfect coach remembers where he came from, like Iowa State's Paul Rhoads.

The perfect coach … doesn't exist. And never will.

What else does the perfect coach do?

The perfect coach earnestly cares about his players as men and people, not just as football players, like Gill did.

The perfect coach, like Sherman, never lets his team forget its potential, no matter what its record says.

The perfect coach isn't afraid to cry in front of anyone, like Rhoads.

The perfect coach mans up when he makes a mistake, no matter how embarassing, like Gary Pinkel.

The perfect coach "never misses an opportunity to promote his program," as Tuberville often says.

The perfect coach is subtly funny and keeps everyone but his team guessing about his intentions, like Snyder.

What else does a perfect coach do?

MISSOURI TIGERS

Record: 7-5 (5-4)

The Big 12 is a quarterbacks league and The Big Question for Mizzou was simple: Did it have one? It had two until Tyler Gabbert transferred, but James Franklin proved in 2011 that the answer was yes. He progressed as a passer throughout the season and never lost sight of his ability to run, either, rescuing Missouri from a 3-4 start to win four of the team's final five games and reach a bowl game.

The Tigers won seven games, the fewest since the 2005 season, but that's telling of the program's progress. All five losses were quality, and the Tigers might be the best five-loss team in America. Take that for what it's worth, but No. 3 Oklahoma State was the only team to beat Mizzou at home. It's other losses came to Oklahoma, Arizona State, Baylor and Kansas State, all on the road. Not bad at all. The defense was a bit underwhelming, but the Tigers were playing their best football late in the season, and won a dramatic game against Texas Tech in the home finale without coach Gary Pinkel, who was suspended for the game after a drunk driving arrest. The Tigers handled that crisis as well as possible, being up front about the mistakes made and handing Pinkel a stiff punishment that included financial penalties exceeding $300,000. It didn't prove to be a huge distraction for the team, and though the Tigers would have liked to leave for the SEC with more impact, the bar is not high in the Big 12 for teams with first-year starters at quarterback.

Offensive MVP: Henry Josey, running back. Josey suffered a serious knee injury, tearing his left MCL, ACL and patellar tendon, but he was still the Big 12's leading rusher for almost three full weeks after his season was over and the Big 12 continued on. He averaged an outlandish 8.06 yards per carry and finished with 1,168 yards, despite having just the 12th-most carries in the Big 12. Not bad for a guy who started the season as the team's No. 3 back.

Defensive MVP: E.J. Gaines, cornerback. No clear winner here. Missouri could point to a handful of places, but I went with the team's truly most outstanding season. Gaines intercepted three passes, but he broke up 16 more. The next most on Missouri's team: four. In a passer's league like the Big 12, that's pretty amazing. So, with apologies to Andrew Wilson, Zaviar Gooden, Luke Lambert, Brad Madison and Jacquies Smith, I'm going with Gaines.

Turning point: The overtime win over Texas A&M. You could see in the Tigers' emotion after the win how much it meant. Dropping to 3-5 would have been a huge hit and put a lot of pressure on the team down the stretch. Franklin highlighted the day with a certified "Beast Mode" run, bouncing off tacklers for a 20-yard touchdown run early on, but the win featured a 14-point second-half comeback and keyed off a 4-1 finish for the Tigers. The only loss came on the road to Baylor by three points.

What’s next: For now, it's a brief jaunt into SEC country -- Shreveport for the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl -- before a permanent stay next season. The Tigers will bring back a ton of experience on offense, though three of the top six tacklers on defense will be gone. The program's already altered its recruiting strategy, assigning two coaches to recruit Florida and another in Atlanta. Maintaining recruiting ties to Texas as much as possible is important for the program's future, and a cross-divisional rivalry with Texas A&M -- Missouri will visit the Aggies every other year, vs. once every six years for the other SEC West teams--should help a bit. The Tigers should contend for the SEC East title next year, but their recruiting will determine longterm success in their new home.

We know how the computers felt about Oklahoma State: They love them. The Cowboys got the nod over Alabama in four of the six computer rankings.

But what about the coaches poll and the Harris poll? They make up the other two-thirds of the BCS standings, and the ballots were made public today.

Here's the Harris poll votes, and the full coaches poll ballots.

A few notes:

• The biggest head-scratcher was George Wine, who retired as the Iowa SID in 1996, but has a vote in the Harris Poll. He had Oklahoma State at No. 6, lower than any voter in either poll. Complicating matters: he had Houston, who lost to Southern Miss by three touchdowns on Saturday, at No. 5. He told the Tampa Bay Times today that he did it because Southern Miss is better than Iowa State, who beat Oklahoma State in Ames in double overtime last month. "This voting is highly subjective. I realize that voting is subjective and often arbitrary. I probably don't do as much research ... but who the hell knows whether Oregon is better than Wisconsin?" Inexplicable.
• Missouri coach Gary Pinkel was the only Big 12 coach who voted Oklahoma State behind Alabama on his ballot. He reinforced it on Sunday night, saying the BCS "got it right." Not only that, but he didn't even put OSU at No. 3. He had them at No. 4, behind Stanford.
• Remember, only 59 coaches vote, including five from the Big 12. Pinkel joins Tommy Tuberville, Art Briles, Bob Stoops and Paul Rhoads.
• Six coaches had Oklahoma State below No. 3. Air Force's Troy Calhoun had the Cowboys at No. 5. Duke's David Cutcliffe and Syracuse's Doug Marrone had OSU at No. 4. The other two, besides Pinkel? Alabama's Nick Saban and Stanford's David Shaw, who both had Stanford at No. 3.
• Only one coach had Texas in his top 25: Rice coach David Bailiff, whose teams lost to the Longhorns this season, had them at No. 25.
• Kansas State was as high as No. 6 (Art Briles) and as low as 17 (Les Miles).
• Oklahoma was as low as No. 24 (Skip Holtz, South Florida) and as high as No. 10 (Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee).
• Sonny Dykes had Baylor at No. 21, lower than any coach, and Paul Rhoads was one of two coaches that had Baylor at No. 11.
• Missouri was on five of 59 ballots, as high as No. 22 on Fresno State coach Pat Hill's ballot.
• Former Hawaii coach Bob Wagner and former Notre Dame player Derrick Mayes also had Oklahoma State at No. 6 on his Harris poll ballot.