ESPN College Football

Happy Friday.

Before we head into the weekend, here are some stories that people are talking about across the Big 12.

For your edification, here they are.

• Kansas officials say that have attracted about $4.5 million of the $34 million needed to build the school’s new Gridiron Club at Memorial Stadium, the Lawrence Journal-World’s Mark Fagan reports.
• Former Kansas State quarterback Grant Gregory details the various maladies he overcame during his senior season to FanHouse.com’s Brett McMurphy.
• An open records act requested by Lubbock television station KCBD indicates there were no written complaints received about Mike Leach’s treatment of players during his coaching tenure at Texas Tech.
• Former Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell and former offensive lineman Brandon Jones have joined Mike Gundy’s coaching staff at Oklahoma State in quality control positions, the Oklahoman’s Brandon Chatmon reports.
• Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that former Texas Tech assistant coach and one-game offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley is headed to East Carolina to become offensive coordinator on Ruffin McNeill’s new staff there.
• Nebraska defensive end commit Walker Ashburn will be watching Sunday’s NFC Championship Game with some special interest, the Lincoln Journal Star’s Brian Christopherson reports. Ashburn’s father is the facilities manager for the New Orleans Saints.
• The Omaha World Herald’s Tom Shatel details the first of many battles between Bo Pelini and Turner Gill.
• New Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen tells the Tulsa World’s Bill Haisten he’ll be calling plays for the Cowboys in 2010. And the Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel notes how much Holgorsen sounds like his old boss, Mike Leach.
• Colorado offensive lineman Gus Handler and quarterback Clark Evans are facing disciplinary action from Coach Dan Hawkins after both were ticketed by campus police in two unrelated incidents, Kyle Ringo of the Boulder Daily Camera reports.
• Three Big 12 teams dot the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Mark Bradley’s top 25 – Texas at No. 7, Nebraska at No. 9 and Oklahoma at No. 17.
• The Austin American-Statesman’s Danny Davis details how Round Rock (Texas) safety Desmond Martin remains committed to Texas Tech after the coaching change to Tommy Tuberville.
• Bryan Eagle columnist Robert Cessna writes that new Texas A&M defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter doubled his salary with his new job, but quadrupled the expectations associated with it.

The coaches who were most directly responsible for helping direct Texas Tech to the Red Raiders' victory over Michigan State in the Valero Alamo Bowl won't be a part of Tommy Tuberville's new staff.

Interim coach/defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill and inside receivers coach Lincoln Riley were among six coaches who were let go by Tuberville.

McNeill worked as the interim coach after Mike Leach was fired the week before the game. And Riley served as the Red Raiders' offensive coordinator, juggling the quarterback switch where Steven Sheffield was inserted in place of Taylor Potts in the middle of the fourth quarter to direct the comeback victory.

Other coaches from Leach's staff who won't be retained include running backs coach Clay McGuire, safeties coach Carlos Mainord, cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell and special teams coordinator Eric Russell.

Among former members of Leach's staff who survived the coaching switch included offensive line coach Matt Moore, defensive ends coach Charlie Sadler and Sonny Cumbie, who is a graduate assistant for the offense. Wide receivers coach Dennis Simmons also will be retained in some capacity with Tuberville's staff.

McNeill directed the transformation of the Red Raiders' defense over the last 2 1/2 seasons. The Red Raiders finished 2009 ranked fourth nationally in sacks, but only 94th in turnover margin.

Alabama associate head coach/linebacker coach James Willis appears to have the inside track on becoming Tuberville's new defensive coordinator. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Willis has been Lubbock the last two days with his family attempting to get settled in the area.

The season might be over, but letters and e-mails keep rolling in.

Here are some of the better missives I’ve received over the last several days.

Steven Johnson from Salina, Kan., writes: This season there truly was the “curse of the Big 12 quarterback” all season long. Did any other conference lose as many starting QBs as the Big 12 this season due to injury? In the South Division, only A&M had the luxury of their starting QB all season long. Who were the only quarterbacks in the Big 12 who started every game this season?

Tim Griffin: Yes, it was a bad time to be a starting quarterback in the Big 12 in 2009. The only quarterbacks who started every game were Kansas’ Todd Reesing, Missouri’s Blaine Gabbert, Texas’ Colt McCoy and Texas A&M’s Jerrod Johnson.

And McCoy’s injury against Alabama last week might have been the biggest injury of the season for any player in the nation.

I don’t know of any conference anywhere that had the run of injuries that the Big 12 endured this season.

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Terrell from the Bay Area in California writes: It's obvious that Mack Brown's offensive staff doesn't develop the talent like it should or utilize the talent it has. What's the shelf life of Greg Davis? Mack has a history of going with the style that's winning. And right now a pro-style SEC offense is dominating the championship scene. Do you see Coach Brown having the courage to replace Davis or are we stuck with him until Will Muschamp takes over? I think now would be a perfect time to make the switch especially with the recruiting classes they've had the last three years. The lineman alone should make Brown a more pro-style coach.

Tim Griffin: Terrell, you raise an interesting point I often hear from Texas fans. Davis was successful enough to help Vince Young and Colt McCoy develop into two of the greatest quarterbacks in college football history. There’s no doubt the Texas running game struggled this season, but Davis was able to cobble together a short passing offense that still took them to the national championship game.

I think there’s a lot of loyalty between Mack Brown and Greg Davis. They’ve worked together for 17 seasons at three different jobs -- Tulane, North Carolina and Texas. Brown has never fired a coach before during his Texas stint. And I don’t see him starting with one of his most stalwart associates in Davis.

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Zachary Cole from San Marcos, Texas, writes: I just read that Tommy Tuberville's new offensive coordinator will be Neal Brown from Troy. I don’t know much about Troy, do you think this is a good choice or do you think that Lincoln Riley should have got the call?

Tim Griffin: It doesn’t surprise me that Tuberville looked outside the Tech program to pick his offensive coordinator. And Brown is one of the rising stars of the business after the job he did with the Trojans over the last two seasons. He’s actually the youngest offensive coordinator in the nation but has more experience as a coordinator than Riley at the job.

Tuberville was looking for a proven commodity along with a coach rising in the profession. It's a bonus that Brown arrives with a few different wrinkles he wants to bring to his new job.

I think it’s a good choice, although it sounds like the offense will be pretty similar to the one the Red Raiders have run in recent years with Mike Leach serving as the coach and offensive coordinator. Tuberville wants his own immediate stamp on the program and that’s why I think he went out of it for Brown.

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Chris Watkins from Lawrence,Kan., writes: Tim, now that Jim Leavitt, Mike Leach, and Ruffin McNeill are all available, would it be wise for Kansas State coach Bill Snyder to bring them in, even in the thick of the tumult? I could see going to Kansas State being a smart move for Leach and Leavitt considering their reputations have taken hits. Snyder is just the guy to "mentor" them, much like Tony Dungy did with Michael Vick. Who would be most likely to go to work for the Wildcats, in your opinion?

Tim Griffin: I expect Jim Leavitt, Mike Leach and Ruffin McNeill all to be back in coaching quickly. But as far as Kansas State, I would suspect that Leavitt makes the most sense, mainly because he’s worked for Snyder before.

I know that Snyder has leaned on veteran counsel in the past and hasn’t hesitated to surround himself with former head coaches. And Snyder’s ability to “mentor” coaches, as well as work them pretty hard, is legendary. It would be a good place for any of those coaches you mentioned to land.

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Preston Nix of Austin writes: Tim, now that the season is over I've been looking at recruiting and noticed that Texas doesn't have a running back ranked better than 31st in his position for 2010. Why is this? It seems with Texas underperforming at running back there would be a high demand for star running backs to fill the gap.

Tim Griffin: Preston, I’m not normally a huge fan of recruiting rankings except for the very top players. And it seems like Mack Brown has done a nice job melding together his program in recent seasons with players who weren’t the top recruits. But at running back, I am a little surprised that the Longhorns haven’t been in the ballgame for more top prospects. Obviously, the Longhorns’ running game problems since Jamaal Charles left the program have been well-chronicled. And it seems that Texas has steered away from the running game in favor of pass-heavy offense under McCoy. Obviously, recruits see that and likely are more interested in places where they will carry the ball more often.

Maybe Chris Whaley will be poised to earn playing time over the spring. Or Tre’ Newton could takes the next step in 2010. But it is clear that Texas does have an immediate opening for a top running back heading into next season. Improved punch in the running game will be important as the Longhorns try to lessen some of the pressure around new quarterback Garrett Gilbert.

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Kelly Smith from Memphis, Tenn., writes: Tim, being an avid Cornhusker fan in SEC country, I have really enjoyed your coverage of the Big 12. I look forward to your outstanding continued reporting on college football. Keep up the good work. I have only one thing against you...lol... you did not vote for Ndamukong Suh for Heisman. I will forgive you, however.

Tim Griffin: Kelly, I appreciate the kind words. And your note isn’t the only one that I’ve received for not voting for Suh for the Heisman.

But I am going to meet with Suh on Thursday night in Omaha. In my role as the president of the Football Writers Association of America I’ll be presenting him with his Outland Trophy, emblematic of his season as the best lineman in college football.

We supposedly will be having a record crowd for the banquet. I’ll look forward to seeing him, the Pelini brothers and all of the rest. I’ll report back on it after the banquet on Thursday night. It should be a good time.

Thanks again for all of the good questions. I’ll check again Friday as I leave Omaha and head into the weekend.

The absence of Mike Leach at the Valero Alamo Bowl overshadowed a dramatic victory by Texas Tech and its interim coach Ruffin McNeill. Here’s how the Red Raiders claimed an impressive 41-31 triumph over Michigan State.

How the game was won: The game turned when interim Texas Tech offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley decided to bench Taylor Potts after he sustained a finger injury on his non-throwing hand with about 8 minutes left. Steven Sheffield came off the bench to direct two consecutive scoring drives, wrapping up the victory with two gutsy fourth-down conversions on the game-clinching drive.

It’s notable: McNeill becomes the second interim coach in the last seven seasons to beat Michigan State in the Valero Alamo Bowl. The first was Nebraska’s Bo Pelini in 2003.

Turning point: After Tech had claimed the lead on Sheffield’s 11-yard TD pass to Detron Lewis, the Tech defense provided the clinching play two plays later. Franklin Mitchem provided the interception of Kirk Cousins that iced the victory.

Player of the game: Sheffield came off the bench to direct Tech’s game-winning drive, completing 6 of 6 passes for 80 yards, capped by his scoring pass to Lewis for the go-ahead touchdown. Sheffield finished by hitting 9 of 11 passes for 88 yards as he directed two late scoring drives. His late charge gave his team the victory, even as Potts threw for 384 yards and two TDs to earn Most Valuable Player honors.

Unsung hero: Leading Texas Tech wide receiver Alex Torres struggled with only two catches and had a critical drop late in the game. But on the next play, Torres made a critical 6-yard gain on fourth-and-5 that kept the drive alive, setting up the touchdown to ice the victory.

Stat of the game: Tech rolled up 580 yards of total offense, including 472 passing yards. The Red Raiders averaged 461.8 yards of total offense and 380.7 passing yards with Leach.

Record performance: Lewis produced a career-best 10 receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns to help power Tech’s victory.

What it means: McNeill might have become this season’s version of West Virginia’s Bill Stewart by claiming an impressive victory as an interim coach. But how he did it was the most striking part of his team’s performance, confidently converting two pivotal fourth-down plays with the swash-buckling nature his boss similarly brought to coaching. Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers still might want to go for a coach with more experience, but McNeill showed some moxie along the sidelines that appears to make him suited for a head-coaching shot somewhere.

No games today, but do we have some links for you.

Read these to keep your mind on Big 12 football while everybody else hogs the New Year's Day spotlight.

• Texas Tech inside receivers coach Lincoln Riley was a high school quarterback at Muleshoe, Texas, during Mike Leach’s first two seasons at the school. Now, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Don Williams reports, Riley will be calling the team’s plays Saturday night in the Valero Alamo Bowl against Michigan State.
• Austen Arnaud credited Iowa State’s defense for coming together to provide the Cyclones’ Insight Bowl victory over Minnesota, Randy Peterson of the Des Moines Register reports. And the Register’s Sean Keeler opines that the Cyclones’ victory won’t earn many style points, but who’s complaining?
• Oklahoma’s first bowl victory since 2005 was an emotional statement for the Sooners, the Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel reports.
• Gary Pinkel tells the Kansas City Star’s Mike DeArmond that Missouri’s 35-13 thumping at the hands of Navy was the worst bowl-game performance in his head-coaching career. And the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Bernie Miklasz details five reasons why the Midshipmen unexpectedly dominated the Tigers in the Texas Bowl.
• It was fitting that El Paso was the site of Landry Jones’ record-setting bowl passing performance for Oklahoma, according to the Tulsa World’s Dave Sittler.
• ESPN.com’s Ivan Maisel predicts that Oklahoma will return to the top 10 next season.
• Richmond defensive coordinator and former Baylor coach Vic Shealy will join Turner Gill’s staff at Kansas, Dugan Arnett of the Lawrence Journal-World reports.
• Brian Hamilton of Chicago Breaking Sports.com reports that former Kansas offensive coordinator Ed Warriner will join Brian Kelly’s staff at Notre Dame as an offensive line coach.
• The Associated Press’ Alan Scher Zagier reports that athletes including football players were 10 times as likely to get special admission exemptions at Baylor, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma than the general student population.
• The Tulsa World’s Bill Haisten writes about the personnel challenges that Zac Robinson has overcome to take Oklahoma State to a 9-3 record this season.
• The Birmingham News’ Kevin Scarbinsky thinks that Auburn made an astute move in avoiding Mike Leach.
• The Valero Alamo Bowl might be better suited for Court TV, according to the Detroit Free Press' Michael Rosenberg.

Mike Leach's reluctance to apologize to Adam James and his family led to his school-mandated suspension for the Valero Alamo Bowl.

The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported Tuesday that the Tech coach did not dispute the facts after ESPN analyst Craig James had complained to school officials about Leach's treatment of his son, Adam, after he suffered a mild concussion last month.

The Avalanche-Journal reported that the school completed an initial investigation before suspending Leach. Leach did not dispute the facts, but also did not believe he had done anything wrong. The Tech coach also told officials that Adam James was "a slacker" and that Craig James was too involved in his son's football career.

Leach had until Monday to write a letter of apology to James and his family. When he didn't, Tech officials took action.

It led to Leach's suspension, with pay, from his job as head coach.

Leach's attorney, Ted Liggett, told the Avalanche-Journal that he hasn't given up hope that Leach will coach the Red Raiders in Saturday night's Valero Alamo Bowl against Michigan State in San Antonio. Liggett said he could consider legal action to get him back on the sideline.

"We're going to do everything we can to see that our client is duly served justice and that he's reunited with his boys as soon as possible,'' Liggett said.

When asked how he planned to go about it, Liggett said, "Through the court system, don't ya?''

If Leach can't coach, it will lead to a unique coaching situation for the Red Raiders in the bowl game. Defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill will serve as Tech's interim coach.

McNeill told reporters Monday in San Antonio it will be the first time he has served as a head coach since he coached a high school team in Lumberton, N.C., in the mid-1980s.

Wide receivers coach Lincoln Riley will take over Leach's play-calling duties for Saturday's game, with staff assistant Sonny Cumbie signaling plays from the sideline.

The Alamo Bowl already had been marked by who wasn't going to be at the Alamodome. Michigan State suspended 11 players and dismissed two others in connection with a Nov. 22 dorm fight. Among the players who will be missing are wide receivers B.J. Cunningham and Mark Dell and starting cornerback Chris L. Rucker, who have all been charged with misdemeanors in connection with the incident.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

The worst scheduling week in Big 12 history might be approaching.

Four Big 12 teams will be playing opponents from the Football Championship Subdivision in contests that have euphemistically been termed by many coaches as "body-bag games."

Coaches of those FCS schools know what they have to do in these games. Mainly, collect a big check and hope they emerge out of the game relatively unscathed for the rest of the season.

A 12-game season makes these games more necessary for the big boys from the Football Bowl Series, even if they aren't necessarily appealing, according to Texas coach Mack Brown.

"It's probably better if we didn't," Brown said, "but I don't know if it's possible right now."

Brown knows about these games after once coaching at Division I-AA Appalachian State, which then played two games against Division I-A teams as financial salvation for the rest of the school's athletic department.

"As tough as it is with the score and kids being mismatched sometimes," Brown said, "it is a positive for the university from the standpoint of exposure.

"And a lot of the kids I've talked to like the experience of going into big stadiums, even though they lose."

But try telling that to fans who pay full price, with increasing full costs, to travel to stadiums in order to watch these glorified exhibitions.

The difference is more than just the 22 extra scholarships that the FBS teams have -- 85 scholarship athletes on a roster compared to 63 for FCS teams.

During the first week of the season, FBS teams went 31-1 against their siblings from the FCS. The lone FCS victory was Cal-Poly's 29-27 triumph over San Diego State, coached by former Oklahoma assistant Chuck Long.

Baylor, Colorado, Kansas State and Missouri can only hope not to join the Aztecs on that dubious list this week.

Until then, here are a few morning links that are always competitive.

• Colorado can't afford a reprise of the last visit by a Football Championship Series opponent when Eastern Washington visits on Saturday. The Buffaloes lost 19-10 to Montana State in their 2006 opener. "It's almost surreal when you look back and you think about it," DT George Hypolite told the Boulder Camera.
• Texas A&M may consider a change in kickers after Richie Bean shanked two short attempts in the Aggies' loss to Arkansas State last week.
• Natalie England of the San Antonio Express-News writes about Texas QB Colt McCoy's emergence as a running threat.
• We now know who wears the pants in Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy's family. If you don't believe it, check the 7:43 mark of this Oklahoman video to find out.
• Steve Sipple of the Lincoln Journal-Star writes about the development of Nebraska LB Cody Glenn and QB Joe Ganz, two seniors who have hardly played most of their college careers.
• Oklahoma WR Manny Johnson is filling the void after Malcolm Kelly's departure to the NFL.
• The Columbia Tribune's Dave Matter writes about improvement necessary for Missouri's leaky secondary, which allowed Juice Williams to squeeze them for 451 passing yards.
• Missouri beat writer Mike DeArmond of the Kansas City Star writes and has video on the development of Missouri TB Derrick Washington.
• Baylor CB Dwain Crawford, a converted safety, tells the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Dwain Price about his enjoyment of his new position's challenges.
• Des Moines Register beat writer Andrew Logue chats about Iowa State's extra rest from playing on Thursday, the Cyclones' memories of Kent State from last season and the Cyclones' looming rivalry game against Iowa next week.
• Iowa State RB J.J. Bass will suit up for his first game this season after being suspended for the opener.
• Kansas coach Mark Mangino isn't expecting Louisiana Tech to be a cupcake.
• Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant's athleticism makes him effective in jump-ball situations.
• Texas Tech inside receivers coach Lincoln Riley is responsible for providing Mike Leach reports from the press box. It's not a surprising evolution, considering Riley has been Leach's right-hand man since he was 19 and helping coach quarterbacks as a student assistant.
• Kansas State's passing game was effective -- as QB Josh Freeman predicted before the start of the season -- even without graduated WR Jordy Nelson.