ESPN College Football

Here's the collection of facts and tidbits for this weekend's games, courtesy of various sports information departments around the Big 12, as well as ESPN Stats & Info.

• Last season, Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones completed 25 percent of his throws of 20 yards or longer, with six touchdowns and three interceptions.
• This season, Jones is completing 44 percent of those throws for nine touchdowns and one interception.
• Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden is completing 48.6 of his passes of 20 yards or longer in seven conference games, with six touchdowns and one interception.
• In conference play, when defenses have blitzed, Jones is 11-of-11 for 221 yards and two touchdowns ... when he throws to Ryan Broyles.
• In conference play, when defenses have blitzed, Weeden is 8-of-8 for 103 yards and two touchdowns ... when he throws to Justin Blackmon.
• Blackmon leads the nation with 58 catches of at least 10 yards.
• Broyles is fourth in the nation with 50 catches of at least 10 yards.
• Oklahoma State's offense has 16 drives of over 60 yards this season that have lasted less than 90 seconds. That's more than any offense in the country. Oregon is second, with just 12.
• Colorado has 15 sacks in its past two games, both wins. It had 18 sacks in its first nine games, and was 3-6.
• Kansas will play its third consecutive game against a top 20 team this week when it meets No. 15 Missouri. That's only the second time in 32 years for the Jayhawks, and first since 1998.
• Kansas and Missouri's series in Big 12 play is even at 7-all.
• Nebraska kicker Alex Henery is nine points short of the Nebraska career scoring record held by Kris Brown, with 388 points.
• Saturday will be second consecutive Bedlam matchup in Stillwater attended by ESPN's "College GameDay."
• Texas A&M's five-game winning streak in Big 12 play is its first since 1998, when they won the Big 12 Championship. That's also the last time any team other than Texas or Oklahoma has represented the South in the Big 12 title game.
• Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith has allowed just 10 receptions while playing man coverage in two seasons. Only one of those receptions was for a first down.
• Colorado' Brian Cabral is the only coach since 1932, other than Rick Neuheisel, to win his debut as Buffaloes coach.
• Nebraska receiver Niles Paul, who will miss Friday's game against Colorado, is one of just six Nebraska receivers with at least 100 career catches. He finished with 103 catches after a four-reception performance last week.
• An Oklahoma game will be the site of "College GameDay" for the 25th time. That's third-most all-time, behind Ohio State (28) and Florida (32)
• Oklahoma finished 2009 with eight healthy offensive linemen on scholarship. The Sooners enter their season finale this year with 16.
• Texas Tech and Houston, former Southwest Conference foes, are playing for just the second time since the league's breakup in 1996.
• Texas A&M running back Cyrus Gray's 223 yards last night were the most ever by an Aggies back against Texas.
• Saturday will be the fourth time ever that Oklahoma State enters Bedlam ranked higher than Oklahoma.
• Missouri and Kansas' last three games have been decided by eight points or less.
• The last time the Border Showdown had four consecutive games decided by eight points or less was in 1955-59, which was a streak of five games.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Here are some trends I'll be watching for in Big 12 games on Saturday:

1. Kansas State’s continuing turnover-producing binge: The Wildcats have been proficient turning the ball over in Big 12 games, providing one of the biggest reasons KSU is unexpectedly in first place in the North Division. The Wildcats have produced 13 turnovers with a plus-7 turnover margin and six interceptions in five Big 12 games. Their opportunism will test Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing, who has contributed seven turnovers in his last three games directly leading to five opposing touchdowns. If the Wildcats can keep up that pressure, they have a great chance of stealing an upset on Saturday.

2. How Kansas handles the Reesing benching circus: Reesing arguably has accomplished more than any Jayhawk quarterback in history, taking his team to a BCS bowl game and leading them to the brink of the team’s first Big 12 North title in 2007. He’s also made the Kansas record book his own personal playground while he’s been at the school. That’s what makes his benching last week even more curious. It will be interesting to see if the Jayhawks pick up their performance around him against Kansas State. Reesing has never lost to the Wildcats in three previous starts. He needs another victory on Saturday to keep the Jayhawks’ North Division title hopes alive -- and provide some personal redemption.

3. Missouri’s surging pass rush against Baylor: The Tigers really picked up the defensive pressure against Colorado, notching eight sacks last week to spark an impressive victory. Aldon Smith had three sacks and five other Missouri defenders totaled one sack apiece. It was a big turnaround as the Tigers had produced only eight sacks in the previous five games. And they should be able to capitalize on a struggling Baylor offensive line that allowed seven sacks to Nebraska last week -- including five to Jared Crick. Baylor has to do a better job protecting its quarterback if it has any hopes of winning its first conference game.

4. Will Bo Pelini and Shawn Watson chance starting Cody Green against Oklahoma’s blitz-heavy defense? Brent Venables is one of the savviest defensive coordinators in the conference with a vast collection of defenses he likes to employ. His unit might be like sharks smelling fresh blood as it faces Green in his second career start. Consider that Colt McCoy said that he saw blitzes when playing against Oklahoma earlier this season he had never seen before. And that was in his 45th career college start, when he was knocked to the ground 14 times in the first half of that game and struggled through his most troublesome game of the season against the Sooners. Imagine the challenge facing that defense will provide for the inexperienced Green.

5. Landry Jones against the Nebraska defense: The Oklahoma redshirt freshman quarterback has been effective since taking over the starting job after Sam Bradford’s injury. But he will be facing a huge challenge against a Nebraska defense that has allowed only eight touchdowns all season. The Cornhuskers have held their last seven opponents to 280 yards or less. And the Cornhuskers have allowed only three touchdown passes all season, tied with Air Force and Penn State for the nation’s best. It will be a tough test for Jones, the nation's leader among all freshman quarterbacks in the with 17 touchdown passes, to attack the Blackshirts.

6. Will Cody Johnson emerge as Texas’ featured running back? Texas coaches have been pleased with Johnson’s development after he lost about 20 pounds since the start of the season. They believe his tough inside running provides the most consistent running presence the Longhorns have. Will he edge past Fozzy Whittaker in the starting lineup, or will Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis prefer to use them in a two-pronged attack? Whoever emerges will be challenged by an underrated UCF defense that ranks ninth nationally in run defense, eighth in sacks and fifth in tackles for loss, and has allowed its last four opponents to rush for an average of only 74.3 yards per game.

7. What will the Texas defense will do for an encore after Oklahoma State? Four different members of the Longhorns’ secondary produced interceptions last week. Two of them were returned for touchdowns. Earl Thomas is playing at the level of a Thorpe Award winner. The Longhorns are allowing opponents a nation-best average of 52.9 rushing yards per game and 1.76 yards per carry. Can they continue that intensity with a schedule that will provide few challenges between now and the Big 12 championship game?

8. Oklahoma State’s performance after its blowout loss to Texas: The Cowboys’ loss to Texas likely ended their hopes of playing in their first Big 12 title game or making the school’s first BCS trip. The Cowboys were their own worst enemy against the Longhorns with five turnovers, including four interceptions thrown by Zac Robinson. It will be a challenge for them to rebound against a gritty Iowa State team that is only a blown extra point against Kansas State and an overthrown pass against Kansas from leading the Big 12 North. The Cowboys have developed some confidence on the road in recent games, winning six of their last nine games away from Stillwater after going 2-11 earlier in Mike Gundy’s tenure. His team still has a lot to play for, even though their title hopes are gone.

9. The return of Iowa State’s offensive weapons: For the first time since the Baylor game on Oct. 17, the Cyclones will have starting quarterback Austen Arnaud and tailback Alexander Robinson back in the starting lineup together. And starting center Reggie Stephens will be back after missing 10 days following an appendectomy. The return of offensive standouts will give the Cyclones a better chance of competing against Oklahoma State in a game that Iowa State desperately needs to keep its Big 12 North title hopes alive. A victory would secure eligibility for its first bowl game since 2005.

10. Meet Jerrod Johnson, the nation’s most underrated and productive starting quarterback: The Texas A&M quarterback leads the conference in touchdowns passes (20) while throwing the fewest interceptions (three) of any Big 12 starting quarterback. How will the surging Aggie offense fare against a struggling Colorado team that ranks last in the conference in pass efficiency defense and 11th in scoring defense? The Aggies, however, will be battling some long history as they’ve won in Colorado only once in the history of the conference. That came in 1997 when R.C. Slocum was coaching A&M and Rick Neuheisel was directing the Buffaloes.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Enjoy these links.

These and some chicken soup will do wonders in keeping that pesky H1N1 virus away from you -- and get you ready for the games Saturday.

• Mike Leach tells the Houston Chronicle’s David Barron that his team should be a big underdog against Texas.
• Art Briles talks to John Werner of the Waco Tribune-Herald about the importance of winning the turnover battle and his love for a good late-night burrito.
• Colorado kicker Aric Goodman isn’t talking much about his previous career at Wyoming, the Boulder Camera’s Ryan Thorburn reports.
• Lawrence Journal-World beat writer Dugan Arnett writes about Kansas right tackle Jeff Spikes' growing comfort at his new position.
• Bill Snyder and Rick Neuheisel renew an old coaching rivalry that started in the Big Eight and continued through four previous games, the Topeka Capital-Journal’s Kevin Haskin writes.
• Legendary former Colorado coach Bill McCartney came out solidly in support of embattled current Colorado coach Dan Hawkins, John Henderson of the Denver Post reports.
• Texas coaches want Colt McCoy to relax and have more fun while playing, the Austin American-Statesman’s Cedric Golden writes.
• Paul Rhoads is concerned with his team’s passing game, penalties and defense as it gets ready for Saturday’s game at Kent State, Randy Peterson of the Des Moines Register reports.
• The Kansas City Star’s Kellis Robinett catches up with struggling Kansas State kicker Josh Cherry.
• Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Bill Young bemoans his lack of a strong pass rush in a story written by the Oklahoman’s Brandon Chatmon. And the Oklahoman’s Jenni Carlson wonders what’s wrong with Oklahoma State’s offense?

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Kansas State's struggling passing game might have received a boost Tuesday after UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel suspended four players for Saturday's game against the Wildcats at the Rose Bowl.

Starting cornerback Courtney Viney was suspended by Neuheisel, along with running back Milton Knox and receivers Morrell Presley and Randall Carroll. The school didn't specify the nature of the rule violations.

Considering that the Bruins rank seventh in the most recent national pass efficiency defensive statistics and 37th in pass defense overall, the loss of Viney from their starting lineup can't help them.

Kansas State's offense sputtered in a 17-15 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette last week as Coach Bill Snyder alternated between quarterbacks Carson Coffman and Grant Gregory looking for a spark.

Neuheisel's decision could help pump some life into Kansas State's moribund passing offense that ranks 10th in the conference and 82nd nationally.

We'll have to wait and see how this plays out Saturday night.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Former Colorado wide receiver Josh Smith could be fulfilling a promise to return closer to his Moorpark, Calif., home to continue his college football career.

The Los Angeles Daily News reports that Smith appears headed to UCLA, if several academic issues can be resolved.

Smith decided earlier this spring to leave Colorado in order to pursue his dreams of a musical career.

The two schools that originally were thought to have the best chance to attract Smith were Arizona State and USC. Smith began making rap demos and CDs during high school and is interested in pursuing that career after he leaves college.

Smith, a junior, finished the 2008 season with 1,987 all-purpose yards. He set Colorado school records with 1,568 return yards and 50 kickoff returns, including a touchdown return that helped propel the Buffaloes to a season-opening victory over Colorado State.

Smith also gained 387 yards receiving on 29 catches and added 32 rushing yards last season. He caught 23 passes for 451 yards as a freshman in 2007.

The California lifestyle has always appealed to Smith, who moved in with his older sister, Alexis Scott, while in high school.

His arrival could mean a player with potential game-breaking ability for Rick Neuheisel. And it means that hopes that Smith would remain with the Buffaloes where he could play with his nephew, Darrell Scott, apparently are over.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

After watching way too many uncompetitive September matchups in recent seasons, I started thinking of some fantasy matchups I'd love to see for each Big 12 team.  

Here are my dream games for each school.

Baylor: The Bears are on the verge of making their first bowl game in nearly 15 seasons if we are to believe many preseason magazines. It might be fun to see them hook up Duke, which also qualified for its last bowl during that same 1994 season. The Bears' bowl drought is actually three days longer than the Blue Devils'. This would also be an intriguing matchup of two underrated coaches in Baylor's Art Briles and Duke's David Cutcliffe. Which program will get to a bowl game first? It might be interesting to see them play on the field.

Colorado: Before his youngest son, Drew, decided to leave Boise State because of concussions, it might have been cool to see a Hawkins family reunion on the blue turf in Boise. The game still has much appeal to me as it would be interesting to see Hawkins and his other son, Cody, try to beat the team where he earned much of his early acclaim as a coach.

Iowa State: Before his first game at Iowa State two years ago, they were minting coins to honor Gene Chizik. But after two struggling seasons with the Cyclones, many ISU fans felt betrayed when Chizik jumped to Auburn. How about the delicious matchup of Chizik and the Tigers against ISU and Paul Rhoads, who was Auburn's defensive coordinator last season?

Kansas: Two of the most imposing coaches strolling the sideline are Mark Mangino of the Jayhawks and Charlie Weis of Notre Dame. And both can coach a little offense, too. It might be a cool chess match watching the underrated Jayhawks offense try to overcome an Irish offensive attack that receives way more national publicity.

Kansas State: Bill Snyder has been careful to say nice things about his old offensive coordinator, Andy Ludwig, who was in Manhattan for only a few weeks this spring before bolting to California. It still would be an interesting matchup between Snyder and the offensive coordinator who left the KSU program before a first game was played.

Missouri: The Tigers have developed one of the most innovative and productive offenses in the nation during the past several seasons. It would certainly be interesting for them to show their stripes against Oregon and new coach Chip Kelly, who knows a thing or two about big offensive numbers. It would also be a matchup of two interesting uniform combinations, too.

Nebraska: I'm a sentimentalist at heart. And who couldn't resist the story lines of seeing Bo Pelini return home and play his alma mater, Ohio State, back at the Horseshoe where he played his college career? And even better would be the return game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, where the Buckeyes have never played before.

Oklahoma: Before last season, I imagined that Florida would be an ideal dream opponent for the Sooners, but the end results turned out to be a little nightmarish for them when they finally played. This time, I'd like to see Bob Stoops hooking up with his coaching guru, Steve Spurrier and South Carolina. That would be an interesting matchup.

Oklahoma State: The two teams have played previously, but I'd really like to see the matchup between OSU and UCLA. Both teams have flashy, young coaches -- OSU's Mike Gundy and UCLA's Rick Neuheisel -- who found success as quarterbacks at their schools in the 1980s. Both have made strong, early starts, but still find themselves in the shadows of nearby prominent programs -- USC for UCLA and Oklahoma for OSU. And both Gundy and Neuheisel would have some interesting things to say after the game was over, too.

Texas:  A rematch with USC would be sweet to see, considering the two teams haven't met since the titanic BCS title game in the Rose Bowl in 2006. Some old-school Longhorns would like to meet Notre Dame. But a better one-season dream matchup for this season would be Mississippi. It's always fun to see Mack Brown hook up with Houston Nutt, particularly after Nutt's celebrated upside-down hook 'em sign after upsetting the Longhorns in the 2000 Cotton Bowl with Arkansas. And the Rebels would be particularly interesting this season as Colt McCoy would square off with Jevan Snead, the quarterback who couldn't beat him out before leaving for Oxford.

Texas A&M: The Aggies and LSU have shared an intense rivalry over the years that seemed to get more forceful as both got better and started recruiting against each other. The battle has a history of 48 games between them, including every season from 1960-1975 and 1986-1995. They haven't met since then. It's been too long to see both old rivals compete. 

Texas Tech: The Red Raiders and TCU could have a pretty spicy rivalry if they played more often. The last two games between Mike Leach and Gary Patterson were particularly memorable. In 2004, TCU jumped out to a quick 21-0 lead in Lubbock before the Red Raiders stormed back to score eight straight touchdowns that blew open their 70-35 victory. It was the most points ever allowed by a Patterson-coached team. Patterson got his revenge in Fort Worth in 2006 when he produced a 12-3 victory, using the postgame news conference as a bully pulpit to talk about how little respect his program receives. And there's even more after Patterson's votes in the coaches' poll after last season. Patterson voted the Red Raiders 11th in the final coaches' poll last season -- their lowest national ranking -- and it's evident there's still a little bad blood between Patterson and Leach. What better reason for staging this one again?

Does anybody have any other dream games they'd like to see Big 12 teams play?  

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

My vacation experiences are going to be limited this month. But I actually feel like I'm making the trip with Texas coach Mack Brown on his visit to Europe and the Middle East with a group of football coaches.

Brown has provided detailed daily briefings on MackBrown-TexasFootball.com that makes you feel like you are riding in the military planes and the jeeps right along with him, Jim Tressel, Rick Neuheisel and the others.

Here's an account from when he first arrived in a dangerous war sector:

The next part of our trip is where there is more potential danger. It is in what our military calls "The Theater," "Down Range," or "AOR" (Area of Responsibility). We will go through customs very early in the morning and then depart on our cargo plane. The soldiers have told us it's going to be between 107 and 109 degrees with heavy winds blowing sand very hard in our face. With the glare of the bright sun, it is so hot it will burn your skin very quickly. We need to prepare and protect our skin for that.

I'm excited that we will be closer to "Down Range" battles because we also will be talking to soldiers that just came from the field. I see it as a very rewarding and interesting day and can learn so much from these men and women out there fighting for us. I'm really looking forward to seeing Iraq and finding out if my opinion changes about what I've seen on TV compared to the real thing. Obviously for security reasons I can't tell you what city we will go to, but I'll give you a full report on the experience after we leave. Tomorrow seems like it will be a challenge but fun.

Or his description of Iraq once he arrived there:

Once again, we are asked to wear the helmet and armor for the flight. The sandstorm has let up a little, so I think we can get in. Baghdad will be really interesting tomorrow. The terrain in Iraq is pure desert, with some breeze, and very thin sand that really burns your eyes. The sun is so hot and so bright the glare makes it hard to be outside without sunglasses. Seventy-five percent of this base has been out in the fight off base, and the average salary is about $25,000. We are so lucky to have great Americans who leave their homes and their families and fight in order to let us have the freedom we have. They are the true American Heroes. I wish our team could have been on this trip with us. Boy would they like their deal better. Pray for our military folks.

Or a lesson he learned from a military leader who motivates his troops despite the tough surroundings.

The conditions are very tough. It is very hot and dusty. You feel dirty all the time, and the sand constantly blows in your nose, mouth and eyes. Your eyes start to burn, it is very hard to breathe, and you get a sore throat, but I haven't heard anyone gripe. Pretty amazing. I asked the General how they could keep that attitude, and he simply said because they wanted to be here -- another great lesson for us in recruiting: take the guys who want to be at Texas. We met with a lot of the troops at Camp Victory and at Camp Liberty today. The extended meetings this a.m. were very informative in so many ways with the two Generals. We learned some great points about leadership, passion and family.

I'll be looking forward to talking with Brown as soon as he arrives back in Austin to talk about his trip.

And if anyone wonders how important the visit that Brown and the other coaches are making, they should read this blog item that Oklahoman columnist Berry Tramel reported after conversing with a friend of his who is currently in Iraq.

The coaches didn't have to be here in Iraq today, they could have been on a beach or on a golf course. But they all appreciate the sacrifices and hard work our soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen do on a daily basis.

The work here is hard, the hours long, the days off non-existent. But it is all in the name of freedom, the freedom of America and the freedom of others.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

The realization came a few years ago, early one morning in the Lubbock airport, when I thought nobody could have cared what I was doing.

After a long night of covering Texas Tech, I was scheduled on the first flight back home the following morning. But before I left, I knew I had to take care of something.

As I went to a bank of pay telephones back in those pre-cellular phone days, I mumbled off my list of 25 teams to the Associated Press desker in New York City. I usually tried to get my vote in by 9 a.m. -- always settling on them the night before but always looking at them one more time the following morning before I submitted them.

The teams tumbled out in my order for the week. After I finished, I tried to relax for a couple of minutes before my flight left until an elderly man tapped me on my shoulder.

"Excuse me, sir," the man said. "I think you had Michigan ranked too high this week. And West Virginia, they were way too low."

How the fellow passenger had determined I was a voter, I had no idea. But he -- as do most college football fans at that time of the year -- had his own idea how the polls should be voted. And fans don't hesitate to tell you about it, either, in person or by e-mail.

That idea infused me with the thought of how important some considered my vote. As such, I knew the kind of diligence the poll deserved if I was voting.

And the idea that my vote was being made public each week made me take even more care in trying to get things right in my mind. Because, I knew I would hear something if it was skewed.

This is why I think the American Football Coaches Association's decision to keep their final votes private is so wrong.

Horribly wrong, in fact.

Not making the votes public robs the poll of its greatest attribute -- its credibility. When that is stripped away, the poll loses its relevance.

AFCA executive director Grant Teaff argues differently.

"Why do you think they have voting booths," Teaff told the Tulsa World. "Why do you think they have curtains around voting booths? Experts believe that's the truest way of getting the purest vote. That's what coaches are after."

Teaff is wrong in his thinking. Horribly wrong, in fact. 

(Read full post)

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Texas coach Mack Brown can't wait to personally tell U.S. servicemen and women in the Middle East and Europe how grateful he is for their services.

"I want to share the deep appreciation that our football program, the university and the state have for so many Texans who are fighting for us," Brown said. "But also as Americans, just to say 'thank you' to all the soldiers."

Brown will be a part of a tour of football coaches to military bases around the world. Other coaches who will be a part of the tour include UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel, Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, Mississippi coach Houston Nutt, Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe and former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville.

The group will depart from McConnell Air Force Base, near Wichita, Kan., on Thursday. The coaches plan to visit troops stationed at U.S. Military installations in Germany, Turkey, Iraq, Spain and Djibouti before returning back home on June 4.

This is the second coaches' tour that has been sponsored. After hearing of the concept, Brown was intrigued about including himself and his wife, Sally, for an upcoming trip.

"I don't think people are talking about the Marines and the soldiers as much as we should," Brown said. "This isn't whether I personally or Sally agree with the war, because that decision has already been made. But this is about the people who are over there.

"When I heard the average age of our military over there is 19 years old, it's same as the guys we deal with on our team. It just touched my heart. And a small piece of this will be simply to say that we appreciate you."

Brown and the coaches will make a 20-hour trip aboard military transport planes.

"I'm sure after talking to some of the coaches who have gone over there that I'll get more out of it than I'll give," Brown said. "A lot of the guys who have gone over there, we've known. We've known the coaches who are going over there [this trip] for a long time. I think we are all a little anxious, but excited at the same time."

Brown's father was in the military during World War II in the South Pacific when he served as a tail gunner on a military bomber. His plane was shot down, but Brown's father was able to walk away from the accident without injuries.

"He wouldn't ever talk to us about the war," Brown said. "But when he got back home, he would not fly to our games. He never got in a plane again."

After watching the war unfold on television, Brown is interested in receiving a better understanding of the conflict after seeing that part of the world.  

"How many people get to see Iraq or Kuwait? I want to see those places," Brown said. "I see them on TV. But when I come home, maybe I can share with my team and others and appreciate what's happening over there much more."

Brown said he expects to receive some good-natured ribbing from fans of other schools while overseas.

"This is a way for me to say thank you from the state of Texas to all of our soldiers," Brown said. "It doesn't matter if you're a Tech fan. They'll have their guns up and the Aggies will all be kidding me with their thumbs up. But this is just to make the soldiers smile."

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Who was it that said necessity is the mother of invention?

They must have had a pretty good handle on football statistics, because I wracked my brain twice in the last week looking for a specific set of figures that I thought any upstanding conference would compile as part of a basic statistical package.

Surprise for me, I guess.

I wanted to find out the overall conference records of every coach in the history of the Big 12. These records are a strong tool to comparatively analyze coaches, I think.

All of the games are against Division I teams (unlike overall records). And the games are typically between coaches who typically get a chance to coach against each other on more than one occasion, providing a chance to make adjustments over the years as they learn more about their opponents' tendencies.

That's why I found these statistics -- compiled by me during the second half of a boring Cleveland-Atlanta basketball game last night -- to be so fascinating.

Here are my Big 12 conference won-loss figures. Records are for conference games, conference championship games and overall conference records.

Records of all coaches in Big 12 history Name/School Conf. game W-L Pct. Conf. title game W-L Pct. Overall conf. W-L Pct. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma 67-13 .838 6-1 .857 73-14 .839 Mack Brown, Texas 72-16 .818 1-2 .333 73-18 .802 Bill Snyder, Kansas State 53-27 .663 1-2 .333 54-29 .651 Mike Leach, Texas Tech 42-30 .583 0-0 .000 42-30 .583 R.C. Slocum, Texas A&M 34-22 .607 1-1 .500 35-23 .603 Gary Barnett, Colorado 34-22 .607 1-3 .250 35-25 .583 Frank Solich, Nebraska 33-15 .688 1-0 1.000 34-15 .694 Gary Pinkel, Missouri 32-32 .500 0-2 .000 32-34 .485 Dan McCarney, Iowa State 26-62 .295 0-0 .000 26-62 .295 Mark Mangino, Kansas 22-34 .393 0-0 .000 22-34 .393 Spike Dykes, Texas Tech 19-13 .594 0-0 .000 19-13 .594 Dennis Franchione, Texas A&M 19-21 .475 0-0 .000 19-21 .475 Tom Osborne, Nebraska 16-0 1.000 1-1 .500 17-1 .944 Les Miles, Oklahoma State 16-16 .500 0-0 .000 16-16 .500 Larry Smith, Missouri 16-24 .400 0-0 .000 16-24 .400 Bill Callahan, Nebraska 15-17 .469 0-1 .000 15-18 .455 Rick Neuheisel, Colorado 14-10 .583 0-0 .000 14-10 .583 Bob Simmons, Oklahoma State 14-26 .350 0-0 .000 14-26 .350 Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State 13-19 .406 0-0 .000 13-19 .406 Terry Allen, Kansas 10-30 .250 0-0 .000 10-30 .250 John Mackovic, Texas 8-8 .500 1-0 1.000 9-8 .529 Ron Prince, Kansas State 9-15 .375 0-0 .000 9-15 .375 Dan Hawkins, Colorado 8-16 .333 0-0 .000 8-16 .333 John Blake, Oklahoma 8-16 .333 0-0 .000 8-16 .333 Guy Morriss, Baylor 7-33 .175 0-0 .000 7-33 .175 Bo Pelini, Nebraska 5-3 .625 0-0 .000 5-3 .625 Art Briles, Baylor 2-6 .250 0-0 .000 2-6 .250 Glen Mason, Kansas 2-6 .250 0-0 .000 2-6 .250 Mike Sherman, Texas A&M 2-6 .250 0-0 .000 2-6 .250 Gene Chizik, Iowa State 2-14 .125 0-0 .000 2-14 .125 Dave Roberts, Baylor 2-14 .125 0-0 .000 2-14 .125 Chuck Reedy, Baylor 1-7 .125 0-0 .000 1-7 .125 Kevin Steele, Baylor 1-31 .031 0-0 .000 1-31 .031

Note: Active coaches are in yellow. Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads will be in his first season as a head coach in the conference.

The numbers provide some interesting factoids.

• I think these figures indicate that the two most underrated coaches in Big 12 coaching history are R.C. Slocum and Frank Solich.

Texas A&M has never had a Big 12 coach with a career winning percentage above .500 other than Slocum, who remains the only A&M coach to take his team to a Big 12 title game and win a conference football championship.

Solich ranks fourth in career conference winning percentage, trailing only Hall of Famer Tom Osborne and future Hall of Famers Bob Stoops and Mack Brown.

• Here's a strike against the Bill Callahan era at Nebraska. Callahan is the only Nebraska coach since the start of the Big 12 era to have a below .500 career conference record.
• Another underrated figure from the early days of the conference was Texas Tech's Spike Dykes, who compiled an impressive 19-13 conference record in the first four seasons in the conference. The Red Raiders have had one below .500 record during the 13-season history of the conference.
• Want an indication of the Baylor program over the years? The three coaches who directed Baylor before Art Briles piloted the Bears to a combined 11-85 conference record, for a winning percentage of .115. That's an average of less than a victory per season.

Briles was 2-6 in his first season with Baylor last season -- more than doubling the school's average in conference victories during its previous history.

• Bo Pelini's fast 5-3 start last season makes him one of only seven Big 12 coaches with a career winning percentage in conference games of more than .600.
• Mack Brown leads the Big 12 with 91 conference games -- 88 regular-season games and three titles. Dan McCarney of Iowa State is second with 88 regular-season Big 12 games.   

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Texas coach Mack Brown wanted to be included when several other coaches were invited to visit the Middle East this May.

As ESPN.com's Ivan Maisel reported yesterday, Brown is among a group of coaches who will visit U.S. military bases on a trip presented by Under Armour from May 28 through June 4 in Afghanistan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

"When they asked me to be a part of the group that's going to visit our troops this spring I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of," Brown said in a prepared statement. "We have such a great country and a safe country because of the young men and women overseas fighting for our freedom and for the war against terrorists.

"With the tremendous military influence in this state and the fact that it touches so many families on our team, I thought if there were anything I could do to help them, I should."  

Brown will be joined by Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel, Mississippi coach Houston Nutt and former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville. They are expected to visit more than 12,000 troops and travel more than 20,000 miles on their trip.

"There are so many young people fighting for our freedom, I thought it was a great opportunity to represent our University and football program in thanking them," Brown added. "It's a chance for us to show our soldiers that we care about their safety and well being and to let them know how much we appreciate what they do for us.

"Regardless of where you stand on war, I think it's the least I can do to go support our troops, their hard work and dedication and all they put into making our country safe. For me to spend a little over a week over there is not much when you consider the commitment the soldiers make every day to protect us and our freedoms."

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

I wonder what kind of lawyer Mike Leach would have turned out to be. He probably would have been much like the attorney Perry Mason, with a little Ernest Frye sprinkled in for good measure.

Mason made a career out of tormenting Hamilton Berger, the district attorney on the old television show who was kind of like Mason's personal Baylor over the program's long history, if you put it in football terms. And Frye, played by Sherman Hemsley on the old television show "Amen," had a shingle that read "Attorney-at-Law, Ernest Frye -- Where Winning is Everything."

Leach graduated from Pepperdine Law School before starting his career as an assistant football coach. It represents one of the more unusual career moves to get into the coaching profession, shared by fellow coaches like UCLA's Rick Neuheisel and North Alabama's Terry Bowden.

The Texas Tech coach sat down with Texas Lawyer magazine (hat tip to the Dallas Morning News) for an extensive interview about all things legal and football. The story provides several intriguing quotes that provide some insight into how going to law school shaped Leach's coaching career.

After working as a clerk in the Santa Monica (Calif.) Public Defender's Office and with a solo practitioner in Los Angeles, Leach said he wrote legendary trial lawyer Gerry Spencer a letter about law as a career. Spencer told him that if he wasn't consumed by law, he should never consider working as a lawyer.

There are several similarities between the two jobs, Leach told Texas Lawyer.

"In both, you have never enough time. There is always more that you could feature, more that you could research," Leach said. "You have to pick out key things and the key things that are going to feature your side. Preparing for a game is very similar to trial planning. You review videos instead of books and then at the end of the week, instead of trial, there is a game."

And Leach is convinced that the demands are greater in his job than if he had ended up working as a lawyer.

"In coaching," Leach said, "you work every day of the week."

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

The surprise hiring of former Iowa State coach Gene Chizik by Auburn was only the third time in my memory that a Big 12 coach has jumped to a job that would be considered "better" in the eyes of most football observers.

Chizik joins Rick Neuheisel, who jumped from Colorado to Washington in 1998, and Les Miles, who moved from Oklahoma State to LSU in 2004, as Big 12 coaches who improved themselves by getting out of the conference.

The new Auburn coach obviously hopes his new career will follow more along the lines of Miles rather than Neuheisel. The next few years will determine how it all plays out.

Here are some links detailing Chizik's departure and some other lunchtime tidbits for edification purposes.

• New Auburn coach Gene Chizik explains his decision to leave Iowa State, although Iowa State quarterback Austen Arnaud told the Des Moines Register's Andrew Logue that the team felt "betrayed" by the coach's decision. Register columnist Sean Keeler writes that Chizik's new $2 million yearly contract will pay him $1 million for each of his two career Big 12 wins over his two-season tenure with the Cyclones.
• Maybe Sam Bradford's golden touch can pump some life into the stock market. The Oklahoman's Jake Trotter reports that the new Heisman Trophy winner will ring the bell to open trading at the New York Stock Exchange. Trotter also writes that Bradford's late surge to the Heisman was helped by his huge game in the Big 12 championship game and that he probably has Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell to thank for his Heisman victory over Tim Tebow.
• Oklahoma's offensive success could make the huddle an endangered species, USA Today's Kelly Whiteside writes.
• After producing only 13 sacks this season -- the same number as Oregon leading sack specialist Nick Reed -- Oklahoma State will attempt to juice its pass rush before the Holiday Bowl against the Ducks, the Tulsa World's Matt Doyle writes.
• The Austin American-Statesman's Kirk Bohls weighs in on Gene Chizik's hiring, Sam Bradford's Heisman and an early look at Texas' Fiesta Bowl game against Ohio State in his weekly "Top 10 Observations from the Cheap Seats."
• The Lincoln Journal-Star's Curt McKeever gauges the mood of Clemson's defense without departed coordinator Vic Koenning before the Jan. 1 Gator Bowl against Nebraska.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

One of interesting items that always comes up this time of year is the release of the ballots following the final regular-season balloting of the USA Today Coaches' poll. It provides you a good handle of what some coaches really think about other teams.

And it also could lead you to wonder if coaches might remember grudges or occasionally vote their friends or conference teams a little too highly -- or lowly.

There's nothing at all wrong with this, of course. But it does provide some interesting day-after conversation, particularly when the vote ends up being as close as Oklahoma's one-point victory over Florida for first place.

Take a look at how the coaches considered the Big 12 teams in the poll.

Oklahoma: The Sooners claimed the title at the end of the year by one vote, claiming 31 first-place ballots to 26 for second-place Florida.

Most of the Big 12's coaches held firm with the Sooners as the best team. It's no surprise that Gary Pinkel would vote them that highly less than 12 hours after his team had been thumped 62-21 by the Sooners in the Big 12 championship game. Art Briles, Dan Hawkins, Mike Leach and Bo Pelini all voted for Stoops. And in the spirit of full disclosure, it should be noted that Leach and Pelini both worked as assistants under Stoops and Briles worked under Leach, making him a second-generation descendant of the Stoops coaching tree.

The Sooners were listed fourth on UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel's ballot and third on 11 others, including the ballot of Texas coach Mack Brown.

Texas: Four first-place votes helped push the Longhorns to third place. One of them didn't come from Brown, who voted with his conscience rather than giving his team the maximum number of points. He voted his team second, behind Florida and in front of Oklahoma.

Texas' four first-place votes came from Gene Chizik, Todd Dodge, Neuheisel and Mike Price of UTEP. Chizik coached under Brown before taking the Iowa State job. Dodge played for Texas. And Price played against the Longhorns earlier this season, losing 42-13 in a game that was considered the biggest home football game in the Miners' history.  

The Longhorns' lowest votes were fifth, given by four coaches -- Briles, Leach, Rutgers' Greg Schiano and Michigan State's Mark Dantonio.

Texas Tech: The Red Raiders finished in eighth place, two points behind Utah. Their highest votes were the second-place ballot cast by Leach for his own team and a third-place vote delivered by New Mexico State's Hal Mumme, whom Leach worked with at several jobs earlier in his career.

Nobody else had the Red Raiders higher than sixth. Among the 12 coaches who had Tech at sixth place were Briles, Chizik, Pelini and Pinkel. Brown had the Red Raiders eighth.

But their lowest vote was 11th, cast by TCU's Gary Patterson. The Red Raiders delivered a 70-35 whipping to the Horned Frogs in 2004. It remains the most points ever allowed by a Patterson-coached team and the worst defeat in his head-coaching career.

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys finished the regular season 14th. The voting wasn't as varied on them as some others. Their highest vote was 11th, provided by Briles, Pinkel and former Oklahoma State and current LSU coach Les Miles. Their lowest was a 20th place vote from Florida International's Mario Cristobal. I have no explanation for that.

Missouri: Despite losing by 41 points in the Big 12 championship game, the Tigers fell only six spaces in the coaches' poll. They had fallen six places the previous week from 11th to 17th when they lost to Kansas.

Interesting, the highest ranking the Tigers got was an 11th-place vote from departing Washington coach Tyrone Willingham. Maybe there was a show of loyalty for Pinkel, a one-time Washington offensive coordinator under Don James. Other than that, the Tigers' highest votes were three 18th-place votes cast by Pinkel, Schiano and Patterson.

Missouri was left off the ballots of 12 coaches, including those of Brown and Leach.

It's always intriguing to look at these votes. The transparency provides some interesting fodder and a more interesting way to determine how coaches look at their opponents -- and their rival coaches.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

The creation of the Big 12 snuffed out Nebraska's most storied rival when it did away with the annual Nebraska-Oklahoma game. Memories of all those great battles between Barry Switzer and Tom Osborne are all we have with the game between the Cornhuskers and Sooners now being played only twice during a four-season period.

That was no big deal for Nebraska fans when the Big 12 was created because the Cornhuskers had a crackling rivalry with Colorado that was boosted because of their intense dislike of Rick Neuheisel. When Neuheisel left for Washington, Kansas State took the No. 1 rivalry position for Nebraska fans because of Bill Snyder's building of the program. That continued for several years, but it's been gone since Snyder's retirement.

The Cornhuskers still play Colorado on the day after Thanksgiving, but that game is not nearly as heated as it might have been in recent years.

Corn Nation brings up several great historic points about how Missouri has now become the team that most Nebraska fans love to hate the most.

There's already a trophy awarded -- the Nebraska-Missouri bell. And something tells me that Nebraska fans are getting tired of Chase Daniel blistering their secondary with passes and then telling reporters after the game that the defensive strategy reminds him of something he might have seen in high school.

Missouri has racked up 41 points against Nebraska's defense in each of their last three home games against the Cornhuskers. The 41-6 loss in Columbia last season helped set into motion the actions that have done away with the tradition of awarding Blackshirts for the Nebraska defense. It hasn't come back yet.

And for those with a historic bent, back in 1892 when Missouri refused to play Nebraska because of an African-American player on the Cornhuskers' roster named George Flippin. The result was a forfeit, according to the website netnebraska.org, which has detailed the history of the Nebraska program in a television documentary series.

Nebraska fans follow the Web site's wishes and place Missouri at the top of their Cornhusker hate meter. If Daniel leads the Tigers into Lincoln and snaps the 15-game winning streak on Saturday, it will be a big start to it.