ESPN College Football

Today concludes "Coaches you love to hate" week at ESPN.com, and we'll conclude it with your take. Who gets your blood boiling?

Here's what you wrote.

Matt in Wrightsville, N.C., wrote: Rich Rod. It pains me to go into detail: WVU had the best team in 2008 and lost in a game that WVU fans shall not speak of. This team was roughly 30 point underdogs and Rich Rod didn't prep for this game because his head was in Michigan as he already made up his mind (he already contacted a real estate agent in Ann Arbor obviously without anyone knowing at WVU). Loyalty is something WV residents hold higher than most and Rich Rod proclamed his loyality for his alma mater earlier in the year because he was a Mountaineer "For a long, long time". WVU probably would have won the national championship as they destroyed a heavily favored, and #3, Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl behind the late Bill Stewart... Ohh yeah after his departure WVU immeditely dropped out of the Julio Jones and Terrelle Pryor recruiting picture (On the bright side we got Gino Smith).

Brad in Manhattan, Kan., asked: I know he is no longer in our conference but I can not stand Bo Pelini. His arrogant persona and his on and off the field tirades drive me insane. I love watching him lose and will forever cheer against him and any time he is affiliated with. The fit he threw at Snyder after the pounding K state gave Nebraska definitely does not help one bit. Especially considering he has done the same thing to other teams that he was complaining about. The guy is a clown

Joey Machak in Herndon, Va., asked: Once a Mountaineer, always a Mountaineer.... except you Rodriguez.

Sayres in Hershey, Pa., wrote: I hate Rich Rod. He ruined my 20th birthday on December 1, 2007. It should have been the happiest day of my Mountaineer life, but as we all know it didn't quite turn out that way. All we had to do was beat Pitt... PITT!!!

Steve in Phoenix, Ariz., wrote: My blood boils when I see Bob Stoops get that cry baby look on his face when a call goes against him. This is especially true when the replay shows an obvious Oklahoma penalty. He looks as if he is going to cry and starts yelling at the referee as if it's possible that his "super star" loaded team could never do anything wrong. Truth be told, he kicks the snot out of K-state every year and it's frustrating but he looks like a two year old. His brother does the same thing. It will be double cry baby faces this year in the big 12.

Lucien in Omaha, Neb., wrote: I hope that ISU can win a Big 12 championship if only to beat Gene Chizik in the new Champions Bowl. Anyone who says one day that they are fully entrenched in Ames then three days later bolts for "greener pastures" has no integrity.

Aaron in Owasso, Okla., wrote: How can anyone say Bob Stoops get their bloodboiling??? Stoops has consistantly been a great role model, he always puts family first and never puts up with players crap. He's not afraid to make tough decistion i.e. Rhett Bomar. Bob Stoops changed a culture of poor character coaches like Switzer to a stand up program.

Jordan in Chanute, Kan., wrote: Charlie Weiss... This guy thinks (or has implied) that he will beat K-State this year... Really? He can consider it a blessing if the Cats and Snyder dont embarrass him with another 38 or 52 point drubbing. With the game at Snyder Stadium I predict 59-3, I'll give there kicker a little credit

Jerry in Ames, Iowa, wrote: Snyder. I respect the crap out of him for how well he can coach and teaching fundamentals and taking ksu to levels that no one thought was possible, but when he makes comments about how theyre in the big 12 and should get all nonconference games at home or how he wanted farmageddon to stay in kansas city every other year rotating between manhattan and arrowhead i started hating him

Richard in Orlando, Fla., wrote: Tommy Tuberville...the defensive genius who has had 2 top 25 recruiting classes makes my blood boil. Most will say he fought injuries. I will say Tuberville lost the top strength and conditioning coach in all of college football in Bennie Wylie who could have prevented some of these injuries. Couple that with the 4th defensive coordinator in his short tenure and I will present you a coach who just doesn't have it anymore.

Hunter in Waco, Texas, wrote: GUY MORRIS. His best player during his tenure was probably Daniel Sepulveda...a punter. Thank the Lord things have changed.

PDXKSUFAN in Portland, Ore., wrote: Coach I hated: Remember when Rick Neuheisel roamed the Big 8/12 sidelines? He was a coach that everyone loved to hate. His sweater-vests, his smug grin, his deadly recruiting, his cocky attitude, sarcastic wit, and his winning teams (at first anyway). He is the only coach that I remember LOVING to beat.

The web was abuzz after what sounded like a slip of the tongue by TCU AD Chris Del Conte at an event in Lubbock on Wednesday.

A report surfaced that Del Conte confirmed -- albeit accidentally -- that Florida State, Clemson and Miami had interest in joining the Big 12 while answering a question from an interviewer.

Del Conte spoke with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram later in the day and clarified his comments.

Del Conte told the Star-Telegram he was not substantiating the rumors. The radio host interjected Miami into the group of schools rumored to be mulling a move to the Big 12. Del Conte said he was just referring to the rumors when he mentioned that Miami and others were interested in joining during the breakfast gathering, which came after the radio interview.

"If you listen to the radio interview my comments were in reference to where [the Big 12] was a year ago and now we’re being talked about by all these schools,” Del Conte said. “It’s gratifying because a year ago we were talking about the Big 12 not being around. It’s just a remarkable the transformation in less than a year. That’s all I was addressing."

It seemed pretty obvious to me that Del Conte was just talking on Wednesday, not confirming any rumor, but you knew a storm was coming when the comments first surfaced.

Del Conte also told the Telegram that no one from the Big 12 contacted him or told him to retract his comments.

No harm. No foul. Time to move on with this one.

Coaches we love to hate week is rolling on at ESPN.com, and today it's familiar territory for the Big 12.

Some coaches are hated because they simply win too much. For the Big 12, it seems like that's the only reason why any coaches earn hatred from fans.

For the most part, the coaches in the Big 12 are a civil bunch, with hardly a heated rivalry between them that inspires hate from the fans.

Nobody catches more flak for winning than Bob Stoops and Mack Brown. That's what happens when you win and do it for a long, long time.

Stoops has been accused more than once of running up the score in some of those wins, and when you look back on the 2008 season, it's easy to see why some might feel that way. The Sooners memorably scored 60 points in five consecutive games leading up to the national title, and scored at least 52 points in four more games.

The "leaving starters in" debate is a timeless one, and I tend to fall on the side of, "If you don't like it, stop them." Others don't, and Stoops catches the flak for it.

Simply put, Big 12 teams love beating OU and Texas more than any other school, and those winning traditions are the biggest reasons why.

Stoops and Brown also have to deal with the incessant chorus from fans who argue that coaching at Oklahoma and Texas is simple: You get the best players and you get the best record, regardless of your coaching acumen.

That couldn't be further from the truth. Brown and Stoops both inherited losing teams and turned them into perennial winners who do recruit well and sign the best players in the Big 12 every season. To think that happens automatically is silly. You need good coaches to make it happen, and Brown and Stoops have personified that, even if Brown hasn't won as big as some expect with the type of talent Texas reels in.

In this debate, though, I'd argue Stoops and Brown aren't alone. In recent seasons, they've been joined by none other than Art Briles at Baylor.

The former Texas high school coach is quick with one-liners that earn the media's favor, but he talks about doing big, big things at Baylor. Things like Big 12 titles and telling players they can win Heisman Trophies.

To those on the outside, it sounds like crazy talk.

Then, he goes and inches closer to those goals. He achieved the second one last season, and does anyone want to rule out a Big 12 title for the Bears in the future?

The same people who want to do that probably would have done the same for Oklahoma State. Mike Gundy has equaled or surpassed his win total in every season at Oklahoma State.

Briles has done the exact same, even while losing Robert Griffin III in a four-win campaign in 2009.

He won seven games the following year and did the unthinkable by winning 10 games in 2011. Losing RG3 is a big blow, but Briles has stocked his team with loads of offensive talent and signed five-star talents such as safety Ahmad Dixon and running back Lache Seastrunk.

It's a new day at Baylor, and thanks to Briles the Bears will soon be playing in a new stadium, too. As much as the rest of the Big 12 wants to pretend BU will go back to the same ol' Baylor without RG3, Briles will soon prove that no such thing's going to happen in Waco.

A word of advice on how to view the trio? Don't hate. Appreciate.

Hey, you stay at the top long enough, people get tired of seeing you there.

Such is life as Mack Brown and Bob Stoops.

This year, we asked who got you fired up the most, and Brown and Stoops ran away with the poll.

Stoops hauled in 39 percent of the vote, while Brown checked in with 37 percent.

They couldn't be any more different in personality, but they have one big thing in common: They win. If a coach kept beating your team, you wouldn't like it much, either.

Stoops got the OSU faithful fired up last season when he needled them for recognizing a co-Big 12 South title in 2010. He's won the biggest of any coach in the Big 12, and until the past two seasons, Brown had won with the most consistency.

That streak of nine consecutive 10-win seasons came to a screeching halt with a 5-7 campaign in 2010, leading more than a few to question Brown's coaching prowess. Could he be as effective at another school? What if you plopped him right in the middle of Ames? Would you still be impressed?

And at Texas, which has all the resources -- both financial and recruiting -- anyone could ever want, shouldn't a coach win more than one national title in 14 seasons?

Maybe that's fair. Maybe it's not. Only eight coaches currently coaching college football even have one national title. Stoops and Brown are both in that group.

The duo has outlasted every other Big 12 coach. No one in the league has been at their current schools longer. (Yes, Bill Snyder's three-year sabbatical disqualifies him.)

Before last season, Snyder was the only coach to swipe a Big 12 title from Brown and Stoops since 2001.

Hate them if you must. Pardon them if they don't stop winning long enough to notice.

As part of “College Football Live’s” 100 Days Till Kickoff countdown, here’s a look at the top 10 players in the Big 12.

Note: This is a separate list from our preseason top 25 players. We'll tackle that later. It might be a lot different. It might be much of the same.

1. Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia: Geno's a newcomer to the Big 12, but putting up big numbers is nothing new for the senior, who threw for 4,385 yards last season. Only one quarterback threw for more, but Smith had two more touchdown passes and eight fewer interceptions than the No. 2 quarterback on this list. Smith also completed nearly 3 percent more of his passes.

2. Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma: Jones checks in at No. 2 as the Big 12's leading returning passer, and will try to climb back in 2012 to give the Sooners another Big 12 title. Jones is the Big 12's most experienced quarterback, which should pay off the fall.

3. Collin Klein, QB, Kansas State: Klein was the league's No. 4 rusher and threw for 1,900 yards? You can't argue with that production, and Klein accounted for 69.8 percent of the Wildcats' offense. That's insane. His importance to K-State can't be understated.

4. Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia: Austin's the most dangerous playmaker in the Big 12, a true triple threat as a receiver, runner and kick/punt returner. He's the Big 12's No. 2 returning receiver, but he also returned two kicks for touchdowns in 2011, joining two other Big 12 returners who duplicated that feat last season.

5. Jake Knott, LB, Iowa State: Knott was outplayed by teammate A.J. Klein last season, but not by much. Knott was also playing through injuries. He's a superior talent, and like Klein, there's no arguing with his production. He's made 244 tackles in the past two seasons.

6. Joseph Randle, RB, Oklahoma State: Randle is the Big 12's leading returning rusher and should see an increased workload from his 208 carries last season. He turned those into 24 touchdowns to come three short of the Big 12 record.

7. Arthur Brown, LB, Kansas State: Brown's one of the league's most impressive freak athletes, a cruise missile of a linebacker who doesn't miss tackles in the open field and gets there faster than any true linebacker in the league. (You nickelbacks don't count.)

8. Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas: Vaccaro's the most versatile talent on a loaded Texas defense, and as a roaming nickelback, offenses must account for where he is on every snap. He's also got a case as the hardest hitter in the Big 12.

9. Jackson Jeffcoat, DE, Texas: Who has two last names and is the Big 12's returning sack leader? This guy. His 8.5 sacks were 1.5 more than any other returner in the Big 12, and he made four more tackles for loss (17) than any other returner, too.

10. Stedman Bailey, WR, West Virginia: Bailey's a more traditional receiver in WVU's offense and he's taken advantage. He's the league's leading returning receiver and offers the Mountaineers a steady, dangerous target with sure hands who will help make WVU arguably the league's most dangerous offense.

College Football Live's panel of experts preview Oklahoma's upcoming season.

The champions of the Big 12 and SEC conferences will meet in a bowl game annually, sources have told ESPN.com.

The agreement will begin with the 2014 season, with the champions of each conference meeting provided that neither team is in the BCS national championship game.

An announcement is set for noon ET later today.

For more on this story, go here.

It's that time again, boys and girls. The spring is over, and the Big 12 stock must be checked. Here's how I slot the conference heading into the summer.

1. Oklahoma: The Sooners' lead on the rest of the league looks like it's slimming after the suspensions of Jaz Reynolds, Trey Franks and Kameel Jackson. The pressure's on for an impressive haul of freshman receivers, highlighted by spring star Trey Metoyer and juco transfer Courtney Gardner, to offer Landry Jones solid targets.

2. West Virginia: You could certainly make a case for WVU as the favorite, but consider me a bit spooked by the inconsistency the Mountaineers showed in 2011. That inconsistency was masked by (a) their playing in a league that almost nobody in Big 12 country watches and (b) their most impressive showing of the season coming on their biggest and final stage, the Orange Bowl. I can't wait to see Geno Smith, Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey navigate a Big 12 schedule, though. They'll fit right in. Getting Dustin Garrison back will be huge, too.

3. Kansas State: K-State has the widest variance of possibilities of any team in the Big 12 (undefeated and a Big 12 title or a six-win disappointment are both in play), and they have the highest volume of doubters of probably any 10-win team in America. Bill Snyder put together one of his finest coaching jobs ever in 2011, and he'll need another doozy to win a Big 12 title in the midst of a deep top half in 2012.

4. TCU: TCU also has the talent to win a Big 12 title -- in the starting lineup, anyway. Coach Gary Patterson said this spring that the first unit is good, but the second and third units are the reasons teams win Big 12 titles. The defense took a hit with offseason arrests, but the offense should be on par with any in the league.

5. Texas: The Longhorns are loaded with upside, but until they show something, that's all it is. Last year's truckload of freshmen will be sophomores in the fall, and the offense revolves almost entirely around them. The defense will be stingy at all three levels, but can the offense prove it's balanced (or powerful) enough to keep Big 12 defenses honest?

6. Oklahoma State: OSU pulled the trigger on a true freshman at quarterback after just 15 practices, and even OC Todd Monken said before the spring he'd be "shocked" if that was the case. Here we are. The good news for new QB Wes Lunt? Last year's opportunistic defense which ranked 107th in total defense but first in forcing turnovers could be one of the Big 12's best, and could become both opportunistic and solid in places other than the red zone.

7. Baylor: Nick Florence validated his status as the likely heir to Heisman winner Robert Griffin III; doubt the offense's potency at your own risk. The defense is still a massive question mark, but Baylor may finish the season with the Big 12's best receiving corps, despite losing Big 12 receiving champ Kendall Wright. The trio of running backs (Glasco Martin, Jarred Salubi and Oregon transfer/Texas native Lache Seastrunk) will be productive, regardless of how carries are divvied up, which is still in flux.

8. Texas Tech: Tech stayed healthy this spring, which was a welcome development. The Red Raiders are coming off a 5-7 season, but the offense was still productive in 2011, despite missing the top two receivers and two running backs for part of conference play as well as a host of injuries on the offensive line and defense. New coordinator Art Kaufman is a longtime associate of Tommy Tuberville and installed his 4-3 this spring to try to fix a defense that gave up more rushing yards than any team in college football in 2011.

9. Iowa State: ISU's spring was about finding a quarterback and replacing departed OC Tom Herman. Courtney Messingham was promoted from within, but the Cyclones left the spring as the lone Big 12 team that doesn't have a starting QB identified. That doesn't bode well for the fall.

10. Kansas: I'm a firm believer that the gap between Kansas and the rest of the Big 12 is narrowing. And trust me, it was enormous. Charlie Weis infused some much-needed talent through transfers, headlined by Notre Dame transfer Dayne Crist. Former Oklahoma receiver Justin McCay will have to wait until 2013 to play, as will ex-BYU quarterback Jake Heaps, but Weis set a tone when he dismissed about 10 players from the team before spring even began and suspended starting running back James Sims three games for an OWI arrest.

We're taking a look at spring breakout players across college football today, and here's who made a big impact across the Big 12.

Trey Metoyer, WR, Oklahoma: Metoyer may have had the best spring of anyone in the Big 12. The physical freshman spent last season in prep school, but walked in this spring and essentially earned a starting job. Then three Sooners receivers were suspended indefinitely. Metoyer was already going to play and probably going to start. Now, with Oklahoma's passing offense and Landry Jones throwing the ball, it's a near certainty that he'll have a huge impact.

Wes Lunt, QB, Oklahoma State: Lunt hasn't made an impact yet, but he's already made headlines. Lunt may be the first freshman to win a starting QB job in the spring in the history of the Big 12. The Illinois native beat out junior Clint Chelf and redshirt freshman J.W. Walsh for the right to succeed Brandon Weeden, and quickly trended nationwide on Twitter after the announcement.

Will Smith, LB, Texas Tech: Smith came to Lubbock as a lightly recruited California juco transfer trying to find some playing time at outside linebacker. Midway through spring, he'd already established himself as the team's best linebacker and coach Tommy Tuberville moved him to the inside so he wouldn't have to leave the field during passing downs.

Jordan Thompson, WR, West Virginia: WVU is already loaded at receiver, albeit a bit top-heavy. Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin are bona fide studs, but Thompson should find a niche in the Mountaineers' offense after showing he could make an impact as an early enrolling true freshman. He's quick and has good hands, and the Houston native may resemble (gasp!) a young Tavon Austin next fall.

Brandon Moore, DT, Texas: Moore reportedly still needs to work on his conditioning, but the 6-foot-6, 330-pound juco transfer was a force in the middle of the line for the Longhorns, and could be a valuable pocket collapser and run stopper for a loaded Texas defense in 2012. That could blow up a lot of great Big 12 offenses. Think Nick Fairley vs. Oregon in the 2010 season's national title game.

Charlie Moore, WR, Oklahoma State: There was buzz surrounding Moore all spring, but he proved it in a big way as a spring game breakout star. The junior caught nine passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns in the game, and overshadowed yet another breakout star over the course of the spring, sophomore receiver Josh Stewart. OSU needed to find weapons this spring to replace Justin Blackmon, Josh Cooper, Hubert Anyiam and Michael Harrison at receiver. The Cowboys did exactly that.

Tony Pierson, RB, Kansas: Pierson made a small impact last season, but he's essentially the unquestioned starter at KU for now after Darrian Miller was kicked off the team and James Sims was suspended for the first three games of 2012. The East St. Louis native is dangerous in the open field and gives KU a much needed home run threat.

New Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby doesn't want to see any future expansion in college athletics, but recent events have given him no choice but to put the issue on the Big 12's agenda, as it is on other conferences'.

My opinion," he told USA Today on Tuesday, "is college athletics would be well served by some period of smooth water and not all of the angst and disorganization that goes with moves from one league to another."

We've heard that from the Big 12. Florida State is forcing Bowlsby's hand, though he wouldn't mention the school by name.

"I think the topic of expansion will be on every agenda going forward. But it's on every other conference's agenda going forward, too," Bowlsby told the paper.

Over the weekend, Florida State's chairman of its board of trustees opened up a big ol' can of realignment worms, however, when he offered credence to a long-held rumor rumbling around college sports. Could Florida State leave for the Big 12?

"On behalf of the Board of Trustees I can say that unanimously we would be in favor of seeing what the Big 12 might have to offer. We have to do what is in Florida State's best interest," Andy Haggard told Warchant.com.

So, here we are. After two years of attrition and a role as the hunted, the Big 12 is doing some hunting of its own? Or is it? The league just added TCU and West Virginia for 2012 after Texas A&M and Missouri bolted for the SEC, leaving the Big 12 with eight members. That move was a year after Nebraska and Colorado left the Big 12 for the Big Ten and Pac-12, respectively, costing the conference its namesake. Could Florida State move the Big 12 one step closer to a return to 12 members?

Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds tamped down some of the discussion, telling the Austin American-Statesman that there was "no traction" to the reports.

He did not add a "yet" on the end of that sentence, but more than a few assumed that was the case. How could the Big 12 and Florida State at least not sit down at a table for an exchange of ideas?

Where does the Big 12 stand right now? Bowlsby's not showing his hand.

"It's all about driving value for the member institutions," Bowlsby said. "There is a case to be made for optimal value being driven by the status quo, and there is a case to be made for some form of expansion. And I'm not prejudging or adopting either side of that right now."

He is, however, discussing it. And while that happens, there won't be many calm waters in college football.

NFL draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. tracks the fluctuating stock of college football's top 25 prospects throughout the year, and debuted his Big Board this week.

The shocking truth? The Big 12 didn't have a single prospect in the top 25.

What's that mean? Not much, beyond the fact the Big 12 doesn't have many big-time individual talents.

It still has plenty more solid teams.

Kiper also took a look at a few players who just missed the list.

Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma
Based on talent alone, Jones has the potential to be a top-10 pick. He struggled down the stretch last year (the absence of the great Ryan Broyles certainly didn't help) and looked like a player who was really trying to carry his team. He forced things, lost his mechanics a little and probably made the right decision to return for another year. I know he's working hard this offseason, and he could bounce back in a big way in 2012.

Kiper's on the money with that one. I talked about it a little earlier this offseason, but Jones probably has the most volatile draft stock of anyone in the league. Depending on how 2012 goes, he could progress into the top 10 or even fall out of the top three rounds or worse.

Tony Jefferson, S, Oklahoma
Out of place at linebacker last year, Jefferson actually played pretty well. Back to his more natural position at safety, I expect him to be a force in 2012. The former high school quarterback is a superior athlete and should thrive.

It's been a little frustrating lately for Jefferson. He's a freak athlete, but his lack of a true position kept him off All-Big 12 teams in 2011, even though he's clearly one of the most gifted defenders in the Big 12. That'll change pretty quick if he spends all year playing traditional safety.

Jackson Jeffcoat, DE, Texas
A star coming out of high school, this could be the year Jeffcoat really comes into his own. He played pretty stiff in his first season-plus in Austin, but he had 7.5 sacks in his last seven games last year. Watch out.

Todd McShay is higher on Jeffcoat than Kiper, but his production will tell the story of how his stock moves in 2012. Like Jones, he could be a top 5-10 pick, but Jeffcoat's floor is probably much higher because of his eye-popping physical attributes.

Four Oklahoma players have been suspended indefinitely for violations of team rules, which could leave the Sooners with just one receiver on the roster for the season opener who has caught a pass.

Coach Bob Stoops announced the suspensions late Wednesday night.

Receivers Jaz Reynolds, Trey Franks and Kameel Jackson and reserve safety Quentin Hayes are the players involved.

No details of the suspensions were made public, but the most troubling aspect? Two of the suspended players have been disciplined before.

This isn't the first time Reynolds has run into trouble with Stoops. Reynolds was suspended twice in 2010, including once after he made insensitive comments on Twitter following a campus shooting at the University of Texas.

This isn't the first time Stoops has punished Franks, either. After starting OU's first two games last season, Franks was suspended two games for what Stoops termed multiple violations of team rules. Franks ended the season with 22 catches for 196 yards.

Jackson, a true freshman last season who started for the Sooners in the Insight Bowl, tweeted earlier in the week that he was transferring from OU.

That's got to be frustrating for Stoops, but there's no doubt it's just as frustrating for quarterback Landry Jones, who's about to embark on an important season for his own career.

He's not getting much help from his teammates.

This story should be interesting to watch, and will have a big impact on the Sooners' Big 12 and national title hopes. Oklahoma was already a narrow favorite in the Big 12, but will the suspensions make way for another contender -- West Virginia, Kansas State, TCU, Texas perhaps? -- to grab the role of favorite come fall?

The odds of Notre Dame appearing in the BCS title game have fallen from 22-1 to 25-1 following the spring season. Whether the Tommy Rees situation will affect that line again remains to be seen. For now, our Travis Haney takes a look at how the Irish's title odds may have taken a hit , along with five other teams that have changed Vegas' (or the bettors') minds lately. (Odds courtesy of Bovado.)

A better starting point for the Irish might be the odds to get into a BCS game for the first time since 2007 (and that bludgeoning at the hands of LSU). What's fair there? 10-1? 12-1? Somewhere in there?

This BCS title number could have shifted in the past few days, in the wake of Tommy Rees' arrest. Then again, the Rees issue could help Notre Dame's odds, seeing as how redshirt freshman Everett Golson was the standout in the spring scrimmage. But until Golson gets some real game action, it's impossible to know whether he's the real deal -- at least enough to start factoring it into the Irish's season expectations. The same goes for George Atkinson, who wowed fans with 124 yards in the spring game. But he rushed for just 27 in 2011.

Among other factors, such as pesky things like enough talent and depth, it's unlikely that the Irish could skate through their schedule -- one that includes Oklahoma, in addition to mainstays such as Michigan and USC -- without a setback or three.

The Irish's 2012 opponents haven't done much this spring to affect their standing one way or another: Oklahoma has jumped from 18-1 to 10-1, but Michigan has fallen from 18-1 to 25-1.

IRVING, Texas -- The Big 12 introduced Bob Bowlsby as its commissioner on Friday. You can expect plenty more coverage from ESPN.com, including a column from Ivan Maisel on what convinced Bowlsby to leave a comfortable job at Stanford to take over a league that many believe is in turmoil.

"I wouldn't have been interested in (the Big 12 commissioner job) if I had arrived at the interview and found that there was fragmentation. I'm not much interested in having my horse shot out from under me," Bowlsby said. "I came in with some reservations, and those reservations were quickly put to rest. We had some very frank conversations about what the challenges were with the league, and what the opportunities are with the league. I came away feeling very good about it. Not knowing whether or not I was going to get an offer, but feeling very good about it."

As the new face of the Big 12, though, where does he stand on the issues facing the league? Here's a quick rundown.

On possible future Big 12 expansion:

"Expansion will be an ongoing consideration for us. I haven’t had the opportunity to talk with all of the presidents about this issue, and I haven’t had the opportunity to talk to all but a couple of the athletic directors. I certainly am not going to presume a direction that we will go. I think, though, as you consider expansion, it has to be expansion that has, as its roots, the enhancement of the league. There’s nothing magic about 11, 12 or 10."

Later, he added that there is no consensus among the members about a number, but there are a lot of variables to consider.

On a playoff in college football:

I think we're going to end up with some form of playoff. Whether it's inside the bowls or outside is yet to be determined. There's certainly arguments to be made for both. If I would have had to bet on it or guess at it a year ago, I'd have said the plus-one model had the best chance, but I think the commissioners group and the BCS leadership has really gravitated toward a position that has four or five legitimate options, and I think time will tell which will be selected, but I think one of them will be.

On the idea that the Big 12 commissioner is a puppet for the University of Texas:

"I guess I would just suggest that you do a little homework on me. I haven't been very good at being a puppet over the years."

On issues revolving around Texas that affected conference unity:

"I think it's in the past. ... I have found them to be very thoughtful and very team-oriented in terms of how they view the issues. I asked some probing questions along those lines, because the University of Texas is always going to be an 800-pound gorilla in college athletics, and that isn't going to change. But I have been very impressed at the extent of which the folks at the University of Texas are committed to the conference, and committed to the best outcomes -- not only for them, but for the other nine members.

On extending the league's grant of rights:

"The longer we go, presumably the more stable we are."

On equal revenue sharing:

I think the Big 12 can do anything the Big 12 wants to do. I think they're terrific universities and great sports programs, and I think the world is our oyster. The landscape is changing quickly, and we're going to need to change with it, but I'm very excited about the group that we're going to go to battle with. I think we can compete with any conference out there. I think we can compete on the playing surfaces, and we can compete in the marketplace as well.

He later added: "Great competition every Saturday is the best thing you can have. One of the ways you do that is by making sure the rich don't get richer and the poor don't get poorer. I think it's really important to have something resembling equal revenue sharing. It isn't just about the money that makes you competitive, but it is in part about available resources that institutions can use. The best situation you can have is an all-out war on the football field every Saturday or every Saturday on the basketball floor."

On the Longhorn Network:

"I think everybody wishes that they had the Longhorn Network available to them, and not everybody can do that, although there are several in the league that have their own models of third-tier rights utilization. It's a challenge going forward, but I think the presidents have given a lot of thought to how it fits together, and I was satisfied with what I heard from them along those lines.

On having a geographical outlier in West Virginia:

Because of that, we do need to think about how to (make them welcome). It isn't a situation where they're going to have a natural rival in the state next door. their Backyard Brawl with Pittsburgh is natural geographically, but it isn't evident that there's the same geographic vicinity with the Big 12 teams. Having said that, I think it's all about high-quality competition. Football and basketball teams are playing all over the country, so it isn't a particular logistical challenge there, but for some of the non-revenue Olympic sports, it's going to be a challenge. We're going to have to think innovatively about how we don't disadvantage a team that's from some distance away.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Mike Gundy remembers what happened the last time Oklahoma State shook up the Bedlam rivalry.

Gundy was an assistant on Les Miles' staff back in 2001 when the Cowboys knocked off the defending national champion Sooners on their home field as four-touchdown underdogs. In 2002, Miles did it again, beating the No. 4 Sooners in Stillwater, 38-28. The Sooners' noisy neighbors to the north woke them up to a rivalry that would turn one-sided again very soon.

"The first two years I was here with Les and we beat them, they didn’t really consider us a factor. I obviously don’t have any proof of that, but I’m sure when they looked at their schedule, they were looking more at Texas and Nebraska and people like that. ... I don’t think their players every really paid much attention to us," Gundy said. "It’s been so one-sided here for the last 100 years, or however long; it's been a bigger factor for the fans than it was the players.

"That changed in 2003 up through now. They, in my opinion, were very aware of that game. Last year is only going to add to that."

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops? Well, he strongly disagrees with that assessment.

"Everyone calls it a rivalry for all these years, now you’re saying it’s now become one? I don’t understand that. When wasn’t it a rivalry?" he said. "Like I didn’t need to last year? What year didn’t I need to win it?"

Valid points from Stoops, but the facts support Gundy's assumption. After the 2002 loss, the Sooners won next eight Bedlams battles. Only three of the eight wins were by single digits, even though a rising Oklahoma State program was ranked in five of the eight meetings.

Just like 2001 and 2002, Gundy says the Cowboys' emphatic 2011 win "throws fuel on the fire" of Bedlam, a Big 12 rivalry gaining fast on Red River as the Big 12's most nationally relevant game.

Last season, the balance of power in the state shifted. When receiver Isaiah Anderson goes home to Wichita Falls, Texas, he sees more orange than ever before. It's on car bumpers, the fronts of shirts and emblazoned across hats.

With a 44-10 Cowboys romp in Boone Pickens Stadium capped by a field storming, Oklahoma State announced its arrival.

"Oklahoma’s not the only team in Oklahoma anymore. They can’t call it the Sooner State," Anderson said.

This was no fluke win. It was no blip of an upset that put a late-season blemish on Oklahoma's record. This was two in-state rivals playing for everything, and Oklahoma State walked away as 34-point victors.

"I said it then: If not now, then when? When is that gonna happen?" offensive coordinator Todd Monken said. "We got them here, everything’s on the line, we’ve had a bye week, we’re playing good football. We’re healthy. They weren’t."

The Sooners had taken home seven Big 12 titles since 2000, and even with injuries to leading receiver Ryan Broyles and running back Dominique Whaley, they had positioned themselves for an eighth. Oklahoma State said, "No. This one's ours."

Oklahoma State had won games, sure. It had won bunches of them -- 29 in the past three seasons, including a school-record 11 in 2010. What it hadn't won? The big one.

"The bully is the bully until you beat up the bully," Monken said. "You can’t say you’ve arrived until you actually win it."

Fans mobbed players to celebrate as they ripped down the goalposts.

Middle-aged alums hopped the field's 8-foot wall and hugged players such as Justin Gilbert, who said he couldn't take a step without someone thanking him and his teammates.

In one night, Oklahoma State ended eight years of frustration.

"Hopefully, now in our players' minds and our fans’ minds, we’re not the whipping boy anymore," offensive lineman Jonathan Rush said. "We can play. It’s not like we have a curse that we’ll never win that game. Now we can believe. It’s doable."

It also booked its first trip to the BCS and, most importantly, won its first outright conference title.

"If we beat Iowa State and lost to OU, it’s not the same," Monken said, referencing a double-overtime loss to the Cyclones that cost OSU a shot at the national title but didn't deter its Big 12 title hopes. "Yeah, we might have gone on and played in the Sugar Bowl, but it wouldn’t have been the same because you didn’t win the league. You didn’t win the title. You can’t say, 'Hey, we’re conference champs.' And you did it against OU, who, let’s face it, has had the upper hand for years."

The Sooners had the upper hand on more than just Oklahoma State. OU and Texas combined to win 10 of the 15 Big 12 titles before last season. No one except the Sooners and Longhorns had won the former Big 12 South since Texas A&M in 1998.

Then, all of a sudden, the Big 12's Red River dominance came to an end.

"I think what that’s done is kind of broke the ice a little bit," Gundy said. "The people that follow football in this part of the country, I think they enjoyed watching Oklahoma State win this league, because of the dominance the other two schools have had."

It's no longer impossible to surpass Oklahoma and Texas. The road to the Big 12 title was easier in the former Big 12 North, but when the Big 12 eliminated divisions in 2011 after being trimmed to just 10 teams, concern arose that no one would be able to outperform OU or Texas over the course of a 12-game season.

A Big 12 North team could upset a team from the South in the Big 12 title game. Kansas State proved that with a mammoth upset in 2003. Colorado upset Texas in 2001. But outplay the Red River rivals for an entire season? Good luck with that.

A year later, Oklahoma State proved it can be done, and can be done emphatically. The Cowboys finished two games ahead of the Sooners after the Bedlam beatdown for state supremacy.

"Winning a BCS game in some way has changed all of their lives," Gundy said. "They just don’t know it. It certainly changed mine and the people that coach here and work in their organization. It did theirs, too. They just don’t know it yet."