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Last spring, I sat in Bill Stewart's office in the West Virginia football complex for a long chat, as I had the previous two Aprils. Of course, this visit carried a distinctly different vibe, as Stewart was preparing to coach what he thought would be his final season as Mountaineers coach before handing the reins over to Dana Holgorsen.

Stewart never really wanted to participate in the peaceful transition of power, which became even more obvious just a few weeks later. Outwardly, though, he maintained his ever-rosy persona when I asked him what he planned to do with his life after football.

"I'm only going to be 59 this year," he told me. "I was born to coach. I was born to lead."

Sadly, and incredibly, Stewart didn't have much time to write a new chapter in his life, dying of a heart attack Monday just a couple of weeks shy of his 60th birthday.

His three-year run as West Virginia's head coach coincided with my three years covering the Big East for ESPN.com. I would always tell people who asked about the league one thing: There's not another football coach like Bill Stewart.

Nobody loved West Virginia more than the New Martinsville native who spoke reverentially about "the old Gold and Blue" every chance he got. You could have never pictured Stewart leaving the Mountaineers for a supposedly bigger job the way Rich Rodriguez did before the 2008 Fiesta Bowl. Which is why, in the hours after Stewart led the the team to an upset of Oklahoma in that game as interim coach, West Virginia leaders got swept up in the euphoria and emotion and named him permanent head coach.

It was a hasty decision that in retrospect was probably the wrong call. Stewart hadn't even been a coordinator during his career as an assistant in Morgantown, and his one stint as a head coach, at VMI, was a failure. He could deliver a rousing speech, he could connect on a personal level with his players and -- despite the perception caused by his "aw shucks" manners -- he knew football.

But Stewart lacked an obsessive focus on details that mark most successful coaches at powerhouse schools, and his teams often reflected that. The Mountaineers in the Stewart era lost games to less talented teams because of untimely mistakes, turnovers and penalties. Fans believed his teams underachieved, and their case was only strengthened when Holgorsen won the Orange Bowl with Stewart's players last season.

But if the worst thing you could say about Bill Stewart was that he didn't spend every waking minute breaking down film or yelling at his assistants, so be it. He was a people person, through and through. On one of my first spring visits, we sat in his office talking for more than 90 minutes even though he had to attend a high school coaches' clinic that was underway. He asked me more questions than the other way around. On another visit, I was scheduled to drive back to Pittsburgh at the end of the day. Stewart worried that I would be driving into storms and kept checking the weather reports throughout the day. He asked me to let him know that I got back safely that night. How many BCS conference coaches would do that?

But that's how Stewart was, a genuinely nice and thoughtful person. His players -- some of whom, like Noel Devine, had wildly different backgrounds -- clearly loved him as a father figure. Players, media members and others who knew him got used to receiving daily inspirational text messages from Stewart while he was coaching.

And if Stewart was not the right guy to follow Rodriguez, then whose fault was that? If someone handed you your ultimate dream job, would you say no? Rodriguez's departure created an ugly rift, and Stewart helped unite the West Virginia family once again. His tenure was hardly a disaster, as the Mountaineers won nine games in each of his three seasons, including a share of the 2010 Big East title. The program recruited well on his watch, and he's responsible for bringing stars like Geno Smith, Tavon Austin and Bruce Irvin to campus. Things could have gone a whole lot worse after Rodriguez left, but Stewart maintained the strength of the program and made it possible for Holgorsen to excel immediately. He was a nice guy who didn't finish anywhere near last.

Stewart was an American history buff who was convinced that his legacy would look better down the road. He might have been right about that, though the controversial end to the relationship between him and Holgorsen did him no favors. What I'll choose to remember about Stewart was his overwhelmingly decent, fundamentally caring personality. There was no head coach like Bill Stewart, and there weren't many people quite like him, either.

Alabama and West Virginia will meet for the first time when the two storied football programs open the 2014 season in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta, bowl officials announced Thursday.

Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen said the event is a great way to showcase his program.

"Alabama is one of the top teams in college football history, and it will be a tough challenge for us," Holgorsen said in the statement.

The Crimson Tide are 10-8-1 all-time against teams from the Big 12. Their most recent victory came in the 2009 BCS national championship game against Texas.

For more on this story, go here.

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. -- At a recent practice, on the first play of a scrimmage, West Virginia's offense did what West Virginia's offense does: connected for a long pass play.

Echoing from the sidelines, though, were comments that brought a smile to co-defensive coordinator Joe DeForest's face, despite the struggles from the past play.

"Don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about it," teammates yelled. "Move on to the next one. Move on to the next one."

On the second play, the defense forced a sack.

"When kids start repeating what you’re saying out loud, you know they’re listening to you," DeForest told ESPN.com in a recent interview.

What West Virginia's coaches are saying out loud? A brand-new philosophy and culture for the defense.

The Mountaineers will encounter plenty of new faces, places and experiences in the Big 12, but it doesn't take a pigskin prodigy to see the biggest difference will come in the offenses WVU's defense will match up against.

West Virginia led the Big East in total offense in 2011, but only one other team (South Florida) ranked in the national top 60.

Meanwhile, the Big 12 had two of the nation's top three offenses, and six of the top 13. Missouri and Texas A&M were in the top 13 and will play in the SEC in 2012, but TCU brings the nation's No. 28 offense to the Big 12.

A new Mountaineer mindset was needed, and the spring in Morgantown was bent on pounding that into the defense.

"Guys that put their heads down when they give up a big play are going to be in for a long year when they get to the Big 12," coach Dana Holgorsen said. "You’ve got to develop that culture, which is taking place now."

There's no shame in giving up a big play, and nowhere on DeForest's list of goals is a ranking for total defense. After a decade at Oklahoma State, he's learned to focus on more applicable goals.

West Virginia's defense focuses on a three-letter acronym: EAT. DeForest demands Effort, Attitude and ... Turnovers.

"If we can create turnovers like I did at the previous place I was at, that gives you an advantage. It gives your offense possibly three more possessions a game than they would have," DeForest said. "Whether our numbers are good or not doesn’t really concern me. My numbers are wins and losses and how many turnovers we can get so our explosive offense can have another opportunity to score."

Oklahoma State forced 44 turnovers in 2011, six more than any other team in college football. Those wins and losses? The Cowboys went a hearty 12-1 and won the Big 12, even though they ranked 107th nationally in total defense.

Mission accomplished.

Every day in practice, co-coordinators DeForest and and Keith Patterson demand three turnovers from the defense, and the total number for the spring is compared to a goal set when the 15 practices began.

Not only are Big 12 offenses better, they're run at a faster pace. That means more plays for the defense, which requires DeForest and Patterson to develop more depth, while also making sure the players ready to play are better conditioned.

Four Big 12 teams ran at least 1,000 plays in 2011. Three more ran at least 972.

West Virginia ran 959 plays in 2011, but no other Big East team ran more than 944. Half the league ran fewer than 900.

More plays and better offenses means defenses better learn a new understanding of what to expect come Saturdays.

"It’s not about what happens, it’s about how you react to what happens. You’ve just got to forget the last play and move on to the next one, because the next one’s the most important one," DeForest said. "Whoever we’re playing, they’ve got good guys, too. They’re going to make a play. Just give ourselves a chance to play one more play. Get ‘em down and give ourselves a chance to create a turnover on the next play."

West Virginia's not only thinking differently, it's playing differently. The 3-3-5 that's been in place at West Virginia throughout its rise has been replaced by the 3-4 after coordinator Jeff Casteel left to follow former coach Rich Rodriguez to Arizona.

"We hired guys that understand how to stop our offense and how to play defense [against] an offense like this, which obviously exists in the Big 12 a lot," Holgorsen said. "It’s made us better offensively, because they know how to stop us, and those guys are doing a tremendous job on communicating how to get guys lined up quick, which you have to do when Baylor and Oklahoma are snapping that thing at 32 seconds on the play clock."

In the 3-4, offensive lines are pressed to communicate. Three defensive linemen are traditionally down in a stance, but offenses are ideally kept guessing where the fourth, fifth and sixth rushers will be coming from.

"The flexibility, what we have within our scheme, and our players can help us disguise and create confusion," DeForest said.

The means and attitude are different. The goal is the same.

"You can’t be moaning about what happened last. You’ve got to refocus and move on. Our kids are trying to do that," DeForest said. "Ultimately, it’s making one more stop than [the opponent] at the end of the game."

It was a meeting of minds that had never really met. Still, Jim Mora knew that he wanted Noel Mazzone running his offense.

Mora, who has spent virtually his entire career in the NFL, was looking for someone with deep college roots. But he also wanted someone who could give him a mental sparring match.

"In watching his offense, I watched it like a defensive coach would watch it, because I'm a defensive-minded coach," said Mora. "I'm watching his plays and wondering 'How am I going to defend that?' And I thought, I don't know. When it posed those problems to me initially, I thought that's the guy."

And Mazzone jumped at the chance -- even though he only knew Mora by reputation.

"It was sort of the four degrees of Jim Mora separation," Mazzone said. "That's how coaching is anyway. There is always a little bit of a tie because you know a guy who knows a guy who worked with that guy. I didn't even really know him. A good friend of his was someone I worked with at the Jets."

Mora, who had been in broadcasting since being fired as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, had spent a lot of time watching college football. And he kept a close eye on what was happening at Arizona State, where Mazzone had served as offensive coordinator to Dennis Erickson.

"I love his personality," Mora said. "I love his energy. I love his experience. I know he's great with quarterbacks. Now I'm watching his offense and I don't know how I'm going to stop it. With all of the experience I have -- going against [Bill] Belichick and [Mike] Martz and Bill Walsh. Man, I thought, this guy is special."

And that's how Mora and Mazzone came together. And both feel it's going to be a mutually beneficial relationship.

"Well, I haven't missed on a third-and-short to keep the defense off the field yet," Mazzone said. "So we'll see what happens the first time that happens."

Mazzone's up-tempo spread offense comes from years of picking and grabbing what other offensive minds have done for more than three decades. His first influences were Jack Elway, Joe Gibbs and Don Coryell. Then he became friends with Mike Leach and Dana Holgorsen and spent time with Mark Richt. Through the years, he's molded his own philosophy and approach to the game from watching others.

"There's not a lot of earth-shattering, unique, new ideas out there because a lot of this stuff was being done in the '30s," Mazzone said. "But an old coach once told me, it's not the plays, it's the presentation. That's how I think of offense. It's not the plays, but how do you present it. How do you present your team to the defense. I've just taken from my past experiences and built something."

And the results have been undeniable. He completely revamped a struggling Arizona State offense into one of the better attacks in the country in just a couple of years. Now Mora is hoping he'll do the same with the Bruins, a team that's been in the bottom half of the national offensive rankings the past few years.

"I watched a lot of college football these last two years," Mora said. "I knew Noel briefly and we'd competed against each other when he was at the Jets. We had common friends. And I always enjoyed his personality and approach. I think it's going to work out great."

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. -- West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck would consider himself a man with foresight, but even he has to chuckle when he looks at his football head coach.

The Mountaineers are entering a brand-new world in the Big 12 in 2012, and the man in charge, Dana Holgorsen, happens to have nine seasons of experience in WVU's new conference.

"Dumb luck," says, uh, Luck.

That part may be luck, but the December 2010 hire was about a lot more. Holgorsen was hired as the coach-in-waiting, and 2012 was supposed to be his first season replacing Bill Stewart as head coach until a drama-filled scandal made Holgorsen's time come early.

"I brought Dana in because I thought he was a great, young coach and had tremendous potential," Luck said. "I’d be pulling your leg if I said I had any premonition that we’d be in the Big 12. Having said that, it’s great that both of our major sports -- football and men’s basketball --have coaches who have coached in the Big 12."

Bob Huggins, who spent one season at Kansas State, came to West Virginia in April 2007.

Holgorsen's arrival preceding Big 12 membership was an accident, but Holgorsen's offseason hires were anything but. Defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel ended an eight-year tenure at West Virginia to join former Mountaineers coach Rich Rodriguez at Arizona, and Holgorsen didn't have to look far to find his new coordinator.

Joe DeForest spent 11 years at Oklahoma State before following Holgorsen east to West Virginia, and he'll share defensive coordinator duties with Keith Patterson, who spent time as a high school coach in Oklahoma and Arkansas before stops at Tulsa, Pittsburgh and Arkansas State.

"Dana's put together a great staff with knowledge of the league we’re fixing to enter, which can only help us," said DeForest, who was the associate head coach, special-teams coordinator and safeties coach since 2005 in Stillwater.

Running backs coach Robert Gillespie was at Oklahoma State in 2009 and 2010, and the Mountaineers just welcomed Andrew McGee as a graduate assistant. The former Oklahoma State cornerback led the Big 12 in interceptions in 2010.

"It takes the element of surprise out," Luck said. "There’s a lot of Big 12 coaching experience in the group and an understanding of the conference and a comfort level with all the things you’ve got to put up with, travel and et cetera. Some of the traditions. And I think having some coaches with experience in the conference filters down pretty quickly to the players because they realize that their guys have been there, and it’s not all just brand new."

What can the coaches explain? DeForest will be sure to warn his players about the Paddle People in Stillwater, and the student section that sits just four yards behind the visitor's sideline.

"I’ll have recall on every team we play," DeForest said. "Whether it’s subtle things, tips that we’ve learned from previous years that they’re still giving away, or any possible thing you can use based on the time you’ve been there and the knowledge that you’ve gained, and I think it’s only advantageous for us."

For DeForest, suddenly he's bridging the gap between new guy and know-it-all. Instead of entering a brand-new world in the Big East, he's helping his players dip their toes into unfamiliar waters.

"There’s a comfort level there. I’ve been to every venue. I can relay things to our players about every venue and every crowd and every student body and a lot of the personnel we’re going to face. That excites me that I have knowledge and I’m not walking in here blind coming into the Big East, with them knowing and me not," DeForest said. "Knowledge is king. I’m just excited to see how our kids match up and how they respond each and every week in a big venue. I’m not saying the Big East didn’t have big venues, but in the Big 12, it’s a big venue every week."

DeForest knows well what Big 12 teams like to do on the field, especially Oklahoma State.

"Maybe they’re continuing to do the same tendencies and I can feed off that to help give them knowledge and help us make better calls," he said.

Holgorsen, DeForest and the rest of the Big 12 will see just how big or small the impact will be come fall, but it's easy to see why Luck is confident in the men he put in charge as they bring West Virginia into its new world out west.

"It’s all positive," he said. "I can’t think of any negatives involved with the experience level of these guys."

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- West Virginia's not going to apologize for it.

Simply put: With five months and two weeks before the Mountaineers' first Big 12 game against Baylor, West Virginia's players aren't exactly experts on their new conference home.

"I know that it’s one of the more dominant conferences. They’ve got a lot of good teams," receiver Stedman Bailey said. "That’s pretty much all I can say."

Bailey has never stepped foot in Oklahoma or Texas, where six Big 12 teams -- more than half the new league -- reside.

"I know of a couple receivers from Oklahoma, and that’s about it. I really don’t know much of who’s who in the Big 12," he said.

West Virginia's players know they're in the Big 12. What else, though?

"I haven’t really heard anything about it. I really don’t pay attention to it," receiver Tavon Austin said.

Said running back Shawne Alston: "I knew Coach [Dana] Holgorsen used to coach there, and Texas was there. Not really too much else."

Linebacker Jared Barber's favorite team was Texas growing up, but since he signed with West Virginia, his focus has been on the Big East, where WVU took home a league title in 2010.

Said quarterback Geno Smith: "Aside from watching like Vince Young, I don’t know much about it."

It's no accident. That's exactly the way Holgorsen designed it this spring.

"It’s about us right now, it’s not about who we play," he said. "Once the Maryland game is over, we’ll be solely focused on Baylor."

Baylor alone, though. Holgorsen won't be sitting his team down to talk big-picture issues about the move to the Big 12. Every week, it'll get a crash course on what to expect on the weekend.

"We’ll talk about our opponent from a familiarity standpoint," Holgorsen said. "From a venue standpoint, if we’re playing them there, to what color their uniforms are, how big their stadium is, how loud their fans are to what their schemes are, some familiarity with who their players are. All that stuff will take place when we’re going to play that opponent."

That stands in contrast to TCU coach Gary Patterson, who lacks Holgorsen's nine years of experience coaching in the Big 12 but said earlier this spring that he has every 2011 Big 12 game on a DVD, and watches them constantly.

Not so much for Holgorsen.

"That’s just his confidence," Smith said. "I believe we’re not to that stage right now, worrying about other people. Right now, we’re focusing on getting better as a team and everyone getting better individually."

Once he broaches their new opponents each week, Holgorsen's evaluation to his team will be extensive, beyond just what to expect between the white lines once the game starts.

"The more information we can give them to know your opponent, the better prepared they’re going to be. That’s the whole deal," Holgorsen said. "This is what the airport’s going to look like in Lubbock, Texas. Here’s what the drive’s going to look like. Here’s what the fans are gonna say. All that stuff gets your team focused on what to expect."

Players like Austin might not know much about the Big 12, but they know one big truth about what's going on in Morgantown this spring.

"This is our chance to go in and do the one thing that West Virginia never did before: win the Big 12," he said.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Big 12 teams already get a special satisfaction out of beating Oklahoma and Texas.

Can you imagine how much that pleasure would be amplified if the Sooners or Longhorns said "sayonara" to the Big 12?

Welcome to Dana Holgorsen's world in 2011, his first year as West Virginia coach.

Oklahoma and Texas were the Big 12's only teams to win conference titles from 2003 to 2010 until Oklahoma State broke through in 2011.

West Virginia had captured five Big East titles under three different coaches since 2003 before Holgorsen landed the Mountaineers' sixth in 2011 and seventh since joining the league in 1991.

"There wasn’t a team in the Big East last year that didn’t want to beat West Virginia worse than anything that existed on their schedule," Holgorsen said. "This program, these kids, the fan base, the support staff, everybody’s used to winning."

West Virginia won 70 games over the past seven seasons, earning the first 10-win season since 2007 in 2011. The Mountaineers reached double-digit wins despite facing a 2011 Big East that was gunning for the Big 12-bound school.

"You could just feel that was the one everybody wanted to win, and it was challenging," Holgorsen said. "All seven games we played in the Big East, you had to fight for everything that you got, and you had to have your A-game, otherwise you were going to get crept up and get beat by Syracuse."

The Mountaineers did exactly that, a head-scratching 49-23 Friday night road loss to the 5-7 Orange, who didn't win another game the rest of the season.

Such is life at the top of the Big East or any conference's heap, even if the Mountaineers weren't leaving. Holgorsen let out a groan remembering the pressure.

"You felt that a little bit at Houston, too, because it wasn’t like that at Tech or Oklahoma State. You know who the two teams were. It was always Texas or Oklahoma that had to be on guard because they were the two that won the Big 12 every year," said Holgorsen, who spent two seasons as the offensive coordinator at Houston before moving to Oklahoma State in 2010. "At Houston we were more of the upper echelon of Conference USA, so we had a big bulls-eye on our chest, but it was nothing compared to what I felt last year, because West Virginia just had so much success and was at the top of the Big East just based on preseason rankings every year and based on the amount of wins every year."

Other than being the new guy, WVU won't have nearly as big of a bulls-eye on their blue and gold jerseys in 2012, but the opponents will be better in the stronger Big 12.

Can West Virginia handle the heat and win the league during their first lap around Big 12 country come fall?

"One way to find out, right?" Holgorsen said.

West Virginia are the new guys on the block in the Big 12, but its coach has been around the Big 12 block plenty. Dana Holgorsen did stints at Texas Tech and Oklahoma State (with Houston in between) before being named the Mountaineers' head coach.

The Mountaineers kicked off spring practice Sunday, but he took some time over the weekend while in New York for the Big East men's basketball tournament ("It's a great event. ... It's the Garden, man, and it's right in the heart of the Big Apple," he said) to talk to ESPN.com.

Portions of this interview were cut for length.

We missed you in the Big 12 last season, but it looks like we're getting you back, finally.

Dana Holgorsen: Yeah, I was only gone a year.

What's been the best part of this whole transition process?

DH: The transition really takes place next year, not this year, so we really haven't been -- it hasn't been a whole lot different right now. We're excited about it, no question. What's cool about it is I know what we're getting into. I've been at every venue, and I've seen every team. I know what's out there and I know what we've got to do to get better and be able to compete.

Missouri talked a bit about shifting its recruiting focus some from Texas into Atlanta and Florida. What have you guys done that you wouldn't traditionally be doing this time of year?

DH: Nothing, really. Our recruiting base is still going to be the same recruiting base. We have been getting into Texas some little bit and we'll continue to get into Texas. You've got to focus primarily on the Dallas and the Houston area that have the airport next to it so you can get back and forth pretty quick, so we're just going to go get a lot out of Florida. I think we took 12 out of Florida this year. There's a whole lot of pretty good football right around here in Pennsylvania and Ohio and Maryland and Virginia and we don't need to change where we recruit too much.

Seems like every school that leaves a league -- Nebraska and Colorado, for instance -- faces a different set of challenges. What do you see ahead as the biggest challenge for West Virginia?

DH: I don't care where you're at, everybody's challenged in facilities. You've got to make sure that you have the best and going into the Big 12, all Big 12 schools' facilities are as good as there is in the country. You've got to be able to keep up with whatever the other schools are doing just based on the recruiting aspect of things. That's a challenge that everybody has to figure out. Other than that, the program is in great shape, our kids are good and the support is good, where we're at and all that is in pretty good shape. It's just trying keep up with what everybody else is doing. It's an arms race, you know.

The history you do have in this league, where will that show up the most and be an advantage vs. entering this league with a coach that wouldn't have the experience you do?

DH: Like I said a minute ago, I just know what we're getting into. I'm very familiar with what every team does and I've hired a lot of coaches who understand how things work in the Big 12 and what schemes are and what players are like and what the atmospheres are like. There's not a whole lot of unknowns when it comes to me going to play other teams and other venues and all that. There's a whole lot of unknowns for the rest of the league having to come to Morgantown, because nobody's ever been here. So, I feel like that's an advantage for us.

You guys are obviously a big geographical outlier. You hear Louisville and Cincinnati's names come up when people talk Big 12 expansion. What are your thoughts on Big 12 expansion, specifically as it relates to other Big East teams?

DH: Obviously, it came down to Louisville and West Virginia to get in this past time, so if they do expand, I would assume that Louisville would be the first team that would get in. From a geographical standpoint, I think it'd be fantastic. The one thing that I think is pretty cool about 10 teams is you play every team. When you start getting into 12 teams and 16 teams, you don't play everybody. Last year in the Big East, with eight teams you played everybody and everybody knew who the best team was based on head-to-head matchups.

Back on the field, Jeff Casteel is gone, but with Keith Patterson and Joe DeForest taking over the defense, what can we expect?

DH: Familiarity with who we're playing is incredibly important. They're going to understand that side of the ball, the people and the players, the atmospheres, I mean, that was one of the reasons we hired who we hired; they were going to be familiar with the teams we're going to play. It's all about the one thing Joe preaches more than anything, which is not to worry about giving up a play. Everybody's going to give up a play in the Big 12. The offenses are so good, but if you give up a play, it doesn't mean that you're going to lose a game. Oklahoma State was fantastic with that last year with him and (defensive coordinator Bill) Young. They just keep playing and make a play at some point to win the game, get turnovers and play with tremendous effort no matter what happens.

The 3-3-5 stack has been pretty ingrained in West Virginia's identity. With the new guys coming in, does that mean the 3-3-5 is officially dead at West Virginia?

DH: Yeah, what's always given me the most problems is the 3-4. It's just a lot of movement and a lot of stemming and showing looks and not necessarily what you line up in is what you're going to get. I think the 3-4 gives you the best opportunity to do that. So, Oklahoma State did that a little bit with Joe, but Keith Patterson, from a front standpoint, has been doing that. I've coached against him the past four years at Tulsa, and between the two of them, they're going to put something out there that's pretty tough to play against.

Anything else I should know?

DH: (Quarterback) Geno (Smith)'s playing well. For his first offseason -- we didn't really have him last year because of a foot injury -- we're getting a lot of work out of him right now and he's really improving himself from a physical standpoint. I can't tell you how special I think Tavon Austin is. He's one of the most dynamic guys I've coached. We should get a little bit more out of him next year than we did this year. Those two guys are special. They've got a chance to make a difference in this league.

I'm excited to see those guys on a week-to-week basis. I'll be heading your way next month. I've never stepped foot in West Virginia, so I'm looking forward to it.

DH: It's a unique place, it really is. It's really, really, really pretty. There's all kinds of stuff going on and it's probably the best-kept secret in the United States. These people are pretty passionate. I'm telling you, you're going to see nothing but blue and gold when you step in this state.

We kicked off our spring preview on Tuesday, and you may have noticed a couple new faces making an appearance.

We're still integrating West Virginia and TCU into the Big 12 fold, but there's a lot to be excited about for both.

That said, which team's new membership excites you most?

TCU will renew its old rivalries from the Southwest Conference with Texas, Texas Tech and Baylor, though A&M has left for the SEC.

The Horned Frogs played a classic with the Bears last season, and until Tech beat the Sooners last year, the Horned Frogs were the last team to win a game in Norman, Okla., all the way back in the 2005 season opener.

Gary Patterson's built something special at TCU, and the Horned Frogs proved that non-AQ schools really can win their way into the big leagues.

Now it's time for TCU to win at the next level.

West Virginia? The Mountaineers have a recognizable head man in Dana Holgorsen, who made stops at Texas Tech under Mike Leach and Oklahoma State, where he revitalized the Cowboys' offense and helped win a then-school-record 11 games.

West Virginia will be a much larger unknown to Big 12 folk. Morgantown is a long way from Fort Worth. I've never been to West Virginia, and I assume plenty of Big 12 fans haven't been, either.

Now's your chance.

Both teams have big offenses coming back in 2012. Both teams have had big success on the BCS stage.

Which team are you most excited to see? Vote in our poll.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But what you can replace?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Could Missouri have done much more in the Big East?

Doubtful.

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

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

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

The Big East isn't the Big 12, but Missouri won 63 games in that same span. Add up West Virginia's? The Mountaineers have 69 wins.

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

The Mountaineers can -- and will.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Big 12 is adjusting to a new world.

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

But on the field?

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

Spring football is already under way at Texas Tech, but in the coming weeks, the Big 12's other nine programs will join the Red Raiders in taking the field as a team for the first time since January, December or November for some.

Here's a preview of what to expect:

BAYLOR BEARS

Spring practice start date: March 19
Spring game: April 14

What to watch:

• Nick Florence: It's not official, but the Baylor quarterback job is Florence's to lose. That means he inherits the unenviable task of replacing the school's first Heisman winner. He replaced RG3 in 2009 with mixed results, but showed some major potential in a win over Texas Tech when RG3 took a shot to the head and sat out the second half. Can he keep the bowl streak alive at Baylor? We'll get an idea this spring.
• The defense's progression: You didn't need to see much more than the 67-56 Alamo Bowl win over Washington to know the Bears needed some work on defense. In the month of November, Baylor became the first team in FBS history to win four consecutive games in a single season while also giving up at least 30 points in each of those games. The defense can't make Florence pick up the slack to that level. Year 2 under Phil Bennett must be better. Baylor has no excuses. The Bears have the athletes on campus necessary to be at least a decent defense.
• The team's attitude/motivation: Baylor played with a lot of purpose the past two seasons, and made history in both, cracking a 16-year bowl drought and winning 10 games this year. Is that fire still there? Baylor has to prove it is without RG3 (and Kendall Wright) carrying the team on the field, emotionally and mentally.

IOWA STATE CYCLONES

Spring practice start date: March 20
Spring game: April 14

What to watch:

• The quarterback battle: Or is it? Jared Barnett looked like the man of the future in Ames late in the season, leading the Cyclones to an historic upset of No. 2 Oklahoma State. But in the ugly Pinstripe Bowl loss to a mediocre Rutgers team, Barnett's inaccuracy posed big questions. He was benched and Steele Jantz stepped in, though he didn't play much better than Barnett. Turnovers were an issue for Jantz early on, but Barnett has to bounce back in the spring to make sure the job doesn't come open.
• The receivers: Darius Reynolds was the big-play man for the Cyclones, but he's gone. It's going to be tough to replace him. Slot receivers Aaron Horne and Josh Lenz were productive, but did little to stretch defenses like Reynolds did. Can ISU find someone to fill the void?
• The new man at left tackle: Iowa State had the luxury of having a future pro, Kelechi Osemele, at left tackle for the past three seasons. He earned All-Big 12 nods in each of those seasons, but he's gone now. Junior Carter Bykowski was behind Osemele on the depth chart, but will the converted tight end be the new man at tackle for the Cyclones?

KANSAS JAYHAWKS

Spring practice start date: March 27
Spring game: April 28

What to watch:

• Uh, everything?: I mean, what's not to watch at KU? Charlie Weis steps in for the fired Turner Gill and tries to build KU up from nothing. The Jayhawks were one of the worst teams in Big 12 history last season, losing six games by at least 30 points. Weis will speak his mind and watching him rebuilding the Jayhawks is going to be fun. It all starts next month -- on the field, at least.
• KU's new pass-catch combo: Dayne Crist is on campus, and so is Oklahoma transfer Justin McCay, a former blue-chip recruit who didn't quite catch on in Norman. Quarterback and receiver were arguably the two biggest positions of need for KU last year, and we'll get a preview of what could be a productive combo next season. McCay isn't officially eligible for the 2012 season yet -- he needs the NCAA to waive its mandated redshirt year after a transfer -- but the coaching staff is confident he'll have it granted.
• The uncertainty on the depth chart: When a new staff comes in, you never know what to expect. Kansas' leading rusher in its final season under Mark Mangino, Toben Opurum, is now one of its best defensive linemen. Look for Weis to shake things up, too. Where? Who knows?

KANSAS STATE WILDCATS

Spring practice start date: April 4
Spring game: April 28

What to watch:

• Collin Klein's maturation: Kansas State's quarterback could be fun to watch this spring and next fall. His throwing motion isn't pretty, but his accuracy improved in a big way throughout the season. If that continues at a pace anything close to what we saw last year, K-State's going to be a load for everyone. Look out.
• Developing depth at running back: John Hubert is back, and so is seldom-used Angelo Pease. Bryce Brown is gone, though. Klein handles a lot of the heavy lifting in the running game, but it'd be some nice insurance if K-State could establish some more depth in the backfield. Making Klein carry the ball 300 times again is tempting fate.
• Stars becoming superstars: Kansas State brings back more starters than all but seven teams in college football, so this team is going to look remarkably similar in 2012 to the way it did last year. However, it should get better. And its two transfers could look dominant this spring. Cornerback Nigel Malone and linebacker Arthur Brown emerged as stars last year, but we could see the duo emerge as true game-changers this spring. Look out, Big 12 offenses.

OKLAHOMA SOONERS

Spring practice start date: March 8
Spring game: April 14

What to watch:

• New faces on, off the field: Mike Stoops' arrival as the defensive coordinator was the biggest news this offseason in the Big 12, and Brent Venables, who had been at OU for all of Bob Stoops' tenure, left for Clemson rather than become co-defensive coordinator. Hopes are high that Stoops can revitalize Oklahoma's defense. He was in charge when the Sooners rode a dominant D to the 2000 national title, and the Sooners have the talent to win it all in 2012. Receiver Trey Metoyer joins the team this spring, and could be a major contributor immediately. Two of the team's four new tight ends are also enrolled early.
• QB Blake Bell's role: The Belldozer is back … but so is full-time quarterback Landry Jones. How will the balance between the duo look this spring? And what new wrinkles will we see in Oklahoma's simple, yet near-unstoppable short-yardage formation that scored 13 touchdowns in the second half of 2011?
• The battle at defensive end: Oklahoma must fill two huge holes at defensive end. Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Frank Alexander is gone, as is possible first-round pick Ronnell Lewis. R.J. Washington contributed late and has potential, but David King filled in for Lewis in the final three games of the season. The duo could be great, but it could also be pretty pedestrian. We'll get an idea this spring, but Lewis and Alexander set a high, high bar.

OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS

Spring practice start date: March 12
Spring game: April 21

What to watch:

• The quarterback battle: This will easily be the highest-profile, highest-quality quarterback battle in the Big 12. It won't be at the level of Texas Tech in 2010, but it won't be too far off. Clint Chelf, J.W. Walsh and Wes Lunt will go head to head. All have plenty of potential, though Lunt may have the most. The big-armed true freshman also has the least experience. Anything could happen here.
• Which receivers rise: Justin Blackmon and Josh Cooper leave huge holes behind. It's not every day a two-time Biletnikoff Award winner walks on campus. Hubert Anyiam is gone, too. Michael Harrison is unlikely to play for the 2012 season, but the school has offered no confirmation on his status. He had the most potential, but OSU is deep at the position. Who emerges as the top target? Isaiah Anderson? Tracy Moore? Josh Stewart? Anything could happen there, too.
• Defense needs a leader: Safety Markelle Martin has been the heart of the defense the past two seasons, but his big-hitting days are over. Who becomes the new voice of the defense? It needs to find leadership this spring heading into summer voluntary workouts.

TEXAS LONGHORNS

Spring practice start date: Feb. 23
Spring game: April 1

What to watch:

• The quarterback competition: I still think having a competition at the spot, which Texas says it will, isn't the best option, but David Ash and Case McCoy will go at it alongside early-enrolling freshman Connor Brewer. If Ash secures the job, expect an announcement heading into summer officially anointing the sophomore.
• More sophistication on both sides of the ball: The progression is natural and likely. Offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin and defensive coordinator Manny Diaz had good first years in Austin, but this is Year 2. The spring won't be devoted to learning the playbook. It's time to master it. Both units could look markedly different, and much more refined next fall. Deny it all you like: Texas is back on its way to the top after a rough two years.
• Maturing offensive weapons: Last season, the Longhorns relied on two true freshman running backs (Malcolm Brown/Joe Bergeron), a freshman/sophomore rotation at quarterback and its top receiver (Jaxon Shipley) was a true freshman. No. 2 (Mike Davis) was a sophomore. I hope I don't have to tell you what freshmen and sophomores do in college football. Look. Out.

TCU HORNED FROGS

Spring practice start date: Feb. 25
Spring end date: April 5

What to watch:

• Can TCU shut out the scandal? Four team members were arrested in a recent drug sting and kicked off the team. How much of a distraction will that be for a program undergoing the most monumental change in its history? Quantifying the effects of the scandal will be pretty impossible, and we've got no idea how they'll handle the change, but will it be on players' minds?
• The offense tightens up: The Horned Frogs' offense is absolutely loaded and ready to go for 2012. Quarterback Casey Pachall returns and brings his top three weapons (Josh Boyce, Skye Dawson and Brandon Carter) with him. Running backs Waymon James, Ed Wesley and Matthew Tucker each topped 700 yards rushing in 2011 and all return. The spring will be all about fine-tuning an already stellar offense, and it'll be fun to watch.
• Replacing departed starters: All-America linebacker Tanner Brock was among the four football players arrested and booted from the team, as was all-conference defensive tackle D.J. Yendrey and likely starting safety Devin Johnson. Those were unforeseen losses, but TCU can't feel sorry for itself. Gary Patterson has no choice but to find new faces to fill those holes.

TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS

Spring practice start date: Feb. 17
Spring game: March 24

What to watch:

• Once again, a new defense: Texas Tech sounds like a broken record these days when it comes to defensive coordinators. This time, Art Kaufman will be stepping to the microphone as the fourth defensive coordinator in Lubbock in four years. He's bringing a 4-3, a shift back to what Ruffin McNeil ran in 2009. Chad Glasgow's 4-2-5 and James Willis' 3-4 failed miserably in 2011 and 2010, respectively, the first two years under Tommy Tuberville.
• The battle at running back: No one knows yet if Eric Stephens will be back next season. There's still a long way to go in his rehab from a dislocated knee he suffered last season in a loss to Texas A&M. DeAndre Washington is also out this spring after tearing his ACL against Missouri. Harrison Jeffers hung up his cleats. Who will prove to be reliable this spring? Look for the Red Raiders to try to use sophomore Bradley Marquez, freshman Javares McRoy and junior SaDale Foster in a manner similar to the way Oregon uses scatback De'Anthony Thomas, with lots of short passes and bubble screens to get them the ball in space, where they can use their speed and shiftiness to make plays.
• Team health: Tuberville said earlier this month that the team is missing 15 players this spring. It can't afford any more injuries. It's already going to be tough to get enough done this spring, but Tech can't start getting banged up.

WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS

Spring practice start date: March 11
Spring game: April 21

What to watch:

• Dana Holgorsen's offense in Year 2: Holgorsen didn't get a chance to coach his talented offense at Oklahoma State in its second year. The results could have been crazy. They might be at West Virginia in 2012, and the beginning steps will be taken this spring as Geno Smith & Co. get more and more comfortable with the system and Holgorsen adds more wrinkles.
• The battle at running back: Sophomore Dustin Garrison hurt his knee in practices leading up to the Mountaineers' 70-33 Orange Bowl win over Clemson, and won't be there for the spring. What does senior Shawne Alston have in store for the spring? Garrison was the featured back last season, but a big spring could help Alston earn a few carries next year.
• Defense needs help: Najee Goode leaves a big hole at linebacker, and defensive back Eain Smith's exit means the Mountaineers enter the season without two of their top three tacklers from a year ago. Bruce Irvin and Julian Miller's talents on the defensive line will be tough to replace, and in a league that requires a great pass rush, Irvin, Goode and Miller's 19 combined sacks must be replaced somehow.

We're back, and the kindly introduction is over. It's time to get to know the real West Virginia.

How will the Mountaineers handle the transition? Big 12 blogger David Ubben and Big East blogger Andrea Adelson debated the issue.

David Ubben: TCU's jump would seem to be a lot bigger, but the Big East has had its well-chronicled struggles the past few years. The Mountaineers left the league with a convincing Orange Bowl win against Clemson, scoring 70 points in the process. Talk about endearing yourself to your new offensive-minded friends, huh? You've seen this team up close lately, though. What, if anything, do you think WVU will have to change to get back to the BCS as a Big-12 member?

Andrea Adelson: Well, one thing that definitely is going to change is the way West Virginia plays defense. Long-time defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel is out, and so is the odd 3-3-5 stack defense. The Mountaineers are going to go with a 3-4 base set under former Oklahoma State assistant Joe DeForest. This should help ease the transition from the stack, as West Virginia does not have the type of players on the roster to go with four down linemen.

In addition to the new scheme, West Virginia is losing its two best pass-rushers in Bruce Irvin and Julian Miller, perhaps its best defensive player in linebacker Najee Goode, and its best cover corner in Keith Tandy. There were times last season when the Mountaineers got beat deep in pass coverage, which will not bode well in Big 12 play.

However, cornerback Brodrick Jenkins has the potential to be truly terrific in 2012. He showed flashes late last season. As for the offense, coach Dana Holgorsen is looking for perfection. That means more consistent play out of an offensive line that was mediocre at times last season, and more explosion out of the run game. Starting running back Dustin Garrison is coming off ACL surgery, so it will be interesting to see whether he will be the same back come August.

Say what you will about the Holgorsen passing offense, but he definitely wants a running back to complement Geno Smith the way Kendall Hunter did with Brandon Weeden at Oklahoma State in 2010. How do you think West Virginia will fit in to its new conference home?

DU: WVU is a good fit on the field. Geographically, not so much, but the Big 12 teams have to like that. There's a lot of uneasiness with TCU entering the league. That could shake up recruiting a lot and cut into the share of teams like Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.

But West Virginia's clearly a strong brand. This is a team that could just as easily have been in the SEC. Instead, it's in the Big 12. The three BCS wins are a big deal, as was the Orange Bowl win. That's endeared the Mountaineers to their new opponents in the Big 12. To win like that on that kind of stage says a lot about where the program is and where it's headed. Having a coach like Holgorsen, who has lots of ties to Texas, will help them grab a few players in Texas, too. The difference between WVU and Mizzou isn't much when you think about recruiting in Texas. I could see WVU being the biggest threat to Missouri recruiting in Texas.

But like TCU, winning games gets people excited. Big 12 fans are psyched about the Mountaineers, who seem like a fun group.

How do you think WVU's transition will compare to TCU's?

AA: Watching a team put up 70 points is always fun! Hearing a guy like Holgorsen talk is always fun because you never know what he is going to say.

But on to your question: I think West Virginia will have a much smoother transition than TCU because it has played in an AQ conference already. Yeah, OK enter your Big Least jokes in here. But West Virginia has been a solid program throughout the course of its history. Note that the Mountaineers are one of just 14 schools to have 700 program victories -- joining Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12.

West Virginia is one of just three schools to have at least nine wins in seven straight seasons. That doesn't happen by accident. And it's also important to note West Virginia is not exactly in a recruiting hotbed. Talent does not come pouring out of the state the way it does in Texas. The Mountaineers have built pipelines into Florida -- Geno Smith and Stedman Bailey being two notable examples on the squad -- and try to mine talent in Baltimore, Virginia and Washington, D.C. So I do think there will be inroads made into Texas with the Big 12 affiliation.

Already on the roster from the state are starting running back Dustin Garrison and quarterback Ford Childress, an ESPNU 150 player in the class of 2012. I respect the job Gary Patterson has done in building TCU, but I simply think there is going to be much more of a growing curve for a team transitioning to an automatic qualifying conference. What do you think?

DU: I'd agree. The Big East has been weak, but there aren't any teams like New Mexico and UNLV in that league, who are little more than a week off for teams as talented as TCU has been the past few years. Show up and you win.

Last year, even Kansas beat the MAC champions, Northern Illinois, before losing its final 10 games of 2011. Big 12 champion Oklahoma State lost to 6-7 Iowa State, too. This league is so, so deep. You have to show up and play well every week, and even then, you might not win. In 2010, 11 of the league's 12 teams had five wins and at least played a game with a chance to win six and qualify for a bowl game.

This year, nine of the 10 teams did that. It's got elite teams, too. Texas and OU played for titles in 2008 and 2009 and OSU was barely shut out of the title game this year.

The depth of the Big 12 is what TCU will have to get used to. In that sense, WVU will have to adjust much less. Of course, you never know for sure. We'll find out next year. WVU had some head-scratching losses, too. Losing to Syracuse by 26 points? Really? Sheesh.

Both of these teams are built to win in 2012, and I think they'll do it. But winning a Big 12 title requires you to show up every week and play well. In the Big East, which sent an eight-win team to the BCS in 2010, that hasn't necessarily been true.

In the Big 12, Texas or OU has basically run through the year with 0-2 losses every single season. If WVU wants to win this league, they'll have to do that.

When do you think WVU will win its first title? Will it win one?

AA: It is tough to put a time frame on when West Virginia will win a league title. As crazy as it might sound, I think this team is built to contend in 2012. The Mountaineers dropped FSU from the nonconference schedule, so you could consider Kansas as filling that void. I am sure West Virginia takes that.

Oklahoma is going to be a preseason national favorite, but after that, every single team returning has major question marks. Is Texas going to be Texas? What does Baylor do without RG3? What does Oklahoma State do without Weeden and Justin Blackmon?

You bring up a good point about the head-scratching losses. There have been a bunch of those over the last several seasons -- including TWO in a row to Syracuse. This is a team that has simply been inconsistent. It didn't put together a full game against Clemson. But I think Geno Smith, Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey are going to be a handful for teams to stop, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Mountaineers were a surprise contender in 2012. Are you buying or selling?

DU: I'd generally agree. Year 1 seems to be their best chance. It's a wide-open year in the Big 12, and I think Oklahoma's a bit overrated heading into next year, though the potential for a national title run is there. Texas looks like it's on its way back up, but next year won't be the year.

If it doesn't happen next year, though, I don't think WVU will win a Big 12 title in the next decade. It's a solid program that I think could get into the BCS, but win the Big 12?

With the stability, metroplex location and winning tradition, I like TCU's upside a whole lot more, and its ability to win a Big 12 title in the future. I'm buying a Horned Frogs Big 12 title in the next decade. Not so much on WVU.

Time to put you on the spot: What's WVU's record next year and Big 12 finish?

AA: I can see the hate mail trickling into the Big 12 mailbag over that one, Mr. Ubben!

DU: Maybe so. But hey, that's how we do things on the Big 12 Blog. I call it like I see it. And I see more potential for the Froggies, though I think the Mountaineers will be a solid, solid program. I wouldn't be that surprised if they won the league, but I'm not betting on it.

This is a league built around the state of Texas, and the location's going to make it tough for them to consistently field teams that can win 11-12 games consistently.

Next year, I'll take 9-3 for the Mountaineers, but a tie for third place.

After a bit of a delay, thanks to some legal wrangling, West Virginia is finally free.

The Big East and the Mountaineers have settled their lawsuit, and West Virginia is officially on its way to the Big 12 for 2012.

That means it's off the Big East blog and onto the Big 12 blog, too.

To help the Big 12 get to know its newest member, Big 12 blogger David Ubben asked Big East blogger Andrea Adelson for her thoughts.

David Ubben: AA, Les Miles had my favorite quote of the 2011 season in relation to West Virginia. "They were having a football party and invited us. I knew our guys would show up."

You were there, Andrea. What can Big 12 fans expect when they go to Morgantown? Is it a football party every weekend?

Andrea Adelson: Define "every weekend." West Virginia fans show up for the super gigantic games against teams like LSU and Pitt, but there has been concern that the fan base is "fair weather." Note -- 46,000 fans came out to watch Bowling Green. Now, the truth is, no fan in America gets up for the cupcake patsy schedule. But this rubbed Dana Holgorsen the wrong way, and he ripped on the fans after that game:

"All I heard about was how much this meant to everybody across the state of West Virginia. This was the NFL team in town and we're going to be here to support you. Well, having 40,000 people at a game isn't doing that. ... We do our best every week to fix what the problems are offensively, defensively and special teams wise. Well, what's everybody across the state of West Virginia, including the student body, doing to fix the fact that our players had to play in front of 40,000 people?"

Now, you remember Holgy from his days at Oklahoma State. OK maybe not, since there were not many of them. But he likes stirring the pot, and I firmly believe he did that to motivate a fan base that had become dispassionate with good ol' Bill Stewart "I never met a punt I didn't like" in charge. The fact is that West Virginia has the most spirited fan base in the Big East and averaged 8,000 more fans than Louisville, which ranked No. 2 in the league in attendance in 2011. The atmosphere is fun, and was absolutely electric against LSU.

I anticipate many more crowds like that with teams like Texas and Oklahoma appearing on the schedule. West Virginia fans have gotten a bad rap nationally because of the couch burning and rowdiness. But in the two games I attended last season, I thought everybody behaved themselves accordingly.

And hey, they now serve alcohol in the stadium. I'm sure Big 12 fans can drink to that.

DU: No doubt about the couch burning. Apparently West Virginia passed some legislation to make it stop, but I always found it sort of endearing and mostly harmless, albeit destructive. Maybe that's just me.

Holgorsen definitely speaks his mind, and I know fans will be fired up about alcohol sales in the stadium. What about once fans get to the stadium? Any in-game traditions they should be prepared for? Remember, this is the same league that had Texas A&M for its entirety. Visiting fans are prepared for a little weirdness.

AA: You mean weirder than couch burning?

Well, the Mountaineers mascot runs onto the field with the team toting a real rifle. Each year his costume is tailored to fit just him. But my favorite tradition has to be the playing of "Country Roads" at the end of each home victory. Fans stay in the stands and join the team in signing the song, which became a tradition in 1980 after John Denver dedicated Mountaineer Field with the song.

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Here are some news and notes from each Big East team, based on comments from signing day news conferences today.

Cincinnati

The Bearcats signed 16 defensive players and 14 offensive players, and hit areas of need at linebacker and the secondary. This is also shaping up to be the best class in school history.

“The class lends itself to filling many needs within our program,” coach Butch Jones said. “We wanted to put an emphasis on team speed in general while addressing needs at defensive back and linebacker. We feel like we attracted a very high caliber of student-athlete in this class, which will continue to allow us to build a championship culture both on the field and in the classroom.”

UConn

The Huskies might not have the highest-profile class in the Big East, but they were able to fill several need areas. Coach Paul Pasqualoni said he was pleased with the class, but he would have been happy with another interior lineman and defensive back.

Two players committed but didn't sign — one flipped to Memphis and the other — receiver Neally Cunningham is expected to go to junior college.

Louisville

The Cardinals were able to bring in another outstanding class, and this one was led by the linebackers -- three of them are four-star players in James Burgess Jr., Keith Brown and Nick Dawson to specifically address a major need area. Working the state of Florida was huge, too. Ten total players, including transfers, hail from the state.

"We have to continue to move this program forward," coach Charlie Strong said. "You have to have a plan, you have to have a vision. The only way to win championships is bringing in great people."

Pitt

New coach Paul Chryst was also able to keep a strong recruiting class together, and did a great job once again in Western Pennsylvania, a key area for Pitt every year in recruiting.

"There's a group of guys, Pitt was the place for them," Chryst said. "They wanted to be here. They've got a unique bond because of sticking together and going through what they went through."

Rutgers

If there is one area Rutgers wants to dominate during recruiting it is the tri-state area, or the "state of Rutgers." Of the 20-player class, 19 are from the area. ESPNU150 defensive end Darius Hamilton was the big jewel of the class.

"It is the second year in a row now that the top player in the state of New Jersey has committed to Rutgers," coach Kyle Flood said. "But they are not the only great players that committed to Rutgers over the past two years, or the last three or five years. But every year we’ve been able to — more and more — build that wall around the 'State of Rutgers,' so that the players in our area are coming to play for us — the top players. And when a guy like Darius Hamilton does that on TV, what it does is it gives more validity to what we tell the people in this local area."

USF

Cornerback Chris Bivins has a chance to make an immediate impact, coach Skip Holtz said. Though the Bulls hit many of their needs in the secondary and on the offensive line, they did not sign a quarterback. That becomes a priority for the 2013 class.

"We would have liked to have a quarterback," Holtz said. "When you looked at some of the quarterbacks that were available, we were behind, and I did not want to take one just to take one. At that point, I said I'd rather hold onto it. I feel very comfortable with our quarterback situation right now."

Syracuse

Coach Doug Marrone was happy he was able to hit major needs on the defensive line. Though junior college defensive end Mark Garrick didn't sign as expected, Marrone listed Zian Jones and Markus Pierce-Brewster as two players who might be able to contribute immediately. He also said early enrollee Myles Davis, who came in as a linebacker, would start the spring at fullback.

He also mentioned kicker Ryan Norton as having a chance for an immediate impact as well because he is slated to handle kickoff duties.

West Virginia

Coach Dana Holgorsen confirmed what was long expected — the Mountaineers are abandoning the 3-3-5 stack defense they ran under former defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel and will run out of the 3-4 and 4-3. As for the offensive players that were signed, Holgorsen was high on receiver Deontay McManus.

“We’re fired up about getting him over here as soon as we can to teach him what to do and get him out there,” Holgorsen said. “Physically I can tell you right now he’s ready to play at the next level. We’ve got to get him here, teach him what to do and get his skills right to the point where he can get out there and compete at this level. We’re excited about Deontay and can’t wait to get him here.”

West Virginia has hired Mike Smith as a defensive assistant as expected, the school announced Friday. Coach Dana Holgorsen will announce the coaching responsibilities of his new hires once his staff is complete.

The move had been widely reported for the past week.

Here is more from the school release:

“Mike has a promising future in the coaching profession, and I look forward to him joining the West Virginia coaching staff,” Holgorsen said. “I knew him during his playing days at Texas Tech, while I was on the coaching staff. He helped lay the groundwork that led to our success. He brings playing and coaching experience on both the college and professional levels.”

Smith comes to West Virginia after working for the past two and a half years with the outside linebackers for the New York Jets. He was recently promoted to full-time outside linebackers coach after serving as a coaching intern for the first two seasons.

He coached some of the Jets’ top linebacker talent and was on a staff which oversaw one of the NFL’s top defenses for the past two years. Some of his pupils included Aaron Maybin, Bart Scott and Jason Taylor. He was credited by Maybin for revitalizing his career after he was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year for the 2011 season. The Jets defense finished the 2011 season ranked No. 5 in total defensive yards and No. 13 in rushing defense, allowing just 111.1 yards for game. The 2010 defense was No. 3 in the NFL in fewest rushing and total yards allowed, giving up only 90.9 rushing yards and 291.5 total yards per game. The Jets were No. 6 in scoring defense, giving up an average of 19.0 points per game.

“West Virginia University is one of the elite college football programs with a lot of history and tradition, and I am excited to join the staff,” Smith said. “I have known Dana for a long time, and it is evident to see how much he already has brought to the program in the short time he has been there. Having played in the Big 12 Conference, I look forward to being on the staff, as West Virginia makes the transition into a new era. The atmosphere and people at West Virginia were the biggest sell for me personally. It was like being at home.”

West Virginia has also hired Oklahoma State assistant Joe DeForest. The Mountaineers are in search of a replacement for defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel, who is now at Arizona.