Big 12 Notebook: Marquee Matchups Rule Opening Week

Most college football coaches seem to prefer easing into the non-conference portion of the schedule before the fun really starts during league play.

But for three Big 12 schools, the start of the season will be anything but a breaking-in period this upcoming weekend.

Missouri and Illinois meet in St. Louis, third-ranked Oklahoma takes on No. 20 BYU in Arlington, Texas, and the marquee matchup features No.13 Georgia at No. 9 Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon.

Let's just say there isn't likely to be any relaxing moments where the backup quarterback can get a little work for any of these teams Saturday.

"It makes ... your players have a sense of urgency, and that they've got to be on top of their game for sure right off the bat," OU coach Bob Stoops said Monday. "You like it if you are able to win and you don't like it if you aren't able to win it.

"At the end of the day it is challenging and it does get your players' attention for sure."

These games also capture the attention of voters, networks, alumni and important recruits. That is certainly the case with the rivalry series between Mizzou and the Illini now being played in St. Louis, the city where both bordering state schools regularly tangle for talented recruits in the area.

"This game is like a bowl game. It's two rivals, in a great city, the dome," said MU coach Gary Pinkel, whose team has won its last four games against Illinois in St. Louis. "This intensity is just unbelievable to start the season."

As intense as things may get in St. Louis, the emotional level in the newly renovated Boone Pickens Stadium is likely to be 10 times greater Saturday. The Cowboys are coming into their most hyped season ever. The program is ranked in the top 10 and is considered talented enough to challenge for its first Big 12 South title and earn a BCS bowl bid.

But to get this season of high expectations off to the desired start, OSU will have to get past a Georgia program that knows a little about big-time matchups. Fortunately for the Cowboys, the Bulldogs will be breaking in a new starting quarterback and running back.

But the fact that even OSU coach Mike Gundy is inexperienced in these type of games might be more damaging than Georgia's inexperience at key positions on the field.

"This is new to me personally," Gundy said. "I've not been in a situation where we've had to so much national attention and gotten the program to this level so this is new for myself. I do worry about it. I don't know what we can do other than practice hard and stay focused as a staff."

If Gundy is trying to do all he can to bring normalcy to his team as the game approaches, the fans are doing all they can to keep the Cowboys on edge.

"In Stillwater and the community, the last four or five weeks wherever you go, that's all anybody talks about," Gundy said Monday. "Three or four nights ago I was in Wal-Mart with my oldest son at 9:30 or 10 at night and everybody that walks by, that's all they talk about. That's good.

"It's good that there is a lot of excitement in the community. But you always worry about [being able to focus] as a coach."

Even more pressing, the coaches must worry about having to come out of the gate fast. Most coaches will tell you that the biggest improvement in their teams comes between Week 1 and Week 2. That could be too late for teams like Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, who have national championship aspirations.

Chances are, in a division that is as competitive as the Big 12 South, there is enough recovery time. But who wants to take that chance when teams like Florida, Ohio State, or USC might be capable of running the table?

Colorado, Kansas State keeping QB secrets

Both Colorado and Kansas State come into this season with serious competition at quarterback and neither of the respective coaches were willing to reveal their hands Monday.

K-State coach Bill Snyder said he would wait until Tuesday's press conference to announce the winner of the competition between junior Carson Coffman and senior Grant Gregory for Saturday's season opener against UMass.

Colorado coach Dan Hawkins is going to wait until Sunday's game against Colorado State to unveil whether or not sophomore Tyler Hansen has unseated his son, Cody Hawkins, for the Buffaloes' top spot.

"Both of them have done a nice job," Dan Hawkins said. "We are fortunate because we have two guys who understand the system. They're smart players who can make plays. They are both good players."


But while Hawkins still seems somewhat undecided on his direction, Snyder said he already knows who his quarterback will be to start the season. He just wasn't willing to tell Monday.

"We have a decision and we'll announce it tomorrow at the press conference to give everybody a fair shot at it," said Snyder, who returns to the sidelines after a brief retirement. "But we know which way we will go."

It's fair to assume Kansas State and Colorado will likely play two quarterbacks at various points this season. Both Hawkins and Hansen played last year, with Hansen showing a great deal of promise. Coffman was the backup to Josh Freeman last season, while Gregory was a backup at South Florida last season before transferring upon graduation to play his final year of eligibility in Manhattan.

Snyder said that whichever quarterback gets the nod for the opener will have to continue to play well because the competition will remain open.

"We're not in a position and it's never really been our philosophy to say, 'You're it for the year,' " he said. "I think what you would like to have happen is for the youngster to accept the responsibility of being No.1 and maintaining the position of being No.1 throughout the course of the year. That would be the hope. But by the same token, we want to make sure it remains competitive so whoever the No. 2 quarterback is going into this game, I want him to understand that if he continues to improve he always has the opportunity to challenge for the No.1 spot.

"Whoever it is going on the field on Saturday will certainly have to perform well enough to retain the position."

Frustrated Rhoads

First-year Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads seemed to take a shot or two at his predecessors and how they taught or didn't teach the Iowa State Cyclones defenders how to tackle.

The most recent head coach of ISU was Gene Chizik, who bounced after two unsuccessful seasons to take over at Auburn, the school where Rhoads was the defensive coordinator last season.

"The first thing we need to do on that side of the ball is to tackle," Rhoads said. "We inherited a football team that we felt tackled very poorly. We went to work on it just as quickly as we could when we started spring practice.

"I believe we've made a good amount of improvement but we are far from being a good tackling football team yet. Part of that is athleticism, we have to upgrade that and develop it. The other part is we have to improve technique angles that go along with being a good tackling football team. At this point still, we forget those things."

The numbers from last season support Rhoads' concerns. The Cyclones were 10th in the Big 12 in total defense and 112th overall after allowing an average of 453.2 yards per game and 6.7 yards per play.

Rhoads is going to have to play with many of those players while his recruits develop.

"It's been really frustrating because our players are our program," he said. "You develop athleticism, you develop the ability to change direction better throughout your offseason and drills, but you don't change physically who [you are] a great deal."

To correct the problem, Rhoads admits his camp was very much on the physical side.

"I don't think anybody would argue that fact," Rhoads said. "I think the output of ice coming out of our training room has definitely been up [over] where it's been the last couple of years."

Punting around in Jerry's World

Oklahoma and BYU's punters could be the next to encounter the low-hanging scoreboard in the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium when they play Saturday.

The 90-foot high scoreboard has caused controversy in the NFL because punted balls have hit it, causing a stop in play for a do-over. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he won't raise the towering structure in his state-of-the-art venue.

Stoops doesn't seem too concerned.

"Whatever the rule is we'll abide by it," he said. "From what I understand you just re-kick. They reset the clock and you have a do-over."

In some ways, Sooners freshman punter Tress Way connecting with the scoreboard might be a good sign.

"Hopefully our guy can hit it and have that kind of problem," Stoops said. "That means he's hitting it pretty well."