18 Days and counting...
The 2010 season was a good thing. Really. [KU Sports]
Make no mistake about it: UT coach Mack Brown wasn’t happy. But now that he’s through it, Brown believes what went down in 2010 might have been good for his team. Seriously.
“Sometimes you need to get kicked in the face to wake up,” Brown said. “We’ve been one of the top teams in America and last year we weren’t. The challenge for us is to get to work and make sure we get there again. It’s a fun time for us, a challenging time for us. And it’s time to get to work.”
Alex Okaforis moving. [AAS]
After serving as an apprentice for the last two seasons, Okafor is expected to play like a boss this season. While defensive tackle Kheeston Randall and the other defensive tackle next to him will be the barometer by which this defense is judged, Okafor and his young band of defensive ends are expected to do great things.
"I've been here for two years and now it's time for me to make an impact,'' Okafor said. "I have some big shoes to fill, but someone has to fill them for us to be successful. We have the group that can do that."
Has our savior come? [Dr. Saturday]
Malcolm Brown, a solid, 220-pound Mack truck of a runner who arrives hyped as — and who the Longhorns sincerely hope turns out to be — 2011's answer to the best freshman back of 2010, Marcus Lattimore. Lattimore showed up at the perfect time give South Carolina the kind of running back it hadn't had since long before it joined the SEC 20 years ago, a legitimate between-the-tackles workhorse who was nearly automatic in short yardage and capable (and worthy) of shouldering 37 carries against Georgia, 23 against Alabama, 29 against Tennessee, 40 at Florida and 23 at Clemson, all Gamecock wins en route to their first division title. Others have gained more yards, but for his combination of production and intimidating physical presence, Lattimore was college football's best freshman back since Adrian Peterson. (See also: The infamous Maurice Clarett at Ohio State, before he became, you know, infamous.)
Love can't keep us together. [Barking Carnival]
I, for one, will be sad to see the Aggies go. Not to get all touchy-feely, but we could sometimes make each other better. And both schools represent large parts of a large state. It will change the Thanksgiving Day conversation at my house, where I call my Dad a fascist and he calls me a Communist, and not for the better, whatever my Mom thinks.
“I'm an Aggie, and Aggies aren't always patient,” Loftin said. [San Antonio Express-News]
30 million, Ags. 30 million. [SI]
The SEC doesn't really love you. They are using you. [National Championship Issue]
Envy is not a good thing. [ESPN]
Much of Texas A&M's desire to join the Southeastern Conference is focused on money, just like everything else these days.
But don't let the Aggies tell you it's not also about envy and ego.
In the eyes of most Aggies, moving to the SEC means they'll no longer have to operate in Texas' vast shadow.
The Aggies will just take their own sweet time. [ESPN]
"We've made no decision about terminating our relationship with the Big 12," Loftin said. "This is all about what is best for Texas A&M, along with ... visibility for us and our athletes and financial resources. That's what it's all about. I think anybody in my shoes would have exactly the same kinds of concerns."
SEC mania has hit College Station. [ESPN]
Demand has outrun supply.
Twice.
The aptly named Zach Salesman walks into Aggieland Outfitters, just off campus in the shadow of Kyle Field, proudly wearing a maroon shirt bearing the unofficial slogan of the Texas A&M fanbase: "SECede."
Because of high demand, it's the only one of its kind you'll find in the store for now.
What's your problem? Wow, Aggies. Even K-State can get their own network and they didn't have to leave to do it. [Kansas State Sports]
In a landmark announcement by university and athletics officials, Kansas State will launch an exclusive, high-definition digital network August 30 known as K-StateHD.TV that will provide a world-wide connection to Kansas State University and K-State Athletics and establish the university as an international leader in programming, accessibility and exposure.
The A&M-to-SEC saga in a nutshell. [Prevail And Ride]
Mr. SEC talks about the Aggies. [Podcast-KZNX-AM]
This might have a ring of truth if this was any other politician. But Rick Perry is an Aggie. [Bruin Nation]
A reminder of our friends in College Station. [Clone Chronicles]
Land Thieves
The Sooners want some payback. [NewsOK]
For Oklahoma's offensive line, the Aggies have served as motivation in the weight room, in film study.
Vowing to be more physical, vowing to have a more productive ground game, only one thing needed to be said the past six months:
Texas A&M.
Take a tour of Bob's office. [ESPN Big 12 Blog]
Want to see more Land Thieves on ESPN? Never fear. [Sooner Sports]
Pokes
The Cowboys need to pick up the pace. [NewsOK]
The Cowboys return almost everyone from last year's dynamic offense. And they're sticking with the scheme, even with Monken new in the job of offensive coordinator.
What they don't have – and it's early, still – is that same fast-paced tempo of getting plays called and run, part of the mix a year ago when the Pokes kept defenses on their heels to the tune of 520.2 yards and 44.2 points a game, stout stats that ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 3 nationally.
Great news. There seems to be another great receiver coming up the ranks at OSU. [NewsOK]
The reports of the Big 12-2's death may be greatly exaggerated...
The state of the union is not necessarily good. [Dr. Saturday]
Of all the possible scenarios, the least plausible remains the Big 12's long-term survival as a major football conference. Half the league could be gone at the first opportunity, which only reinforces the urge to get out while the getting's good.
Who died and made them experts? The conference is just barely intact, according the national sports media. [St. Louis Today]
Now we know it is a serious. Someone commissioned a study. [Facebook]
If Texas A&M leaves the Big 12, but the rest of the conference remains intact, the decrease in business activity in the state would include losses of $217.2 million in output (gross product) each year and 3,050 jobs. This reduction in economic activity also results in lost tax revenue to the State and to local governments. The Perryman Group estimates that State fiscal revenue would be reduced by $28.2 million per year if Texas A&M leaves the Big 12, but the Conference survives. Losses to local governments would be $13.1 million per year.
So who will be the next member of the conference? [Rock M Nation]
Football
Bad news for the Bears. The defense is still bad. [Dr. Saturday]
As good as the offense was most of the time, the defense was equally atrocious against anyone with a pulse, yielding upwards of 36 points on 469 yards per game in Big 12 play. It gets worse, if that's possible: With six of the top seven tacklers on their way out, incoming defensive coordinator Phil Bennett inherits a full-blown rebuilding effort that's likely to feature twice as many sophomores as seniors.
The Tigers are looking for a tailback. [Columbia Tribune]
Missouri left tackle Elvis Fisher has a serious knee injury. [Columbia Tribune]
Jayhawk defensive tackle Patrick Dorsey is out with a broken foot. [NBC Sports]
President of the NCAA, Mark Emmert, has a plan. [NY Times]
As conferences teeter on the edge of significant realignment, Emmert’s proposal shows the level of concern among major college sports officials. Emmert lacks the authority to make unilateral decisions about realignment, but he can preach common sense.
College football is so over, people. All that is left is the FBS split. [CBS Sports]
The NCAA's head honcho from 1993 to 2002, Dempsey told the Birmingham News that "the handwriting is on the wall" when it comes to college athletics superconferences and the eventual split of those conferences from the rank-and-file of Division I.
The make-or-break issue, as you might expect, is the full cost of attendance scholarships that only the superconferences will be able to afford. "There's no doubt we're looking in the next three, four or five years -- at most -- of seeing conferences from 14 to 18 members," Dempsey said.
That train left the station a long time ago. Hand-wringing about money and college sports. [Washington Post]
Tradition means nothing anymore. Neither do rivalries nor geographical logic. Certainly not the so-called “student-athletes.”
All that matters is money, money, money.
And more hand-wringing about the sorry state of CF. [CBS Sports]
ESPN doesn't report the news, they are the news. [Columbia Tribune]
But don’t expect ESPN to own its reporting. In many ways, the network’s television news division has turned into “Entertainment Tonight.” Consider how deeply tucked into bed ESPN is with the people and teams involved in this latest realignment scuttlebutt. If A&M indeed goes to the SEC, the network helped break up a conference — read: the Longhorn Network — to enhance a conference in which it has invested $2.25 billion over 15 years. It could be in the network’s best interest to blow up the conference structure and expedite the formation of four 16-team super conferences.
If ESPN wants to report on college football reform, it should start by looking in the mirror.
College sports is just ruining life as we know it. [Fox Sports]
Greg Linton writes about the life of a sports agent. [Optimum Scouting]
A look back at the classic film, The Program. [Lost Lettermen]
The Good, The Bad, The Sanctioned
The NCAA is officially investigating Miami. [ESPN]
The Fiesta Bowl is back in the news. [SI]
And the stupid
Georgia coach Mark Richt won't ban scooters. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
And finally...
Iowa State is fed up with the Big 12-2 and they are leaving. [CBS Sports]
BDR doesn't endorse any of the rubbish out there in the interwebs, we just link to it. For more daily rubbish on a somewhat timely basis, follow me on Twitter.com/dimecoverage.