Pages:
120 – 133 Big 12 Preview:
120: Conference Rankings:
1. Texas
2. Oklahoma
3. Nebraska
4. Kansas State
5. Colorado
6. Texas Tech
7. Texas A&M
8. Oklahoma State
9. Missouri
10. Iowa State
11. Kansas
12. Baylor
121: Conference Overview:
“The Longhorns’ string of three consecutive nine-win seasons is their longest since the early 1980s. Of course, that’s all very nice…bit it’s not good enough at Texas, where the seat is always hot for coaches. Mack Brown has often preached about the slow, steady strides Texas has made under his watch. Well, now it’s time to win a championship. And that’s what the Longhorns will do when they beat Nebraska in the Dec. 1 Big 12 title game in the appropriate setting of Texas stadium in Irving.”
(#3 Texas would end up losing to #9 Colorado in the Big 12 Championship Game which helped Nebraska backdoor into the BCS Championship Game Vs Miami, whom Colorado had blown out 62-36 in their season ending rivalry.) 122: All Big 12 Team
2001 All Big 12 Offense:
QB Chris Simms Texas
RB Quentin Griffin Oklahoma
RB Ennis Haywood Iowa State
WR Antwone Savage Oklahoma
WR Roy Williams Texas
TE Daniel Graham Colorado
C Seth McKinney Texas A&M
OL Toniu Fonoti Nebraska
OL Andre Gurode Colorado
OL Frank Romero Oklahoma
OL Mike Williams Texas
All-Purpose Aaron Lockett Kansas State
2001 All Big 12 Defense:
DL Justin Bannan Colorado
DL Nate Dwyer Kansas
DL Cory Redding Texas
DL Ty Warren Texas A&M
LB Rocky Calmus Oklahoma
LB Ben Leber Kansas State
LB Jashon Sykes Colorado
DB Keyuo Craver Nebraska
DB Michael Lewis Colorado
DB Quentin Jammer Texas
DB Roy Williams Oklahoma
123: Big 12 In The NFL:
Top 10 Talent In 2001
1. Jashon Sykes LB Colorado
2. Chris Simms QB Texas
3. Quentin Jammer CB Texas
4. Roy Williams WR Texas
5. Rocky Calmus LB Oklahoma
6. Toniu Fonoti OG Nebraska
7. Ben Leber LB Kansas State
8. Mike Williams OT Texas
9. Daniel Graham TE Colorado
10. Kevin Curtis S Texas Tech
124 – 133: Individual Team Previews:
1. (#3 Nationally) Texas – “Texas has been stuck at nine wins for three seasons under
Mack Brown . There are worse places to be stuck, of course. But after the Longhorns watched old rival Oklahoma zoom past them on the way to the national title, this is no time to be standing still. Brown has recruited well as anybody not named Bobby Bowden in the past few years, and this looks like the year of the big payoff. Texas returns nine starters on offense and eight on defense. And there is no longer the burning question:
Major Applewhite or
Chris Simms ? Brown, stung by the amount of controversy the quarterback rotation drew last season, when it arguably cost the Longhorns one game (Stanford) and created inconsistencies that kept the offense from developing, named Simms, a junior, the starter before spring drills opened.”
2. (#5) Oklahoma – “Last season, OU captured its seventh national championship by going 13-0. This year, the Sooners have 12 regular season games and feasibly could go 14-0 with victories in the Big 12 Conference championship and national championship Rose Bowl. Last season was arguably the most celebrated national crown ever won at Oklahoma. While previous championships were expected and demanded, the 2000 title seemingly fell from the sky.”
3. (#7) Nebraska – “Nebraska coach
Frank Solich acknowledges that the timing is perfect to have an unprecedented eight home games. Even he says he can’t remember a year when a Nebraska team had as many question marks. Just playing in Memorial Stadium could solve many of the Cornhuskers’ problems. They are 81-3 in Lincoln in the past 13 seasons. Those kind of numbers make you believe that even a somewhat-rebuilding Nebraska can sweep a difficult home slate that includes Notre Dame, Kansas State and Oklahoma. Only one road game looks troublesome – Colorado in the season finale.”
(Despite the cautious expectations Nebraska went 11-0 with big home wins over #17 Notre Dame 27-10 and #2 Oklahoma 20-10, hosting College Gameday for both. Infamous blowout losses to Colorado 62-36 and Miami 37-14 (not to mention September 2002 season blowout losses Vs Penn State 40-7 and Iowa State 36-14) seemed to've taken the air out of the program since then. If someone were to ask me when “The last time Nebraska felt like NEBRASKA” I would say November 10 2001 beating Kansas State 31-21 to go 11-0, to quote from the comments of this YoutTube highlight) :
VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu2jwsp-78w 4. (#11) Kansas State – “The Wildcats aren’t favored to retain the Big 12 North title in 2001. Not when that road winds into Nebraska for a Nov. 10 showdown [see highlights above]. Although Kansas State has won two of the last three meetings with Nebraska (the last time that happened was in the late 1950s), it hasn’t left Lincoln with a victory since 1968.”
(K-State would have a down year, losing to Syracuse in the Insight Bowl in Arizona, to finish 6-6.) 5. (#27) Colorado – “Looking back, there are plenty of reasons for Barnett and the Buffs to expect a turn-around in 2001:
-Four of the losses were by four points or fewer, with two more by eight points.
-CU lost only five starters and six seniors.
-Craig Ochs, who won the quarterback job five games into his true freshman season, has a world of potential.
-Nine More of Ochs’ classmates, including touted running back Marcus Houston, got experienced last season.”
(Colorado turned out to be underrated, roaring to a Big 12 Championship and a #3 ranking before losing to #2 Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.) 6. (#35) Texas Tech – “From talk shows to water cooler conversations, and from T-shirt sales to season ticket purchases, it’s clear Texas Tech fans are giddily anticipating
Bobby Knight ’s first basketball season at the school. Of course, there is something else on the windswept horizon of West Texas. You know, football season – the sport that, at least until Knight’s hiring, was primarily responsible for stirring the emotions of Tech’s fan base. “I’d just say to all the fans who are itching for basketball to start that they’re going to have a fun fall, too” said quarterback
Kliff Kingsbury , who had a record-setting sophomore season in 2000.”
7. (#40) Texas A&M – “During a five-week stretch beginning in mid-October, the Aggies must play at Colorado, at Kansas State, at Texas Tech and at Oklahoma. Since 1995, A&M is a combined 2-6 at those destinations, with both wins coming in 1997.”
8. (#54) Oklahoma State – “Oklahoma State has produced one winning season in the past 12 years – an 8-4 Alamo Bowl campaign in 1997 – but new coach
Les Miles doesn’t find a bare cupboard. Miles, who was OSU’s offensive coordinator in that winning season of 1997, inherets 16 returning starters. “There is some talent here,” said Miles, who had been the tight ends coach of the Dallas Cowboys for the past three seasons.”
9. (#71) Missouri – “
Gary Pinkel was hired to replace Larry Smith…Pinkel is a self-described Don James disciple – he played for James at Kent State and was a 12-year assistant for him at Washington – which means he’s a no-nonsense guy who believes in a balanced offense and an attacking defense.”
10. (#76) Iowa State – “Coach
Dan McCarney likes what he’s been seeing. What he saw last Dec. 28 at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix in the was a 37-29 victory by Iowa State over Pittsburgh in the Insight.com Bowl. That wrapped up a 9-3 record by the best team the Cyclones have ever had.
Sage Rosenfels left a sizeable hole at quarterback, so that’s why McCarney dipped into the junior college tank to get 6-2, 190-pound
Seneca Wallace .”
11. (#80) Kansas – “KU lost 12 starters to graduation and seven of nine assistant coaches – to firings and other jobs. The overhauled coaching staff should make Kansas better than a year ago, but they still have glaring personnel questions.”
12. (#83) Baylor – “The junior college quarterback that coach
Kevin Steele had recruited specifically to provide an inexperienced team with much-needed maturity was gone for the season with a broken collarbone. Last season, Baylor finished last in the Big 12 in total offense and total defense for the third consecutive season. In a three game stretch in October, the Bears didn’t score a point, dominated by Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Nebraska, 110-0.”
(Man, forgot how bad Baylor once was! And having only known Kevin Steele as Auburn’s recent DC, had no idea he was once Baylor’s former HC.)