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Big 12 football faces tough competition

Non-confrence games pose threats to teams

By Case Keefer

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Texas A&M’s first game may have been a 38-7 blow out against FCS, formerly known as Division 1-AA, opponent Montana State. But none of the other 11 Big 12 conference programs opened its season against a FCS team.

Teams in the Big 12 Conference have clearly started scheduling tougher non-conference opponents to open the season. In the first two weekends of college football, Big 12 teams play seven games against fellow BCS-conference programs.

That’s four more than last season and tied with the Southeastern Conference for the most in the nation. And those seven don’t even include Texas and Baylor’s games against nationally ranked Texas Christian or Kansas’ opener against defending Mid-American Conference champion Central Michigan.

The Jayhawks dismantled the highly-regarded Chippewas, 52-7. Coach Mark Mangino said there was an advantage to starting the season against a difficult opponent.

“When you beat a good football team by that score obviously you feel real good for your players,” he said. “It’s a good way to start the season.”

Oklahoma State traveled to Athens, Ga. to play then-ranked No. 13 Georgia in its first game. The Bulldogs didn’t have much trouble against the Cowboys, beating them 35-14.

But Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said the trip to the southeast benefited his team in ways that a game against a smaller program couldn’t.

“Anytime you are playing in a stadium with 95,000 people it’s going to be pretty intimidating,” Gundy said. “There was a lot of hype and a lot of emotion put into that game.”

Oklahoma State wasn’t the only Big 12 program to make the treacherous trip to the Deep South in the first week of the season. Kansas State played another SEC team, the Auburn Tigers, in Alabama.

Kansas State led for most of the game but suffered a heart-breaking 23-13 defeat in the final minutes. Wildcat coach Ron Prince said the game was not only a great opportunity for his players but also for the Wildcat program.

“Because it’s a national television game we get the chance to go and have the Powercat seen nationally,” Prince said. “It’s a great opportunity.”

The Kansas State vs. Auburn game was shown on ESPN Saturday night, giving the Wildcats national exposure that could help in recruiting. Prince said the game also reflected his personal beliefs as far as formulating a non-conference schedule.

“When we first got here we had conversations about how you would like to schedule and what would be your scheduling philosophy,” he said. “To play against and prepare for a national-championship caliber team was one of our goals in non-conference scheduling.”

Prince’s philosophy seems to be in stark contrast to former Kansas State coach Bill Snyder’s. Snyder became well known for advocating scheduling of weaker non-conference opponents in the early 1990s. He displayed profound success implementing the belief and transformed the Wildcats from a perennial loser to a national power.

Some Big 12 coaches still relate more to Snyder’s scheduling techniques. Oklahoma will play the University of Miami, another traditionally successful program, Saturday. Sooner Coach Bob Stoops said that while fans love the pairing of two great teams, he isn’t always in favor of it.

“I don’t know that we want to be playing each other all the time,” Stoops said. “These games are exciting and all but when you want to compete for a national championship it doesn’t always make sense scheduling these games.”

If the Sooners were to lose to the Hurricanes Saturday, it would put a definite halt on their national championship aspirations.

As for Kansas, its non-conference schedule gets much easier in the coming weeks. The Jayhawks play both an FCS opponent, Southeastern Louisiana, and a FCB team that has lost 14 straight games, Florida International. Mangino said he didn’t look too much into the schedule and coached the same way regardless.

“It’s my job to get our guys ready to play week after week no matter who the opponent is,” he said. “It depends on mental toughness whether you’re playing the number one team in the nation or the number 119.”

— Edited by Ashlee Kieler

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