UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Monday, August 18, 1997 3B Big 12 Conference football roundup By Kelly Cannon Kansan sportswriter IRVING, Texas — The 1997 football season hasn't officially started, but the preseason speculations are pouring in. A poll in *The Sporting News* has Colorado and Texas finishing first in their respective divisions. Kansas is projected to finish fourth in the Northern division of the Big 12 behind Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas State. But as with every year, polls vary. Here is how each team is shaping up. NORTHERN DIVISION Colorado Colorado head coach Rick Neuheisel was extremely confident about his team last year, and he let everyone know. "I have learned not to go public with expectations," Neuheisel said. "That created an expectation that we were a national championship team well before we could win it. You can't win until January, so to talk about it in August is a mistake." The confidence is apparent this year also, but he said that he was going to be more subdued. Neuheisel said that he and his team were anticipating a good season and a run at the Big 12 title. "Hope springs eternal," he said. "I am anxious to get going. We feel like we have a good team. We feel like we have a good blend of experienced players and some young up-and-comers." Colorado has a particularly difficult non- conference schedule that includes Colorado State, Wyoming and Michigan, Neuheisel said. Colorado opens the season Sept. 6 at home against Colorado State. Iowa State Troy Davis, the 1996 Heisman Trophy runner-up, will be wearing a New Orleans Saints uniform instead of Iowa State's this season, and the team is looking for ways to compensate. Iowa State had a 2-9 season and finished 1-7 in the Big 12 last season. Only Missouri and Northb- ern Iowa, coached then by new Kansas coach Terry Allen, were defeated by the Cyclones. "We weren't pleased with the overall record," head coach Dan McCarney said. "It was gut-wrenching. We had two losses to Wyoming in two years. But we have made a lot of progress, and we're starting to look like a Division-1 team." The Cyclones have made many offensive changes in the off season, McCarny said. Because Davis made himself eligible a year early for the NFL draft, the offense will have to be much more diversified. Junior Todd Bandhauer, who came in as a midseason replacement last year, will be the starting quarterback. "We're going to be pretty darn competitive," Bandhauer said. "We are ready to charge ahead. I have concentrated on what the quarterback coach said: 'Each play stands alone.' There are 80-plus plays in a game, and you can't dwell on each one." Iowa State's first game is Aug. 30 at home against Oklahoma State. Kansas Gone is Glen Mason. In is Terry Allen. Gone are June Henley and Isaac Byrd, the Jayhawks' top rusher and receiver. Some may say Kansas is rebuilding. Allen says it is just in transition. The strength of the 1997 Jayhawks will be their defense - eight starters are returning. Leading the way on offense will be senior running back Eric Vann, who has spent most of his career in Henley's shadow. "I learned a lot from June," Vann said. "But this was always my goal. This is where I want to be. I better enjoy this season and not take things for granted. This has been a long time coming." Offensively, Kansas has a lot of questions. "We return five starters, but worse, we only return 10 lettermen," Allen said. "We have big questions at quarterback. Matt Johner came out of spring football in a head-to-head race with Zac Wegner. But this is not going to be a juggling quarterback situation." Kansas opens Aug. 28 against Alabamabirmingham at Memorial Stadium. Kansas State K-State took a chance on some players this year, and it shows in their recruiting class. Twelve of the new Wildcats are junior-college transfers. Head coach Bill Snyder has found himself having to justify that large number. "We had four on campus for spring ball," Snyder said. "They pass through the program much more quickly, but they are a bonus for us in terms of numbers. As always, it is how quickly they can adapt, but I appreciate this group. They have an understanding of football." Excitement at K-State is nothing new. The program has had four straight bowl appearances and four consecutive seasons with at least nine wins. Key positions offensively for the Wildcats will be wide receiver, quarterback and the interior offensive line. Defensively, the key position will be linebacker. The rushing game has become a focus. "We were last in the Big 12 in rushing." junior guard Jeremy Martin said. "We are not going to let that happen again. In order to be successful, we need to run the ball." K-State's first game is Sept. 6 at Northern Illinois. Big 12 football bowl possibilities Date Bowl Participant Participant Kickoff TV Jan. 2 FedEx Orange Alliance #1 Alliance #2 7 p.m. CBS Jan. 1 Nokia Sugar Alliance #3 Alliance #5 7 p.m. ABC Dec. 31 Tostitos Fiesta Alliance #4 Alliance #6 6:30 p.m. CBS Jan. 1 Southwestern Bell Cotton Big 12 #2 PAC-10 #2 or WAC #1 12:30 p.m. CBS Dec. 29 Plymouth Holiday Big 12 #3 PAC-10 #2 or WAC #1 4 p.m. ESPN Dec. 30 Builder's Square Alamo Big 12 #4 Big 10 #4 7 p.m. ESPN Dec. 25 Jeep Aloha Big 12 #5 PAC-10 #4 2:30 p.m. ABC Dec. 27 Copper Big 12 #6 WAC #2 8 p.m. ESPN As a member of the Bowl Alliance, the Big 12 Conference is guaranteed participation in six post-season bowl games. The winner of the Big 12 Championship game will be assigned one of the six alliance seeds. The teams that finish second through sixth in the Big 12 will compete against teams with assigned ranks from other conferences. Source: 1997 Kansas Football media guide Missouri The Tigers are full of confidence this season, much of that stemming from the way they finished the '96 campaign. Missouri won three of its last five games and finished the season 5-6 - its first five-win season since 1987. "I look at this as a veteran football team," head coach Larry Smith said. souri offense is junior quarterback Corby Jones. Jones rushed for 742 yards and scored nine touchdowns last season but has focused on his passing game during the off season. Leading the Mistakes tremen- dously seriously his football and his academics. We have never had a problem dealing with Grant." Jones said he understands his responsibility to the team. "Keeping Corby Jones healthy is paramount," Smith said. "As a player, I owe it to (senior tailback) Brock (Olivio)," Jones said. "We owe it as a team to the seniors. We have the best recruiting class." Usually an end-of-the-season game, the matchup with Kansas has been moved up to Sept. 13. Missouri's first game is Sept. 6 at home against Eastern Michigan. Nebraska Nebraska fans were cheering last year when All-American defensive back Grant Winstrom decided to return for his senior season. "No one gives more effort," assistant head coach Frank Solich said of Winston. "He is In addition to being an All-American in football, Winstrom also is an academic All-American in pharmacy. "I think any successful person in life, their biggest attribute is time control, and that's the hardest part about being a student-athlete," Winstrom said. "It puts a lot of pressure on a person, but it pays off for you. I know that my parents and I are more proud of the academic All-America, because overall that means that I'm pretty successful at both." The Huskers have been criticized about the lack of high quality nonconference teams they will face this year. They are scheduled to play Akron (Ohio), Central Florida and Washington. "We would like to play top competition the first three games," Solich said. "We'd like to have a decent nonleague schedule. We had other teams scheduled, but they didn't work out, and we had to replace." Nebraska's quarterback Scott Frost, who was named the Big 12 offensive player of the year after transferring from Stanford, is back for his senior season. After one season as starter, Frost ranks 16th at Nebraska in career passing vards. Nebraska will open its season Aug. 30 at some against Akron. SOUTHERN DIVISION Baylor finished last season with a not-so-impressive record of 4-7 (1-7 in the Big 12). Head coach Dave Roberts was cautiously optimistic but said there were key problem areas, particularly the defensive line. Baylor "We're very undersized, so we're really going to have to compensate," Roberts said. Angie Kuhn/KANSAN you want your defensive ends to be 270 (pounds). Ours are going to range from 225 to Glenn Coy at 256. We'll have to use our speed and quickness. I don't know, but tackles may engulf our " Roberts was a little more comfortable with his offensive line. "We feel comfortable with our tailbacks and fullbacks," Roberts said. "We think our receivers really have to make tremendous strides." Championship game Facts about the Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship Game: When: Dec. 6, 1997; 3:30 p.m., ABC Who: The winners of the North and South divisions o' the Big 12. Where: The Alamodome, San Antonio Capacity: 655, Opened 1993. At stake: The winner represents the league in the Bowl Alliance. Last year: Texas defeated Nebraska, 37-27, in the first Big 12 Championship game, Dec. 7 in St. Louis. Source: The Associated Press Roberts still was focused on improving the team. "What I'm most interested in right now is getting them to play hard and to cut down on missed assignments," he said. "I think we made progress. They're beginning to play harder. We need to be a tougher team, a more physical team. Are we there yet? No, no, not at all. We're not close. We have far too many turnovers. We have to get stronger. We have a lot of areas we need to work on." Baylor plays Miami on Aug. 30 at home. Oklahoma Oklahoma's head coach John Blake said he was looking forward to this season and said his team had increased confidence. "I think the experience of our system is a strength," Blake said. "Our offense is more intact. We have a lot of players back on our offense, and key players are back. The secondary will be one of the keys to our defense. I think the most important strength of our football team is those guys have gone through some tough times and experiences. This system is probably the best strength we have on this football team right now." See BIG12. 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