THURSDAY, AUGUST 19,2004
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
3B
Uncertainty for sure in Big 12
(AP Photo/Jackson Lazure)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Kansas State is a defending champion for the first time in 70 years. New Nebraska coach Bill Callahan has run the option right out of Lincoln, Neb.
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associated Press
Missouri believes it may have a Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback.
But not everything about this conference is in flux.
Oklahoma still strikes fear in most opponents and Texas once again may have a quarterback combination.
Heisman Trophy winner Jason White returns with a sixth year of eligibility eager to restore a reputation that took a beating with sub-par performances in the two losses.
Kansas State won the league title in 2003 but second-ranked Oklahoma won't let them keep it without a fight.
Despite losing the Big 12 title game to Kansas State and the Sugar Bowl to LSU, the Sooners — and their fans — expect to chase titles again this year.
Not as long as Bob Stoops, the coach who routinely calls the biggest plays in the biggest games, is still the head coach.
Oklahoma quarterback Jason White throws a pass during last year's Big 12 Conference game against Texas A&M, in Norman, OKa. Kansas State won the league title in 2003, leaving Oklahoma in second place. Nine Oklahoma starters are returning this year, from an offense that averaged 42.9 points per game, including Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Jason White.
Stoops won the national title in 2000. The Sooners wouldn't think of accepting anything less.
White and Missouri's multitalented Brad Smith shared preseason honors for all-Big 12 quarterback.
A capsule look at the teams in predicted order of finish:
OKLAHOMA — White's health will be a key concern again this season. The 24-year-old had two seasons cut short by knee injuries and was banged up in the two losses last year.
South
TEXAS — The Longhorns got a huge break when running back Cedric Benson and linebacker
Derrick Johnson, two of the best players in the nation at their positions, chose to stay for their senior seasons.
Vince Young or Chance Mock at QB?
Coach Mack Brown says Young is the starter — but for how long?
TEXAS TECH — Coach Mike Leach must replace departed QB B.J. Symons, who threw for an NCAA record 5,833 yards. Fifth-year senior QB Sonny Cumble, who's never started a game, who's job in preseason.
OKLAHOMA STATE — Josh Fields set an Oklahoma State career record with 55 touchdown passes but left the Cowboys after the Chicago White Sox selected him in the first round of the Major League draft.
TEXAS A&M — Coach Dennis Franchione promises it will get better in year two.
It can't be much worse than last year's 4-8 record, the first losing season at A&M in 21 years.
BAYLOR — Coach Guy Morriss has big concerns about the offensive line, where three starters had surgery.
The Bears haven't won more than three games in a season since 1996.
North
KANSAS STATE — Mighty mite Erik Sproles is coming off superb '03 when he set the school single-season rushing mark with 1,986 yards.
One of the losingest programs of all time, the Wildcats have won at least 11 games in six of the past seven seasons.
MISSOURI — The Tigers were the only Big 12 North team to go undefeated at home last season. They weren't nearly as good on the road (2-5).
Smith was 23 yards short of becoming the first player in NCAA history to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in a season.
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NEBRASKA — In the new West Coast offense, QB Joe Dailey had 16 pass attempts in the first quarter of the Cornhuskers' Red-Hite intrasquares in the spring. That's more than the 15 attempts Nebraska averaged per game last season.
KANSAS — The Jayhawks return eight starters on both offense and defense. ... Defense was one of the worst in the country, giving up more than 30 points and almost 200 yards rushing per game.
COLORADO — Scandal loomed over the Buffaloes during the offseason.
Six players transferred, including last year's starting tailback, Brian Calhoun.
IOWA STATE — DE JASON Berryman, the Big 12's defensive newcomer of the year in 2003 and the Cyclones' MVP, has been suspended indefinitely after being charged with second-degree robbery, his second offense in three months.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — The last time Southern California football was this good, the school was being called Tailback U., running Student Body Right and pumping out Heisman Trophy winners.
USC, LSU bring back winning traditions
LSU's recent success has conjured up memories of Billy Cannon dashing through Death Valley and the Chinese Bandits smothering opponents on defense.
USC and LSU, two schools rich in tradition and surrounded by a wealth of talent, have gone from dormant to dominant.
Under coach Pete Carroll, the Trojans are again one of Los Angeles' glamour teams.
Meanwhile, Nick Saban has restored Baton Rouge as one of the country's college football capitals.
After slogging through a string of mostly forgettable seasons, both the Trojans and Tigers finished the 2003 season as national champions.
USC was first in The Associated Press voting and LSU won the Bowl Championship Series title.
USC quarterback Matt Leinart wasn't even born the last time the Trojans won a national championship, but he's well aware of the school's history and proud to be part of the resurgence.
“It's so great to be a part of it, and with coach Carroll, to bring back the prominence and the dynasty-type level of play." Leinart said. "The way we've been playing the last two years kind of brings back the glory days of the '70s, when we used to win national championships and be good all the time."
The Trojans wrapped up a share of the 2003 national title with a 28-14 Rose Bowl victory over Michigan. Carroll has a 29-9 record at USC, including 27-4 after a 2-5 start his first year.
At LSU, Saban has guided the Tigers to a 39-13 record since
becoming the coach following the 1999 season.
His teams have played in bowl games every year, including a 21-14 Sugar Bowl victory over Oklahoma last season for the BCS crown.
The Trojans are the preseason No.1 in both polls for the upcoming season, with the Tigers ranked fourth by the AP voters and third by the coaches.
The Tigers' 2003 national title was their first since 1958, when they were led by Cannon, an explosive running back who would win the Heisman in 1959, and the Chinese Bandit defense.
The Trojans didn't won a national championship since they topped the coaches' balloting in 1978. The national title last season was USC's first in the writers poll since 1972, when fullback Sam 'Bam' Cunningham blocked for tailback Anthony Davis on the end sweeps coach John McKay called Student Body Right.
carsen School Boyz The '72 title was the Trojans' third in 11 years. Throughout the '70s they continued to be among the nation's best, and in 1981 Marcus Allen joined Mike Garrett (1965), O.J. Simpson (1968) and Charles White (1979) as Heisman-winning tailbacks for USC.
The luster started to come off the Trojans during the '80s, and the '90s were filled with disappointment.
After going to three straight Rose Bowls from 1988-90, USC went to just one more during the '90s.
LSU took a similar course during the '90s, frustrating its fanatical fans with losing seasons and ummet expectations.
The Tigers and Trojans watched as other teams harvested talented players from their backyards and each struggled to find the right coach.
LSU finally broke into the top 10 by finishing No. 7 in 2001, and then USC was No. 4 in 2002.
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