Gameday Preview: Texas at K-State

Nov. 6, 201010:58 a.m.

Coming into the season, this looked like a very compelling game.

After dropping its last two games to Kansas State, it seemed like Texas would have revenge on its mind today in Manhattan. And with a traditional Big 12 powerhouse coming to town, the Wildcats would have the chance to pick up a statement victory.

The game is still compelling enough to be televised nationally at 7 p.m. on ESPN2, but it isn’t the match up everyone expected. The Longhorns (4-4) are struggling like never before under coach Mack Brown. The Wildcats (5-3) have lost two in a row.

Still, bowl implications mean the game is still important for both sides.
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Scheduling strategies differ in new Big 12

Aug. 11, 20104:35 p.m.

Scheduling photo

At his annual preseason media day news conference last week, a reporter asked Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder why he canceled a future home-and-home series against Oregon.

His answer was robotic.

“My feelings about scheduling,” Snyder responded. “That hasn’t changed. I still feel the same way — right, wrong or indifferent — that I always have.”

Snyder’s feelings about scheduling (if you need a refresher) are to play as many nonconference games as possible at home against beatable opponents. Traveling to both UCLA and Louisiana-Lafayette last year was not at all his cup of tea.

With the help of athletic director John Currie, he has added future games against Texas-San Antonio and Central Florida. Expect more games of that caliber to show up on future Wildcats’ schedules. Not just because they please Snyder, but because Currie believes extra home games will be needed when the Big 12 becomes a 10-team conference and switches to a nine-game format.

Other coaches and athletic directors across the league are also talking schedules these days, but no two opinions are exactly the same. K-State and Kansas appear to be scheduling light, Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops is thinking about doing the same and Texas just added Notre Dame.
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Now at the podium: Texas

July 28, 201011:45 a.m.

Texas football coach Mack Brown spent his time at the podium reflecting on conference realignment and cracking jokes.

He said he was thrilled to learn the Big 12 was going to survive, and that he will miss playing both Nebraska and Colorado on a regular basis. He will particularly miss the Cornhuskers and mentor Tom Osborne.

When asked about the big deal Nebraska fans were have been making about this year’s UT/NU clash, Brown said it was a compliment to the Longhorns that the Cornhuskers were talking about them in July.
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Snyder enters Coach of the Year race

Nov. 11, 200911:57 p.m.

He’s been a strong candidate for Big 12 Coach of the Year all season, but now that Bill Snyder has Kansas State one win away from bowl eligibility and possibly a North division title, he’s beginning to be mentioned in the national race as well.

In his first season back, at the age of 70, he has led a K-State squad comprised of 12 first-year starters to a 5-2 record in its last seven games and a 4-2 mark in conference play. Compared to the beginning of the season, when the Wildcats struggled to beat UMass and lost to Louisiana-Lafayette, it is a remarkable turnaround.

There are lots of other wonderful candidates out there (we’ll get to them in a second) and climbing to the No. 1 spot in the country will be difficult. But he is in the conversation, and that is impressive.
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