St. Louis Post-Dispatch reminds us of some pertinent facts about Mizzou.
The Tigers haven’t had a winning record in the Big 12 during Gary Pinkel’s time, and they are 1-15 against Top 25 opponents.
Like Callahan, Mizzou’s coach is feeling some heat.
When Mizzou fans see two second-year coaches (Prince and Hawkins) engineering upsets, it’s only natural for them to wonder when Pinkel, already in his seventh season, will start to do the same and establish the Tigers as an elite Big 12 team.
The Big 12 North is having a big Saturday. First, Colorado beats No. 3 Oklahoma and then K State takes down No. 7 Texas.
It’s been that kind of day around the nation, as well. No. 10 Rutgers fell to Maryland at home; No. 13 Clemson lost to Georgia Tech in Atlanta; No. 21 Penn State lost to Illinois in Champaign and No. 22 Alabama lost to Florida State in Jacksonville.
USC and Florida are also in battles with Washington and Auburn, respectively. And No. 9 Wisconsin went to the wire with Mighigan State before pulling out a three point win. Maybe there is something to this parity thing, after all.
[UPDATE] USC won by three and Florida lost by three. No. 5 West Virgina also lost on Friday night to No. 18 South Florida. To recap, the numbers 3, 4, 5, 7 and 10 teams in the A.P. Poll lost this week.
Texas has more residents than all the other states in the Big 12 combined. Like they say, Texas is a whole other country.
Here are the numbers:
Texas has more than ten times the population of Nebraska.
In the wake of Big 12 commisioner Kevin Weiberg’s decision to depart for a lesser post with the Big 10, Tom Dienhart of The Sporting News speculates that certain Big 12 teams might also one day bolt for a better conference.
There’s limited growth potential in the Big 12. Why? A lack of big TV markets. It’s pretty simple. Denver? Kansas City? Dallas? Houston? St. Louis? San Antonio? That’s it, people. I don’t think that excites TV fat cats in New York. One solution is expansion. Another possibility is defections.
I have to think folks in Austin, Norman and Lincoln have had conversations about bolting for a better home. They’d be silly not to have an eye on the future. How about the Longhorns or Huskers joining the Big Ten to make it an even 12? Maybe the SEC can grab OU and dump, say, Vandy. The Pac-10 also has to be looking toward tomorrow and the possibility of becoming a 12-team league.
Personally, I’ve never liked the Big 12. I’m a Big 8 fan. So, if I were to do my own speculating (or maybe idle wishing is a better term for it), I’d say goodbye to Baylor, Texas Tech, Iowa State and Colorado.