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Big 12 Notes – Georgia Tech Week
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August 26th
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West Virginia cancels home-and-home against Alabama
… After a road game against Ohio this fall, West Virginia won’t play another true road non-conference game until 2029 …
From CBS Sports … The SEC’s announcement that it would be moving to a nine-game conference schedule was always going to bring some non-conference scheduling ramifications, and Tuesday we saw that in action as Alabama and West Virginia announced they mutually agreed to cancel their home-and-home series set for 2026 and 2027.
In Alabama’s release, the team specifically cited the nine-game schedule as the reason for the change, and announced it would be adding a non-conference home game against East Carolina in 2026 to fill the vacant spot left by the loss of the West Virginia game. West Virginia, meanwhile, will add Coastal Carolina to its 2026 schedule and plans to take the open 2027 date and add a seventh home game.
“This scheduling philosophy has proven to be successful across college football. It aligns our football program with its competition in terms of potential postseason opportunities and advancement,” West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker said. “I am also aware of the importance of a seventh home game in 2027 for our fans and the huge economic impact it brings to our state, city and tourism division. Visitors coming to West Virginia are not only critical for state tourism, but also to our local economy.”
“We are proud of the number of high-quality home-and-home non-conference games we have scheduled for the next 10 years,” Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne said. “That being said, we know that college athletics has been evolving and changing rapidly over the last few years, and it made sense for us to make these adjustments on our future schedules. We have a bit more flexibility as we transition to a nine-game format in the Southeastern Conference, and it gives us the opportunity to further evaluate how strength of schedule is evaluated for the College Football Playoff. Between the other home-and-homes as well as conference games, we will continue to have a solid strength of schedule, which is good for our team, fans and college football.”
… Continue reading story here …
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August 24th
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Delaware a first-year FBS program: “There’s no reason we can’t do this”
From ESPN … Russ Crook has a shirt he likes to wear to Delaware football road games. He’s a lifelong fan and the current president of the Blue Hen Touchdown Club, but he knows the jokes, so he picked up the shirt a few years back when he saw it at the historic National 5 & 10 store on Main Street. It’s gray with a map of the state across the chest and the ubiquitous punchline delivered succinctly: “Dela-where?”
Yes, the state is small, though Rhode Island gets the acclaim that comes with being the country’s smallest. In popular culture, Delaware often translates as something of a non-place — cue the “Wayne’s World” GIF — and it’s widely appreciated by outsiders as little more than a 28-mile stretch of I-95 between Maryland and Pennsylvania that hardly warrants mentioning.
It’s a harmless enough stereotype, but Cook is hopeful this football season can start to change some perceptions. After all, in 2025, Delaware — the football program — hits the big time. Or, Conference USA, at least.
“Delaware’s a small state, but the university has 24,000 students,” Crook said. “Many big-time schools are smaller than we are. There’s no reason we can’t do this.”
When the Blue Hens kick off against Delaware State on Aug. 28, they will be, for the first time, an FBS football team, joining Missouri State as first-year members of Conference USA — the 135th and 136th FBS programs.
Longtime Hens fans might not have believed the move was possible even a few years ago, as much for the school’s ethos as the state’s stature. The university’s leadership had spent decades holding firm in the belief that the Hens were best positioned as a big fish in the relatively small ponds of Division II and, later, FCS.
And yet, just as the rest of the college sports world is reeling from an onslaught of change — revenue sharing, the transfer portal, NIL and conference realignment — Delaware decided it was time to join the party.
“Us and Delaware are probably making this move at one of the more difficult times to make the move in history,” said Missouri State AD Patrick Ransdell.
All of which begs the question: Why now?
Many of Delaware’s historic rivals — UMass, App State, Georgia Southern, Old Dominion, James Madison — had already made the leap to FBS, and the Hens’ previous conference, the Colonial, was reeling. Economic conditions at the FCS level made life challenging for administration. The NCAA was making moves to curb future transitions from FCS to FBS, and the school felt its window to make a move was closing.
“We had no choice,” Crook said.
And so, ready or not, the Hens are about to embark on a new era — a chance to prove themselves at a higher level and, perhaps, provide Delaware with a reputation that’s more than a punchline.
… Continue reading story here …
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August 23rd
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No. 22 Iowa State defeats No. 17 Kansas State, 24-21; Dylan Edwards injured
From ESPN … Rocco Becht passed for two touchdowns and ran for another score, helping No. 22 Iowa State beat No. 17 Kansas State 24-21 in the Aer Lingus Classic on Saturday.
Becht was 14 for 28 for 183 yards. He found Dominic Overby for a 23-yard TD in the first quarter and passed to Brett Eskildsen for a 24-yard score in the third quarter.
With 2:26 to go, Iowa State coach Matt Campbell had his team go for it on fourth-and-3 at the Kansas State 16-yard line. Becht found Carson Hansen for 15 yards and iced the game.
“He called a great play, he gave me two plays and let me decide and I knew we were going to have a chance to get it,” Becht said “We’ve worked on it in practice and it’s been working for us and we’re confident with it and I have trust in my guys.”
The Cyclones (1-0, 1-0 Big 12) opened a 24-14 lead in the fourth quarter after a turnover on downs by Kansas State at its own 30-yard line. Becht finished the short drive with a 7-yard touchdown run with 6:38 left.
Avery Johnson passed for 273 yards and two touchdowns for Kansas State (0-1, 0-1). He also had a 10-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
“I mean that’s the thing, regardless of the outcome we have 11 games to play,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said. “We have our back against the wall, but now we’ve got to reset and regroup and get ready to play.”
Johnson threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Jerand Bradley with 6:23 remaining, but the Wildcats never got the ball back.
Both teams struggled to deal with wet conditions in the first half. Kansas State had two turnovers and a turnover on downs while Iowa State committed two turnovers in the first 30 minutes.
Edwards injured
Kansas State running back Dylan Edwards was injured in the first quarter on a punt that he muffed. He didn’t return to the game.
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August 22nd
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Rule changes for the 2025 season
From CBS Sports … In an effort to clean up a few troubling areas and persistent complaints within the sport, there’s more than a half-dozen significant rules changes going into effect for college football’s 2025 season. Many are injury-focused, while a few relate to player conduct and updated policies to better police the game.
Steve Shaw, the NCAA secretary-rules editor, recently announced the rules alterations in connection with the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame through a partnership with College Football Officiating.
“The mission of the Rules Committee is to develop and evaluate rules changes that will enhance the sport, protect the image of the game, and enhance the student athlete’s health and safety,” Shaw said in a release this month. “Player safety has been the highest priority of the committee for many years now resulting in significant changes that have improved the game in terms of mitigating injuries.”
Here are the primary rule changes that will take effect in FBS play this season beginning with Saturday’s opener in Dublin, Ireland featuring Iowa State and Kansas State.
Fake injuries reprimanded
Citing an “inflection point” for the sport, Shaw said something had to be done about players faking injuries to slow tempo offenses. Beginning this season, if a player presents as injured after the ball is spotted, the team will be charged a timeout. If no timeouts are available, it results in a delay of game penalty. The player must sit out the following down, regardless of whether a timeout is taken.
The player cannot return until cleared by medical personnel designated by the school. The move follows repeated complaints about “flopping” to manipulate pace of play — including a memo from SEC commissioner Greg Sankey last fall.
Overtime timeouts
Timeouts are now limited in overtime. Each team gets one timeout in the first and second overtimes, but beginning with the third extra period, only one total timeout per team is allowed until the game ends. In addition, no media timeouts will be taken during the first two overtimes.
Signal changes during returns
On kickoffs, if any return-team player makes a “T” signal with their arms, the play is immediately whistled dead and the team forfeits the right to return. The clarification follows controversy in last year’s South Carolina–Illinois bowl game, where players used the gesture to indicate a fair catch.
Disconcerting signs, pre-snap movement
Defenses are now prohibited from using signals or words that mimic a quarterback’s cadence. A quarterback can clap to initiate a play, but no defender may do so or otherwise simulate a snap count.
Defensive players within one yard of the line are also prohibited from making abrupt pre-snap movements designed to draw a false start. Likewise, offensive players who attempt to bait the defense with sudden motion will be flagged for a false start.
Unsportsmanlike conduct for gunplay
A troubling celebration trend last season — players mimicking firing a weapon — has been banned. The NCAA will now issue an automatic 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for simulation of “brandishing a weapon,” which includes pretending to fire a gun, rifle, crossbow or other device.
The tipping point came after South Carolina freshman edge rusher Dylan Stewart stood over Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart and simulated gunplay. Stewart later called the moment “blown out of proportion,” but coach Shane Beamer denounced the act as “unacceptable” and disciplined him internally.
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August 21st
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SEC gives in – to go with nine-game conference schedule starting in 2026
From ESPN … The SEC will play a nine-game conference schedule starting in 2026, the league said Thursday, a historic move it’s been considering for years.
The decision was approved by the SEC’s presidents and chancellors after a recommendation by the athletic directors in the conference.
“Adding a ninth SEC game underscores our universities’ commitment to delivering the most competitive football schedule in the nation,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a news release. “This format protects rivalries, increases competitive balance, and paired with our requirement to play an additional Power opponent, ensures SEC teams are well prepared to compete and succeed in the College Football Playoff.”
Under the new format, the SEC will continue to play without divisions. Each school will play three annual opponents focused on maintaining traditional rivalries, and the remaining six games will rotate among the rest of the league opponents.
Each team will face every other SEC program at least once every two years and every opponent home and away over four years.
SEC teams are still required to schedule at least one additional high-quality nonconference opponent from the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten or Big 12 conferences or Notre Dame each season.
… Continue reading story here …
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Nebraska 2nd-most overrated team of the past decade: “They’ve failed to even reach competence”
From CBS Sports … The future of Texas A&M football looked brighter than ever in December of 2012 as Johnny Manziel cradled the Heisman Trophy in Manhattan before the Aggies capped an 11-2 season with a Cotton Bowl victory over Oklahoma. A&M was fresh off a wildly successful debut campaign for coach Kevin Sumlin and had sent a warning shot to the SEC during its first year in the league by winning at No. 1 Alabama.
Backed by big boosters, with a massive stadium renovation project on deck and a home in college football’s top conference, the Aggies looked poise to claim a spot in college football’s ruling class. In retrospect, however, that 2012 season is the 21st century high-water mark for a program that is always at least somewhat relevant but never dominant.
A&M’s efforts to spend its way to the top have failed, leading to a program reset under Mike Elko for the 2024 season that Aggies fans hope will begin paying dividends in 2025. The Aggies have languished behind their expectations, but they aren’t alone on college football’s misery meter.
Not far behind is a Nebraska program that fancied itself above winning 9 or 10 games on a regular basis under Bo Peeling from 2008-14. In the decade after his firing, the Cornhuskers won nine games just once and only last season snapped a streak of seven consecutive seasons without a bowl appearance.
2. Nebraska
10-year record: 50-69
Average coach salary: $4.42 million
Average recruiting ranking: 24.3
Losing seasons: 8
Record vs. top 25: 2-28
CFP appearances: 0
The hiring of Scott Frost at the end of the 2017 season drew an “A” grade from CBS Sports. The native son was coming off an undefeated season at UCF and looked like a slam dunk. But he limped to a 16-31 (10-26 Big Ten) record over five seasons, even while regularly signing top-25 classes. The Cornhuskers never beat a ranked team under Frost’s leadership — despite making plenty of appearances on FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff — while suffering an endless cascade of close losses. The jury is still out on whether successor Matt Rhule is going to make Nebraska a real player in the Big Ten. He also received an “A” grade but is just 12-13 through two seasons. There’s never been a season when true greatness was expected from the Cornhuskers in the past 10 years. But they’ve failed to even reach competence.
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