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Big 12 Notes – Alamo Bowl
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December 26th
… Foe Pause …
Former Buff Dylan Edwards leads Kansas State over Rutgers in Rate Bowl
From ESPN … Kansas State faced a daunting task when DJ Giddens, one of the top running backs in the Big 12, opted out of the Rate Bowl to prepare for the NFL draft.
Dylan Edwards showed the Wildcats and their fans they had nothing to worry about.
Edwards ran for 196 yards and scored his third touchdown on a 36-yard run in the fourth quarter, helping Kansas State rally past Rutgers 44-41 in the Rate Bowl on Thursday night.
“Dylan and those young guys, those kids are really good players,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said. “They just need belief and confidence.”
They got it in the desert — after some early stumbles.
The Scarlet Knights (7-6) led by 10 at halftime and went up 34-17 on Ja’shon Benjamin’s 7-yard touchdown catch on the opening drive of the second half. But Edwards and the Wildcats (9-4) stormed back.
Edwards scored on 65-yard touchdown run and, after an interception thrown by Rutgers’ Athan Kaliakmanis, Garrett Oakley caught a 13-yard touchdown pass to pull Kansas State within five. The Wildcats failed 2-point conversions after both touchdowns.
Rutgers briefly regained momentum, going up 41-29 early in the fourth quarter on Antwan Raymond’s 1-yard TD run on a fake tush push.
Kansas State answered with Avery Johnson’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Jadon Jackson. Edwards followed with his 36-yard score, capping an impressive night in place of Giddens, who ran for 1,343 yards and seven touchdowns during the regular season.
“We worked on those plays for two weeks, so just trying to do my job and that’s what I did,” Edwards said.
Rutgers still had a chance. The Scarlet Knights moved from their 25 to Kansas State’s 44, but gained just three more yards and turned it over on downs with just under two minutes left.
… Continue reading story here …
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December 26th
… Foe Pause …
How did former Buffs fare in 2024 at their new schools?
From ColoradoBuffaloesWire.usatoday.com … Take a player-by-player look at how notable Colorado transfers performed with their new teams in 2024:
— QB Kasen Weisman (Florida Atlantic) … 416 passing yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions
— WR Tar’Varish Dawson (Jacksonville State) … One reception for 16 yards
— RB Anthony Hankerson (Oregon State) … 232 carries for 1,082 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns
— RB Dylan Edwards (Kansas State) … 56 carries for 350 yards and three touchdowns, one punt return touchdown
— RB Sy’veon Wilkerson (Georgia State) … 23 carries for 97 yards
— RB Alton McCaskill IV (Arizona State) … Seven carries for 17 rushing yards
… Also … Offensive linemen Van Wells (Oregon State) … Gerad Christian-Lictenhan (Oregon State) … Jack Bailey (Northwestern) … Savion Washington (Syracuse) …
— TE Chamon Metayer (Arizona State) … 29 receptions for 290 yards and five touchdowns
— TE Caleb Fauria (Delaware) … 12 catches for 134 yards and one touchdown
— TE Michael Harrison (San Diego State) … 18 receptions for 150 yards
— DL J.J. Hawkins (Marshall) … 22 total tackles, two TFLs, one sack, three pass breakups
— DL Bishop Thomas (Georgia State) … Two total tackles
— EDGE Eric Brantley Jr. (Florida Atlantic) … 13 total tackles, 1.5 TFLs, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery
— EDGE Khairi Manns (James Madison) … 68 total tackles, nine sacks, one forced fumble
— EDGE Deeve Harris (Marshall)… 54 total tackles, 4.5 sacks, one forced fumble
— CB Omarion Cooper (Florida State) … Two total tackles, one pass defended
— CB Cormani McClain (Florida) … Five total tackles, one interception, one pass defended
— CB Kyndrich Breedlove (Purdue) … 40 total tackles, three interceptions, four passes defended
— S Jahquez Robinson (Auburn) … One total tackle, one pass defended
— S Vito Tisdale (Eastern Kentucky) … 33 total tackles, one interception, eight passes defended
… Also … Players who left the team after the 2022 season … Quarterbacks Brendon Lewis and Owen McCown started at Nevada and UTSA, respectively, while wide receiver Jordyn Tyson eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards at Arizona State.
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December 19th
… Foe Pause …
College sports program values: CU 8th in the Big 12; 55th nationally
From CNBC.com … With major college sports programs collectively generating billions in revenue each year, private investors are looking to get a piece of the action.
But how much is a college sports program worth?
It’s a question CNBC set out to answer after speaking with people in the private equity world who are seeking to invest in college sports.
Below, CNBC ranks the 75 most valuable college athletic programs. The rankings exclude military academies and are limited to schools that participate in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, or FBS, which tend to attract top players.
Ohio State University is the most valuable athletic program, worth an estimated $1.27 billion. The Buckeyes had $280 million in revenue in 2023, the most of any school. Other factors that helped propel the Buckeyes to the top of the rankings are an alumni base of over 600,000, a fan base of more than 11 million, boosters that donated nearly $60 million last year, and a football team that routinely has attendance of over 100,000 at its games.
It isn’t surprising that the top of the list is dominated by SEC and Big Ten schools — due largely to each conference’s massive media rights deals.
In aggregate …
- The SEC is worth $13.3 billion, an average of $832 million per school;
- followed by the Big Ten at $13.2 billion, an average of $734 million per school;
- the ACC at $9.6 billion, or $562 million per school;
- and the Big 12, at $6.7 billion, or $420 million per school.
Top 10 schools:
1. Ohio State University $1.318B $280M
2. University of Texas at Austin $1.281B $271M
3. Texas A&M University $1.264B $279M
4. University of Michigan $1.062B $230M
5. University of Alabama $978M $200M
6. University of Notre Dame $969M $224M
7. University of Georgia $950M $210M
8. University of Nebraska $943M $205M
9. University of Tennessee $940M $202M
10. University of Oklahoma $928M $199M
The highest ranked Big 12 school is Texas Tech, at No. 33 … $619M; $147M
Colorado is 8th in the Big 12, at No. 55 overall ... $470M; $127M
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December 18th
… Foe Pause …
Big 12 0-1 in Bowls after West Virginia’s loses to Memphis, 42-37, in Frisco Bowl
From CBS Sports … Seth Henigan had quite a homecoming for his final game as a four-year starter for Memphis, tying the American Athletic Conference career record with his 104th touchdown pass and leading the 25th-ranked Tigers to one more victory.
Henigan threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns, and was one yard short of another score, as the Tigers held on for a 42-37 win over West Virginia in the Frisco Bowl on Tuesday night. They got 11 wins for only the second time in 109 years of Memphis football.
“It’s meant the world to me, and just to be able to go out with the win, I feel like that’s a good way to cap off a pretty good career,” Henigan said. “And having stayed at the same university four years, I hope that’s a testament to who I am, and about the people around me.”
The only current four-year FBS starting quarterback to do that all with the same school, Henigan’s 50th game for the Tigers (11-2) came just over 20 miles from his hometown of Denton, Texas. He completed 18 of 26 passes, including an 89-yard catch-and-run in the fourth quarter when DeMeer Blankumsee was tripped up at the 1.
Even though Henigan knew that would have pushed him one past the 104 touchdowns that Clayton Tune had for Houston from 2018-22, he handed off to Brandon Thomas for a 1-yard touchdown on the next play. Even when he had a run-pass option.
“I’m just happy that we came out with a win,” Henigan said.
West Virginia (6-7) had scored on six consecutive possessions (four touchdowns) before one more chance in the final minute after the Tigers missed a 50-yard field goal. But the Mountaineers’ final push ended when Elijah Herring had an interception.
“The ebbs and flows of a football game. We did what we needed to, we found a way,” said fifth-year coach Ryan Silverfield, now 4-0 in the bowl games the Tigers have played. “That’s kind of the mantra all season. Just leave no doubt, find a way.”
… Continue reading story here …
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Washington State loses its head coach to Wake Forest; star quarterback enters the Transfer Portal
From ESPN … Two days after Dave Clawson announced his resignation, Wake Forest hired Washington State’s Jake Dickert as his replacement Wednesday.
Dickert was in his third full season at Washington State and guided the Cougars to an 8-4 record this year. He took over midway through the 2021 season after Nick Rolovich was fired by the university for declining to take the COVID vaccine, and Dickert was promoted to permanent head coach following the regular season.
Dickert, 41, is 23-20 overall at Washington State, which played in a two-team Pac-12 this season and pieced together a schedule after the other teams bolted for other conferences. The Cougars started 8-1 before losing their last three games. Washington State was Dickert’s first head coaching job. He spent the first part of his coaching career in the Division II and FCS ranks before joining the Wyoming staff under Craig Bohl in 2017. Dickert was Wyoming’s defensive coordinator in 2019 and was hired that next year as Rolovich’s defensive coordinator at Washington State.
… Continue reading story here …
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December 15th
Draft Kings has Big 12 teams as underdogs in six of nine bowl games
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2024-25 Big 12 Bowl Schedule
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl
West Virginia vs. Memphis (AAC) on ESPN at 7:00 p.m. MT on Tuesday, December 17th
Toyota Stadium – Frisco, Texas … Draft Kings line: West Virginia is a 5.0-point underdog …
Rate Bowl
Kansas State vs. Rutgers (Big Ten) on ESPN at 3:30 p.m. MT on Thursday, December 26th
Chase Field – Phoenix, Arizona … Draft Kings line: no line …
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Texas Tech vs. Arkansas (SEC) on ESPN at 5:00 p.m. MT on Friday, December 27th
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium – Memphis, Tennessee … Draft Kings line: Texas Tech is a 1.0-point underdog …
Valero Alamo Bowl
BYU vs. Colorado on ABC at 5:30 p.m. MT on Saturday, December 28th
Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas … Draft Kings line: Colorado is a 3.0-point favorite …
Pop-Tarts Bowl
Iowa State vs. Miami (ACC) on ABC at 1:30 p.m. MT on Saturday, December 28th
Camping World Stadium – Orlando, Florida … Draft Kings line: Iowa State is a 3.5-point underdog …
Isleta New Mexico Bowl
TCU vs. Louisiana (Sun Belt) on ESPN at 12:15 p.m. MT on Saturday, December 28th
University Stadium – Albuquerque, New Mexico … Draft Kings line: TCU is a 12.5-point favorite …
Kinder’s Texas Bowl
Baylor vs. LSU (SEC) on ESPN at 1:30 p.m. MT on Tuesday, December 31st
NRG Stadium – Houston, Texas … Draft Kings line: Baylor is a 1.0-point underdog …
Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl
Arizona State vs. TBD on ESPN at 11:00 a.m. MT on Wednesday, January 1st
Mercedez-Benz Stadium – Atlanta, Georgia … Draft Kings line: Arizona State is listed as an underdog to potential opponents, being a 12.5-point underdog to Texas; or a 4.5-point underdog to Clemson …
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5 Replies to “Big 12 Notes”
I watched the Edwards highlights. Rutgers had no answer for the blocking on the sweep plays in both directions. Edwards had daylight all day long and with his speed that is deadly. The weeks of practice paid off
The “where are they now?” list is interesting. Meanwhile, how many guys from the 2024 CU roster will be in the NFL?
Go Buffs
Thanks for the info on the previous players, Stuart. I’m always interested in a wider perspective.
No surprise Hankerson went ape poo and with blocking from Wells and Tank.
Edwards averaged 6.25 yds per carry but not than many carries. Coach must have used him only as a surprise/change up factor.
Tyson was a lock and it looks like the ASU coach knows how to use a TE in the red zone with Metayer
McCaskill? pfft
The ASU crowd has made me interested in watching their bowl game. The horns are favored by 2 TDs. How are all you high rollers going with this one?
Then their is McClain. Sounds like he “found God.” I had a high school classmate who said that too but his bad habits never changed. We shall see with Cormani.
cobbs are number 8 in value???
short them quick
Overall, I’m impressed that Baylor and Texas Tech are 1 point lines against SEC teams. I think K-State will either be pick’up or maybe slight favorite v. Rutgers. The opt outs and transfers may have something to do with it, however it seems like Vegas is giving the B12 decent respect. Always knew a B12 bye in the CFP would lead to the B12 team being an underdog at a neutral site. Don’t get me wrong, I would have loved to see CU sneak into the CCG via the tiebreaks, but of all tied teams ASU is clearly on the best tear, winning 8 of 9 after losing conference opener and 6 straight to enter the playoffs. I hope that momentum carries them some in the playoff match-up, so they beat the spread.