Good Luck, Gene

Iowa State coach Gene Chizik is keeping his fingers crossed now that backup quarterback Phllip Bates has quit the team. The new No. 2 is true freshman Jerome Tiller, but Chizik doesn't want to burn Tiller's redshirt. He'll have to, however, if starter Austen Arnaud goes down.

Big Game in Big D

Texas and North Carolina are talking about staging a college basketball game early in the 2009-2010 season in the Dallas Cowboys new $1.1 billion stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Daniel OK with Texas

Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel, who hails from suburban Dallas, asked if he had any lingering resentment over the fact Texas had offerend him an 11th-hour scholarship. "I've had such a great experience (at Missouri). I don't really think about it too much anymore."

Send 'Em to the NFL

Colorado coach Dan Hawkins says the Big 12's best teams "should be in the NFC West." Hawkins has already played two of the elite in Texas and Kansas, and the Buffaloes have Missouri and Oklahoma State remaining.

Pray for Rain

Texas A&M defensive coordinator Joe Kines was asked how the Aggies could possibly stop freewheeling Texas Tech on Saturday. "Pray for maybe a torrential downpour. If it rained about 14 inches in the first quarter, that'd probably slow it down a little bit."

Harrell Virtually Untouched

Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell has thrown only three interceptions in 262 attempts, and he's been sacked just once while operating behind a veteran offensive line.

TV Tilt Plethora

During the next two weekends, the lone Big 12 football game that won't be televised is Baylor at Oklahoma State this Saturday. All five of the other league games will be on the tube, as will all six contests the following Saturday.