Now it is left to Nebraska to save the face of Big 12 Conference football.
Seven Big 12 schools have preceded the Cornhuskers in the postseason bowl parade and only three of the seven won, meaning the Huskers must triumph against 8-point favorite Miami tonight in order for the league to salvage a .500 record.
It wasn’t supposed to be that way, you know. Big 12 schools were favored in six of the eight bowl appearances. Only NU in the Rose Bowl and Iowa State in the Independence Bowl were underdogs. Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma came through, but Colorado, Kansas State and Texas Tech laid eggs.
Here’s a Big 12 bowl recap going into tonight’s NU-Miami contest in Pasadena, Calif.:
Independence Bowl
Alabama 14, Iowa State 13 Crimson Tide favored by 6 1/2 points, but Iowa State dominated. Cyclones couldn’t, however, put ball in end zone and freshman place-kicker Tony Yelk had the yips, missing three of five field-goal attempts. ISU quarterback Seneca Wallace made a favorable impression, and so did linebacker Matt Word. ‘Bama coach Dennis (“I’m not going to Kansas”) Franchione extended his honeymoon through the winter and spring, unless Tide loses its spring game.
galleryfurniture.com Bowl
Texas A&M 28, TCU 9 A&M didn’t have much offense all year, but the Aggies’ beat the 6 1/2-point spread handily by stifling the Horny Toads’ semi-skilled offense. Last football game ever played in Astrodome won’t be one for the ages, but then again A&M may have had the most forgettable 8-4 season in the history of college football.
Holiday Bowl
Texas 47, Washington 43 Many people went to bed before quarterback Major Applewhite led Longhorns to stirring comeback win over U-Dub club that had turned nation’s top-ranked defense into hamburger. TV showed so many sideline shots of second-string Texas QB Chris Simms I thought Simms was part of a commercial. ‘Horns’ faithful no doubt thinking national title next season, but schedule will be much tougher with Nebraska and Kansas State replacing Kansas and Missouri.
Alamo Bowl
Iowa 19, Texas Tech 16 Tech was favored by only a point so this defeat was hardly embarrassing. Still, I didn’t think Red Raiders’ QB Kliff Kingsbury was clicking all night. But that’s how it usually is with one-dimensional quarterbacks. When they’re hot, they’re hot. When they’re not well, Texas Tech lost at home to Kansas.
insight.com Bowl
Syracuse 26, Kansas State 3 Has anybody seen Kansas State’s football team? Yo, Wildcats. You were supposed to show up in Phoenix the other night. Where were you? Did you miss the last flight out of the Flint Hills? You were 5 1/2-point favorites and you fried an omelette in Phoenix. Question: How long can Bill Snyder go with erratic Ell Roberson at quarterback?
Cotton Bowl
Oklahoma 10, Arkansas 3 Point paucity was product of dogged defenses and ordinary offenses. If Sooners’ QB Jason White hadn’t suffered a knee injury a month before end of regular season, OU might have been playing in Rose Bowl tonight. Nate Hybl looks good in a suit, but so far hasn’t provided much evidence he’s a playmaker. OU scored only 23 points in its last two games, yet averaged more than 30 points a game during season.
Fiesta Bowl
Oregon 38, Colorado 16 ABC throats touted Colorado quarterback Bobby Pesavento as Mr. Reliable and darned if Pesavento didn’t go out, rip that label off his chest and force Brent Musburger to dig deep into his clicharrel for euphemisms. Ducks should not have stuffed Buffs’ running game, but Quackers did somehow, proving X’s and O’s count only in hugs and kisses. Is it just a coincidence the two biggest Big 12 flopperoos were in Phoenix? K-State played at Bank One Ballpark and Colorado at Sun Devil Stadium, yet neither CU nor KSU performed nobly in cactus country.
But, of course, in the grand scheme of sportsmanship and fiscal responsbility, it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game and for how much.
Based on conservative estimates, the eight Big 12 teams with postseason assignments will be paid nearly $30 million for their appearances. After expenses, the money goes into a pot and is divided equally among the dozen conference members.
The two Big 12 teams in the BCS series account for most of the money. Conservatively, Colorado and Nebraska will produce about $11 million apiece. The next highest payouts were the $2 million each Texas earned in the Holiday Bowl and Oklahoma pocketed from the Cotton Bowl. The other four bowlees realized about $3.7 million combined.
All of this is, as you know, good news for Kansas, one of the four league schools that did not participate in postseason mania. According to Susan Wachter, chief financial officer for the KU athletics department, the Jayhawks are expecting a half-million dollar windfall.
“We’ve been told by the league office that having an additional team in the BCS could mean $500,000 per school,” Wachter said.
If that is indeed the case, then Kansas will receive a check for at least $1.5 million from the league. Last year’s bowl payout was $925,172 and Wachter had budgeted $1.1 for this fiscal year.
So it doesn’t really matter if the Big 12 Conference posts a 4-4 record or a 3-5 mark in bowl games, the purpose of the postseason has been preserved.
What will Kansas do with the additional 500 grand? That’s not for me to say, but I doubt if it will be placed into a CD and I think it’s safe to say KU won’t use it to resurrect men’s swimming and men’s tennis.
Now it is left to Nebraska to save the face of Big 12 Conference football.
Seven Big 12 schools have preceded the Cornhuskers in the postseason bowl parade and only three of the seven won, meaning the Huskers must triumph against 8-point favorite Miami tonight in order for the league to salvage a .500 record.
It wasn’t supposed to be that way, you know. Big 12 schools were favored in six of the eight bowl appearances. Only NU in the Rose Bowl and Iowa State in the Independence Bowl were underdogs. Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma came through, but Colorado, Kansas State and Texas Tech laid eggs.
Here’s a Big 12 bowl recap going into tonight’s NU-Miami contest in Pasadena, Calif.:
Independence Bowl
Alabama 14, Iowa State 13 Crimson Tide favored by 6 1/2 points, but Iowa State dominated. Cyclones couldn’t, however, put ball in end zone and freshman place-kicker Tony Yelk had the yips, missing three of five field-goal attempts. ISU quarterback Seneca Wallace made a favorable impression, and so did linebacker Matt Word. ‘Bama coach Dennis (“I’m not going to Kansas”) Franchione extended his honeymoon through the winter and spring, unless Tide loses its spring game.
galleryfurniture.com Bowl
Texas A&M 28, TCU 9 A&M didn’t have much offense all year, but the Aggies’ beat the 6 1/2-point spread handily by stifling the Horny Toads’ semi-skilled offense. Last football game ever played in Astrodome won’t be one for the ages, but then again A&M may have had the most forgettable 8-4 season in the history of college football.
Holiday Bowl
Texas 47, Washington 43 Many people went to bed before quarterback Major Applewhite led Longhorns to stirring comeback win over U-Dub club that had turned nation’s top-ranked defense into hamburger. TV showed so many sideline shots of second-string Texas QB Chris Simms I thought Simms was part of a commercial. ‘Horns’ faithful no doubt thinking national title next season, but schedule will be much tougher with Nebraska and Kansas State replacing Kansas and Missouri.
Alamo Bowl
Iowa 19, Texas Tech 16 Tech was favored by only a point so this defeat was hardly embarrassing. Still, I didn’t think Red Raiders’ QB Kliff Kingsbury was clicking all night. But that’s how it usually is with one-dimensional quarterbacks. When they’re hot, they’re hot. When they’re not well, Texas Tech lost at home to Kansas.
insight.com Bowl
Syracuse 26, Kansas State 3 Has anybody seen Kansas State’s football team? Yo, Wildcats. You were supposed to show up in Phoenix the other night. Where were you? Did you miss the last flight out of the Flint Hills? You were 5 1/2-point favorites and you fried an omelette in Phoenix. Question: How long can Bill Snyder go with erratic Ell Roberson at quarterback?
Cotton Bowl
Oklahoma 10, Arkansas 3 Point paucity was product of dogged defenses and ordinary offenses. If Sooners’ QB Jason White hadn’t suffered a knee injury a month before end of regular season, OU might have been playing in Rose Bowl tonight. Nate Hybl looks good in a suit, but so far hasn’t provided much evidence he’s a playmaker. OU scored only 23 points in its last two games, yet averaged more than 30 points a game during season.
Fiesta Bowl
Oregon 38, Colorado 16 ABC throats touted Colorado quarterback Bobby Pesavento as Mr. Reliable and darned if Pesavento didn’t go out, rip that label off his chest and force Brent Musburger to dig deep into his clicharrel for euphemisms. Ducks should not have stuffed Buffs’ running game, but Quackers did somehow, proving X’s and O’s count only in hugs and kisses. Is it just a coincidence the two biggest Big 12 flopperoos were in Phoenix? K-State played at Bank One Ballpark and Colorado at Sun Devil Stadium, yet neither CU nor KSU performed nobly in cactus country.
But, of course, in the grand scheme of sportsmanship and fiscal responsbility, it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game and for how much.
Based on conservative estimates, the eight Big 12 teams with postseason assignments will be paid nearly $30 million for their appearances. After expenses, the money goes into a pot and is divided equally among the dozen conference members.
The two Big 12 teams in the BCS series account for most of the money. Conservatively, Colorado and Nebraska will produce about $11 million apiece. The next highest payouts were the $2 million each Texas earned in the Holiday Bowl and Oklahoma pocketed from the Cotton Bowl. The other four bowlees realized about $3.7 million combined.
All of this is, as you know, good news for Kansas, one of the four league schools that did not participate in postseason mania. According to Susan Wachter, chief financial officer for the KU athletics department, the Jayhawks are expecting a half-million dollar windfall.
“We’ve been told by the league office that having an additional team in the BCS could mean $500,000 per school,” Wachter said.
If that is indeed the case, then Kansas will receive a check for at least $1.5 million from the league. Last year’s bowl payout was $925,172 and Wachter had budgeted $1.1 for this fiscal year.
So it doesn’t really matter if the Big 12 Conference posts a 4-4 record or a 3-5 mark in bowl games, the purpose of the postseason has been preserved.
What will Kansas do with the additional 500 grand? That’s not for me to say, but I doubt if it will be placed into a CD and I think it’s safe to say KU won’t use it to resurrect men’s swimming and men’s tennis.
Now it is left to Nebraska to save the face of Big 12 Conference football.
Seven Big 12 schools have preceded the Cornhuskers in the postseason bowl parade and only three of the seven won, meaning the Huskers must triumph against 8-point favorite Miami tonight in order for the league to salvage a .500 record.
It wasn’t supposed to be that way, you know. Big 12 schools were favored in six of the eight bowl appearances. Only NU in the Rose Bowl and Iowa State in the Independence Bowl were underdogs. Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma came through, but Colorado, Kansas State and Texas Tech laid eggs.
Here’s a Big 12 bowl recap going into tonight’s NU-Miami contest in Pasadena, Calif.:
Independence Bowl
Alabama 14, Iowa State 13 Crimson Tide favored by 6 1/2 points, but Iowa State dominated. Cyclones couldn’t, however, put ball in end zone and freshman place-kicker Tony Yelk had the yips, missing three of five field-goal attempts. ISU quarterback Seneca Wallace made a favorable impression, and so did linebacker Matt Word. ‘Bama coach Dennis (“I’m not going to Kansas”) Franchione extended his honeymoon through the winter and spring, unless Tide loses its spring game.
galleryfurniture.com Bowl
Texas A&M 28, TCU 9 A&M didn’t have much offense all year, but the Aggies’ beat the 6 1/2-point spread handily by stifling the Horny Toads’ semi-skilled offense. Last football game ever played in Astrodome won’t be one for the ages, but then again A&M may have had the most forgettable 8-4 season in the history of college football.
Holiday Bowl
Texas 47, Washington 43 Many people went to bed before quarterback Major Applewhite led Longhorns to stirring comeback win over U-Dub club that had turned nation’s top-ranked defense into hamburger. TV showed so many sideline shots of second-string Texas QB Chris Simms I thought Simms was part of a commercial. ‘Horns’ faithful no doubt thinking national title next season, but schedule will be much tougher with Nebraska and Kansas State replacing Kansas and Missouri.
Alamo Bowl
Iowa 19, Texas Tech 16 Tech was favored by only a point so this defeat was hardly embarrassing. Still, I didn’t think Red Raiders’ QB Kliff Kingsbury was clicking all night. But that’s how it usually is with one-dimensional quarterbacks. When they’re hot, they’re hot. When they’re not well, Texas Tech lost at home to Kansas.
insight.com Bowl
Syracuse 26, Kansas State 3 Has anybody seen Kansas State’s football team? Yo, Wildcats. You were supposed to show up in Phoenix the other night. Where were you? Did you miss the last flight out of the Flint Hills? You were 5 1/2-point favorites and you fried an omelette in Phoenix. Question: How long can Bill Snyder go with erratic Ell Roberson at quarterback?
Cotton Bowl
Oklahoma 10, Arkansas 3 Point paucity was product of dogged defenses and ordinary offenses. If Sooners’ QB Jason White hadn’t suffered a knee injury a month before end of regular season, OU might have been playing in Rose Bowl tonight. Nate Hybl looks good in a suit, but so far hasn’t provided much evidence he’s a playmaker. OU scored only 23 points in its last two games, yet averaged more than 30 points a game during season.
Fiesta Bowl
Oregon 38, Colorado 16 ABC throats touted Colorado quarterback Bobby Pesavento as Mr. Reliable and darned if Pesavento didn’t go out, rip that label off his chest and force Brent Musburger to dig deep into his clicharrel for euphemisms. Ducks should not have stuffed Buffs’ running game, but Quackers did somehow, proving X’s and O’s count only in hugs and kisses. Is it just a coincidence the two biggest Big 12 flopperoos were in Phoenix? K-State played at Bank One Ballpark and Colorado at Sun Devil Stadium, yet neither CU nor KSU performed nobly in cactus country.
But, of course, in the grand scheme of sportsmanship and fiscal responsbility, it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game and for how much.
Based on conservative estimates, the eight Big 12 teams with postseason assignments will be paid nearly $30 million for their appearances. After expenses, the money goes into a pot and is divided equally among the dozen conference members.
The two Big 12 teams in the BCS series account for most of the money. Conservatively, Colorado and Nebraska will produce about $11 million apiece. The next highest payouts were the $2 million each Texas earned in the Holiday Bowl and Oklahoma pocketed from the Cotton Bowl. The other four bowlees realized about $3.7 million combined.
All of this is, as you know, good news for Kansas, one of the four league schools that did not participate in postseason mania. According to Susan Wachter, chief financial officer for the KU athletics department, the Jayhawks are expecting a half-million dollar windfall.
“We’ve been told by the league office that having an additional team in the BCS could mean $500,000 per school,” Wachter said.
If that is indeed the case, then Kansas will receive a check for at least $1.5 million from the league. Last year’s bowl payout was $925,172 and Wachter had budgeted $1.1 for this fiscal year.
So it doesn’t really matter if the Big 12 Conference posts a 4-4 record or a 3-5 mark in bowl games, the purpose of the postseason has been preserved.
What will Kansas do with the additional 500 grand? That’s not for me to say, but I doubt if it will be placed into a CD and I think it’s safe to say KU won’t use it to resurrect men’s swimming and men’s tennis.
Now it is left to Nebraska to save the face of Big 12 Conference football.
Seven Big 12 schools have preceded the Cornhuskers in the postseason bowl parade and only three of the seven won, meaning the Huskers must triumph against 8-point favorite Miami tonight in order for the league to salvage a .500 record.
It wasn’t supposed to be that way, you know. Big 12 schools were favored in six of the eight bowl appearances. Only NU in the Rose Bowl and Iowa State in the Independence Bowl were underdogs. Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma came through, but Colorado, Kansas State and Texas Tech laid eggs.
Here’s a Big 12 bowl recap going into tonight’s NU-Miami contest in Pasadena, Calif.:
Independence Bowl
Alabama 14, Iowa State 13 Crimson Tide favored by 6 1/2 points, but Iowa State dominated. Cyclones couldn’t, however, put ball in end zone and freshman place-kicker Tony Yelk had the yips, missing three of five field-goal attempts. ISU quarterback Seneca Wallace made a favorable impression, and so did linebacker Matt Word. ‘Bama coach Dennis (“I’m not going to Kansas”) Franchione extended his honeymoon through the winter and spring, unless Tide loses its spring game.
galleryfurniture.com Bowl
Texas A&M 28, TCU 9 A&M didn’t have much offense all year, but the Aggies’ beat the 6 1/2-point spread handily by stifling the Horny Toads’ semi-skilled offense. Last football game ever played in Astrodome won’t be one for the ages, but then again A&M may have had the most forgettable 8-4 season in the history of college football.
Holiday Bowl
Texas 47, Washington 43 Many people went to bed before quarterback Major Applewhite led Longhorns to stirring comeback win over U-Dub club that had turned nation’s top-ranked defense into hamburger. TV showed so many sideline shots of second-string Texas QB Chris Simms I thought Simms was part of a commercial. ‘Horns’ faithful no doubt thinking national title next season, but schedule will be much tougher with Nebraska and Kansas State replacing Kansas and Missouri.
Alamo Bowl
Iowa 19, Texas Tech 16 Tech was favored by only a point so this defeat was hardly embarrassing. Still, I didn’t think Red Raiders’ QB Kliff Kingsbury was clicking all night. But that’s how it usually is with one-dimensional quarterbacks. When they’re hot, they’re hot. When they’re not well, Texas Tech lost at home to Kansas.
insight.com Bowl
Syracuse 26, Kansas State 3 Has anybody seen Kansas State’s football team? Yo, Wildcats. You were supposed to show up in Phoenix the other night. Where were you? Did you miss the last flight out of the Flint Hills? You were 5 1/2-point favorites and you fried an omelette in Phoenix. Question: How long can Bill Snyder go with erratic Ell Roberson at quarterback?
Cotton Bowl
Oklahoma 10, Arkansas 3 Point paucity was product of dogged defenses and ordinary offenses. If Sooners’ QB Jason White hadn’t suffered a knee injury a month before end of regular season, OU might have been playing in Rose Bowl tonight. Nate Hybl looks good in a suit, but so far hasn’t provided much evidence he’s a playmaker. OU scored only 23 points in its last two games, yet averaged more than 30 points a game during season.
Fiesta Bowl
Oregon 38, Colorado 16 ABC throats touted Colorado quarterback Bobby Pesavento as Mr. Reliable and darned if Pesavento didn’t go out, rip that label off his chest and force Brent Musburger to dig deep into his clicharrel for euphemisms. Ducks should not have stuffed Buffs’ running game, but Quackers did somehow, proving X’s and O’s count only in hugs and kisses. Is it just a coincidence the two biggest Big 12 flopperoos were in Phoenix? K-State played at Bank One Ballpark and Colorado at Sun Devil Stadium, yet neither CU nor KSU performed nobly in cactus country.
But, of course, in the grand scheme of sportsmanship and fiscal responsbility, it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game and for how much.
Based on conservative estimates, the eight Big 12 teams with postseason assignments will be paid nearly $30 million for their appearances. After expenses, the money goes into a pot and is divided equally among the dozen conference members.
The two Big 12 teams in the BCS series account for most of the money. Conservatively, Colorado and Nebraska will produce about $11 million apiece. The next highest payouts were the $2 million each Texas earned in the Holiday Bowl and Oklahoma pocketed from the Cotton Bowl. The other four bowlees realized about $3.7 million combined.
All of this is, as you know, good news for Kansas, one of the four league schools that did not participate in postseason mania. According to Susan Wachter, chief financial officer for the KU athletics department, the Jayhawks are expecting a half-million dollar windfall.
“We’ve been told by the league office that having an additional team in the BCS could mean $500,000 per school,” Wachter said.
If that is indeed the case, then Kansas will receive a check for at least $1.5 million from the league. Last year’s bowl payout was $925,172 and Wachter had budgeted $1.1 for this fiscal year.
So it doesn’t really matter if the Big 12 Conference posts a 4-4 record or a 3-5 mark in bowl games, the purpose of the postseason has been preserved.
What will Kansas do with the additional 500 grand? That’s not for me to say, but I doubt if it will be placed into a CD and I think it’s safe to say KU won’t use it to resurrect men’s swimming and men’s tennis.
