Familiarity will not breed contempt in any of these cases, but it sure will make for a fun week this week in Big 12 football.
Colorado coach Dan Hawkins faces a friend and former mentor, Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter, when the Buffs host the Sun Devils. Iowa State plays instate rival Iowa. Major Applewhite faces his former team, Texas, as offensive coordinator for Rice and Nebraska coach Bill Callahan renews NFL acquaintances with Southern California coach Pete Carroll.
So how does each feel about it?
Hawkins on Koetter: “It’ll be weird. We all know in this ultra- competitive game that it’s tough enough just trying to get your own wins and getting that feeling going. Then knowing that when you do win you’ve got guys on the other side that you’re very close with, and I’m close with several of the guys on (Koetter’s) staff, too. But once you tee it up and get going, those things are out the window.”
Cyclones quarterback Bret Meyer on Iowa State-Iowa: “It means a lot. There’s a lot of passion in the event. We have no pro teams, so the Iowa and Iowa State football teams are pretty much looked at as the biggest sporting event in the state. You have to keep it in perspective, but it’s a huge game. There’s a lot riding on it every year.”
Texas coach Mack Brown said Applewhite “is like a family member of ours, and to see him as an offensive coordinator at 27 years old is just fantastic. We’re proud of Major. We’ll be Rice fans every week because of Major, except for this one.”
Callahan on the Trojans: “From the way they’ve implemented their system to their talent to the way they coach, the way they’re defined, they’ve done a nice job. We’re trying to get back there. This program was there under Coach (Tom) Osborne, and we’re trying to get back to that level again.”
Enjoy.
Listen to Leach
From now on, whenever Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is asked about the NCAA changes that speed up the clock and shorten football games – and that’s nearly every week – it’s getting printed in this space.
Why? See for yourself.
“I think simply stated that’s the stupidest rule to come out in a significantly long time,” Leach said Monday on the Big 12’s conference call. “I think they should gather up the reasons to get rid of the rule today, which there’s so many that the discussions probably won’t end unless they deadline it. I suggest they deadline it at about 5 (p.m.) and then tomorrow morning I suggest they overturn it and we go back to how everybody’s been happily doing it for years and years and years.
“We had a 12th game (added), which I thought was very good. Then we legislate everybody out of two with regards to the clock change thing. This thing is insane and you know it’s insane, and that’s why you asked me the question. It’s not going to be long before there’s an awful lot of people saying how insane this whole thing is, and I’m optimistic that people have the presence of mind to change the thing and recognize how ridiculous it is, not pretend that it’s not ridiculous, and then change it.”
Check back next week.
Footnotes
The start of CU’s game at Georgia on Sept. 23 is set for 10:30 a.m. Mountain time. The game is not scheduled to be televised locally. … Baylor assistant coach Bill Bradley was reprimanded by the Big 12 for comments disparaging game officials. … Texas A&M leads the nation in pass defense, allowing 90 yards per game. … Nebraska is second in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 52.5 points per game, and Oklahoma State is No. 8 at 43.5 points.
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
