2015 college football preview

august 23, 2015 • TULSAWORLD.COM/CFB2015 • sECtION F

THE BEST YEAR YET!

otball season

e fo THE 2015 colleg

PREPARE TO BE AMAZED !

& w e n ! d e v o r p im . ..

G IN R U T A E F W O N

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE ...

THE BIG 12!

BETTER THAN EVER!

THE AIR RAID EXPERT ...

STRAIGHT OUT OF WACO ...

THE FUTURE IN STILLWATER ...

DEAR FANS:

YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS!

N L O C N LI !

Y E L I R

P ILIP MONTH G O N MERY! O S A M OLPH! RUD PASSES LIK NEVER SEE E YOU’VE N BEFORE!

Will they be AS GOOD AS ADVERTISED? The Tulsa World is here to cut through the hype.

Will it work?

word play

He was by the Baylor coach’s side as the Bears went from cupcake to co-champion. But can Philip Montgomery pull it of up here?

TU: PAGEs f4 and f6

It’s the question on the minds of people like you, us and probably samaje Perine: Will Lincoln Riley’s air Raid ofense work?

OU: PAGEs f14 and f15

give ‘em credit

FREE MASON

In tu’s second year, the american has the potential to shake things up around the country thanks to Houston and Cincinnati.

AAC: PAGE f7

so what if he’s only started three games — gundy and Co. believe in the power of Mason Rudolph. that’s ine. But should you?

OSU: PAGEs f8 and f9

a simple slogan became a punchline for how the Big 12’s 2014 season ended. Baylor and tCu were left out of the irst College Football Playof, which led to calls for conference expansion and a title game. are those three words — you know which three — really that bad?

PAGE F2 We build our own new campaign and preview the conference. PAGE F12

Briles’ guy

F 2 n n Sunday, August 23, 2015

What are the most memorable ads featuring sports FIGURES in history?

In line with the theme of advertising and campaigns, the Tulsa World sports staf revisited the iconic advertisements featuring the world’s best athletes. Look for the gold starburst — like the one above — to see more of the best advertisements and why they were so great.

BEST ADS

we wanna Be like Mike 1992 • Gatorade Yes, Michael Jordan did a lot of commercials.

But none may have had more of a lasting efect that Gatorade’s “Be Like Mike” advertisements did. A decade later, “Like Mike” became a popular movie starring Lil’ Bow Wow, and even now, 12 years after his playing days ended, we’re all still aspiring to be “like Mike” on the basketball court.

COVER CREDIT LInCOLn RILEy, OU CorY YounG/Tulsa World MasOn RUDOLph, OsU TIMoThY TAI/ Tulsa World PhiliP MontGoMery, tU STephen pInGrY/ Tulsa World ILLUsTRaTIOn KATIe MCInerneY/Tulsa World spORTs EDITOR: MIChAeL peTerS assIsTanT EDITOR: pATrICK prInCe

HOW a SLOGAN became a punchline for the big 12 in 2014

“Don’t say one thing and do another.

That’s my whole deal.”

Ap fILe

— Art Briles (right, with TCU’s Gary Patterson) after it was announced the Bears would share the Big 12 title with TCU

Bob Bowlsby strode to a lectern in the Omni Dallas Hotel ballroom on July 20 to deliver his address on the state of the Big 12. Three words, all in capital letters, were projected on a screen behind him.

They were not the three words that have become the most infamous phrase in the Big 12 lexicon. Rather, it was an alternative slogan, one of multiple ones promoting the conference in 2015: “Every Game Matters.”

The other three-word phrase eventually appeared in promotional videos played at Big 12 Media Days and will remain part of the conference’s brand.

By MARK COOPER • WORld SPORtS WRitER

It’s still perhaps the easiest reminder of how 2014 became a disappointment for the Big 12.

Three words — One True Champion — went from a slogan to a punchline after the Big 12 ended last season with two conference champions — TCU and Baylor — and no College Football Playof representative.

The smallest of the ive power conferences, its exclusion from the playoff triggered an inferiority complex many say is based around perception more than reality.

That argument has merit. The Big 12 enters 2015 with two teams ranked in the top ive (again, TCU and Baylor). But as this new era of college football enters its second year, it’s not a matter of aiming to contend for a national championship for the Big 12 — it’s a necessity to protect its image.

One true national champion would be the conference’s irst since Texas in 2006.

“We don’t want to just participate in the playof, we want to win championships,” Bowlsby said in Dallas. “I think that’s a clear enough aspiration.”

See More on PaGeS F10-11

•••

Sunday, August 23, 2015 n n F 3

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F 4 n n Sunday, August 23, 2015

TU golden hurricane // preview Is philip montgomery as good as advertised?

FORTY-THREE-YEAR-OLD Philip Montgomery came to Tulsa without a household name but with an impressive resume: He has logged nearly two decades of experience on the high school and college levels; coordinated and called plays for the nation’s best ofense during the last four years at Baylor; coached an impressive roster of quarterbacks including 2011 Heisman winner robert Griin III and 2012 All-American nick Florence at Baylor and nFLers Kevin Kolb and Case Keenum at Houston.

BUILDING a CAMPAIGN FOR philip montgomery

After spending his career as an assistant in the shadows, Montgomery stepped into the spotlight as the Hurricane’s front man and eight months later appears right at home despite living outside Texas for the irst time in his life.

Because of a combined ive wins in the previous two seasons, the players accepted change and have gotten on board with Montgomery’s system, which brings a combination of new-era schemes and old-school approaches. (That kind of sums up Montgomery, whose playlist alternates between Merle Haggard and Drake.)

During his introductory news conference in December, Montgomery promised a brand of “fun, fast and physical” football, which instantly became a marketing slogan that appeared on billboards across town. Fun? That’s been there during the spring and the preseason, with more smiles all around. Fast? That is Montgomery’s bread and butter, constantly upping the tempo. Physical? That was intermittent on defense in the past two years but could return under veteran coordinators Bill young and Brian norwood.

Will these things translate into wins? Time will tell.

other storylines to watch

DEBUTING SOON AT TULSA’S OWN H.A. CHAPMAN STADIUM ...

COACHES SAY: After a 2014 season that left plenty of room for improvement, Tulsa is selling the message that new head coach Philip Montgomery is more than just a good it in hopes he can do for TU what he helped do at Baylor: take a recently struggling program and turn it into a champion. So we built an ad to help sell the mission.

LET’S NOT MENTION ...

How much of Baylor’s success was tied to Montgomery? When removed from that situation, can he still produce staggering numbers? And does Tulsa have the personnel to deliver a proliic ofense? The Hurricane has two star receivers in Garrett and Lucas, potential at running back and an ofensive line that has improved. Can Dane Evans evolve into the next great quarterback to study under Montgomery?

Pick your poison While top target Keyarris Garrett was sidelined by injury in 2013 and limited in 2014, receiver Keevan Lucas illed the void with breakout seasons. With Garrett back to 100 percent, the inside-outside tandem should have defenders shaking in their boots. Look for Montgomery’s high-lying ofense to go through these two.

Big-play culprit In 2014, Tulsa surrendered the most points in program history (471) and led the nation in opponent plays of at least 30 yards (45).

A bend-and-break defense got burned by the big play in every game, leading to a twowin season. With moves throughout the secondary, the new-look Hurricane needs to nip that in the bud.

Schedule stress After a nonconference slate that includes three winnable games, Tulsa has to overcome bad luck in its second year in the American, with a schedule that includes heavyweight cross-division opponents Cincinnati, East Carolina and UCF. The West Division, in which the Hurricane was picked last, is no walk in the park, either.

FROM THE HEART OF TEXAS!

“HE’S THE REAL DEAL!”

YOU MAY RECOGNIZE HIS OFFENSE FROM WACO ...

Worst-case scenario for 2015 The 2014 season repeats itself with slightly aboveaverage ofense and sub-par defense, resulting in another disappointing record of two or three victories against lesser nonconference opponents.

Tulsa goes winless in league play, fulilling the media’s preseason prophecy.

TIC THE ENERGE

PHILIP !

Y R E M O G T N MO

HIS HIGHLIGHT REEL

Likely scenario for 2015 The new ofense and an improved defense propel Tulsa to competitive performances in nearly every outing. The Hurricane handles the teams it should beat, surprises one or two others and stumbles by somewhatclose margins in the rest, ending up with a handful of wins.

In his words, there’s no such thing as too fast on ofense. After calling plays for toptier ofenses under Art Briles at Houston and Baylor, Montgomery has installed his uptempo system at Tulsa, where he will hold onto play-calling duties. He also has made a name for himself in developing quarterbacks into nFL talent.

THE SLOGAN Tulsa has its own slogan this season: “Fun, fast, physical,” which is a far cry from how TU looked on the ield last season. Getting physical means bringing Montgomery’s brand of football to 11th and Harvard.

PAUL SMITH PITCHES TU FOOTBALL It’s hard to to sell your pitch without a pitchman.

We asked Paul Smith how he would pitch 2015 to TU fans.

Paul Smith knows good Tulsa offense. He quarterbacked one of the Golden Hurricane’s most exciting teams, throwing 47 touchdowns in 2007 for a team that went 10-4 and averaged 41.1 points per game.

As TU attempts to get back to putting out a high-octane ofense under Philip Montgomery, the Tulsa World spoke to Smith about his impressions and outlook for the Golden Hurricane in 2015.

Best-case scenario for 2015 The ofense puts up a ton of points, the defense makes strides and the wins add up to send Tulsa to a winning season and its irst bowl appearance since 2012. The Hurricane makes noise in the American’s West Division and inishes well above its predicted last-place inish.

PHoTo By STEPHEn PInGry/Tulsa World

Have you been able to see much of the current tulsa team?

“I haven’t been out there for fall camp. I was out there for a couple times in the spring. I’m very familiar with Coach Montgomery because he was at Houston the entire time I was at TU. So I haven’t seen a lot of the team but I’m pretty familiar with him, his system. We played them on Senior Day my senior year at TU, which is kind of a little bit of a running joke between me and Coach Montgomery. We put it on them pretty good.”

What are your impressions of Montgomery and are you excited he’s at the helm of tulsa?

“oh yeah, I’m very excited. I followed him closely since playing against him at Houston and kept up with the Baylor ofense because of the numbers that they put up. So I’m very excited for the type of ofense he runs and being an ofensive-minded guy, I’m a big fan of scoring points.”

you were out there for the spring. did you already see a diference in how the team operated? “yes, I noticed that they were practicing at what I call a near-frantic pace. The coaching staf seemed to have everything scripted. once they got into the team period, it appears as though they had a certain amount of plays that they wanted

to get run and they ran them backto-back-to-back-to-back plays. The practice I was at, they were moving the ball 5 yards for every play. So whether it was a 7-yard loss or a 60-yard post for a touchdown, they would move the ball 5 yards up the ield, they would reset it and you would play another down. So I did notice the speed seemed very similar to what we were doing with Gus Malzahn preparing for that 2007 season.”

if you were to make your pitch in terms of why someone in tulsa should go out and see this team play, what would it be? “you’re not going to see a more exciting brand of football. I feel that

by Kelly Hines World sports Writer

fans are there to be entertained. now, obviously winning is always entertaining but to be honest, I don’t really care to go see my team win 7-3. I don’t get a lot of joy in that. I’m happy to walk away with a victory at the end of the day, but I know they’re going to put up points and from all the feedback I got on our 2007 season, there were some football games that we lost. We won 10 but we lost a few and I still got great feedback on it was incredibly exciting to watch. you never knew what was going to happen next and I think Coach Montgomery is going to bring that.”

— MARK COOPER, World Sports Writer

Sunday, August 23, 2015 n n F 5

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F 6 n n Sunday, August 23, 2015

TU golden hurricane // roster LOCAL RADIO AFFILIATES KXBL fm99.5 (Tulsa, lagship) KRIG fm104.9 (Bartlesville) KTMC am1400 (McAlester) KOKL am1240 (Okmulgee) PHILIP MONTGOMERY TV SHOW Sundays, 6:30 p.m., Cox-1003 PHILIP MONTGOMERY RADIO SHOW Mondays (except Sept. 28), 7 p.m., Naples Flatbread Wine Bar (201 S. Denver Ave.), Big Country fm99.5 TICKETS 918-631-GoTU, tulsahurricane.com

QUARTERBACKS

RECEIVERS

TAILBACKS

OFFENSIVE LINE

The scoop: Of the six scholarship QBs on the roster, Evans is the only one with extensive experience, having started 17 games in the past two years and accounting for more than 4,000 career yards. Calcagni has seen late action in nine games.

The scoop: Lucas was the star in 2014 while Garrett was limited by injury.

With Garrett healthy, the tandem should be intimidating to opposing defenses. They have combined for 3,282 yards and 26 touchdowns in their careers.

The scoop: Brewer and Langer were among ive backs used in 2014 who accounted for 1,519 yards and six rushing touchdowns. Flanders began last year as the starter, and Dickerson spent most of the season banged up.

The scoop: Belcher and Plagg, teammates at Guthrie High School, are reunited as starters on an ofensive line that played musical chairs in the spring.

Staford moved from left tackle; Wallace moved from left guard; and Wright moved from defense.

The bottom line: A good portion of Tulsa’s success depends on the poise of Evans. Highly touted freshman Chad President, who enrolled in January, is an intriguing possibility as a running quarterback who could see playing time in the right situations.

The bottom line: Receiver should be the Hurricane’s deepest and strongest position, with plenty of up-and-comers.

Louie and Carter gained playing time as true freshmen, and new faces like Hobbs and Jarion Anderson could get catches.

2015 SCHEDULE

The bottom line: Eight options abound at running back, which will likely rely on a three-man committee. Warren is an elusive back who redshirted last season, and 6-foot-2 newcomer Javon Thomas is a bigbodied power back.

projected depth chart

Sept. 5 • CBSSN-1318 • 2:30 p.m.

Florida Atlantic After opening the season on the road for six years, Tulsa has landed back-toback home openers. FAU won last year’s meeting 50-21.

The bottom line: Seven lettermen return, and eight of the remaining 10 offensive linemen are redshirt or true freshmen. Including Pagonis, a junior-college transfer, none of the five backups has played in a Tulsa uniform.

LIKELY STARTER LISTED FIRST RETURNING STARTERS IN BOLD

RB

OFFENSE

D’Angelo Brewer • So., 5-9, 185 Ramadi Warren • RS Fr., 5-9, 205

Sept. 12 • 7 p.m.

UPBACK

Zack Langer • Sr., 6-0, 220 James Flanders • Jr., 5-10, 203

QB

at New Mexico Tulsa defeated New Mexico in 2008 and 2009 by 42 and 34 points, respectively. The Hurricane has won only two of its last 20 road openers.

OUTSIDE

INSIDE

WR

WR

Josh Atkinson Jr., 6-2, 208 Nigel Carter So., 6-3, 205

Conner Floyd Sr., 6-0, 210 Bishop Louie So., 5-10, 170

Dane Evans • Jr., 6-1, 218 Joseph Calcagni • Sr., 6-1, 212

TE

RT

RG

C

LG

LT

Mandel Dixon Jr. Sr., 6-2, 240 Tyler Wilson Jr., 6-6, 240

Blake Belcher Jr., 6-5, 300 Willie Wright RS Fr., 6-3, 291

Chris Wallace Jr., 6-5, 305 Tyler Bowling RS Fr., 6-6, 324

Chandler Miller RS Fr., 6-3, 293 Dylan Foxworth Jr., 6-1, 285

Garrett Staford Sr., 6-5, 300 Alex Pagonis Jr., 6-5, 320

Evan Plagg So., 6-3, 279 Isaac Johnson RS Fr., 6-7, 283

INSIDE

OUTSIDE

WR

WR

Keevan Lucas Jr., 5-10, 198 Chris Showels Sr., 5-6, 165

Keyarris Garrett Sr., 6-4, 221 Justin Hobbs RS Fr., 6-4, 207

Sept. 19 • FS1-1312 • 11 a.m.

at Oklahoma The last in a threegame series. The average margin of defeat for Tulsa in the previous ive meetings was 38.8 points.

DT

DE

Derrick Alexander Derrick Luetjen Sr., 6-2, 284 Sr., 6-3, 291 Myles Mouton Jerry Uwaezuoke RS Fr., 6-3, 245 Jr., 6-3, 295

CB Darnell Williams Jr. Sr., 5-10, 197 Brodrick Umblance So., 6-1, 184

OCt. 3 • tBa

DE Jeremy Smith So., 6-5, 250

MIDDLE

LB

DEFENSE

Matt Linscott Jr., 6-1, 220 Shawn Norman Jr., 5-11, 197

Craig Suits So., 6-0, 220 Zik Asiegbu Sr., 6-0, 210

Trent Martin Jr., 6-2, 230 Petera Wilson Jr. So., 6-2, 225

Michael Mudoh Sr., 5-10, 205 Jeremy Brady Jr., 5-10, 197

Louisiana-Monroe The Warhawks were picked to inish seventh out of 11 teams in the Sun Belt. They last came to town in 1999 and beat TU 37-34.

Kerwin Thomas So., 5-10, 171 Johnell Celistan Jr., 6-2, 190

LB

LB

SS

OCt. 10 • tBa

CB

Frankie Davis Jr. So., 6-2, 240

WEAKSIDE

STAR

Houston Philip Montgomery coaches against one of his former teams, having spent ive seasons on the Cougars’ staf.

Houston leads the series 21-18.

DT Jesse Brubaker 6-3, 285, So. Hayden Carman Jr., 6-4, 275

FS Jordan Mitchell So., 6-2, 180 J.R. Reed Fr., 6-1, 185

special teams K

Redford Jones • So., 5-10, 174 Preston Soper • So., 6-0, 205

P

Dalton Parks • Jr., 6-3, 209 Redford Jones • So., 5-10, 174

Rey Higuera Sr., 5-11, 224 Ty Lott So., 5-11, 220

HOLDER

KICKOFF RETURNS

Joseph Calcagni • Sr., 6-1, 212 Tyler Wilson • Jr., 6-6, 240

D’Angelo Brewer • So., 5-9, 185 Bishop Louie • So., 5-10, 170

KICKOFFS

PUNT RETURNS

Preston Soper • So., 6-0, 205 Redford Jones • So., 5-10, 174

BY KELLY HINES • WORLD SPORTS WRITER

DEEPSNAPPER

Conner Floyd • Sr., 6-0, 210 Bishop Louie • So., 5-10, 170

OCt. 17 • tBa

at East Carolina ECU has beat TU in ive straight games, putting up an average of 53 points in the previous three meetings.

OCt. 23 • eSpN-1025 • 7 p.m.

Memphis

DEFENSIVE LINE The scoop: Five returners have accounted for 71 career starts, highlighted by veterans Alexander and Luetjen. Brubaker, a starter as a true freshman in 2013, missed all but one game to injury in 2014 but is nearing 100 percent.

Tulsa’s homecoming features a return of Justin Fuente to his hometown.

His staf incudes former coach Bill Blankenship as ofensive analyst.

The bottom line: The line is the strength of the defense. Smith, whose irst two tackles as freshman last year were sacks, is an evolving playmaker, and the addition of Baylor transfer Suleiman Masumbuko will help with depth at tackle.

OCt. 31 • tBa

LINEBACKERS

at SMU The Hurricane faces 2010 ofensive coordinator Chad Morris, who is in his irst year as SMU head coach.

TU won last year’s meeting 38-28.

NOv. 7 • tBa

The scoop: Suits had a breakout season in 2014, collecting 81 tackles, including 7.5 for loss, four pass breakups and two forced fumbles en route to freshman All-American honors. In his irst season while healthy, Martin had 64 tackles and four pass breakups.

The Knights’ last two visits to Tulsa were in a three-week span in 2012.

Both resulted in UCF losses as TU captured the Conference USA crown.

The bottom line: To address key concerns during the spring, the linebacker corps added personnel by moving Linscott and Norman from reserve safety positions and Wilson from end. The result has been a dramatic improvement in speed and athleticism.

NOv. 14 • tBa

secondary

at Cincinnati

The scoop: The surprise of the spring was the emergence of Brady, a safetyturned-running back-turned-safety who progressed so quickly he nearly edged Mudoh for the starting role but will be in the rotation. Mitchell replaces four-year starter Demarco Nelson.

UCF

TU hasn’t played the Bearcats since the 1990s, when Cincinnati won all four meetings. Cincy is the preseason favorite to win the AAC. NOv. 21 • tBa

Navy After being shut out

by Navy in 2004, Tulsa won in overtime in the 2006 meeting in Annapolis.

The Midshipmen are new to the AAC. NOv. 27 • tBa

at Tulane The Hurricane has defeated Tulane in nine of the past 10 meetings, most recently 38-31 in double overtime in last year’s season opener.

The bottom line: Cornerback was a major weakness in 2014 but is expected to improve with a year of experience for Thomas. Umblance moved from receiver and will contribute. Also at the position is Will Barrow, who has started 11 games in his career.

sleepers

stars

MATT LINSCOTT A former walk-on from Jenks, Linscott moved from safety during the spring and is projected to start at the star linebacker spot as a junior.

After being put on scholarship during the 2014 preseason, he appeared in every game and had 13 tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

KEEVAN LUCAS A junior receiver on the Biletnikof Award preseason watch list, Lucas ranked ifth nationally last season in receptions per game (8.4) and led the American in receiving touchdowns (11). With hands like Vice-Grips, Lucas teams up with wideout Keyarris Garrett for the league’s top passcatching tandem.

JORDAN MITCHELL As a true freshman, the Owasso graduate played in 10 games at cornerback and had a seasonbest ive tackles against Florida Atlantic. He moved to free safety during the spring and is set to join the starting lineup this season while illing the void of four-year starter Demarco Nelson.

GARRETT STAFFORD A third-year starter out of Memorial High School, Staford showed his versatility in moving from left tackle to left guard during spring drills. He has started the last 26 games, the longest streak on the team, graded above 90 percent in the last six and was named to the Outland and Lombardi watch lists.

JOSH ATKINSON The junior wide receiver has appeared in 21 games and has snagged 48 career catches for 525 yards, most notably a two-point conversion against Tulane last season to send the game into overtime. He also had a team-high seven receptions for 85 yards against FAU.

DERRICK ALEXANDER A senior defensive end known for his leadership qualities, Alexander has recorded 17 sacks for his career and ranked second in the league with 7.5 in 2014. The former Booker T. Washington standout has started all but one game in the past two years and is closing in on 100 tackles.

SPECIAL TEAMS The scoop: Soper and Jones have seen the ield as kickof specialists, but neither has attempted a PAT or ield goal during a game. They spent the spring vying to become the replacement for graduated kicker Carl Salazar, and Jones appeared to come out on top.

The bottom line: Parks is a calm and conident punter who has handled duties since his irst year on campus in 2013, having punted 136 times for a career average of 40.8 yards. Higuera is a consistent snapper who has the job for a fourth year.

2014 RESULTS

COACHING STAFF

Tulane .....W, 38-31 (2OT) Oklahoma .............. L, 52-7 at FAU...................L, 50-21 Texas St. ........L, 37-34 (3OT) at Colorado St. .......L, 42-17 at Temple ................L, 35-24

Philip Montgomery

Matt Mattox

defensive line, irst year

• Head coach, irst year

• Co-ofensive coordinator/

Calvin Lowry

USF .......................L, 38-30 at Memphis ......L, 40-20 SMU ................... W, 38-28 at UCF......................L, 31-7 at Houston .........L, 38-28 East Carolina .....L, 49-32

Brian Norwood

ofensive line, irst year

• Assoc. head coach/co-defensive Sterlin Gilbert coordinator/safeties, irst year • Co-ofensive coordinator/wide receivers/quarterbacks, irst year

Bill Young

Jermial Ashley

• Co-defensive coordinator/

• Defensive line, irst year

• Receivers/special teams, irst year

Justin Hill

Joseph Gillespie • Linebackers, irst year

Aaron Fletcher • Cornerbacks, irst year

• Running backs, irst year

Note: As a private institution, the University of Tulsa is not obligated to report the compensation igures of its coaches.

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Sunday, August 23, 2015 n n F 7

breaking down the american for 2015

for 2015

Cincinnati beats miami (Fla.) and BYU on backto-back weekends in October, propelling it to an undefeated season and a spot in the new Year’s Six bowl games, giving the league more respect and credibility for the future.

Cincinnati loses to miami (Fla.) or BYU (or both), UCF, temple and east Carolina sufer high-proile non-con blowouts, and no other team wins enough to become a national story. then, amid more realignment talk, Cincinnati becomes a popular target.

the conference isn’t represented in the new Year’s Six, but Cincinnati and memphis appear in the top 25, and Houston surprises under irst-year coach tom Herman.

Worst-case scenario

Likely scenario

Best-case scenario for 2015

POWER RANKINGS east division 1

PLAYERS TO WATCH Gunner Kiel

west division

Tyler Matakevich

1

Cincinnati

Houston

in seven of the past eight years, the Bearcats have won at least nine games. Last year, they won their last seven regular-season games.

the Cougars are under irst-year coach tom Herman, who was ofensive coordinator last year for national champion Ohio State.

Marlon Mack 2 UCF

the Knights have gone 15-1 in the American in the league’s irst two years, winning the title in 2013 and sharing it in 2014.

3 Temple

the Owls return 19 starters, the most in the American. penn State and notre Dame visit Lincoln Financial Field in nonconference.

4 East Carolina

Gone are QB Shane Carden, WR Justin Hardy and OC Lincoln Riley. nonconference opponents include Florida, BYU and Virginia tech.

5 USF

in Willie taggart’s second season, the Bulls doubled their win total. new coordinators on ofense and defense are at the helm this year.

QB, CinCinnAti

LB, tempLe

RB, USF

After transferring from notre Dame, Kiel threw for 3,254 yards and tied a school record with 31 touchdown passes in 2014.

As a senior, matakevich has a chance to become the seventh FBS player to record at least 100 tackles in four seasons.

Last season as a true freshman, mack led the American with 1,041 rushing yards and was chosen the league’s rookie of the year.

aac Strengths

ȕ Individual leaders

ȕ Team statistics

RUSHING

BEST ADS

‘YOU kill the jo’, you make some mo’” 2002 product: Reebok it’s easy to forget what product terry tate was advertising (it was Reebok, by the way). But the commercials, which debuted at halftime of Super Bowl XXXVii, launched the persona of tate into a pop culture mainstay. the oice linebacker became known for his catchphrases and even made a comeback in 2008 as part of a get out the vote campaign.

4 Tulsa

Seventeen starters are back for the Hurricane, which reached doubledigit win totals four times in 200712. ten starters return on ofense.

5 Tulane

One of the youngest teams in college football is a year older, with 34 sophomores on the roster. the Green Wave went 3-9 in 2014.

DEFENSE

Total

TFL Sacks

Att Gain

Avg.

Avg/G

TD

Z. Langer 196 801 J. Flanders 102 456 t. Dickerson 34 132 D. Brewer 39 128 B. Louie 7 100 K. Lucas 7 66 D. evans 77 58

4.1 4.5 3.9 3.3 14.3 9.4 0.8

80.1 38.0 14.7 10.7 8.3 5.5 4.8

4 1 0 1 1 0 3

m. mudoh 113 1.5 C. Suits 81 7.5 D. nelson 73 4.0 J. Sizelove 68 6.0 t. martin 64 8.0 C. Hummingbird 48 8.5 D. Luetjen 43 7.5 D. Alexander 42 12.0 D. Hawkins 27 1.5 m. Osborne 26 1.5

RECEIVING

y/a: yards/attempts; y/g: yards/game

Yds

Int FF

0 1.0 0 0 1.0 4.0 2.5 7.5 0 1.0

2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Avg

Avg/G

TD

PUNT RETURNS

No.

Yds

Avg

TD

K. Lucas 101 1,219 12.1 K. Garrett 47 698 14.9 J. Atkinson 35 416 11.9 B. Louie 23 274 11.9 C. Floyd 18 139 7.7 D. patterson 9 203 22.6 m. Dixon 6 62 10.3

101.6 69.8 34.7 22.8 11.6 22.6 7.8

11 5 0 1 3 1 1

C. Floyd B. Louie L. Snider

12 3 1

79 42 6

6.6 14.0 6.0

0 0 0

PASSING

YG

TD

D. evans 256-462-17 3,102 258.5 J.Calcagni 7-17-1 74 18.5

23 0

C-A-Int

Yds

KICK RETURNS

No.

Yds

Avg

TD

D.Brewer B. Louie R. Simon C. Scott Z. Langer D. nelson

27 9 3 2 1 1

602 168 53 15 18 20

22.3 18.7 17.7 7.5 18.0 20.0

0 0 0 0 0 0

PUNTING

No.

Yds

Avg I20

D. parks

70

2943

42.0 20

FIELD GOALS

FG-A

LG

PAT

C.Salazar

12-18

44

34-34

6 SMU

Dallas native (and former tU OC) Chad morris returns home to coach the mustangs, who play their irst

in the power Five conversation, the American remains on the outside looking in. Commissioner mike Aresco said at media day he would like to see a power Six including his league, but that seems a ways of. Long-term stability is a concern, with American schools frequently being mentioned as possible candidates to join higher-tier conferences in case of realignment or expansion.

2014 TU STATS

No.

3 Navy

the midshipmen are new to the league after playing as independents for 134 seasons. they have been to 10 bowls in the last 11 years.

aac Weaknesses

the American is stronger than ever in its third year of existence, thanks to the addition of navy that allowed the move to six-team divisions. With an even number of schools, the conference also will have an inaugural championship game, set for Dec. 5. the league is cast further into the national spotlight than previously because of expected success from Cincinnati and Houston, and more than 50 games involving American teams set for national television.

Opp TU First downs 261 270 by rushing 115 107 by passing 123 140 by penalty 23 23 Rushing yards 2,576 1,774 Passing yards 3,265 3,176 Passing 232-374-8 263-481-18 Ofensive plays 841 958 Total yards 5,841 4,950 Avg. per play 6.9 5.2 Fumbles-Lost 16-7 9-5 Penalties-Yds 71-643 78-768 Punts-Avg. 59-40.1 70-42.0 Punt returns-Yds 19-133 17-127 Kickof returns-Yds 37-578 43-876 Interceptions-Yds 18-202 8-116 Fumble returns-Yds 5-8 7-26 Possession time 28:25 31:35 3rd downs 75-180 78-203 4th downs 11-16 11-28 Sacks by-Yds 25-152 22-153

6 UConn

the Huskies have gone four years in a row without a bowl appearance. they face ive of their

2 Memphis

A seven-game win streak carries the tigers into 2015 after capturing a share of the league title, the program’s irst since 1971.

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F 8 n n Sunday, August 23, 2015

oklahoma st. cowboys // roster LOCAL RADIO AFFILIATES KFAQ am1170 (Tulsa) KWON am1400 (Bartlesville) KGND am1470 (Vinita) KTLQ am1350 (Tahlequah) MIKE GUNDY TV SHOW Wednesdays, 5:30 p.m., FSOK-1027 MIKE GUNDY RADIO SHOW Mondays, 6 p.m., KFAQ am1170 TICKETS 877-ALL-4OSU, okstate.com

2015 SCHEDULE Sept. 3 • eSpNU-1303 • 6 p.m.

at Central Michigan Picked ifth in MAC’s West Division, Chippewas have a talented QB in Cooper Rush, who last year passed for more than 3,100 yards.

Sept. 12 • FSOK-1027 • 6:30 p.m.

Central Arkansas Bears and Cowboys clash for the irst time. In FCS last season, UCA was 6-6, ranking 24th in total ofense and 104th in total defense.

QUARTERBACKS

RECEIVERS

RUNNING BACKS

The scoop: J.W. Walsh will get a few situational snaps, but Mason Rudolph is secure in the starting role. As a irst-year freshman, in only his second start, he passed for 273 yards and recorded a Bedlam road win.

The scoop: Having forged an efective chemistry with Mason Rudolph, Brandon Sheperd was OSU’s best receiver during the Bedlam victory and the bowl win over Washington. David Glidden has great hands and James Washington is showing signs of becoming a tremendous playmaker.

The scoop: A former junior-college star, Chris Carson was an important member of the most recent Cowboy recruiting class. The best Gundy-coached ofenses were deined by run-pass balance, and Carson has a chance to breathe new life into an OSU ground game that underachieved last season.

The bottom line: Mike Gundy says he believes that Oklahoma State has 10 wide receivers who can be trusted to make plays in games. If so, it qualiies as unprecedented depth during the Gundy era.

The bottom line: Rennie Childs has had an excellent preseason camp and is the only Cowboy back with meaningful game experience at the FBS level.

Competing for the role of third back is Jef Carr, a small and seriously fast irst-year freshman.

The bottom line: Can coach Mike Gundy get through a season without quarterback drama? In 2012, there were three diferent starting quarterbacks. In 2013, two diferent starters. Last season, three. This year, OSU’s third quarterback is Taylor Cornelius — a walk-on redshirt freshman Bushland, Texas.

OFFENSIVE LINE

TIGHT ENDS

FULLBACK

The scoop: During the stretch run of the 2014 season — after Zach Crabtree returned from an injury — OSU’s ofensive line was much better than it had been during a ive-game losing streak. Michael Wilson has started at guard and tackle, while UAB transfer Victor Salako is a massive addition at left tackle.

The scoop: If any one aspect of the Cowboy ofense might be diferent this season, it would be the more frequent use of the tight end in the passing game.

Mike Gundy’s resolve to involve the tight ends is underscored by his hiring of a new assistant — Jason McEndoo — speciically to coach that position.

The scoop: Hailing from tiny Cashion, Seaton began his OSU career as a walk-on. He has been used as a tight end, also, and in last year’s Bedlam game he totaled three receptions for 51 yards.

The bottom line: During most of Gundy’s irst nine seasons as head coach, the line was outstanding.

Last year, it gave up 40 sacks and couldn’t generate openings in the run game. If there is improvement this season, OSU can contend for the conference title.

The bottom line: Jarwin is an outstanding athlete who will be targeted on deeper throws. Veatch is a converted guard. When the former Broken Arrow High School star is on the ield, he fortiies pass protection or adds punch to run-blocking.

projected depth chart

RB Chris Carson • Jr., 6-2, 205 Rennie Childs • Jr., 5-10, 205

FB

LIKELY STARTER LISTED FIRST • RETURNING STARTERS IN BOLD

UTSA

QB WR

Mason Rudolph • So., 6-4, 220 J.W. Walsh • Sr., 6-2, 215

WR

James Washington Austin Hays So., 6-0, 200 RS Jr., 6-2, 190 Marcell Ateman Kameron Doolittle Jr., 6-4, 210 RS Sr., 5-8, 200

Sept. 26• tBA

at Texas Since an 11-game losing streak in games played at UT, Cowboys prevailed in Austin in 2010 (33-16), 2011 (38-26) and 2013 (38-13).

TE Blake Jarwin RS Jr., 6-5, 242 Zac Veatch RS Jr., 6-4, 270

CB Michael Hunter Sr., 6-0, 190 Ashton Lampkin Jr., 5-11, 185

Oct. 3 • tBA

Kansas State While Oklahoma State won in each of K-State’s last four trips to Stillwater, they did it by a combined total of only 17 points.

RT

RG

Zachary Crabtree Paul Lewis RS So., 6-7, 305 RS Jr., 6-3, 295 Brandon Pertile Lemaefe Gaela’i RS So., 6-6, 310 RS Fr., 6-5, 325

C

LG

LT

Brad Lundblade So., 6-3, 300 Colby Hegwood Sr., 6-5, 315

Michael Wilson RS Jr., 6-6, 305 Jesse Robinson RS So., 6-6, 310

Victor Salako RS Jr., 6-6, 330 Matthew Mucha RS Fr., 6-6, 285

DT

DT

DE

Jimmy Bean Sr., 6-5, 250 Trey Carter RS-Fr., 6-4, 257

Vincent Taylor RS So., 6-3, 300 Ben Hughes RS So., 6-3, 310

Mote Maile Jr., 6-4, 305 Eric Davis RS Jr., 6-3, 295

Emmanual Ogbah Jr., 6-4, 275 Trace Clark Sr., 6-4, 257

MIDDLE

LB

DEFENSE

Jordan Burton Jr., 6-3, 215 Devante Averette RS Jr., 6-0, 230

LB Ryan Simmons RS Sr., 6-0, 240 Chad Whitener RS So., 6-1, 240

In their last two appearances at Boone Pickens Stadium, the woeful Jayhawks were trucked by a combined total of 78 points.

Oct. 31 • tBA

at Texas Tech Penalties were one of several reasons for a 4-8 inish last season. Red Raider averages: nine penalties and 89.2 yards per game.

NOv. 7 • tBA

TCU Former Cowboy assistant Doug Meacham instrumental in Horned Frogs’ transformation from an ofensive dud to a dynamic attack.

NOv. 14 • tBA

Jordan Sterns Jr., 6-1, 205 Deric Robertson Jr., 6-2, 205

BY BILL HAISTEN WORLD SPORTS WRITER

sleepers

stars

Jordan Burton This OSU team could be profoundly impacted by transfer newcomers like ofensive tackle Victor Salako, cornerback Michael Hunter, running back Chris Carson and defensive tackle Mote Maile. Burton also is a newcomer and, at star linebacker, could be a sensational presence within the defense.

Kevin Peterson The former Wagoner High School superstar nears the inish line of his Oklahoma State career. A preseason All-Big 12 selection, Peterson is considered to be among the best pass-coverage cornerbacks in college football. He underwent minor knee surgery on Aug. 10, but is expected to be in the starting lineup when the Cowboys open at Central Michigan on Sept. 3.

Mote Maile He weighs 310, but Maile looks like a 265-pound guy. With Vili Leveni having sustained a leg injury that keeps him sidelined this season, Maile gets more responsibility at defensive tackle. His athleticism at the position is signiicantly above average.

at Iowa State Played four days shy of the fourth anniversary of OSU’s 2011 loss at Ames — a setback that cost Cowboys a shot at the national title.

Austin Hays

NOv. 21 • tBA

Baylor Art Briles-coached Baylor teams are winless in Stillwater. Final scores: 34-6 in 2008, 55-28 in 2010, 5924 in 2011, 49-17 in 2013.

NOv. 28 • tBA

Oklahoma Bedlam rivals have been involved in recent classics.

Two of the last three Cowboy-Sooner showdowns were extended to overtime.

Seth Jacobs RS Jr., 6-2, 225 Gyasi Akem So., 6-1, 215

FS

Tre Flowers RS So., 6-3, 190 Jerel Morrow RS So., 6-0, 190

Oct. 24 • tBA

Kansas

Mason Rudolph Only one Cowboy quarterback — Rudolph — has gotten a victory as a irst-year freshman starter against Oklahoma. His emergence rejuvenated the OSU fan base and gives the Cowboys a chance to contend for the Big 12 championship. Rudolph is still learning the college game, however. His experience amounts to three starts.

Chris Carson The junior-college star saved Oklahoma State’s 2015 recruiting class when he committed only two days before national signing day. Coach Mike Gundy’s best ofenses had a 1,200-yard tailback (Dantrell Savage, Kendall Hunter, Keith Toston, Joseph Randle). As the Big 12 preseason newcomer of the year, Carson attempts to join that list.

The fourth-year junior from San Antonio had 29 catches as a freshman in 2012, but only 10 since. During TicketCity Cactus Bowl practice sessions, he was consistently excellent.

During the spring and preseason, he continued to perform at a nice level. Hays now might be positioned to become an important igure in the ofense.

2014 RESULTS

COACHING STAFF

v. Florida State .....L, 37-31 at TCU ....................L, 45-9 Missouri St........W, 40-23 West Virginia ..... L, 34-10 UTSA.................... W, 43-13 at Kansas State.. L, 48-14 Texas Tech......... W, 45-35 Texas........................L, 28-7 Iowa State ..........W, 37-20 at Baylor ............. L, 49-28 at Kansas ........... W, 27-20 at OU ........ W, 38-35 (OT) Cactus Bowl: v. Washington in Tempe, W, 30-22

Mike Gundy

Mike Yurcich

• Head coach, 11th year, $3.65 million

• Ofensive coordinator, quarterbacks, third year, $400,000

Glenn Spencer • Defensive coordinator, linebackers, eighth year, $550,000

Kasey Dunn • Receivers, ifth year, $300,000

CB Kevin Peterson Sr., 5-11, 190 Ramon Richards So., 6-0, 180

LB

SS

at West Virginia

Brandon Sheperd Sr., 6-1, 195 Jhajuan Seales RS Jr., 6-2, 198

David Glidden RS Sr., 5-8, 185 Chris Lacy So., 6-3, 195

WEAKSIDE

STAR

WR

WR

DE

Oct. 10 • tBA Dana Holgorsencoached teams usually are known for dynamic passing game, but the 2015 Mountaineers should be strong defensively.

OFFENSE

Jeremy Seaton • RS Sr., 6-2, 250 Britton Abbott • RS Fr., 6-3, 235

Sept. 19 • FS1-1312 • 2:30 p.m.

Three-game contract expires after this meeting.

OSU won at UTSA in 2013 and beat the Roadrunners 43-13 in Stillwater last season.

The bottom line: The fullback position now is known within the OSU program as the Cowboy back position, and it belongs to Seaton. As a blocker out of the backield, he is the best on the roster. Seaton has played in 38 games but has never carried the football.

special teams LONG SNAPPER PLACEMENT KICKS

Kaleb Smith RS So., 6-3, 255 PUNTS

Josh Elias RS Sr., 6-0, 200

K

P

Ben Grogan Zach Sinor Jr., 6-1, 190 RS Fr., 5-11, 195

PUNT RETURNS

KICKOFF RETURNS

David Glidden RS Sr., 5-8, 185 Jef Carr Fr., 5-7, 175

Brandon Sheperd Sr., 6-1, 195 Jhajuan Seales Jr., 6-2, 200

DEFENSIVE LINE The scoop: Last season, Emmanuel Ogbah recorded 11 sacks (the most by any Cowboy in 11 years) and was named the Big 12 defensive lineman of the year. At the other end position, Jimmy Bean is the veteran of 26 consecutive starts.

The bottom line: The Cowboy interior is extremely inexperienced. Junior-college transfer Mote Maile has above-average athleticism for a 310-pound man. Freshman Darrion Daniels should get playing time at tackle.

LINEBACKERS The scoop: Ryan Simmons is 11 tackles shy of the 200 mark for his career. As was shown during overtime of last season’s Bedlam game — when he got a critical pass break-up — Seth Jacobs is efective when he drops into coverage. Jordan Burton might be destined for a run in the National Football League.

The bottom line: Never before has a Gundycoached OSU team had this type of depth at the linebacking positions. Backups Devante Averette, Chad Whitener and Gyasi Akem would be starters for a lot of other teams.

SECONDARY The scoop: Cornerback Kevin Peterson is a preseason All-Big 12 selection who underwent minor knee surgery during preseason camp. He is expected to be ready for the Sept. 3 opener at Central Michigan.

The bottom line: The Cowboys have experienced depth at the corners and a really good free safety in Jordan Sterns. Former Jenks High School star Dylan Harding, having gained 12 pounds since his arrival a year ago, also is competing for playing time at safety.

SPECIAL TEAMS The scoop: After an uneven freshman season in 2013, kicker Ben Grogan became reliable last season. He converted on 20 of his inal 23 ield goal attempts. Gundy seems to have invested a high level of trust in freshman punter Zach Sinor.

The bottom line: On punt returns, the coaches trust senior David Glidden because of his experience and sure hands, but freshman Jef Carr — one of the faster people on the roster — probably gets opportunities during the three nonconference games.

Tim Duffie

Joe Bob Clements

• Cornerbacks, third year, $323,187

• Defensive line, third year, $347,288

Greg Adkins

Jason McEndoo

• Ofensive line, irst year, $100,000

• Tight ends, irst year, $175,000

Dan Hammerschmidt

Marcus Arroyo

• Safeties, irst year, $200,000

• Running backs, irst year, $300,000

Sunday, August 23, 2015 n n F 9

oklahoma st. cowboys // preview Is mason rudolph as good as advertised?

HOW’S THIS FOR A PROMOTION: “Little bit unique, but he can deinitely sling it. A Ben Roethlisberger comparison is not out of the question by his movement in and out of the pocket and his ability to throw the football.

That’s the scouting report on him.”

That’s part of the brief synopsis of Mason Rudolph’s game that Fox Sports analyst Charles Davis gave while doing color commentary for the Oklahoma State-Baylor game on Nov. 23, Rudolph’s Cowboy debut.

Excitement around these parts has continued to grow after Rudolph won Bedlam on the road and the Cactus Bowl over Washington.

Entering the 2015 season, only Ohio State’s Cardale Jones and perhaps UCLA freshman Josh Rosen have comparable hype around them in relation to games played.

Is it warranted? We’ll know in four months. But what Rudolph showed last year, at times in diicult environments, is that he’ll be unlappable no matter the opponent or elements for Oklahoma State.

“It’s important to us at Oklahoma State that our quarterbacks are tough, durable, and they’re gritty and they’re good leaders,” Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said at Big 12 Media Days in Dallas. “I think he’s shown signs of that.”

The Tulsa World watched and charted all 86 passes Rudolph threw last season. Some of what we learned: Rudolph throws an accurate deep ball. On passes of 20-plus yards, he

other storylines to watch Line ‘em up Oklahoma State’s ofensive line was panned last season for its inability to protect the quarterback and the team’s 3.5 yards per carry average. Greg Adkins, the third ofensive line coach at OSU in three years, has provided a much-needed reboot. UAB transfer Victor Salako and redshirt sophomore Zachary Crabtree lead a group that must revive OSU’s tradition of great line play.

Fancy new Car(son) We’ll let Mike Gundy sell the running backs: He described Chris Carson as having “12-pack” abs. The junior-college transfer certainly looks the part, and junior Rennie Childs also looks improved. And don’t forget OSU’s other new Carr — Jef, a freshman from Temple, Texas, who has dazzled in camp.

completed 11-of-23 for 421 yards, ive touchdowns and one interception. He was 5-of-6 on deep throws down the left side of the ield and 6-of-11 over the middle.

In many ways, his only loss was his most impressive performance. He made his debut in Waco, Texas, on a day when it never stopped raining, in front of a raucous crowd.

And despite the fact he was playing from behind the entire game, he made smart decisions aside from two interceptions.

His game is not without kinks.

He turned the ball over ive times in three games. But he also has his teammates and coaches brimming with conidence, which must mean something.

“I feel like he’s really matured and his conidence level is just way above his years,” senior cornerback Kevin Peterson said. “I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do this year.”

WTIB That’s “We’re taking it back,” the self-declared credo of the 2015 OSU defense. The Cowboys’ ofensive problems in Transfer Chris Carson.

2014 were exacerbated by a defense that didn’t recover a JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World fumble until the 12th game. This year, OSU is three-deep at linebacker and has an excess of talent and experience at cornerback, but the unit’s success will be measured by an increase in turnovers more than anything else.

Best-case scenario for 2015 The Cowboys take their show on the road and impress the nation in early wins at Texas and West Virginia. They’re 8-0 heading into a treacherous November, which includes games versus TCU, Baylor and Oklahoma. All three are in Boone Pickens Stadium, though, and OSU takes two of them, including Bedlam.

At 11-1, OSU wins the Big 12 championship and reaches the College Football Playof at the expense of its rival.

TO A FI COMING THIS FALL

Worst-case scenario for 2015 Remember Troy, 2007? Like that trap game in Alabama, Oklahoma State is shocked

by Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant. That dampens the mood before Mason Rudolph’s home debut. Worries continue when OSU falls on the road at Texas, West Virginia and — gulp — Texas Tech. After a win in Ames, Iowa, OSU is 5-5 with games left against Baylor and Oklahoma, just like 2014. But the magic is missing.

Likely scenario for 2015 Oklahoma State is on the national radar after posting gaudy point totals in its three nonconference games.

It stumbles on a road trip to Texas or West Virginia, but rebounds to be 7-1 when TCU comes to Stillwater.

Though the Cowboys fall to the Big 12 favorite, they do beat Baylor two weeks later, setting up a Bedlam showdown with meaning: It could get OSU to 10-2 and, possibly, a New Year’s Six bowl game.

ELD NEAR YOU ...

BUILDING a CAMPAIGN FOR mason rudolph Mason Rudolph: We’ve known he’d be Oklahoma State’s starting quarterback ever since he survived against Baylor, led the Cowboys to a Bedlam upset and brought home a bowl win over Washington. But what does last year mean for 2015? He’s been hyped all ofseason, so we igured we’d create an ad to match it.

LET’S POINT OUT HIS POISE

IT’S

MASON RUDOLPEH!

IV IMPRESSY O U T H! IS H E IT DESP

THE SLOGAN Despite a ive-game slide before the Bedlam and bowl wins, Oklahoma State ended the season on a positive note. And remember — the 20-year-old from Rock Hill, S.C., still hasn’t started a game in front of the home crowd at Boone Pickens Stadium. That, and a renewed sense of enthusiasm from Mike Gundy following a renewed relationship with T. Boone himself, might imply fans are in for something fun this season.

GETS B TT ER UNDE PRES ER SURE !

MAYBE WE JUST WON’T MENTION ...

You could chalk it up to inexperience, but Rudolph did throw four interceptions and lost a fumble in his irst three games. He’ll have to prove in 2015 that he can take care of the ball. Three of the four picks came on short-tointermediate throws.

“BELIEVE THE HYPE!” PHOTO BY TIMOTHY TAI/Tulsa World

PAT JONES PITCHES OSU FOOTBALL From the Sports Animal to the Coaches’ Cabana, it’s hard to miss Pat Jones during football season.

The former Oklahoma State coach is one of the most recognizable personalities in the region. In between his media work, he got a chance to see Oklahoma State practice in preseason camp.

Jones shared his thoughts with the Tulsa World in a Q&A.

What impressions did you take from your time at OSU’s practice?

“Well, I’d seen them in the spring and I’d try to start forming opinions there and then kind of have some questions I’d want to get answered when I went in the fall. I think lots of team speed, both sides of the ball.

I knew that. Lots of receivers that can make plays, I knew that. Quarterback (Mason Rudolph) has a chance to be a good player, again, with his limited body of work, but he

It’s hard to to sell your pitch without a pitchman.

We asked Pat Jones how he would pitch 2015 to OSU fans.

looks like he’s physically helped himself in that regard. I think (J.W.) Walsh is important to the program for a lot of intangibles.

That’s a plus. Running back, the jury’s still out, although we saw (Chris) Carson, we don’t have any real body of work there although they’ve got a chance.

(Rennie) Childs, the little kid (Jef) Carr has had a pretty good preseason. He’s awfully little. There’s unknowns there, but they have a chance. They have a chance to be OK there.

Ofensive line, I watched (Greg) Adkins pretty good in the spring.

They don’t have much depth. I think they’ll be OK. I don’t know whether they can absorb hits there or not physically. But he’s sound and aggressive. They’re not the best I’ve seen out of them but they should be OK there.”

Have you formed an outlook on this season for Oklahoma State?

“If they were opening with Florida State or had a high-proile opener, I would worry a little bit simply from the standpoint that none of those backs have played and this will allow them to get going with those guys. So I think the schedule does set up and I don’t think this league’s very good.

“They should, on form, be 3-0. I don’t think this irst bunch will lie down for them but they should be 3-0 and I hear nothing good out of Texas, although I think that’s a very crucial ballgame the way it looks now.”

There’s a lot of hype around Mason Rudolph for a guy who’s only played three games. Do you think he’s going to be as good as advertised?

“I don’t know. He’s not Troy Aikman. The ball doesn’t jump out of there. The guy’s still a young guy, obviously. But he should be a good player if he’s what we think he is mentally and all. He’s not the quickest, strongest arm I’ve ever seen. I think to paint the picture this guy’s Troy Aikman or something is probably not accurate. But he should be good enough to win a lot of games with if the right things happen.”

If you were making a pitch to the fan base of why this a team that’s worth watching, what would that pitch be?

“I think team speed. I think momentum coming out of last year. I think favorable schedule and I think this league is ripe for somebody to go win it. I don’t think Baylor and TCU are the answer, personally.”

— MARK COOPER, World Sports Writer

BY MARK COOPER • WORLD SPORTS WRITER

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Rudolph has the composure and focus of a veteran. It was evident right away against Baylor, both in completions — like a 34-yard pass deep down the left sideline that he dropped over David Glidden’s left shoulder perfectly on a third down — and in response to errors. After throwing his second interception, Rudolph hopped of the ground and chased down Baylor’s Orion Stewart, making the tackle.

F 10 n n Sunday, August 23, 2015

Sunday, August 23, 2015 n n F 11

HOW a SLOGAN became a punchline for the big 12 in 2014 heartbroken in the heartland A refresher course on what went down and how it resulted in the Big 12 missing the inaugural College Football Playoff

“I don’t believe we are at a disadvantage. Relative to the playof, I don’t think one year makes a trend.”

— Bob Bowlsby at Big 12 Media Days, on the lack of a conference championship and how it might have afected TCU and Baylor’s chances

Oct. 11 and Oct. 18

Baylor def. TCU 61-58, then West Virginia def. Baylor 41-27 The events that set a shared championship in motion for the Big 12 took place nearly two months before the end of the season.

First, Baylor and TCU played one of the wildest games of the year. The Bears trailed 58-37 with 11 minutes to play before rallying for a miraculous 61-58 win, handing TCU its irst loss while remaining Shock Linwood runs past the West Virginia defense in undefeated. the upset loss in Morgantown. AP FILE PHOTOS That is, until one week later. That high-octane ofense that scored 24 points in 11 minutes against the Horned Frogs was stiled in Morgantown, West Virginia. Baylor scored just seven points in the entire second half of a loss that muddied the conference championship picture.

Dec. 2

CFP rankings show TCU at No. 3 Entering the inal week of the season, the Horned Frogs were the story of the College Football Playof rankings. TCU climbed from ifth to third after a 48-10 win at Texas, moving above Mississippi State, which lost, but more surprisingly Florida State, which was still undefeated. Ohio State, meanwhile, was No. 5, and Baylor came in at No. 6 despite its head-tohead win versus TCU.

FSU’s Cameron Erving celebrates after beating Florida 24-19 to stay undefeated.

TCU started the day with a 55-3 win over Iowa State in Fort Worth to earn the title of Big 12 champion — the irst of two that day.

Dec. 6

Ohio State romps, Baylor and TCU share title The Big 12’s teams took care of business, with TCU thrashing Iowa State and Baylor winning impressively versus then-No. 9 Kansas State.

The conference’s worstcase scenario took place everywhere else, though.

Florida State stayed undefeated and won the ACC Championship, efectively locking up a playof spot.

Alabama and Oregon left no questions, winning Ohio State players celebrate their Big Ten handily. championship over Wisconsin on Dec. 6.

Cardale Jones and Ohio State made the day’s biggest statement, crushing Wisconsin 59-0.

That’s the one that hurt most. When the College Football Playof rankings came out Dec. 7, the Buckeyes had moved into the top four, while TCU fell to sixth — behind Baylor.

College Football Playof chair Jef Long explained why TCU could fall despite a 52-point win over Iowa State.

“We’re not looking at teams merely as the top 25 and, ‘Oh, they lost, well they’ve got to slide down,’ or, ‘Oh, they beat somebody, so they’ve got to move up,’” Long said. “We don’t look at it that way.”

— MARK COOPER, World Sports Writer

FROM PAGE F2

the truest way of determining a champion.”

But is there a diference between “truest” and “most favorable”? even if a round-robin schedule may be the fairest way for all teams, it does leave the Big 12 with a disadvantage more concerning than the number of teams in the league. the most games a Big 12 school can currently win before the postseason is 12. the other four power conference champions may have a shot to win 13. then again, if it were that simple, this would not be a debate.

“I don’t believe we are at a disadvantage,” Bowlsby said. “relative to the playof, I don’t think one year makes a trend.”

O

n Dec. 6, twO texas universities celebrated Big 12 championships 87 miles apart.

Despite the “One true champion” slogan that appeared in television commercials and other advertisements all season, Bowlsby elected to present tcU and Baylor as co-champs to the college Football Playof selection committee. art Briles, Baylor head coach, was perhaps the loudest of those pointing at the hypocrisy.

“If you’re going to slogan around and say there’s ‘One true champion’, then all of a sudden you’re going to go out the back door instead of going out the front?” he said in his postgame news conference Dec. 6 after his Bears beat Kansas state. “Don’t say one thing and do another. that’s my whole deal.” the criticism and satire that followed the decision may have been irrelevant, considering the day’s other events.

Ohio state blasted wisconsin 59-0 in the Big ten championship.

Florida state outlasted Georgia tech in the acc championship to remain undefeated. still, the irony was hard to ignore: the conference that touted having the truest conference champion route was the only one of the Power 5 to have two.

One fateful saturday led to sunday, where the Big 12 was left waiting for its name to be called as alabama, Oregon, Florida state and Ohio state made the playof. tcU, which entered the inal weekend ranked third by speaking out the committee, After the inal slid to sixth. week of the Baylor was ifth. regular season, “I do think when the Big 12 that the fans and was left out of the the media came College Football to realize that Playof, TCU also a conference slid to No. 6 in championship, the USA Today which is not Coaches Poll. But determined the Horned Frogs until that last did have one of weekend, is the poll’s 64 irstone of the four place votes. criteria that the It came from Mike management Gundy, whose committee tells team lost to TCU us that we must 42-9 on Oct. 18. look at,” said Jef Long, cFP “I still think TCU’s committee chair the best team in and arkansas the country right athletic director, now,” Gundy said in a phone to reporters on interview with Dec. 16. “We’ll the tulsa world. never know. But “so it’s not I was shocked unreasonable based on the to think that strength of this league from top to a team could slide once those bottom.” championships have been determined that inal weekend.”

Long said he thinks those who immediately started looking at how the Big 12 needed to change, though, overreacted. “there were very reasonable scenarios last year where the Big 12 could have had two teams enter the inal four,” he said. the Big 12 explained its One true champion slogan by the path each team takes in its attempt to win the conference — the round-robin, everybody-plays-everybody format.

But that doesn’t change this fact: a Big 12 school has not reached the championship game since texas’ loss to alabama in 2009. the four other power conferences have made appearances in just the last two seasons (Florida stateauburn in 2014 and Ohio stateOregon in 2015). this ofseason, the Big 12 remained attached to One true champion, and made a move to strengthen its position. at the Big 12 spring meetings in May,

•••

O the conference eliminated cochampions, adding tiebreakers that begin with the head-to-head result. that pleases one of the men who holds some responsibility for the Big 12’s image and whose research inluenced the One true champion philosophy. “all brands need to constantly evaluate their position in the marketplace and if they are being true to what they say they stand for, right?” said Jef Orth, an account director for austin, texas-based advertising agency GsD&M. “I’m happy to see they’re committed to who they are but they’re willing to make adjustments to optimize their brand strength.”

•••

O

ne trUe chaMPIOn was born in 2010, back when the Big 12 still had texas a&M and Missouri and before one of its two (true) champions — tcU — joined the league.

It was at the peak of conference realignment. nebraska and colorado had already bolted the league. the aggies and tigers would soon be sec-bound.

GsD&M, the austin ad agency, was hired by the Big 12 to do research and to create a strong message that would give the Big 12 a stable image. as account director, Orth was in charge. his team wore out shoe leather, talking to fan bases of every school, key stakeholders and media members to understand the league’s values.

Orth’s team came up with three pillars to represent the Big 12’s brand of college sports. the results were unveiled as the Big 12’s new branding campaign in July 2011. Dan Beebe was Big 12 commissioner at the time. what were the three pillars?

Fierce rivalries. heartland values. One true champion.

Orth said he felt the Big 12’s round-robin scheduling, which created a “true” path to a league title, was the “biggest factor” in solidifying the conference’s brand. as the other four power conferences added teams, creating wide divisions and uneven scheduling, it was a place for the Big 12 to exclaim

• How Tulsa World editorial cartoonist Bruce Plante responded to the backlash and irony of the “One True Champion” slogan after it was announced Dec. 7 that TCU and Baylor were both skipped over for Florida State, Oregon, Alabama and Ohio State for the irst College Football Playof. This was published on Dec. 13.

its method was better.

“You don’t have any of that, ‘well, Georgia got in but they didn’t have to play alabama,’” Orth said. “Or the year Kansas did really, really well when it won the Orange Bowl, they didn’t play Oklahoma or texas.” the league stayed true to the three tenets, even as it was shaken by realignment again — the exodus of texas a&M and Missouri and the additions of tcU and west Virginia for 2012.

the round-robin schedule has paid of in one way: It has likely aided the development of new rivalries.

Baylor and tcU have quickly made their annual meeting a must-watch.

Oklahoma has its historic rivals, but the sooners and west Virginia already have classic games that are remembered each year when they meet again.

Orth said the heartland values pillar came from speaking with fans. he recalled a Kansas-Kansas state game where his team spoke to fans of both teams who tailgated together before kickof. “they were like, ‘Oh yeah, we’re going to go in that stadium and hate each other for three hours, and then we’ll be right back here after the game,’” said Orth, whose experience with sports branding includes more than a decade with the PGa tour as a client. as for one true champion? In 2011, the irst year the Big 12 played with 10 teams and no divisions, it did have an undisputed champ — Oklahoma state.

GsD&M was hired again in 2013, this time to develop a new visual identity for the Big 12.

Orth said his team did its due diligence in analyzing whether the Big 12, at 10 teams, needed to change its name, before deciding the Big 12 brand had built up too much equity to reboot it. Instead, they chose to make xII, the roman numeral for 12, the sole mark of the conference. the new logo was introduced for the 2014 season, as was the conference’s now-primary slogan, the previously used One true champion. though Orth’s team birthed it, he said it was not part of their 2013 project to decide on a slogan.

“One true champion was something that was representative of the process to get there,” he said. “this was the way — they had

PInIOns arOUnD the LeaGUe difer on what to do next. at Big 12 Media Days last month, Kansas state coach Bill snyder was outspoken about his beliefs.

“I favor a 12-team conference, I favor two divisions and I favor a championship game,” snyder said.

“You might remember that, when we had that format, we were one of only two teams that played a game in December, and that was one of only two conferences. that was the Big 12 conference and the sec. now we’re the only conference that does not do that and have that particular format.” snyder said he tries not to pay attention to the chatter. But he guessed the Big 12 is perceived to be on a lower scale because of its size and the lack of a conference championship.

It is expected that conference championship games will be deregulated in January, esPn.com reported in June. this would allow the Big 12 to hold one, even at 10 teams. a conference championship game would efectively be the death of One true champion (though, at this point, its disappearance would seemingly be welcomed).

But there are pros and cons to adding a game that would be a guaranteed rematch of a regularseason meeting.

“I don’t think it’s an advantage for us to play all nine and then, on nov.

7 two teams could have played and then they’re going to turn around and play again in the end,” Oklahoma state coach Mike Gundy said. “I don’t think that’s good for our league.” adding two teams to return to a 12-team, two-division setup is just as divisive a topic. regardless of future seasons, one thing holds true for 2015: the Big 12 needs to crack the playof.

Get one team in, or perhaps two — which isn’t out of the question, just like it wasn’t last season — and the narrative shifts. suddenly, another conference feels the way the Big 12 did last December.

Lonely. Discouraged. searching for answers.

“If we line up and we win 12 games this year, we’re going to be in the inal four,” Briles, Baylor’s coach, said at the conference media days.

“I think you can put that in ink right now.” as Bowlsby and college Football Playof executive director Bill hancock have said, one year does not make a trend. so what’s the moral of the story for Big 12 fans?

Maybe it’s simple: Be patient. that’s what Oklahoma state athletic Director Mike holder told fans in tulsa on aug. 6.

“Let’s just see what the future holds,” holder said. “we’re not in a bad place, as a lot of people like to think.”

How the Big 12 got its new look • a texas-based ad agency ditched the dated logo and compiled a set of values for the conference.

By MARK COOPER • WORld SPORtS WRitER

T

wice in the past ive years, the Big 12 has solicited the expertise of GsD&M, an advertising agency in austin, texas. • Jef Orth, GsD&M account director, was in charge of the Big 12’s initiatives. In 2010, after nebraska and colorado left the conference, he and his team conducted research to determine some basic pillars of the Big 12’s brand. • among them: Fierce rivalries, heartland values and one true champion.

a couple years later, though, after the conference realignment frenzy had calmed, Orth and his colleagues took on a new task: creating a new visual identity for the Big 12. this is where the conference’s logo — the dynamic roman numeral xII — was conceived. to start, Orth’s team asked what he called an obvious question: Did the Big 12 need to change its name? after all, it only has 10 teams. “we had many, many writers working on this and trying to come up with a name that would be better,” Orth said. “we just determined there’s a lot of equity in the Big 12, and it has enough brand equity that we can design a mark that is indicative of what the conference stands for and the values the conference has. “(the logo) is a nod at the heritage of the league.”

One goal in the creation of the new logo was to give the “12” its own identity, a number that was not a “literal representation” of the number of teams in the league. It’s why Orth’s team settled on the roman numeral as its mark.

Once they chose the roman numeral 12 as the image, they tried to make it simple and modern.

Orth explains: “when you look at logos in general, across all of our culture, there is a simpliication of the marks. when you look at the starbucks logo now, it doesn’t have any words in it. It’s just a mark and everyone knows what it means. there are many, many other examples of going to that. “the mark was kind of outdated and the league was moving into a new era, and they wanted something that represented that and was forward thinking and was futuristic and tested really, really well against young people.”

By keeping it simple, the logo is versatile, too. each school uses a version of the Big 12’s mark in its school colors. Placement on ields and uniforms is also consistent, something Orth said was not the case in the past.

Mark Cooper 918-581-8387 mark.cooper@tulsaworld.com

the big 12’s visual identities

1996-2004

The original logo stayed with the conference from the irst year of competition until the mid-2000s.

2005-2013

For its next iteration, designers kept the color scheme and block number look while modernizing the typeface.

2014-PRESENT

Post-conference realignment, the Big 12 needed to address its big problem: It no longer had 12 member schools.

GSD&M, the Austin-based advertising agency hired by the conference to oversee its rebranding, believed it would be a mistake to change the name of the conference — the “Big 12” brand is too recognizable — so the roman numeral 12 was introduced as an art element.

To coincide with the rebranding, the conference introduced marks for each school in the team colors.

Kansas State Oklahoma State West Virginia

Enter the Out Pick The Picker contest It’s that time of year to start picking games.

This year’s Out Pick The Picker Contest — that is celebrating its 22nd year — lets you go up against the infamous Picker, who will publish his thoughts and his picks in a column every Thursday during the football season. You pick 16 games from college and the NFL each week.

No point spreads. You just pick the winners and tie-breakers include entering the score of one of that week’s games.

You will be able to see what The

Picker picked as well and then battle it out to see where you rank.

The grand prize is an Albert G’s BBQ Feast valued at $700. The winner receives dinner for up to 20 people in a private dining room: a whole hog carved in front of the guests and served with coleslaw, beans, potato salad, toast and other trimmings.

Beverages are included. The date of feast is based on reservations availability. The winner needs to be 21 to claim the prize.

The contest starts Monday, Aug. 31, at noon at outpickthepicker.com.

Mark Cooper 918-581-8387 mark.cooper@tulsaworld.com BEST ADS

I don’t know, but Bo does

Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty (left) and Bryce Hager kiss their Big 12 championship trophy, the second one handed out on Dec. 6, after a 38-27 win over Kansas State in Waco.

Baylor’s Art Briles TCU’S GARY PATTERSON

Ohio State’s Urban Meyer

AP FILE PHOTOS

1989 • product: Nike Launched during the 1989 MLB All-Star game, Nike’s “Bo Knows” campaign created a phrase still known in pop culture today. The commercial spot shows Bo Jackson, multi-sport star, competing in a plethora of sports, famous athletes from each sport reemphasizing that “Bo knows” (except Wayne Gretzky, who simply says, “no” when Jackson tries his hand at hockey).

F 10 n n Sunday, August 23, 2015

Sunday, August 23, 2015 n n F 11

HOW a SLOGAN became a punchline for the big 12 in 2014 heartbroken in the heartland A refresher course on what went down and how it resulted in the Big 12 missing the inaugural College Football Playoff

“I don’t believe we are at a disadvantage. Relative to the playof, I don’t think one year makes a trend.”

— Bob Bowlsby at Big 12 Media Days, on the lack of a conference championship and how it might have afected TCU and Baylor’s chances

Oct. 11 and Oct. 18

Baylor def. TCU 61-58, then West Virginia def. Baylor 41-27 The events that set a shared championship in motion for the Big 12 took place nearly two months before the end of the season.

First, Baylor and TCU played one of the wildest games of the year. The Bears trailed 58-37 with 11 minutes to play before rallying for a miraculous 61-58 win, handing TCU its irst loss while remaining Shock Linwood runs past the West Virginia defense in undefeated. the upset loss in Morgantown. AP FILE PHOTOS That is, until one week later. That high-octane ofense that scored 24 points in 11 minutes against the Horned Frogs was stiled in Morgantown, West Virginia. Baylor scored just seven points in the entire second half of a loss that muddied the conference championship picture.

Dec. 2

CFP rankings show TCU at No. 3 Entering the inal week of the season, the Horned Frogs were the story of the College Football Playof rankings. TCU climbed from ifth to third after a 48-10 win at Texas, moving above Mississippi State, which lost, but more surprisingly Florida State, which was still undefeated. Ohio State, meanwhile, was No. 5, and Baylor came in at No. 6 despite its head-tohead win versus TCU.

FSU’s Cameron Erving celebrates after beating Florida 24-19 to stay undefeated.

TCU started the day with a 55-3 win over Iowa State in Fort Worth to earn the title of Big 12 champion — the irst of two that day.

Dec. 6

Ohio State romps, Baylor and TCU share title The Big 12’s teams took care of business, with TCU thrashing Iowa State and Baylor winning impressively versus then-No. 9 Kansas State.

The conference’s worstcase scenario took place everywhere else, though.

Florida State stayed undefeated and won the ACC Championship, efectively locking up a playof spot.

Alabama and Oregon left no questions, winning Ohio State players celebrate their Big Ten handily. championship over Wisconsin on Dec. 6.

Cardale Jones and Ohio State made the day’s biggest statement, crushing Wisconsin 59-0.

That’s the one that hurt most. When the College Football Playof rankings came out Dec. 7, the Buckeyes had moved into the top four, while TCU fell to sixth — behind Baylor.

College Football Playof chair Jef Long explained why TCU could fall despite a 52-point win over Iowa State.

“We’re not looking at teams merely as the top 25 and, ‘Oh, they lost, well they’ve got to slide down,’ or, ‘Oh, they beat somebody, so they’ve got to move up,’” Long said. “We don’t look at it that way.”

— MARK COOPER, World Sports Writer

FROM PAGE F2

the truest way of determining a champion.”

But is there a diference between “truest” and “most favorable”? even if a round-robin schedule may be the fairest way for all teams, it does leave the Big 12 with a disadvantage more concerning than the number of teams in the league. the most games a Big 12 school can currently win before the postseason is 12. the other four power conference champions may have a shot to win 13. then again, if it were that simple, this would not be a debate.

“I don’t believe we are at a disadvantage,” Bowlsby said. “relative to the playof, I don’t think one year makes a trend.”

O

n Dec. 6, twO texas universities celebrated Big 12 championships 87 miles apart.

Despite the “One true champion” slogan that appeared in television commercials and other advertisements all season, Bowlsby elected to present tcU and Baylor as co-champs to the college Football Playof selection committee. art Briles, Baylor head coach, was perhaps the loudest of those pointing at the hypocrisy.

“If you’re going to slogan around and say there’s ‘One true champion’, then all of a sudden you’re going to go out the back door instead of going out the front?” he said in his postgame news conference Dec. 6 after his Bears beat Kansas state. “Don’t say one thing and do another. that’s my whole deal.” the criticism and satire that followed the decision may have been irrelevant, considering the day’s other events.

Ohio state blasted wisconsin 59-0 in the Big ten championship.

Florida state outlasted Georgia tech in the acc championship to remain undefeated. still, the irony was hard to ignore: the conference that touted having the truest conference champion route was the only one of the Power 5 to have two.

One fateful saturday led to sunday, where the Big 12 was left waiting for its name to be called as alabama, Oregon, Florida state and Ohio state made the playof. tcU, which entered the inal weekend ranked third by speaking out the committee, After the inal slid to sixth. week of the Baylor was ifth. regular season, “I do think when the Big 12 that the fans and was left out of the the media came College Football to realize that Playof, TCU also a conference slid to No. 6 in championship, the USA Today which is not Coaches Poll. But determined the Horned Frogs until that last did have one of weekend, is the poll’s 64 irstone of the four place votes. criteria that the It came from Mike management Gundy, whose committee tells team lost to TCU us that we must 42-9 on Oct. 18. look at,” said Jef Long, cFP “I still think TCU’s committee chair the best team in and arkansas the country right athletic director, now,” Gundy said in a phone to reporters on interview with Dec. 16. “We’ll the tulsa world. never know. But “so it’s not I was shocked unreasonable based on the to think that strength of this league from top to a team could slide once those bottom.” championships have been determined that inal weekend.”

Long said he thinks those who immediately started looking at how the Big 12 needed to change, though, overreacted. “there were very reasonable scenarios last year where the Big 12 could have had two teams enter the inal four,” he said. the Big 12 explained its One true champion slogan by the path each team takes in its attempt to win the conference — the round-robin, everybody-plays-everybody format.

But that doesn’t change this fact: a Big 12 school has not reached the championship game since texas’ loss to alabama in 2009. the four other power conferences have made appearances in just the last two seasons (Florida stateauburn in 2014 and Ohio stateOregon in 2015). this ofseason, the Big 12 remained attached to One true champion, and made a move to strengthen its position. at the Big 12 spring meetings in May,

•••

O the conference eliminated cochampions, adding tiebreakers that begin with the head-to-head result. that pleases one of the men who holds some responsibility for the Big 12’s image and whose research inluenced the One true champion philosophy. “all brands need to constantly evaluate their position in the marketplace and if they are being true to what they say they stand for, right?” said Jef Orth, an account director for austin, texas-based advertising agency GsD&M. “I’m happy to see they’re committed to who they are but they’re willing to make adjustments to optimize their brand strength.”

•••

O

ne trUe chaMPIOn was born in 2010, back when the Big 12 still had texas a&M and Missouri and before one of its two (true) champions — tcU — joined the league.

It was at the peak of conference realignment. nebraska and colorado had already bolted the league. the aggies and tigers would soon be sec-bound.

GsD&M, the austin ad agency, was hired by the Big 12 to do research and to create a strong message that would give the Big 12 a stable image. as account director, Orth was in charge. his team wore out shoe leather, talking to fan bases of every school, key stakeholders and media members to understand the league’s values.

Orth’s team came up with three pillars to represent the Big 12’s brand of college sports. the results were unveiled as the Big 12’s new branding campaign in July 2011. Dan Beebe was Big 12 commissioner at the time. what were the three pillars?

Fierce rivalries. heartland values. One true champion.

Orth said he felt the Big 12’s round-robin scheduling, which created a “true” path to a league title, was the “biggest factor” in solidifying the conference’s brand. as the other four power conferences added teams, creating wide divisions and uneven scheduling, it was a place for the Big 12 to exclaim

• How Tulsa World editorial cartoonist Bruce Plante responded to the backlash and irony of the “One True Champion” slogan after it was announced Dec. 7 that TCU and Baylor were both skipped over for Florida State, Oregon, Alabama and Ohio State for the irst College Football Playof. This was published on Dec. 13.

its method was better.

“You don’t have any of that, ‘well, Georgia got in but they didn’t have to play alabama,’” Orth said. “Or the year Kansas did really, really well when it won the Orange Bowl, they didn’t play Oklahoma or texas.” the league stayed true to the three tenets, even as it was shaken by realignment again — the exodus of texas a&M and Missouri and the additions of tcU and west Virginia for 2012.

the round-robin schedule has paid of in one way: It has likely aided the development of new rivalries.

Baylor and tcU have quickly made their annual meeting a must-watch.

Oklahoma has its historic rivals, but the sooners and west Virginia already have classic games that are remembered each year when they meet again.

Orth said the heartland values pillar came from speaking with fans. he recalled a Kansas-Kansas state game where his team spoke to fans of both teams who tailgated together before kickof. “they were like, ‘Oh yeah, we’re going to go in that stadium and hate each other for three hours, and then we’ll be right back here after the game,’” said Orth, whose experience with sports branding includes more than a decade with the PGa tour as a client. as for one true champion? In 2011, the irst year the Big 12 played with 10 teams and no divisions, it did have an undisputed champ — Oklahoma state.

GsD&M was hired again in 2013, this time to develop a new visual identity for the Big 12.

Orth said his team did its due diligence in analyzing whether the Big 12, at 10 teams, needed to change its name, before deciding the Big 12 brand had built up too much equity to reboot it. Instead, they chose to make xII, the roman numeral for 12, the sole mark of the conference. the new logo was introduced for the 2014 season, as was the conference’s now-primary slogan, the previously used One true champion. though Orth’s team birthed it, he said it was not part of their 2013 project to decide on a slogan.

“One true champion was something that was representative of the process to get there,” he said. “this was the way — they had

PInIOns arOUnD the LeaGUe difer on what to do next. at Big 12 Media Days last month, Kansas state coach Bill snyder was outspoken about his beliefs.

“I favor a 12-team conference, I favor two divisions and I favor a championship game,” snyder said.

“You might remember that, when we had that format, we were one of only two teams that played a game in December, and that was one of only two conferences. that was the Big 12 conference and the sec. now we’re the only conference that does not do that and have that particular format.” snyder said he tries not to pay attention to the chatter. But he guessed the Big 12 is perceived to be on a lower scale because of its size and the lack of a conference championship.

It is expected that conference championship games will be deregulated in January, esPn.com reported in June. this would allow the Big 12 to hold one, even at 10 teams. a conference championship game would efectively be the death of One true champion (though, at this point, its disappearance would seemingly be welcomed).

But there are pros and cons to adding a game that would be a guaranteed rematch of a regularseason meeting.

“I don’t think it’s an advantage for us to play all nine and then, on nov.

7 two teams could have played and then they’re going to turn around and play again in the end,” Oklahoma state coach Mike Gundy said. “I don’t think that’s good for our league.” adding two teams to return to a 12-team, two-division setup is just as divisive a topic. regardless of future seasons, one thing holds true for 2015: the Big 12 needs to crack the playof.

Get one team in, or perhaps two — which isn’t out of the question, just like it wasn’t last season — and the narrative shifts. suddenly, another conference feels the way the Big 12 did last December.

Lonely. Discouraged. searching for answers.

“If we line up and we win 12 games this year, we’re going to be in the inal four,” Briles, Baylor’s coach, said at the conference media days.

“I think you can put that in ink right now.” as Bowlsby and college Football Playof executive director Bill hancock have said, one year does not make a trend. so what’s the moral of the story for Big 12 fans?

Maybe it’s simple: Be patient. that’s what Oklahoma state athletic Director Mike holder told fans in tulsa on aug. 6.

“Let’s just see what the future holds,” holder said. “we’re not in a bad place, as a lot of people like to think.”

How the Big 12 got its new look • a texas-based ad agency ditched the dated logo and compiled a set of values for the conference.

By MARK COOPER • WORld SPORtS WRitER

T

wice in the past ive years, the Big 12 has solicited the expertise of GsD&M, an advertising agency in austin, texas. • Jef Orth, GsD&M account director, was in charge of the Big 12’s initiatives. In 2010, after nebraska and colorado left the conference, he and his team conducted research to determine some basic pillars of the Big 12’s brand. • among them: Fierce rivalries, heartland values and one true champion.

a couple years later, though, after the conference realignment frenzy had calmed, Orth and his colleagues took on a new task: creating a new visual identity for the Big 12. this is where the conference’s logo — the dynamic roman numeral xII — was conceived. to start, Orth’s team asked what he called an obvious question: Did the Big 12 need to change its name? after all, it only has 10 teams. “we had many, many writers working on this and trying to come up with a name that would be better,” Orth said. “we just determined there’s a lot of equity in the Big 12, and it has enough brand equity that we can design a mark that is indicative of what the conference stands for and the values the conference has. “(the logo) is a nod at the heritage of the league.”

One goal in the creation of the new logo was to give the “12” its own identity, a number that was not a “literal representation” of the number of teams in the league. It’s why Orth’s team settled on the roman numeral as its mark.

Once they chose the roman numeral 12 as the image, they tried to make it simple and modern.

Orth explains: “when you look at logos in general, across all of our culture, there is a simpliication of the marks. when you look at the starbucks logo now, it doesn’t have any words in it. It’s just a mark and everyone knows what it means. there are many, many other examples of going to that. “the mark was kind of outdated and the league was moving into a new era, and they wanted something that represented that and was forward thinking and was futuristic and tested really, really well against young people.”

By keeping it simple, the logo is versatile, too. each school uses a version of the Big 12’s mark in its school colors. Placement on ields and uniforms is also consistent, something Orth said was not the case in the past.

Mark Cooper 918-581-8387 mark.cooper@tulsaworld.com

the big 12’s visual identities

1996-2004

The original logo stayed with the conference from the irst year of competition until the mid-2000s.

2005-2013

For its next iteration, designers kept the color scheme and block number look while modernizing the typeface.

2014-PRESENT

Post-conference realignment, the Big 12 needed to address its big problem: It no longer had 12 member schools.

GSD&M, the Austin-based advertising agency hired by the conference to oversee its rebranding, believed it would be a mistake to change the name of the conference — the “Big 12” brand is too recognizable — so the roman numeral 12 was introduced as an art element.

To coincide with the rebranding, the conference introduced marks for each school in the team colors.

Kansas State Oklahoma State West Virginia

Enter the Out Pick The Picker contest It’s that time of year to start picking games.

This year’s Out Pick The Picker Contest — that is celebrating its 22nd year — lets you go up against the infamous Picker, who will publish his thoughts and his picks in a column every Thursday during the football season. You pick 16 games from college and the NFL each week.

No point spreads. You just pick the winners and tie-breakers include entering the score of one of that week’s games.

You will be able to see what The

Picker picked as well and then battle it out to see where you rank.

The grand prize is an Albert G’s BBQ Feast valued at $700. The winner receives dinner for up to 20 people in a private dining room: a whole hog carved in front of the guests and served with coleslaw, beans, potato salad, toast and other trimmings.

Beverages are included. The date of feast is based on reservations availability. The winner needs to be 21 to claim the prize.

The contest starts Monday, Aug. 31, at noon at outpickthepicker.com.

Mark Cooper 918-581-8387 mark.cooper@tulsaworld.com BEST ADS

I don’t know, but Bo does

Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty (left) and Bryce Hager kiss their Big 12 championship trophy, the second one handed out on Dec. 6, after a 38-27 win over Kansas State in Waco.

Baylor’s Art Briles TCU’S GARY PATTERSON

Ohio State’s Urban Meyer

AP FILE PHOTOS

1989 • product: Nike Launched during the 1989 MLB All-Star game, Nike’s “Bo Knows” campaign created a phrase still known in pop culture today. The commercial spot shows Bo Jackson, multi-sport star, competing in a plethora of sports, famous athletes from each sport reemphasizing that “Bo knows” (except Wayne Gretzky, who simply says, “no” when Jackson tries his hand at hockey).

F 12 n n Sunday, August 23, 2015

breaking down the Big 12 2014 OSU STATS

PLAYERS TO WATCH

ȕ Team statistics Opponents OSU Scoring 406 359 First downs 286 246 by rushing 117 92 by passing 145 128 by penalty 24 26 Rushing yards 2,117 1,776 Passing yards 3,499 3,149 Passing 453-275-12 401-222-17 Ofensive plays 970 907 Total yards 5616 4925 Avg. per play 5.8 5.4 Fumbles-Lost 12-2 11-5 Penalties-Yds 89-815 79-700 Punts-Avg. 76-40.51 81-41.79 Punt returns-Yds 25-79 30-293 Kickof returns-Yds 56-1,178 50-1,024 Interceptions-Yds 17-184 12-155 Fumble returns-Yds 5-46 2-0 Possession time 32:00 28:00 3rd downs 84-206 64-194 4th downs 5-16 8-16 Sacks by-Yds 40-235 33-203

The Baylor defensive end had sensational numbers last year with 19.5 tackles for loss and a schoolrecord 11 sacks.

Shawn Oakman

It’s hard to believe that he was once a wide receiver.

But now the TCU quarterback is the league’s top Heisman Trophy candidate.

Trevone Boykin

ȕ Individual leaders RUSHING Att Gain Avg. Avg/G TD D. Roland 203 770 3.8 70 10 T. Hill 102 534 5.2 44.5 1 R. Childs 78 294 3.8 29.4 3 D. Garman 60 -17 -0.3 - .89 1 RECEIVING No. Yards Avg Avg/G TD B. Sheperd 39 737 18.90 56.69 5 D. Glidden 42 598 14.24 46.00 2 J. Washington 28 456 16.29 35.08 6 T. Hill 31 281 9.06 23.42 1 J. Seales 18 278 15.44 23.17 3 M. Ateman 20 268 13.40 22.33 0 J. Seaton 13 162 12.46 13.50 0 PASSING C-Att-Int Yds Avg/G TD D. Garman 152-277-12 2,041 226.78 12 M. Rudolph 49-86-4 853 284.33 6 J. Walsh 20-36-1 233 116.50 1 PUNT RETURNS No. Yards Avg TD T. Hill 27 256 9.48 1 J. Sterns 1 30 30.00 0 B. Sheperd 2 7 3.50 0 KICK RETURNS No. Yards Avg TD T. Hill 30 740 24.67 2 B. Sheperd 6 128 21.33 0 B. Jarwin 6 66 11.00 0 PUNTING K. Smith

No. Yards Avg 81 3,385 41.79

FIELD GOALS B. Grogan

I20 25

FGs PAT Long 22-28 41-41 47

DEFENSIVE Total TFL Sacks Int J. Sterns 103 4.5 0 0 R. Simmons 96 12.0 2.0 0 S. Jacobs 92 6.5 0 2 J. Furman 64 14.0 7.0 1 K. Peterson 59 1.5 0 2 T. Flowers 56 2.0 0 0 E. Ogbah 49 17.0 11.0 0 J. Castleman 45 8.0 3.5 1 R. Richards 42 2.0 0 3 J. Bean 42 6.0 3.5 0 L. Stephens 41 2.0 0 1

FF 2 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 0

An athletic Baylor defensive tackle, he can be disruptive in the middle of the line.

He ended with 11.5 tackles for loss last season.

Andrew Billings

Opponents OU Scoring 337 473 First downs 264 293 by rushing 86 161 by passing 155 118 by penalty 23 14 Rushing yards 1,383 3,395 Passing yards 3,591 2,646 Passing 287-510-12 210-386-17 Ofensive plays 968 943 Total yards 4974 6041 Avg. per play 5.1 6.4 Fumbles-Lost 19-7 12-7 Penalties-Yds 77-614 70-648 Punts-Avg. 89-39.2 66-41.9 Punt returns-Yds 17-181 15-87 Kickof returns-Yds 26-554 37-840 Interceptions-Yds 17-239 12-191 Fumble returns-Yds 7-75 7-5 Possession time 29:40 30:20 3rd downs 82-214 72-178 4th downs 9-17 9-15 Sacks by-Yds 9-58 32-204

PUNT RETURNS No. Yards Avg S. Shepard 11 73 6.6 Z. Sanchez 2 20 10.0 KICK RETURNS No. Yards A. Ross 23 718 D. Neal 7 69 C. Knight 2 17 PUNTING J. Barnett FIELD GOALS M. Hunnicutt

No. Yards 66 2,763

Like last year, no one makes the four-team College Football Playofs.

The league’s top four projected teams – TCU, Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State – won’t play each other until November. If the teams start knocking each other out, there could be no solid candidate on the inal weekend.

November’s best team will be the Big 12’s irst representative in the College Football Playofs. TCU, Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will face each other in November and the team left standing gets in.

YOU ....

I20 13

FGs PAT Long 13-18 60-62 44

DEFENSE Total TFL Sacks D. Alexander 107 6.0 1.5 J. Evans 93 6.5 1 A. Thomas 75 0.5 0 E. Striker 68 17.0 9.0 Q. Hayes 52 5.0 3.0 C. Ndulue 49 5.0 3.5 Z. Sanchez 43 1.0 0 J. Wilson 39 0 0 J. Phillips 39 7.0 2.0 J. Grissom 39 6.5 3.5 C. Tapper 37 7.5 3.0 J. Thomas 32 0 0 S. Parker 31 2.0 1.0

Int 0 1 1 0 1 0 6 1 0 1 1 0 0

BUILDING a CAMPAIGN FOR the big 12 The actual advertising agency hired by the Big 12 preaches three tenets for the conference: Fierce rivalries. Heartland values. One true champion. We took the liberty of incorporating those principles and coming up with our own in this campaign.

“WATCH OUT, SEC!”

SIZE DOESN’T MATTER!

STRENGTH IN (SMALLER) NUMBERS As the smallest Power 5 conference, the Big 12 is often in the mix for more realignment. But which schools would they add? Until a team does what TCU pulled of prior to its move to the Big 12, it might be best to wait.

THE SLOGAN

TOP 25 TEAMS! FEATURING 3 PRESEASON

At least for this season, the Big 12 does not have a conference championship game (they could add one in the future if championship games are deregulated). How 2015 pans out is important.

Who knows — if two Big 12 teams make the playof, the conference will look much smarter.

RATHER NOT MENTION ...

The SEC has three teams in the top nine of the preseason USA Today Coaches poll. The Pac-12 has six in the Top 25, and the Big Ten has defending national champion and preseason No. 1 Ohio State. While the Big 12 has two main contenders, might it again be outdone?

TD 0 0

Avg TD 31.2 2 9.9 0 8.5 0 Avg 41.9

It was very evident how much the lack of a conference championship game hurt the Big 12 when TCU slipped out of the College Football Playof race last year. While it isn’t fair to judge the CFP based on one year’s results, it does make you wonder how much the lack of a 13th game (conference championship contest) hurts the Big 12. The league also has to help itself with non-conference wins and, in the future, boost some of the nonconference schedules. Only Texas and Oklahoma lack an FCS team on the schedule in 2015. With the easy nonconference schedules knock down the perception of power in this conference?

Two teams ind a way to break through into the College Football Playofs. Last season, with the right results on the inal weekend, TCU and Baylor could have made the CFP. An unbeaten team would be guaranteed a spot in the ield and could be joined by a one-loss team – if that loss comes early in the season (see Ohio State last year).

RUSHING Att Gain Avg. Avg/G TD S. Perine 263 1,713 6.5 131.8 21 A. Ross 88 613 6.8 45.8 4 K. Ford 71 407 5.5 49.0 5 T. Knight 68 412 5.0 33.9 5

PASSING C-Att-Int Yds Avg/G TD T. Knight 179-316-12 2,300 230.0 14 C. Thomas 30-66-4 342 48.9 2 D. Neal 1-2-1 4 0.3 1

Weaknesses

Likely scenario for 2015

COMING TO A FIELD NEAR

FF 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 7 0 0

Power rankings

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 TCU

Defense will be young, but one thing Gary Patterson knows is defense. They will be ine.

Baylor

One player many can’t wait to see in action is TE LaQuan McGowan, who weighs in at 410 pounds.

Oklahoma

Worst-case scenario for 2015

ȕ Individual leaders

RECEIVING No. Yards Avg Avg/G TD S. Shepard 51 970 19.0 80.8 5 D. Neal 42 513 12.2 39.5 3 M. Quick 25 237 9.5 18.2 1 K. Young 19 225 11.8 18.8 1 B. Bell 16 214 13.4 17.8 4 S. Perine 15 108 7.2 8.3 0

The Big 12 enters the season with legitimate national championship contenders in TCU and Baylor. Last year, both team’s emergence came somewhat of a surprise to many people. If both programs have the success expected this year, the national attention won’t fade away from the conference in the important inal weeks of the season. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State should be better following disappointing seasons, while Texas continues to try to build a foundation under second-year coach Charlie Strong. Every team in the league will face each other for the fourth consecutive season — something that no other power conference can boast.

Best-case scenario for 2015

2014 OU STATS ȕ Team statistics

Strengths

The Lincoln Riley era is ushered in. But who will be his starting quarterback?

Oklahoma State The home schedule includes TCU, Baylor, Oklahoma and Kansas State.

Darkhorse candidate?

Texas

Will it be Tyrone Swoopes or Jerrod Heard at quarterback this season?

West Virginia

Dana Holgorsen, who knows ofense, is very high on the Mountaineers’ defense this season.

Kansas State

Like many other schools, Wildcats looking to settle on a quarterback.

Also never underestimate Bill Snyder.

Texas Tech

The Red Raiders have lost 12 of their past 14 Big 12 games.

Iowa State The Cyclones are 2-16 against Big 12 teams over the past two seasons.

Kansas

First-year coach David Beaty has his hands full with a Jayhawks program in dire need of rebuilding.

2014 results TCU Baylor Kansas State Oklahoma W. Virginia Okla. State Texas Tech Kansas Iowa State

conf. all 8-1 12-1 8-1 11-2 7-2 9-4 5-4 8-5 5-4 6-7 4-5 7-6 2-7 4-8 1-8 3-9 0-9 2-10

Enter the Out Pick The Picker contest It’s that time of year to start picking games.

This year’s Out Pick The Picker Contest, which is celebrating its 22nd year, lets you go up against the infamous Picker, who will publish his thoughts and his picks in a column every Thursday

during the football season. You pick 16 games from college and the NFL each week. No point spreads. You just pick the winners and tie-breakers include entering the score of one of that week’s games.

You will be able to see what The

Picker picked as well and then battle it out to see where you rank.

The grand prize is an Albert G’s BBQ Feast valued at $700. The winner receives dinner for up to 20 people in a private dining room: a whole hog carved in front of the guests and served with

coleslaw, beans, potato salad, toast and other trimmings. Beverages are included. The date of feast is based on reservations availability. The winner needs to be 21 to claim the prize.

The contest starts Monday, Aug. 31, at noon at outpickthepicker.com.

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Sunday, August 23, 2015 n n F 13

analysis Will OU improve under Riley’s structure?

N

ORMAN — Lincoln Riley is calling plays at Oklahoma now because the Sooners’ ofense descended into a hodgepodge of conlicting philosophies. • OU’s new ofensive coordinator is going to do what he does best, and nothing else: operate the Air Raid. • Nothing against Josh Heupel, Bob Stoops said.

“It’s just Lincoln has a diferent way, and I would take it even probably to Hal Mumme and Mike Leach and all that, in that so much they’re disciplined, how strict they are in their system.

That, I think, allows for the quarterback to become very regimented in not only their technique and development, but they see the same things over and over and over. It allows, I think, a degree of comfort when you go for the entire year running the same play.

There’s just a lot of discipline and fundamentals in it that have been successful.”

Poor Heupel. He came up as a quarterback in the MummeLeach system but, 10 years later, after OU evolved into and out of variations of a pro-style ofense — I-formation, shotgun, hurry-up, check-with-me, pistol — Stoops promoted Heupel to ofensive coordinator and made him incorporate elements of Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel freestyle.

The result was last year’s unrecognizable mess: no structure, minimal direction, even the occasional abandonment of an entire gameplan at halftime.

The result: Trevor Knight’s 2014 season: 14 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, a .566 completion percentage (not in OU’s all-time top 10) and a 124.8 eiciency rating (not in the top 20).

Perhaps with Riley’s devotion to one scheme, and the discipline to stay in that scheme, Knight will be a much better quarterback this season. Or maybe it will be Baker Mayield.

Perhaps with Lincoln Riley’s devotion to one scheme, and the discipline to stay in that scheme, Trevor Knight will be a much better quarterback this season. Or maybe it will be Baker Mayfield.

Oklahoma

John E. Hoover Sports Columnist john.hoover @tulsaworld.com 918-581-8384 Twitter: @JohnEHoover

“You don’t have to do anything that’s superhero-like,” Mayield said. “You do the basics, you stick to what you’re taught, and good things will happen.”

“It’s just the scheme of the ofense,” said Knight, “pushing the ball down the ield and taking what the defense gives you and making those big plays on the outside. It’s more of a mentality.”

“I think it’s just a really strong commitment,” said Riley. “That started with guys way before me and a lot of us out here. That was the way that we came up and the way we learned it. We’re going to do what we do. We’re not going to deviate from that. If we have a bad practice or a bad quarter or a bad game, we’re not going to change. We’re going to coach better and play better. We know that it works. We’ve seen that it works, and we’re as committed to it as we possibly could be.”

From Hal Mumme to Mike Leach to Art Briles to Dana Holgorsen to Riley, the Air Raid is everywhere now. Riley’s is the latest manifestation. He was a Red Raider under Leach, then became a Tech assistant from 2003-09 and in 2010 was hired by former Tech defensive coordi-

Lincoln Riley has promised that he plans to stick to one scheme to help improve the performance of Oklahoma’s ofense in 2015. AP

nator Ruin McNeill to run the ofense at East Carolina.

“They have such trust in the system and the fundamentals and the disciplines of it,” Stoops said. “Then once a quarterback becomes comfortable with that, it allows for a lot of success — not only for quarterbacks, but for receivers as well.

And you’ve seen it in a lot of schools, maybe even in a lot of guys that weren’t highly re-

cruited, quarterback and receiver both.”

Said Riley, “We went into a predominantly running ofense with Skip Holtz before us at East Carolina, where the receivers didn’t produce a ton. You saw that change pretty quickly. That’ll be the goal here. They know there’s opportunities. They know the history.”

Under Riley, ECU’s Justin Hardy set the NCAA career

record for receptions, surpassing the mark Ryan Broyles set at OU. “It lights you up inside knowing that the guy he coached last year broke Ryan Broyles’ record, and we all know how great he was at Oklahoma,” said senior wideout Sterling Shepard. “So it deinitely gives you a little spark in your day.”

So OU receivers should be better. But what about Knight? What about Mayield? They have two diferent skill sets.

“I think you can make this system it the quarterback,” Riley said. “A lot of times, guys that people think are the best quarterbacks because they’re 6-7 or because they have a huge arm or run really fast, a lot of that has nothing to do with playing quarterback.

“You go look at some of the best guys in the NFL right now.

You’ve got a guy like Drew Brees that’s 6-foot. You’ve got guys like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, neither probably breaks 5.2 in the 40 right now. But they’re great players because they know how to play. Everybody has always called this a quarterback-friendly system, and I agree. If we ever run a system that’s not quarterback friendly, we’re not doing our job.”

Rudolph sparked change for entire team

M

ason Rudolph just didn’t make a diference for Oklahoma State. • OSU was a diferent team, in almost every way, after Rudolph was inserted into the lineup for the inal three games of last season. • The ofensive line suddenly looked capable. The defense became one of the best in the Big 12 Conference. Even O-State’s kickers seemed to kick better. • OSU coach Mike Gundy went from grumpy to downright giddy. • Everything changed when Rudolph went from redshirt to emergency starter on the road at No. 6 Baylor. • Can one player change so much about an entire team? Yes, if it is a quarterback.

“It worked out for us in the long run,” said OSU coach Mike Gundy.

It has certainly changed how Oklahoma State is perceived going into this season.

No one knows quite what to make of Oklahoma State this season. For all of the positives in those inal three games last season, there are still some lingering doubts because of a horrid ivegame losing streak.

If the OSU from the Cactus Bowl shows up this fall, then the Cowboys are good enough to seriously challenge at winning the Big 12 Conference.

If the OSU from last year’s Texas game shows up this fall, then the Cowboys will be one of the most disappointing teams in the country.

Oklahoma State’s three most difficult games — TCU, Baylor and Oklahoma — are all at home.

Most believe the high-powered Cowboys from late in the season, with Rudolph, are the real Cowboys and should make Oklahoma State a legitimate threat to

Oklahoma State is not in the preseason national top 25 but most believe the Cowboys might be the most dangerous unranked team in the country.

Oklahoma state

John Klein Senior Sports Columnist john.klein @tulsaworld.com 918-581-8368 Twitter: @JohnKleinTW

become a relevant factor on the national college football stage this fall.

“If your quarterback plays well it gives you a chance to have a really good season,” said Gundy.

OSU is not in the preseason national top 25 but most believe the Cowboys might be the most dangerous unranked team in the country.

Yes, Rudolph is a diferencemaker. Those last three games were a thing of beauty, especially for a true freshman quarterback.

Oklahoma State averaged 418.3 yards and 32 points in those three games — at No. 6 Baylor, at No. 18 Oklahoma and at the Cactus Bowl against Washington (with two irst-round NFL picks on its

Mason Rudolph started in just three games in 2014 — and has yet to start a game at Boone Pickens Stadium — but the excitement surrounding his future is apparent in Stillwater. TIMOTHY TAI/Tulsa World

defense).

He has yet to play a home game. Yet, he’s illed OSU fans with a sense of optimism that a league championship may soon be within reach.

That’s a long way from where OSU found itself in late November last fall. In the four games before Rudolph was inserted at quarterback, OSU averaged just 286.5 yards and 10 points per game.

“I think it was a combination of things,” said OSU ofensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. “It was our quarterback. Our ofensive line started to play better. I think we as coaches did a better job.

“We simpliied things. I think we played to our strengths.”

After a rough start at Baylor, Rudolph steadied OSU’s shaky

ship and the Cowboys played the Bears on even terms for three quarters. He then rallied O-State to an overtime victory at OU. He followed that up by throwing for 299 yards and two touchdowns against Washington’s talented defense.

It has generated a lot of enthusiasm for the upcoming season. It should.

If Rudolph was a lash in the pan, we probably would have noticed some uneven play during those three games. Instead, Rudolph seemed to get better the longer he played.

OSU coaches said that improvement has continued through the spring.

It led Gundy to go ahead and name Rudolph the starter before spring practice. Plus,

Gundy is hinting he believes the Cowboys could be good enough to be a serious contender to win the Big 12.

Could one player make that big of a diference? In football, yes.

Certainly, Rudolph’s three games coincided with an improving ofensive line. Rudolph is somewhat of an elusive quarterback. He knows how to avoid the rush and buy himself time. That certainly helped the ofensive line.

With Rudolph at quarterback, OSU’s three-and-outs were virtually eliminated. Suddenly, OSU had some ofensive life.

That translated into improved defense.

No longer was O-State’s defenders living on the ield. They got rest and were suddenly far more efective.

State has good players. Rudolph helped those players blossom by the way he played and led.

So, no, it wasn’t all him.

But, it is hard to ignore all the evidence.

Rudolph changed how we feel about OSU’s football future this fall.

WORLD’S SEASON

PICKS

Consensus

PICKS Eric Bailey

Mark Cooper

Guerin Emig

Bill Haisten

Kelly Hines

John E. Hoover

John Klein

Michael Peters

Patrick Prince

The Picker

Big 12 champion

TCU

TCU

Baylor

TCU

TCU

Baylor

TCU

TCU

Baylor

TCU

TCU

AAC champion

Cincinnati

Memphis

Cincinnati

Cincinnati

Cincinnati

Cincinnati

Cincinnati

Houston

Memphis

Cincinnati

Cincinnati

Ohio State, TCU, Auburn, Oregon

Alabama, Ohio St., TCU, USC

Ohio St., Auburn, USC, Michigan St.

Ohio St., Auburn, TCU, Oregon

TCU, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Clemson

Ohio St., Alabama, USC, LSU

Ohio St., Alabama USC, LSU

OSU, TCU,

Ohio State

TCU

Ohio State

Ohio State

Ohio State

Alabama

Ohio State

Ohio St.

College Football Playoff four CFP champion Heisman winner

Ohio State, TCU Ohio State, TCU Baylor, Clemson, Georgia, Oregon Michigan St., Alabama Alabama, Ohio State Ohio State

Ohio State

Alabama

Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio St. Dak Prescott, Miss. St. Seth Russell, Baylor Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio St. Trevone Boykin, TCU

Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio St. Trevone Boykin, TCU Trevone Boykin, TCU Leonard Fournette, LSU Cody Kessler, USC

UA, USC None

Can you out pick the picker? outpickthepicker.com

F 14 n n Sunday, August 23, 2015

0klahoma Sooners // roster LOCAL RADIO AFFILIATES KMOD fm97.5 (Tulsa) KYFM fm100.1 (Bartlesville) KTFX fm101.7 (Muskogee) BOB STOOPS TV SHOW Sundays, 7 p.m., FSOK-1027 BOB STOOPS RADIO SHOW Tuesdays, 7 p.m., KTBZ am1430 TICKETS 405-325-2424, soonersports.com

2015 SCHEDULE Sept. 5 • ppV • 6 p.m.

Akron At long last a Bowden coaches at Owen Field. Too bad it’s Terry, not Bobby.

Sept. 12 • eSpn-1025 • 5 p.m.

at Tennessee Huge swing game comes early. If Sooners win, they might stay unbeaten until mid-November.

Sept. 19 • fS1-1312 • 11 a.m.

Tulsa Sooners haven’t had much luck defending Philip Montgomery ofenses last few years.

Oct. 3 • tba

West Virginia Preseason All-Big 12 Mountaineers: 2 on defense, 0 on ofense. That’s diferent.

Oct. 10 • at DallaS • tba

Texas Sooners haven’t outplayed Longhorns since 63-21 shellacking in 2012.

Quarterbacks

RECEIVERS

The scoop: If Knight gets the call, he must be a much more accurate, careful passer than he’s been the past two years. If it’s Cody Thomas, he must be a more comfortable, conident passer than he appeared to be in his three starts last season. If it’s Baker Mayield, widely considered the favorite since the day Bob Stoops hired Lincoln Riley, he must rein in his ”gunslinger” mentality.

The scoop: Shepard should be an AllAmerican in this ofense, provided he stays healthy. Westbrook is expected to do what OU receivers could not last year — draw defensive attention away from Shepard. Mead and Andrews stood out in the Red-White Game last April. If those youngsters pick up where they left of, this group becomes a huge asset to Mayield/Knight/Thomas.

stars Samaje Perine Freshman AllAmerican running back and NCAA single-game record holder returns 10 pounds lighter, supposedly quicker and with designs on increasing his role in OU’s passing attack. It will be tough to match last year’s 1,713 yards in Lincoln Riley’s version of the Air Raid, and with Joe Mixon around to share carries.

The bottom line: Mayield, Knight and Thomas have combined to throw 37 touchdown passes and 30 interceptions.

That’s a ratio that should scare Stoops and Riley to death as they forge ahead with Riley’s version of the Air Raid. It sounds elementary, but whoever wins the job has to stop throwing it to the wrong team.

Bob Stoops looks to go 6-0 in Manhattan.

Oct. 24 • tba

The bottom line: Is there room for a pack of running backs in an Air Raid offense? There is when those backs signify the strongest position on your offense. The Sooners are going to throw, but not so much that talents like Perine and Mixon go overlooked.

They’ll both get the ball.

Third team All-American linebacker last season thanks to his tireless pass rushing. Led the Sooners with nine sacks and 17 tackles for lost yardage, even as Mike Stoops dropped him into pass coverage more often than observers felt necessary. He’ll prosper even more if bookend pass rusher Charles Tapper returns to his 2013 form.

RB Samaje Perine • So., 5-11, 237 Joe Mixon • RS Fr., 6-1, 217 Alex Ross • RS Jr., 6-1, 221

LIKELY STARTER LISTED FIRST • RETURNING STARTERS IN BOLD

WR Durron Neal Sr., 5-11, 195 Jefery Mead So., 6-6, 189

TE

RT

Mark Andrews RS Fr., 6-5, 245 Carson Meier RS Fr., 6-5, 234

Josiah St. John RS Sr., 6-6, 308 Derek Farniok RS Sr., 6-8, 339

RG

at Kansas

CB Zack Sanchez RS Jr., 5-11, 179 Will Johnson So., 6-0, 182

OLB

nOV. 7 • tba

Iowa State Paul Rhoads needs to win game like this to cool his hot seat.

DT

DE

Charles Walker RS So., 6-2, 297 Matt Dimon Jr., 6-2, 260

Matt Romar RS So., 6-0, 291 Jordan Wade RS Jr., 6-4, 304

Charles Tapper Sr., 6-2, 282 D.J. Ward RS So., 6-2, 259

ILB

ILB

Jordan Evans Jr., 6-2, 239 Frank Shannon RS Sr., 6-0, 239

Dominique Alexander Jr., 6-0, 220 Tay Evans RS Fr., 6-2, 235

DEFENSE

nOV. 14 • tba

at Baylor

special teams

at Oklahoma State A treacherous endof-season run ends in Stillwater, where Stoops is 6-2.

COACHING STAFF Bob Stoops • Head coach, 17th year, $5.4 million

Mike Stoops • Associate head coach/defensive

coordinator/outside linebackers, ninth year, $850,000

Cale Gundy • Assistant head coach/recruiting director/inside receivers, 17th year, $365,000

Lincoln Riley • Ofensive coordinator/quarterbacks, irst year, $500,000

SS

FS

Steven Parker So., 6-1, 200 Hatari Byrd Jr., 6-1, 206

Ahmad Thomas Jr., 6-0, 213 Kahlil Haughton Fr., 6-1, 185

Nick Hodgson • RS Sr., 6-2, 202 Austin Seibert • Fr., 5-10, 210

LONG SNAPPER

nOV. 21 • tba

nOV. 28 • tba

K

LT

DE

Eric Striker Sr., 6-0, 222 Ogbonnia Okoronkwo RS So., 6-2, 236

Wesley Horky • So., 6-1, 220

BY GUERIN EMIG WORLD SPORTS WRITER

P

KICKOFF RETURNS

Alex Ross • RS Jr., 6-1, 221 Daniel Brooks • RS Jr., 5-8, 182

Secondary

The scoop: Bond really came on over the second half of last season.

He joins Striker and Okoronkwo as pass rush specialists.

Alexander was OU’s leading tackler last year. Shannon had that honor in ’13, before he was suspended for a year. Evans, who was good last fall in his irst opportunity to start, should be even better now that he’s added so much weight.

The scoop: Sanchez gives the Sooners big plays (eight interceptions and two touchdowns over the past two years). What he seeks is more consistency. Coaches swear Jordan and Ahmad Thomas will be better, having learned from their growing pains as irst-year starters last fall, and they’re higher on Steven Parker. The former Jenks star is being given Roy Williams-esque responsibility.

The bottom line: New secondary coach Kerry Cooks put the Sooners’ pitiful pass defense ranking in front of his DBs last spring. That continues to motivate all involved, but motivation doesn’t mean anything without results. OU has the talent (Sanchez, Parker) to produce much better results. The problem is the Big 12 has the quarterbacks (Trevone Boykin, Seth Russell, Mason Rudolph) to make DBs look silly, regardless of their talent.

• Ofensive line, third year, $375,000

Tim Kish • Inside linebackers, fourth year, $330,000

Kerry Cooks

OLB

Jordan Thomas So., 6-0, 191 P.J. Mbanasor Fr., 6-0, 192

Steven Parker So., 6-1, 200 Will Johnson So., 6-0, 182

HOLDER

Grant Bothun • RS Jr., 5-11, 187 PUNT RETURNS

Dede Westbrook • Jr., 6-0, 168 Sterling Shepard • Sr., 5-10, 193

sleepers Josiah St. John St. John didn’t play while redshirting in 2013. He barely played as a late-game backup last year. Now, he must help replace Tyrus Thompson and Daryl Williams, OU’s bookend tackles the past two seasons. St. John must handle his increased load if the Sooners are to block and protect.

Mark Andrews As Andrews, a tight end, broke out last spring, you kept hearing comparisons to Texas Tech AllAmerican Jace Amaro, whose 1,352 yards in 2013 set an NCAA record for tight ends. Nobody expects that kind of production out of this redshirt freshman. Everybody anticipates Riley to exploit Andrews like Kevin Wilson did Jermaine Gresham.

Devante Bond

• Special teams coordinator/running backs, third year, $330,000

Bill Bedenbaugh

CB

Jack Steed • RS Jr., 6-4, 216 Austin Seibert • Fr., 5-10, 210

Linebacker

Jay Boulware

Dede Westbrook Jr., 6-0, 168 A.D. Miller Fr., 6-3, 187

NB

The scoop: The Sooners can play this 3-4 or add a defensive end (outside linebacker Eric Striker is practically a rush end anyhow), slide Walker inside and show a 4-3. Regardless, two things must happen for the line to be productive – Tapper and Wade must return to their 2013 form and Walker and Romar must reach their potential.

The bottom line: Two years ago OU removed linebackers from their defense in the ”Tavon Austin Game” at West Virginia. Now, this is the Sooners’ deepest, most productive position group. It will be interesting to see what Mike Stoops does with Shannon, as well an up-and-comer like Tay Evans.

Sterling Shepard Sr., 5-10, 193 Michiah Quick So., 5-11, 184

Devante Bond Sr., 6-1, 238 Ricky DeBerry Fr., 6-2, 242

Defensive line

The bottom line: OU’s success down the stretch of that ’13 season was due to the defensive line more than anything. Striker and Tapper rushed the quarterback relentlessly while Wade stood his ground in the middle. Last year, with Tapper and Jordan Phillips underperforming and Wade buried on the depth chart, OU came apart down the stretch.

The D-line is so critical.

WR

WR LG

C

OUTSIDE

SLOT

Ty Darlington Jonathan Alvarez Orlando Brown Nila Kasitati Sr., 6-3, 286 RS Sr., 6-3, 319 So., 6-3, 297 RS Fr., 6-8, 342 Jonathan Alvarez Alex Dalton Jamal Danley Christian Daimler So., 6-3, 297 RS Fr., 6-3, 290 Jr., 6-3, 297 So., 6-7, 306

Oct. 31 • tba

Will Big 12 title be in balance? What about Heisman candidacies of Samaje Perine, Trevone Boykin?

OFFENSE

QB Baker Mayield • Jr., 6-1, 209 Trevor Knight • RS Jr., 6-1, 207 Cody Thomas • RS So., 6-4, 211

Baker Mayield vs.

Klif Kingsbury? We can only hope.

TCU

The bottom line: The loss of experienced starting tackles Daryl Williams and Tyrus Thompson is a killer. As previous rebuilding years (2005 and ’09 come to mind) have indicated, Sooners should not expect a seamless transition. St. John and Brown have the size to deliver, but neither has started an FBS game. If either struggles, OU might try Farniok, who did start briely in 2013.

Eric Striker

projected depth chart

Texas Tech

Sooners will be decided underdog in their irst game at Bears’ McLane Stadium.

The scoop: The Sooners know what they have in Darlington and Kasitati. They have to hope Brown grows up fast. They need St. John to take advantage of his one shot at starting. They need either Alvarez or Danley to emerge. They need one of their O-line wildcards — JUCO transfer Quinn Mittermeier or true freshman Dru Samia — to step forward. Redshirt freshman Kenyon Frison would have joined the mix, but his suspension prevents that.

First team All-Big 12 wide receiver last year despite OU’s inconsistent quarterback play and his own debilitating groin injury. Should be an All-American contender in Riley’s ofense, and with a playmaker like Dede Westbrook around to keep doubleteaming defenses more honest. The key will be staying healthy.

The scoop: Perine says he lost 10-15 pounds to gain quickness and agility, a frightening development for opposing defenses. Mixon is expected to provide a dynamic, elusive complement to the powerful Perine now that his suspension is over. Ross fell just shy of 600 yards last year behind Perine and Keith Ford.

Jayhawks have likeable coach in David Beaty, but arguably worst talent in Big 12 history.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Sterling Shepard

Running backs

Oct. 17 • tba

at Kansas State

The bottom line: If Shepard wasn’t open last year, panic ensued. That should not be the case this fall. Passing attacks like Riley’s come after defenses in waves. So while Shepard and Westbrook are the headliners, there should be plenty of opportunity for others. Neal, Quick, Austin Bennett and true freshmen Dahu Green and A.D. Miller can all assist.

Special teams The scoop: The Sooners are unsettled at kicker for the irst time in four years. It’s either Hodgson, a kickof specialist in the past, or Seibert, a freshman named ESPN’s top high school kicker. Seibert will challenge Jack Steed for the punting chores as well. Ross is an All-American return man.

The bottom line: Stoops got plenty from Ross on kickof returns last year, but next to nothing on punt returns. Westbrook might just change that. Michael Hunnicutt graduated as OU’s alltime leading scorer, but he went into a bizarre tailspin last season. It shouldn’t be a stretch for Hodgson or Seibert to surpass Hunnicutt’s 13 ield goals from 2014.

JUCO transfer outside linebacker became more prominent as last season wore on. Another disruptive edge rusher who might not be Striker’s equal, but can certainly be his complement. Bob Stoops predicts Bond will be the “surprise” among OU’s linebackers. That’s good enough for us.

• Defensive backs, irst year, $425,000

Dennis Simmons • Outside receivers, irst year, $275,000

Diron Reynolds • Defensive line, irst year, $275,000

Jerry Schmidt • Strength and conditioning, 17th year, $305,000

2014 RESULTS

La. Tech ....................W, 48-16 Kansas State.............L, 31-30 at Tulsa....................... W, 52-7 at Iowa State ..........W, 59-14 Tennessee ...............W, 34-10 Baylor ........................ L, 48-14 at WVU ................... W, 45-33 at Texas Tech.........W, 42-30 at TCU ........................L, 37-33 Kansas ........................W, 44-7 v. Texas.....................W, 31-26 Oklahoma State......L, 38-35 Russell Athletic Bowl: v. Clemson in Orlando, L 40-6

Is it the shoes?

BEST ADS

Late 80s • Product: Air Jordan Mars Blackmon was Spike Lee’s character in his 1986 ilm, “She’s Gotta Have It,” but he might be more synonymous with this series of Air Jordan

commercials. Blackmon (Lee) made the line “It’s gotta be the shoes” historic. The Air Jordan Spiz’ike hybrid sneaker line pays homage to Lee and his character.

Sunday, August 23, 2015 n n F 15

0klahoma Sooners // preview other storylines to watch

Is Lincoln Riley as good as advertised?

Getting better on defense Oklahoma gave up 25.9 points per game last season, the most ever in Bob Stoops’ 16 seasons. Opponents primarily hurt the Sooners through the air and the 276.2 yards given up per game was the most in school history. While more is expected from the ofense in 2015, the defense has to improve for the Sooners to have success.

OKLAHOMA OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR Lincoln Riley perfected his Air Raid system at East Carolina in 2010. Five years later, the ofensive coordinator expects the same at OU. “A lot of times, (the mentality) is the hardest change,” Riley said.

“Putting in new plays and new schemes or whatever a lot of time isn’t the challenge. It’s getting them to believe in it and to do that right away and to buy in totally. I feel like our guys have done that.”

Since spring drills, Riley has instilled in his players the necessity to understand success. Points will be scored each time the ofense has the football.

“When Coach Riley stepped his irst foot in the door. It wasn’t ‘here’s my ofense’ or ‘here’s the concepts and everything,’” Sooners quarterback Trevor Knight said.

“That will come. But if you have the mentality that every time we step on the ield, we’re going to score every time we touch the ball and if you really buy into that, we’re going to have special things happen.”

Riley inherited a pro-style ofense

dependant on the run game in 2010. He exchanged that with his pass-friendly ofense. During his ive seasons at East Carolina, the program had its top passing seasons in school history.

Will execution be seamless at OU from the start? Probably not. But Riley’s boss at East Carolina knows things will be OK in Oklahoma.

“At the beginning, you have to have patience,” said ECU head coach Ruin McNeill. “I knew what it would entail (when he hired Riley) and so does Bob (Stoops). It’s a perfect uniting with Bob and Lincoln.

“Then when you step back and see (ofensive line coach) Bill Bedenbaugh and (outside wide receivers coach) Dennis Simmons, we worked together at Texas Tech.

All three understand the ofense.

(Inside wide receivers coach) Cale Gundy understands it.

“All the pieces are in place.”

Alex Ross returns a kickof for a touchdown during Oklahoma’s win over Texas last October. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Special teams will be important

BUILDING a CAMPAIGN FOR LINCOLN RILEY HEY! LET’S HIGHLIGHT THIS ...

Riley’s youthful enthusiasm has no doubt rubbed of on the ofense. At 31, he is easily the youngest member on Oklahoma’s staf. The current players don’t have to look far to recognize Riley’s track record. His ofense works, as evident by the numbers posted at East Carolina. Riley has gotten the players to buy into his system. Now it needs to be executed in a game setting.

Worst-case scenario for 2015 An early loss at Tennessee sets the tone for another fouror ive-loss season.

The Sooners, who are already been deemed underdogs at Baylor and against TCU, also struggle through games against rivals Texas and Oklahoma State as well.

Another lower-tier bowl appearance could put heat on Bob Stoops.

Likely scenario for 2015 The Sooners enter November with its Big 12 championship and College Football Playof hopes intact.

The Sooners should be favored in their irst six league games before ending the season with the Baylor-TCUOklahoma State stretch.

Oklahoma inds a way to go 2-1 and falls just short of a league championship.

Alex Ross is one of the nation’s best kickof returners. That’s the good news. But the Sooners need to improve their punt return game (the team had a school-low 15 returns and the 5.8 yards per attempt was a low under Stoops. Newcomers need to emerge at punter and kicker as well.

Protection and paving the road OU’s ofensive line only allowed nine sacks last season, the lowest total in the country. But two ofensive tackles are now in the NFL, and there will be untested players in those positions protecting the Air Raid attack. The Sooners also led the Big 12 in rushing last year. Can this new group continue to clear paths in the run game?

BY ERIC BAILEY • WORLD SPORTS WRITER

Oklahoma is selling fans on the idea that a return to the Air Raid ofense will be the right it for a school that seemed to have lost itself on ofense the last two years. Last season, Sooners’ coaches struggled to stick with a plan.

But Riley has promised he wants one quarterback and one scheme and has the drive to do it. So, we igured we’d create an ad for their mission.

Best-case scenario for 2015 The Sooners enter the season’s inal game at Oklahoma State with an opportunity to seal a College Football Playof position following backto-back victories over Baylor and TCU, which igure to be among the selection committee’s top teams late in the season. The weight of those two victories would make Bedlam special.

COMING TO NORMAN THIS FALL ...

OU’S 2015 SEASON

“THE — IT AIR RAI R WOREALLY D KS!”

G THE N I R U T A E F IERCE F D N A G YOUN

LINCOLN RILEY!

THE SLOGAN “Airing things out” is more than just a reference to the name of the new ofense — we’re also talking about a new approach to bring the Sooners closer to a national championship by bringing in a slew of new coaches and letting go the likes of Josh Heupel and Jay Norvell after years of service. It looks like in year 17, Bob Stoops is changing things up.

NOW WITH MORE PASSING!

MAYBE WE JUST WON’T MENTION ...

When Riley took over as East Carolina’s ofensive coordinator, he exchanged a run-irst ofense for his Air Raid attack.

Oklahoma led the Big 12 in rushing last season and has a proven player in Samaje Perine and a projected star in Joe Mixon.

How will he use those running backs in the Air Raid system? Will there be more of a run-pass balance or does he lean on the passing game this season? Oklahoma would be advised to avoid highlighting the fact that no one knows what to expect from the running backs. We’ll have to wait for Sept. 5 to ind out.

HAMp!

HINg C s U R e M A g e L g HOMe Of THe sIN

PHOTO BY CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World

jason white pitches OU football

It’s hard to to sell your pitch without a pitchman. We asked Jason White how he would pitch 2015 to OU fans.

It has been a dozen years since Jason White won the Heisman Trophy. He’s one of two Sooners who have won it in the last 35 years (Sam Bradford the other).

Now, White still lives in his hometown of Tuttle with his wife, daughter and son. Between his work with Air Comfort Solutions and his two kids — including a football-playing son, Tandon — he is a busy man.

Still, White answered a few questions for the Tulsa World with his thoughts on the upcoming season at OU.

Have you been up to Norman to catch anything from OU this fall or spring?

“I haven’t actually been to a practice. With my work and with my kids I’m struggling to ind time, so yeah, I actually haven’t been down there to see a practice.”

Based on what you’ve followed and heard, then, what is your outlook and excitement level for Oklahoma’s ofense under Lincoln Riley?

“I think he’s a guy that’s done well at the other schools that he’s been at and I think with giving him the quality of athlete

that OU has to ofer, I think that can improve his abilities even more. He’ll be able to do a lot more things now. It’ll be interesting to see how he uses the run game in his style of ofense and getting the running backs some balls so I’m excited to see what he’s brought to the table and see how the guys respond to it because he’s been great at the other schools he’s been at.”

I’m not sure what you’ve heard about Baker Mayield.

“Obviously, with a three-man race, you’re going to get the best guy out of the three and Coach (Bob Stoops) has done a great job of getting the guy on the ield that should be out there. So I’ll be excited to see who’s announced as the starter.”

After the way last season ended, if you were to make your pitch about this year’s team to the fan base, what would that pitch be?

“I think I would sell on, it’s

What do you expect from the quara whole new year. Each year’s terbacks, having seen Trevor Knight a different year, it’s a different and Cody Thomas play a little bit, and team, you’ve got different play-

ers out there, you’ve got some different coaches. You’re going to have a different offensive scheme. I think that’s exciting for any fan to see their team install a whole new offense for the next year. So that’s how I would pitch it because even if they didn’t change the offense, it’s a whole new team. So until you see the guys play and you see what this team’s made of — you’re going to have different leaders on the team, different guys that have stepped up and become leaders.

It could look like a totally different team from last year.”

— MARK COOPER, World Sports Writer

F 16 n n Sunday, August 23, 2015

around the nation preview Five national games to watch

THREE NATIONAL STORYLINES

1. Baylor at TCU Nov. 27 This won’t have only the eyes of the Big 12 Conference watching, this is a game that could have playof implications. Both teams played a classic last year (with Baylor capturing a 61-58 home victory). This year, the game is placed near the end of the regular season, which could provide a playof boost to the winner.

1

Is the College Football Playoff working?

One year is too soon to make that determination. Sure, there were plenty of doubters when TCU dropped out of the top four teams despite an impressive inal regular-season win (and those doubters had even more ammunition when the Horned Frogs destroyed Ole Miss in the Cotton Bowl). Let’s see how things shake out this year – and probably even the season after as well – before we start thinking we have a irm grasp on things. Next year we may be talking about how two SEC teams found their way into the four-team ield … or how the SEC beat themselves up all year and none of their teams break through into the inal four.

2. Ohio State at Michigan Nov. 28 “The Game” has been lopsided over the past decade with Ohio State defeating the Wolverines in nine of the past 10 meetings. But all the games in Ann Arbor — site of this year’s game — have been relatively close. The stakes could be high for both teams in this year’s contest.

3. Alabama at Auburn Nov. 28 The Iron Bowl returns to the site of one of the greatest college football inishes in recent history. The “Kick Six” game is still remembered nationwide – can you imagine the mileage it gets in the state of Alabama? The winner of this game has played in the SEC title game in six of the past seven seasons.

4. Oregon at Michigan St. Sept. 12 One of the best nonconference games this season, the Spartans will be trying to avenge last year’s 46-27 road loss in Eugene.

The team that emerges with a victory in East Lansing will have a resume builder when the College Football Playof selection committee meets in November.

Cardale Jones and Bucky could easily see another CFP trophy this season for Ohio State. AP FILE

23

About those rivals Ohio State and Michigan …

Is the SEC still the dominant conference?

Ohio State’s quarterback trio dipped to two when Braxton Miller decided to move to wide receiver.

New coach Jim Harbaugh took his shirt of at a satellite camp and it blew up social media. These two schools – bitter rivals for years – are moving back into the national limelight. Ohio Can Jim Harbaugh help save a team that State, of course, hasn’t beat Ohio State since 2011? AP is the inaugural champion of the College Football Playof. Michigan went out and hired a Michigan man whose hire automatically woke up fans of a program which hasn’t won the Big Ten since 2004 and is 24-32 in league play since iring Lloyd Carr in 2007. Which direction will these schools be headed in their Nov. 28 game at the Big House?

In a word: Yes. The SEC ran roughshod over college football for seven consecutive years. National championship hardware was won by Florida (2006, 2008), LSU (2007), Alabama (2009, 2011, 2012) and Auburn (2010). A two-year national title drought certainly doesn’t mean the end of the world for the power conference. But when the bar has been set so high, some are wondering if ground is being gained on the SEC. One thing remains certain – the league still has respect from coaches. Eight schools can be found in the Amway Top 25 poll, including Nick Saban’s (above) Alabama team and four others in the top 15.

USC quarterback Cody Kessler escapes a tackle by UCLA linebacker Deon Hollins during the Bruins’ win over the Trojans last year. AP FILE

5. UCLA at USC Nov. 28 The Pac-12 South Division could come down to this game between intra-city rivals. UCLA has won three straight games between the schools and both are ighting for a playof berth this season. This will be a big game on a day that is illed with huge games.

TOP 25 POWER RANKINGS

by Eric bailEy • World SportS WritEr

1

4

Ohio State

Remember when the Buckeyes’ season was done after losing to Virginia Tech last year? The defending champions have won 13 straight games.

2

TCU

3

Alabama

Just two years ago, the Horned Frogs inished 4-8.

What a diference a year (and quarterback Trevone Boykin) can make.

Two years without a national championship?

How are the Crimson Tide fans sleeping these days?

5

Baylor

New quarterbacks usually have some growing pains. In Art Briles’ system, they just pick up where the last quarterback left of.

Michigan State

Quarterback Connor Cook is ready to lead the Spartans to a Big Ten title. The Ohio State game will be a monster this year.

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Auburn

Oregon

Georgia

Clemson

LSU

Look for running back Nick Chubb to be on many Heisman Trophy watch lists late in the season.

Trojans fans are banking on quarterback Cody Kessler to give them a Pac-12 championship.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson is healthy, and the Tigers get a home schedule that includes Georgia Tech and Florida State.

Running back Leonard Fournette returns, but Tigers need good quarterback play to go from a good team to a great team.

Notre Dame

Arizona state

UCLA

Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota may be gone, but the Ducks have plenty of talent to reload for another championship run.

Florida State

USC

Remember when Gus Malzahn was calling plays as Tulsa’s ofensive coordinator in 2007 and 2008?

High expectations set once again for a program that’s won only 10 games once in last ive seasons.

Don’t doubt the coaching job of Todd Graham, who has led Sun Devils to back-toback double-digit wins for irst time since 1972-73.

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Wisconsin

Ole Miss

Arkansas

Stanford

Oklahoma

Arizona

Missouri

Tennessee

There will be an immediate gauge on the season in Week 1 when the Badgers face Alabama.

Stingy defense in place once again for Rebels, but the ofense needs to ind a quarterback.

Defense allowed only a combined seven points in late-season wins against LSU, Ole Miss and Texas.

Can momentum carry to 2015?

The Cardinal wants to prove last year’s 8-5 season was just a small bump in the road.

This may be just where the Sooners want to be – low expectations and with a chip on their shoulders.

The Wildcats are led by quarterback Anu Solomon on ofense and linebacker Scooby Wright on defense.

The Tigers have found a home in the SEC, especially after back-to-back appearances in the conference title game.

The Vols won four of inal ive games last year.

The Sept. 12 game in Knoxville vs. OU is already being built up.

Georgia Tech

Oklahoma State

The option game (remember that Oklahoma fans?) continues to thrive in Atlanta under coach Paul Johnson.

The Cowboys return plenty of experience and could be unbeaten by the time a tough November comes around.

Can the Seminoles win the ACC for a fourth straight season? Clemson and Ga. Tech will have something to say about that.

Seventeen starters return to a program that has won nineplus games over the past three seasons.

ENTER THE OUT PICK THE PICKER CONTEST This year’s contest — that is celebrating its 22nd year — lets you go up against the infamous Picker. You pick 16 games from college and the NFL each week.

No point spreads. You just pick the winners and tie-breakers include entering the score of one of that week’s games.

You will be able to see what The Picker picked as well and then battle it out to see where you rank.

The grand prize is an Albert G’s BBQ Feast valued at $700.

The winner receives dinner for up to 20 people in a private dining room: a whole hog carved in front of the guests and served with coleslaw, beans, potato salad, toast and other trimmings.

Beverages are included. The date of feast is based on reservations availability. The winner needs to be 21 to claim the prize.

The contest starts at noon Aug. 31 at outpickthepicker.com.

BEST ADS HEISMAN EDITION

May the best man win They do not appear to be as big in 2015, but in past years school promotions for a player’s Heisman candidacy were all the rage.

Some created websites dedicated to their candidate. Others attempted to sway voters by mailing promotional items directly.

Here are a few campaigns that exemplify the wit that, if it didn’t help a player win the Heisman, still helped raise his proile.

Texas Tech, 2008

Kansas State, 2012

BYU, 1990

Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree Rare is the school with two viable Heisman Trophy candidates, but Mike Leach’s Texas Tech squad had that in 2008 with Harrell and Crabtree, the quarterback and wide receiver. The media relations oice created the “Pass or Catch 2008” campaign, which posted Crabtree and Harrell on a presidential-style campaign poster to mimic the 2008 election. The website passorcatch2008.com was also created and drew more than 73,000 visitors from 91 countries, according to a May 2009 Texas Tech news release. Harrell inished fourth in the voting and Crabtree ifth.

Collin Klein Once again, Big 12 country showed its wit. In October 2012, with the Wildcats out to a 7-0 start, Kansas State sent out a Heisman mailer for its quarterback, Klein.

A photo of him appeared on it — with a trademark large Band-Aid pasted over his bandaged elbows and scabby arms.

It conjured the idea of Klein as college football’s most valuable player, willing to play through anything. To top it of, K-State sealed each mailer with an oversized bandaid. He inished third behind Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel and Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o.

Ty Detmer A transformative name always helps things. BYU’s Heisman campaign for its quarterback in 1990 included a memorable promotion inspired by his irst name. According to a September 1990 story from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, BYU gave out 15,000 free ties to fans before the Cougars’ game against Miami (Fla.) that season. They were labeled “The oicial Heisman Ty.” Detmer won the Heisman over Notre Dame receiver Raghib Ismail.

Sunday, August 23, 2015 n n F 17

Arkansas & small colleges

NOW ‘A superstar’ Arkansas receiver Keon Hatcher celebrates his fourthquarter touchdown against Northern Illinois last season.

Arkansas ended last season with a lurry after more than two seasons of sufering and expects to continue that momentum.

DANNY JOHNSTON/ AP ile

Arkansas at a glance Returning lettermen: 49 Returning ofensive starters: (9); QB Brandon Allen, RB Jonathan Williams (out for season), RB Alex Collins, C Mitch Smothers, OG Sebastian Tretola, OT Denver Kirkland, OTDan Skipper, TE Hunter Henry, WR Keon Hatcher.

Returning defensive starters: (6): DE JaMichael Winston; DT Taiwan Johnson , OLB Brooks Ellis, CB Jared Collins, CB DJ Dean, SS Rohan Gaines.

Special teams (1): PK Adam McFain.

Key additions: WR Dominique Reed. OT Brian Wallace. C Zach Rogers. NT Hjalte Froholdt. P Brian Johnson.

PK Cole Hedlund.

Key losses: OT Brey Cook, TE AJ Derby, DE Trey Flowers, DT Darius Philon, OLB Martrell Spaight, DB Tevin Mitchel, FS Alan Turner, P Sam Irwin-Hill.

Graduated 2014 seniors: OT Brey Cook, TE AJ Derby DE Trey Flowers, OLB Martrell Spaight, OLB Braylon Mitchell, DB Tevin Mitchel, FS Alan Turner, P Sam Irwin-Hill, DS Alan D’Appollonio, CB Carroll Washington CB, PK John Henson, OG Cameron Jeferson

OWASSO’S HATCHER GROWS INTO LEADER

BY NATE ALLEN

2015 schedule

World Correspondent

Sept. 5 vs. UTEP ESPNU-1303, 2:30 p.m.

Sept. 12 vs. Toledo (Little Rock) 3 p.m.

Sept. 19 vs. Texas Tech ESPN2-1026, 6 p.m.

Sept. 26 vs. Texas A&M (Arlington, Texas) TBA Oct. 3 at Tennessee TBA Oct. 10 at Alabama TBA Oct. 24 vs. Auburn TBA Oct. 31 vs. UT-Martin TBA Nov. 7 at Ole Miss TBA Nov. 14 at LSU TBA Nov. 21 vs. Mississippi State TBA Nov. 27 vs. Missouri KOTV-1006, 1:30 p.m.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — At Arizona and Kansas State, Michael Smith previously coached receivers with so far more admirable stats than Keon Hatcher’s at Arkansas.

However, Smith would seem hardpressed to have coached a receiver for whom his admiration grew more than it has grown regarding Hatcher heading into their third year together.

They have meshed together after irst being thrown together.

Smith reported to Arkansas in 2013 as the receivers coach for new coach Bret Bielema and Bielema’s run-oriented ofense.

Hatcher, recruited out of Owasso for Bobby Petrino’s pass-oriented offense, had spent 2012 catching only three passes in 10 games for the 4-8 Razorbacks with Petrino ired the previous spring and John L. Smith coaching the interim.

After 27 catches and 346 yards and two touchdowns for a 3-9 team in 2013, Hatcher evolved into 43 catches and 558 yards and six TDs — all team highs — last season for a team that won three of its last four, including a dominating win over Texas in the Texas Bowl. The Razorbacks allowed just 59 yards by the Longhorns, following earlier back-to-back shutout wins over LSU and Mississippi.

For 2015, Hatcher, a senior, will be counted on as a team leader of the ield as much as on it.

“Just proud of the guy, man,” Smith said. “To watch him from his sophomore year, my irst year with him, to where he is now is night and day. I am not just talking about football. I am

talking about him as a person, him as a teammate, and just a man. He has come a long way and has done some tremendous things for this team. He is a key part of our room right now.”

Bielema spent much of 2013 challenging Hatcher.

Now it’s all praise.

“A superstar,” Bielema said recently of the 6-2, 210-pound Hatcher.

Bielema and Smith say Hatcher leads the other receivers like a player-coach.

The young receivers concur. Sophomores like Jared Cornelius assert their improved consistency during the August preseason extends from the top down.

“Keon Hatcher is doing a great job of leading us irst of all,” Cornelius said. “The whole receiving room kind of lows of of him.”

Regarding newly arrived junior college transfer speedster receiver Dominique Reed, senior starting quarterback Brandon Allen said, “Keon is taking him under his wing.”

Hatcher has even led his young teammates away from Twitter, an almost unfathomable path in this age of social media.

Small college preview Northeastern State Location: Tahlequah League: Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association (NCAA Division II) Head coach: Rob Robinson (second year, 0-11) 2014 record: 0-11 Top players: WR Prince McJunkins (61, 185, Sr.); RB Joel Rockmore (5-7, 185, Sr.); OL Trevon Lawson (6-1, 325, Sr.); QB Kevin Pantastico (6-0, 185, Jr.); DB Steffon Herd (6-4, 190, Jr.); DB Peter Udoumoh (6-3, 190, Jr.); LB Kenneth Davis (6-1, 230, Jr.); OL Taylor Cooley (6-3, 300, Jr.); OL Andrew Alvarado (6-6, 315, Jr.); DL Dakota Moran (6-1, 270, Jr.); WR Garrett Powell (6-1, 200, Sr.); WR Zac King (6-3, 185, So.); Notables: Pantastico passed for 2,166 yards and eight touchdowns in 2014. But the Phoenix College transfer completed only 51.5 percent (193 of 375) of his passes while also tossing 14 interceptions. ...

Davis and Herd led NSU on defense last season, totaling 77 tackles apiece. Davis also had 10½ tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries, while Herd had one interception and three pass break-ups. ...

NSU’s ofense ranked last in the MIAA in scoring (10.5 points per game) and to-

tal ofense last season (274.6 yards per game). The RiverHawks’ defense also allowed an average of 39.5 points per contest — the worst in the MIAA. Schedule Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 19 Sept. 26 Oct. 3 Oct. 10 Oct. 17 Oct. 24 Oct. 31 Nov. 7 Nov. 14

Pittsburg State at Fort Hays State Missouri Western at Emporia State NW Missouri State at Nebraksa-Kearney Missouri Southern at Central Missouri Central Oklahoma Washburn at Lindenwood

6 p.m.

7 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

2 p.m.

1 p.m.

2 p.m.

1 p.m.

1:30 p.m.

1 p.m.

1 p.m.

1:30 p.m.

“Football and school, those are the two main things,” Hatcher said. “All that extra stuf doesn’t need to be seen. Just do what you’re supposed to and focus on the game.”

After a 3-9 season in Bielema’s irst year, Arkansas rebounded in the coach’s second season.

Hatcher, for one, expects that trend to continue.

“We had a pretty good inish to last season but we are not where we wanted to be,” Hatcher said. “We went 7-6 last year. We have got to keep grinding and make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

Some things to watch this season: Injured Williams: Arkansas thought it would return a pair of 1,000-yard running backs in Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins. However, Williams injured his left foot during a preseason scrimmage and will miss the regular season. That leaves Collins (2,126 yards rushing in his irst two season) as the primary option, with freshman Rawleigh Williams and junior Kody Walker to ill the void.

Ellis’ move: Junior Brooks Ellis spent the last two seasons at middle linebacker, inishing with 72 tackles last year while serving as one of the primary play callers. Ellis has moved to outside linebacker this season, and his transition is key.

Enos’ impact: Former Central Michigan head coach Dan Enos takes over as ofensive coordinator. He replaces Jim Chaney, who left for Pittsburgh after two seasons at Arkansas. Enos’ balanced approach appears to be a more logical match with Bielema.

Hank Campbell and offensive coordinator Darryl Mason were added to Bacone’s staff in the offseason ... Former Bacone head coach Trevor Rubly is now defensive coordinator at Enid High School.

Schedule Sept. 5 at Lamar 7 p.m.

Sept. 11 at Texas Southern 7 p.m.

Sept. 19 vs. Angelo St. (AT&T Stadium) 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 26 Oklahoma Panhandle State 2 p.m.

Oct. 3 at Lyon College 2 p.m.

Oct. 10 Eastern New Mexico 2 p.m.

Oct. 17 at Texas College 2 p.m.

Oct. 24 Langston 2 p.m.

Oct. 31 at Wayland Baptist 2 p.m.

Nov. 7 Arizona Christian 2 p.m.

Nov. 14 at Southwestern Assemblies of God 2 p.m.

Langston Bacone Location: Muskogee League: Central States Football League (NAIA) Head coach: Lawrence Livingston 2014 record: 3-8 Top players: DB Alex Wilson (5-9, 170, Sr.); RB Roderick Mackey (5-11, 205, Sr.); DB Justin Browley (5-10, 175, Sr.); LB Andre Clark (6-1, 225, Sr.).

Notables: The Warriors were picked to finish third in the Central States Football League. ... Defensive coordinator

Location: Langston League: Central States Football League (NAIA) Head coach: Dwone Sanders 2014 record: 7-4 Top players: QB Mark Wright Jr. (6-2, 200, Jr.); WR Sheldon Augustine (5-10, 190, Sr.); WR Cedric Jackson (5-10, 195, Jr.); DB Sidtrell Grayson (5-10, 180, Jr.); LB Tra Keys (6-0, 220, Sr.); K Michael Ryan (6-0, 175, Sr.).

Notables: Wright led Langston in both rushing and passing in 2014. The New Or-

The Associated Press’ Kurt Voigt contributed to this story

leans native passed for 1,662 yards and 12 touchdowns, and he ran for 430 yards and eight touchdowns on 95 carries. ... Augustine led Langston with 43 catches for 617 yards and ive TD’s in 2014. ... Grayson had a team-high four interceptions as a sophomore. ... Keys logged 81 tackles, 6 1/2 tackles for loss, one interception and one fumble recovery as a junior. ... Langston is picked to win the CSFL. Schedule Sept. 5 Sept. 12 Sept. 19 Sept. 26 Oct. 10 Oct. 17 Oct. 24 Oct. 31 Nov. 7 Nov. 14

Lincoln 2 p.m. at Bethany College 7 p.m. at Oklahoma Panhandle State 2 p.m. vs. McMurray (at OKC Douglass HS) 4 p.m.

Arizona Christian 2 p.m.

Southwestern Assemblies of God 2 p.m. at Bacone 2 p.m. at Lyon College 2 p.m. at Wayland Baptist 2 p.m. vs. Texas College (at BTW HS) 2 p.m.

Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Location: Miami, Okla.

League: Southwest Junior College Football Conference Head coach: Ryan Held 2014 record: 5-6 Top players: QB Zac Carter (6-2, 200, So.); QB Cordale Grundy (6-1, 170 Fr.); RB Cameron Booty (5-10, 200, So.); TE

players with local ties Keon HatcHeR, owaSSo WR, SR., 6-2, 210

Leading returning receiver (43 catches, 558 yards, 6 TDs).

Added 112 yards on ive carries. One of three seniors representing the Razorbacks at SEC Media Days, coach Bret Bielema looks at Hatcher as a team leader and the most versatile receiver (running reverses and kickof returns).

JaRed collinS, BooKeR t. waSHinGton CB, JR., 5-11, 172

Best returning starting cornerback with team-leading and SEC co-leading 13 pass breakups, forced a fumble and made 53 tackles.

auStin BecK, nowata OT, SR., 6-7, 312

Played 30 snaps in seven games last season mostly on special teams.

auStin cantRell, Roland TE, FR., 6-4, 250

One of three outstanding prospects at tight end joining CJ O’Grady and Will Gragg. All three freshmen could redshirt but Bielema and tight ends coach Barry Lunney insist all could play and that Cantrell has an immediate role as a backup fullback and special-teamer.

lane SalinG, owaSSo K, SO., 5-8, 170

Redshirted as a walk-on last season, Saling kicked better in 2015 spring and early August preseason than incumbent Adam McFain and graduated senior John Henson kicked last season. Going into the Sept.

5 season-opener it has been wide open between McFain, Saling and redshirted scholarship freshman Cole Hedlund.

GeoRGe Madden, BlancHaRd DEEP SNAPPER, FR, 6-1, 226

Urged to walk on, Madden began the August preseason snapping secondteam for punts and ield goals and will compete with senior walk-on Drew Gorton for the gaping hole left by graduated four-year snapper Alan D’Appollonio.

luKe RoSSi, edMond WR, FR., 5-11, 203

Freshman walk-on is battling for special teams role after working on the scout team ofense while redshirting last fall.

— NATE ALLEN, World Correspondent

Mike’Quan Deane (6-4, 230, Fr.); OL Ty Watkins (6-3, 285, So.); OL Conner Wood (6-6, 310, So.); OL Blake Mejia (6-3, 315, So.); DL Janson Smith (6-4, 320, So.); DL Newt Salisbury (6-4, 245, So.); DL Novis Cullom (6-4, 285, So.); LB Chris Baccus (6-3, 225, So.); DB Maurice Chandler (6-1, 190, So.); DB Terrell Williams (6-4, 210, So.).

Notables: Grundy, a Booker T. Washington alum, igures to see time at quarterback as a dual-threat option. ... Booty, a former Jenks standout, ran for 1,127 yards and nine touchdowns en route to all-conference honors last season. ... Cullom, a recent standout at Memorial, earned allconference honors as a freshman after recording 64 tackles last year. ... A former two-way threat at Beggs, Baccus led NEO with 76 tackles last season. He currently holds 15 Division I ofers and is the No. 1-ranked linebacker in junior college football. ... Chandler is a former Lawton star and was a freshman All-American in 2014.

He’s committed to Oklahoma.

Schedule Aug. 29 Sept. 3 Sept. 12 Sept. 19 Sept. 26 Oct. 3 Oct. 10 Oct. 17 Oct. 24

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7 p.m.

7 p.m.

7 p.m.

7 p.m.

6 p.m.

2 p.m.

3 p.m.

2 p.m.

3 p.m.

— BEN JOHNSON, World Correspondent

F 18 n n Sunday, August 23, 2015

2015 football schedules AIR FORCE Sep. 5 Morgan St. Sep. 12 San Jose St. Sep. 19 at Michigan St. Oct. 3 at Navy Oct. 10 Wyoming Oct. 17 at Colorado St. Oct. 24 Fresno St. Oct. 31 at Hawaii Nov. 7 Army Nov. 14 Utah St. Nov. 20 at Boise St. Nov. 28 at New Mexico

BYU 2:30 p.m.

9:15 p.m.

11 a.m.

2:30 p.m.

TBA 2:30 p.m.

TBA 9:30 p.m.

TBA TBA 8:30 p.m.

TBA

Sep. 5 at Nebraska Sep. 12 Boise St. Sep. 19 at UCLA Sep. 26 at Michigan Oct. 2 UConn Oct. 10 East Carolina Oct. 16 Cincinnati Oct. 24 Wagner Nov. 6 at San Jose St. Nov. 14 at Missouri Nov. 21 Fresno St. Nov. 28 at Utah St.

2:30 p.m.

9:15 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

TBA 9:15 p.m.

TBA 7 p.m.

2 p.m.

10:30 p.m.

TBA TBA 2:30 p.m.

AKRON

BALL ST.

Sep. 5 at Oklahoma 6 p.m.

Sep. 12 Pittsburgh 5 p.m.

Sep. 19 Savannah St. 11 a.m.

Sep. 26 at Louisiana-Lafayette TBA Oct. 3 Ohio 1 p.m.

Oct. 10 at E. Michigan 2 p.m.

Oct. 17 at Bowling Green 2 p.m.

Oct. 31 Cent. Michigan TBA Nov. 7 at UMass TBA Nov. 14 at Miami (Ohio) TBA Nov. 21 Bufalo TBA Nov. 27 Kent St. TBA

Sep. 3 VMI 6 p.m.

Sep. 12 at Texas A&M 6 p.m.

Sep. 19 at E. Michigan 2 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Northwestern 7 p.m.

Oct. 3 Toledo 2 p.m.

Oct. 10 at N. Illinois TBA Oct. 17 Georgia St. TBA Oct. 24 Cent. Michigan TBA Oct. 31 UMass TBA Nov. 5 at W. Michigan 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 17 at Ohio TBA Nov. 24 Bowling Green 6:30 p.m.

ALABAMA

BAYLOR

Sep. 5 Wisconsin 7 p.m.

Sep. 12 Middle Tennessee 3 p.m.

Sep. 19 Mississippi 8:15 p.m.

Sep. 26 Louisiana-Monroe TBA Oct. 3 at Georgia TBA Oct. 10 Arkansas TBA Oct. 17 at Texas A&M TBA Oct. 24 Tennessee TBA Nov. 7 LSU TBA Nov. 14 at Mississippi St. TBA Nov. 21 Charleston Southern TBA Nov. 28 at Auburn TBA

Sep. 4 at SMU Sep. 12 Lamar Sep. 26 Rice Oct. 3 at Texas Tech Oct. 10 at Kansas Oct. 17 West Virginia Oct. 24 Iowa St. Nov. 5 at Kansas St. Nov. 14 Oklahoma Nov. 21 at Oklahoma St. Nov. 27 at TCU Dec. 5 Texas

APPALACHIAN ST.

BOISE ST.

Sep. 5 Howard 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 12 at Clemson 11:30 a.m.

Sep. 26 at Old Dominion 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 3 Wyoming TBA Oct. 10 at Georgia St. TBA Oct. 17 at Louisiana-Monroe 6 p.m.

Oct. 22 Georgia Southern 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 31 Troy TBA Nov. 5 Arkansas St. 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 14 at Idaho TBA Nov. 28 Louisiana-Lafayette TBA Dec. 5 at South Alabama TBA

Sep. 4 Washington Sep. 12 at BYU Sep. 18 Idaho St. Sep. 25 at Virginia Oct. 3 Hawaii Oct. 10 at Colorado St. Oct. 16 at Utah St. Oct. 24 Wyoming Oct. 31 at UNLV Nov. 14 New Mexico Nov. 20 Air Force Nov. 27 at San Jose St.

ARIZONA

BOSTON COLLEGE

Sep. 3 UTSA Sep. 12 at Nevada Sep. 19 N. Arizona Sep. 26 UCLA Oct. 3 at Stanford Oct. 10 Oregon St. Oct. 17 at Colorado Oct. 24 Washington St. Oct. 31 at Washington Nov. 7 at Southern Cal Nov. 14 Utah Nov. 21 at Arizona St.

9 p.m.

6 p.m.

10 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

Sep. 5 Maine Sep. 12 Howard Sep. 18 Florida St. Sep. 26 N. Illinois Oct. 3 at Duke Oct. 10 Wake Forest Oct. 17 at Clemson Oct. 24 at Louisville Oct. 31 Virginia Tech Nov. 7 NC State Nov. 21 Notre Dame Nov. 28 at Syracuse

6 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

2 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA 6:30 p.m.

TBA TBA 6:30 p.m.

TBA 9:15 p.m.

9:15 p.m.

8 p.m.

7 p.m.

TBA 6 p.m.

8 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA 8:30 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

Noon Noon 7 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA 6:30 p.m.

TBA

2015-16 BOWL schedule COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF-AFFILIATED GAMES Dec. 31 11 a.m.

Peach Bowl

Atlanta, Ga.

At-large vs. At-large

Arlington, Texas Miami, Fla.

Semiinalist vs. semiinalist ESPN-1025 Semiinalist vs. semiinalist ESPN-1025

Glendale, Ariz.

Pasadena, Calif.

New Orleans

At-large vs. At-large Big Ten vs. Pac-12 Big 12 vs. SEC

ESPN-1025 ESPN-1025 ESPN-1025

Glendale, Ariz.

Semiinal winners

ESPN-1025

New Mexico Bowl Las Vegas Bowl Camellia Bowl Cure Bowl New Orleans Bowl

Albuquerque, N.M. Whitney, Nevada Montgomery, Ala. Orlando, Fla. New Orleans

C-USA vs. Mountain West ESPN-1025 Pac-12 vs. Mo. West or BYU KTUL-1008 MAC vs. Sun Belt ESPN-1025 American vs. Sun Belt CBSSN-1318 C-USA vs. Sun Belt ESPN-1025

Miami Beach Bowl

Miami, Fla.

C-USA vs. American

ESPN-1025

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Boca Raton Bowl

Boise, Idaho Boca Raton, Fla.

MAC vs. Mountain West MAC vs. American

ESPN-1025 ESPN-1025

Poinsettia Bowl GoDaddy Bowl

San Diego Mobile, Ala.

Army vs. M.West/Ind. MAC vs. Sun Belt

ESPN-1025 ESPN-1025

PLAYOFF SEMIFINAL GAMES 3 or 7 p.m. Cotton Bowl Classic 3 or 7 p.m. Orange Bowl Jan. 1 Noon Fiesta Bowl 4 p.m.

Rose Bowl 7:30 p.m. Sugar Bowl Jan. 11 7:30 p.m. College Football Playof National Championship

ESPN-1025

OTHER BOWL GAMES Dec. 19 1 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

6 p.m.

8 p.m.

Dec. 21 1:30 p.m.

Dec. 22 2:30 p.m.

6 p.m.

Dec. 23 3:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

Dec. 24 11 a.m.

7 p.m.

Dec. 26 10 a.m.

1 p.m.

1:20 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

8:15 p.m.

Dec. 28 1:30 p.m.

4 p.m.

Dec. 29 TBA 1 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

8 p.m.

Dec. 30 1 1 a.m.

2:30 p.m.

6 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

Jan. 1 11 a.m.

Noon Jan. 2 11 a.m.

2:20 p.m.

5:45 p.m.

9:15 p.m.

HAWAII

KENTUCKY

Sep. 3 Colorado 11:59 p.m.

Sep. 12 at Ohio St. 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 19 UC Davis 11 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Wisconsin 7 p.m.

Oct. 3 at Boise St. TBA Oct. 10 San Diego St. 11 p.m.

Oct. 17 at New Mexico 6 p.m.

Oct. 24 at Nevada 3 p.m.

Oct. 31 Air Force 9:30 p.m.

Nov. 7 at UNLV 5 p.m.

Nov. 14 Fresno St. 10 p.m.

Nov. 21 San Jose St. 10 p.m.

Nov. 28 Louisiana-Monroe 10 p.m.

Sep. 5 Louisiana-Lafayette 6 p.m.

Sep. 12 at South Carolina 6:30 p.m.

Sep. 19 Florida 6:30 p.m.

Sep. 26 Missouri TBA Oct. 3 E. Kentucky TBA Oct. 15 Auburn 6 p.m.

Oct. 24 at Mississippi St. TBA Oct. 31 Tennessee TBA Nov. 7 at Georgia TBA Nov. 14 at Vanderbilt TBA Nov. 21 Charlotte TBA Nov. 28 Louisville TBA

HOUSTON Sep. 5 Tennessee Tech Sep. 12 at Louisville Sep. 26 Texas St. Oct. 3 at Tulsa Oct. 8 SMU Oct. 16 at Tulane Oct. 24 at UCF Oct. 31 Vanderbilt Nov. 7 Cincinnati Nov. 14 Memphis Nov. 21 at UConn Nov. 27 Navy

IDAHO Sep. 3 Ohio Sep. 12 at Southern Cal Sep. 19 Woford Sep. 26 Georgia Southern Oct. 3 at Arkansas St. Oct. 17 at Troy Oct. 24 Louisiana-Monroe Oct. 31 at New Mexico St. Nov. 7 at South Alabama Nov. 14 Appalachian St. Nov. 21 at Auburn Nov. 28 Texas St.

Popeyes Bahamas Bowl Hawaii Bowl

Nassau, Bahamas Honolulu

MAC vs. C-USA ESPN-1025 C-USA/Pac-12 vs. M.West ESPN-1025

St. Petersburg Bowl Sun Bowl Heart of Dallas Bowl Pinstripe Bowl Independence Bowl Foster Farms Bowl

St. Petersburg, Fla. El Paso, Texas Dallas Bronx, N.Y. Shreveport, La. Santa Clara, Calif.

American vs. C-USA ESPN-1025 ACC vs. Pac-12 KOTV-1006 Big 12 vs. C-USA ESPN-1025 ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big Ten KTUL-1008 ACC/Notre Dame vs. SEC ESPN-1025 Big Ten vs. Pac-12 ESPN-1025

Military Bowl Quick Lane Bowl

Annapolis, Maryland ACC/ND vs. American Detroit, Mich.

Big Ten vs. ACC

ESPN-1025 ESPN2-1026

Arizona Bowl (date tentative) Tucson, Ariz.

Armed Forces Bowl Fort Worth, Texas Russell Athletic Bowl Orlando, Fla. Texas Bowl Houston

C-USA vs. Mountain West CBSSN-1318 Big Ten vs. Mountain West ESPN-1025 ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big 12 ESPN-1025 Big 12 vs. SEC ESPN-1025

Birmingham Bowl Belk Bowl Music City Bowl Holiday Bowl

SEC vs. American ESPN-1025 ACC/Notre Dame vs. SEC ESPN-1025 SEC vs. ACC/ND or Big Ten ESPN-1025 Big Ten vs. Pac-12 ESPN-1025

Birmingham, Ala. Charlotte, N.C. Nashville, Tenn.

San Diego, Calif.

Sep. 4 Kent St. 8 p.m.

Sep. 12 W. Illinois 11 a.m.

Sep. 19 at North Carolina 11 a.m.

Sep. 26 Middle Tennessee TBA Oct. 3 Nebraska TBA Oct. 10 at Iowa 11 a.m.

Oct. 24 Wisconsin 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 31 at Penn St. TBA Nov. 7 at Purdue 11 a.m.

Nov. 14 Ohio St. TBA Nov. 21 at Minnesota TBA Nov. 28 Northwestern TBA

INDIANA Sep. 5 S. Illinois Sep. 12 FIU Sep. 19 W. Kentucky Sep. 26 at Wake Forest Oct. 3 Ohio St. Oct. 10 at Penn St. Oct. 17 Rutgers Oct. 24 at Michigan St. Nov. 7 Iowa Nov. 14 Michigan Nov. 21 at Maryland Nov. 28 at Purdue

BOWLING GREEN

Sep. 5 at Texas A&M 6 p.m.

Sep. 12 Cal Poly 10 p.m.

Sep. 18 New Mexico 9 p.m.

Sep. 26 Southern Cal TBA Oct. 3 at UCLA TBA Oct. 10 Colorado TBA Oct. 17 at Utah TBA Oct. 29 Oregon 9:30 p.m.

Nov. 7 at Washington St. TBA Nov. 14 Washington TBA Nov. 21 Arizona TBA Nov. 28 at California TBA

Sep. 5 at Tennessee Sep. 12 at Maryland Sep. 19 Memphis Sep. 26 at Purdue Oct. 3 at Bufalo Oct. 10 UMass Oct. 17 Akron Oct. 24 at Kent St. Nov. 4 Ohio Nov. 11 at W. Michigan Nov. 17 Toledo Nov. 24 at Ball St.

ARKANSAS

BUFFALO

CINCINNATI

DUKE

FIU

GEORGIA

Sep. 5 Albany (NY) 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 12 at Penn St. 11 a.m.

Sep. 19 at FAU 11 a.m.

Sep. 26 Nevada TBA Oct. 3 Bowling Green 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 17 at Cent. Michigan TBA Oct. 24 Ohio TBA Oct. 29 at Miami (Ohio) 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 5 at Kent St. 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 11 N. Illinois 7 p.m.

Nov. 21 at Akron TBA Nov. 27 UMass TBA

Sep. 5 Alabama A&M 6 p.m.

Sep. 12 Temple 7 p.m.

Sep. 19 at Miami (Ohio) 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 24 at Memphis 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 1 Miami 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 16 at BYU 7 p.m.

Oct. 24 UConn TBA Oct. 31 UCF TBA Nov. 7 at Houston TBA Nov. 14 Tulsa TBA Nov. 20 at South Florida 7 p.m.

Nov. 28 at East Carolina TBA

Sep. 3 at Tulane 8:30 p.m.

Sep. 12 NC Central 5 p.m.

Sep. 19 Northwestern 11:30 a.m.

Sep. 26 Georgia Tech TBA Oct. 3 Boston College TBA Oct. 10 at Army 11 a.m.

Oct. 24 at Virginia Tech TBA Oct. 31 Miami TBA Nov. 7 at North Carolina TBA Nov. 14 Pittsburgh TBA Nov. 21 at Virginia TBA Nov. 28 at Wake Forest TBA

Sep. 3 at UCF 5 p.m.

Sep. 12 at Indiana 7 p.m.

Sep. 19 NC Central 5 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Louisiana Tech 1:30 p.m.

Oct. 3 at UMass TBA Oct. 10 UTEP 11 a.m.

Oct. 17 at Middle Tennessee TBA Oct. 24 Old Dominion 5 p.m.

Oct. 31 at FAU 2:30 p.m.

Nov. 7 Charlotte Noon Nov. 14 at Marshall TBA Nov. 21 W. Kentucky TBA

Sep. 5 Louisiana-Monroe 11 a.m.

Sep. 12 at Vanderbilt 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 19 South Carolina 5 p.m.

Sep. 26 Southern U. TBA Oct. 3 Alabama TBA Oct. 10 at Tennessee TBA Oct. 17 Missouri TBA Oct. 31 at Florida 2:30 p.m.

Nov. 7 Kentucky TBA Nov. 14 at Auburn TBA Nov. 21 Georgia Southern TBA Nov. 28 at Georgia Tech TBA

ARKANSAS ST.

CALIFORNIA

CLEMSON

E. MICHIGAN

FLORIDA

GEORGIA SOUTHERN

Sep. 5 at Southern Cal 10 p.m.

Sep. 12 Missouri 6 p.m.

Sep. 19 Missouri St. 6 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Toledo TBA Oct. 3 Idaho TBA Oct. 13 at South Alabama 7 p.m.

Oct. 20 Louisiana-Lafayette 7 p.m.

Oct. 31 Georgia St. TBA Nov. 5 at Appalachian St. 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 14 at Louisiana-Monroe 2 p.m.

Nov. 28 at New Mexico St. 2 p.m.

Dec. 5 Texas St. 2 p.m.

Sep. 5 Grambling St. Sep. 12 San Diego St. Sep. 19 at Texas Sep. 26 at Washington Oct. 3 Washington St. Oct. 10 at Utah Oct. 22 at UCLA Oct. 31 Southern Cal Nov. 7 at Oregon Nov. 14 Oregon St. Nov. 21 at Stanford Nov. 28 Arizona St.

Sep. 5 Old Dominion 2 p.m.

Sep. 12 at Wyoming 3 p.m.

Sep. 19 Ball St. 2 p.m.

Sep. 26 Army TBA Oct. 3 at LSU TBA Oct. 10 Akron 2 p.m.

Oct. 17 at Toledo TBA Oct. 24 at N. Illinois 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 29 W. Michigan 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 7 at Miami (Ohio) TBA Nov. 14 UMass TBA Nov. 27 at Cent. Michigan TBA

Sep. 5 New Mexico St. 6:30 p.m.

Sep. 12 East Carolina 6 p.m.

Sep. 19 at Kentucky 6:30 p.m.

Sep. 26 Tennessee TBA Oct. 3 Mississippi TBA Oct. 10 at Missouri TBA Oct. 17 at LSU TBA Oct. 31 Georgia 2:30 p.m.

Nov. 7 Vanderbilt TBA Nov. 14 at South Carolina TBA Nov. 21 FAU TBA Nov. 28 Florida St. TBA

Sep. 5 at West Virginia 6:30 p.m.

Sep. 12 W. Michigan 5 p.m.

Sep. 19 The Citadel 5 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Idaho 4 p.m.

Oct. 3 at Louisiana-Monroe 6 p.m.

Oct. 17 New Mexico St. 5 p.m.

Oct. 22 at Appalachian St. 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 29 Texas St. 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 14 at Troy TBA Nov. 21 at Georgia TBA Nov. 28 South Alabama 1 p.m.

Dec. 5 Georgia St. 1 p.m.

ARMY

CENT. MICHIGAN

EAST CAROLINA

FLORIDA ST.

GEORGIA ST.

KANSAS ST.

Sep. 5 Texas St. 7 p.m.

Sep. 12 South Florida 10:30 a.m.

Sep. 18 at Boston College 7 p.m.

Oct. 3 at Wake Forest TBA Oct. 10 Miami TBA Oct. 17 Louisville TBA Oct. 24 at Georgia Tech TBA Oct. 31 Syracuse TBA Nov. 7 at Clemson TBA Nov. 14 NC State TBA Nov. 21 Chattanooga TBA Nov. 28 at Florida TBA

Sep. 4 Charlotte 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 12 at New Mexico St. 7 p.m.

Sep. 19 at Oregon 1 p.m.

Oct. 3 Liberty TBA Oct. 10 Appalachian St. TBA Oct. 17 at Ball St. TBA Oct. 31 at Arkansas St. TBA Nov. 7 Louisiana-Lafayette TBA Nov. 14 at Texas St. TBA Nov. 21 South Alabama TBA Nov. 27 Troy TBA Dec. 5 at Georgia Southern 1 p.m.

Sep. 5 South Dakota Sep. 12 at UTSA Sep. 19 Louisiana Tech Oct. 3 at Oklahoma St. Oct. 10 TCU Oct. 17 Oklahoma Oct. 24 at Texas Nov. 5 Baylor Nov. 14 at Texas Tech Nov. 21 Iowa St. Nov. 28 at Kansas Dec. 5 West Virginia

FAU

FRESNO ST.

GEORGIA TECH

KENT ST.

Sep. 5 at Tulsa 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 11 Miami 7 p.m.

Sep. 19 Bufalo 11 a.m.

Sep. 26 at Charlotte 6 p.m.

Oct. 10 Rice 1:30 p.m.

Oct. 17 Marshall 11 a.m.

Oct. 24 at UTEP 6 p.m.

Oct. 31 FIU 2:30 p.m.

Nov. 7 at W. Kentucky TBA Nov. 14 Middle Tennessee 11 a.m.

Nov. 21 at Florida TBA Nov. 28 at Old Dominion 11 a.m.

Sep. 3 Abilene Christian Sep. 12 at Mississippi Sep. 19 Utah Sep. 26 at San Jose St. Oct. 3 at San Diego St. Oct. 10 Utah St. Oct. 16 UNLV Oct. 24 at Air Force Nov. 5 Nevada Nov. 14 at Hawaii Nov. 21 at BYU Nov. 28 Colorado St.

Sep. 5 UTEP Sep. 12 Toledo Sep. 19 Texas Tech Sep. 26 Texas A&M Oct. 3 at Tennessee Oct. 10 at Alabama Oct. 24 Auburn Oct. 31 UT-Martin Nov. 7 at Mississippi Nov. 14 at LSU Nov. 21 Mississippi St. Nov. 27 Missouri

Sep. 4 Fordham Sep. 12 at UConn Sep. 19 Wake Forest Sep. 26 at E. Michigan Oct. 3 at Penn St. Oct. 10 Duke Oct. 17 Bucknell Oct. 24 at Rice Nov. 7 at Air Force Nov. 14 Tulane Nov. 21 Rutgers Dec. 12 at Navy

2:30 p.m.

3 p.m.

6 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA 1:30 p.m.

6 p.m.

11 a.m.

11 a.m.

TBA TBA 11 a.m.

11 a.m.

TBA TBA 11 a.m.

11 a.m.

2 p.m.

AUBURN Sep. 5 Louisville Sep. 12 Jacksonville St. Sep. 19 at LSU Sep. 26 Mississippi St. Oct. 3 San Jose St. Oct. 15 at Kentucky Oct. 24 at Arkansas Oct. 31 Mississippi Nov. 7 at Texas A&M Nov. 14 Georgia Nov. 21 Idaho Nov. 28 Alabama

2:30 p.m.

11 a.m.

2:30 p.m.

TBA TBA 6 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

Sep. 3 Oklahoma St. Sep. 12 Monmouth (NJ) Sep. 19 at Syracuse Sep. 26 at Michigan St. Oct. 3 N. Illinois Oct. 10 at W. Michigan Oct. 17 Bufalo Oct. 24 at Ball St. Oct. 31 at Akron Nov. 10 Toledo Nov. 18 at Kent St. Nov. 27 E. Michigan

4 p.m.

4 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA 8 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA 6 p.m.

2 p.m.

11:30 a.m.

TBA 2 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA 7 p.m.

7 p.m.

TBA

8 p.m.

7 p.m.

4 p.m.

4 p.m.

TBA TBA 4 p.m.

7 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA 4 p.m.

ILLINOIS

ARIZONA ST.

3 p.m.

11 a.m.

2 p.m.

TBA 2:30 p.m.

TBA 2 p.m.

TBA 7 p.m.

7 p.m.

TBA 6:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

11 a.m.

TBA TBA 7 p.m.

8 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

Outback Bowl Citrus Bowl

Tampa, Fla. Orlando, Fla.

ACC/ND or Big Ten vs. SEC ESPN2-1026 Big Ten vs. SEC KTUL-1008

TaxSlayer Bowl Liberty Bowl Alamo Bowl Cactus Bowl

Jacksonville, Fla. Memphis, Tenn.

San Antonio, Texas Phoenix

ACC/ND or Big Ten vs. SEC ESPN-1025 Big 12 vs. SEC ESPN-1025 Big 12 vs. Pac-12 ESPN-1025 Big 12 vs. Pac-12 ESPN-1025

Sep. 5 Woford 11:30 a.m.

Sep. 12 Appalachian St. 11:30 a.m.

Sep. 17 at Louisville 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 3 Notre Dame TBA Oct. 10 Georgia Tech TBA Oct. 17 Boston College TBA Oct. 24 at Miami TBA Oct. 31 at NC State TBA Nov. 7 Florida St. TBA Nov. 14 at Syracuse TBA Nov. 21 Wake Forest TBA Nov. 28 at South Carolina TBA

COLORADO Sep. 3 at Hawaii 11:59 p.m.

Sep. 12 UMass 1 p.m.

Sep. 19 at Colorado St. 6 p.m.

Sep. 26 Nicholls St. TBA Oct. 3 Oregon TBA Oct. 10 at Arizona St. TBA Oct. 17 Arizona TBA Oct. 24 at Oregon St. TBA Oct. 31 at UCLA TBA Nov. 7 Stanford TBA Nov. 13 Southern Cal 8 p.m.

Nov. 21 at Washington St. TBA Nov. 28 at Utah TBA

CHARLOTTE

COLORADO ST.

Sep. 4 at Georgia St. 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 12 Presbyterian 11 a.m.

Sep. 19 at Middle Tennessee 6 p.m.

Sep. 26 FAU 6 p.m.

Oct. 2 Temple 6 p.m.

Oct. 17 at Old Dominion 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 24 Southern Miss.

11 a.m.

Oct. 31 Marshall TBA Nov. 7 at FIU 11 a.m.

Nov. 14 UTSA TBA Nov. 21 at Kentucky TBA Nov. 28 at Rice 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 5 Savannah St. Sep. 12 Minnesota Sep. 19 Colorado Sep. 26 at UTSA Oct. 3 at Utah St. Oct. 10 Boise St. Oct. 17 Air Force Oct. 31 San Diego St. Nov. 7 at Wyoming Nov. 14 UNLV Nov. 21 at New Mexico Nov. 28 at Fresno St.

3 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

TBA 6 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

TBA 6 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

8 p.m.

Sep. 5 Towson Sep. 12 at Florida Sep. 19 at Navy Sep. 26 Virginia Tech Oct. 3 at SMU Oct. 10 at BYU Oct. 17 Tulsa Oct. 22 Temple Oct. 30 at UConn Nov. 7 South Florida Nov. 19 at UCF Nov. 28 Cincinnati

5 p.m.

6 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA 6 p.m.

6 p.m.

TBA 6:30 p.m.

TBA

9 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

TBA 9:30 p.m.

10 p.m.

TBA 8 p.m.

Sep. 3 Alcorn St. Sep. 12 Tulane Sep. 19 at Notre Dame Sep. 26 at Duke Oct. 3 North Carolina Oct. 10 at Clemson Oct. 17 Pittsburgh Oct. 24 Florida St. Oct. 31 at Virginia Nov. 12 Virginia Tech Nov. 21 at Miami Nov. 28 Georgia

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6:30 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA 6:30 p.m.

TBA TBA

3 p.m.

7 p.m.

3 p.m.

TBA TBA 11 a.m.

2:30 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

Sep. 5 McNeese St. 6:30 p.m.

Sep. 12 at Mississippi St. 8:15 p.m.

Sep. 19 Auburn 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Syracuse TBA Oct. 3 E. Michigan TBA Oct. 10 at South Carolina TBA Oct. 17 Florida TBA Oct. 24 W. Kentucky TBA Nov. 7 at Alabama TBA Nov. 14 Arkansas TBA Nov. 21 at Mississippi TBA Nov. 28 Texas A&M TBA

LOUISIANA TECH Sep. 5 Southern U. 6 p.m.

Sep. 10 at W. Kentucky 7 p.m.

Sep. 19 at Kansas St. 2 p.m.

Sep. 26 FIU 1:30 p.m.

Oct. 3 Louisiana-Lafayette 6 p.m.

Oct. 10 at UTSA 6 p.m.

Oct. 17 at Mississippi St. TBA Oct. 24 Middle Tennessee 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 30 at Rice 7 p.m.

Nov. 7 North Texas 2:30 p.m.

Nov. 21 at UTEP TBA Nov. 28 Southern Miss.

TBA

LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE Sep. 5 at Kentucky 6 p.m.

Sep. 12 Northwestern St. 6 p.m.

Sep. 26 Akron TBA Oct. 3 at Louisiana Tech 6 p.m.

Oct. 10 Texas St. TBA Oct. 20 at Arkansas St. 7 p.m.

Oct. 31 Louisiana-Monroe TBA Nov. 7 at Georgia St. TBA Nov. 12 at South Alabama 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 21 New Mexico St. TBA Nov. 28 at Appalachian St. TBA Dec. 5 Troy TBA

LOUISIANA-MONROE Sep. 5 at Georgia 11 a.m.

Sep. 12 Nicholls St. 6 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Alabama TBA Oct. 3 Georgia Southern 6 p.m.

Oct. 10 at Tulsa TBA Oct. 17 Appalachian St. 6 p.m.

Oct. 24 at Idaho 4 p.m.

Oct. 31 at Louisiana-Lafayette TBA Nov. 7 at Troy TBA Nov. 14 Arkansas St. 2 p.m.

Nov. 19 at Texas St. 8:30 p.m.

Nov. 28 at Hawaii 10 p.m.

Dec. 5 New Mexico St. 2 p.m.

LOUISVILLE

IOWA Sep. 5 Illinois St. Sep. 12 at Iowa St. Sep. 19 Pittsburgh Sep. 26 North Texas Oct. 3 at Wisconsin Oct. 10 Illinois Oct. 17 at Northwestern Oct. 31 Maryland Nov. 7 at Indiana Nov. 14 Minnesota Nov. 21 Purdue Nov. 27 at Nebraska

LSU

11 a.m.

3:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

TBA TBA 11 a.m.

11 a.m.

TBA TBA 7 p.m.

TBA TBA

Sep. 5 at Auburn Sep. 12 Houston Sep. 17 Clemson Sep. 26 Samford Oct. 3 at NC State Oct. 17 at Florida St. Oct. 24 Boston College Oct. 30 at Wake Forest Nov. 7 Syracuse Nov. 14 Virginia Nov. 21 at Pittsburgh Nov. 28 at Kentucky

2:30 p.m.

11 a.m.

6:30 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA 6 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA

IOWA ST.

MARSHALL

Sep. 5 N. Iowa 7 p.m.

Sep. 12 Iowa 3:30 p.m.

Sep. 19 at Toledo 7 p.m.

Oct. 3 Kansas TBA Oct. 10 at Texas Tech TBA Oct. 17 TCU TBA Oct. 24 at Baylor TBA Oct. 31 Texas TBA Nov. 7 at Oklahoma TBA Nov. 14 Oklahoma St. TBA Nov. 21 at Kansas St. TBA Nov. 28 at West Virginia TBA

Sep. 6 Purdue 2 p.m.

Sep. 12 at Ohio 6 p.m.

Sep. 19 Norfolk St. 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Kent St. TBA Oct. 3 Old Dominion 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 9 Southern Miss.

6 p.m.

Oct. 17 at FAU 11 a.m.

Oct. 24 North Texas 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 31 at Charlotte TBA Nov. 7 at Middle Tennessee TBA Nov. 14 FIU TBA Nov. 27 at W. Kentucky 11 a.m.

KANSAS

MARYLAND

Sep. 5 S. Dakota St. Sep. 12 Memphis Sep. 26 at Rutgers Oct. 3 at Iowa St. Oct. 10 Baylor Oct. 17 Texas Tech Oct. 24 at Oklahoma St. Oct. 31 Oklahoma Nov. 7 at Texas Nov. 14 at TCU Nov. 21 West Virginia Nov. 28 Kansas St.

Sep. 4 at Illinois Sep. 12 Delaware St. Sep. 19 at Minnesota Sep. 26 Marshall Oct. 3 Miami (Ohio) Oct. 10 at Toledo Oct. 17 at UMass Oct. 24 Bowling Green Nov. 5 Bufalo Nov. 10 at Ohio Nov. 18 Cent. Michigan Nov. 27 at Akron

11 a.m.

6 p.m.

11 a.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

Sep. 5 Richmond 11 a.m.

Sep. 12 Bowling Green 11 a.m.

Sep. 19 South Florida 11 a.m.

Sep. 26 at West Virginia TBA Oct. 3 Michigan 7 p.m.

Oct. 10 at Ohio St. 11 a.m.

Oct. 24 Penn St. TBA Oct. 31 at Iowa TBA Nov. 7 Wisconsin 2:30 p.m.

Nov. 14 at Michigan St. TBA Nov. 21 Indiana TBA Nov. 28 at Rutgers TBA

MEMPHIS 6:10 p.m.

11 a.m.

2 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA 6:30 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA

Sep. 5 Missouri St. 6 p.m.

Sep. 12 at Kansas 6 p.m.

Sep. 19 at Bowling Green 2 p.m.

Sep. 24 Cincinnati 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 2 at South Florida 6 p.m.

Oct. 17 Mississippi TBA Oct. 23 at Tulsa 7 p.m.

Oct. 31 Tulane TBA Nov. 7 Navy TBA Nov. 14 at Houston TBA Nov. 21 at Temple TBA Nov. 28 SMU TBA

MIAMI 8 p.m.

5 p.m.

11 a.m.

TBA 2:30 p.m.

2 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

TBA 6:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

7 p.m.

TBA

Sep. 5 Bethune-Cookman 5 p.m.

Sep. 11 at FAU 7 p.m.

Sep. 19 Nebraska 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 1 at Cincinnati 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 10 at Florida St. TBA Oct. 17 Virginia Tech TBA Oct. 24 Clemson TBA Oct. 31 at Duke TBA Nov. 7 Virginia TBA Nov. 14 at North Carolina TBA Nov. 21 Georgia Tech TBA Nov. 27 at Pittsburgh TBA

Sunday, August 23, 2015 n n F 19

2015 football schedules MIAMI (OHIO) Sep. 5 Presbyterian Sep. 12 at Wisconsin Sep. 19 Cincinnati Sep. 26 at W. Kentucky Oct. 3 at Kent St. Oct. 10 at Ohio Oct. 17 N. Illinois Oct. 24 at W. Michigan Oct. 29 Bufalo Nov. 7 E. Michigan Nov. 14 Akron Nov. 21 at UMass

NC STATE 2:30 p.m.

11 a.m.

2:30 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

1 p.m.

1:30 p.m.

1 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA

MICHIGAN Sep. 3 at Utah Sep. 12 Oregon St. Sep. 19 UNLV Sep. 26 BYU Oct. 3 at Maryland Oct. 10 Northwestern Oct. 17 Michigan St. Oct. 31 at Minnesota Nov. 7 Rutgers Nov. 14 at Indiana Nov. 21 at Penn St. Nov. 28 Ohio St.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

6 p.m.

TBA TBA 7 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

NAVY 7:30 p.m.

11 a.m.

11 a.m.

TBA 7 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

TBA 7 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA

MICHIGAN ST. Sep. 4 at W. Michigan Sep. 12 Oregon Sep. 19 Air Force Sep. 26 Cent. Michigan Oct. 3 Purdue Oct. 10 at Rutgers Oct. 17 at Michigan Oct. 24 Indiana Nov. 7 at Nebraska Nov. 14 Maryland Nov. 21 at Ohio St. Nov. 28 Penn St.

Sep. 5 Troy Sep. 12 E. Kentucky Sep. 19 at Old Dominion Sep. 26 at South Alabama Oct. 3 Louisville Oct. 9 at Virginia Tech Oct. 24 at Wake Forest Oct. 31 Clemson Nov. 7 at Boston College Nov. 14 at Florida St. Nov. 21 Syracuse Nov. 28 North Carolina

Sep. 5 Colgate Sep. 19 East Carolina Sep. 26 at UConn Oct. 3 Air Force Oct. 10 at Notre Dame Oct. 24 Tulane Oct. 31 South Florida Nov. 7 at Memphis Nov. 14 SMU Nov. 21 at Tulsa Nov. 27 at Houston Dec. 12 Army

11 a.m.

2:30 p.m.

TBA 2:30 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

Noon 11 a.m.

TBA 2:30 p.m.

TBA TBA 2 p.m.

NEBRASKA 6 p.m.

7 p.m.

11 a.m.

TBA 11 a.m.

7 p.m.

TBA TBA 7 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA

Sep. 5 BYU Sep. 12 South Alabama Sep. 19 at Miami Sep. 26 Southern Miss.

Oct. 3 at Illinois Oct. 10 Wisconsin Oct. 17 at Minnesota Oct. 24 Northwestern Oct. 31 at Purdue Nov. 7 Michigan St. Nov. 14 at Rutgers Nov. 27 Iowa

2:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

11 a.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA 7 p.m.

TBA TBA

NOTRE DAME

PITTSBURGH

Sep. 5 Texas 6:30 p.m.

Sep. 12 at Virginia 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 19 Georgia Tech 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 26 UMass 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 3 at Clemson TBA Oct. 10 Navy 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 17 Southern Cal 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 31 at Temple TBA Nov. 7 at Pittsburgh TBA Nov. 14 Wake Forest 2:30 p.m.

Nov. 21 at Boston College 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 28 at Stanford TBA

Sep. 5 Youngstown St. Sep. 12 at Akron Sep. 19 at Iowa Oct. 3 at Virginia Tech Oct. 10 Virginia Oct. 17 at Georgia Tech Oct. 24 at Syracuse Oct. 29 North Carolina Nov. 7 Notre Dame Nov. 14 at Duke Nov. 21 Louisville Nov. 27 Miami

OHIO

PURDUE

SOUTHERN CAL

Sep. 3 at Idaho 8 p.m.

Sep. 12 Marshall 6 p.m.

Sep. 19 SE Louisiana 1 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Minnesota 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 3 at Akron 1 p.m.

Oct. 10 Miami (Ohio) 1 p.m.

Oct. 17 W. Michigan TBA Oct. 24 at Bufalo TBA Nov. 4 at Bowling Green 7 p.m.

Nov. 10 Kent St. 7 p.m.

Nov. 17 Ball St. TBA Nov. 24 at N. Illinois 6:30 p.m.

Sep. 6 at Marshall 2 p.m.

Sep. 12 Indiana St. 11 a.m.

Sep. 19 Virginia Tech 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 26 Bowling Green TBA Oct. 3 at Michigan St. 11 a.m.

Oct. 10 Minnesota TBA Oct. 17 at Wisconsin 11 a.m.

Oct. 31 Nebraska TBA Nov. 7 Illinois 11 a.m.

Nov. 14 at Northwestern TBA Nov. 21 at Iowa TBA Nov. 28 Indiana TBA

Sep. 5 Arkansas St. Sep. 12 Idaho Sep. 19 Stanford Sep. 26 at Arizona St. Oct. 8 Washington Oct. 17 at Notre Dame Oct. 24 Utah Oct. 31 at California Nov. 7 Arizona Nov. 13 at Colorado Nov. 21 at Oregon Nov. 28 UCLA

OHIO ST.

RICE

Sep. 7 at Virginia Tech Sep. 12 Hawaii Sep. 19 N. Illinois Sep. 26 W. Michigan Oct. 3 at Indiana Oct. 10 Maryland Oct. 17 Penn St. Oct. 24 at Rutgers Nov. 7 Minnesota Nov. 14 at Illinois Nov. 21 Michigan St. Nov. 28 at Michigan

7 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

TBA TBA 11 a.m.

7 p.m.

7 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA

Sep. 5 Wagner Sep. 12 at Texas Sep. 19 at North Texas Sep. 26 at Baylor Oct. 3 W. Kentucky Oct. 10 at FAU Oct. 24 Army Oct. 30 Louisiana Tech Nov. 6 at UTEP Nov. 14 Southern Miss.

Nov. 21 at UTSA Nov. 28 Charlotte

MIDDLE TENNESSEE

NEVADA

OKLAHOMA

Sep. 5 Jackson St. 6 p.m.

Sep. 12 at Alabama 3 p.m.

Sep. 19 Charlotte 6 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Illinois TBA Oct. 3 Vanderbilt 6 p.m.

Oct. 10 at W. Kentucky TBA Oct. 17 FIU TBA Oct. 24 at Louisiana Tech 2:30 p.m.

Nov. 7 Marshall TBA Nov. 14 at FAU 11 a.m.

Nov. 21 North Texas 11 a.m.

Nov. 28 at UTSA 1:30 p.m.

Sep. 3 UC Davis 9 p.m.

Sep. 12 Arizona 6 p.m.

Sep. 19 at Texas A&M 11 a.m.

Sep. 26 at Bufalo TBA Oct. 3 UNLV 6 p.m.

Oct. 10 New Mexico 6 p.m.

Oct. 17 at Wyoming TBA Oct. 24 Hawaii 3 p.m.

Nov. 5 at Fresno St. 9:30 p.m.

Nov. 14 San Jose St. 3 p.m.

Nov. 21 at Utah St. TBA Nov. 28 at San Diego St. TBA

Sep. 5 Akron Sep. 12 at Tennessee Sep. 19 Tulsa Oct. 3 West Virginia Oct. 10 at Texas Oct. 17 at Kansas St. Oct. 24 Texas Tech Oct. 31 at Kansas Nov. 7 Iowa St. Nov. 14 at Baylor Nov. 21 TCU Nov. 28 at Oklahoma St.

MINNESOTA

NEW MEXICO

OKLAHOMA ST.

SMU

Sep. 3 at Cent. Michigan 6 p.m.

Sep. 12 Cent. Arkansas 6:30 p.m.

Sep. 19 UTSA 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Texas TBA Oct. 3 Kansas St. TBA Oct. 10 at West Virginia TBA Oct. 24 Kansas TBA Oct. 31 at Texas Tech TBA Nov. 7 TCU TBA Nov. 14 at Iowa St. TBA Nov. 21 Baylor TBA Nov. 28 Oklahoma TBA

Sep. 4 Baylor Sep. 12 North Texas Sep. 19 at TCU Sep. 26 James Madison Oct. 3 East Carolina Oct. 8 at Houston Oct. 24 at South Florida Oct. 31 Tulsa Nov. 6 Temple Nov. 14 at Navy Nov. 21 Tulane Nov. 28 at Memphis

Sep. 3 TCU Sep. 12 at Colorado St. Sep. 19 Kent St. Sep. 26 Ohio Oct. 3 at Northwestern Oct. 10 at Purdue Oct. 17 Nebraska Oct. 31 Michigan Nov. 7 at Ohio St. Nov. 14 at Iowa Nov. 21 Illinois Nov. 28 Wisconsin

8 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

11 a.m.

2:30 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA 7 p.m.

TBA 7 p.m.

TBA TBA

Sep. 5 MVSU Sep. 12 Tulsa Sep. 18 at Arizona St. Sep. 26 at Wyoming Oct. 3 New Mexico St. Oct. 10 at Nevada Oct. 17 Hawaii Oct. 24 at San Jose St. Nov. 7 Utah St. Nov. 14 at Boise St. Nov. 21 Colorado St. Nov. 28 Air Force

7 p.m.

7 p.m.

9 p.m.

2 p.m.

7 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

TBA 4:30 p.m.

TBA

Sep. 5 Norfolk St. Sep. 12 Washington St. Sep. 19 at Penn St. Sep. 26 Kansas Oct. 10 Michigan St. Oct. 17 at Indiana Oct. 24 Ohio St. Oct. 31 at Wisconsin Nov. 7 at Michigan Nov. 14 Nebraska Nov. 21 at Army Nov. 28 Maryland

NEW MEXICO ST.

OLD DOMINION

SAN DIEGO ST.

Sep. 5 UT-Martin 11 a.m.

Sep. 12 Fresno St. 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 19 at Alabama 8:15 p.m.

Sep. 26 Vanderbilt TBA Oct. 3 at Florida TBA Oct. 10 New Mexico St. TBA Oct. 17 at Memphis TBA Oct. 24 Texas A&M TBA Oct. 31 at Auburn TBA Nov. 7 Arkansas TBA Nov. 21 LSU TBA Nov. 28 at Mississippi St. TBA

Sep. 5 at Florida 6:30 p.m.

Sep. 12 Georgia St. 7 p.m.

Sep. 19 UTEP 7 p.m.

Oct. 3 at New Mexico 7 p.m.

Oct. 10 at Mississippi TBA Oct. 17 at Georgia Southern 5 p.m.

Oct. 24 Troy 7 p.m.

Oct. 31 Idaho 7 p.m.

Nov. 7 at Texas St. TBA Nov. 21 at Louisiana-Lafayette TBA Nov. 28 Arkansas St. 2 p.m.

Dec. 5 at Louisiana-Monroe 2 p.m.

Sep. 5 at E. Michigan 2 p.m.

Sep. 12 Norfolk St. 6 p.m.

Sep. 19 NC State 6 p.m.

Sep. 26 Appalachian St. 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 3 at Marshall 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 17 Charlotte 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 24 at FIU 5 p.m.

Oct. 31 W. Kentucky TBA Nov. 7 at UTSA 6 p.m.

Nov. 14 UTEP TBA Nov. 21 at Southern Miss. 2:30 p.m.

Nov. 28 FAU 11 a.m.

Sep. 5 San Diego Sep. 12 at California Sep. 19 South Alabama Sep. 26 at Penn St. Oct. 3 Fresno St. Oct. 10 at Hawaii Oct. 17 at San Jose St. Oct. 23 Utah St. Oct. 31 at Colorado St. Nov. 14 Wyoming Nov. 21 at UNLV Nov. 28 Nevada

MISSISSIPPI ST.

NORTH CAROLINA

OREGON

SAN JOSE ST.

Sep. 3 at South Carolina Sep. 12 NC A&T Sep. 19 Illinois Sep. 26 Delaware Oct. 3 at Georgia Tech Oct. 17 Wake Forest Oct. 24 Virginia Oct. 29 at Pittsburgh Nov. 7 Duke Nov. 14 Miami Nov. 21 at Virginia Tech Nov. 28 at NC State

Sep. 5 E. Washington Sep. 12 at Michigan St. Sep. 19 Georgia St. Sep. 26 Utah Oct. 3 at Colorado Oct. 10 Washington St. Oct. 17 at Washington Oct. 29 at Arizona St. Nov. 7 California Nov. 14 at Stanford Nov. 21 Southern Cal Nov. 27 Oregon St.

9 p.m.

8:15 p.m.

3 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA 8 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA

MISSOURI

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

11 a.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA 6 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA

2:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

1:30 p.m.

2 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

1:30 p.m.

TBA 7 p.m.

7 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

6 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

RUTGERS 6 p.m.

5 p.m.

11 a.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

MISSISSIPPI

Sep. 5 at Southern Miss.

Sep. 12 LSU Sep. 19 Northwestern St. Sep. 26 at Auburn Oct. 3 at Texas A&M Oct. 10 Troy Oct. 17 Louisiana Tech Oct. 24 Kentucky Nov. 5 at Missouri Nov. 14 Alabama Nov. 21 at Arkansas Nov. 28 Mississippi

Noon 5 p.m.

7 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA 6 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA

7 p.m.

7 p.m.

1 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA 9:30 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 3 New Hampshire Sep. 12 at Air Force Sep. 19 at Oregon St. Sep. 26 Fresno St. Oct. 3 at Auburn Oct. 10 at UNLV Oct. 17 San Diego St. Oct. 24 New Mexico Nov. 6 BYU Nov. 14 at Nevada Nov. 21 at Hawaii Nov. 27 Boise St.

11 a.m.

2:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

11 a.m.

7 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA 11 a.m.

TBA

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

7 p.m.

6 p.m.

TBA 7 p.m.

TBA TBA 7 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

TBA TBA

7 p.m.

4 p.m.

7 p.m.

TBA 9:30 p.m.

11 p.m.

TBA 9:30 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

TBA

9 p.m.

9:15 p.m.

7 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

TBA 8 p.m.

TBA 6 p.m.

10:30 p.m.

3 p.m.

10 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

SOUTH FLORIDA

TEXAS A&M

Sep. 5 Florida A&M Sep. 12 at Florida St. Sep. 19 at Maryland Oct. 2 Memphis Oct. 10 Syracuse Oct. 17 at UConn Oct. 24 SMU Oct. 31 at Navy Nov. 7 at East Carolina Nov. 14 Temple Nov. 20 Cincinnati Nov. 27 at UCF

Sep. 5 Arizona St. Sep. 12 Ball St. Sep. 19 Nevada Sep. 26 at Arkansas Oct. 3 Mississippi St. Oct. 17 Alabama Oct. 24 at Mississippi Oct. 31 South Carolina Nov. 7 Auburn Nov. 14 W. Carolina Nov. 21 at Vanderbilt Nov. 28 at LSU

W. KENTUCKY Sep. 3 at Vanderbilt 7 p.m.

Sep. 10 Louisiana Tech 7 p.m.

Sep. 19 at Indiana 3 p.m.

Sep. 26 Miami (Ohio) 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 3 at Rice 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 10 Middle Tennessee TBA Oct. 15 at North Texas 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 24 at LSU TBA Oct. 31 at Old Dominion TBA Nov. 7 FAU TBA Nov. 21 at FIU TBA Nov. 27 Marshall 11 a.m.

SOUTHERN MISS.

TEXAS TECH

UNLV

W. MICHIGAN

Sep. 5 Mississippi St. 9 p.m.

Sep. 12 Austin Peay 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 19 at Texas St. 6 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Nebraska 11 a.m.

Oct. 3 North Texas TBA Oct. 9 at Marshall 6 p.m.

Oct. 17 UTSA 6 p.m.

Oct. 24 at Charlotte 11 a.m.

Oct. 31 UTEP TBA Nov. 14 at Rice 2:30 p.m.

Nov. 21 Old Dominion 2:30 p.m.

Nov. 28 at Louisiana Tech TBA

Sep. 5 Sam Houston St. Sep. 12 UTEP Sep. 19 at Arkansas Sep. 26 TCU Oct. 3 Baylor Oct. 10 Iowa St. Oct. 17 at Kansas Oct. 24 at Oklahoma Oct. 31 Oklahoma St. Nov. 7 at West Virginia Nov. 14 Kansas St. Nov. 26 at Texas

STANFORD

TOLEDO

Sep. 5 at Northwestern 11 a.m.

Sep. 12 UCF 9:30 p.m.

Sep. 19 at Southern Cal 7 p.m.

Sep. 25 at Oregon St. 9 p.m.

Oct. 3 Arizona TBA Oct. 15 UCLA 9:30 p.m.

Oct. 24 Washington TBA Oct. 31 at Washington St. TBA Nov. 7 at Colorado TBA Nov. 14 Oregon TBA Nov. 21 California TBA Nov. 28 Notre Dame TBA

Sep. 3 Stony Brook Sep. 12 at Arkansas Sep. 19 Iowa St. Sep. 26 Arkansas St. Oct. 3 at Ball St. Oct. 10 Kent St. Oct. 17 E. Michigan Oct. 24 at UMass Nov. 3 N. Illinois Nov. 10 at Cent. Michigan Nov. 17 at Bowling Green Nov. 27 W. Michigan

SYRACUSE

10 p.m.

7 p.m.

7 p.m.

TBA 8 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA 8 p.m.

TBA TBA

2:30 p.m.

2 p.m.

6 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA 6:30 p.m.

Sep. 5 at N. Illinois Sep. 12 UCLA Sep. 19 at Michigan Sep. 26 Idaho St. Oct. 3 at Nevada Oct. 10 San Jose St. Oct. 16 at Fresno St. Oct. 31 Boise St. Nov. 7 Hawaii Nov. 14 at Colorado St. Nov. 21 San Diego St. Nov. 28 at Wyoming

WAKE FOREST Sep. 3 Elon 6 p.m.

Sep. 12 at Syracuse 11:30 a.m.

Sep. 19 at Army 11 a.m.

Sep. 26 Indiana TBA Oct. 3 Florida St. TBA Oct. 10 at Boston College TBA Oct. 17 at North Carolina TBA Oct. 24 NC State TBA Oct. 30 Louisville 6 p.m.

Nov. 14 at Notre Dame 2:30 p.m.

Nov. 21 at Clemson TBA Nov. 28 Duke TBA

TROY

UTSA

WASHINGTON

Sep. 5 at NC State 5 p.m.

Sep. 12 Charleston Southern 6 p.m.

Sep. 19 at Wisconsin 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 3 South Alabama TBA Oct. 10 at Mississippi St. TBA Oct. 17 Idaho TBA Oct. 24 at New Mexico St. 7 p.m.

Oct. 31 at Appalachian St. TBA Nov. 7 Louisiana-Monroe TBA Nov. 14 Georgia Southern TBA Nov. 27 at Georgia St. TBA Dec. 5 at Louisiana-Lafayette TBA

Sep. 3 at Arizona 9 p.m.

Sep. 12 Kansas St. 11 a.m.

Sep. 19 at Oklahoma St. 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 26 Colorado St. 6 p.m.

Oct. 3 at UTEP 7 p.m.

Oct. 10 Louisiana Tech 6 p.m.

Oct. 17 at Southern Miss.

6 p.m.

Oct. 31 at North Texas 6 p.m.

Nov. 7 Old Dominion 6 p.m.

Nov. 14 at Charlotte TBA Nov. 21 Rice 6 p.m.

Nov. 28 Middle Tennessee 1:30 p.m.

Sep. 4 at Boise St. Sep. 12 Sacramento St. Sep. 19 Utah St. Sep. 26 California Oct. 8 at Southern Cal Oct. 17 Oregon Oct. 24 at Stanford Oct. 31 Arizona Nov. 7 Utah Nov. 14 at Arizona St. Nov. 21 at Oregon St. Nov. 27 Washington St.

TCU

TULANE

UTAH

WASHINGTON ST.

Sep. 3 at Minnesota 8 p.m.

Sep. 12 Stephen F. Austin 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 19 SMU 7 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Texas Tech TBA Oct. 3 Texas TBA Oct. 10 at Kansas St. TBA Oct. 17 at Iowa St. TBA Oct. 29 West Virginia 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 7 at Oklahoma St. TBA Nov. 14 Kansas TBA Nov. 21 at Oklahoma TBA Nov. 27 Baylor 6:30 p.m.

Sep. 3 Duke Sep. 12 at Georgia Tech Sep. 19 Maine Oct. 3 UCF Oct. 10 at Temple Oct. 16 Houston Oct. 24 at Navy Oct. 31 at Memphis Nov. 7 UConn Nov. 14 at Army Nov. 21 at SMU Nov. 27 Tulsa

TEMPLE

TULSA

UTAH ST.

Sep. 5 FAU 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 12 at New Mexico 7 p.m.

Sep. 19 at Oklahoma 11 a.m.

Oct. 3 Houston TBA Oct. 10 Louisiana-Monroe TBA Oct. 17 at East Carolina TBA Oct. 23 Memphis 7 p.m.

Oct. 31 at SMU TBA Nov. 7 UCF TBA Nov. 14 at Cincinnati TBA Nov. 21 Navy TBA Nov. 27 at Tulane TBA

Sep. 3 S. Utah Sep. 11 at Utah Sep. 19 at Washington Oct. 3 Colorado St. Oct. 10 at Fresno St. Oct. 16 Boise St. Oct. 23 at San Diego St. Oct. 30 Wyoming Nov. 7 at New Mexico Nov. 14 at Air Force Nov. 21 Nevada Nov. 28 BYU

UCF

VANDERBILT

WISCONSIN

Sep. 3 FIU 5 p.m.

Sep. 12 at Stanford 9:30 p.m.

Sep. 19 Furman 5 p.m.

Sep. 26 at South Carolina TBA Oct. 3 at Tulane TBA Oct. 10 UConn TBA Oct. 17 at Temple TBA Oct. 24 Houston TBA Oct. 31 at Cincinnati TBA Nov. 7 at Tulsa TBA Nov. 19 East Carolina 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 27 South Florida 6:30 p.m.

Sep. 3 W. Kentucky 7 p.m.

Sep. 12 Georgia 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 19 Austin Peay 3 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Mississippi TBA Oct. 3 at Middle Tennessee 6 p.m.

Oct. 17 at South Carolina TBA Oct. 24 Missouri TBA Oct. 31 at Houston TBA Nov. 7 at Florida TBA Nov. 14 Kentucky TBA Nov. 21 Texas A&M TBA Nov. 28 at Tennessee TBA

Sep. 5 at Alabama Sep. 12 Miami (Ohio) Sep. 19 Troy Sep. 26 Hawaii Oct. 3 Iowa Oct. 10 at Nebraska Oct. 17 Purdue Oct. 24 at Illinois Oct. 31 Rutgers Nov. 7 at Maryland Nov. 21 Northwestern Nov. 28 at Minnesota

UCLA

VIRGINIA

WYOMING

Sep. 5 at UCLA 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 12 Notre Dame 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 19 William & Mary 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 25 Boise St. 7 p.m.

Oct. 10 at Pittsburgh TBA Oct. 17 Syracuse TBA Oct. 24 at North Carolina TBA Oct. 31 Georgia Tech TBA Nov. 7 at Miami TBA Nov. 14 at Louisville TBA Nov. 21 Duke TBA Nov. 28 Virginia Tech TBA

Sep. 5 North Dakota 3 p.m.

Sep. 12 E. Michigan 3 p.m.

Sep. 19 at Washington St. 7:30 p.m.

Sep. 26 New Mexico 2 p.m.

Oct. 3 at Appalachian St. TBA Oct. 10 at Air Force TBA Oct. 17 Nevada TBA Oct. 24 at Boise St. TBA Oct. 30 at Utah St. 9:15 p.m.

Nov. 7 Colorado St. TBA Nov. 14 at San Diego St. 9:30 p.m.

Nov. 28 UNLV 1 p.m.

Sep. 4 Rhode Island Sep. 12 Wake Forest Sep. 19 Cent. Michigan Sep. 26 LSU Oct. 10 at South Florida Oct. 17 at Virginia Oct. 24 Pittsburgh Oct. 31 at Florida St. Nov. 7 at Louisville Nov. 14 Clemson Nov. 21 at NC State Nov. 28 Boston College

Sep. 5 Penn St. Sep. 12 at Cincinnati Sep. 19 at UMass Oct. 2 at Charlotte Oct. 10 Tulane Oct. 17 UCF Oct. 22 at East Carolina Oct. 31 Notre Dame Nov. 6 at SMU Nov. 14 at South Florida Nov. 21 Memphis Nov. 28 UConn

TENNESSEE Sep. 5 Bowling Green Sep. 12 Oklahoma Sep. 19 W. Carolina Sep. 26 at Florida Oct. 3 Arkansas Oct. 10 Georgia Oct. 24 at Alabama Oct. 31 at Kentucky Nov. 7 South Carolina Nov. 14 North Texas Nov. 21 at Missouri Nov. 28 Vanderbilt

N. ILLINOIS

NORTHWESTERN

PENN ST.

SOUTH CAROLINA

TEXAS

Sep. 5 UNLV 6:30 p.m.

Sep. 12 Murray St. 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 19 at Ohio St. 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Boston College TBA Oct. 3 at Cent. Michigan 2 p.m.

Oct. 10 Ball St. TBA Oct. 17 at Miami (Ohio) 1:30 p.m.

Oct. 24 E. Michigan 2:30 p.m.

Nov. 3 at Toledo 7 p.m.

Nov. 11 at Bufalo 7 p.m.

Nov. 18 W. Michigan 7 p.m.

Nov. 24 Ohio 6:30 p.m.

Sep. 5 Stanford Sep. 12 E. Illinois Sep. 19 at Duke Sep. 26 Ball St. Oct. 3 Minnesota Oct. 10 at Michigan Oct. 17 Iowa Oct. 24 at Nebraska Nov. 7 Penn St. Nov. 14 Purdue Nov. 21 at Wisconsin Nov. 28 at Illinois

Sep. 5 at Temple Sep. 12 Bufalo Sep. 19 Rutgers Sep. 26 San Diego St. Oct. 3 Army Oct. 10 Indiana Oct. 17 at Ohio St. Oct. 24 at Maryland Oct. 31 Illinois Nov. 7 at Northwestern Nov. 21 Michigan Nov. 28 at Michigan St.

Sep. 3 North Carolina Sep. 12 Kentucky Sep. 19 at Georgia Sep. 26 UCF Oct. 3 at Missouri Oct. 10 LSU Oct. 17 Vanderbilt Oct. 31 at Texas A&M Nov. 7 at Tennessee Nov. 14 Florida Nov. 21 The Citadel Nov. 28 Clemson

Sep. 5 at Notre Dame Sep. 12 Rice Sep. 19 California Sep. 26 Oklahoma St. Oct. 3 at TCU Oct. 10 Oklahoma Oct. 24 Kansas St. Oct. 31 at Iowa St. Nov. 7 Kansas Nov. 14 at West Virginia Nov. 26 Texas Tech Dec. 5 at Baylor

6 p.m.

11:30 a.m.

11:30 a.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

2:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

2 p.m.

6 p.m.

TBA TBA 6 p.m.

TBA 7 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA

3 p.m.

5 p.m.

6 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

6:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA 6:30 p.m.

TBA

Sep. 5 Virginia Sep. 12 at UNLV Sep. 19 BYU Sep. 26 at Arizona Oct. 3 Arizona St. Oct. 15 at Stanford Oct. 22 California Oct. 31 Colorado Nov. 7 at Oregon St. Nov. 14 Washington St. Nov. 21 at Utah Nov. 28 at Southern Cal

6 p.m.

3 p.m.

7 p.m.

TBA 2 p.m.

2 p.m.

TBA TBA 7 p.m.

7 p.m.

TBA TBA

8:30 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

TBA TBA 8 p.m.

Noon TBA TBA 11 a.m.

TBA TBA

2:30 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

TBA TBA 9:30 p.m.

8 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

Sep. 3 Michigan Sep. 11 Utah St. Sep. 19 at Fresno St. Sep. 26 at Oregon Oct. 10 California Oct. 17 Arizona St. Oct. 24 at Southern Cal Oct. 31 Oregon St. Nov. 7 at Washington Nov. 14 at Arizona Nov. 21 UCLA Nov. 28 Colorado

BEST ADS

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Sep. 4 Michigan St. 6 p.m.

Sep. 12 at Georgia Southern 5 p.m.

Sep. 19 Murray St. 6 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Ohio St. TBA Oct. 10 Cent. Michigan TBA Oct. 17 at Ohio TBA Oct. 24 Miami (Ohio) 1 p.m.

Oct. 29 at E. Michigan 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 5 Ball St. 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 11 Bowling Green 7 p.m.

Nov. 18 at N. Illinois 7 p.m.

Nov. 27 at Toledo TBA

Sep. 5 at Arkansas 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 12 at Texas Tech 2 p.m.

Sep. 19 at New Mexico St. 7 p.m.

Sep. 26 Incarnate Word 7 p.m.

Oct. 3 UTSA 7 p.m.

Oct. 10 at FIU 11 a.m.

Oct. 24 FAU 6 p.m.

Oct. 31 at Southern Miss.

TBA Nov. 6 Rice 7 p.m.

Nov. 14 at Old Dominion TBA Nov. 21 Louisiana Tech TBA Nov. 28 at North Texas TBA

Sep. 5 Gardner-Webb 5 p.m.

Sep. 12 at Nebraska 7 p.m.

Sep. 19 at San Diego St. 7 p.m.

Sep. 26 NC State TBA Oct. 3 at Troy TBA Oct. 13 Arkansas St. 7 p.m.

Oct. 24 at Texas St. TBA Nov. 7 Idaho TBA Nov. 12 La.-Lafayette 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 21 at Georgia St. TBA Nov. 28 at Georgia Southern 1 p.m.

Dec. 5 Appalachian St. TBA

1993 • product: McDonald’s The greatest game of HORSE ever played. Larry Bird challenges Michael Jordan to a game for Jordan’s Big Mac and fries. First one to miss.

Sounds simple enough … until the duo can’t miss. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, and Dwight Howard and LeBron James play their version — only dunks — in a 2010 McDonald’s commercial (with a Bird cameo).

6:30 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

11 a.m.

8 p.m.

6 p.m.

8 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

TBA 5 p.m.

6 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

1 p.m.

UTEP

SOUTH ALABAMA

5 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

5 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

Sep. 7 Ohio St. 7 p.m.

Sep. 12 Furman 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 19 at Purdue 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 26 at East Carolina TBA Oct. 3 Pittsburgh TBA Oct. 9 NC State 7 p.m.

Oct. 17 at Miami TBA Oct. 24 Duke TBA Oct. 31 at Boston College TBA Nov. 12 at Georgia Tech 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 21 North Carolina TBA Nov. 28 at Virginia TBA

Sep. 12 at Colorado 1 p.m.

Sep. 19 Temple 2 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Notre Dame 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 3 FIU TBA Oct. 10 at Bowling Green TBA Oct. 17 Kent St. 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 24 Toledo TBA Oct. 31 at Ball St. TBA Nov. 7 Akron TBA Nov. 14 at E. Michigan TBA Nov. 21 Miami (Ohio) TBA Nov. 27 at Bufalo TBA

Sep. 4 Weber St. 7 p.m.

Sep. 12 at Michigan 11 a.m.

Sep. 19 San Jose St. 7 p.m.

Sep. 25 Stanford 9 p.m.

Oct. 10 at Arizona TBA Oct. 17 at Washington St. TBA Oct. 24 Colorado TBA Oct. 31 at Utah TBA Nov. 7 UCLA TBA Nov. 14 at California TBA Nov. 21 Washington TBA Nov. 27 at Oregon 2:30 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

11 a.m.

7 p.m.

TBA TBA 11 a.m.

7 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

VIRGINIA TECH 6:30 p.m.

11 a.m.

11 a.m.

TBA 9:15 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA 6 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA

UMASS

OREGON ST.

11 a.m.

3 p.m.

11:30 a.m.

7 p.m.

TBA 2:30 p.m.

11 a.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

Sep. 3 Villanova Sep. 12 Army Sep. 19 at Missouri Sep. 26 Navy Oct. 2 at BYU Oct. 10 at UCF Oct. 17 South Florida Oct. 24 at Cincinnati Oct. 30 East Carolina Nov. 7 at Tulane Nov. 21 Houston Nov. 28 at Temple

Sep. 5 at Florida St. 7 p.m.

Sep. 12 Prairie View 6 p.m.

Sep. 19 Southern Miss.

6 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Houston TBA Oct. 10 at Louisiana-Lafayette TBA Oct. 24 South Alabama TBA Oct. 29 at Georgia So. 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 7 New Mexico St. TBA Nov. 14 Georgia St. TBA Nov. 19 Louisiana-Monroe 8:30 p.m.

Nov. 28 at Idaho 4 p.m.

Dec. 5 at Arkansas St. 4 p.m.

Sep. 12 at SMU 6 p.m.

Sep. 19 Rice 1:30 p.m.

Sep. 26 at Iowa TBA Oct. 3 at Southern Miss.

TBA Oct. 10 Portland St. TBA Oct. 15 W. Kentucky 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 24 at Marshall 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 31 UTSA 6 p.m.

Nov. 7 at Louisiana Tech 2:30 p.m.

Nov. 14 at Tennessee TBA Nov. 21 at Middle Tennessee 11 a.m.

Nov. 28 UTEP TBA

3 p.m.

6 p.m.

11 a.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA 8 p.m.

TBA TBA 1:30 p.m.

UCONN 6 p.m.

6 p.m.

11 a.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

TEXAS ST.

NORTH TEXAS

Sep. 5 SE Missouri Sep. 12 at Arkansas St. Sep. 19 UConn Sep. 26 at Kentucky Oct. 3 South Carolina Oct. 10 Florida Oct. 17 at Georgia Oct. 24 at Vanderbilt Nov. 5 Mississippi St. Nov. 14 BYU Nov. 21 Tennessee Nov. 27 at Arkansas

6 p.m.

10:30 a.m.

11 a.m.

6 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA 11 a.m.

TBA TBA 7 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

8 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

Sep. 5 Portland St. Sep. 12 at Rutgers Sep. 19 Wyoming Oct. 3 at California Oct. 10 at Oregon Oct. 17 Oregon St. Oct. 24 at Arizona Oct. 31 Stanford Nov. 7 Arizona St. Nov. 14 at UCLA Nov. 21 Colorado Nov. 27 at Washington

9:15 p.m.

1 p.m.

4 p.m.

TBA 8 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

1 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

WEST VIRGINIA 8 p.m.

8 p.m.

4 p.m.

TBA 9:30 p.m.

8 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

9:15 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

TBA TBA 2:30 p.m.

Sep. 5 Georgia Southern 6:30 p.m.

Sep. 12 Liberty 2 p.m.

Sep. 26 Maryland TBA Oct. 3 at Oklahoma TBA Oct. 10 Oklahoma St. TBA Oct. 17 at Baylor TBA Oct. 29 at TCU 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 7 Texas Tech TBA Nov. 14 Texas TBA Nov. 21 at Kansas TBA Nov. 28 Iowa St. TBA Dec. 5 at Kansas St. TBA

7 p.m.

11 a.m.

2:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

TBA TBA 11 a.m.

2:30 p.m.

TBA 2:30 p.m.

TBA TBA

F 20 n n Sunday, August 23, 2015

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