FanHouse

Dan Hawkins Wouldn't Recruit Son if Given Another Chance

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-23T22:08:00 00:00

Colorado coach Dan Hawkins has been adamant the past few seasons that having his son, Cody Hawkins, play quarterback for the Buffaloes was no different than other recruit.

Hawkins did a complete turnaround during Monday's weekly press conference, saying if he had to do it all over again he would not have recruited his own son.

"Not for him, no. Nope. Not at all," Hawkins said. "It's not fair to him. Here is a guy who is trying to do his best to win games and to help his team and does everything right, he's a good student and he's getting killed on Facebook and getting killed on his cell phone.

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Oklahoma State's Zac Robinson Expected to Play in 'Bedlam'

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-23T16:58:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, BCS, Big 12

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy says he expects senior quarterback Zac Robinson to return to the starting lineup for the 11th-ranked Cowboys during Saturday's critical regular-season finale against rival Oklahoma.

Robinson missed Thursday night's win over Colorado after sustaining injuries to his head and shoulder in a victory over Texas Tech the previous week. But Gundy said during Monday's Big 12 football coaches teleconference that Robinson began throwing over the weekend and that he would return to practice Monday afternoon. Gundy normally does not discuss injuries which means Robinson could or could not play.

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Kansas Still Fights for Embattled Coach

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-22T01:40:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Kansas, Big 12

AUSTIN, Texas --- Embattled Kansas coach Mark Mangino's week got off to a rocky start and it didn't get any better as the Jayhawks rolled to their sixth straight defeat Saturday night, falling 51-20 to the second-ranked Texas Longhorns on the road.

On Monday, Mangino found out athletic director Lew Perkins has launched an investigation into allegations the eight-year head coach has been verbally and physically abusive to some of his players after linebacker Arist Wright reported Mangino for poking him in the chest last Friday. Several former players have come forth to discuss the often mean-spirited abuse Mangino often fired their way.

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McCoy Drums Up Victory for Longhorns

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-22T01:32:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Kansas, Texas, BCS, Big 12

AUSTIN, Texas -- Usually one the most straight-laced and reserved of the Texas Longhorns, senior quarterback Colt McCoy finally stopped to take it all in late Saturday night.

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McCoy Keeps Longhorns on Title March

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-21T23:04:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Kansas, Texas, BCS, Big 12

AUSTIN, Texas -- For 21 University of Texas seniors, Saturday night was their last time playing at Texas Memorial Stadium. So they made it a night to remember.

The second-ranked Longhorns overpowered Kansas en route to a 51-20 victory that cemented them as the Big 12 South division champions and sealed senior quarterback Colt McCoy's place as college football's all-time winningest quarterback with 43 career wins.

But the Texas Longhorns, who are well positioned for their first BCS national championship game bid since 2005, still have quite a bit of business to finish. They will have to get past rival Texas A&M on Thanksgiving night and then North division champ Nebraska in the Big 12 title game.

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Live Blog: Colt McCoy Shoots for Spot as Texas' Greatest Quarterback

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-21T19:46:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Kansas, Texas, BCS, Big 12

AUSTIN, Texas -- Okay, so let the debate began.

Vince Young or Colt McCoy.

Which is the greatest Texas Longhorns quarterback of all time? Young led the Texas Longhorns to a season of perfection and the BCS national title in 2005 as a junior. McCoy, a four-year starter at Texas, has a chance tonight to become college football's all-time winningest quarterback with 43 wins should the second-ranked Longhorns make it past Kansas here at Texas Memorial Stadium.

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Longhorns Find It Easy to Stay Focused

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-21T12:10:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Kansas, Texas, Big 12

AUSTIN, Texas -- University of Texas coach Mack Brown usually doesn't like to live in the past, but this week he broke out some old film for his team.

He showed the Longhorns how teams from 2006 and 2007 finished in comparison to 2005, when Texas won the BCS national title, and last season when many agree the 12-1 Longhorns should have been given the opportunity to compete for the national championship.

Brown's point to his second-ranked,10-0 squad is simple: stay focused these last two regular-season games, the Big 12 championship game in two weeks, and then biggest of prizes await the Texas Longhorns in Pasadena. A slip up anywhere between now and the Jan. 7 BCS national championship game will lead to great disappointment for Texas.

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Big 12 North Gets Nostalgic

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-20T08:00:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Baylor, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Big 12

The Big 12 North remains a ways from returning to the prominence it enjoyed when the conference first formed in the late 1990s, but if Saturday's matchup between Kansas State and Nebraska for the division title is any indication then better days are certainly on the horizon.

After years of struggles by the Kansas State Wildcats and the Nebraska Cornhuskers, which have coincided with a dip in the North's strength, the two meet Saturday in Lincoln for a winner-take-all showdown. Neither team has had quite the season it anticipated but each has won enough for the right to play for the Big 12 championship, likely against No. 2 Texas, Dec. 5.

"Certainly we've been in this position before, probably in different ways," said veteran Wildcats coach Bill Snyder, who broke out of a three-year retirement to return to the sidelines this season. "By the same token, I can't remember other than the very early years that playing against the Nebraska teams was not a great challenge and certainly key ball games were after those initial years after they beat us so soundly."

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Oklahoma State Rallies Past Colorado

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-19T23:32:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Colorado, Oklahoma State, Big 12

The Oklahoma State Cowboys rallied in the second half to defeat Colorado, 31-28, on Thursday night at Boone Pickens Stadium to remain in contention for their first BCS bowl.

With Zac Robinson sitting out the game due to a shoulder injury, the 12th-ranked Cowboys (9-2, 6-1 Big 12) turned to junior Alex Cate but it was third-string sophomore Brandon Weeden who rallied them from a 21-10 deficit against the struggling Buffaloes.

Weeden completed 10 of 15 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. His 28-yard touchdown pass to Justin Blackmon while rolling right gave the Oklahoma State Cowboys the lead for good with 8:11 remaining in the game. Weeden also had a 47-yard touchdown throw to running back Keith Toston earlier in the second half.

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Former Kansas Running Back Says He Felt Wrath of Mangino

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-19T20:00:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Kansas, Big 12, FanHouse Exclusive

Former Kansas running back Jocques Crawford believes Jayhawks football coach Mark Mangino has anger issues and is prone to unleash his abusive behavior on his players.

Crawford says he witnessed Mangino's wrath first hand during his lone season with the program in 2008. Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins launched an investigation into his head coach's behavior Monday after it came to his attention that Mangino had poked senior linebacker Arist Wright during a walk-through practice last Friday.

Perkins has formed an independent panel to begin investigating what is believed to be a pattern of abusive behavior by Mangino directed at his team and other football personnel. Crawford said Perkins has yet to contact him, but if he does the former running back will have plenty to say.

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Mangino's Poke May Have Given Kansas Excuse to Shove Him Out

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-18T19:45:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Kansas, Big 12

Kansas has launched an investigation into the alleged abusive behavior of football coach Mark Mangino, and some close to the program believe this could be the end of his eight-year tenure.

According to anonymous source reports out of Kansas Tuesday night, Mangino poked senior linebacker Arist Wright in the chest during the walk-through last Friday prior to Saturday's road game against Colorado. The incident was reported to athletic director Lew Perkins, who then met with the entire football team Monday.

Suddenly, Mangino is being painted as an oversized coach with an even bigger anger problem. But some people close to the program and familiar with Mangino's brash style of coaching are questioning the timing of the reaction.

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Kansas Investigating Mark Mangino

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-17T17:22:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Kansas, Big 12

Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins has launched an investigation into allegations football coach Mark Mangino has been treating his players inappropriately.

Perkins held meetings with a number of players Monday night and he also met briefly with Mangino. Senior quarterback Todd Reesing told gathered reporters Tuesday afternoon that Perkins informed the players that an unbiased panel was being put together to conduct the investigation.

"I can confirm an internal review is under way," Perkins said in a quote released by the school Tuesday. "It involves a personnel matter, and as a result, is confidential. It would be inappropriate for me to provide further information right now."

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Stoops to Irish Flies in Face of Logic

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-16T23:00:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Rumors

If you believe rumors, then Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops would be interested in coaching Notre Dame should the Irish send Charlie Weis packing after five seasons.

The initial thought: Yeah right.

"That's ridiculous," Stoops said of the reports on Monday.

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TCU Is More Than Just BCS Buster

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-15T01:46:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: TCU, Utah, BCS, Mountain West

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Gary Patterson really doesn't want to lobby the BCS for inclusion into its national championship mix.

The fourth-ranked TCU Horned Frogs' impressive body of work should be enough.

They are just one of six remaining undefeated teams in the country, and have collected quality road wins at Clemson, Air Force and BYU en route to moving into fourth place in the BCS standings, the highest such ranking ever for a non-automatic qualifier.

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TCU Makes Boldest BCS Statement Yet

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-14T22:46:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: TCU, Utah, BCS, Mountain West

FORT WORTH, Texas -- If there were questions about the BCS worthiness of the TCU Horned Frogs, they were answered -- and resoundingly -- Saturday night.

The fourth-ranked Horned Frogs made their big game against 16th-ranked Utah seem like an exhibition as they stunned the naysayers and maybe even themselves by routing the defending Mountain West champion Utes 55-28 in front a record crowd of 50,307 at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

The most immediate result is that the undefeated Horned Frogs have a major leg up in the MWC race by getting past nemesis Utah in convincing fashion. Even bigger, the Horned Frogs sent a clear message to the BCS community that they deserve to be part of the BCS conversation, not just for one of the four big bowl bids but for a real shot at the national title game.

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Live Blog: TCU Gives Utes the Horns

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-14T21:15:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: TCU, Utah, BCS, Mountain West

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The atmosphere is electric and Amon G. Carter Stadium is packed to overflow capacity for what is arguably the biggest game in decades at TCU.

Should the fourth-ranked Horned Frogs (9-0, 5-0) make it past No.16 Utah (8-1, 5-0) tonight they will not only have a strong edge in the Mountain West race but will also keep them in step for a BCS bowl bid and possibly a berth into the national title game. Should the Frogs, who are ranked fourth in the BCS standings, make it to Pasadena, Calif. they will become the first non-BCS conference school to compete in the BCS title game.

(Follow Terrance Harris' game blog after the jump)

More Coverage: Box Score | Play by Play

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Damion James Ready to Carry Longhorns

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-14T20:07:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Texas, Big 12

Texas swingman Damion James made what seemed to be a difficult decision this past June when he walked away from NBA riches to return to school.

James apparently impressed many as he went through NBA workouts this past spring. But when it came time to be all in, James made the decision to return to the Longhorns for his senior season. James said the choice wasn't hard to make.

"It was cool," James said to FanHouse. "We have a great team, probably the best team in the country and I've come back to lead them. It really wasn't a tough decision at all. It was a great decision."

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TCU Has Chance to Climb Mountain

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-13T23:32:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: TCU, Utah, Mountain West

FORT WORTH - If you are waiting for TCU coach Gary Patterson to start lobbying for his team's inclusion into the BCS and possibly the national championship game, you will be kept waiting.

Patterson (above) can see far too many traps to get caught up in what the nation is talking about and that's that the fourth-ranked TCU Horned Frogs could very well be the first of the non-BCS schools to punch a ticket to the BCS' grandest stage.

It's a nice thought, but with 14th-ranked Utah on the horizon in a mega Mountain West Conference game Saturday night, Patterson isn't even willing to give the BCS possibilities a thought. He's strongly suggesting his players don't, either.

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Best Player? Most Valuable? Answer to Both Is Man Named Suh

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-13T12:30:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Nebraska, Big 12, Heisman

Depending on who is debating, the Heisman Trophy is awarded to either the best college football player in the country or the one who simply means the most to his team.

Whichever side of the coin you fall on, you have to come back to Nebraska senior defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Certainly playing in the trenches of the defensive line isn't the sexiest place to find the nation's most preeminent player.

Watching Suh defy double- and triple-teams the last two seasons has been every bit as exciting as a running back spinning out of the arms of several tacklers or a receiver blazing past the secondary or a quarterback dodging tacklers until he spots a receiver downfield for a critical touchdown.

More Heisman Hopefuls: Boise State's Kellen Is 'Moore'
Houston's Consistent Keenum | Stanford's Gerhart Battering Opposition

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Thunder Collins, Former Nebraska RB, Sentenced to Life In Prison

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-12T21:54:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Nebraska, Big 12, Police Blotter

Former Nebraska running back Thunder Collins' life seemed to be just one misstep after another once he joined the Cornhuskers nearly a decade ago.

Years of being on the wrong side of law have caught up with Collins, who was sentenced to life in prison Thursday in Omaha, Neb., for his role in the 2008 murder of one man and shooting of another man. Collins, who played for the Cornhuskers from 2000-02, was convicted of first-degree murder and several other charges in August.

The 29-year-old was facing a mandatory life in prison sentence after being convicted of first-degree murder, but the Douglas County District Court judge tacked on another 110 years for second-degree murder, assault and two weapons charges.

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