FanHouse Dan Hawkins

It seemed like a sign of positive things to come in Boulder, Colo., when Parade All-American running back Darrell Scott chose Colorado over Texas and Southern California two years ago.

But it was the fairy tale that was never realized as injuries and questions about his physical conditioning clouded a two-year career. Scott, easily the biggest and most high-profile recruit of Dan Hawkins' Colorado tenure, informed the coaching staff Tuesday that he is leaving the program.

Hawkins said in a released statement the sophomore "is leaving for assorted personal reasons." He assumed Scott would be transferring to school closer to his Ventura, Calif., home.

There is nothing new about Bob Stoops matching coaching wits with old mentor and boss Bill Snyder. They've done plenty of that over the years in Big 12 cross-divisional play.

But that doesn't mean Stoops isn't a little surprised to see Snyder, 70, back on the Wildcats sideline. The longtime Kansas State coach retired four years ago to pursue opportunities outside coaching, but was lured out of retirement last winter.

Stoops, whose 22nd-ranked Sooners host the Wildcats on Saturday, admits it's a little unexpected to be going up against his old boss again, but he was stunned when Snyder was no longer there, too.

Conventional wisdom says Tyler Hansen should have been wary.

You don't commit to a program where the quarterback you will be competing with for time is the head coach's son. Period.

But that is exactly what the lightly-recruited Hansen did two years ago when he committed to Dan Hawkins and the Colorado Buffaloes, with Cody Hawkins already entrenched as the team's signal caller. Ever since, it had been a rollercoaster ride for Hanson.

We all knew the Kansas Jayhawks offense had a chance to be lethal this season with quarterback Todd Reesing and wide receivers Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier setting the pace.

Well, the trio took it to a ridiculous level Saturday as the receivers bested each other during the Jayhawks' 41-31 win over Iowa State. First Briscoe set the school record for career receptions, then Meier jumped ahead of him. Meier, a converted quarterback, has 167 career catches while Briscoe sits at 165 after making 12 catches for 186 yards and two touchdowns Saturday.

BOULDER, Colo. -- For a minute, it looked as if Dan Hawkins was going to make like Mike Gundy did two years ago, and declare, "I'm a man. I'm 40."

It was Gundy, Oklahoma State's coach, who directed that at a female sports writer who had been critical of the team's quarterback. He made a point of mentioning the reporter didn't have any children.

What is it about whether sports writers have children and Big 12 football.

There was Hawkins, the embattled Colorado coach, following his team's 24-0 whitewash Saturday over Wyoming, going the children route.

Every college football season there seems to be at least one major conference that's projected to be among the best , only to find out it's all just hype.

Could this season be the Big 12's turn?

Projected to be one of the top two conferences in the country, along with the SEC, there is now a small mountain of evidence indicating the Big 12 isn't the conference we thought it would be. The league has already suffered more than it share of stunning upsets in non-conference play, starting at the top.

Perhaps Colorado coach Dan Hawkins somewhere internally knew his tenure was in trouble when he made the infamous 10-win prediction prior to this season.

That's what desperate coaches do to soothe a restless fan base. Smart ones just shut up and coach.

But two games into Hawkins' fourth season in Boulder, we're finding out Boise State isn't exactly the cradle of coaches and that it's time for the Hawkins experiment to end. The Buffaloes' latest embarrassment, a 54-38 drubbing at the hands of middle of the pact Mid-American Conference foe Toledo on Friday night at the Glass Bowl.

Most college football coaches seem to prefer easing into the non-conference portion of the schedule before the fun really starts during league play.

But for three Big 12 schools, the start of the season will be anything but a breaking-in period this upcoming weekend.

Missouri and Illinois meet in St. Louis, third-ranked Oklahoma takes on No. 20 BYU in Arlington, Texas, and the marquee matchup features No.13 Georgia at No. 9 Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon.

Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins announced a few moves on his staff this week, the biggest being that he will add the role of receivers coach to his duties this upcoming season.

Hawkins will coach the Buffaloes as he prepares 13-year NFL defensive back Ashley Ambrose to take over the wide receivers position for the 2010 season. Ambrose, who is carrying the title of defensive technical intern this season, will be able to observe Hawkins but is prohibited from coaching the players until after the season when he will be named a full-time assistant.

Every Monday during college football's endless offseason, The FanHouse Walk will put last week's stories to bed and deliver the essentials to bridge that agonizing space between now and September.

Mr. BCS Goes To Washington -- Except I have a feeling Jimmy Stewart would find some way to rail against the BCS, however wrongheadedly. You see, the big word in the halls of Congress on Friday was "fair" but don't let that confuse you. While the Mountain West and certain members of Congress are using the fairness term to stoke public support, their real concern is about money.