FanHouse Mike Sherman

Editor's Note: Bruce Ciskie, a lifelong Packers fan, opines about the state of his beloved team.

High expectations greeted the Green Bay Packers in August, as the team arrived at training camp. Practices -- held across the street from Lambeau Field -- were very physical, as the Packers tried to show they wouldn't be bullied around like they were far too often in 2008.

That 6-10 season, we all were told, was a memory. It was a fluke. It wasn't how things would be conducted in Green Bay. Bad tackling, soft defense, poor special teams play, and stupid penalties were going to be a thing of the past.

Or not.

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.

It's just three weeks into the full-swing of Big 12 play but the North Division is looking like any of the six teams could win the race.

That doesn't necessarily bode well at all for the weaker half of the two-division league.

Nebraska and Kansas came into the season as the presumed favorites to represent the North, but after two weeks of inconsistent play neither seems as powerful. The same can be said for two-time North champion Missouri, which started the season a surprising 4-0, but has dropped its first two games of the Big 12 season.

Former Texas A&M assistant and ex-Green Bay coach Mike Sherman returned to the Aggies nearly two years ago vowing to restore Aggie pride, dignity and accountability to the once proud program.

But in less than two complete seasons, Sherman doesn't seem close to his promise.

This will certainly be a tough week in Aggieland after A&M fell asleep against Kansas State and did not wake up until the mediocre Wildcats had pulled off a 66-14 rout in Manhattan, Kan., Saturday. And as crazy as it sounds, the score wasn't anywhere as close as it appears.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- It didn't seem to make sense for Texas A&M to have starting quarterback Jerrod Johnson still in the game late in fourth quarter with Arkansas well on the way to a 47-17 win Saturday night the Cowboys Stadium.

So imagine the concerned looks on the Aggies sideline when Johnson took a hard blindsided hit from Tenarius Wright that caused a fumble to pop out in Arkansas territory on the final real play of the game. Johnson stayed on the ground for a moment before popping back up.

Afterward, A&M coach Mike Sherman even questioned himself for leaving Johnson in so long.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- By no means had Texas A&M been as perfect this season as its 3-0 record coming into Saturday night's Southwest Classic against Arkansas might suggest.

It's just that the Aggies hadn't come up on a team strong enough to make them pay for their flaws.

But that changed Saturday night in front of an evenly divided crowd of 71,872 fans at the new Cowboys Stadium. The Razorbacks, a so-so SEC team, punished A&M for every misstep on the way to a 47-19 rout during the renewal of an old Southwest Conference rivalry.

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ARLINGTON, Texas -- After a bumpy start to the Mike Sherman era at Texas A&M last season, the Aggies are off to a surprising 3-0 start to begin the season.

But after running through lightweights New Mexico, Utah State and Alabama-Birmingham, we will find just how real the Aggies are tonight when they face their first real test against Arkansas in a battle of old Southwest Conference rivals at Jerry Jones' new Cowboys Stadium.

It was of little surprise Monday when Texas coach Mack Brown named redshirt freshman running back Tre' Newton as the starter for Saturday's UTEP game.

Newton gave the second-ranked Longhorns everything they had been looking for in a tailback for the last two seasons during Saturday's win over Texas Tech, picking up difficult yards and moving the chains. Filling in for injured starter Vondrell McGee in the second half, Newton rushed for 88 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries.

His 18 carries for 81 yards in the second half proved pivotal in keeping Texas Tech's explosive offense off the field as the Longhorns escaped with a 34-24 win. It was the inability of the Longhorns backs to pick up critical yards late that paved the way for their upset loss to Tech last season.

One of the more interesting quarterback battles in the Big 12 this fall camp is over.

Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman said Monday that incumbent Jerrod Johnson will be the starter for the Sept.5 season opener against New Mexico after staving off a strong effort by sophomore QB/WR Ryan Tannehill to unseat him. The subtraction of Tannehill at quarterback should be an addition at receiver where Tannehill put together an impressive freshman campaign as a quarterback who played receiver on Saturdays.

Tannehill showed promise at quarterback last year during fall camp, but eventually became a record-setting freshman receiver for the Texas A&M Aggies. He was promised every opportunity to switch to his desired position of quarterback this offseason, and Sherman stayed true to his word.

The appearance is that not much has changed in the Big 12.

When we left off last season, three teams -- Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech --were vying for supremacy in the Big 12 South and ultimately the Big 12. Again this season, three teams from the South will clash for the title and likely the right to represent the conference in the BCS national title game.

But this time instead of Tech, Oklahoma State will join the three-ring circus with the Sooners and Longhorns in college football toughest division. Last season, Oklahoma edged out Texas for the division title despite losing the head-to-head battle and eventually made it to the BCS national championship game where Florida and the SEC came out on top 24-14.