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(Ed: I am struggling with slow internet speeds today, so this will be a quick-and-dirty Slate. Apologies).
It can be slim pickings around here on a bye weekend. Yesterday, we had only BracketCat's roundup of Wildcats in the NFL for Week 5 to entertain us. I promise that next week will be totally different.
The national media is taking note of Bill Snyder's recent birthday. This AP piece gives no new information, but does list a few of Snyder's contemporaries in the AARP cohort: Frank Solich (70), Steve Spurrier (70) and Frank Beamer (68). That's some pretty good company. One of the intriguing aspects of Snyder's success in his second stint at K-State is the quarterback run game. Three of the top five QB rushing seasons in school history have happened in Snyder 2.0. So we may lament the death of the traditional power run game, but perhaps we should celebrate the QB run game instead, because it has translated into on-field success, as noted by Tony Adame in the Wichita Eagle. Not a whole lot of K-State news today, but there's plenty of action in the Big 12, where half of the conference is now ranked inside the Top 20. Jake Trotter of the ESPN(blog) crew answers the burning questions about OU, TCU, and West Virginia. Is OU's offense really the most vanilla in the Big 12? I find that hard to believe. Jason Kersey, the OU beat writer at The Oklahoman wonders if Trevor Knight will be unleashed against Texas today. Wendell Barnhouse of Big12Sports.com previews the conference games this weekend, and nicknames the Baylor-TCU game the Revival Rivalry. As noted nearly everywhere this week, the teams' all-time record is tied at 51-51-7 and they are both in the Top 10. Personally, I think it's great that the Big 12 has a game that has knocked the Red River Showdown off the front page to an extent. We discussed if Iowa State athletic director Jaime Pollard's rant about Big 12 officiating was an embarrassment. This was not a sentiment shared by the Iowa State fan base. A number of fans (including former players) offered Pollard congratulations on Twitter and Facebook. And now, some fans have started a charity drive to raise money for the $25,000 fine. For those of you giving up your bye-week Saturday to the college football gods, THIS IS YOUR EARLY GAME OPEN THREAD. Here's your TV schedule (all times Central, OBVS): ON YOUR TV DIAL West Virginia at Texas Tech (11:00 AM; FS1/FoxSportsGo)
Oklahoma vs. Texas (11:00 AM; ABC/espn3)
Iowa State vs. Toledo (2:30 PM; no TV listed)
TCU at Baylor (2:30 PM; ABC/ESPN2/WatchESPN)
Oklahoma State at Kansas (3:00 PM; FS1/FoxSportsGo)