Christian McCaffrey will be generating a ton of buzz all season, and he got off to a solid start vs Kansas State with 210 all purpose yards and two touchdowns. The kid has talent.

Meanwhile, Stanford didn’t look dominating against a Kansas State that kept shooting itself in the foot. But it’s better than the opening day loss they suffered last year.

One of the beauties of getting XM radio is that I get to listen to the Paul Finebaum show on a daily basis. For those that don’t know, Finebaum’s show is technically now a national college football radio show, but it can’t get away from its southeastern roots.

Every four out of five callers is from Alabama or Mississippi, and they’re crazy. The conspiracies they come up with on the officiating and play-calling from week to week would make Glenn Beck proud.

But the Cam Newton scandal has sent these folks into overdrive, and forced me to spend more time inside my car while it was sitting still in my driveway than one person should. People are blaming the press, Mississippi State, the press, Florida, the press, Nike, the press, Florida and the press. One caller, minutes after ESPN’s Joe Schad hung up with Finebaum, basically threatened to beat him up. It was amazing.

I don’t have a conspiracy theory on this, which is sad. But it will be really interesting to see how Auburn and Newton play today after having to listen to all of this over the last week.

I’m not picking the game because I have no idea who’s taking the field, but if Newton doesn’t play, expect the Bulldogs to win. A.J. Green has made them a legit SEC team. If Newton plays, however, the Tigers will roll on.

It’s a fairly light week in college football, meaning we’re probably going to see something crazy happen. So let’s look at what should be the biggest games.

No. 24 Kansas State at No. 17 Missouri, 12:30 p.m.: These teams are going in opposite directions, which could have a big impact on this game. Missouri has lost two straight games after making it deep into the top 10. Kansas State, meanwhile, is coming off a beating of Texas. I know the Longhorns are awful this year, but that’s still a confidence booster for the Wildcats. It’s kind of like beating up the school bully while he has a broken leg. It’s obviously not as cool as it should be, but it’s still helps your confidence. But I do think that Missouri is the better team, and the home-field advantage will help, too. Pick: Missouri 31-28.

Penn State at No. 9 Ohio State, 3:30 p.m.: Detroit News columnist Terry Foster threw out a random “Joe Paterno is retiring” tweet this afternoon. Now, before you take that to heart, you should realize that Foster uses his Twitter feed for verbal diarrhea as opposed to actually breaking news. Either way, Ohio State is way too strong for the Nittany Lions, no matter how good they’re playing right now. And of course, how good they’re playing right now is relative, considering they just played Michigan and Northwestern. The Buckeyes are severely overrated, considering the schedule they’ve played, but they’ll win this one without a lot of trouble. Pick: Ohio State 24-10.

No. 19 Mississippi State at No. 12 Alabama, 7:15 p.m.: Mississippi State is probably better than you think it is. The Bulldogs lost to Auburn and LSU, and the Auburn loss was very close. Alabama is struggling a little bit with defending its title, but it’s also struggling with calling plays, lately. The Crimson Tide have ridiculous playmakers in Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson and Julio Jones, but are somehow finding ways to not put them in the best ways to succeed. Moving halfway toward to finding that will be enough this weekend, because as good as the Bulldogs are, Alabama is that much better. Pick: Alabama 31-14.

No. 23 South Carolina at No. 22 Florida, 7:15 p.m.: Florida’s offense was a lot of fun to laugh at early in the season, and that’s not totally gone. But the Gators are improving as the season goes on, and Steve Adazzio completely succumbs to Urban Meyer’s commands starts to use his playmakers. I’m hearing that Marcus Lattimore is completely healthy for this one, which will help the Gamecocks, but I don’t think even he and Alshon Jeffery will overcome a Florida team that’s at home and finally moving in the right direction. Pick: Florida 21-17.

No. 10 Oklahoma State at Texas, 8 p.m.: I keep thinking that the Longhorns are going to come up with a Texas-type effort and win a game they shouldn’t. The problem is, nothing I’ve seen from them so far has shown me they’re in any position to do that. Texas is obviously in flux, and struggling with its young players. This is not a good week to be in that situation, as Oklahoma State looks to be firing on all cylinders. Justin Blackmon is the real deal, and I don’t think Texas, or anyone for that matter, can stop him. Pick: Oklahoma State 34-24.

Here’s a quick and dirty look at how I see things playing out in the Big 12 this season:

#1 Oklahoma
In Sam Bradford, Gerald McCoy, Trent Williams, Jermaine Gresham, Keenan Clayton, Brody Eldridge and Dominique Franks, there’s no doubt that the Sooners lost a ton of talent from last year. However, this season is all about two names: Landry Jones and DeMarco Murray. Jones filled in admirably when Bradford went down last season, throwing 26 touchdown passes and gaining valuable experience throughout the year. Murray’s health history is a major concern, but if he can stay upright he’s scary good. He’s more versatile than Adrian Peterson was in that he can catch the ball out of the backfield or beat teams as a rusher. He’s big, he’s fast and he can get north and south in a hurry. He’s also going to get a ton of opportunities to shine this year as both a runner and a pass-catcher and again, if he can stay healthy he has the ability to be one of the best backs in college football. Defensively, Bob Stoops’ team has good depth and while the loss of McCoy hurts, don’t forget that Jeremy Beal was fifth on the team in tackles last season and first in sacks with 11. The linebacker corps has a chance to be special thanks to redshirt freshman Tom Wort and sophomore Ronnell Lewis. I know many pundits still like Texas in the South, but with Landry, Murray and nine starters returning on offense, I think Oklahoma reclaims the conference this season.

#2 Texas
Given the circumstances, I thought youngster Garrett Gilbert handled himself extremely well against Alabama in the national title game last season – especially considering his running game was non-existent. Now that Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley have moved onto the NFL, we’re going to see a new-look offense in Austin this year. And ironically, Mack Brown and company will actually get back to what Texas football used to be: pounding the football. While there won’t be wholesale changes to the offense, we won’t see too much of the spread under Gilbert. The quarterback is likely to lineup under center more this year and UT will look to set up the pass with the run. Defensively, the Longhorns are thin on the line but the secondary may be even better than it was in ’09. As a group, the defensive backfield is fast and littered with guys that can cover. The schedule is somewhat favorable, although the Longhorns have a nasty four-game set starting in the middle of September when they travel to Lubbock to take on Texas Tech (remember what happened last time the Longhorns visited Lubbock), then play host to UCLA before taking on Oklahoma in Dallas and Nebraska in Lincoln. How Gilbert plays on the road might determine how good the Longhorns are this season.

#3 Nebraska
I almost ranked the Cornhuskers ahead of Texas but then I remembered the name Zac Lee. If Lee, who has been pushed by backups Cody Green and Taylor Martinez this spring, can’t play more consistent this year then he’s going to limit how good the Huskers will be in 2010. In the team’s four losses last season, Lee threw eight interceptions and no touchdowns. And while there’s no doubt Nebraska will rely on running backs Roy Helu and Rex Burkhead to carry the offense this year, Lee still has to step up and make plays in crunch time. There’s just no other way to say it – he has to be better. Defensively, replacing Ndamukong Suh, Larry Asante, Phillip Dillard, Barry Turner and Matt O’Hanlon will be tough and really, you can’t replace a guy like Suh. But with players like Jared Crick, Pierre Allen and Prince Amukamara coming back, Bo Pelini’s defense will be just fine. He has established great depth on that side of the ball and thus, once again, everything rides on Lee and the offense. Can this team avenge its loss in the Big 12 title game last year and beat Texas in Lincoln on October 16? If they can, there’s no reason to think that Nebraska can’t win the conference, especially considering they avoid Oklahoma on this year’s schedule.

#4 Missouri
After finishing 8-5 last season, MIZZOU is kind of flying under the radar heading into 2010. But I see you, Tigers – shaking that ass. I know with quarterback Blaine Gabbert coming back this year that you’re probably headed for your seventh straight winning season. After throwing for over 3,500 yards and finishing second in the Big 12 in pass efficiency, Gabbert is due for another great year and there’s no reason the Tigers can’t compete with Nebraska in the North. Defensively, Aldon Smith (11 sacks as a freshman) is a freaking pass-rushing monster and as a whole, the defense has a ton of speed. The only thing that keeps me from growing a pair and ranking this team ahead of Nebraska heading into the season is that opponents completed 64% of their pass attempts against MIZZOU’s defense last season. Ouch isn’t even a good starting point for how bad that stat hurts.

#5 Texas A&M
The Aggies remind me a lot of Arkansas (whom they play on October 9 in Arlington) in that I probably have them ranked too high but I just can’t stop starring at their offense. They’re like that girl in the gym with the so-so face that your buddies warn you about because she flirts with everyone and has an IQ of 50 but you just can’t stop zeroing in on her body. That thing intrigues you and you can’t help but to move in closer for a better look. Thanks to Jerrod Johnson, Christine Michael, Cyrus Gray, Uzoma Nwachukwu and a slew of offensive playmakers, the Aggies are going to break scoreboards this year. Unfortunately, they’re also going to have to because their defense can’t stop a nosebleed. Aside from Von Miller (a phenomenal pass rusher who racked up 17 sacks last season) and Trent Hunter, there aren’t a ton of playmakers on that side of the ball. That said, and this might just be the body goggles talking again, A&M was incredibly young on defense last year and do return nine starters. So can they be better? Absolutely. Will they? Look at that ass…

#6 Texas Tech
Thanks to a coaching change, the Red Raiders might be the most intriguing team in the Big 12 this year. Out is Mike Leach and in is Tommy Tuberville, who is coming off a successful stint at Auburn (although his tenure there didn’t end well, as he resigned following a 5-7 season in 2008). While Tuberville is still expected to throw the ball plenty with quarterback Taylor Potts, there’s little doubt that he’ll run more than Leach did. The offense will still be exciting, but Tuberville doesn’t coach finesse – on either side of the ball. Defensively, the Raiders were improved last year but they need to take the next step if they’re going to challenge the big boys in the conference. As with any change, there will be an adjustment period on that side of the ball as former Alabama linebackers coach James Willis takes over as the new defensive coordinator. Can Tech adjust to the 3-4 or will they need a year to adapt to Willis’ scheme? Either way, change is coming in Lubbock and this team will get tested right away when they take on Texas in the third game of the year.

#7 Oklahoma State
If you can’t beat ‘em, hire ‘em. After watching his offense rack up 45 points on their defense last year, the Cowboys hired former Houston offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen for the same role in Stillwater. The Cougars led the FBS in scoring and pass offense last season, so the Cowboys should score plenty of points in 2010. Gone is Zac Robinson, but 26-year-old Brandon Weeden could wind up being the newcomer of the year in the Big 12. The former minor league baseball player certainly has the right work ethic to be a great college quarterback and he’ll have plenty of help from running back Kendall Hunter, who will get a ton of opportunities to make plays this season. That said, the big concern is the offensive line, which lost most of its starters from a year ago to graduation. If the O-line can’t gel quickly, then Weeden and Hunter will be limited. Defensively, the Cowboys improved dramatically under coordinator Bill Young, but the secondary is still a big question mark. This is an intriguing team on the surface, but there are some underlying issues that teams like Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M and Nebraska can exploit. That’s why expectations should be tempered a little.

#8 Kansas State
This team will challenge opponents every Saturday thanks to running back Daniel Thomas, who led the Big 12 last year in rushing. He has great vision, cutback ability and excellent burst. He’s also strong and when he gets north south on a defense – look out. That said, this isn’t a very deep team and while I expect the Wildcats to challenge for a bowl game, I doubt they have enough overall talent to finish any higher than third in the North. I think they top out at six wins – just enough to make a bowl appearance.

#9 Iowa State
With players like Austen Arnaud and Alexander Robinson returning, it’s hard to not get a little excited about the Cyclones in 2010 – especially after they beat Minnesota in the Insight Bowl last year. If Arnaud can be more accurate and make more plays in the passing game, then the sky is the limit for this dual-threat quarterback. Robinson became only the 12th player in Iowa State history to rush for over 1,000 yards last season and while he’s not a tall runner, he’s big and he always keeps his legs churning. That said, this isn’t a very experienced defense and while depth isn’t as much of a concern as it has been in year’s past, you always wonder whether or not a smaller school has enough overall talent to compete in such a competitive conference. Plus, with Iowa, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Utah, Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska and Missouri on the schedule, the Cyclones have one daunting task ahead of them in 2010 as they try to make it back-to-back bowl appearances.

#10 Kansas
First and foremost, I love the hire of Turner Gill. He did wonders at Buffalo and he’s going to bring a sense of order back to Lawrence now that Mark Mangino is gone. I just don’t know how much success Gill will have in his first year. Players will certainly play hard for him, but gone are Todd Reesing, Dezmon Briscoe, Kerry Meier and Darrell Stuckey. Offensive lineman Jeff Spikes is also done for the year after suffering an Achilles injury this offseason and who knows what the team has in quarterback Kale Pick. I have little doubt that the Jayhawks will be competitive under Gill in time, but it’s going to take a couple of years.

#11 Colorado
The only reason I have the Buffaloes ranked higher than Baylor is because the experience they have on both sides of the ball. And even as I write this, I find myself more intrigued by Baylor’s chances of making a bowl than I am about the Buffs generating six wins. That may be harsh, but Dan Hawkins has done nothing since coming over from Boise State and I’m not sure he ever will. He’s 16-33 in four years at Colorado, with no winning seasons and just one bowl appearance. Thanks to Rodney Stewart, Scotty McKnight, Markques Simas and Tyler Hansen, there’s a good chance that the Buffs will prove me wrong. And Hawkins better hope they do, because another 3-9 season and he’ll likely be finished in Boulder.

#12 Baylor
I like this team better than their ranking suggests, but history just isn’t on their side. In 14 years since joining the Big 12, the Bears have zero winning seasons and are 14-98 against conference foes. Yikes. That said, Art Briles has this program moving in the right direction and the Bears will certainly be fun to watch thanks to dynamic quarterback Robert Griffin, III coming back from ACL surgery. Before going down in the third game of the year, Griffin had already totaled 481 total yards and four touchdowns. If he’s healthy, he’s going to give Baylor a chance to end its 16-year bowl drought. However, the Bears ranked 94th in total defense last year and they lack depth on that side of the ball. They’re going to need to catch some breaks to make a bowl appearance, especially with TCU, Texas Tech, Kansas, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma on the schedule this season.

Check out other 2010 College Football Conference Previews: SEC | Big Ten | Big 12

Butler upended K-State, 63-56, and will head home to Indianapolis for the Final Four next weekend.

Kansas State was out of sync early on, and couldn’t buy a bucket for long periods of the first half. Every analyst seems to think they were tired from Thursday night’s double-OT win over Xavier, but these are 19-, 20-, and 21-year old kids we’re talking about, so fatigue shouldn’t be that much of a factor, especially considering that K-State is a pretty deep team.

Butler controlled the game for most of the way, but there was a nearly five-minute stretch in the second half where the Bulldogs didn’t score a field goal, which allowed the Wildcats to claw back into the game. Butler turned the ball over 11 times in the second half (19 in the game), but didn’t have a single turnover in the final four and a half minutes after Kansas State regained the lead.

Butler made up for its sometimes sloppy offensive play by hitting almost 47% from three (7-15) and getting to the line 20 times (six more than K-State). They also played solid defense throughout the game, though K-State missed a lot of bunnies; Butler’s defense was outstanding on the final few possessions.

Brad Stevens (33) has to be one of the youngest coaches (if not the youngest) to make a Final Four, and he’ll get to do it in Butler’s hometown of Indianapolis. I’m not sure they’ll be much of a home court advantage as the Final Four crowd is usually heavy in non-partisan corporate types. The Bulldogs have a real shot at playing in the title game as both of their potential opponents — Michigan State and Tennessee — are very beatable.

This is the third time in five years (George Mason ’06, Memphis ’08) that a mid-major has made the Final Four. Prior to that, there was a stretch of seven years (Utah ’98) where only “power” conference teams made it to the national semifinals.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

That’s what Kansas State tried to do at the end of regulation last night. When the officials failed to call a foul on Denis Clemente and instead whistled Chris Merriewether for clubbing Xavier’s Terrell Holloway after he had entered the act of shooting a three-pointer, Len Elmore said over and over that the refs missed the first foul.

Here is a video of the highlights from the game. The entire video is worth watching, but the sequence I’m talking about starts at about the 0:35 mark.

Doesn’t look like much, does it? Clemente’s left arm did commit a foul on the front of Holloway’s body, but the view of the officials on the baseline and the near sideline were both blocked and the official behind Holloway and Clemente couldn’t see through Holloway’s body to call the foul. Clemente’s right arm just grazed Holloway’s back, and it wasn’t enough for the rear official to blow his whistle. Elmore reiterated his point as CBS showed the replay a few times, but he didn’t account for the position of the officials.

Two areas in which K-State failed in this situation: 1) Clemente did a poor job of taking the foul. He should have essentially wrapped up Holloway and stopped his progress (without tackling him). He needs to be aware of where the officials are — he should have grabbed around Holloway’s waist with his right hand, turned Holloway’s hip, forcing the ref to make the call. 2) Before the possession, Frank Martin should have told his three smartest players to each go up to an official and explain what they wanted to do. “Sir, we’re going to be looking to foul on the floor when they cross half court.” That way, the refs would be aware of K-State’s intentions and would be looking for the foul.

In his infinite wisdom, Jason Whitlock described the play this way:

Leading by thee points with 9 seconds left in regulation, the refs ignored Clemente’s foul and instead waited 2 seconds and whistled Chris Merriewether for a foul while Xavier’s Terrell Holloway was pulling the trigger on a three-pointer.

They didn’t ignore the foul — they couldn’t see it due to the positions of the different players on the court. You can’t blow the whistle because you think you see something, you blow it because you see it. And what about Merriewether’s bonehead move to foul Holloway in the act of shooting? Once Holloway got past Clemente, Merriewether should have known at that point to let Holloway go without fouling. Instead, he raked him across the arm and sent him to the line to shoot three free throws.

Ultimately, K-State prevailed, and in that sense we’re lucky — if the Wildcats had lost, half of the state of Kansas would be going ballistic this morning.

Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati Enquirer: We’ll just say Kansas State 101, Xavier 96 in double overtime was among the best NCAA tournament games you’ll ever see. And that’s saying quite a lot. Xavier and Kansas State stole the Madness out from under this event. It’s all theirs now, no arguments. There are only so many threes to be made in the crucible, only so many times to come back from the bottom of the well. It should be enough to say this was among the finest games played in a very long time. Maybe everywhere but Xavier, that is so. It really is too bad one team is going home today. What was your favorite cardiac-arrest moment? Terrell Holloway, calmly draining three free throws to tie the game in regulation? Jordan Crawford’s three from the right wing, with four seconds left in OT No. 1, to tie it again? Or, if you can stand it, Jacob Pullen’s three from the top of the key in OT No. 2, to clinch the longest day? There was a more lonely place on earth than that free throw line at about midnight last night, we’re pretty sure of that. It just doesn’t leap to mind. Terrell Holloway made the free throws. All three of them. Net-net-net, five seconds left in regulation, to tie the game. That was as bloodless an exhibition of basketball as we’re likely to see. At least for the next day or so. The NCAA Tournament is, after all, in the business of topping itself. Regularly.

Jason Whitlock, Kansas City Star: Thursday night, with the Kansas State basketball program on the brink of greatness, fate, bad officiating and a gutsy Xavier squad brought back memories of 1998, Bill Snyder and a football meltdown with a spot in the BCS championship riding on the outcome. From the moment the refs ignored Denis Clemente’s intentional foul at midcourt in the final seconds of regulation, Xavier-K-State felt like K-State-Texas A&M. Your heart dropped, tears welled in your eyes, and anger consumed your body. Fortunately for us, Martin and his Wildcats never buckled, never complained and never wasted a moment feeling sorry for themselves. Kansas State is not a team of destiny. It’s a team of preparation and determination and concentration and resolve. K-State basketball is Frank Martin. It’s a perfect storm exploding at the right time of the year. It’s a team that has refused to make excuses, a team that Thursday night survived a devastating foul call at the end of regulation and found a way to win.

Bob Kravitz, Indianapolis Star: Here comes America, armed with its tape measures and Hickory High story lines and features about how Brad Stevens is the lineal descendant of Norman Dale. Now that the Butler Bulldogs are one West Regional victory from writing one of the great college basketball stories ever told — Butler in the Final Four in Indianapolis — it’s fair to assume the land’s journalists are prepared to show up and go all Jimmy Chitwood on us. Butler, a 63-59 victor over No. 1-seeded and fourth-ranked Syracuse on Thursday night, is no fluke, no Little Team That Could, no come-from-nowhere Hickory High, even if I’m pretty sure that was Shooter lingering near the end of the Butler bench. The Bulldogs went athlete for athlete, face to face with an imposing Syracuse team, and showed they were not only more composed and poised, but more athletic than a team that was supposed to be the best in the nation’s best conference.

John Clay, Lexington Herald-Leader: When it was all said and done, when Kentucky had secured a Saturday date with West Virginia in the East Regional final, one thing stood out. The “dumb kids” sure play smart defense. All week this NCAA East Region semifinal had been portrayed as the “smart kids” from Cornell against the “dumb kids” from Kentucky, as UK’s DeMarcus Cousins put it. The knock-down shooters for the Big Red against the wildly athletic cruisers for the Big Blue. Kentucky played street ball. Cornell played smart ball. Turned out, this late-night Thursday matchup turned into a grind-it-out, defensive-oriented game, with the Cats claiming a 62-45 win over the Cinderella team from nearby Ithaca.

Brian Delany and Dan Sweeney, Ithaca Journal: John Calipari got his Kiddie Cats to play defense like men. No one was more important to Thursday night’s victory than 6-foot-7 forward Darius Miller, who limited Ryan Wittman’s quality shot attempts and held Cornell’s leading scorer to 10 points in the Wildcats’ 62-45 win. “I was really pleased with the defense we played today,” Calipari said. “Our goal in the game was to guard the 3-point line.” Cornell, which entered the game shooting 43.4 percent from the 3-point arc, and which hit 44.7 percent in its first two NCAA games, connected on only five of 21 attempts for 23.8 percent. Wittman finished his career with a 10-point effort, harassed throughout by Miller. “When they were coming off screens and handoffs, we tried to pressure them and our big men did a great job of giving us time to get back to them,” Miller said. The mobility of Kentucky’s big men, 6-11 DeMarcus Cousins and 6-9 Patrick Patterson, enabled Calipari to play the perimeter so aggressively. At one point, Cousins hedged Louis Dale on a screen at the key, swiped at the ball, stole it and fed a teammate for a fast break down the floor. That’s not the type of play Cornell has seen opposing big men from higher-level conference teams make against them.

Jeff Goodman, Fox Sports: Under Beilein, cerebral guys like Da’Sean Butler, Wellington Smith, Mazzulla, John Flowers and Thoroughman were taught to think the game first and then react — a complete 180 from Huggins’ approach. “I had to completely change my game,” Mazzulla said. “I was a finesse point guard before he got here.” But Huggins has brought the toughness out of Mazzulla, has helped turn Butler into one of the elite players in the country and brought in his own guys – Devin Ebanks, Kevin Jones, Casey Mitchell and Deniz Kilicli. “It’s been a long journey,” Butler said following the win against Washington. “We’ve gone from a team picked to finish last in the Big East every year because of our style of play and the fact we didn’t recruit elite players to winning the Big East tournament and being one game away from the Final Four. I can’t complain at all. I couldn’t have scripted it any better.”

Mike Waters, The Post-Standard: “The poise of this group; the toughness of this group, to be able to be down four,’’ Butler coach Brad Stevens said. “I was really proud of their moxie.’ While Stevens spoke of moxie, the Bulldogs really won this game with defense.
Butler held Syracuse to 43.8 percent field goal shooting. The Orange’s 59 points matched its season low, set in a 59-57 win over DePaul on Jan. 30. And then there were those turnovers. The Orange’s 18 miscues meant too many empty possessions, allowing Butler a chance to make up for its own 40.4 percent shooting. In the game’s first seven minutes, Syracuse was 0-for-4 from the field with five turnovers. “The bottomline is we just made too many turnovers,’’ Boeheim said. “We shot better. We rebounded better. You know, we just made too many turnovers.’’

Photo from fOTOGLIF

I’m sorry — but it really bothers me anytime there’s a top 5 matchup that isn’t on national television. And it’s not like ESPN didn’t have the rights — they did. They just elected to broadcast the game on ESPN360 instead one of the four networks that I get in high defnition.

Oh, by the way, Kansas won, 82-65, but I can’t tell you anything about the game because I didn’t get to watch it.