If you prefer your brand of college football to be "three yards and a cloud of dust,"
you're not going to find it in the Big 12 Conference this season.
For years the conference landscape has been dominated by running backs and run-oriented offenses, but in less than a year that all changed as the spotlight shifted seven yards up field to the men under center.
Although offenses around the country have been gradually shifting toward a more pass-oriented attack in recent years, the Big 12 changed its identity almost overnight with the emergence of quarterbacks like Missouri's Chase Daniel, Texas Tech's Graham Harrell and Kansas' Todd Reesing.
Until last season, only one team averaged more than 300 yards passing per game in a season since 2003. Of course that team was Texas Tech, which has averaged at least 370 yards passing per game in each of its last five seasons, but in 2007, Missouri (314.1 yards per game) and Nebraska (323.8 yards per game) joined the Red Raiders' 300-yard party. Kansas (291 yards per game) and Kansas State (285.4 yards per game) nearly reached the 300-yard mark as well.
Before '07, the closest any team got to the magic 300-yard plateau was Oklahoma in 2003, when the Sooners averaged 293.5 yards passing per game.
On the flip side, the Big 12 has seen a decrease in rushing yardage. Missouri led the league in 2003 by averaging 237.5 yards rushing per game, followed by Texas in 2004 (299.2 yards per game) and 2005 (274.9 yards per game), but Oklahoma State won the rushing crown in 2006 by averaging just 208 yards rushing per game. The Cowboys upped their average to 243.2 yards per game in 2007, but only Texas A&M (211.6 yards per game) and Texas (207.5 yards per game) averaged more than 200 yards rushing per game for the year last season.
Need more proof?
Of the 12 starting quarterbacks last season, eight gun-slingers threw more than 20 touchdowns and four of those quarterbacks threw more than 30 touchdowns. In contrast, only one quarterback threw more than 30 touchdowns in a season (2005, 2006).
And don't expect the quarterback domination to end any time soon, as six of the eight returning starting quarterbacks (Josh Freeman, K-State; Reesing; Colt McCoy, Texas; Cody Hawkins, Colorado; Sam Bradford, Oklahoma; Zac Robinson, Oklahoma State) are underclassmen heading into the '08 season.
So if you're a traditionalist and are looking for a sure fire way to be put to sleep on Saturday afternoons, you might want to get the Big Ten Network.
