LUBBOCK, Texas — There will be plenty of topics to
discuss in Dallas next week when media members come together for the 2010 Big
12 Conference Media Days on Monday.
The conference is always good at strategically creating some
topics by releasing the Big 12 Preseason Media Poll and Preseason All-Big 12
Team and Awards.
The conference released its media poll on Wednesday with
Nebraska and Oklahoma favored to win the North and South divisions in the final
year of the 12-team format with Nebraska and more thank likely Colorado bolting
for their new conferences the next season.
The Cornhuskers received all 26 first-place votes in the
North with Missouri, Kansas State, Kansas, Colorado and Iowa State following in
that order.
Oklahoma (16 first-place votes) was picked to win the South
for the seventh time in the league’s 14-year history. The Sooners have won the
South five of the seven times they’ve been picked to do so and won the
conference title in four of those seasons.
In order following Oklahoma is Texas (10 first-place votes),
Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Baylor.
So it comes as no shock to me that once again all the media
is hot on the Aggies and preseason player of the year Jerrod Johnson (QB). In
the last 14 years (excluding this season) A&M has failed to finish at least
equal to or better than their predicted finish nine times while the Red Raiders
have done the exact opposite.
Tech has finished better than their predicted place 10
times; equal to the predicted finish three times, and finished lower only once
(2006).
Tech was picked to finish fourth in the South in 2005 and
near the bottom of the conference overall by the media members. Of course, Cody Hodges, Taurean Henderson and the rest of the ’05 Red
Raiders proved everyone wrong by finishing with the second-best record in the
conference (9-2) while earning their first Cotton Bowl bid in 10 years.
While two Aggies, Johnson and linebacker Von Miller, lead the Preseason All-Big 12 Team and Awards list, Oklahoma
(7) and Texas (6) led with the most players selected to the list.
Tech linebacker Brian Duncan was named to the Preseason
All-Big 12 First Team, the only Red Raider on the list.
Media Poll Notes
·
19 of 28 predicted division winners wound up
playing in the Big 12 Championship that season.
·
11 of 14 times preseason poll predicted one of
the two division winners would be Big 12 Champion.
Wall Signs Deal
Former Texas Tech defensive back Jamar
Wall is one happy guy right now.
That’s because Wall agreed to a four-year deal on Wednesday
with the Dallas Cowboys, who picked the Plainview native in the sixth round of
this year’s NFL Draft. Wall is expected to sign a deal that includes a $97,000
signing bonus.
Wall finished with 58 tackles, two tackles for loss, two
interceptions and 15 pass breakups last season, starting all 13 games for the
Red Raiders. He also earned defensive MVP honors in Tech’s win over Michigan State in the 2010 Valero Alamo Bowl.
Travis Cram is the Managing Editor for RaiderPower.com. Follow his
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