Big 12 Football Mailbag: Les Miles, Media Days, WVU, Kingsbury’s Hot Seat and More!
Welcome to the HCS Big 12 mailbag. This mailbag is for all you football junkies out there who root for a Big 12 school who not only have questions about your team, but other teams in the conference as well. So, join me, grab a cold brew or your favorite drink and relax as I answer all your Big 12 questions in my mailbag. For those interested, I will send out a tweet (@Derekduke25) every Monday at noon until last call (No, not 2 AM) at 8 PM CT for you to send in your questions to be answered every Tuesday right here at Heartland College Sports.
I will pick the best question for each mailbag and label it as my question of the week. The winner gets a free HCS Koozie to keep your beer cold (Unless you like it warm, but that’s just plain wrong). It was busy question day which tells me that this mailbag is working harder than me at my day job. Unlike the “Big 12 blog” over at ESPN (I say that loosely because one story a month is a tragedy), we here at HCS are determined to give you the best Big 12 coverage on the planet. I want to thank each one of you who submitted a question this week and for those reading, I am glad you could join me. I am enjoying a late beer myself to help me work my way through the mailbag.
There are probably some that don’t give a rat’s you know what about how my weekend was. If you do care or even if you don’t, I am going to tell you anyways. Didn’t really do much on Friday and on Saturday, I am sure you all know what I do. Sunday, I went back home to visit family before heading back to work on turkey week. On to the mailbag!
@Doc_Texas asks: Who will win media days next season? Les Miles, Mike Gundy or other?
Duke: I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it’s going to be Tom Herman or Lincoln Riley. Trust me, it’s not because those two have great personalities for the media. They coach the two biggest programs in the Big 12 and their tables have constant crowds and look like a circus more times than not. Gundy usually draws a good crowd and I am sure Les will have a decent one as well. The biggest crowd goes to Lincoln Riley and Tom Herman. The most entertaining award always must go to Gundy. But I am sure Les Miles will give him a run for his money at Big 12 Media Days.
@mundodelovoide asks: Can you put a percentage on Kliff Kingsbury’s chances to get fired?
Duke: I’ll say 49%. I know they are 5-5 right now and haven’t won more than eight games since he has been there. In fact, he has never finished a season with a winning Big 12 record and he is 19-34 in Big 12 play and 35-39 overall. With that being said, I think if you watch this team play, I think they could have had a much better season if QB Alan Bowman stayed healthy. I would say they would have 2 more wins right now if Bowman had been playing the last several weeks and would likely be sitting at 7-4 right now. But instead we are having to watch an offense without a quarterback. While the defense has improved over the last couple years, they aren’t at a point where the defense can keep you in every single game trying to carry the team. I know the fan base is torn and no matter what side you are on, the Alan Bowman injury was devastating. I’m not making excuses but let’s see what happens with this defense and a healthy quarterback next season. I think Kliff gets one more year and if the ship doesn’t move, then it’s adios. Again, the stats aren’t pretty for Kliff, but I think this team is better than last season even though the record may not show it. Maybe it’s too late though? This Baylor game will be HUGE for Kliff’s future.
@Chrissboom_ asks: Why do the football gods hate West Virginia?
Duke: C’mon Chris. Don’t go down this road. No matter how bad you feel or how cursed you think your team is, there are no football gods. My suggestion? Grab your favorite bottle of liquor, drink it and rub the side of it. Then hope a genie comes out and wish for a better football team. You’re welcome.
@jonkev50 asks: Will Texas Tech be looking for a new head coach after the season is over?
Duke: By the looks of this mailbag, I think it is safe to say that people think Kliff is in some serious trouble when it comes to his job. Tech is sitting at 5-5 right now and I am sure if you read my previous answer to another Kliff question, this team has had an injury bug especially at quarterback with Alan Bowman being hurt. If Alan Bowman had been healthy, I think this team would be 7-4 right now but that’s not what the situation is right now. They need to beat Baylor this Saturday to become bowl eligible. Sounds like 2017 all over again for Texas Tech where they had to beat Texas in Austin to get win number six. I think Tech beats Baylor this weekend and it will be enough to buy Kliff another season. Do I agree with that? Not really but I think that is what is going to happen. Remember, he is the golden boy and I know AD Kirby Hocutt likes him.
@Doc_Texas asks: Thoughts on the CFB Award Finalists?
Duke: So, I went through all the names and I didn’t find any issues with the candidates except for one. It was for the Biletnikoff award which goes to the nation’s best wide receiver. Here is this list of finalists for the award and their stats. I also included a player who is not on this list to compare to. The first three are the actual finalists and the last one is my snub who got left out.
Oklahoma State WR Tylan Wallace- 75 receptions for 1,344 yards and 11 TDs
UMass WR Andy Isabella- 102 receptions for 1,698 yards and 13 TDs
Alabama WR Jerry Judy- 51 receptions for 1,002 yards and 10 TDs
Texas Tech WR Antoine Wesley- 84 receptions for 1,375 yards and 9 TDs
Now I get Alabama WR Jerry Judy is averaging like 19 yards per reception but how do you not include Texas Tech WR Antoine Wesley? He is second in the entire country in receiving yards and has 1 less touchdown than Jerry Judy along with more catches and yards. I thought he got screwed when it comes to the Biletnikoff award. SOMEBODY FIX IT!
**Sign up here for our HCS weekly e-mails for a chance to win FREE Heartland College Sports and Big 12 team gear!!**
