Latest news with #ChrisKlieman
New York Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New York Times
College football's sneakiest favorite, plus a quick history of CFB in Germany
Until Saturday Newsletter 🏈 | This is The Athletic's college football newsletter. Sign up here to receive Until Saturday directly in your inbox. Today in college football news, 'Expedition 33' is my favorite 'Final Fantasy' game ever. To be clear, it is not a 'Final Fantasy' game. If you polled 100 college football fans on which FBS teams are expected to win each conference this year, I'm sure most could name the betting favorites in the ACC (Clemson), Big Ten (Ohio State), Mountain West (Boise State) and SEC (Texas), plus probably CUSA (Liberty) and the Sun Belt (JMU). Maybe the MAC too, where I assume Toledo will again be the favorite in 2099. Advertisement But what about the Big 12? After Arizona State's playoff run, arguably Iowa State's best season ever and a half-year of Texas Tech transfer talk? Plus the usual Colorado rubbernecking? And maybe some assumptions that Oklahoma State or Utah will bounce back, just like TCU did last year? The Big 12's favorite — according to BetMGM, FPI, SP+ and whatever else — is Kansas State, followed by a giant bottleneck. Oh right, Kansas State! Wait, the team that went 5-4 in conference last year, finishing eighth in a 16-team league? At first glance, picking K-State kinda feels like a shrug. (A shrug by the computers? Yes, computers can decline to answer. Haven't you seen '2001'?) But for more, I asked Kellis Robinett, beat writer for the Wichita Eagle/Kansas City Star: Why do you think this under-the-radar team is so widely favored? 'Kansas State is always a safe bet in the Big 12, because the Wildcats have such a high floor. Chris Klieman has averaged nine wins over the past four seasons, and he won a conference title in 2022. Even though K-State lost some high-end talent during the offseason, it brings back big stars at quarterback (Avery Johnson), running back (Dylan Edwards), and wide receiver (Jayce Brown). Austin Romaine also seems poised for a breakout season on defense. Arizona State is the defending champ, and Texas Tech is the biggest spender in the league, but K-State has proven to be consistently better than both.' Honestly, I'm nearly sold on K-State just by Klieman's consistency. Why not pick the team that has been most immune to the Big 12's feared Random Results Generator? (On top of that, picking a team that just finished in the middle is probably a safe bet. As has been frequently noted, last year's Big 12 preseason picks were nearly the opposite of the final standings. Avoid the bookends.) Before we leave the Big 12, yes, I asked David Ubben the obligatory Colorado question (more on Deion Sanders in a sec): Wtf will this team be now that Heisman winner Travis Hunter and school-record-smashing QB Shedeur Sanders are gone? 'The short version is: better than people who aren't paying attention think. Colorado had two of the five most famous players in the country last year, who were also stellar talents. This year, they start with little to no star power, but Sanders and his staff have quietly improved the roster on both sides of the ball, which raises the floor for this team quite a bit. They won't be as explosive in the passing game without Sanders, Hunter and Jimmy Horn Jr., but they'll be good enough, and the running game should improve. I'm not sure I see a contender for the Big 12 title in this roster, but I do see a bowl team.' More Big 12: 🙏 'Deion Sanders had his bladder removed in May after doctors discovered an aggressive cancerous tumor, the Colorado football coach announced at a Monday news conference.' He's back at work now. Many more details here. 🏈 Stewart Mandel on the Week 1 games that will actually impact the CFP. (As in, Texas-Ohio State might not end up meaning much if they both make it anyway.) 👀 That 15-year storyline about the Big Ten and SEC potentially dueling over North Carolina in realignment? Heating back up. 📰 News: 🌀 A tale of two QBs: 📺 Media days, where the big leagues wrapped up last week: 🎤 Take The Athletic's survey on everything you love and hate about CFB right now. (Like me, you should vote to replace the entire CFP with the one true format: a plus-one title game at the Rose Bowl, with its participants to be selected after bowl season.) International college football has been a thing since almost literally the very beginning. (For one thing, the sport was so directly modeled on a version of English rugby, it's actually kinda hard to pinpoint when it actually became American football. For another, Montreal's McGill University was among the Canadian pioneers of the sport in the 1870s.) Since then, American colleges have sent football teams to bowls in the Bahamas, Canada, Cuba and Japan; FBS neutral-siters in Australia and Ireland; and lower-level games in Bermuda, China, Italy, Mexico, Tanzania and the UK, plus (per NCAA records) collegiate-adjacent games among American military installations in Algeria, Iran, New Guinea, the Philippines, Suriname and some Pacific islands. So when you hear Michigan and Western Michigan are planning to open 2026 in Frankfurt as the first FBS teams to play in Germany, know it's not just Modern College Football Chasing Trends And Trying To Be The NFL. It's also College Football Just Being Itself. OK, that's all for today. Email me at untilsaturday@ to tell me which country should host a CFB game next. Last week's most-clicked: Obviously, it was 'Ranking every Power 4 team by how much they'd sell for.' 💰 📫 Love Until Saturday? Check out The Athletic's other newsletters, too.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman on quarterback Avery Johnson at Big 12 Media Day
Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman talks about quarterback Avery Johnson's growth during the offseason at Big 12 Media Days in Frisco, Texas.
San Francisco Chronicle
09-07-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Big 12 making no official predictions, so no last-to-first narrative this year like Arizona State
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — There are no official Big 12 predictions going into this season, so there will be no last-to-first narrative like what Arizona State had in its league debut. Going into its 30th football season, the Big 12 didn't conduct a preseason media poll predicting the order of finish for the 16-team conference. The results were way off last year. 'I try to ignore it as best I can,' Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said Tuesday at Big 12 media days. 'It's one of the reasons we as coaches did not do a coaches poll because I think the narrative has really hurt our league. I know it hurt Arizona State and I know it hurt BYU last year.' Arizona State won the Big 12 championship game last season after being picked to finish at the bottom of the Big 12 standings. The Sun Devils were in a four-way tie for first place in the regular-season standings, beat Iowa State in the title game and were the only league team to make the College Football Playoff. Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham said he couldn't care less about any of the predictions last year, or what anybody might have guessed for this season. They do have back quarterback Sam Leavitt, who was picked as the league's preseason offensive player of the year since media still voted on a preseason All-Big 12 team. 'I don't really care where people put us. Vote us first, vote us last, vote us in the middle. If we're so focused on other people's expectations of us, then you're going to limit yourself,' Dillingham said Tuesday. 'Who knows? Are we supposed to win six games? Are we supposed to win nine games? Are we supposed to go undefeated? Are we supposed to win zero? ... All I know is when we show up to work, we should be the very best version of ourselves. And if we compete in something, you better compete to win.' BYU was picked to finish 13th in the Big 12, and was part of that four-way tie at the end of the regular season with 7-2 conference records. The Cougars finished 11-2 overall, including a 9-0 start in which they had an early win over ACC newcomer SMU, which made the 12-team playoff field even after losing its conference championship game. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said there's no value to such preseason football polls, especially with the ever-changing landscape in the game these days. He felt Arizona State was disadvantaged because of being picked 16th long before even playing its first game. 'With the transfer portal and with roster management and what goes on as you build that roster, no one knows what they really have. They know what they have on paper, but it hasn't played out,' Yormark said. 'And that was the case with Arizona State last year. So I don't know if it's a trend or not but certainly it's the right thing for the Big 12 and I'm glad we did it.' The Big Ten Conference has long forgone doing preseason polls. Arizona State went into the Big 12 title game last December at 15th in the CFP rankings, behind three SEC teams with three losses and Mountain West Conference champion Boise State. The Sun Devils were then 12th in the final CFP rankings, but got a first-round bye as one of the top four-ranked conference champions before the format changed for this season to more-direct seeding. A series of tiebreakers had put Arizona State and Iowa State in the Big 12 title game, and eliminated BYU and Colorado from title contention. Utah, which like Arizona State made its Big 12 debut last year, was the preseason favorite to win the league. The Utes won all three of their non-conference games, but went 2-7 otherwise to finish near the bottom of the Big 12 standings. Oklahoma State was last after going 0-9 in conference play. The Cowboys had been picked third. Global stages The Big 12 season will open Aug. 23 with Kansas State playing Iowa State in Ireland. TCU will play its 2026 season opener there against North Carolina. 'I've been on the record to say that I want this conference to be a global conference," said Yormark, who is going into his fourth year as Big 12 commissioner. 'I think we can win globally big time. Playing in Ireland obviously is that first step.' Football isn't the league's only sport going international for a league in which Yormark said 11% of the student-athletes are from outside the United States. 'Just from a recruitment standpoint, it makes sense to carry that flag outside of the domestic marketplace,' he said. Baylor's women's basketball team will open the upcoming season in Paris. Yormark said there is a good chance of a baseball game in Mexico City next spring, and that there are conversations about events in other international markets, like Germany. ___
Hamilton Spectator
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Big 12 making no official predictions, so no last-to-first narrative this year like Arizona State
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — There are no official Big 12 predictions going into this season, so there will be no last-to-first narrative like what Arizona State had in its league debut. Going into its 30th football season, the Big 12 didn't conduct a preseason media poll predicting the order of finish for the 16-team conference. The results were way off last year. 'I try to ignore it as best I can,' Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said Tuesday at Big 12 media days. 'It's one of the reasons we as coaches did not do a coaches poll because I think the narrative has really hurt our league. I know it hurt Arizona State and I know it hurt BYU last year.' Arizona State won the Big 12 championship game last season after being picked to finish at the bottom of the Big 12 standings. The Sun Devils were in a four-way tie for first place in the regular-season standings, beat Iowa State in the title game and were the only league team to make the College Football Playoff. Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham said he couldn't care less about any of the predictions last year, or what anybody might have guessed for this season. They do have back quarterback Sam Leavitt, who was picked as the league's preseason offensive player of the year since media still voted on a preseason All-Big 12 team . 'I don't really care where people put us. Vote us first, vote us last, vote us in the middle. If we're so focused on other people's expectations of us, then you're going to limit yourself,' Dillingham said Tuesday. 'Who knows? Are we supposed to win six games? Are we supposed to win nine games? Are we supposed to go undefeated? Are we supposed to win zero? ... All I know is when we show up to work, we should be the very best version of ourselves. And if we compete in something, you better compete to win.' BYU was picked to finish 13th in the Big 12, and was part of that four-way tie at the end of the regular season with 7-2 conference records. The Cougars finished 11-2 overall, including a 9-0 start in which they had an early win over ACC newcomer SMU, which made the 12-team playoff field even after losing its conference championship game. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said there's no value to such preseason football polls, especially with the ever-changing landscape in the game these days. He felt Arizona State was disadvantaged because of being picked 16th long before even playing its first game. 'With the transfer portal and with roster management and what goes on as you build that roster, no one knows what they really have. They know what they have on paper, but it hasn't played out,' Yormark said. 'And that was the case with Arizona State last year. So I don't know if it's a trend or not but certainly it's the right thing for the Big 12 and I'm glad we did it.' The Big Ten Conference has long forgone doing preseason polls. Arizona State went into the Big 12 title game last December at 15th in the CFP rankings, behind three SEC teams with three losses and Mountain West Conference champion Boise State. The Sun Devils were then 12th in the final CFP rankings, but got a first-round bye as one of the top four-ranked conference champions before the format changed for this season to more-direct seeding. A series of tiebreakers had put Arizona State and Iowa State in the Big 12 title game, and eliminated BYU and Colorado from title contention. Utah, which like Arizona State made its Big 12 debut last year, was the preseason favorite to win the league. The Utes won all three of their non-conference games, but went 2-7 otherwise to finish near the bottom of the Big 12 standings. Oklahoma State was last after going 0-9 in conference play. The Cowboys had been picked third. Global stages The Big 12 season will open Aug. 23 with Kansas State playing Iowa State in Ireland. TCU will play its 2026 season opener there against North Carolina. 'I've been on the record to say that I want this conference to be a global conference,' said Yormark, who is going into his fourth year as Big 12 commissioner. 'I think we can win globally big time. Playing in Ireland obviously is that first step.' Football isn't the league's only sport going international for a league in which Yormark said 11% of the student-athletes are from outside the United States. 'Just from a recruitment standpoint, it makes sense to carry that flag outside of the domestic marketplace,' he said. Baylor's women's basketball team will open the upcoming season in Paris. Yormark said there is a good chance of a baseball game in Mexico City next spring, and that there are conversations about events in other international markets, like Germany. ___ AP college football:
Winnipeg Free Press
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Big 12 making no official predictions, so no last-to-first narrative this year like Arizona State
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — There are no official Big 12 predictions going into this season, so there will be no last-to-first narrative like what Arizona State had in its league debut. Going into its 30th football season, the Big 12 didn't conduct a preseason media poll predicting the order of finish for the 16-team conference. The results were way off last year. 'I try to ignore it as best I can,' Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said Tuesday at Big 12 media days. 'It's one of the reasons we as coaches did not do a coaches poll because I think the narrative has really hurt our league. I know it hurt Arizona State and I know it hurt BYU last year.' Arizona State won the Big 12 championship game last season after being picked to finish at the bottom of the Big 12 standings. The Sun Devils were in a four-way tie for first place in the regular-season standings, beat Iowa State in the title game and were the only league team to make the College Football Playoff. Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham said he couldn't care less about any of the predictions last year, or what anybody might have guessed for this season. They do have back quarterback Sam Leavitt, who was picked as the league's preseason offensive player of the year since media still voted on a preseason All-Big 12 team. 'I don't really care where people put us. Vote us first, vote us last, vote us in the middle. If we're so focused on other people's expectations of us, then you're going to limit yourself,' Dillingham said Tuesday. 'Who knows? Are we supposed to win six games? Are we supposed to win nine games? Are we supposed to go undefeated? Are we supposed to win zero? … All I know is when we show up to work, we should be the very best version of ourselves. And if we compete in something, you better compete to win.' BYU was picked to finish 13th in the Big 12, and was part of that four-way tie at the end of the regular season with 7-2 conference records. The Cougars finished 11-2 overall, including a 9-0 start in which they had an early win over ACC newcomer SMU, which made the 12-team playoff field even after losing its conference championship game. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said there's no value to such preseason football polls, especially with the ever-changing landscape in the game these days. He felt Arizona State was disadvantaged because of being picked 16th long before even playing its first game. 'With the transfer portal and with roster management and what goes on as you build that roster, no one knows what they really have. They know what they have on paper, but it hasn't played out,' Yormark said. 'And that was the case with Arizona State last year. So I don't know if it's a trend or not but certainly it's the right thing for the Big 12 and I'm glad we did it.' The Big Ten Conference has long forgone doing preseason polls. Arizona State went into the Big 12 title game last December at 15th in the CFP rankings, behind three SEC teams with three losses and Mountain West Conference champion Boise State. The Sun Devils were then 12th in the final CFP rankings, but got a first-round bye as one of the top four-ranked conference champions before the format changed for this season to more-direct seeding. A series of tiebreakers had put Arizona State and Iowa State in the Big 12 title game, and eliminated BYU and Colorado from title contention. Utah, which like Arizona State made its Big 12 debut last year, was the preseason favorite to win the league. The Utes won all three of their non-conference games, but went 2-7 otherwise to finish near the bottom of the Big 12 standings. Oklahoma State was last after going 0-9 in conference play. The Cowboys had been picked third. Global stages The Big 12 season will open Aug. 23 with Kansas State playing Iowa State in Ireland. TCU will play its 2026 season opener there against North Carolina. 'I've been on the record to say that I want this conference to be a global conference,' said Yormark, who is going into his fourth year as Big 12 commissioner. 'I think we can win globally big time. Playing in Ireland obviously is that first step.' Football isn't the league's only sport going international for a league in which Yormark said 11% of the student-athletes are from outside the United States. 'Just from a recruitment standpoint, it makes sense to carry that flag outside of the domestic marketplace,' he said. Baylor's women's basketball team will open the upcoming season in Paris. Yormark said there is a good chance of a baseball game in Mexico City next spring, and that there are conversations about events in other international markets, like Germany. ___ AP college football:
