Posted by Bryan Fischer

Texas A&M's move to the SEC has forced a few alterations to their 2012 schedule and it appears the Aggies are going about changing it in a very un-SEC fashion: scheduling harder.

Instead of opening the upcoming season with McNeese State, A&M will now be headed to Shreveport, La. to take on Louisiana Tech, Aggies athletic director Bill Byrne wrote on his blog Wednesday.

"We’re trying to have no more than one Div. 1-AA or FCS team on our schedule, but we may end up having to schedule two. Making this switch was the only way to work it out with Louisiana Tech. It was reported earlier this week that I had conversations with Florida State about being a part of our schedule. They needed a game after West Virginiadropped from their schedule. We tried to make it work, but couldn’t.

Our options were limited due to conference realignment. We expect the scheduling process to go much smoother in the future."

The Bulldogs will likely be the favorite in the WAC as they return 16 starters from a successful 2011 season that saw the program win the conference and narrowly lose to TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl. The opener for both teams will also move to Thursday, August 30 and Louisiana Tech will return to Kyle Field in 2016. A $200,000 buyout will be paid to McNeese State to get out of the contract.

Because of conference realignment, the school had been looking for two non-conference games and still have an open spot for the weekend of November 17. Texas A&M's home opener will double as their SEC introduction on September 8, when they host Florida. Byrne also remarked that there was no update regarding the location of the game with Arkansas, which had previously been a non-conference tilt at Cowboys Stadium but was expected to be changed to a home-and-home between the two schools. A&M will also host South Carolina State on September 22nd.

The Aggies will officially join the SEC on July 1, 2012 after wrapping up play in the Big 12 with a 7-6 season in 2011 that was capped with a win in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas.

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Posted by Tom Fornelli

KANSAS STATE WON. The surprise team of the Big 12, if not the entire country, improved to 7-0 on the season with a relatively easy victory over its in-state rival Kansas. Things seemed close for the first 30 minutes of this contest, but the Wildcats would blow the doors off this one early in the third quarter. Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein did most of the damage for Bill Snyder's team, throwing for 195 yards and rushing for another 92. He also had 5 total touchdowns on the day, 4 of which came on the ground. 

WHY KANSAS STATE WON. Kansas State is a better team than Kansas, first and foremost, but facing the Kansas defense didn't hurt matters either. The Jayhawks have now played seven games this season, and the least amount of points scored against it in any contest was 24 by McNeese State.

WHEN KANSAS STATE WON. Late in the second quarter Kansas put together a nice drive to cut the deficit to 28-14 with only 14 seconds left on the clock. After kicking off a blown coverage led to a 48-yard pass by Klein to Tyler Lockett that set up a field goal as the half expired. Lockett then began the third quarter with 97-yard touchdown return. Kansas then fumbled inside its own 10-yard line following that kick return and Kansas State scored again two plays later. What was a 28-14 game became 45-14 in the blink of an eye.

WHAT KANSAS STATE WON. Another victory may put the Wildcats in the top 10 of the BCS standings this week, but that will depend on what happens with the teams currently ranked above them. What's more important to Kansas State at this point is that it's still undefeated and that it put a big time hurting on its rival for the second year in a row.

WHAT KANSAS LOST. I'm not saying I'd agree with it if it were to happen, but this game could wind up costing Turner Gill his job soon enough. Nobody was expecting Gill to turn Kansas into a powerhouse, but nobody expected the Jayhawks to be this bad, either. Making matters worse, in his two games against rival Kansas State, Gill's team has now been outscored 118-28.

THAT WAS CRAZY. That crazy scoring run I described from Kansas State earlier in the post? Well, halftime took place between the scores, but as far as game time is concerned, it took Kansas State only 1 minute and 21 seconds to put 17 points on the board.

Posted by Tom Fornelli

A handy recap of who really won and who really lost that you won't find in the box score.

WINNER: Football in the state of Oklahoma

You know, we can't be sure how happy Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are to still be in the Big 12 considering all the flirting the schools did with the Pac-12, but at this point we really have to wonder why in the world would either school want to leave the Big 12? They're tearing the conference apart, as both schools combined to outscore their opponents 125-45 this week and are a combined 10-0 this season. Considering how bad Texas looked against the Sooners on Saturday, it's evident that the Longhorns are still a year or two away from competing for the Big 12. This conference belongs to the state of Oklahoma for at least that long. 

LOSER: The Eyes of Texas

Oh the horror those eyes had to see on Saturday. Those images were burned into their retinas and are guaranteed to appear in nightmares and therapy sessions for years to come. The five turnovers, three defensive touchdowns by the Sooners, and Landry Jones took any optimism the Longhorns may have had after the first month of the season and buried it all beneath a sea of fried foods.

WINNER: Collin Klein

The reemergence of the Kansas State football program is not only one of the most unexpected storylines of the Big 12 season, but it's also one of the most welcome. While Bill Snyder and the Kansas State defense deserve a lot of the credit, we can't forget the quarterback who is conjuring up memories of Ell Roberson with the 3 touchdown performance like the one he had against Missouri on Saturday in Manhattan.

LOSER: The Jayhawks defense

I use the term "defense" incredibly loosely there. In five games this season the Jayhawks defense is yet to give up less than 24 points in any of them, and that 24 point game came in the opener against McNeese State. Since then it's been 42 points to Northern Illinois, 66 to Georgia Tech, 45 to Texas Tech and then 70 to Oklahoma State. You know what kind of offense you need to have to win games when your defense is giving up 49.4 points per game? Any offense playing Kansas that week.

WINNER: Terrence Ganaway

With the exploits of Robert Griffin and his favorite target Kendall Wright, the Baylor running back has been lost in the shuffle a bit through Baylor's first five games. That was not the case on Saturday, as Art Briles used the running game to wear down the Iowa State defense and keep his defense off the field. It worked out pretty well for Briles, as his running back rewarded him with 200 yards and 3 touchdowns.

LOSER: Robert Griffin's Heisman chances

RG3 didn't exactly have a bad game on Saturday, as he threw for 212 yards while rushing for an additional 107 yards and finished the game with 3 touchdowns. Still, when you play for Baylor, a team that isn't exactly a household name, you need to have monster performances all year long to keep the Heisman spotlight on you. Particularly when guys like Landry Jones, Brandon Weeden and Andrew Luck are all playing for undefeated teams and having huge games.

WINNER: Texas A&M's confidence

The Aggies may not have completely erased the memories of their collapses over the last two weeks, but although they let Texas Tech get within five points in the final minute on Saturday night, all that truly matters is that the Aggies held on to get the win. More importantly, the offense did not disappear in the second half and it kept doing what had made it successful in the first half. Quite a change from what we saw from this team against Oklahoma State and Arkansas.

LOSER: Texas Tech fans

Do we know that it was Texas Tech fans that did it for sure? No. Are we relatively confident that it was? Well, who else was in Lubbock this weekend that would have done it? What happened to the Texas A&M bus this weekend was despicable and embarrassing for the Big 12 as a whole, and college football itself. You can be upset that Texas A&M is leaving the Big 12, but guess what? The Big 12 is going to survive, and you still have a home there, so why exactly you feel the need to wipe your own excrement all over a bus is beyond me.

Posted by Tom Fornelli

If last week's loss against Georgia Tech taught us anything about Kansas, it's that the Jayhawks defense is terrible. The unit gave up 64 points and 768 total yards as the Yellow Jackets literally ran it over. If that performance is any indication, for the Jayhawks to have a winning season, they're going to have to score a lot of points.

A task that got a bit harder on Wednesday when head coach Turner Gill announced that the team would be shutting down wide receiver Daymond Patterson for the rest of the season thanks to a groin injury.

“It’s tough, but it’s what’s best,” Gill told the Kansas City Star. “You don’t want to have a senior year where you are only able to play half of the season. That’s really what it came down to“Yeah, he could maybe come back at some time during the season. … We won’t know how long it would take him to come back at 100 percent.”

Patterson injured his groin in Kansas' season-opening win over McNeese State. He led the Jayhawks in receiving in 2010, making 60 catches for 487 yards last season. He's expected to take a medical redshirt this year, allowing him one more season of eligibility in 2012.

Posted by Tom Fornelli

1. There's a reason the other conferences want the Oklahoma schools. Okay, so I knew that going into the weekend, but both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State showed why both schools began the year ranked in the top ten. Sure, the opponents weren't exactly the best college football has to offer, but the two Oklahoma offenses might be. Combined the Sooners and Cowboys outscored their opponents 108-48 and racked up 1,329 yards. That's getting it done when you have the ball.

2. Garrett Gilbert is improving. It's dangerous to rate a team or a player based on one game, but Texas fans had to be happier with the Garrett Gilbert they saw against Rice on Saturday night. In the season opener against Rice last season Gilbert completed 14 of 23 passes for 172 yards and no touchdowns. On Saturday he threw for 239 yards and a score, including a pretty little 56-yard bomb to Mike Davis with the Longhorns pressed against their own goal line. He didn't throw an inteception either, and while these might be baby steps, at least they're baby steps in the right direction.

3. Baylor is still one of the most entertaining teams in the country. Without a doubt, the biggest story of the weekend in the Big 12 so far is Baylor's 50-48 win over TCU on Friday night. Of course, while the Baylor offense showed the entire country why it's so fun to watch, the Baylor defense also showed the country why you can't turn a Baylor game off no matter what the score is. There are going to be plenty more shootouts to enjoy in Waco this season.

4. James Franklin needs some work. Missouri picked up a win against Miami (OH) to start the season, but James Franklin didn't do too much to erase the memory of Blaine Gabbert. Franklin averaged only 5.0 yards per attempt passing on Saturday as the Tigers offense struggled to get points. Most of the yards Franklin did complete came on screens, and even though the Mizzou defense still looks stout, Franklin is going to have to improve his downfield passing if the Tigers want to compete with the top-tier teams in the Big 12.

5. Kansas may not be the worst team in the conference. Remember last season when the Jayhawks started their season with an embarrassing 6-3 loss against North Dakota State? Yeah, well not this season. The Jayhawks handled McNeese State 42-24 on Saturday night while both Kansas State and Iowa State needed last-minute touchdown drives to escape their respective games against Eastern Kentucky and Northern Iowa.

6. Off-field distractions don't seem to be on-field distractions. There's a lot of talk surrounding the Big 12 these days about schools leaving and the conference ceasing to exist, but it didn't show on the field. Sure, teams like Kansas State and Iowa State struggled, but the Big 12 is 9-0 in its first nine games of the year. If Texas A&M can beat SMU on Sunday night, the conference moves to 10-0. 

Posted by Jerry Hinnen

Running down everything you need to know from the weekend's news in the SEC, courtesy of our CBSSports.com RapidReporters.

LSU: Not that it took anyone by surprise, but Les Miles officially named senior Jarrett Lee the starter for Saturday's season opener against Oregon. For his part, Ducks head coach Chip Kelly doesn't expect the Tigers to be any less formidable for Lee getting the nod. (Per our Oregon RapidReporter Chris Hansen, Kelly also called LSU "“the most talented team we play all season.”)

Interestingly, Miles said he suspended the arrested Jordan Jefferson not as a disciplinary measure, but so Jefferson could tend to his legal troubles. "It's absolutely correct for him to be free at this point to tend to his personal business," Miles said. "If he were playing on this football team, it would be too much." Jefferson has changed his legal representation in the wake of his arrest.

ARKANSAS: In an announcement even less surprising than Lee's, Bobby Petrino finally named Tyler Wilson the Hogs' starting quarterback for their season debut against Missouri State, ending the non-suspense. Petrino said sophomore Brandon Mitchell will see playing time, possibly as early as the second quarter. (If Mitchell still sees time against opponents more dangerous than the Bears, that will be a development worth watching.)

Injured running back Knile Davis has promised he'll do everything he can to help his team from the sideline. As for replacing him, senior DeAnthony Curtis may get a shot after looking impressive following his move from cornerback.

ALABAMA: Still no sign of JUCO wideout Duron Carter at practice, with Nick Saban telling reporters he "has information" on Carter's status but that he'll believe his arrival "when he sees it." Saban also seemed to confirm that the Tide will begin the year with a rotation between quarterbacks Phillip Sims and A.J. McCarron. "“I don't want either guy … to think that if they go in the game and make a mistake, that's when the other guy gets to go in," he said. "That's not how it's going to get managed."

In positive news, long snapper Carson Tinker is close to fully recovered from injuries suffered in the spring tornado that killed his girlfriend, Ashley Harrison.

GEORGIA: Mark Richt announced a surprising change to his defensive starting lineup, confirming that safety Bacarri Rambo (the team's leading tackler in 2010) would start the year second-string behind Sanders Commings and Shawn Williams. Even with corner Branden Smith "day-to-day" with a foot injury, Richt said former corner Commings would not switch positions to cover for Smith.

The Dawgs are banged-up elsewhere as well, with JUCO nose tackle Johnathan Jenkins struggling with a hamstring injury and tailback Richard Samuel not yet at full speed despite practicing Saturday.

SOUTH CAROLINA: He's still Steve Spurrier: the Ol' Ball Coach said that both Stephen Garcia and Connor Shaw would play in the Gamecocks' opener against East Carolina, and added that neither has won the starting job yet. Giving the understudy Shaw meaningful playing time could be a dangerous move against the Pirates, whose pass-heavy attack could exploit a Gamecock secondary that struggled in 2010 and could be without starting corner Akeem Auguste; Auguste has a foot injury and missed practice at the end of last week.

Could CBSSports.com second-team All-American Devin Taylor see time on offense? Garcia told reporters the Gamecocks have been working on a package including the 6'7" defensive end.

ELSEWHERE: At Auburn, star sophomore running back Michael Dyer says he's 100 percent healthy after a nick earlier in fall camp. On the other side of the ball, defensive coordinator Ted Roof said the Tigers' depth will result in them playing more than their typical 18-to-20 players ... Florida running back Jeff Demps admitted his track obligations put him behind the curve when it came to learning the Gators' new offense ... Tennessee has moved corner Prentiss Waggner to safety to cover for the dismissal of Janzen Jackson, who will transfer to FCS McNeese State, that school announced.

Posted by the College Football Blog Staff

Every season, every month, every week, there are several outcomes and achievements that, frankly, nobody operating within reason would ever predict. Who could have predicted Nebraska would beat Florida for the 1995 title by 38 points, or that Boise State would pull off three late trick plays to knock off Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, or that Les Miles would look like the endgame genius against Urban Meyer and Florida? Nobody... until now. We're going to try capture that lightning in a bottle by making similarly absurd predictions every week. Are they at all likely to come true? No. Do we even believe the words we're writing? No. But if we make even one correct call on these, we will never stop gloating. Ever.

Highly Unlikely

Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore sprains his knee when he trips while running onto the field during pregame ceremonies, and all of a sudden, the Broncos must face San Jose State with a brand new quarterback. Boise coach Chris Peterson blames San Jose State and their groundskeeping for the mishap, and feeling untold amounts of shame, SJSU coach Mike MacIntyre forfeits the game. Moore recovers fully for the Broncos' next game, and Boise's march to a 12-0 regular season continues unabated. -- Adam Jacobi

As the closing seconds count down on the scoreboard at Ross-Ade Stadium, Tim Brewster looks up at it to see the final score: Purdue 37, Minnesota 13.  Knowing that these are probably the last few seconds that he'll spend on a sideline COMPETING and FIGHTING  with the Gophers, his emotions get the best of him.  Danny Hope begins to make his way to midfield to meet the coach, but instead Brewster bursts into tears and sprints off the field.  He then hides in a supply room deep within the bowels of the stadium, refusing to come out until eventually Minnesota AD Joel Maturi lures him out by promising he's not going to fire him.  Brewster then opens the door and comes out, his face red and blotchy, covered in tears.  "Really?" he asks Maturi.  "No, you're totally fired," says Maturi before kicking him in the groin. -- Tom Fornelli

Arizona's slide continues after falling to Oregon State despite getting some help from the replay officials.  This time, facing Washington State, the home officials give the Wildcats a taste of their own medicine and refuse to replay a game-winning touchdown that was actually an incomplete pass. Mike Stoops has no timeouts, and the Cougars quickly kick the extra point to pick up that elusive first conference win. It is later revealed that the replay official was Washington State alumnus Drew Bledsoe, who emerges from the booth in full Wazzu regalia and facepaint. The Pac-10 finds no fault in this. -- Chip Patterson

Severely Unlikely

With Texas trailing Nebraska 24-7 just before halftime, Mack Brown makes his way over to Colt McCoy who is watching the game from the sidelines.  "Listen, I need you to come to the locker room at halftime.  Give these boys a pep talk."  McCoy agrees, but Brown was lying.  Instead Brown locks Garrett Gilbert in a shed -- hey, it's popular in Texas -- and convinces McCoy to put on Gilbert's uniform.  McCoy then goes out and leads Texas to a comeback victory, finding James Kirkendoll for the game-winning touchdown with, you guessed it, one second left on the clock. -- Tom Fornelli

Michigan's defense pitches a shut out against Iowa. The Big House rocks as Denard Robinson totals 600 total yards of offense and the Wolverines bounce back from the loss to "Little Brother" with a performance for the ages as the Wolverines reclaim a spot in the Top 25 with a 48-0 win over the Hawkeyes. Adrian Clayborn, struck with grief, eats 400 cheeseburgers on the ride home and gives up on the NFL for a career in the lawn and garden industry. Turns out Clayborn is quite the green thumb. -- Chip Patterson

The Kansas football team shows up to an empty Memorial Stadium in Lawrence. Head coach Turner Gill and his Jayhawks were under the impression that their game would be played on Saturday, and thanks to various elaborate pranks by Kansas State fans, they had no idea that they had been scheduled to play on Thursday night. KSU coaches, upon finding out that Kansas had not appeared for the game, dressed their scout team in KU colors and had them put up token opposition. Somehow, they also had a scout team Turner Gill. The garbage-time touchdown Kansas State allowed to its double agents was a sublime touch. -- Adam Jacobi

Completely Ludicrous

McNeese State trots into Death Valley on Saturday night and shines under the lights. LSU quarterbacks Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson combine for an NCAA-record 11 interceptions, five of which are returned for touchdowns.  The other six picks are hideous arm-punts that prevent the Tigers from finding the end zone once. Patrick Peterson returns 4 kick offs for touchdowns, but LSU falls 35-28. -- Chip Patterson

Emboldened by reports that he was coaching with his job on the line, Tim Brewster leads his team to an emotional 35-34 victory over a frisky Purdue squad... then rips off five more wins to finish the season, culminating in a 55-0 revenge win over Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes at TCF Bank Stadium. Minnesota's 7-5 (6-2) record and a host of other conference losses among the rest of the Big Ten vault the Gophers into the Rose Bowl, making them the first five-loss team to earn a trip to Pasadena. A month before the game, Brewster announces that he's leaving the Gophers to coach his beloved Texas Longhorns; Mack Brown has retired, as expected, but the program was stunned when defensive coordinator (and presumptive next head coach) Will Muschamp pulled a simultaneous "sympathy retirement." The Gophers hire Mike Leach on the spot, and the new Pirate Gophers stun Oregon on January 1st, 45-31. -- Adam Jacobi

There's nothing out of the ordinary taking place in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night.  It's early in the fourth quarter and the Alabama Crimson Tide have a healthy 24-6 lead over the Rebels, but then suddenly a bright, white light can be seen in the sky.  Those who notice it assume that it's a comet or meteor passing by the planet, but it keeps getting bigger and bigger before everyone suddenly realizes it's coming right for them.  As it gets closer, it becomes clear that it is some kind of UFO, in fact, the space ship actually looks like a piece of fried calamari.   It lands at the 50-yard line, and out comes Admiral Ackbar.  Knowing immediately what's taking place, the new Ole Miss mascot makes a break for it before he is apprehended by members of the Rebel Alliance.  The Rebel Alliance then holds a trial on the field, determining whether or not the Bear shall live.  This does not please Nick Saban.  After a few minutes Saban walks briskly up to Admiral Ackbar, takes his gun, and executes the Bear himself before saying, "There.  NOW GET THE HELL OFF OF MY FIELD."  Ackbar and his soldiers sheepishly retreat to their ship and take off.  Not even the Rebel Alliance wants to mess with Nick Saban. -- Tom Fornelli