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| SJS College Football Extravaganza |
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| Preseason 2000 | ||
| 2000 SJS Forecast | 1999 Summary | |||||||
| Overall | Conf. | Rank | Overall | Conf. | ||||
| North Division | ||||||||
| Nebraska Cornhuskers | 1 | 11-1 | 8-1 | 2 | 1 | 11-1 | 8-1 | |
| Kansas State Wildcats | 2 | 10-2 | 6-2 | 9 | 2 | 10-1 | 7-1 | |
| Colorado Buffaloes | 3 | 6-5 | 4-4 | 41 | 3 | 6-5 | 5-3 | |
| Kansas Jayhawks | 4 | 4-7 | 2-6 | 61 | 4 | 5-7 | 3-5 | |
| Iowa State Cyclones | 5 | 3-8 | 2-6 | 63 | 5 | 4-7 | 1-7 | |
| Missouri Tigers | 6 | 3-8 | 2-6 | 78 | 6 | 4-7 | 1-7 | |
| South Division | ||||||||
| Oklahoma Sooners | 1 | 10-2 | 7-2 | 11 | 2 | 7-4 | 5-3 | |
| Texas Longhorns | 2 | 10-1 | 7-1 | 7 | 1 | 9-4 | 6-3 | |
| Texas Tech Red Raiders | 3 | 7-4 | 4-4 | 28 | 3 | 6-5 | 5-3 | |
| Texas A&M Aggies | 4 | 6-5 | 4-4 | 39 | 4 | 8-3 | 5-3 | |
| Oklahoma State Cowboys | 5 | 5-6 | 3-5 | 60 | 5 | 5-6 | 3-5 | |
| Baylor Bears | 6 | 1-10 | 0-8 | 94 | 6 | 1-10 | 0-8 | |
Big 12 Skinny
The Cornhuskers are loaded. Eric Crouch will be the star, but for Nebraska to challenge for the national title, they will need to get production out of the I-back spot. That star may be Thunder Collins, a juco transfer, former quarterback and wide receiver Bobby Newcombe, or projected starter Dan Alexander. Matt Davison, he of the kicked ball catch against Missouri in 1997, is finally a senior, and will probably carry the pass-catching load along with tight end Tracey Wistrom. The schedule looks good for the Huskers, but they must win an early test at Notre Dame and a late battle at Kansas State. The Huskers' challenger from the South should be either Texas or Oklahoma. The Sooners lose offensive coordinator Mike Leach, but the offensive star returns. Back is Josh Heupel, the Big Twelve's best quarterback (with apologies to schizophrenic Major Applewhite). On defense, 8 starters return, including one of the conference's best linebacking corps and all four along the defensive line. Look for the Sooners to win some of the close games this year; an inability to do so cost them potential upsets against Notre Dame and Texas in 1999. As for Texas, the Longhorns also return their starting quarterback (Major Applewhite), but it is unclear how long he'll be the team leader. Chris Simms, a lefthanded quarterback, is challenging Applewhite for the starting job. The Longhorns' best player on offense might be Hodges Mitchell, who emerged as an adequate replacement for Ricky Williams at tailback. The defense comes back strong, and the schedule is set up for a Longhorn title run. Only games against Oklahoma and Texas A&M, and possibly on the road against Texas Tech, seem threatening. Texas Tech may prove to be the surprise team of the Big Twelve. They have a new coach in offensive genius Mike Leach and a superstar tailback in Ricky Williams, who missed all of 1999 with an injury. Given what Leach did in Oklahoma, Kliff Kingsbury may emerge as 2000's surprise quarterback, ala Josh Heupel. And the schedule is set up for the Red Raiders to get on a roll (five out of the first six games are in Lubbock). If anyone can challenge Nebraska in the North, it is Kansas State. The Wildcats are led by senior quarterback Jonathan Beasley, who has good receivers in Aaron Lockett and Quincy Morgan. David Allen is a speedy tailback who excels on special teams. On defense, the Wildcats will be strong once again, particularly in the secondary. As for the schedule, the Wildcats have almost everything in their favor: they dodge Texas, play Nebraska at home, and take on nonconference cupcakes. Besides the game against the Huskers, only games at Texas A&M and at Colorado seem threatening, but look out for the Oklahoma game to be surprisingly difficult. | |||||||||