Fewer risks for Big 12 coaches with easy openers

“Most schools that are in major conferences see a tremendous amount of competition week to week,” Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said. “When you play in these leagues, I just don’t know many coaches that are fired up about playing difficult non-conference schedules. You put one more tough week on your players.”

Oklahoma State has a new starting quarterback and is expected to play plenty of freshmen this season. Its opener is against Washington State, which is coming off a 1-11 season.

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NOTES: There are 13 true freshmen and five redshirts on Texas’ two-deep depth chart. … Sophomore Kale Pick is the starting quarterback at Kansas, having beat out redshirt freshman Jordan Webb to replace record-setting three-year starter Todd Reesing. “Pick has set himself apart,” coach Turner Gill said. “I love his intangibles, his body language and how he ran the team.” … New coach Tommy Tuberville has changed more than the plays at Texas Tech. Practice has been distinctly more physical for the Red Raiders under Tuberville. “We want them to be physical in a game so we’ve practiced that way,” Tuberville said. “The players have picked up on it real well.”

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QUOTABLE: “There’s a lot of difference between the whistle blowing when they get around you and the whistle not blowing until you get on the ground.” _ Baylor coach Art Briles on Robert Griffin, though he expects no problems for the dual-threat quarterback Saturday in his first game since a season-ending knee injury in the third game last season.

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