Dallas ? Kansas State’s Bill Snyder is the only Big 12 Conference coach who has gotten to see his team play in a game.

Snyder had a mixed reaction about the No. 7 Wildcats’ 42-28 opening win over California, saying Monday that his team “left a lot to be desired and did some fine things.”

Now, the rest of the league’s coaches are ready to be able to make their own on-field assessments.

“We’re all anxious to play, to get on the field with North Texas,” said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, whose Sooners start the season as the nation’s No. 1 team. “We’re talked out. We’re tired of talking about it and running into each other.”

Yes, the coaches are ready for some football against different colored jerseys.

The Sooners open Saturday, the same day that nine other Big 12 teams also play their season openers and Kansas State plays its second game against Troy State. Fifth-ranked Texas has to wait until Sunday before playing New Mexico State.

“We’re really excited about starting our season. We’ve got some unanswered questions and we want to see how the team is going to respond,” Longhorns coach Mack Brown said during the weekly Big 12 coaches’ teleconference.

Texas, after consecutive 11-2 seasons, has a new starting quarterback. Junior Chance Mock has played just 10 games, going 6-of-9 for 65 yards and a touchdown, while waiting for his chance since signing with the Longhorns in 2000.

“Like everybody else in the country that hasn’t played, we’re really anxious to get on the field to find out how good we might be,” said Iowa State coach Dan McCarney.

Freshman quarterback Austin Flynn replaces Seneca Wallace in ISU’s starting lineup and makes his debut against Division I-AA Northern Iowa.

The Cyclones were 7-7 last year, losing six of their last seven games after a six-game winning streak that had pushed them into the Top 10 midway through the season.

Texas A&M’s Dennis Franchione and Baylor’s Guy Morriss will make their Big 12 coaching debuts under different circumstances.

Franchione has a job he had always cherished and has brought a new sense of optimism to Aggieland after a disappointing 6-6 season. He plans to use both Reggie McNeal and Dustin Long at quarterback, but he won’t say who will start against Arkansas State and has changed the “Wrecking Crew” defense from a 4-3 to a 3-4 alignment.

“When it’s the first game of your tenure, it’s kind of an exciting week in particular. It’s a unique time,” said Franchione, at Alabama the past two seasons after a turnaround at TCU. “I’m anxious to see the players in game situations and how productive they are.”

Morriss is the fourth Baylor coach since the league started in 1996, taking over a team that has gone 4-52 in conference games. He tried to build team unity with a two-week preseason boot camp where players lived in a dormitory together after turning in their cell phones and car keys.

No. 24 Oklahoma State and Nebraska don’t get to ease into the schedule. They play each other Saturday in the Big 12 opener.

“I would normally prefer to open with a non-conference opponent and build into conference play,” said Nebraska coach Frank Solich.

The Cornhuskers are coming off a 7-7 season that led to many changes in Solich’s staff. There’s a new defensive coordinator and Solich even replaced himself as offensive coordinator.