Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo KU coach Turner Gill and Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel shake hands after the The Annual Border war on Saturday November 27, 2010 as 13th ranked Missouri went head to head in Arrowhead Stadium as the Tigers won 35-7.

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops stamped another ownership seal on the Big 12 Championship over the weekend, hoisting his seventh conference title in his 12 years on the job. My reflection is in the latest episode of Conference ChatterTV above.

The Sooners’ 23-20 victory over Nebraska in Arlington, Texas, marked the end Big 12 football as we know it.
Starting next season, no Nebraska or Colorado. A 10-team league will hold the Big 12 together for the foreseeable future. It might last. Some think it has no chance.

As the Big 12 readies for its bowl games, here are a few Conference Chatter bullet-point observations, in no particular order, to sum up the football season with a look at the past and a glance toward the future.

• As a Big 12 football fan, have you ever witnessed a wilder summer of sports news than the realignment mess in June? The Big 12 looked finished, with all teams attempting to bolt to whichever major conference would take them. Twitter rumors ran rampant and I remember waking up for two days in that time feeling like I was cast in ‘The Day After Tomorrow.’ OK, maybe the end of the world is a bit much, but all hope to save the conference seemed lost until a sudden twist saw Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe unveil his ‘Hail Mary Plan,’ which saved the conference as a 10-member league.

• On the field, it wasn’t the most memorable football year in the Big 12. In five of the past seven seasons, a Big 12 team has played in the main event for the BCS Championship. Not this year. Just one team (Oklahoma) is playing in a BCS bowl.

• This year, the Big 12 was relegated to bowl undercard status. And it very well could be the most anticlimactic slate of Big 12 bowl games in the 15-year history of the league. Big 12 champion Oklahoma will play in the Fiesta Bowl against Connecticut, a team that didn’t even make the top 25 of the latest BCS rankings.

• Most interesting bowl for a Big 12 team: Texas A&M vs. LSU in Cotton Bowl. Missouri vs. Iowa in Insight Bowl a close second.

• Lamest bowl including a Big 12 team: Nebraska vs. Washington in Holiday Bowl. Um, we already saw that this season.

• We’re about a month away from awarding a winner for the season-long KUsports.com over/under contest. We had roughly 60 entrants in August. Be sure to check your answers in the comments section of the August blog if you need a refresher. After the bowl games, I’ll write a blog entry declaring a winner. Prizes are involved.

• Next year, the Big 12 will return the following quarterbacks: Landry Jones (Oklahoma), Brandon Weeden (Oklahoma State), Blaine Gabbert (Missouri), Robert Griffin (Baylor), Ryan Tannehill (Texas A&M) and Garrett Gilbert (Texas). Perhaps it will result in more exciting and prominent bowl matchups.

• Biggest surprise of the year: Texas not making a bowl game. Oklahoma State going 10-2 a close second.

• Conference Chatter Big 12 player of the year: Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon. The sophomore led the country with 18 touchdown catches (to go along with 102 catches and 1,665 yards). If Blackmon and Weeden come back next year, as opposed to entering their names in the NFL Draft, the Cowboys should contend for the Big 12 title.

• I don’t want to give up hope on Kansas coach Turner Gill until I see his own recruits take the field. Gill and his assistants have a plan, and it became clear they couldn’t fully implement it with the current roster. It’s not like Gill is taking over Oklahoma or Texas. Building a program takes time. Mark Mangino went 2-10 (0-8 in conference) in his first year at KU in 2002. Next year should be interesting, and 2012 (year three) should really give an indication on the direction of Gill’s Jayhawks. These next few months are vital for Gill in recruiting.

• Speaking of recruiting, offensive line might be the most important position for Gill and his staff to fill. I say that because the Jayhawks should be a run-first team next season. James Sims seems like he could be the focal point of an offense that won’t know its starting quarterback heading into spring ball. The Jayhawks have a slew of options at running back as well (Brandon Bourbon took a red-shirt], [incoming freshman Darrian Miller, freshman DeShaun Sands, junior Rell Lewis missed 2010 with ACL injury]). Good news for KU fans: Last summer, the Jayhawks [landed four O-Lineman commitments in six days.

• Colorado found its next head coach in Jon Embree, currently a tight ends coach in the NFL with the Washington Redskins. Embree didn’t appear on any of the early rumors I saw floating around, but appears to be a good hire. Embree was the tight ends coach from 2006-08 with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he worked with All-Pro Tony Gonzalez. He also coached tight ends, wide receivers and defensive ends at Colorado, and played college ball with the Buffs.

• Eight Big 12 teams made bowl games this winter. The best combined record for the conference in the Big 12 era is 5-3.

That should be all for now, friends. As always, discuss.