Time to play Rapid Fire. Rapid Fire consists of short commentary segments about the latest hot topics in the Big 12 conference. Rapid Fire was made popular by sports radio talk show host Johnny Renshaw, and I stole it from him. It is fine. He is okay with it. Anyway, here we GO!

“They’re back.” Colorado is back in the Big 12.

I am not as excited about this development as some are, but it is good to grow conference membership with a Power 5 program rather than losing Power 5 programs to others. And if Arizona, Oregon, or Washington come with them, I am 100% on board. My first choice is Oregon, but I don’t know if they have an interest in joining the Big 12. Rumors are saying they are, but there are as many rumors saying they are not. My daughter, who just moved to Denver, was happy to hear the Colorado Buffalo news and hopes to see K-State play Colorado in Boulder. I am looking forward to that road trip.

Arch Manning Trading Cards?

Texas quarterback Arch Manning may not play a down for the Longhorns this season, but he is still making waves on campus. He signed an NIL deal with a trading card company that auctioned off a signed card of Manning. The high bid? $103,000. I wish I had that kind of money to throw away. If I had money to blow, I might visit DraftKings. Speaking of DraftKings…

Hunter Dekkers likes to gamble

Iowa State starting quarterback Hunter Dekkers was criminally charged in a gambling investigation and announced he will not participate in fall camp. Dekkers is accused of placing 26 bets on Iowa State sporting events, including a football game in 2021. In total, it is alleged that he placed more than 300 bets on a DraftKings account totaling $2,799. Apparently, he always bet on the Cyclones to win. It sounds a lot like what Pete Rose did. Dekkers is not the only college athlete named in the investigation, just the most prominent one of late. Gambling is going to become a problem in college sports. It is too easy to download an app on your phone to place a wager, and we have already seen numerous players involved in gambling accusations. Dekkers tried hiding his wagers by posing as his girlfriend and/or parents, but that did not work very well. My question is: what happens when these players start betting AGAINST their teams? As a hypothetical, let’s say a 3rd string player on a roster is aware of an injury to a key player that has not been made public. That player might likely tell his girlfriend, close friends, or family, and they might decide to place a wager against the team in question, maybe even on behalf of the player. It could become a huge issue in the sport for many reasons. This scenario doesn’t even account for referees that may get involved in gambling, too, like what happened in the NBA. It could become a huge mess.

60 newcomers on the BYU roster?

One of the storylines going into fall camp at BYU is that they have 60 newcomers on their roster. For the first time in a while, they had to print everyone’s names on their practice jerseys because there are so many players that don’t know each other. I am not sure I’ve ever heard of an overhaul like this from one season to the next. It sounds like the coaching staff has their work cut out for them in their first year in the Big 12.

The Jalon Daniels hype machine

Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels was selected Big 12 preseason offensive player of the year by the media in the Big 12. There is no doubt Daniels is a talented player, but the hype behind him and the prospects for Kansas football this fall is unlike anything I have seen in a long time. Can Daniels and the Jayhawks live up to the hype? I’m skeptical. Kansas has not had a winning season in football since 2008 and, while they have improved under head coach Lance Leipold, they don’t have the easiest schedule to play. They have a non-conference game against an improving Illinois program and conference games against Texas, Oklahoma, BYU, UCF, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and Kansas State. Any of those games are potential losses. It will be interesting to see what kind of season they have.

“All steak and no sizzle”

TCU head coach Sonny Dykes said that the slogan for his program is “all steak and no sizzle.” I’ve never heard of this expression before and was wondering what he meant. He said, “We want to underpromise and overperform.” That was pretty much the story of K-State football under Bill Snyder for many years, whether Snyder wanted to admit it or not. It’s also exactly what TCU accomplished last season, making the national championship game before losing to Georgia. Is there another TCU out there this season? A team that nobody is picking to make the playoff but could get there? Could that team be K-State? I like to think that it is possible.

Will Howard is the man

K-State quarterback Will Howard is poised to have a great season on the field, but he is also doing work off the field. Howard is helping raise money for a mother of a special needs child who was recently diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. You can read more about it here: https://champsraise.com/athletes/will-howard. It’s always nice seeing K-State athletes doing things like this, which happens quite often. It also got me thinking…when was the last time a K-State athlete was in trouble with the law, in trouble at school, or negatively made the news? I honestly cannot remember the last time. All of the programs at K-State recruit great kids that do a lot for the community at large, and for that I am thankful.

T-minus 30 days until K-State kicks off the football season against Southeast Missouri State. We are getting there!