Ty and Dan talk with Greg Cox from TheFootballExpert.com about all things NFL Draft, from mock drafts to player evaluations to Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay.

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Ty and Dan discuss the possibility of Notre Dame joining the Big Ten, the newly-released Wonderlic results from the NFL Combine, and empty out an overflowing inbox.  Plus, information on how to join the Solid Verbal Bracket Pool.

Ty and Dan talk with Iowa State football coach Paul Rhoads about momentous victories, the Big 12 conference, recruiting to a smaller program and YouTube stardom.

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Ty and Dan dissect TCU’s big win from a number of angles, evaluate Cincinnati’s BCS ceiling, bow down to Toby Gerhart, and batten the hatches for another Notre Dame coaching search. Plus, commentary from Jerry Palm and East Bay Greg, as well as voice messages and results from pick ‘em and fantasy football.

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Ty and Dan talk with Jerry Palm from CollegeBCS.com about the first week of BCS rankings, the deficiencies of the system, the variables that make it tick, and the ultimate doomsday scenario.  Plus, your messages, another Solid Verbal Host City and week eight picks!

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Ty recaps his trip to South Bend and laments Notre Dame’s eighth consecutive loss to USC; Dan talks about his brief getaway to Vegas.  Plus, voice messages and a review of all the week’s action.

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Ty and Dan bring back Chip Brown from OrangeBloods.com and ESPN Radio 1530 in Austin to discuss this week’s Red River Rivalry.  Plus, voice messages, e-mails and week 7 previews as before another Road Trip Weekend for the Solid Verbal Crew.  *Note* This show was recorded on Wednesday.

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Ty and Dan review all the week’s college football action while coming to grips with the fact that neither of them really has any idea which teams are contenders and pretenders.  Plus, a hearty helping of your voice messages sponsored by a listener who bleeds burnt orange.

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Ty and Dan delve into all the week five action, including tick-tack celebration penalties, Miami’s big win and Cal’s disappearing act.  Plus, voice messages, e-mails, Facebook chatter and more thoughts on the Solid Verbal host city in 2010.

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Ty and Dan are joined by Josh McCuistion from SoonerScoop.com to discuss Sam Bradford’s visit to Dr. James Andrews, the reputation of the Big 12, and the possibility of non-BCS team playing for the BCS Championship.  Plus, voice messages, e-mails, and the beginning of the open competition for The Solid Verbal’s host city in 2010.

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Ty and Dan review college football’s first week of action and examine Chip Kelly’s catastrophic start, Notre Dame’s shutout, Ohio State’s scare, and other notable stories from around the country. Plus, a recap of the Solid Verbal Fantasy League and the hotly-contested pick ‘em pool.

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Throughout August we will be counting down the top 25 teams (as listed here) going into the 2009 season. Today, in my return from the Canadian wilderness, I make the proverbial trip to Stillwater to examine why it is that an orange cowboy with a giant head shoots off an annoyingly loud rifle every 19 seconds. I’m told this signifies something good happening, but if you’ve ever seen or heard this, you, like me, have your doubts.

First Impression

Unless the thought new money in college football bothers you, there’s very little not to like about Oklahoma State. They run a fairly wide open offensive system with exciting, likable skill players, and just to keep games interesting, they don’t tackle very many people when they play decent teams. On a certain level, you’ve gotta admire that sort of dedication to giving fans as many shootouts as possible. Respek.

I suppose one of the reasons why Oklahoma State seems so likable to me is that they’re basically a slightly less polished/physical version of Oregon. The tradition isn’t necessarily there, money flows throughout everything OSU, but the difference is that the Cowboys have a local recruiting base, which means Okie State probably has a higher ceiling than the Ducks, no matter what happened in last year’s Holiday Bowl. It should be interesting to see what the Cowboys can do in a brutal conference now that they’re approaching an even financial playing field.

Last Year

Look at that! 7-0! A win over Mizzou in Columbia! Bring it Big 12 South! Ok .. slow down just a little, please.

There’s little doubt that OSU was a top 20 school after the 2008 season, but there’s still the pesky reality of a team needing to beat somebody to be a somebody. The Cowboys played five teams that finished in the Top 25, and went 1-4. Not acceptable.

The games against Texas and Oregon were both particularly winnable, while the ones against Texas Tech and Oklahoma were, well, not. Really, though, of all the Cowboys’  games against ranked teams, they had only Oklahoma in Stillwater, which should be noted.

People

Well, I’m assuming by now that people are familiar with the Cowboys’ big three of QB Zac Robinson, WR Dez Bryant, and RB Kendall Hunter. All are in the top tier at their positions in the conference, if not nationally. You could argue about a dropoff between Robinson and Bradford/McCoy in the Big 12, but going into the season, I see them in the same group.

Beyond the star skill players, OT Russell Okung returns to lock down the left side of the line, and two senior LBs, Andre Sexton and Patrick Levine are solid, but unspectacular. The big loss on offense, other than a starting guard, is losing TE Brandon Pettigrew, who was by far OSU’s second best receiving option. The combination of Dez Bryant’s ability to stretch the field and Pettigrew’s consistent performance underneath was lethal.

The big weakness last season was a major lack of defensive consistency, which in no small part can be traced to the Cowboys inability to pressure the QB. It appears that new defensive coordinator Bill Young sees this as job one, so stay tuned. If OSU can get stops, they’re on equal footing with Texas and Oklahoma. Plain and simple.

This Year

Thanks to teams a la Texas Tech, Big 12 scheduling can sometimes take justified hits. Well, Oklahoma State shall take no such hit as they open against Georgia in Stillwater. They dropped the game in Athens two years ago, but both teams were in very different places. Nationally speaking, it’s make or break for both teams right out of the chute.

The rest of the non-conference is pretty respectable. Houston and Rice (both bowl winners) should both be decent wins in Stillwater and Grambling State should be a walkover. That said, I’m never a fan of teams just nesting and spending September at home. Not so ballsy, Cowboys.

On that same note, the Fightin’ Gundys stay in Stillwater for every meaningful Big 12 game before they go to Norman on November 28th. This isn’t to say, though, that Texas A&M or Baylor can’t sneak up on the Cowboys -- anything’s possible when your defense can’t get consistent stops.

It appears that a worst case scenario going into the Texas game on Halloween would have the Cowboys at 6-1 or 5-2. Because they gave the ‘Horns all they could handle in Austin last season, there’s at least some reason to believe that OSU can make the leap this season if they’re firing on all cylinders.

Until Oklahoma, the schedule is dotted with ideal matchups (Texas Tech and Colorado at home), with the only road game @Iowa State.

Far be it for me to pick against Oklahoma in Norman, so I won’t. Despite what should be another Sooner win, ten wins isn’t wholly unreasonable, especially given the schedule.

Conclusion

In a conference dominated by offense, any contender needs to have a passable defense to even dream about a BCS berth. The skill players are great, the line is really good, the defense needs to make a big leap. Once again, you need to stop somebody. Anybody.

Oklahoma State is at their crossroads. Are they more than big numbers and star skill players? Are they Texas Tech North (all offense, occasional forays into conference contention)?

Most good teams have leap years, I see this as being that year for OSU. They’ve tweaked their D with a new coordinator and they should be able to hang with everyone offensively. Even more importantly, Mike Gundy will finish the year as more than just That Press Conference Guy. Huge.

Prediction

10-2. Oklahoma and a team TBD beats the Cowboys. I’ll go with Colorado in one of those tricky November Thursday night games.

Dez Bryant Highlights Set to Music About Hos

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ5uPJGwscU

-Dan

Ty and Dan welcome Chip Brown from OrangeBloods.com to the show to discuss Texas and the Big 12.  Plus, some special announcements about this week’s 50th show extravaganza, as well as your listener voice messages.

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Ty and Dan fly solo and discuss Bobby Bowden’s quest for more wins, the opening of the Rose Bowl to all BCS teams, Colt McCoy’s insurance policy, and Real World: Cancun.  Plus, more crazy e-mails.

*Special Note: Next week is the Solid Verbal’s 50th show.  Stay tuned to SolidVerbal.com for team previews and other random posts throughout the week.*

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Ty and Dan welcome in Chris Huston from HeismanPundit.com to talk about his 10 Heismandments, the politics behind the award, why Sam Bradford won’t repeat, and Tim Tebow overload.  Plus, news about Boise State’s new uniforms, Tebow’s floor seats, Houston Nutt’s bizarre Twitter post, and the June 9th release of Phil Steele’s 2009 College Football Preview!

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Ty and Dan are joined by SI.com’s Andy Staples to talk about his preseason top 25, bizarre recruit names in the class of 2010, and overrated/underrated college programs.  Plus, Ty and Dan draft their “Crazy Coach Fantasy Teams” and hypothesize about a potential Royal Rumble of college coaches.

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Ty and Dan recap the BCS title game, the college football season, and wonder if they’d rather be anyone other than Tim Tebow at this exact moment.

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