Okay, so I'm going to make some time for this. Matt at Crimson and Cream Machine put up a spring roundtable, so here are my answers....

1.    Who are some of the new faces that emerged in the spring who could be serious playmakers for your team this fall?

What, you mean Bo Williams? I don't know if we saw any real standout performances that came out of nowhere during the Spring. I did see some nice play out of Chris Singleton, and there is hope that he could team up with Allen Bell to form a talented cornerback duo. Both guys ooze with potential, but both need to figure out a way to get some big plays going.

2.    What is your biggest concern following the spring?

The offense looked bad during the spring game, but apparently had been doing well during the previous practices. The inside defensive line and the outside linebackers till worry me because I don't know what we have there. That and special teams. Always special teams.

3.    Any major changes (philosophy, coaching or personnel) that you are concerned about?

Not a whole lot of turnover. I'm interested to see how integrating the no-huddle into our offense will work, especially in loud road environments. The integration of the option into the offense will also probably provide for some early mishaps.

4.    Looking over the 2008 schedule which home and away game are you most concerned about?

As far as home games go, the one that concerns me the most is Kent State, if for no other reason than it will set the early tone for the season. We really should handle SDSU, but a close game or loss to Kent State would likely spell bad news, while a big win could build momentum.

On the road, the UNLV game has the same effect. We could legitimately be 3-0 or 1-2 heading into Las Vegas. Gene Chizik may not even have a road win yet. The Rebs are still pissed about something, I think. The nonconference slate is very important this year if we're legitimately thinking postseason.

5.    Time for your way too early predictions (Yes, you can change them in August). Rank how you see your division finishing up this coming season.

1. Missouri

2. Kansas

3. Colorado

4. Nebraska

5. Iowa State

6. Kansas State

Mizzou is clearly the class of the North. Colorado could as easily finish in second or fifth. They were a weird team last year. Kansas State certainly didn't look impressive last year...

Bring On The Cats is the host of this week's Big 12 Roundtable, and, I must say, the best damn Kansas State blog on this network.

1.  Some teams are coming off a big win or wins (Oklahoma, Colorado, KU, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Missouri), while others are dealing with the sting of a tough loss or losses (K-State, Texas, Nebraska, Baylor, Iowa State, Oklahoma State).  Tell us where your team is headed in the wake of the first two weeks of conference play.

Well, I, along with a lot of other people, thought that the Cyclones had been showing some nice improvement through the Nebraska game. We coulda closed within one score of the Huskers late, and we saw what a well-executed gameplan could do for us.

Sure seems like a lot of good was undone last Saturday in Lubbock, as Graham Harrell picked apart the Iowa State defense and the ISU offense proved anemic once again, completely stalling out until the last five minutes of the game. Truly, it was an ugly affair that I hoped the team learned from.

The worst part is that it doesn't really get any easier, although I actually do think that the Horns are a better matchup for the Clones.

2.  Colorado and Texas A&M have emerged as unlikely conference leaders at 2-0 (give yourself a cookie if you predicted that), while preseason darlings Texas (0-2) and Nebraska (1-1 and not playing well) are floundering.  Do the current leaders have the wherewithal to make it to San Antonio, or will somebody from elsewhere in the pack overtake them?

For starters, I think that the preseason darlings were probably Oklahoma and Missouri. That being said, I don't think anyone expected it to be these two schools on top. I can't imagine A&M is long for the top spot; I don't believe they'll get past Oklahoma, and they'll Fran some game to finish in the middle of the pack. Colorado, on the other hand, is growing with confidence every week, and the winner of the Big 12 North may come down to their matchup with Mizzou in a couple of weeks.

3.  A few weeks ago we did a ranking of the six BCS conferences, with most bloggers picking the Big 12 in the middle of the pack, which would be a big improvement over the last couple years.  Have the middle and bottom teams of the conference improved significantly, or have the teams at the top declined significantly?  Or is it something else?

Kinda tough question to address properly, but I don't think the top of the conference is as strong as a few years ago, namely in the South. I do think the North has pulled itself up as a group, and I don't know if there will be any huge surprises at the end of the season in the South.

4.  Getting waaaaay ahead of ourselves: What if Missouri or KU goes undefeated and wins the Big 12 Championship Game?  Would they get a shot at the national championship game?

With the craziness that is the Top 25 this year, they just might have a chance. That being said, I think the fact that neither team has been in a position to actually succeed like this in a long time, and the pressure would likely get to either one before it becomes a problem.

5.  Rank the conference teams

1. Oklahoma

2. Missouri

3. Colorado

4. Kansas

5. Texas Tech

6. Texas A&M

7. Texas

8. Kansas State

9. Oklahoma State

10. Nebraska

11. Baylor

12. Iowa State

I'm hosting this bad boy this week.

Were Saturday's games a sign that the Big 12 North may be on its way back?

It may be. I don't know if this truly means Kansas State and Colorado are the best teams in the conference, but it's nice to see the North division win some games that it wouldn't in years past. At the very least, this may mean that the winner of the Big 12 Championship game might actually be a North team.

How seriously do we take the hot starts at Mizzou and Kansas?

Both teams have been pretty impressive in nonconference play. Missouri's win against illinois is looking better all the time, while Kansas has beat the living shit out of the opposition. We will get a much better idea of each team after this weekend, though.

Pick one team from the opposite division that you truly hate, and say why; follow this up by picking another team from the opposite division that you don't mind pulling for, and say why.

I frickin' hate Texas A&M. Don't ask me why. I just can't stand the Ags.

I'm more than willing to pull for Oklahoma State. They sucked when we did in the final days of the Big 8, and their fans, in my experiences, have been nothing but classy.

The NCAA has enacted a rule allowing you to bring back one senior that graduated last year to play for your team for the rest of the season. Would you do it? And if so, who?

I really think we could use Brent Curvey in the middle of the defensive line right now, in place of Braaksma, to give us some real beef. Bryce hasn't been getting into the backfield much.

Rank the conference teams.

1. Oklahoma

2. Missouri

3. Kansas State

4. Texas

5. Colorado

6. Texas A&M

7. Kansas

8. Nebraska

9. Oklahoma State

10. Texas Tech

11. Baylor

12. Iowa State

Well, this is going to be a weekly thing. This week's Big 12 roundtable....

1. Based on what you now know to be your team’s strengths and weaknesses if the game was on the line do you want your offense or defense on the field?

Since "punter" isn't an option, I suppose that I'll have to go with the offense. Although rather inept, they still have raw playmakers that aren't there on defense. Couple in the fact that I think we're giving up roughly a 108% completion percentage on third and fourth down, and I'd rather take my chances with the offense.

Since death isn't an option.

2. If you had to pick a team from the AP Top 10 for your team to play this weekend who would you pick and why (OU & Texas are not options).

LSU, because I've never seen a team score 100 points against us before.

Failing that, maybe Wisconsin...get a little rivalry action going there.

3. You can take one player off your team and trade him for any player in the conference who plays the same position who are you taking?

Bret Meyer for Sam Bradford. Watching the OU-Miami game, it's pretty clear that Bradford is going to be a good, good player. He had some serious zip on his throws and he was tearing apart the Canes secondary.

4. Conference Power Rankings! Rank the teams in the conference from first to worst.

1. Oklahoma

2. Texas

3. Nebraska

4. Texas A&M

5. Kansas State

6. Kansas

7. Oklahoma State

8. Missouri

9. Texas Tech

10. Colorado

11. Baylor

12. ISU

5. Big 12 Players of the Week – Make your selections for offensive and defensive players of the week for week two.

A couple of Sooners, with the aforementioned Bradford and Reggie Smith. And, no, I wasn't just being lazy and looking up who won the conference awards. It's because I didn't get to see any other games.

Yup, us Big 12 bloggers are doing this to prevent our blogs and what not from getting stale, because there is nothing...I say NOTHING.....worse than a stale blog.

These should be hosted over at CornNation this week, but since I'm a young go getta, I'll do mine now.

Big 12 Roundtable - Getting Personal

1. What did you learn, if anything, about your team on opening weekend? More specifically, did you see anything that brought complete elation or utter disappointment?

Not elation, but somewhere just above disappointment. I surely wasn't happy with the result or some of the things that happened on the field, but I do realize it's not just the first game of the year, but the first game under a brand new regime, and that this stuff is going to take a while.

2.  20 years from now, someone will ask you "Where Were You When Appalachian State beat Michigan?". Describe what you were doing at the time, your reaction.

Not watching it on the Big Ten Network. But hey, that Colorado State-Colorado tilt will also be remembered for years to come, right?

3. Given the big event of this past weekend, what's the worst you've ever felt about your team?

Every goddamn year that wasn't 2000.

4. Take a classic - like Homer's Odyssey, Lord of the Flies, Little Women, or, heck, even the latest Simpsons Movie and tell me how it relates to your team this season.

SuperBad, cause that's the record we might just have at the end of the year.

5. It wasn't just by accident you got here. Somewhere, some time, there was someone who influenced you to become a fan of your team. Tell that story.

My dad went to Iowa State in the seventies, and I was just brought up knowing to love thy Cyclones. I'd listen to Pete Taylor call games since I was a baby. When my parents would go to games, they'd sluff me off on my grandma and we'd watch from at home. That's the reason she's a Clone as well.

I really had no choice in the matter.

6. Give us your nominations for the offensive and defensive players of the week within the conference.

I was really impressed by Sam Bradford in limited action in the skullf**kery of North Texas, but I'll go with Marlon Lucky of Nebraska. He's putting that talent together, and I have a bad image of him with 300 yards and 5 scors against our undersized D-line.

On defense, I'll defer to the Big 12 office and go with Pig Brown of Mizzou who recovered two fumbles, got an interception and also possesses a kickass name.

Get'em, Pig.

So, Matt at Crimson and Cream Machine decided one roundtable wasn't enough. Apparently, he wants us to think about football every single day. So, as a matter of being a compliant Big 12 cohort, here's his questions and my answers...

Big 12 Roundtable – The Face of the Team

Pick one current player to be the “Face of the Franchise” for your team. You can only select one player so tell us why you selected the person that you did.

For right now, I'm going to go with Alvin "Ace" Bowen. He displays the tenacity on the football field that the new Chizik regime is supposed to represent. Get to the ball quick and then hit someone. That's Bowen. The nation's leader in tackles per game got to the ball a lot last year. And, for all that he did well last year, anyone who watched saw that Ace can still get better. He got juked out of his cleats on occasion last year, as did our football team, so I guess he represents some sort of growth potential, as well.

He also represents the class that we want The Iowa State University to be seen with. He brought his brother Jamar into his home and is trying to act as a strong father figure. So, while Ace might just want to knock someone's helmet off on the field, off of the field he stands for anything and everything we'd like to see.

Tell us what makes your team’s stadium great, traditions, facilities, etc…

Um, good sight lines? Jack Trice is about as cookie-cutter as stadiums come - so much so that West Virginia copied it. I suppose that we can look at the history of Jack Trice, first athlete to die for Iowa State, or we can look to the future with the possiblity of the bowling in of the end zone. Sure, the Jack has good memories, including wins over Iowa and Nebraska, but it's still a place where a history needs to be built.

To that end though, two things stick out to me.  First is the brick pillar on the NE part of the field that reads "Honor Before Victory". The pillar comes over from old Clyde Williams, and it's a motto that runs true through our team. Be proud to be a Cyclone.

The other thing is not part of the stadium, but the Bergstrom Indoor Practice Facility is one of the nicer in the Big 12 (as anyone who goes inside could easily imagine). It's not always the best conditions for football in Iowa, so having an option such as the IPF is really big.

Hypothetical – Your team has to vacate their current stadium and play a game in another Big 12 stadium which one would you pick for them to play in and why?

DKR in Austin, Texas. Rode by it once at night. Looked like a palace. Felt all warm and fuzzy inside.

Unthinkable – Take your team’s biggest rival’s head coach and make a case as to why he would be a good fit on your sideline.

Kirk Ferentz, eh? Well, I'll totally ignore his troubles (such as his son living in housing intended for low-income students, or Dominique Douglas "makin it rain") and focus on one thing he's done fairly well at Iowa - building solid offensive and defensive lines. The Hawks have always had dependable lines - something we saw the value in (not having) last year.

If Matt meant the Big 12, I suppose that'd mean Mizzou or Nebraska. I say no to Gary PInkel. As far as Callahan, his offense is pretty when it works, I suppose.

Prediction Time
Tell us who is going to win:

Baylor @ TCU
Colorado State @ Colorado
Kent State @ Iowa State
Central Michigan @ Kansas
Kansas State @ Auburn
Missouri/Illinois
Nevada @ Nebraska
North Texas @ Oklahoma
Oklahoma State @ Georgia
Arkansas State @ Texas
Montana State @ Texas A&M
Texas Tech @ SMU