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1 week ago | 
heartlandcollegesports.com | Matthew Postins
The Iowa State Cyclones football team fell just short of winning its first Big 12 championship in program history. Last season, the Cyclones went 11-3 and 7-2 in the Big 12, which put them in a tie for first place in the conference. Based on tiebreakers, the Cyclones moved on to the Big 12 title game to face Arizona State, where they lost, 45-19. Iowa State followed that with a stirring 42-41 win over Miami (FL) in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
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1 week ago | 
heartlandcollegesports.com | Matthew Postins
The Houston Cougars football team is hoping for better things in Year 2 under head coach Willie Fritz. Last season, he and the Cougars went 4-8 overall and 2-7 in the Big 12. But Houston did score a couple of nice Big 12 wins over TCU and Kansas State, the former of which was on the road. Fritz — a long-time coach who has won at every level, from junior college to Group of 5 programs like Tulane — still has a steep road ahead of him and the Cougars.
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1 week ago | 
heartlandcollegesports.com | Matthew Postins
The Colorado Buffaloes football team is coming off one of its best seasons in years under coach Deion Sanders. After some growing pains in Year 1, the Buffs turned things around with a 9-4 record and a 7-2 finish in Big 12 play, which left them in a tie for first place but out of the championship game. Along the way, Sanders made waves, but his players also made names for themselves. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders, his son, had one of the best seasons in CU history under center.
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1 week ago | 
heartlandcollegesports.com | Matthew Postins
The UCF Knights football team is operating under new management in 2025. Or, one could say former management. After Gus Malzahn left the Knights as head coach to take over as offensive coordinator at Florida State, the Knights went back to one of the most successful coaches in their history — Scott Frost — to take over the program.
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1 week ago | 
heartlandcollegesports.com | Matthew Postins
What’s going on in the Big 12 and beyond? I expand and explain every Sunday in Postscripts at Heartland College Sports, your home for independent Big 12 coverage. This week, Texas Tech softball is making waves again and the reality is much more interesting than the controversy.
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1 week ago | 
heartlandcollegesports.com | Matthew Postins
The Cincinnati Bearcats are approaching a crossroads in their membership in the Big 12 conference in 2025. Cincinnati has not had much success since it entered the Big 12 for the 2023 season. Now entering its third year, the biggest development in the football program is the recent opening of its incredible new football facility. The facility puts the program on the upper echelon of the league. A landmark day for Cincinnati.
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2 weeks ago | 
heartlandcollegesports.com | Bryan Clinton
It’s hard to know where to start when you’re saying goodbye to something that’s meant this much. Four years ago, Pete Mundo gave me the kind of opportunity you don’t forget—one that changed the trajectory of my life. Writing for Heartland College Sports began as a chance to turn a hobby into something more, but it quickly evolved into a passion. Covering the Big 12 over the past four seasons has been nothing short of a dream.
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2 weeks ago | 
heartlandcollegesports.com | Matthew Postins
The BYU Cougars are coming a season in which they surprised the entire Big 12 by finishing in a tie for first place in the league. At one point, Kalani Sitake’s Cougars were undefeated an in the running to reach the Big 12 Championship game and, by extension, the College Football Playoff. A couple of late-season losses left them just short of the title game, but BYU wrapped up the season with a bowl win over Colorado and finished 11-2, 7-2 in the Big 12.
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2 weeks ago | 
heartlandcollegesports.com | Matthew Postins
The Big 12 Conference will be as close to a full slate of conference-only games as it has been all season when it enters Week 5 of the regular season. That weekend, which is Sept. 26-27, will feature just one non-conference game, as Houston travels to Oregon State. Only one Big 12 team will be idle — Texas Tech. What are fans left with? The Big 12 seven conference games, stretching from Morgantown, W.V., to Tempe, Ariz.
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2 weeks ago | 
heartlandcollegesports.com | Bryan Clinton
UCF is putting a bold stamp on its Big 12 identity with a stadium name that matches the energy of its fan base. Starting July 1, the Knights’ home field will officially be called the Acrisure Bounce House, marking a shift from FBC Mortgage Stadium as the company transitions to Acrisure Mortgage. But this isn’t just a name change—it’s a strategic move that reinforces UCF’s brand in the national spotlight.