Mike Gundy on Big 12 newbies: ‘good for the fans, bad for the coaches’

I was honestly surprised by how little Missouri and Texas A&M were mentioned at Big 12 Media Days. I obviously wasn’t in every single interview throughout the two days, but the only coach I heard mention those schools by name was…Mike Gundy.

But, as expected, there was plenty of chatter about conference newcomers TCU and West Virginia. With the addition of two teams that won their respective conference a year ago and have combined for three BCS bowl appearances in the past three seasons, it could be argued that the Big 12 is the strongest has ever been.

“It’s good for the fans, bad for the coaches,” Gundy said. “Two more good teams. These two guys come in with veteran quarterbacks, experienced quarterbacks and good skill players and have already had success in winning.”

Gundy is right. West Virginia returns the quarterback-receiver combo of Geno Smith, the preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, and Tavon Austin. TCU returns Casey Pachall. Gundy knows what to expect from a Dana Holgorsen offense, and Gary Patterson has been coaching in OSU’s recruiting grounds since 2000.

TCU visits Stillwater on Oct. 27, while West Virginia comes to Boone Pickens Stadium on Nov. 10.