How close is football? Kansas State and Iowa State report to fall camp next week. That’s how close.
Life is moving fast for the two Big 12 contenders. The Aug. 23 season and conference opener in Dublin, Ireland, has sped everything up. The two teams report to practice July 22 and hit the field on July 23.
Never mind that this is the hottest month of the year for the Great Plains nor that the Kansas-Iowa fall harvest is still two months away — football is coming anyway. If there is an upside to the hot start, it might be the 60-degree weather waiting for them in Dublin — just cool enough to provide a flashback to their last meeting.
With temperatures in the low 20s, Iowa State beat Kansas State 29-21 on Nov. 30 in Ames, Iowa. The victory clinched a spot for the Cyclones in the Big 12 championship game and eliminated for the Cougars, who were at LaVell Edwards Stadium scoreboard watching while going toe-to-toe with Houston.
The K-State-Iowa State rematch won’t pack the same punch initially, but it will attract an enormous audience that has been starving for college football ever since Ohio State routed Notre Dame in the CFP championship game last January.
To their credit, when other conference teams are staging openers against the likes of Portland State, Jacksonville State, UT Martin, SF Austin and Wagner, both K-State and Iowa State will give football fans a meaningful game right out of the gate. It took some guts.
If there is an advantage to such an early heavyweight fight, it might be with health. Both rosters should be intact, which isn’t guaranteed in a late-season showdown. In addition, a classic battle will give Big 12 marketing a shot of adrenalin. While the risk for the loser is minimal in a conference ripe with parity, it certainly makes the road to Arlington a lot tougher.
The clash of contenders is a fun way to start, but no team in the Big 12 will be free from the summer heat — both literally and figuratively. Among the many hot-button issues — Arizona State must replace the league’s top running back. Colorado said goodbye to its Heisman Trophy winner. BYU is suddenly looking for a new quarterback and Utah and Oklahoma State want to avoid back-to-back losing seasons.
It’s hot for everybody. For a few teams, things will get pretty cool as they enjoy a successful season and fight for the Big 12 title. For the others, it will only get hotter.
The Cougars report a week after the Wildcats and Cyclones on July 29 when they go to work to find Jake Retzlaff’s successor ahead of the Aug. 30 opener against Portland State. BYU has the luxury of three nonconference games and a bye before meeting up with Colorado in Boulder on Sept. 27 — five weeks after Kansas State and Iowa State kick things off in the Big 12 in Ireland.
Summer football provides challenges for everyone, including the fans. This is the time of year where the air conditioner takes on an increased role. As I learned working in Las Vegas for two decades, when an August game is on television, if the shades are drawn and the house is cool — you can trick the brain into feeling like it’s football season. It works — right up until the pizza arrives and you must open the front door.
As with everything, tricking the mind comes with a cost. Once the real temperatures drop, the AC bill arrives. Still, it’s a relatively small price to pay to watch the sport America loves, which will be here long before the seasons start to change.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com