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Now enjoy the cover. digital media outlet. Let's say hello to Barton Simmons. You all know, I'm a CBS sports college football

national writer, co-host of the cover three college football podcast, a must for any college

football fan. Barton, great to have you on the show. Really appreciate your time. And I want to start

off with the Big 12 as a whole top to bottom.

What do you look at this conference as being in 2019?

Well, I look at it being really competitive to the point where, I mean, we're just two

years removed from Big 12 being sort of this, I don't know, caught some grief from like the

national perspective. And I think that was always unfair. But I think in part it's been a little

bit of a victim of its own parity of just the fact that, you know, pretty much any team in

the conference could beat any other team. But also I think it was a victim of Texas being down.

And now the Texas is up, and Oklahoma's up, and I feel like a lot of other teams are cycling up to a degree as well.

I mean, Oklahoma State has sort of been one of the,

the premier teams in the conference and,

um,

now we've got to sort of check in and see if they can keep pace with the rise of

Iowa State with the,

uh,

...