West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen put a scare in his fanbase Thursday when Geno Smith was not at practice and Holgorsen told reporters to ask him about it at his press conference after practice.
Immediately, reporters started tweeting that Smith was absent and imaginations ran wild. Smith's absence, however, was explainable: the death of his grandmother in Florida.
Holgorsen said he did not know when Smith would return but expected he would be back by Monday when classes begin at West Virginia, Dave Hickman of the Charleston Gazette reported.
Other news and notes around the Big 12
- Sad story here. Former K-State football player Sam Harvill is missing.
- Sooner and Mountaineer fans, it's every fan base's worst nightmare. Both of your quarterbacks graced a regional cover of the Sports Illustrated preseason magazine. Here is the Landry Jones cover, and here's the Smith cover. Our Jerry Hinnen on how the curse has impacted past players who graced the cover of SI's preseason mag.
- Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville invested in a Ponzi scheme organized by former Georgia coach Jim Donnan, the Associated Press reported.
- Austin American-Statesman columnist Cedric Golden has a solution for Texas' offense: Run the ball behind an improved offensive line.
- This seems odd. None of Oklahoma State's first three games have been picked up by Oklahoma television stations.
- No one wanted Tre' Parmalee as a wide receiver except Charlie Weis. The Kansas City product has been one of the most impressive true freshmen at KU's camp, according to Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star.
- Baylor is proud of Robert Griffin III. Like really, really proud.
- Good to see Iowa State RB Shontrelle Johnson is back on the field after a scary neck injury last October. Johnson didn't know if he would ever play again, Bobby La Gesse of the Ames Tribune writes.
- West Virginia WR J.D. Woods has worked his way through academic issues and back in the good graces of the coaching staff. Holgorsen called Woods' rise "the first miracle of the season" -- Woods had been playing on the scout team because the coaches did not believe he'd be eligible this year.
- Former Kansas quarterback Jordan Webb has won the starting job at Colorado. That's not what brought attention to CU on Thursday. The Buffs had a little fun with Webb's bio -- discovered by CBSSports.com's Matt Hinton -- suggesting it was "the aid of terrible Big 12 officiating" that led to KU's 52-45 win over CU in 2010, a game that KU trailed by 28 points in the fourth quarter. Once it went to the twittersphere, CU's media relations quickly changed the bio.
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Big 12, follow bloggers C.J. Moore and Patrick Southern on Twitter @CBSSportsBig12.
