• After 15 years, the Big 12 takes stock for the 15th year in a row. I'm still not sure how they go about measuring these things when people just see what they want to see in the pointless thumb wrestling match of conference superiority, but the Dallas Morning News wondered Sunday whether -- after 15 years, three national champions and four more appearances in the mythical title game -- the Big 12 will finally pass the SEC this season as the premiere football conference in the nation. Among other persuasive factors (and tepid corroboration from Mack Brown and Tom Osborne), the DMN figures the South division alone has three teams in the preseason top-10 and two of the three obvious Heisman favorites, and the conference as a whole had a new high with seven first-round draft picks in April.

Thankfully, the Nebraska State Paper responds with slightly more skepticism -- but only because it admits to being behind the curve by predicting Big 12 > SEC last year. Was it wrong about that? The Big 12 was the only conference last year with two teams in the AP's final top-five, and the only conference with five teams in the final top-20. The way this works is, all you have to do is say your conference is the best, and it will be so. If you're really into this sort of thing and you just can't wait to finally proclaim your conference top dog and you're still seeing shades of gray and wondering how the league measures up and bothering to confer with partisans of other conferences (the Morning News quotes "Mr. SEC" Tony Barnhart, who is guaranteed to stump for his league in every circumstance and who would never call up someone from the Big 12 to ask if the SEC is "there yet") after a season like that, maybe it's time to give up the fight. Because it's always a dirty fight in the conference wars. I mean, live the dream, guys.

• I would have voted for you, AP. Adrian Peterson was so good as a freshman, it would have been hard to avoid "disappointing" seasons in 2005-06 even without the injuries that marred his last two years. But according to the original AP, the Viking star's biggest college regrets are both from that first season, 2004, and from falling short against USC on two different fronts: (emphasis added)

"When I look back, I had an outstanding [college] career. ... There were some things that -- a national championship, I didn't accomplish that. I fell short. I had the opportunity my freshman year, and I don't even want to talk about that."
[...]
Peterson said he longed for a Heisman when, during a visit to Reggie Bush's home in L.A., he found himself gazing at Bush's Heisman. "I was like, 'Awww!' I wanted to ask him where Matt Leinart was so I could go over there and take mine. But it's all good. It is what it is."

Patience, Adrian. As the L.A. Times' Mike Hiserman notes, these things may not be as hard and fast as they used to be.

• Fitz caught blitzed. Kansas State's not-so-hot offseason sunk ever so slightly lower Sunday morning when defensive lineman Jeffrey Fitzgerald -- a likely starter who sat out last year when academics cut short his "rising star" track at Virginia -- was pulled over and arrested for "simple" DUI. His discipline will be "handled internally," which, given the internal state of KSU's athletic department, will probably result in a deferred payment in 2021.

Also popped for DUI after a late night last weekend: Arkansas linebacker Khiry Battle, whose Sunday morning arrest was his second since May and his ticket off the team.

Quickly ... Florida State's appeal to keep those vacated victories is full speed ahead. ... In exciting legal news, the Columbus Dispatch's mondo package on privacy claims in athletic departments earlier this month has sparked a Congressional examination into the way the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act is interpreted. (Viva public service journalism?) ... Alabama, heading to Dallas in 2012? ... Tennessee, destined for black jerseys? ... Five-star Florida commit Matt Elam says he's still set to be a Gator in 2010, but might take official visits to other schools, anyway. Meanwhile, Andre Debose and other '09 Florida signees are on campus and accounted for. ... Gator cornerback Janoris Jenkins, the true freshman starter who bolted from police even after being hit with a Taser last month, will receive a "standard" deferral as a first-time offender. ... The Austin American-Statesman gets very, very old school with the oldest living Longhorn. ... Former Tennessee linebacker great Al Wilson is getting in good with the Kiffins. ... A couple of academic washouts at South Florida have migrated to Southern Miss after stints in junior college. ... Notre Dame nabs a safety commit from Stanford. ... And Nebraska is going retro for its 300th consecutive sellout, a Sept. 26 date against UL-Lafayette, to honor the team that started the streak -- and the 40-year Husker dynasty on the field -- in 1962.