A Wednesday night explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, left more than 160 people injured. (LM Otero/AP)

By Zac Ellis

A massive explosion at a West, Texas, fertilizer plant late Wednesday night reportedly left more than 160 people injured and at least five dead. The news continues to filter out of the area, but it seems the Baylor football program, which is located just 20 miles south of West, is among those working to aid the victims.

Baylor head coach Art Briles said in a tweet early Thursday that his coaching staff was en route to the explosion site to offer help:

Thoughts and prayers go out to our neighbors in the city of West, TX. The football staff at Baylor is heading to donate blood and clothes

— Coach Art Briles (@CoachArtBriles) April 18, 2013

The Baylor athletic department as a whole is spreading information on how the community can also assist those affected by the blast:

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This seems generous, given what we saw in Morgantown last September, but perhaps Geno was having an off day:

Geno Smith at #WVU Pro Day: 60-of-64 (93.7%) vs. no defense. Smith vs. Baylor: 45-of-51 (88.2%). Meaning Baylor's D is 5.5% better than air.—
Patrick Southern (@patricksouthern) March 14, 2013

Two new signs greet #Baylor players as they enter the practice field for #SpringBU. twitpic.com/c7tzpx—
Baylor Football (@BUFootball) March 01, 2013

This mascot once existed and this photograph here proves it. (Jeff Lack/Icon SMI)

In the latest alterations and additions to future college football schedules, 2013′s opening Thursday gets a border rivalry, Baylor plays a metaphor game and Virginia ventures where few power-conference programs dare:

• North Carolina vs. South Carolina, Thursday, August 29, 2013. The primetime prelude to the first college football Saturday is bolstered by the addition of a Tar Heels-Gamecocks matchup. You will watch it, because it is there.

• Baylor vs. Wofford, Saturday, August 31, 2013. Have you ever wanted to see how an actual bear would do attacking an actual terrier? Because that’s probably what this is going to look like.

• Boise State vs. Virginia, 2015 and 2017. Clutch those pearls: A BCS conference team heading into Boise! Wonders never cease. The home-and-home series is currently scheduled for September 26, 2015 in Charlottesville with a return trip to the blue turf on September 23, 2017. Say what you will about the Cavaliers; Virginia schedules with gusto. Following a 2012 slate that included dates with Penn State, TCU and Louisiana Tech, the Cavs’ 2013 schedule features home stands against Oregon and BYU. Also, the team once employed, very briefly, that strange snuggly horse mascot. We like Virginia, is our point.

If you felt like eating rusty nails for breakfast this morning and liking them, it turns out there’s a good reason: As announced and verified by their respective athletic departments, Paul Johnson and Art Briles have joined Twitter.

For what it’s worth, it appears Johnson is running his account at least partially himself, unlike many of his peers:

Congrats to T.J. Barnes on his combine performance looking forward to seeing Rod Sweeting blow it up as well#—
Paul Johnson (@GTPaulJohnson) February 26, 2013

Meanwhile, it is only Tuesday and already we know Art Briles can identify the Stanky Leg. What a week this is shaping up to be:

The Bears finished up winter conditioning with a big dance off this morning to the stanky leg!!—
Coach Art Briles (@CoachArtBriles) February 26, 2013

The story of one college football postseason contest, as told through social media.

If you’re not playing this on a loop during every commercial break with the TV muted, you’re not really Holiday Bowling youtube.com/watch?v=iPy7uG…

— Holly Anderson (@SIHolly) December 28, 2012

You’re being optimistic RT @edsbs: Holiday Bowl doesn’t come on until 9:45 ET & w/Baylor playing should end around 3 a.m.

— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) December 27, 2012

But on a serious note, the Big Ten refers to the amount of points that’ll be scored in the Holiday Bowl as “October.”

— David Ubben (@davidubben) December 28, 2012

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The 2012 Holiday Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an X’s and O’s breakdown, click through to Gabriel Baumgaertner’s game preview.)

• What’s all this, then? The Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl is the second of two college football bowl games played in San Diego, and comes with its own theme song, if you count singing “Holiday BoOOOooOOOOwl” to “Holiday Road” as a theme song.

• Where will this game be played? Qualcomm Stadium, home of the San Diego Chargers, San Diego State Aztecs and the Poinsettia Bowl.

• When is it on television? Coverage begins at 9:45 ET on ESPN (in 3D where available! That’s still a thing!), with Dave Pasch, Brian Griese and Jenn Brown relaying the action. The game will also be streamed on WatchESPN.

• Whom does it feature? Current tie-ins pair Big 12 versus Pac-12.

• What about this year? Ursidae-on-ursidae action! Pointsplosion potential running high! The 7-5 Baylor Bears, regarded with some awe for fielding the nation’s top-ranked offense and 119th-ranked defense, will take on the UCLA Bruins, themselves averaging more than 35 points per fame and surrendering about 410 yards.

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The Switzies are named for former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer, patron saint of football frolicking. Ten imaginary trophies — and the coveted Grape Job! plaque — honor our on- and off-field favorites at the close of the season.

• Special Achievement in Spectacle by a Heisman Winner. Johnny Manziel made more spectacular plays this season, in front of bigger crowds than the one that showed up in Shreveport when the Aggies faced Louisiana Tech in mid-October. But we got to see this one with our own eyes, giving it a special place in the shining black pits where our hearts should be. 

Just a madcap sequence of events on a night that saw more than its share of them.

• GameDay Moment of the Year. Someday eons into the future, when as-yet unimagined civilizations discover Earth and piece together the history of college football, it is our fervent and enduring hope that a being fancying itself a prophet uncovers this photo of South Carolina’s live mascot being fed Steve Spurrier-branded wine, and builds a religion around it.

Did Sir Big Spur sample the Steve Spurrier wine? twitter.com/gogamecocks/st…

— GoGamecocks.com (@gogamecocks) October 6, 2012

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James White was part of a Badgers ground game that tallied 539 yards and eight scores. (Getty Images)

Quick hits from the Championship Saturday action. For more on Week 14, check out our Friday Snaps, coverage of Louisville-Rutgers, Oklahoma-TCU and the epic clash between Alabama and Georgia, plus our complete Top 25 review.

• Wisconsin 70, No. 14 Nebraska 31. This game wasn’t even as close as the final score indicates, which is really saying something. The Huskers were down 42-10 at the half — Wisconsin scored its final touchdown of the second quarter on a trick play with 20 seconds left on the clock, because Bret Bielema enjoys reminding folks he’s Bret Bielema — and scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter after the Badgers had already crossed the 60-point mark.

“We kind of set our minds before the game that this is our game,” Monteé Ball said afterward. “The running backs were going to set the tempo.” Offhand, with 539 yards gained on the ground alone, we would venture to suggest they succeeded in their efforts.

Fun tidbit: Ball rushed for 201 yards on 21 attempts and three touchdowns, and was neither the leading scorer nor the leading rusher for the Badgers. Melvin Gordon rang up 217 yards on nine carries with one score, while James White added four touchdowns and 109 yards on 15 carries. Lost in all that: Taylor Martinez doing this Family Circus touchdown run. Don’t forget that Taylor Martinez did this, because it was awesome.

Wisconsin trailed Nebraska 3-4 in the series before tonight’s cannon show. Has a series ever been leveled with such gusto? And what will a defense of Stanford’s caliber make of these five-loss Badgers, who wouldn’t have even been in position to claim the Big Ten title and earn a Rose Bowl berth if not for other programs’ sanctions? “It’s OK to get there,” said Bielema of the Rose Bowl, “but you need to win it.” They’ll get their shot on New Year’s Day. [BOX | RECAP]

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There are 11 conference races in FBS football, and heading into what will be their final Saturday of the regular season, only one — the WAC — has already crowned its champion. In every other league, and even among the independents where Army and Navy don’t play until next week, there’s at least a little room for movement at the top, if not an outright battle for the conference title. (For more in-depth preview content of this weekend’s SEC title game and other contests, visit Andy Staples’ Walkthrough.)

Georgia has a big game coming up. Of course there’s a song.

Actual Conference Championship Games, Actually

• Central Florida at Tulsa, 12:00 p.m. ET. In keeping with our tiebreaking theme, this game will serve as a best-of-three supremacy determiner: The Knights and Golden Hurricane are 1-1 all-time against each other when playing for the C-USA championship.

• Alabama vs. Georgia, 4:00 p.m. How many bowl scouts from games that can’t possibly hope to take Alabama or Georgia d’you reckon were awarded press credentials for this?

• Nebraska vs. Wisconsin, 8:00 p.m. If you like conference championship games featuring fewer than two division champs, this is the contest for you. Ohio State will celebrate its 12-0 regular season next Friday.

• Florida State vs. Georgia Tech, 8:00 p.m. It is technically still possible for a 6-6 team to receive a BCS bowl bid, at which point it would be a 7-6 team, which makes it all better, right? The majesty of the BCS!

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