Nah, that’s overrated. And if you’re WVU and you’ve never actually been to the Big 12 before, it’s phone phony (last time I blog via Smartphone).

What the Mountaineers did in Dallas was introduce themselves to the Big 12 Conference and all it’s moving parts by acting like they belong.

“Who’s to say who’s going to believe it and who’s to say we’re going to go 12-0?” Smith said. “The only ones who control our fate, who control our destiny, is us. That’s the best part of football. You can talk about it all day, but when it comes down to it, it’s up to you and what you do between the lines.”

This is where the Mountaineers either impressed or confused onlookers, but this is how they behave. They never said they will win the Big 12. They said they can win it. They believe if they simply do in a game what they do so well in practice, they’ll be fine. Games aren’t as much about what the opposition does as much as they are about what WVU does.

The Mountaineers happen to feel very comfortable with their plans and very confident they can execute those plans.

“I expect to win every game like I expect to complete every pass and make every read,” Smith said. “Will that happen? No, but that’s the standard I hold myself to. If you shoot for the moon, you may land among the stars.”

Two more pieces of business before I hop on a plane and head home:

– The WVU v. Iowa State game is now Friday, Nov. 23, and will most likely be on television. I’m being told it wasn’t “moved” and that the Friday date has been planned for a while — and in fairness, it is listed as a Friday game in the WVU, Iowa State and Big 12 media guides.

Yet it’s listed all over the place as Nov. 24 and if there was a a change in the plan, we didn’t know until yesterday/today, which is … odd? I’m efforting permission to share a few of the emails I’ve received from people who previously made travel plans to head to Ames on Black Friday and enjoy the holiday weekend. If you’ve been affected, please let me know.

– Also, WVU basketball has three ESPN Big Monday games, including a clear-the-schedule occasion at home against Kansas Jan. 28.