Only one person wanted to litigate the Brendan Sorsby Saga at Big 12 media days

The most talked about person at Day 1 of Big 12 media days in Frisco, Texas, was, of course, not at Big 12 media days. That would be ex-Cincinnati and Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, and the general vibe percolating around the Ford Center was that the events of June are best left in June. Commissioner Brett Yormark, given the opportunity to grandstand, instead punted. He was much more eager to talk about the conference's new sponsor than a former quarterback. "Monster Energy is the No. 1 energy drink domestically, and will take this conference to places it's never been before," he said, in perhaps the most Brett Yormark statement ever.

Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire took questions on the saga for the first time ever, and in listening to three interviews, McGuire mostly talked around the saga rather than explain or defend Texas Tech's actions. He expressed regret that TTU president Lawrence Shovanec and AD Kirby Hocutt had to take verbal bullets from their colleagues while his own were mostly supportive. "'Man, that's not in the coaches' manual anywhere,'" one-time verbal sparring partner Steve Sarkisian texted. (Obvious caveat: Relations were much more tense at the president and AD level because that's where the Sorsby saga was litigated. Things would have undoubtedly been different if the other 15 Big 12 head coaches got to decide how the conference proceeded.)

Speaking on ESPNU, McGuire said that his 2026 team has moved on, and that they're more motivated about improving upon last season's finish than settling some score with the Big 12. 

"If you come in the building I think through all of this, you wouldn't have known anything was going on," he said. "We have a really strong group of leaders. We have guys that are really driven. Whenever you get beat 23-0 in the CFP, you've got a chip on your shoulder. The focus is so much on the football, and we do have strong leaders. On the inside, you didn't see a lot of difference no matter what part of this saga this was. On the outside, our guys hear everything and that's part of it. We always talk about what you're bringing in and what you're filtering through and what's actually going to help you be the best version of yourself, and that's what you need to be listening to." 

Speaking of settling scores, though, there was one moment of true confrontation, and we share it here to admire it more than dissect it.

For context, our questioner here is going to connect the Big 12 banning Texas Tech fans from throwing tortillas (which sometimes go on the field of play) and not banning Oklahoma State fans from banging paddles against the padding against the perimeter of Boone Pickens Stadium (which do not go on the field) with the Big 12 marshaling a legal response to prevent Texas Tech from playing Brendan Sorsby and Cincinnati not facing punishment for playing Sorsby, for bets that came to light after Sorsby left Cincinnati. All of this, in the questioner's mind, is apparently evidence that the Big 12 office has a vendetta against Texas Tech. Behold.

I think I speak for everyone (okay, 99.2 percent of us) when I say:

1) Thank God the Sorsby Saga is behind us.
2) Thank God college football is back.