Daily briefing: On Jimbo's jumbo contract, Iowa's opening games and Beano Cook

Ivan Maisel’s “Daily Briefing” for On3:

Big $$$ for Jimbo Fisher

Man, just think of what Texas A&M would have paid Jimbo Fisher if the Aggies actually won a national championship. Or the SEC. Or the SEC West. Or the annual rivalry with South Carolina. Oh, wait, he won that. You never can underestimate the enthusiasm of the Aggies, enthusiasm that makes them the object of ridicule and envy and amazement. Simultaneously. Speaking as a Fisher skeptic — depending on how you present the facts, he’s either a great coach or a one-hit wonder — the latest financial expression of Aggie devotion to the Texas A&M coach shouldn’t surprise me. But it does.

Iowa staying focused

In Kirk Ferentz’s first season at Iowa, in 1999, the Hawkeyes opened against a ranked team (No. 5 Nebraska), then played archrival Iowa State. Iowa went 1-10 that season, which may be why it took 22 years for Ferentz to try it again. This time, the No. 18 Hawkeyes open Saturday at home against No. 17 Indiana before playing at No. 7 Iowa State next week. Say this much for it — Ferentz’s players like it. August didn’t seem quite so long. “It’s very different,” Hawkeyes running back Tyler Goodson said. “You’ve got to be more detailed. You have to prepare for every team the same way, but you’ve got to be focused and not pay attention to what’s going on on campus and outside the building.”

Happy birthday, Beano

Beano Cook would have turned 90 today. I would give a lot to hear what everyone’s favorite college football raconteur thinks of Texas and Oklahoma and Greg Sankey, of NIL and transfers without redshirts, of fans without masks and coaches without vaccinations, of Nick Saban going strong at 70 and Lincoln Riley going strong before 40, of the Alliance, of Brian Kelly surpassing Lou Holtz and Ara Parseghian to become the second-longest-serving Notre Dame coach behind you-know-who, of donors stepping in to keep Nebraska’s sellout streak alive, of Georgia-Clemson and Indiana-Iowa and LSU-UCLA. We have a lot to catch up on, Beano.