Is it just me or is the sun a little brighter today?

It's always easier to write something like this after a win.  Saturday, the Tigers walked in to Boulder on a 3 game losing streak and an 0-3 mark in the Big XII.  Last place in a mediocre north division wasn't where I hoped to be at this point in the season.  But what a difference one weekend can make!  Losses by every other division rival, sans Nebraska make the race look much better if you're a fan of the black and gold.  Well, the Missouri brand of black and gold anyway.
Missouri was able to get their ground game going, to the tune of 184 yards on 45 carries and Blaine Gabbert was efficient in the first half as the Tigers built a 33-3 lead heading into the lockers at halftime.  While the Tigers went into a shell in the 2nd half, and Blaine made a couple of bad decisions allowing the Buffs an opportunity to get back into the game, the defense, Aldon Smith in particular simply never gave Colorado a chance to close within 2 scores.  Smith was a beast with 3 sacks, 5 tackles for losses, a blocked pass and generally disrupting anything the Buffs tried to do on a consistant basis. He may well be the best defensive lineman in the conference next season.  Next week the Tigers play host to Baylor, with the opportunity to qualify bowl eligibility, with every win after just getting you a better bowl.  Actually, not bad for the youngest team in the conference.
This was possibly my best week as far as picks go.  I went a perfect 7-0 straight up and 5-2 vs the spread.  For the year, I'm a very respectable 64-22 straight up and a very mediocre 42-41 against the spread.

Moving around the league, Nebraska opened as a 13 1/2 point favorite visiting Baylor in Waco.  I picked corn nation to win but fail to cover 24-20.  There is no doubt that Nebraska has one of the better defenses in the league, led by All America candidate and possible drunken driver Ndamukong Suh, but their offense is, at this point, abysmal.  A visit from Oklahoma this weekend doesn't appear to offer any relief.   
Iowa State visited College Station and the Aggies and opened as a 7 point underdog.  I thought the spread was a bit too high and predicted A&M to win, but fail to cover, 27-24.  It was another up week for TAMU however, and they rolled, winning 35-10.
kansas visited Lubbock over the weekend as a 7 point underdog to the pirate and his Red Raiders.  I really considered this to be the lock of the week as I predicted Tech to win by a score of 52-31.  I had the point spread dead on, but both teams played a bit more defense than I expected with Tech winning 42-21.  The notable part of the game, for me anyway was when coach Mark Mangino benched starting quarterback and well known party boy Todd Reesing with 7 minutes left in the game and the beaks only trailing by 2 scores.  I really don't know how to treat this one.  On one hand, it's kansas and as a Missouri fan, it's my duty to revel in any bad thing that ever happens to the thieving bastards from the west.  On the other, Reesing is a 21 year old kid that is suffering from self inflicted wounds caused by his apparent inability to handle alcohol and it's destructive results on his athletic abilities.
Speaking of destructive, did anyone see this little snippet from the game?  Q: How many fingers am I holding up? A: Tuesday.

Kansas State visited Oklahoma and opened as a 26 point underdog.  Given Bill Snyder's ability to get his team to play to the best of their ability and Oklahoma's scoring problem this year, I thought that was much too high and predicted a 31-10 OU win.  Snyder continues to amaze and the Wildcats made a game of it after falling into a 21-0 hole and the final was 42-30 Sooners.  Next week K State hosts the beakers with the opportunity to drive yet another nail into the beaks "greatest season in history".  Snicker....

The game of the week was supposed to be in Stillwater as the Cowboys hosted the Texas Longhorns with the south division championship at stake.  Texas opened as a 9 point favorite and though I thought they'd win, I expected the Cowboys to battle to the end.  I predicted a 31-24 Texas victory but they steam rolled Okie Light, winning 41-14.  Nothing really stands in their way to the matchup against either Florida or Alabama in the national championship game.  
Speaking of Florida, they were my only non-con pick of the week, and I must say that it went far better than usual.  The Gators opened as a 16 point favorite over Georgia in a game played in Jacksonville and I predicted a 42-17 win.  The final was 41-17 Florida.  About as good as it gets for me.
It continues to get more and more interesting this week and I have a lot of tough games to call, er guess at.  See you on Thurdsday.