Senior day in Columbia was actually one of the more pleasant ones in recent memory. The weather was outstanding, if somewhat dreary. The crowd got pretty loud on the alumni side, although the student side was embarrassingly empty. The 2nd half was as dominant as the K State game, although at halftime the mood was somber as it appeared we were heading toward another Baylor like fiasco. And the tailgate food was fabulous. No idea why more people don't deep fry turkeys.
Once again the Tigers toyed around with what should have been an over matched opponent, trailing 17-10 at halftime thanks to the Cyclones opening up their play book and a wounded duck hail mary thrown by Austen Arnaud 26 seconds before the end of the half.
However, in the 2nd half, when Mizzou has generally collapsed, the Tigers came out energized and outscored Iowa State 24-7. Only another trick play where Arnaud hit a touchdown pass on a tackle eligible play allowed the 'Clones to cross the goal line and Blaine Gabbert was workmanlike and efficient. It was a coming out party for sophomore receiver Jerrill Jackson as he grabbed 8 passes for 142 yards, including a 70 yard bomb for a touchdown. He appears to be the early favorite for Blaine's favorite target next season. Danario Alexander was vintage Danario again as he hauled in 11 for 173 including a 63 yard TD. The rushing game was efficient as the Tigers went for over 200 yards despite losing Derrick Washington to a concussion. The game was closer than Vegas (and me for that matter) predicted, but the win was sweet. The Tigers ensured themselves of their 5th consecutive bowl invitation, with an outside chance of getting a very good bowl with a win next week, assuming that Oklahoma State can beat OU next week in Norman and capture a 2nd BCS berth for the conference. Next week I'm a Cowboy fan.
It was a pretty good week for me as I went 6-2 straight up and 5-3 against the point spread. For the year I'm 81-28 overall and 54-52 versus the spread. I had Missouri covering the 13 point spread with the final being 34-24. The team fell a little short but as I said, the 2nd half performance more than made up for it.
Moving around the conference, I thought that Baylor's balloon had finally completely burst and they'd not be able to cover as 7 1/2 point underdogs traveling to A&M. I'd predicted a final of 31-10 Aggies and it was even a bit more one sided as they rolled the Bears 38-3.
I also had Oklahoma State rolling over Colorado and covering a 15 1/2 point spread by a final of 45-13. What I'd forgotten, (as had Vegas apparently) was the vicious hit and concussion their quarterback, Zac Robinson had taken the week before against Texas Tech. The Cowboys held on to win 31-28.
I had no idea how the kansas jayhawks would fare in Austin facing the Longhorns after the week they'd had with the battle between Coach Mark Mangino and AD Lew (Yoda) Perkins. For that matter, I had no idea who'd be coaching them. The beaks made a battle of it however, trailing 27-13 midway through the 3rd quarter before falling 51-20. I'd predicted 52-13 so in either case the Horns covered the 28 point spread. Now the question for the red leggers is what happens this week at Arrowhead against my Tigers. Mangino has always seemed to be able to rally the beaks for this game and no doubt they'll pull Don Fambrough off oxygen long enough for him to come out and give his yearly rambling orientation on why they should never lose to Missouri. Once again, I have no idea at this point who'll be coaching them as this turns into a full blown clusterfuck that I confess, I'm enjoying immensely.
K State opened as a 16 point underdog as they traveled north to corn nation to face the Huskers with the division crown on the line. My reasoning here was that Nebraska struggles to score and you never can be sure that they'll score 16 points, let alone win by that much. The hicks didn't let me down as they won but failed to cover. My prediction was 24-13 Nebraska. The final was 17-3. So now the fighting Pelini's are assured of a trip to Jerry World to face Texas in the Big XII title game and the Wildcats are assured of staying home for the holidays despite a 6-6 record. Might want to reconsider playing 2 FCS teams in the same season Bill.
Oklahoma opened as a 7 point favorite as they traveled to Lubbock to face the Pirate and his Red Raiders. Tech has been about as up and down as my Tigers this year, but I just didn't see the Sooners covering, so I had them winning 31-28. However, the OU free fall continued as they were manhandled 41-13. Now the Sooners need to win next week at home in the bedlam game versus Oklahoma State to avoid a 6-6 record and a glorious holiday trip to Shreveport. This isn't the kind of season that OU fans are used to and they may not be at all sad to see big game Bob take his act to South Bend once the inevitable firing of Charlie Weiss takes place after next weeks game against Stanford.
Moving out of conference I had Ohio State covering the 12 point spread against their arch rival Michigan by a score of 38-20. The Wolverines made a contest of it and actually should probably have won. The final was tOSU 21-10. Probably not enough to save Rich Rod's job as the donors really seem to want him out.
My last game was an SEC battle between Ol' Miss and LSU. The Rebels opened as a 3 1/2 point favorite but I predicted the Tigers to not only cover but pull the upset outright by a final of 21-20. I was half right as Ol Miss failed to cover, but thanks to some unfathomable decisions by LSU head coach Les Miles the Rebels escaped with a 25-23 win.
That about covers things for this week. I'm going to try to get my predictions out for next week early with some Thanksgiving and Friday games this week. I'm also going to try to figure out who will be the head man on the sideline at Arrowhead for kansas. See you all soon.
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