Week 13 recap:Rivalry week rewind

It's one of the best weeks of the football season.  Up there with the Red River shootout, bowl week and the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament.  Rivals get together to close out their season in a contest that means everything to each of them, regardless of each others record.  USC-Notre Dame, Auburn-Alabama, Bedlam, the list just goes on.  Three years ago, Missouri and kansas met in the first Border War game held at Arrowhead, ranked 2nd and 4th in the country.  It was the highest rated regular season game of the year, propelled both teams to great bowl games that year and high hopes for both programs futures.  However, since the close of the 2007 season, the teams have headed in somewhat different directions.  Missouri has won 28 games since and has reached double digit wins in 2 of the 3 seasons.  kansas has won 16 games, lost 16 of their last 19, finished last in a weak north division twice and as you can see from the photo, pretty much embarrassed their university with poor attendance; make that piss poor attendance in a game held 45 minutes from their campus.
To see how far this has fallen, we rolled into Arrowhead Stadium yesterday at 10:00 am for the 11:30 kickoff in a morning game broadcast on Fox Sports.  Missouri opened as a 28 point favorite, and despite the records, this is almost always a game that comes down to whoever has the ball last.  But not yesterday.  Missouri jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead and 21-0 by halftime.  They held the jayhawks to 141 yards of offense and dominated both lines of scrimmage.  Frankly, the game was never in doubt, and while some would say it makes for a boring game, there's a lot to love about destroying your rival.  The Tigers opened as a 28 point favorite, but I didn't believe they would cover.  Since the final margin was in fact 28, the game was a push and didn't figure in, on what was a pretty mediocre week for me.  I wound up 5-1 straight up, pushing me to 70-20 for the year, but 2-3 against the spread and 39-42 for the season.  I need some luck this week as a few regular season games as well as conference title games remain to be played.

The weekend began on Thanksgiving evening in the Big XII where Texas A&M traveled to cross state rival Texas, attempting to gain a share of the south title, and the horns hoping to salvage something, anything from a lost season.  The Aggies opened up as 4 1/2 point favorites but I really thought that UT had already packed it in for the season.  I was correct for a change.  The whorns tried to make a game of it, but A&M running back Cyrus Gray rushed for 223 yards yards and 2 touchdown as the Aggies held on to win, 24-17.

A game that I whiffed on completely happened Friday in Lincoln where corn nation opened as 24 point favorites over a Colorado team that had enjoyed something of a revival since Dan Hawkins was fired.  I thought the Buffs would make more of a game of it, but the hicks were firing on all cylinders, despite losing Taylor Martinez and Niles Paul.  Nebraska covered and won 45-17.  Next week the tractors will be fueled up and heading south as a combine caravan heads toward Dallas and Jerry World for the final Big XII title game against Oklahoma, who won in something of an upset their selves in a 47-41semi upset of Oklahoma State in Stillwater.  Had the Cowboys won they would have taken sole possession of the south and would have gotten their rematch with the corn.  But it wasn't to be.  Okie Lite reminds me of the 2008 Tigers in that they can score at will, but play absolutely no defense when they face an offense with a pulse.  Like Missouri, they'll sit at home with their 10-2 record and hope for the best when bowl selection Sunday captures all of our attention a week from today. 

In a couple of games that fall into the "who gives a shit" catagory, the Kansas State Wildcats played a surprisingly tough North Texas team that really had nothing to look forward to except possibly closing out with a win against a team from a BCS conference team.  It was the Mean Green's final game at Fouts Field and apparently not much of a turnout.  K State finished the season at 7-5 and may well be appearing in the first ever Pinstripe bowl played in balmy New York City at some point over the holidays, for some unknown reason.  Texas Tech also went to 7-5 with a 35-20 win over the Houston Cougars.  I wouldn't be surprised to see the Red Raiders win up in Houston this year at the Texas Bowl.
So, it's an off week for most of college football, except for a few remaining games and some conference championship match ups.  We'll take a look at those later this week.  In the meantime, have a great week.   

Post spring around the Big XII North. Part 3. K State

We've talked about a couple of teams in the north already.  2 perennial door mats.  Colorado only recently has been of that status, but shows no sign of returning to respectability any time soon.  Iowa State has been terrible historically but now show signs of life.  Today I'd like to opine on a team that was once one of the absolute worst in college football; one of our neighbors to the west, the Kansas State Wildcats.
Pick most any time frame, pre Bill Snyder and you can present a solid argument that they were not one of but the worst.  As evidence I present a 28 game losing streak, one, that's right, one, bowl appearance during a 90 year period and having a punter in their ring of honor.  They were 299-510 in their history in 1989 for goodness sakes!

However, in 1989 they took a chance on a relatively unknown offensive coordinator with the Iowa Hawkeyes and brought Bill Snyder to become the head coach.  Snyder was a tireless worker and a master of scheduling and over the next decade brought them not only to respectability, but got them a #1 ranking and within 10 minutes or so of an appearance in the national championship game.  He was also the beneficiary of such assistants as Bob and Mike Stoops, Mark Mangino and Jim Leavitt.  He retired in 2005 to ride off into the sunset....sort of as he continued to have an office as a special consultant.  He apparently was largely responsible for the absolute train wreck of the hire that was Ron Prince.
So after the failed experiment with 'scary smart" ended, who should come back to save the day?  Why old Mr Burns himself.  To be fair, there was a marked improvement record wise fot the Cats last season as they went 6-6 and missed a bowl due to the fact that they'd played 2 Division 1AA members in getting to those 6 wins.  Foiled by his own scheduling strategy.  Gotta love that one.

So now we move on to 2010.  K State loses their best running back, receiver, kick returner and a number of starters from what was a respectable if not spectacular defense.  They received little help in recruiting although they have managed to pick up the Brown brothers from Wichita after they decided to transfer from their previous colleges.  That will provide them with no relief this season those as they'll both be forced to sit out the season.  While I'll never underestimate what Snyder accomplished during his 1st tour of duty, I think it may be even more difficult this time around due to stricter academic standards and an even greater disparity in athletic budgets.  They is also a lot more energy on the basketball side of things now as Frank Martin is proving to be a much better head coach than I originally expected.  However, one thing K State will always have is one of the weirdest mascots in college athletics this side of the Wisconsin Badger.  And when watching and cheering on K State, don't forget to bring your power towel.
Not sure how quickly I'll get to something else since I stupidly agreed to work a graveyard shift this week.  But whenever I make it back we'll talk about everybodies favorite team to hate.  The kansas jayhawks.  Have a great week folks.

The Big XII north. Way too early predictions

The last time we got together we talked about things remaining the same in the south.  As far as last year goes, I sort of expect the end result to be what it's been for the last 2 years.  Missouri and Nebraska fighting it out for the top spot and everyone else sort of meandering around hoping for a 3rd place finish and a post season trip to Shreveport.  It really hasn't been that long since Colorado was a perennial contender for the CCG whipping boy and kansas finished 2nd as recently as 2007.  However, since that time Dan Hawkins has taken the Buffalos downhill faster than anyone could imagine and the beaks are in a state of flux thanks to last years little 7 game losing streak.

Starting out things in Boulder, the Buffs reeled in the 66th ranked class in the nation and 12th in the Big XII.  The Buff's only lost 2 starters on offense and 3 on defense but let's face it, when you wound up 3-9 and 2-6 in conference, are you really that excited to get all those starters back?  And it's not like they were ever so close to winning.  Those 9 losses include an opening season loss to 3-9 Colorado State and a 54-38 thrashing by 5-7 Toledo.  When your season highlight was starting the beaks 7 game losing streak, you aren't to be blamed if you're not terribly optimistic.  I've said for over a year that Coach Dan Hawkins is a dead man walking and I think this may finally be the year that he either produces or is fired.  At least I hope so.  I think he's a fairly nice guy that's in over his head and I've really never had a problem with the Colorado fans.  They don't do a lot of trash talking and they always offer you a hit off their bong if you travel to Boulder for a game.  Sadly, I think the Buffs are just treading water and hoping for an invitation to the Pac 10.

For a time it appeared that Bill Snyder had found another soul to sell and that the Wildcats were going to make a run at a north division title.  However, running into Missouri and Nebraska their last 2 games pretty much finished that hope off.  The 'Cats lose 4 starters on offense and 5 on defense which isn't terrible, but those were clearly the 9 best players that they had.  They go into this season with all sorts of questions, such as who will play quarterback and who might catch the ball should they find someone that can throw it.  They finished ahead of only Colorado as far as recruiting goes so no immediate help coming in there.  At some point they will have to find someone willing to coach the fiasco that their football program has become.  In the meantime they probably better pony up for Frank Martin so they can remain relevant in something.

Next stop is in Ames where head coach Paul Rhodes Cyclones went 7-6, (3-5 in conference) and made their first bowl appearance since a 2005 appearance in the Texas Bowl.   The 'Clones highlight of the season was a 9-7 barnburner of a win in Lincoln against the equally offensive challenged Cornhuskers.  They only lose 3 starters on the offensive side of the ball but lose 6 from what was a pretty good defense.   Also unfortunately for them they didn't really bring in much immediate help with their 60th ranked recruiting class.  (10th in the conference)  I've always liked the Iowa State fans and feel badly that they've had little to cheer about the last few years.  Hopefully they can keep Rhodes around, especially since he's an alumni, but facts are facts.  Their facilities are among the worst in the conference and Jack Trice Stadium with it's seating capacity of 55,000 isn't going to impress a lot of recruits.

Of course, some programs would consider 55,000 to be a step up.  We talk about one of them with our next stop in lawrence, kansas, the home of the fighting beakers.  In an effort to appease the fan base after the mid season collapse and revelations about former coach Mark Mangino, they brought in a hoped for up and comer when they hired Turner Gill from the University of Buffalo.  Now some teams would have been put off by the fact that he managed only a 5-7 record in the MAC last year and I really think he was about their 3rd choice.  But he brings some success as a former Husker during their glory years and he could be brought in fairly cheaply.  This is a really important hire for athletic director Lew "Yoda" Perkins.  They already have had to put their proposed stadium expansion on hold and a few of their fan base have started to realize that everywhere sweet Lew has been wound up on probation after he left.  Seriously, would you buy a used car from this man?

So now we head to what is the north's version of the Big 2.  Nebraska and Missouri are outspending the rest of the division when it comes to facilities and salaries for coaches.  Nebraska has had this commitment since, well, forever and Missouri is starting to reap the benefits after 20 years of futility and inept leadership.  They've finished 1-2 the last 2 seasons in the north, their recruiting classes ranked 21st and 22nd nationally and 4th and 5th in the conference.  They were also 2 of the younger teams in college football.  The hicks lose only one offensive starter from last year which may or may not be a good thing.  They appear to be making a push to go back to old time husker power football.  They do lose 5 starters from a really good defense, including all world defensive tackle Ndamakong Suh.  I would expect their defense to take something of a step back next year, but it's not unreasonable to expect their offense to be better.    

In Columbia, the opposite is true.  While the Tigers offense took something of a step back from the last 2 seasons, it was still one of the better scoring teams in the conference.  The Tigers lose 3 players each from the offense and defense, but Danario Alexander will be very tough to lose.  He was sophomore starter Blaine Gabberts favorite target.  Likewise the defense will suffer with the loss of linebacker Sean Weatherspoon who was the emotional leader of the team.  The Tigers however have been stockpiling good receivers for a while now and it should be someone's time to step up.  Whether that comes from increased production from Wes Kemp and Jerrell Jackson or someone new steps in such as Rolandis Woodland, TJ Moe or Michael Egnew.   They also brought in a bumper crop of receivers this year including Marcus Lucas, Jimmy Hunt and Bud Sassar.  Someone will have to step up but the candidates are plentiful and talented.  On the defensive side of the ball, Dominique Hamilton emerged as a very good defensive tackle as a sophomore.  He'll need some help here from the likes of Terrell Resonno, Jimmy Burge and Marvin Foster to replace the graduated Jaron Baston.  If I was making an early guess it would be Foster.  The linebacking corps is deep and experienced even with the loss of Weatherspoon.  The problem the Tigers will face is improving the defense against the pass where they were one of the worst in the nation.

So from what I see we've essentially got a 2 horse race next season.  The talent disparity is simply too great.  I've also seen nothing from the rest of the coaches in the division that would make me believe anyone has the next Knute Rockne running the show.  (sorry beakers)  So how do I break down the finish?  Of the bottom 4 I'm going to go with Iowa State 3rd, Kansas State 4th, only because of Bill Snyder, kansas 5th and that's only because Colorado is also in the division.  The only question is who returns more talent and can get it performing quickly.  With that one I'm going to stick with my usual homer position and take Missouri.  The offense will improve with Gabbert having another year under his belt and hopefully realizing that he doesn't have to lock in on one guy.  I think/hope the defense will improve and Nebraska seemingly returning to more  of a running team will play into Missouri's strength defensively.  And as I said, I think there is an excellent chance that the winner of the division actually wins the conference championship game.
Enjoy the rest of your week and I'll see you this weekend!

National signing day north division style

Last time we looked at the classes of the southern division of the Big XII conference.  Today we're going to take a look at the north, or as Texans call it, the "have nots".  While the south boasted 4 teams in the top 25 nationally, the north has only two, and we're not even going to talk about the Missouri class here.  I plan to save that to give each of the fine young men that committed his just due.

Opening up with the team that finished last in the north and #66 nationwide is the Colorado Buffalos.  You may have thought that things couldn't get much worse for Dan Hawkins after last season.  I know I didn't.  However, when you follow up a 3-9 season (2-6 in conference) with the worst recruiting class in the conference, it means you probably aren't headed in the right direction, and there may yet be another way to go than up.   The Buffs have the dubious distinction of having exactly zero 4 star commitments.  That in itself isn't all that damning since Rivals has been known to make mistakes occasionally.  (2 stars for Sean Weatherspoon?)  But when you begin to look at the other teams that were recruiting their commits, it appears Colorado got them by default.  As near as I can tell, their impact guy was 315 lb offensive lineman Eric Richter who they were able to pry away from Arkansas State, Kentucky and New Hampshire.  Let the Dan Hawkins death march continue.

Coming in at # 62 we have the Kansas State Wildcats and head fossil Bill Snyder.  In hindsight it may have been better for all concerned if the 'Cats had taken a shot with a younger, less proven guy for the head job.  Sequels rarely work and it doesn't look like this one will either.  Due to the last recruiting classes from former coach Ron "scary smart" Prince, what little talent that was in Manhattan last year has graduated, forcing another heavy dependence on the juco ranks.  However, they did manage a couple of very promising players, especially Wichita running back DeMarcus Robinson.  When push comes to shove, I think Snyder has forgotten more about football than most coaches in the league will ever know.  However, I also think that his time has passed and there will be no more miracles in Manhattan.

Moving up at # 57 with a bullet was the university of kansas.  The beaks closed out with a flurry, (well, more like a dusting) grabbing a couple of guys late including Dexter McDonald, a long time commit to Illinois who'd switched to Missouri following the purging of Ron Zook's staff.  The 2 prizes in the class are both from the state of Missouri, which make no mistake pisses me off royally.  They landed 4 star receiver Keeston Terry from my former home town of Blue Springs.  Now it may sound like sour grapes, but I've just heard it from too many insiders to believe otherwise.  Keeston had originally committed to Nebraska but was one of their original commits that reneged after watching the hick offense in action.  He made a 12th hour official visit to Columbia, and if reports are correct, would have committed to the Tigers but there were no more spots.   However, what was a surprise was the switch by Potosi running back Brandon Bourbon.  He'd been committed to Stanford for some time and took a late trip to ku where he was apparently impressed with the coaching staff and the crimson and blue recliners in the end zone.  He was being recruited by Missouri as a linebacker and claimed to have been a long time Tiger fan.  Enjoy your time in lawrence Brandon and watch out for the basketball players.  I hear they're pretty tough.

Coming in at # 54 are the Iowa State Cyclones.  1st year coach Paul Rhodes did a nice job on the field but was unable to parlay that into his recruiting class.  I think the guy seems like a good coach but he's going to have problems bringing kids in when many of them played in larger stadiums in high school.  He was forced to go the junior college route but once again, it just ain't easy getting big name players to come to Ames.  The prize of the class would probably be junior college wideout Chris Young who chose the 'Clones over such traditional powers as North Texas, Southern Mississippi and UAB.  I'm sorry ISU fans.  I've always liked you guys but you're just going to have to invest some money in facilities if you plan to stay competitive in the Big XII.

On the strength of a couple of 12th hour, 4 star switches, corn nation and their head coach Bo "Mr Sensitivity" Pelini roared into the top 25 at #22, only 2 spots behind my favorite team.  The hicks loaded up on defense in the hope of winning a shitload of 9-7 games next year although they did manage to corral 4 star quarterback Brion Carnes after he'd previously stated he'd be attending Western Kentucky.  The biggest get would appears to be running back Braylon Heard from Youngstown, Ohio, former hometown of Mizzou quarterback Brad Smith.
I'm going to take a bit of time before I get into Missouri's class which finished the year out at #20 and tops in the north.  Recruiting isn't an exact science and better classes don't always translate into on the field success.  Ask Florida State if you don't believe me.  However, it appears that Nebraska and Missouri have separated themselves from the rest of the division, and turn the north into what the south has been for the last several years; a 2 team race.
Enjoy your week folks and we'll take a look at Missouri's class around Monday or so.