Around the Big XII, part 8. Texas A&M

On October 16th of last year I had officially written Texas A&M off as well as their head coach, Mike Sherman.  The Aggies, after starting 3-0 had just lost their 3rd game in a row, a 30-9 dismantling by my Missouri Tigers in College Station.  If you know much about football in the state of Texas, then you know they have very little patience when it comes to losing.  Especially when you're the Longwhorns little brother.  It seemed inevitable that Sherman would be fired following the season if not before.  But then something unexpected happened as A&M went on a 6 game winning streak, including victories over Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Baylor, Texas and Nebraska.  They wound up 9-3 on the season and 6-2 in conference, finishing up in the 5 way tie at the top.  The move that enabled them to make this turnaround was when they replaced the pre-season favorite of 1st team Big XII QB Jerrod Johnson with Ryan Tannehill.

But one thing you can count on is that what happened last year doesn't really matter this year.  A&M is absolutely loaded, losing 1 starter from their offense and 3 from the defense.  Their fan base is going to be expecting a BCS appearance and league championship and anything less will be considered a failure.  And if you're familiar with their fan base, then you know they lean to the weird side, from the habit of squeezing their own testicles and from there, it just gets worse.

Once again the non conference schedule starts out easy enough with home games against SMU and Idaho, before Oklahoma State comes to town, and then a contest against Arkansas at Jerry World.  If they manage to lose only one of those, they have a good chance to match last years record.  A trip to Norman will certainly be a huge challenge, but otherwise they trip to Texas Tech, Kansas State and Iowa State.  At home, contests against Baylor and kansas should be wins, but Mizzou comes to town on October 29th which should make their already weird fan base even weirder.  They also close the season at home against cross state big brother Texas.  I'm predicting a final record of 8-4 for A&M and 6-3 in conference.  In the new Big XII that will be more than respectable, but I imagine the Sherman hot seat will be warming up again.

Next time we'll talk about the big dogs in the conference, the Oklahoma Sooners.  If you'd like to look at some new Tiger gear, please stop by my store or if you'd just like to catch up on the latest news, stop by current events for Tigers, NCAA and professional sports news as well as odd shit of the day.

Week 8: The rubber hits the road

It's on.  ESPN will be in Columbia Saturday morning for Game Day.  The columns will be the backdrop for America to watch as OU and Missouri prepare to meet Saturday night on ABC in the marquis match up of the weekend.   Both teams are 6-0 and 2-0 in conference.  Both are coming off impressive wins last weekend as the Tigers dominated a Texas A&M team that was desperate for a win in College Station while the Sooners blasted Iowa State 52-0 in front of a home crowd in Norman.  The Sooners are ranked # 2 in the country right now while the Tigers are ranked 18th in the AP poll and 16th in the coaches poll.  This is going to be the biggest party in Columbia since 2007 when Nebraska came to town full of high expectations before Mizzou sent them home with a 41-6 loss that sent their season down the tubes and ultimately cost Bill Callahan his job.  Oklahoma opens as a 3 point favorite in this one.  Bob Stoops has absolutely owned Gary Pinkel since both came into the league, and the Sooners seem to be hitting their stride.  Missouri played it's best and most complete game of the year last weekend against A&M.  The defense has been the best we've seen since Al Onofrio was roaming the sidelines as the defensive coordinator.  This being said, OU is and should be the favorite this week.  My head tells me to pick OU.  Well fuck my head.  I'm picking the Tigers to pull the upset again this week.  I'm taking Missouri to win 24-20.

In the other big game this week, the Cornhuskers travel to Stillwater to face the undefeated Oklahoma State Cowboys.  Corn nation suffered their first loss last Saturday in the game they'd had circled since last December when Texas kicked a field goal with 1 second on the clock.  In true hick fashion they even had tee shirts made to commemorate what was going to be their revenge game.  However, the Whorns gave out a blueprint on how to shut down Taylor Martinez and the Nebraska offense while scoring enough on the blackshirts to send 85,000 big red fans home, sadly dragging their oxygen tanks behind them.  It's about time we put this whole "worlds classiest fans" shit to bed as they booed an injured Texas player late in the game because they felt he was faking to give their defense a breather.  Yeah, like that's never happened before.  The Huskers open as a 5 1/2 point favorite in this one, but upsets were really good to me last week and I'm going to call another one here.  I'm taking Okie Lite to win this one 31-27 and next week my Tigers will walk into Lincoln facing a desperate Nebraska team and a crowd that suddenly finds Bo Pelini's histrionics less endearing than they did 2 weeks ago.

To the west, we wait with baited breath to see who can come out of their slide this weekend.  Texas A&M, losers of 3 straight, travels to lawrence to face Turner Gill and his jayhawks who've been outscored 114-14 in their first 2 conference games.  Mike Sherman's seat is almost as hot as Dan Hawkins in Colorado, and we're already seeing squawk nation grumbling about new HC Turner Gill and his staff.  What did they expect for 2 million a year?  To be competitive?  The Aggies open as a 13 1/2 point favorite in this one and my initial thought was no problem.  Then I remembered watching them against the Tigers last weekend.  I still believe they'll win and find a way to cover so I'm going to pick A&M 31-17.  The game will do nothing to quiet the angry mob in College Station and the beaks season just continues to circle the drain.  Another prediction is Sherman is gone after this year but Gill gets at least 1 more to show some signs of life.  I don't think he'll ever turn things around but I don't think ku can afford the PR hit by firing him 1 year into a 5 year contract.  Just remember beaks about how proud you were of having Lew Perkins as your AD.  Nice going away present from him huh?

Speaking of coaches on the hot seat, there should be a dandy in Boulder when Texas Tech and new coach Tommy Tuberville meet the Buffalos and everyone's favorite whipping boy, Dan Hawkins.  Both teams sit 3-3 and have suffered some mind numbing losses to get to this point.  Tech opens as a 2 1/2 point favorite in this game but I think that the curse of the pirate is going to play out again and I'm going to take Colorado to pull the mild upset at home.  Buffs 27, Red Faders 21.   
Things just don't get any easier for Iowa State.  A week after getting pounded at home 52-0 to Oklahoma, they now travel to Austin to face a Texas team that saved their season, at least for now last week when they upset corn nation in Lincoln.   I've said time and time again that I like Paul Rhodes, but he just doesn't have much talent to work with right now and the Clones are going to have to bite the bullet for a couple more years.  The whorns open as 21 point favorites and will probably have little trouble covering.  Take Texas in a romp, 41-13.

There should be a pretty decent ball game down in Waco as the 5-2 Bears play host to the 5-1 K State Wildcats. Baylor comes in at 5-2 while the Cats are 5-1.  Both have good coaches and should make bowl games.  As a matter of fact the winner of this game will become bowl eligible for the first time in a while.  The Bears open as a 6 point favorite and while I think they'll win, I think Bill Snyder will figure out a way to keep it close.  I'll take Baylor to win it late, 27-24.  If you've read any of my work you know I have a soft spot for the Baylor cheerleaders.  In fairness, there is some talent at K State also.
That's all I have for this week.  Hope you have a good weekend and it's dry Saturday night in Columbia.

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Week 5: Reflecting on the non con schedule.

I think a week between the non con schedule and the conference opener is just about perfect.  It gives some guys that are dinged up a little time to heal and the coaches time to look at film of upcoming opponents.  It also gives we fans a chance to kick back and relax, or in my case spend a weekend on the honey do list.  (Didn't we just wash those windows last year?)  It's been an interesting pre season starting with the annual win over Illannoy at the dome.  It's a series that needed to end though and I'm looking forward to contests with Arizona State the next 2 years.  I do kind of fear that with the conference schedule expanding that we'll see less of those kind of games however.  And I get it.  If you're going to be playing teams like OU, Texas, Okie Lite and Tech every year, just how difficult does the non conference schedule need to be?

So what did we learn from our first 4 games?  Well, we may not have a Danario Alexander, but Michael Egnew and TJ Moe are pretty darned good.  Toss in what could be a healthy Jerrell Jackson as a possible deep threat and the passing game could be above average in what appears to be a Big XII conference that is a bit down from previous years.  We appear to have 4 running backs capable of breaking off big plays if given the smallest of seams.  Blaine Gabbert seems to stay in the pocket a bit longer and seems to be spreading the ball out a bit more, but I'd still like to see a few more throws heading Wes Kemps way.  And the defense has been light years ahead of last season.  Carl Gettis and Andrew Gachkar in particular have just torn things up so far, and Dom Hamilton has been solid in the middle of the line.  And what needs to be said about the Smith Brothers, Madison, Sam and company on the outside?  You have to give DC Dave Steckel a lot of credit for the improvements he's made.  The Big XII seems more wide open this year.  Texas seems to be unable to rush the football, OU has been in tight games outside of taking Florida State to the woodshed in week 2, and Nebraska is only going to be as good as their running game will take them.  I don't see anyone as a clear cut favorite this year, and the Tigers have as much of a chance to break out as any of the teams I've mentioned.       

It's been a rough year for me picking against the spread.  I'm just 16-19 there and I'm beginning to think that it's at least partially due to increased parity in college football.  Oh, I can get the winners as a pretty darned good record of 37-5 should show, but nothing appears to be a slam dunk this year.  That being said, I'm going to keep making my picks and taking my medicine on Sunday mornings.  The week starts early when Texas A&M travels north to Stillwater Thursday night to take on the Cowboys.  Both teams are 3-0 but A&M seems to have some problems while OSU has throttled 2 of their 3 opponents so far.  The Cowboys open as 3 point favorites in this one but I don't think it's going to be that close.  I think that Jerrod Johnson indeed has some shoulder problems and it's going to be tough for the Aggies to keep up with teams that can score during conference play.  I'm taking the Cowboys to win and cover easily, 31-17.

Down in Waco, the Baylor Bears host kansas this weekend.  It could be a matchup of biblical proportions as Turner Gill takes his no swearing policy into the home of the poster children of the Bible Belt.  The Bears open as 9 1/2 point favorites in this one.  The beaks have been poison for me this year on their way to their 2-2 record.  I think Baylor pulls away in the 2nd half of this one and covers, 34-21.  And like most Missouri fans, all I can say is "Go Baptists".
Out west in Boulder the Buffs wind up their non conference schedule by hosting the Georgia Bulldogs.  Now normally I'd say this would be a blow out, but this ain't the Dawgs of 10, 5 or even 3 years ago.  Georgia currently sits at 1-3 with consecutive losses to South Carolina, Arkansas and Mississippi State.  This is just unacceptable for their fans.  They come in as a 4 1/2 point favorite on the road.  I think they'll be able to turn things around a bit and pull this one out, but fail to cover.  I'm picking Georgia with a late score to win 21-17.

Up in Ames, the Cyclones host Texas Tech, who comes in as a 7 1/2 point favorite.  Both teams are 0-1 in conference play and will be hungry for a win.  I think Paul Rhodes is a very good coach but he's going to get schooled Saturday night by one of the best.  I'm taking Tech to win and cover, 31-14.
The biggest game in the conference is in Dallas this week as Texas and Oklahoma get together for the Red River Shootout.  Despite offers from Jerry Jones, the game is going to remain in the Cotton Bowl until 2015, assuming of course that the stadium doesn't collapse.  Both teams have looked extremely beatable so far this year, although the Sooners have remained unbeaten.  OU comes in as a 4 point favorite.  I'm not thinking this is enough.  Oklahoma looked great a couple of weeks ago when they dismantled a pretty good Florida State team.  I think they bring their A game Saturday and coast, 35-17.
There are a couple of pretty good games out of conference this weekend as Alabama is at home against the Gators from Florida.  This features the 2 best coaches in the game in Nick Saban and Urban Meier.  The Tide opens as a 9 1/2 point favorite in this one.  Despite being in a dogfight against Arkansas last weekend, I think Bama comes in focused and puts this away by halftime.  I'm taking Saban and company, 34-21.

Out west, Stanford travels north to play the Oregon Ducks.  Both teams are 4-0, and 1-0 in the Pac 10, soon to be Pac 12.  Oregon is a 7 point favorite at home.  Both squads have a pretty impressive resume so far this year.  Stanford's wins include Notre Dame, Wake Forest and a UCLA team that blasted Texas last week.  Oregon opened the season with a 72-0 win over New Mexico and has followed up with impressive road wins over Tennessee and Arizona State.  I'm going with the home team to win and cover here, as I think Oregon wins 41-27 in a shootout.  And of course the main reason to even look at this game will always be the Duck Cheerleaders.
That's all I have for now.  I may watch some of the A&M/Okie light game tonight but I'm sort of saving up my week night football for next weekend when K State hosts hick nation at Bill Snyder Family Stadium & dry cleaners.  Good luck to your team this week and we'll see how I did next Sunday or so.