Week 8 recap:How do you like us now?

What a night in Columbia!  A packed house of rowdy fans, some who had been there since 3:30 Saturday morning when the Quad was opened up for the weeks edition of ESPN's Game Day.  An Oklahoma team that was ranked 2nd in the nation and 1st in the BCS rankings had few answers but left with plenty of questions as Mizzou rolled them 36-27, in a game that really wasn't quite that close.  OU had 402 yards of offense in the game, but only 99 of them came after halftime as the Tigers defense again rose to the challenge.  Missouri accounted for 486 yards of total offense including 178 rushing yards.  Let that one sink in.  Blaine Gabbert was once again very effective managing the offense as he threw for 308 yards on a 30 of 42 night.  He was never sacked and spread the ball around with 10 receivers making catches.  It was electric inside of Faurot and a night we that were there will be talking about in the years to come, along with 2003 vs Nebraska, and other huge wins from the past.  I called this one, but I'm not going to claim much if any credit for a gutsy prediction.  Pure and simple, I'm a homer.  So now the Tigers will get to celebrate this Sunday afternoon before the next biggest game of the year hits next weekend as the Tigers travel north to face the Cornhuskers in the battle for the north and just possibly this year, the conference.

Speaking of the hicks, there wasn't a black shirt to be found in Stillwater as the Huskers won a 51-41 shootout with the Cowboys.  Taylor Martinez threw for 323 yards and repeatedly gashed Okie Lite's secondary that came into the game ranked 114th against the pass.  We can expect that ranking will not improve with this effort.  The fact that Martinez demonstrated he can indeed throw the ball came along at the best possible moment for the nubs since I see no way they could have beaten Missouri as one dimensional as they'd shown the first 6 games.  I'd picked OSU to upset in this one, so I fell to 1-1 for the week.

Another game that I, along with the rest of American missed went down in Austin where the Iowa State Cyclones pulled the 28-21 upset of Texas.  Alexander Robinson rushed for 120 yards and 2 scores and the Clones defense forced Texas quarterback Garrett Gilbert into 4 turnovers.  After their upset in Lincoln last weekend the whorns had moved back into the top 25.  I think this turd should insure they don't see that again this weekend, but who knows.  The media infatuation with Texas will likely continue as soon as they beat someone else with a pulse.
The 3rd game I missed on the weekend can't really be described as an upset.  Texas Tech walked into Boulder as 2 1/2 point favorites, but I'd picked the Buffs to win one at home for the Hawk.  However, Tech held on for a 27-24 win.  With reports this week that former coach Bill McCartney would be interested in taking over the job, I'll be surprised if Hawkins is employed longer than a half hour or so after their season ends.

In Waco it was the battle for bowl eligibility as the Bears hosted Kansas State.  I'm not interested enough to look it up, but I believe this will be the first bowl for Baylor since the 1994 season, making them the final team in the conference to play in a bowl game.  I've made no bones about the fact that Art Briles is a good coach that I like a lot.  I'm really happy for the Bears, and happy for myself since it was a game I'd picked correctly.
Another game I picked right happened just down the road in lawrence where Texas A&M found the right cure for what ails you when you're on a 3 game losing streak.  The Aggies not only won, but rolled in a 45-10 win over the hapless jayhawks.  Adding insult to injury was a disclosure this week that there was no buyout stipulation in the contract former AD Lew Perkins negotiated with Turner Gill.  In the first place, Gill was given a 2 million dollar a year salary, and now it appears if he's terminated the remainder of his contract will have to be paid within 30 days.  Frankly, I think the beaks are stuck for at least 2 or 3 more years.
For the week I wound up 3-3 on the spread and straight up.  For the year I'm 55-13 straight up and 32-27 vs the spread.  There's a lot of games this week that could go either way, so I'm going to think about things for a few days and I'll get back to you.  Have a good week and let me close with M  I  Z.....

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 7 recap:Sorting things out

Well, it's probably safe to say that basketball season has begun at the university of kansas.  Thursday night they met their cross state rival, the Wildcats of Kansas State at Memorial Stadium in lawrence.  This time last year the beaks were 5-0 and Mark Mangino and Lew Perkins were regarded as the 2 saviors of ku football.  What a difference a year makes huh?  Now Mangino is gone after being terminated for player abuse, Perkins suddenly retired and spends his time debating on which country he might want to visit that has no extradition treaties with the United States.  K State took control in the 2nd quarter as they blasted the hawks 59 to 7.   In my predictions I stated that I thought it was ridiculous that beak nation was favored in this game and I called for the upset.  To be fair though, I never saw this coming.  I see no one on the rest of the beaks schedule that they should be favored against and they may well have a 15 game conference losing streak by the end of the year.  Next up for the beaks is Texas A&M coming to town while K State travels to Baylor.

Speaking of A&M, my Tigers traveled to Kyle Field Saturday morning and were viewed as underdogs for the first time this season.  A&M is a tough place to play and it wouldn't be surprising to see a Missouri team that had superior talent lose there.  However, the Aggies have been prone to turnovers this year while the Missouri defense has been solid and opportunistic.  That was my logic for picking the Tigers in an upset.  Well, that and the fact that I'm a shameless homer.  However, A&M held on to the ball well on Saturday, which was the only way they were able to keep the game somewhat close.  Blaine Gabbert, coming off a hip injury was outstanding and had his best game distributing the ball as he discovered he had other targets beside TJ Moe and Michael Egnew.  Wes Kemp particularly had a big day as he caught 10 balls for 89 yards and 2 touchdowns.  The defense remained lights out as they didn't give up a touchdown until midway through the 4th quarter.  I fully expect to see college gameday in Columbia next Saturday when the Sooners come to town.

In Norman, those same Sooners blasted the Iowa State 52-0.  Demarco Murray rushed for 109 yards and 2 touchdowns as they scored early and often against an overmatched Cyclone team.  The OU defense held Iowa State to less than 200 yards to add insult to injury.  Things don't get a lot easier for the Clones next week as they travel to Austin to take on the Longhorns who showed yesterday that they weren't quite ready to write off this season yet.

Nebraska opened as 9 1/2 point favorites at home against that Texas team that was reeling and desperately needed a win.  This was the game that hick nation had circled since the Big XII title game last fall.  They were ranked 5th in the country and had a young quarterback, Taylor Martinez, that was the type of option QB that had made them a power in the 70's through the late 90's.  However, when push came to shove they were unable to move the ball when Texas proved to be athletic enough to stop their running attack. Martinez was held to 34 yards rushing and managed only 63 through the air and looked exactly what you'd expect a freshman quarterback to look like.  The corn are going to have problems with teams that can line up and shut the rushing attack down.  UT gave a blueprint how to do it yesterday and I wouldn't be at all surprised if the corn weren't subjected to another anal probe next week when they travel to Stillwater.  This was the only game I missed on this week and I couldn't be happier about it.
In Lubbock the Red Raiders played host to the Cowboys who have surprised this season.  Tech opened as a 3 1/2 point favorite which I just didn't see.  Okie Lite jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and held on for a 34-17 win.  Kendall Hunter rushed for 126 yards and Brandon Weeden threw for 356 and a touchdown.  Tech travels to Boulder next weekend to take on the Cowboys in what has to be a must win game for them. 

Home cooking didn't work that well for the Buffs yesterday as they fell to Robert Griffin and the Baylor Bears, 31-25.  Griffin threw for 236 yards and rushed for another 135 as the Bears overcame a slow start to pull away for the win.  Next week the K State Wildcats travel to Waco where one of these teams will become bowl eligible for the first time in quite a while.
This was a very good week for me as I went 5-1 both against the spread and straight up.  For the year I moved to 52-10 straight up and 29-24 against the spread.   This kind of luck against the spread is strange territory for me so I'm going to sit back and enjoy it.  I also have an extra day or so to take a look at next weeks games since we don't have a Thursday night game for one of the few times this season.  It's a beautiful day here in Kansas City and I'm going to get out and enjoy it.  Have a great week folks.

 
       
 

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