Around the Big XII, part 6. kansas

I'm not going to lie.  I've been looking forward to this.  There are very few constants in live, but along with death and taxes, Missouri fans detest kansas and ku fans revel in misfortune that happens to Missouri.  I'm cool with that.  Basketball is king in larry, and they absolutely have a program to be envied, and they have no problem reminding you of that.  In other sports, football included, it's a different story, as was pointed out in this opinion piece that appeared in kusports.com.  The beaks were 3-9 last year and 1-7 in conference play.  Among those losses was the season opener at home where they were dropped 6-3 to FCS North Dakota, who finished a respectable 9-5 but lost to such teams as Northern Iowa, Western Illinois and Missouri State.  Only a huge comeback against Colorado prevented the beaks from an 0-8 conference record and the memories of 2007 are further and further in the rear view mirror.

Last year the crimson and blue replaced Mark Mangino with a former Cornhusker quarterback, head coach and aspiring deity, Turner Gill.  Gill had been passed over by his former coach director  and best friend, Tom Osbourne when he was in charge of replacing the train wreck that was Bill Callahan.  While he wasn't quite good enough to make the cut at the university he played for, former beak athletic director Lew Perkins decided to drop a 5 year, 10 million dollar contract complete with no buy out clause to obtain his services.  For Tiger fans, it was a blessing and an absolute joy to watch.  The beaks have little idea which quarterback will be on the field for them this fall, but the smart money's on Jordan Webb, a St Louis product that snapped up his only D1 offer and moved west to kansas.  A freshman, also from Missouri is Darrian Miller, who enrolled early and now sits # 2 on the depth chart at running back.  He at one time held offers from Iowa and Minnesota but rumors said both of those were retracted, leaving him no where to head but larry.

In 2007 the beaks rode a schedule that didn't include Texas, Oklahoma or Texas A&M from the Big XII south to a 11-1 record, and a chance to be ranked # 1 in the country when they met Missouri in the first Border showdown football game played in Kansas City.   Despite losing that night, the beaks were able to parley that into an Orange Bowl appearance against Virginia Tech, another over rated BCS program.  This year the squawks open with 2 cupcakes at home in McNeese State and Northern Illinois before taking their act on the road against Georgia Tech, who will have something to prove after being one of the beaks 3 wins last year.   I'm calling for ku to go 2-1 in their non conference schedule, but the over-under for conference wins is 1.  In my opinion, the only win they should be expecting, or at least hoping for is against Iowa State, and for ku, it's unfortunate that it's being played in Ames.  But somewhere I think they'll win a conference game, and regardless of who it's against it will be something of an upset.
Next time we'll talk about someone else that had a disappointing season last year, but who's hopes should be considerably brighter, the Texas Longhorns.

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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1.03.01

Week 2. The makings of an interesting year.

It wasn't just me.  A lot of guys apparently had some problems picking against the spread last week.  I've enjoyed a guy that goes by MizzouRah's selections over the years, and found him to be pretty good.  However, he went 5-8 vs the spread last week.  It's also been something of a transition year for folks like OU, Texas and Okie State.  Not trying to make excuses.  It will probably shake out by the time conference season rolls around, but right now I can't say I have many games I feel confident about this week as far as point spreads go.

One game I shouldn't have to worry about this week is going to be played Saturday night in Columbia, as my Tigers open the home season against might McNeese State.  I don't care for games against Division 2 teams such as this, but at least I can sort of, I said SORT OF, see some good that could come of it.  The Tigers seemed out of synch last week offensively, and this might be just what the doctor ordered.  It also offers a chance to get some backups some game experience that may be needed down the road.  But basically, you hope for no injuries and of course, God forbid someone goes out and pulls a North Dakota State on you.  I don't expect that and look for the Tigers to jump start the offense as they coast to a 55-6 win.  I won't be there to see it since I was fortunate enough to find someone to give my tickets to.  That's right, I said give.  The most interesting stat of the weekend may well be if the crowd tops 60,000.
The only other game without a line this week is in Manhattan, kansas, where the Wildcats, fresh off a 31-22 upset of UCLA host the Missouri State Bears, coached by former ku head coach, Terry Allen.  At least Allen is used to being abused by Bill Snyder from his years at the beak helm.  Look for this one to be over by halftime as the Cats get a chance to work in some PT for the backups.  Take K State 48-13.
Baylor is at home against Buffalo this week, who also opened the season with a win.  The schedule is actually pretty good for the Bears as it is a step up from last weeks opener, but still a contest they should win easily.  Baylor opens as a 16 1/2 point favorite in this one.  I think Buffalo plays close for a half but winds up falling 34-13.

Colorado, fresh off a convincing 24-3 win against cross state rival Colorado State, travels to Berkeley to face their future Pac 10 rival Cal.  The Golden Bears opened with a 52-3 win over UC Davis last week.  Cal opens as an 8 1/2 point favorite.  I think they do a little better than that and win 37-17 in front of 2 fan bases more known for their fondness of hemp than their passion for football.
In a game with slightly less sophisticated, and stoned fans; Iowa State travels to play the Hawkeyes in Iowa City.  Iowa opens as a 13 1/2 point favorite in a game the Cyclones have been able to steal occasionally the last few years.  I think this is close for a half but the 'Clones run out of gas and fall 38-21.

The only Big XII team to fall in week one was in Lawrence as the Turner Gill era opened with a thud in a 6-3 loss to North Dakota State.  It's only been one game, but it has to be a bit disconcerting to TG that Lew Perkins, the man who hired him suddenly retired one business day after the opening loss.   To compound the problem, coming to town is Georgia Tech who opened with a 41-10 win over lightly regarded South Carolina State.  The Yellow Jackets are going to run straight at the beaks, who appear to be woefully inadequate on both lines.  This one should be over shortly after the national anthem as the Jackets opened as only a 13 point favorite.  I expect it to be no where near that close.  Tech rolls to a 41-14 win.

In Lincoln, the Big Red fans weren't quite as pleased with their season opener against Western Kentucky as I'd expected.  I suppose the pre season hype has made them expect to be winning games 50-0 as they did for years under Tom Osbourne.  Yes, they won 49-10 but remember that the Hilltoppers went 0-12 last year and gave up an average of over 40 points per game.  This week the Vandals from Idaho come to town fresh off a 45-0 win over some team you've probably never heard of, the North Dakota Fighting Sioux.   The fighting Pelini's open as a 28 1/2 point favorite in this one.  While I think they win rather comfortably, I expect it to be more along the lines of 38-14.  This may ramp up the concern among America's weirdest fan base.

The game of the week, at least in my opinion happens in Norman, as the Sooners, who opened with a surprisingly difficult 31-24 win over Utah State face the Seminoles from Florida State, 59-6 winners over Samford.  I knew that the offense might take some time to gel, but I certainly didn't expect OU to give up 24 points last week.  Oklahoma opens as a 9 point favorite in this one, and I fully expect them to give FSU their undivided attention.  However, I think this one is going down to the wire.  I'm looking for OU to win, but fail to cover with the final in the 28-21 range.  This is going to be a great game and anytime Florida State plays it gives me the opportunity to include a photo of Jenn Sterger with the Florida State cowgirls.
In the other games of the week, Troy travels to Stillwater as an 11 1/2 point underdog to the Cowboys.  I expected Okie Light to take a step back this year, but you can't discount the 65-17 pasting they put on Washington State last week.  Troy slows them down a bit, but the Cowboys win and cover 35-14.
Wyoming travels to Austin this week to play the Longhorns, who were held to 34 points last week by Rice.  Wyoming had an emotional week as a player was killed in a car wreck.  This is another game I believe will be close for a while before Texas, who opens as a 29 point favorite wears down the Cowboys and wins 41-10.
Louisiana Tech travels to College Station as an 18 point dog to the Aggies.  I see this as the same formula as UT.  It could be close for a half but A&M wears them down in the 2nd half 38-14.
Texas Tech travels to New Mexico to play a Lobo team that fell 72-0 in week one to Oregon, in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated.  Tech opens as a 23 1/2 point favorite.  While I think New Mexico may well be the worst team in Division 1, this is a game where the Raiders can do a bit of experimenting.  I have Tech covering and winning easily, 48-10.
Good luck to your teams this week.  I'll enjoy watching OU/FSU Saturday and begin the countdown for my first trip to Columbia in a week as San Diego State comes to town.

   

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1.03.01

Week 1 recap. Why I don't gamble....

Well, after the first week of the season I got yet another reminder of why I don't wager on sports.  I don't think you could call it the week of the upsets in the Big XII, unless you happen to live in lawrence, kansas; but a lot of games that should have been laughers turned out to be pretty good contests.

In St Louis, the final (for now at least) installment of the Arch Rivalry ended pretty much as it has every other year, with my Tigers holding the trophy for the 6th consecutive time.  However, unlike previous years it wasn't slugfest, with the last team holding the ball having an excellent chance of winning.  This time Mizzou was led by a gambling, attacking defense that shut down the Illini in the 2nd half as the Tigers roared back from a 13-3 halftime deficit to win 23-13.  On the defensive side of the ball, Aldon Smith picked up where he left off last year as he dominated whoever was unfortunate enough to be across the line from him.  Carl Gettis was suffocating in coverage, and on offense, let the Wes Welker comparisons begin for sophomore wideout TJ Moe.  He caught 13 passes and took some hits that were nothing short of nasty.  The kid is going to be a good one.  Real good.

Also picking up where he left off last year was me.  I finished the week 11-1 straight up, but only 4-5 against the spread.  My only straight up loss for the week happened no where else but larry, where the fighting jayhawks lost to North Dakota State in thrilling fashion, 6-3.  The Turner Gill era opened with something of a thud and many of the beak faithful are already questioning the decision to run Mark Mangino out of town last year on an incredibly sturdy and large rail.

There could have been several more straight up upsets for the week however as Texas, beginning the post Colt McCoy era; Oklahoma, post Sam Bradford and Texas Tech sans the pirate all were involved in games that were much closer than expected.  Actually, about the only confortable win of the weekend that was expected was corn nations decisive 49-10 throttling of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, who admittedly went 0-12 last year.  Make no mistake, even here corn nation and Bo Pelini aren't making reservations for the NC game quite yet.   Actually, the biggest wins of the week were probably Okie State who blasted Washington State 65-17 and K State and Mr Burns beating UCLA 31-22.
We've got a couple of pretty good games coming up this week and I'll start taking a look at them tomorrow.  Until then I'll just close with; NORTH DAKOTA STATE???  BWAHAHAHAHA

Week 1: I thought it would never arrive.

When I was a kid, it always felt like Christmas would never arrive.  You wondered what you were going to get.  You dropped hints, left catalogs open with your dream gift circled, and dreamed about it at night.  I don't feel that way about Christmas anymore but I still have that sense of excitement.  It's just reserved for that glorious weekend known as the beginning of the college football season.  I've sat through a long hot summer with the Royals once again falling out of the pennant race before Memorial Day, read and re-read articles about summer workouts and frankly spent entirely too much time worrying about whether Chris Freeman and Jimmy Hunt were going to show up on campus in time for fall camp.

So my Tigers open up the season this Saturday in the dome against Ron Zook and his fighting Illini.  This will complete the 4 game series between the 2 schools with the Zookster still looking for his first win.  As a matter of fact, Gary Pinkel is 5-0 vs Illinois during his career here.  The series ends after this game and unless Illinois pulls off the upset, I don't expect it to resume anytime soon.  After the 10 year winning streak they enjoyed in basketball prior to last season I wasn't in a big rush to see that series continued either.

Illinois is a young squad this year led by red shirt freshman quarterback Nathan Sheelshaase from Rockhurst in Kansas City.  The depth chart is just chock full of freshmen and sophomores who'll be starting their first game period, let alone a rowdy crowd of Missouri fans in the Edward Jones Dome.  Given the fact that Nathan really wasn't much of a passer in high school, I imagine that the Illini will attempt to establish the run game first and hope that Sheelhaase will be able to hit some passes off roll outs and options.  It should be a good test for a Missouri defense that was among the worst in the country last year.
So, I begin to try my luck at predictions for another year.  Last season I was a very respectable 93-33 straight up, but 62-59 when picking against the spread.  So with no further ado, here we go.

The Tigers open as a 12 point favorite against Illinois, which is down from 13 1/2 since the suspension of Derrick Washington.  Missouri has an established quarterback in Blaine Gabbert and Kendial Lawrence at running back but the backups are true freshmen.  The odds on favorite as his number one target this year, Jerrell Jackson is hurt and out for this game but Gabbert still has plenty of talented, if somewhat unproven receivers to throw to.  I think, that unless we see something along the lines of Brad Smith's first game, which coincidentally happened against Illinois, this one should be over by halftime.  Illinois has lost their entire defensive backfield for this game due to injuries.  A nice time for the Tigers to be breaking in new receivers.  Look for the Tigers to roll, 38-13.
2 days before the Arch Rivalry game, the Big XII season opens in Ames as last years surprise team, the Iowa State Cyclones open as a 3 1/2 point favorite over Northern Illinois.  Senior quarterback Austen Arnaud has spent like 12 years at ISU so I believe he'll graduate when I see it, and Paul Rhodes certainly had my vote as Big XII coach of the year last season.  The 'Clones return most of the offense although a large part of their defense graduated.  I don't see this being nearly as close as the oddsmakers and look for ISU to win 31-17.
Baylor opens at home against Sam Houston State, a not very good team even when playing other small college rummies.  Robert Griffin will be returning as quarterback for the Bears.  I expect some rust but not nearly enough to make a difference here.  Baylor rolls, 42-6.  No line here.

Things are changing in lawrence, kansas as the Turner Gill era begins.  The beaks open at home against North Dakota State in another game that was given no line.  I detest kansas but really haven't had any time to learn to hate Gill, who's always seems like a pretty good guy.  A lot of questions for the jayhawks this year and I don't think any of them will be answered this weekend, unless ND State manages to pull the upset.  kansas wins this one, 31-10. 
In what may or may not be the final season in the Big XII for the Colorado Buffalo's as they open on the road at Colorado State.  The Buffs come in as a 13 point favorite against their cross state rivals, and I really have no idea why.  Dan "Dead man walking" Hawkins may or may not have to win this year since I'm not at all sure there is enough money in their AD to cut anyone loose early.  I'm really tempted to take the Rams straight up, but will go ahead and pick Colorado to win 28-24 while failing to cover.

In Manhattan, Bill Snyder 2.0 opens the season against the Pac 10's UCLA.  It's incredibly weird seeing Coach Snyder open the non con against anyone with a pulse but give Snyder a few years to do his own scheduling and we'll be seeing plenty of directional schools, which considering we'll all be playing 9 conference games in a year will unfortunately the the rule rather than the exception.  The Bruins open as a 2 point favorite in this one but I think Mr Burns will have a surprise or 2 in store and the Cats pull a 24-21 upset.
Hick nation opens at home this year with Western Kentucky rolling into Lincoln as a 36 1/2 point underdog.  I've gone back and forth on this one, as I'm not positive that Nebraska is capable of putting up 37 points.  Nebraska is ranked as a pre-season top 10 team which I find ludicrous but I'm going to pick them to cover here, winning 42-6, with the defense providing them with some short fields if not touchdowns on turnovers.  We'll know something about the nubs on the 18th when they travel to Washington.
Oklahoma is the prohibitive favorite in the conference once again this year, following a disappointing season.  They open up as a 31 1/2 point favorite against outmanned Utah State.  The point spread isn't nearly big enough as "Big Game" Bob Stoops will have the Sooners smelling blood in a quest to return to the national championship game.  OU rolls 56-9.   

Like the 2008 Tigers, Oklahoma State was unable to live up to lofty expectations last year.  They open up at home against the Pac 10's Washington State.  The Cowboys will take a few steps back this year, but this is a good opening contest for them.  A very pedestrian team from a BCS conference.  Okie Light opens as a 14 1/2 point favorite.  I think this is pretty close and I'm taking the Cowboys in a close game they'll break open in the 4th quarter.  OSU 28-13.
It's rebuilding, or reloading time down in Austin.  The horns probably won't be making a return trip to the national championship game, but it's always smart money to bet on them playing after January 1st.  They open up on the road against perennially hapless Rice.  Texas has opened as a 29 point favorite.  They may not have the firepower they had last year with Colt McCoy running the show, but you just know the defense is going to be big, fast and mean.  Texas takes this one in a laugher, 49-13.

The sexy pick in the south this year is down south in College Station.  I still believe that Mike Sherman is a mediocre coach and at last report, they were planning to start 3 freshmen on their offensive line.  They also have some of the strangest rituals you could ever hope to see at a college football stadium.  I expect another 6 or 7 win season for them, but challenge Texas or OU for the south title?  I don't think so.  That being said, they'll probably look like world beats this week at home against Stephen F. Austin in a contest that has no line.  Look for the Aggies to put up some big numbers, winning 49-6 in my dog game of the week.
The week winds up on Sunday this week as SMU travels to Lubbock to take on the new look Red Raiders and coach Tommy Tubberville.  Tech opens as a 13 1/2 point favorite.  I expect them to have a few hiccups this year, but I don't expect it to be this week.  Give the points and look for the Tubberville era to open successfully as the Red Raiders win 38-13.

So now we have something to talk about for a few months.   I won't be making it out to see the game this week, and actually won't be at a home game until the 18th when San Diego State visits the Zou.  I'll be trying out some new seats this year.  Same section but about 40 rows lower.  God I hope I'm sitting next to someone that looks like Jenn. Have a great week and I hope your team finds success this year, unless you're going to be playing mine at some point this season.  We'll see how I did with my picks after the weekend.

Dog days

It's mid to late July and summer is in full force.  This is the worst time of the year for me personally.  I'm primarily a football guy and there just anything going on with football for another couple of weeks.  The Royals have given us a couple of weeks of excitement but it appears that's going by the wayside also.  Actually, if you're a Missouri fan, about the biggest thing going on right now is whether basketball recruit Tony Mitchell will be approved by the NCAA clearing house and make it to Columbia for classes this fall.  There's been precious little news coming on the football front other than the stories coming from the Missouri recruiting sites, which have been like an oasis in the desert.  Oh, we've had a couple of things going on, such as college football realignment that ended like a fart in a hurricane and the ongoing ku ticket scandal and FBI investigation, which will probably last another 18 months at least.  But other than these it's been dry as hell.

But there is hope.  Football practice starts in about 2 weeks, and pretty soon we'll be discussing such things as can Blaine Gabbert improve on an excellent sophomore season when he threw for over 3,500 yards.  Also will be whether corn nation can continue their defensive dominance without the most dominant defensive tackle in the last 10 years and if Turner Gill's no profanity rule will carry on to the kansas fans.  What would the spirit of fair play and competition be without 30,000 drunken kansas buffoons urging their team to "rip his fucking head off" whenever the beaks kick off, which could happen an average of 3 times each and every game?

So bear with me a little longer.  Pretty soon I'll be gearing up and breaking down what I think/hope will happen this season and making wild assed predictions every week as it pertains to Big XII scores.  I'm far too old to be wishing my life away, so I'm going to enjoy the high temperatures as best I can.  And after all, it's not like summer doesn't have some things going for it.
In the next week or so, I'm going to take a look at what will be the last year of division play in the conference and offer my best guess on records and where the teams will finish.  Until then, stay cool and have a fabulous week.
 

Post spring around the Big XII. Part 4, kansas

So I'm halfway through the 6 teams that make up the north division of the Big XII (for now) conference.  I've discussed a program with a glorious past and no apparent future, Colorado; a team with an abysmal past but a glimmer of hope, Iowa State, and a contender for the worst college team of all time except for a 15 year period, that hopes to re capture lightning in a bottle via their local legend Bill Snyder, Kansas State.
So today, let me spend a few moments talking about the team that all Missouri fans love to hate, the kansas jayhawks.  As I've written before, there are few if any rivalries that carry the hatred of Missouri/kansas.  It's a birthright for both of us.  If you doubt that, visit a Missouri message board such as Tigerboard and spend a few minutes reading.  This isn't some feud born of a prank that occurred in 1940.  This is a full blown war that began in 1854 and has resulted in multiple atrocities from both sides that continue today.

Last year lew perkins and company hit on a genius marketing strategy with their "History awaits" campaign to pump their season ticket sales.  They'd just gone to consecutive bowl games for the first time in their long and storied history, returned the most experienced quarterback and receivers in the division and were only 2 years removed from their thrilling Orange Bowl triumph over Virginia Tech.  As an aside, did you notice that Fed Ex discontinued their sponsorship of the Orange Bowl last week?  Apparently the matchups weren't quite providing them with the audience they'd been hoping for the last few years.  But anyway, this was their best opportunity to win the division in the 15 year history of the conference.  The prognosticators were kind if not entirely confident and the fan base could hardly keep from jumping for joy at the possibilities.  So, naturally, after a promising, if uninspiring 5-0 start, they promptly went on a 7 game bender to finish 6th in college footballs softest division this side of Prairie View's conference opponents.  The carnage wasn't restricted to the field however as their head coach was terminated for "abusive behavior" of players.  Of course some of these charges were several years old, confirming that old saying, "winning cures everything".

So now they will begin the 2010 season with new head coach Turner Gill from Buffalo.  I've always had some grudging respect for Gill, and I understand his motive with some of the changes he's attempting to make, such as no more names on the backs of uniforms, and no swearing.  I don't think they're going to bear the fruit he's hoping, but it's his team now and he can do whatever he wants.  Well, as long as it's ok with lew.  I'd like to be able to wish him well, but I mean come on, it's kansas!  And frankly, I'm just not certain you can expect great things from a guy that just came off a 5-7 season in the MAC.  It was however an opportunity for him to move up and gain some BCS experience.  It's a high risk/high reward position, and after he couldn't get the guy that was the best man in his wedding to hire him once the Nebraska gig opened up, it was I guess in his opinion, time to take a chance.   
So now we have a new head coach in larry and a new group of players that while I don't know much about them, I'm sure I'll learn to hate.  I am kind of hopeful for the kid that appears to be their next quarterback, Kale Pick.  Anyone willing to take a guess what his nickname will be once he throws his first interception?  But he's going to have to go some to beat the legend that was Todd Reesing.

So I have to say, I really have no idea what to expect this year from the beaks.  They have a new coach that is attempting to install discipline and a no I in team concept to a group of kids who placed trying not to get punked by the basketball team at the top of their to do list every day.  There is also the little matter of an FBI investigation into the athletic department and 4 resignations among former staffers.  If I have one piece of advice to offer you TG, it's don't hold on to your paychecks for too long.  I'd get those babies cashed ASAP.  But hey, lew assured you it was no big deal, right?  Next time I'll talk a bit about the prohibitive favorite for the north crown this fall and the complete antithesis of Turner Gill, the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Bo Pelini.