Texas 42 UTEP 13 [ a week ago. If the strength of Texas’ opponents
suggests holding off on a parade would be prudent, there’s no reason
to feel gloomy, either. Mighty Casey hasn’t come close to striking
out.
Oklahoma 52 Cincinnati 26 [, don’t hold your breath for Bradford to
cool off. Not when he’s got five senior brick walls giving him all day
to find the open man.
Baylor 51 Northwestern St 6 [. Weak opponent or not, my new favorite
non-Texas player–true freshman quarterback Robert Griffin–was
outstanding yesterday, passing for 294 yards on 15 of 19 passing,
including 3 touchdowns and no turnovers. Throw in 42 yards on 10
carries for good measure and we can mark off “dominates weak
competition” on the Robert Griffin path to stardom checklist.
Oklahoma State 56 Houston 37 []Not taking the Oklahoma State offense
seriously yet? That might be a mistake… So ridiculous were the
Cowboys offensively on Saturday that the standard video game analogy
breaks down; it was sillier than that. This was more like The Matrix
and the realm of the jaw-droppingly impossible: 699 yards of total
offense, including 379 rushing on 51 carries. Kendall Hunter needed
just 22 carries to rack up 210 yards, while Keith Toston added 78 more
on 8 attempts, giving Oklahoma State two rushers who averaged over 9
yards per carry. Not blown away yet? This oughtta seal the deal: in
the third quarter, the Cowboys scored 28 points on 20 offensive snaps.
Bow down.
Texas Tech 35 Nevada 19 [ against Nevada Saturday. That might be
generous, given the 6.0 yards per play allowed to the Wolfpack, but
Ruffin’s Riders deserve credit for standing tall when it mattered
most: As Tim Griffin notes in the above link, Nevada was inside the
Tech 26 yard line on 8 separate occasions in the game’s first three
quarters, but came away with just 4 field goals from those drives.
They picked the right game to show up, too, as Graham Harrell was
uncharacteristically off the mark. The senior missed on 27 of his 46
pass attempts, had just 1 touchdown pass, and turned the ball over
twice. On the bright side, Texas Tech ran the ball well (5.6 yards per
attempt), something they must do well for Mike Leach’s system to
succeed against strong competition. Tech moves to 2-0, and with home
games against SMU and Massachusetts to close out the non-conference
season, they’ll open Big XII play 4-0 on October 4th in Manhattan.
Texas A&M 28 New Mexico 22 []To give you an idea of how fortunate A&M
was to win this contest, the Aggies were outgained by 134 yards by the
Lobos and got 7 of their 28 points on an interception return. To be
fair, an injury to Mike Goodson early in the game hamstrung the
Aggies’ rushing attack, but, they also caught a huge break when they
lost quarterback Stephen McGee for the game, as well. Had Grass Stains
McGritty been in there for four quarters, it seems likely A&M would be
0-2. Game ball goes to Jerrod Johnson, the 6-5 redshirt sophomore from
Humble, who found the end zone three times through the air. As a
Longhorn fan, the likely end of the McGee era is a bitter one, the
opportunity to wax him in Austin this November now lost. Should
Johnson become the A&M starter heading forward, McGee will finish his
career with a winning record against Texas. Life is incredibly unfair.
Iowa State 48 Kent State 28 []Snicker all you like at the Cyclones’
season-opening opponents; my goals for this team are less ambitious.
Namely: don’t embarrass the Big XII. So far, so good, as Iowa State
avenged their 23-14 loss to Kent State a year ago, doing their part in
the conference’s 12-0 Saturday. Not that anyone should be doing any
chest-thumping: only Oklahoma played a BCS conference opponent, and
the rest of this week’s fodder combine to make a who’s who of
ineptitude. Or, in many cases, just: “Who’s that?” Saturday’s Big XII
OpponentsCincinnatiUTEPNevadaNew MexicoHoustonNorthwestern StEastern
WashingtonLouisiana TechSoutheast Missouri StMontana StSan Jose StKent
St
Nebraska 35 San Jose St 12 [: “While Nebraska looked more confused
than a bi-sexual Lou Holtz in the first half against San Jose State,
the second half (okay, I’ll be honest – fourth quarter) was far
more promising.”Some metaphors help you understand. Some terrify the
mind. After reading this one, I may need to see a therapist to get out
of my head the mental image of a drunken Lou Holtz prowling a bar,
hitting on everything… WAIT. WHAT IF I WENT TO SEE A THERAPIST AND
IT WAS DR. LOU???!? [curls into a ball, sucks thumb, cries hard]Our
father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name…
Kansas State 69 Montana State 10[, good opponent or not, it’s a huge
relief for K-State fans to see Josh Freeman playing mature, mistake-
free football in the early going. The Co-Big XII Player of the Week
last Saturday, Freeman was again exceptionally efficient against a bad
foe, completing 16 of 21 passes for 288 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 0
interceptions. The Wildcats also blocked two MSU punts in the
rout.(I’m honestly a little scared to keep going with this report.
What am I going to be terrorized by when I look up info on Missouri?
I’m not kidding when I say I’m expecting to accidentally stumble
across a YouTube of a tiger biting off whole the head of an infant.)
Missouri 52 Southeast Missouri State 3[]If you’re wondering why this
week’s report contains YouTube clips meant to serve as metaphors for
these games, the lion’s share of the credit goes to the Big XII
North’s astonishingly bad scheduling. There’s simply nothing to say
about an epic beatdown of a school none of us knew existed prior to
yesterday. Might as well throw up a clip of a cop beating some
homeless dude, write, “Sorta like that,” and be done with it. So there
ya go.
Kansas 29 Louisiana Tech 0[]Though not exactly a big name opponent,
the Bulldogs are a Division 1 opponent of reasonable competency.
Jayhawks quarterback Todd Reesing was especially excellent yesterday
(32-38, 412 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT), but the ground game troublesomely
failed to take hold for the second straight week. Kansas picked up
just 126 yards rushing on 33 carries (3.8 per attempt), as the search
for a replacement to Brandon McAnderson continues. The Jayhawks travel
to Tampa to face 19th-ranked South Florida next Saturday Friday, an
opponent they may struggle to defeat without help in the ground game.
Colorado 31 Eastern Washington 24[]Colorado matched their division-
mates in the scheduling department, but missed the memo explaining the
game should be a blowout. The Buffs trailed 21-7 at the half, needed
17 fourth quarter points to avoid a disastrous upset, and scored the
winning touchdown on an interception return with 1:44 left in the
game. Cody Hawkins was reasonably sharp for CU (28-38, 261 yards, 3
TDs, 1 INT), but freshman Darrell Scott was repeatedly stymied,
finishing with a meager 39 yards on 13 carries. The Buffaloes get a
week off to regroup, but close out their non-conference slate with
home games against West Virginia and Florida State–neither of whom
are world beaters, but will require a better effort than what CU got
yesterday. Scott’s struggles highlight what looks like the biggest
obstacle for Colorado this year–overcoming a young offensive line
with little experience.
BEST WIN: TEXAS TECH, OVER NEVADA Oklahoma was more impressive over a
better opponent, but the nod this week goes to Tech, who likely needed
this solid win more than Oklahoma did a blowout over the Bearcats.
Nevada not only may win the WAC this season, but as Tech’s strongest
by far non-conference road opponent, the road win gives the Red
Raiders confidence they’ll need as they gun to be more than the Big
XII South’s third-best team.
TOP PERFORMER, OFFENSE (TEAM): OKLAHOMA STATE Goodness gracious the
Cowboys rolled Houston’s defense hard. Among the notable
accomplishments, the Cowboys were 10 of 13 on third down, had four
touchdown drives of less than two minutes, four touchdown drives of
four plays or less, and 699 yards of total offense.
BUM STEER, OFFENSE (TEAM): COLORADO The Buffs out-fail the Aggies
because A&M both played a tougher opponent and can plausibly blame the
injury to Goodson. Colorado was just plain mediocre against a 1-AA
opponent. As noted above, the biggest problem is on the offensive line
and if the rushing game suffers in conference play, the Buffs are
going to struggle mightily to keep up with the racehorses on the other
side.
TOP PERFORMER, OFFENSE (INDIVIDUAL): KENDALL HUNTER & DEZ BRYANT,
OKLAHOMA STATE How do you choose between Hunter’s 210 yards and 2
touchdowns on 22 carries and Bryant’s 236 yards and 3 touchdowns on 9
catches? You don’t.
1. Oklahoma (1) – They are Evil. But they are very good. And all but
guaranteed to be 5-0 on October 11.
2. Missouri (2) – The Tigers next host the team Tech just beat in
Reno; a blowout looks eminent.
3. Texas (3) – The upside of this team is apparent; how quickly
they’ll get there remains the big question.
4. Texas Tech (4) – Ask any Tech fan whether they would have preferred
to beat Nevada 65-60 or the way they actually did and they’ll answer
the latter.
5. Oklahoma State (5) – We knew the offense could be outstanding. We
remain doubtful the defense can be anything other than awful.
6. Kansas (6)- The trip to Tampa will tell us a lot about this year’s
Jayhawks. Finding the running game is critical.
7. Nebraska (7) – Only Colorado’s flop against an even weaker opponent
saves them from being the division’s dogs for the week.
8. Kansas State (9) – Through two games, Josh Freeman has been the
player his most fervent believers argue he can be. The rest of us will
wait for an opponent with a pulse.
9. Colorado (8) – Only last week’s win over a 1A opponent keeps them
from falling behind Baylor.
11. Texas A&M (10) – It is so unfair we did not get to see A&M go 0-12
with Stephen McGee. So. Unfair.
PB, you are giving OU a little too much credit. While they are the
best team so far in the conference, they don’t look like the
best team stoops has rolled in Norman. The 2003 which collapsed at the
end of the season looked the best for the first 11 games of the
season. I don’t think they are that good defensively. Teams will
be able to move the ball on them and Bradford is a statue at QB.
If you can get pressure on him i.e. WVU you can slow them down. For
me, their key weapon is Gresham who is an absolute monster. He seems
to torch every team he plays. For us to slow them down we have got to
find a way to take away Gresham from Bradford.
Don’t get me wrong my fear factor for OU is like 20 out of 10,
because I don’t really know just how good this Texas team is,
but OU is not going to blow us away.
Again, I just said you could make the argument. It’s too soon to
say one way or the other, but they look loaded offensively like never
before, especially with those five senior OLs.
How much did Lamarr Houston’s absence make a difference on the
D-Line’s effectiveness last night? Seems like Aaron Lewis
didn’t get a whole lot of production at all – would we all
be carping less about sloppy D about if Houston had not sat out?
especially in the run defense. Texas was slanting into the gaps
between offensive linemen most of the game and Roy Miller got
penetration, but Lewis never really did. He also had almost no
pressure on the QB. I think it made a big difference in letting UTEP
get their feet under them and into an offensive rhythm in the first
half.
I think our weak OL and our issues on defense will have us looking
like the ‘06 2-10 Colorado team by year’s end. Hope
I’m wrong, though.
This is an improvement from last week’s outlook of 0-12, though.
I’m now staring 1-11 in the face. We might get by Army.
Re: OU’s Jermaine Gresham, Stoops once compared him to Adrian
Peterson, but at TE. This is high praise for him. He might be
OU’s best TE since Keith Jackson was winning All-American awards
there.
Re: Baylor’s Robert Griffin. Basically, Griffin is just what
they need at Baylor. In the first year of a new system with a new
coach, with the current talent on campus, Baylor wasn’t going to
a bowl game this season. However, Griffin gives them an exciting
X-factor on offense, someone to actually come to the game to watch
play. Building a fanbase is a good first step for Baylor. Griffin
gives them a chance to win some shootouts, which is really all they
can ask for this season.
Granted, Northwestern (LA) State sucks, but a blowout win is a blowout
win. This is the first time Bayloe has scored 50+ in a while, I
believe.
Re: Missouri and Okie State: I think both of these teams are more
alike than you think. Ridiculous offenses, horrific defenses.
I do think the fact that Arkansas can pass for 300+ yds per game
should worry you a little with your secondary.
to write this ON TOP of the earlier piece looking at UT-UTEP. My
hat’s off to you.
Great stuff, incisive, funny, the kind of information and analysis
daily newspapers (or, going way way back) the weekly Texas Football
Magazine newsletters used to provide. Neither exists anymore; well,
the first exists, but on life support.
Agreed: OU looks scary, but they were a near-unanimous pick to win the
Big 12. That kind of team should be scary. Ohio State and Clemson were
similar picks, and do not look scary.
As for the weakness of the Big 12 schedule, two points: (1) Why play
anybody tough, even if you can find ‘em; the only penalty a team
pays for a weak opponent is the lost opportunity to improve
players’ skills; (2) Some of these games are the result of the
addition of a 12th game on short notice in early 2006. I expect some
of the I-AA’s to disappear in another season or two. Of course,
the Big 12 may have to designate one MAC or Sun Belt opponent as a
“league” game.
You’re absolutely right, and I think Wells has previously
articulated this argument well: It’s not necessarily in a
team’s interest to schedule hard. It sucks for the fans, but
it’s not exactly irrational either.
In all seriousness, almost every BCS school schedules weak non-
conference schedules. In a system where there is no playoff to
determine the national champion, and one win can disqualify you from
consideration (unless your name is LSU and the year is 2007 and the
media really, really, REALLY likes you), there is nothing wrong with
scheduling a I-AA opponent for a glorified scrimmage in your first
game. Granted, you have your exceptions like USC-UVA or Clemson-Bama,
but those are few and far between. Even after playing a tough opener
like Clemson, Bama still has some sweet, sweet cake to feast on later.
The SEC, for all their hype as the toughest conference in the land,
regularly feats on cupcakes.
Yes, it sucks for the fan who shells out big bucks to see his favorite
team play, but I have never had a problem attending a blowout win over
a weak opponent. At least one team is playing well.
I think the ideal non-conference schedule is a “bought”
win to open the season, so the team can get its legs under it and
adjust to the new season, a midly competitive second game (ala Rice or
UTEP or New Mexico for A&M), then a name team to get the fans excited
and the team ready for conference play (Miami in A&M’s case).
With the addition of the fourth non-conference game, you pretty much
have to add another “buy” win to fill out that fourth
game.
My suggestion for teams with open spots on their schedule is to look
into the patriotic option: Call up Navy or Air Force or Army. Your
fans will enjoy a home-and-home with any of those schools, you get the
patriotic gameday warm fuzzies from playing an academy school, and
Navy and Air Force will offer enough of a challenge to keep it
interesting.
I must also say, I wait 8 months out of the year for college football
season; I’ll be damned if I’m going to complain about who
is playing who when it arrives.
I have never had a problem attending a blowout win over a weak
opponent. At least one team is playing well.
With that argument in mind, maybe they should schedule some high
schools or Long John Silver impersonators. I guess that’s where
we are.
The problem with your ideal non-conference schedule is that most fans
aren’t interested in watching a crappy game just to watch the
offense or defense. If the team has already played a crappy team, then
they have one game they can take their kids to, the kids will stay
interested because there is a lot of scoring.
Schedule two of these and fans are still buying season tickets as long
as they think the team is good. If the team isn’t good, then
people aren’t going to shell out for the season ticket, and
they’ll avoid the crappy games. Over the long haul, it’s
not good for the game, not good for the school.
Whenever you reduce the quality of the product, it costs you. It may
not be today, but it will cost you.
Nebraska fans would sell out the stadium to watch the Huskers play a
middle school team. But that’s just my opinion.
but the thing is… if we don’t improve, that sell-out
streak may fall. it won’t this year, but give it another 5-7
season or 6-6 season, and more crappy games, and it willhappen.
I always thought that it should be part of the BCS that some portion
of the non-conference schedule should be required to be with other BCS
schools.
With the current 12 game schedule, Id like to see 2 of those be BCS
required opponents.
Maybe you could even be a little more suave about it and make one of
them come from the top half of teams in terms of win percentage from
the previous year and one from the bottom half, selected at random.
Then schedule whoever you want as your first two tune-ups, but your
conference schedule, and your 2 BCS games are taken outside of the
college’s decision making, and at least 10 games a year are with
BCS quality opponents. And eventually youd get those Texas vs
MIchigan, or Florida vs USC type games that everyone but the coaches
should love.
I think you’d see a lot less undefeated teams (have there been
that many anyway?), and while not a playoff, at least a better cross
matching of teams for the championship games than we have now.
The silly-looking agric-blob, shrouded in a maroon tent, didn’t
look like he was doing much coaching at all, the few times I cut over
to that game.
Give it to the CU offensive line. No where to go. He had 2 ridiculous
runs and some good receptions out of the backfield.
Actually I think I’d prefer to have beaten Nevada by the same
margin but a much higher score. Graham Harrell has the worst game of
his career in his 26th start? That terrifies me. The defense gives up
a thousand yards? Offense gets outgained?
All the Nevada game did was made me wonder whether we’re
bad… on both sides of the ball.
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