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September 25, 2009
I live in Columbia, so of course I hear all the time about how great Mizzou is, how great Blaine Gabbert is and why KU is not that good and how Mizzou will beat the Hawks in Arrowhead in November.
Now, I will say, Blaine Gabbert is a good quarterback, and in time, he could very well be one of the best quarterbacks in the nation and certainly the Big 12, and that's a big reason why Mizzou has moved to 3-0 and will likely improve to 4-0 tonight after beating Nevada. The kid has incredible size, 6-5, 240, and reminds me of Ben Roethlisberger when he was at Miami... I bring all this up, because this race that is shaping up in the Big 12 North is going to turn out to be every bit as exciting as the race in the Big 12 South or any division in college football in 2009.
Kansas, Mizzou and Nebraska are all good teams this year, and that bodes well for the conference, giving it much needed credibility considering it's been the red-headed stepchild since the Big 12's inception.
That's why the brouhaha from this week is unfortunate because 2009-2010 has all the makings to be a Big 12 Championship Year for KU, not just in basketball, but in football too. And it's because of playing an improved Nebraska, Mizzou, Texas, OU, Texas Tech, all very good teams, but all teams that KU can match up with. KU, provided they stay healthy, can win those games. I'm not impressed with Texas, OU plays in Lawrence, so does Nebraska, Texas Tech isn't as good as last season and as long as Mizzou has Gary Pinkel, I'll always like my chances with Mark Mangino out-coaching GP.
Maybe that's why the KU football players are so mad. Maybe they're upset because they know they've got a Big 12 Championship caliber team and nobody's giving them any love for that. Dare I say after watching Florida, who I'm not at all impressed with, that this KU team is the kind of group that could catch a hot streak and ride it to a BCS title game... why not? The way this college football season is shaping up, the National Title game will have teams with at least one loss, maybe two. KU can get through this season with two losses and a Big 12 Title.
A win tomorrow against Southern Miss, a good Southern Miss team, and suddenly their non-conference schedule doesn't look so bad - is Southern Miss any worse than Illinois? I don't think so - they're 4-0, they've got their swagger heading into conference play, maybe they'll get some love from Bill Self and the basketball players and KU, to me, as long as they stay healthy, can win 10 games and capture a Big 12 Championship. Crazy? Maybe. But so is the idea of football and basketball players fighting each other. If KU's athletic teams have proven anything under Lew Perkins, it's that anything can happen.
Rock Chalk.
And if you follow Missouri high school sports, check me out at www.coachesaid.com/mo .
Comments
jayhawkboogeyman (anonymous) says...
i have been thinking about our BCS chances a lot lately too. I think the following could play out:
1. We beat OU at home, TTU at Lubbock, run the table in the N., and lose at Austin to go 11-1 and have berth in the Big 12 title game. At that point, I think we either: A) beat Texas and have a berth in the BCS title game, as a lot of other contenders already have and will continue to fall OR B) we lose to Texas, but at 11-2 with 2 losses to a team that will be in the title game, we get a Fiesta Bowl berth.
I am assuming that Texas will win the South. If we lose once to Texas this year, it would be better to lose at Austin and win the redemption game in the Big 12 title than to pull off the upset at Austin and lose the rematch.
2. We lose 2 regular season games, but pull off the win in the Big 12 title game. At 11-2 and Big 12 champs, I would say, depending on what other teams do, we would either be in the title game, or, more likely, the Fiesta Bowl.
More than 2 losses and we have, of course, no shot at a BCS game.
September 25, 2009 at 11:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
suttonku (anonymous) says...
Im as big of a KU fan as anybody but the BCS title is a long shot, a really long shot...Look, I said before the season started that we would beat OU and I still think we will but I dont expect us to beat UT on the road...TTU on the road is going to be tough, really tough...I think we will beat MU and Mizzou though...And I think Mizzou will beat NU...I think KU is probably going to lose at least two games this year and more than likely they will lose 3...the good news is I dont think the basketball team will lose 3 games
September 25, 2009 at 5:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jayhawkboogeyman (anonymous) says...
After the game today, I would say if we do not improve significantly in the bye week and vs. ISU and CU, we have little chance of going 2-3 vs. nu, mu, ttu, ut, and OU. The offense was way too sloppy and failed to convert opportunities in the second half to put the game away, and the defense, though better than last year in many respects, is still not going to be competitive against the top 5 in the conference.
September 26, 2009 at 10:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
pmohr13 (anonymous) says...
If we lose in the B12 championship game we will not go to a BCS bowl. It has never happened in the previous ten years that the loser of the Big 12 Championship game has gone to a BCS bowl. It's the exact reason we got the Orange Bowl and MU didn't in 2007. Now it comes down to, would you rather 1) win the north and lose the Big 12 championship game and not go to a BCS bowl or 2) come in second in the north and go to a BCS bowl? Both would give us great air time but I think the exposure against another conference would be better.
September 29, 2009 at 10:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
FreddyD (anonymous) says...
Well, and JBoogey said it above, KU's BCS chances are going to be slim and none with Slim walking out the door if they rush the quarterback against Big 12 opponents like they did against Southern Miss... I was not at all impressed with KU's defense, the DEs were very suspect and the linebackers had me thinking they had been hijacked by the KC linebacking corps... KU's offense was also very regular but seemed to turn it on when they had to... I'm very mixed on this team because through four games this team is just OK, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, because the offense has had its moments and the defense theirs... But Jake Sharp is desperately needed if this team is going to win a Big 12 North or Conference title, and a linebacker or D-End will have to be a difference maker, because right now, outside of Stuckey, there's nobody on that defense that is a playmaker...
September 29, 2009 at 2:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )