Mizzou Links, 12-8-08

Initial Alamo Bowl links!

• Mutigers.com: Mizzou accepts bid from Valero Alamo Bowl
• NUsports.com: Northwestern accepts bid to Valero Alamo Bowl
• Dave Matter: Tigers talk Alamo Bowl
• PowerMizzou: Alamo it is
• The Missourian: Missouri accepts bittersweet bid to Alamo Bowl
• KC Star: Mizzou eager to face Northwestern, end on good note
• Post-Dispatch: MU's last stand: Alamo

Here's the complete bowl schedule.

Most Interesting Games:

• Poinsettia Bowl (Boise vs TCU): I was hoping for Bose/Ball State, but it wasn't fair to Ball State to have to go to Boise...and then, you know, they went and lost.  This is a nice alternative.  Plus it's got the audience to itself that night (12/23).
• Meineke Car Care Bowl (West Virginia vs North Carolina): Lots and lots of big-play potential, lots of athleticism.  West Virginia is an extremely disappointing team to me--lots of "Brad Smith '04" going on with Pat White this year--but it's still fun watching them and knowing that at any moment there could be a 95-yard run.
• Papajohns.com Bowl (N.C. State vs Rutgers): Call it the Resurrection Bowl.  Two teams that couldn't have possibly looked worse in September couldn't possibly have looked much better down the stretch in November.
• Holiday Bowl (Oklahoma State vs Oregon): No explanation needed.  Points points points.
• Gator Bowl (Clemson vs Nebraska): Just close your eyes and pretend like it's the early-1980s.
• GMAC Bowl (Tulsa vs Ball State): Seriously, I'm not missing this one.  Take the points scored in the Holiday Bowl and double them.
• BCS Title Game (Oklahoma vs Florida).  This really is a potentially exciting matchup.

Least Interesting Games:

• St. Petersburg Bowl (Memphis vs South Florida):  Basically an easy(ish) extra home game for the Bulls...waste of everybody's time.
• Independence Bowl (Louisiana Tech vs Northern Illinois): Only because I thought we were going to get a La Tech/UL-Lafayette matchup and a sold out Indy Bowl.
• Sun Bowl (Oregon State vs Pittsburgh):  Both teams have some exciting players, but I think their playing styles will bring the worst out in each other.
• Outback Bowl (South Carolina vs Iowa):  A) South Carolina made a January 1 bowl?  That's a bunch of hooey.  B) Eww.
• Orange Bowl (Virginia Tech vs Cincinnati): No explanation needed.

Here's a sentence I never thought I'd utter again: And now a happier subject...Mizzou Basketball!

• Mutigers.com: Missouri Rolls past Cal, 93-66
• Calbears.com: Call falls at Missouri
• KC Star: MU whacks Cal, 93-66

  But there was more than revenge to the way the Tigers tore into the Bears on Sunday.

  “We’ve got a different team this year,” Carroll said, “so it’s a breath of fresh air for us.”

  ...

  “Coach always tells us to take our practice into games,” Denmon said. “We all play with different lineups in practice. It shows on the court.”

  English — who at one point hit four straight three-pointers on a day when MU as a team was only six of 20 from behind the arc — hummed the same theme.

  “It’s easy,” English said. “We do a lot of practicing. We play with different lineups every day. We’re always pretty in synch on the court on game day.”

  After a pause, English added exactly what he had been told by Missouri coach Mike Anderson.

  “And, we’re in sync on defense,” English said, trying not to grin.

• The Trib: Missouri routs California
• PowerMizzou: Tigers put the clamps on California
• The Missourian: Pressure defense frustrates California
• Post-Dispatch: Missouri clamps down on Cal
• San Francisco Chronicle: Missouri blows past flustered Cal
• Daily Californian: Early Barrage from Missouri leads to Blowout of Bears