Rock M Roundtable!

1 - Mizzou got blown out at Kansas on Monday, just like they did last year.  Any cause for alarm coming from this game, or do you consider this the same "when it doesn't work, it really doesn't work" phenomenon that saw Mizzou get blown out multiple times last year?

2 - HUGE four-game stretch coming up for Mizzou, with home games against OSU, ATM, and ISU, plus a road game against CU.  Do you see them sweeping these four games, or do they get tripped up?

3 - Some big games coming up tonight and Saturday for what we roughly see as the top half of the conference...picks!

ATM at OSU (tonight)
Kansas at KSU (Saturday)
Baylor at Texas (Saturday)
Tech at ATM (Saturday)
OSU at Mizzou (Saturday)

4 - Since it came up again this weekend, which type of football overtime do you prefer: NCAA, NFL, or some other possible version?

Michael Atchison: 1 - I don’t think they need to be alarmed, but I do think that they need to start shooting straight.  I agree with just about everything Bill said in the post-mortem, especially that there’s no worse matchup for the Tigers than Cole Aldrich.  The good news is that there’s hardly another player in America like him.  I do think it may be time for Taylor and Denmon to become focal points for the offense.  They’re the two guys who can drive toward the hoop and make things happen (Dixon, too, to a lesser extent).  But yeah, that really didn’t work.  I blame Jarrid Famous.

2 - Each individual game looks like a win, but not easy ones.  I give them a 50.5% shot of sweeping.

3 - I’ll take all of the home teams in close games except K-State.  We’ve discovered that when Kansas turns its full attention to a game, it’s tough to beat.

4 - I like the NCAA version for the NCAA, but I don’t know whether I’d like it for the NFL.  I say play an equal number of possessions until someone comes out on top, but play it straight.  Just kick it off and go.

The Beef: 1 - I don’t know that it causes any more alarm than had already been caused by the previous 4-5 games, though this game did crystallize it even more, and that is…we don’t seem to have a real scorer right now.  It is not so much a system thing like it might have been on freak-outs of the past, but this is just plain ol’ we don’t have a guy who could fall out of a boat and hit water right now.  You’d love to believe that getting home this weekend will cure it and I certainly would not be surprised to see us put up one of those games where we hit 14-30 from 3 point range and crush Okie State early.  However…you come out and shoot 30% in the first half and our fans (who while they may be there on Saturday may not be in the best of moods) could end up hurting our confidence even more.

2 - Right now, my gut says we get tripped up, but with three of four at home (and a salty, but still not equal CU being the lone roadie)…I will relent and say we win the next four.

3 - ATM at OSU (tonight) – When in doubt, go with the home team I guess

Kansas at KSU (Saturday) – Nice win by kSU on the road the other night, but I think kU has rediscovered Aldridge and what he can do to help their outside shooting.  I expect kU to roll for a good few weeks here.

Baylor at Texas (Saturday) – This is an intriguing game to me…would be even more so if it was in Waco.  I will go with UT

Tech at ATM (Saturday) – What goes around, comes around.  Went against aTm to start just because they were on the road.  Will go with them this time just because they are home.

OSU at Mizzou (Saturday) – Give me Tigers

4 - I realize the NFL is all about tradition, and because of that, I doubt this rule ever actually gets changed.  They put up some interesting stats about the playoff OT’s and how often the coin-flip winner wins, and it is never as often as you think it is, and the NFL wants to MAKE SURE you remember that.  That being said, imagine a college OT attached to that NO/MN game from this past weekend and if those two teams had been allowed to keep throwing sloppy haymakers at one another (which is pretty much what they were doing for the game).

Doug: 1 - I think it's more an indictment of, one, having to play Kansas on the road in Allen Field House in one of the two "rivalry games" this season, and two, Kansas athletically and skill-wise being able to match up with a number of different style opponents throw at them.  There is a question of Missouri speeding the game up too much and playing right in KU's hands.  I don't think the Tigers win a half-court grind it out game, but certainly trying to chew a little more of the shot clock against Kansas is not a bad thing.

2 - Three home games are a very good thing for the Tigers, and the Colorado game will be played in an empty arena, but it is on the road, so I think there's a slightly better than 50-50 chance MU slips up on one of these games.

3 - OSU - Look for the zone to become a bigger part of their defense now.
Kansas - The talent and athleticism to match-up with K-State on all parts of the floor.
Texas - In Waco, I might pick differently.
aTm - Tech is just... really, really bad.
MU - At home, but OSU will throw zone at the Tigers.

4 - I like the idea of both teams having the ball in the overtime, but I would add a wrinkle with the college format in the pros.  First possession for both teams start at the 35, so it's a 52 yard field goal if you don't advance the ball, iffy even for a pro kicker.  I'd also think about moving the starting yard line for each subsequent possession back 5 to 10 yards each time.

ZouDave: 1 - I can't be too concerned with a whipping in lawrence, because that's the statis quo.  We got whipped there last year and still had basically the best season we've ever had, so it's in no way an indication that our team is sunk.  It's certainly not an indication we're going to be just fine, but I think you just have to take your loss at kansas and move on.

2 - We will sweep these 4 games.  End of discussion.  NEXT QUESTION!

3 - OSU, KSU (I'm probably wrong about this one but I'm picking it anyway), Texas, aTm, Mizzou.  In other words, when in doubt take the home team.

4 - NCAA Football is my favorite game, but the NFL is my favorite league.  The only real inequity I see in the NFL is their OT rules.  I am not really in favor of the NFL adopting the college OT rules, but I would like them to go ahead and just play another full 15-minute quarter with 4th-quarter time rules, etc.  If there's no winner after another quarter, then it's a tie (or in a playoff game, you can just play full quarters until it's over).  But hey, the BCS and the NFL Playoffs ended up with the #1 and #2 teams facing each other so maybe the BCS is just fine, eh?  Eh?  HUH?  SAY IT!

The Beef: Now THAT is an interesting wrinkle…can’t say I am opposed to that…

Michael Atchison: Despite what happened Monday night, I still feel like we’ve had a better week than Paul Shirley.

Doug: I don't think you let the offense start any farther back than their own 30, but it does gradually open up the field more, and probably forces teams to open up their playbook as well. Plus, no punting, so no matter where you are on the field, it's always four-down territory.

ghtd36: Lemme get these STUPID answers to these STUPID "RELEVANT" questions out of the way, so I can riff on things like Paul Shirley and more great players from my high school.

1 - I think it only serves to further prove what we already knew: when Mizzou doesn't shoot well, the pace/press better be awesome, and if the pace/press isn't awesome, you're hosed. Now, I'm not going to weep over losing to what really might be the best team in the nation on the road on short rest, but if we've got to take one thing from it, it's that.
"Cause for alarm" isn't appropriate in this situation; if anything, we just know further what we already knew.

2 - Talk about a stretch with four teams hard to get a bead on.

Oklahoma State looked like a typical Big XII also-ran -- relatively solid at home (like drubbing Texas Tech in Stillwater) and relatively shaky on the road (losing @OU and @Tulsa, with its best road win against a firmly "meh" Stanford team). Then, the Pokes beat Kansas State in Manhattan. So, who knows.

Texas A&M is EXACTLY that Big XII also-ran. The Ags' three road losses -- Washington, Texas, K-State -- are more than acceptable, but who have they really beaten? Minnesota and Clemson on neutral floors are good wins, but the rest of the schedule is littered with close wins over pretty "meh" teams like Colorado and OU (at home, no less). So, who knows.

Colorado's weird. Beat Baylor relatively convincingly at home, but squeak by Miami-OH and let Yale (YALE!) hang around. And I can't pretend like I haven't seen losses at Colorado State and at Oregon State. So, who knows.
Iowa State simply doesn't look very good away from Ames. No, Clones, I'm not impressed by your win over Drake or Nebraska.

So, in short, yes, I think Mizzou can hold serve in these four games. And it makes me look forward to the date in Waco even more.

3 - Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Texas, A&M and Mizzou. Home court, FTW.

4 - This is going to draw lots of fire, but you know who had the right idea about football overtime?

The XFL.

Each team gets a possession from the opponent's 20. There are no first downs; you have to score within four downs. The team that gets the ball first can't kick a field goal until fourth down.

But the best part is that the second team only gets as many downs as the first team used to score. So, if the first team scores a touchdown on its second play, the second team only gets two downs to score a touchdown.

Boomovertimerulesroasted.