Oklahoma State Beats Missouri: Links And Reflections
by Bill C. on Oct 23, 2011 1:30 PM CDT
in Mizzou Football 2011
Email
Print
And now, the continuation of the post that began earlier...
Good Enough To Give Themselves A Chance, Young Enough To Screw It Up
This was an annoying tease of a game that finished with a semi-predictable result. In the first half, the defense scuffled to figure out how to slow OSU down, but the offense kept up for the most part. (First half yards per play: OSU 6.6, Mizzou 5.8.) In the second and third quarters, the defense settled in (OSU's first five drives: 42 plays, 314 yards, 24 points; OSU's next three drives: 12 plays, 20 yards, 0 points) and gave the offense a chance to even the game ... and the offense kept blowing it. (Mizzou's second-half drives: INT-Punt-Fumble-Downs-TD-INT-INT.)
This has, to one degree or another, been the story all season. Against good teams (Mizzou's losses have come to teams with a combined record of 25-3), Mizzou has been competitive, athletic and occasionally explosive. They have hinted at quite a bit of potential, and they have repeatedly gotten in their own way at the wrong times. As I said last week, the goals for this week have to be 1) bowl eligibility and 2) show hints that another breakthrough (like 2007, 2008 and 2010) could be on the horizon. I've seen enough to be reassured that (2) is quite possible. However, (1) remains a concern. I'm a positivity-based guy, but even with glimpses of potential and a hard schedule, it will be difficult for me to spin a 5-7 season (or, technically, worse) as anything but a disappointment.
The script for bowl eligibility remains the same, of course: 1) beat Texas Tech and Kansas and 2) beat either Baylor, Texas or Texas A&M. After Tech's startling win last night, I guess you could switch this to 1) beat Kansas and 2) go at least 2-2 versus Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech. Yesterday was a missed opportunity, but the potential is still there, and I'm still confident that Mizzou ends up at least 6-6, even if they fall to 3-6 after these two upcoming road games.
Links:
MUtigers.com: Tigers Fall To No. 6 Cowboys, 45-24
MUtigers.com: Mizzou/Oklahoma State Post-Game Notes
The Trib: Tigers no match for Cowboys
The Trib: MU’s poor 3rd quarter spells doom
The Missourian: Missouri fails to capitalize on opportunities in 45-24 loss to Oklahoma State
PowerMizzou: OSU brings Mizzou to its knees
PowerMizzou: Sunday Grade Card
Post-Dispatch: Another jolt for Mizzou
Daily Oklahoman: Joseph Randle scores 4 TDs as No. 4 Cowboys stay unbeaten
KBIA Sports Extra: Untimely turnovers kill Missouri’s upset chances against Oklahoma State
Multimedia:
PowerMizzou: PMTV-HD: Pinkel post-game
The Missourian: PHOTO GALLERY: Missouri Tigers lose 45-24 against Oklahoma State
The Missourian: PHOTO GALLERY: Tailgating, band practice, football antics fill pre-game near stadium
Oklahoma State: Good
They are incredibly experienced, they are fast at every position, they tackle well, they throw to any of nine different targets (well, eight, now that Hubert Anyiam is out, I guess), they tip passes, they make the little plays, they have good special teams ... I got a deja vu feeling yesterday, quickly coming to the understanding of what it must have been like to play against Missouri's 2007 squad. People want to boil this squad down to "Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon," but they are so much more than that, and they continue to show it every week.
Links:
Tulsa World (Dave Sittler): Legit Cowboys make it tough to be a doubter
Daily Oklahoman: Doubt these Cowboys at your own risk
Daily Oklahoman: OSU center Grant Garner: ‘It always feels a lot better to run the ball'
Daily Oklahoman: OSU report card: Cowboys get high marks for turnover production, uniforms
The Trib: Minus star, OSU keeps on rolling
Bright Spots
If the defense plays like it did the last three quarters yesterday, then they will at least give themselves a shot in trips to A&M and Baylor these two coming weeks. They are going to give up points and yards, but that's because A&M and Baylor will get points and yards versus anybody. Players like E.J. Gaines (4.5 tackles, 1 INT, 3 PBU), Dominique Hamilton (2.5 tackles, 2.0 TFL/sacks), Andrew Wilson (6.0 tackles, 1.5 TFL) and Zaviar Gooden (8.5 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 PBU) showed they still have a high ceiling, and if Mizzou gets their safety issue figured out -- Matt White just isn't the answer this year, at least not yet -- then this is a defense that will likely continue to have an impact, even if it isn't as much as we hoped to see this year. (And no, allowing "only" 533 yards and 6.6 yards per play to Oklahoma State is not necessarily a sign of regression.)
Links:
KC Star: MU notebook: Gaines turns in big play
The Farewell Tour
I grew up with Missouri as my favorite team (even though they were never on television and were usually terrible) and Oklahoma State as my (distant) No. 2. If Mizzou is to leave for the SEC, this will actually help me in a way, as it will allow me to occasionally root for OSU without fearing that OSU's success will come at Mizzou's detriment. (This was a similar problem with K-State recently, as I wanted friends like TB and Panjandrum to be happy while hoping K-State didn't do too well. Not that this is an issue with, um, current new personalities at BOTC.)
Anyway, Mizzou quite possibly just said goodbye to another Big 12 foe, and it feels weird. Like I've said before, if Mizzou does leave, we'll look at a schedule with opponents like Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and Kentucky on it next year, and we won't really step back and realize who isn't on the schedule for a while (just like Big 12 fans will notice TCU and potentially another newcomer without thinking about the schedule's lack of Missouri and Texas A&M). But this is still some serious change, and it's a shame that Missouri is now 1-3 against potential "former" rivals so far this year.
Links:
The Missourian: Visiting fans put different Big 12 team loyalties aside to root against Missouri
KBIA Sports Extra: Saying goodbye to Pistol Pete and the Big 12
50 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I am happy to see a few things, like our D-Line making a bigger impact
(Btw, sorry for subject change but I am also happy to see Danario starting today)
by McZou on Oct 23, 2011 1:59 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
further off topic
I’m really glad the NFL has not gone the way of MLB and put all the radio feeds of games behind a paywall.
What do you mean I can't retire at 32?
yep.
the gap widens every year.
well, blimey.
by threadkiller on Oct 23, 2011 3:30 PM CDT up reply actions
...
Griffin maintained that Oklahoma and Oklahoma State’s flirtation with the Pac-12 last month was a ruse by Oklahoma President David Boren to get leverage on Texas and try to bring stability to the conference. He put the blame on Missouri and especially Texas A&M for deciding not to deal with Texas.
"Bottom line, that was sour grapes," Griffin said. "They said, ‘We tired of always ending up sucking hind tit, and we’re going to leave.’ "
Dear Mr. Griffin. F&*k you. Love, Missouri.
So this is going to be the new line? Oklahoma wasn’t really going to walk for the second time in two years? That Oklahoma really is so loyal to the Big XII? How did that ruse work out again? With the Pac-12 publicly humiliating your school and leaving you with no leverage?
Sorry Bill. If we go, I won’t miss any of these people.
by Gaknar on Oct 23, 2011 2:18 PM CDT reply actions 5 recs
I don't know....Oklahoma has been the epitome of innocence and a angelic role model from day one
Everytime I think they are using trickery, they show us the light that they used superior tactics to achieve good for all. Tactics that are obviously above our comprehension. The original rejection of equal revenue sharing (along with the Nubs and Texas) was just a ploy to get equal revenue sharing. DUH!!!
by McZou on Oct 23, 2011 2:44 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
The ironic thing about this "ruse" even if it were true
is that the instability caused by it helped bring the SEC and Mizzou together. Had OU not done this, I have serious doubts that Mizzou and the SEC would have started working out Mizzou’s emergency exit plan. If OU leaves, Mizzou is in a really tight spot potentially looking at joining the Big East with up to 3 other Big 12 North teams. Of course we are going to jump at an SEC nod.
One general sentiment floating around...
…is that David Boren’s power play was one of the things that officially convinced Brady Deaton that a move might be the best possible option. No idea how based it is in truth, of course (SOURCES), but it would make sense.
Follow me at @SBN_BillC!
SB Nation
Rock M Nation
Football Outsiders
Football Study Hall
They used it to get leverage on Texas
While Texas was negotiating to go with them?
OK…
Even better
What kind of ruse is it if Texas can sabotage it by playing hardball with the Pac-12? And how smart is it if your ruse nullifies Baylor’s lawsuit threats, allowing the SEC to openly negotiate with Mizzou?
Oklahoma exclaims that they aren't anybody's wallflower
and then the PAC says, you aren’t coming unless the wall you are attached to comes with you. So much for not being anybody’s wallflower.
Even if that absurd statement was true
Who wants to be in a conference where it’s members use such tactics as “leverage” over one another instead of saying "hey, how can we work on things for the good of the conference?
And thus is the reason behind all of this. Because current Big 12 members have no interest in working together for the good of everybody, instead they (mostly) look out for each other and try to figure out how they can get an upper hand on each other only working for a greater good when there is absolutely no other option.
Technically...
…we attempted to leverage the hell out of last winter’s “Mizzou to Big Ten?” rumors. That doesn’t change the fact that members NEED to use leverage, but we’ve been guilty too.
Follow me at @SBN_BillC!
SB Nation
Rock M Nation
Football Outsiders
Football Study Hall
A fair point
However I like to think that Missouri used it’s leverage to try to wake up the more selfish members of the conference, not to try and obtain unequal footing individually.
But that’s my biased and perhaps naive opinion. I think this time around Missouri acted much more in that manner, though.
I think I can agree with that.
I always basically felt the way Mizzou leverage was “Okay, you think the Big Ten wants us? Then what are you going to do about these terrible TV contracts, unequal revenue sharing and ridiculous bowl selection process to keep us?”
Follow me at @SBN_BillC!
SB Nation
Rock M Nation
Football Outsiders
Football Study Hall
Exactly
Mizzou wasn’t exactly being altruistic, but they did have enlightened self-interest on their side. In this case, what was good for Mizzou was good for the other 7 have-nots and I think in the long term would have been good for the haves as well. Think Nebraska isn’t going to benefit from a conference network and equal revenue sharing? Think A&M isn’t going to benefit from a media deal that puts all of their games on tv? We could have had that in the Big XII. Adding TCU, Louisville and West Virginia is great from the sports perspective, but it’s not going to get the conference any closer to a conference network. They won’t get the conference any more money from the first tier media deal unless ESPN and company decide that overpaying to keep the conference together is in their best interests.
At the risk of repeating myself,
I just want to lay this out in a more logical way.
Premise: Oklahoma used a possible move to the Pac-12 as a ruse to gain leverage against Texas.
1) The ruse was predicated on the idea that Oklahoma could join the Pac-12 without Texas. This turned out not only to be false, but Oklahoma’s admission to the Pac-12 was actually conditional on Texas joining with them.
2) The negotiations fell apart because of hardball tactics by Texas regarding the LHN. It’s quite possible Texas knew that Oklahoma would not get the nod alone and intentionally sabotaged the negotiations. Either way, Oklahoma never actually had any leverage.
3) In being publicly rejected by the Pac-12, Oklahoma nullified Baylor’s legal basis for holding up A&M to SEC, which had the side effect of freeing the SEC of any legal complications from talking to Mizzou.
Conclusion: Not only did Oklahoma never have leverage against Texas, in trying to exert this phantom leverage against Texas, they actually ended up giving Missouri leverage that Missouri never expected to have, thus creating the very scenario (Mizzou bailing) that so many predicted last year.
I think you are way over-reading this.
OK saw dallying with the PAC as win/win. Either you leave and move to a better conference, or you get leverage to change the B12 however you want. They probably didn’t know ahead of time that their going was contingent on Texas, and Texas probably didn’t know this either. They may have suspected it, even believed it, but until the PAC said no, they had to be aware they were playing with fire.
The only bearing this has on Mizzou’s ability to leave is the PR spin. If OK never threatened to leave, then there’s no Baylor law suit in the first place. The only time Starr has a case is if the B12 would collapse, and nobody ever thought that would happen from just aTm or Mizzou leaving.
Basically now the B12 has just hollowed out. The top tier programs stay because this is the only place they have the political leverage to dominate the decision making (financial and otherwise). The bottom tier programs stay because they don’t have anywhere else to go. The mid-tier programs have all bolted as soon as they could find a good opening.
There's no doubt Oklahoma thought it was win-win
But given what we know now, the only chance they had of winning was if Texas backed down and either gave up concessions in the Big XII or meekly followed them to the PAC. Also remember that according to Loftin, Texas had been negotiating with the PAC since fall 2009. We don’t really know what Larry Scott told Deloss Dodds, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the issue had come up. The academic elitism of the PAC is well known and it had kept Texas out of the PAC when the Big XII formed. Maybe Texas didn’t know for sure, but they were more than willing to push the issue with the PAC to the point that negotiations broke down. With regards to the lawsuit issue, Baylor’s threats were designed to keep Oklahoma in the conference. Prior to Oklahoma’s threats to leave, the 9 schools (led by Mizzou) were making overtures to expansion targets in order to replace A&M. If the SEC had made a move on Mizzou then, it would have looked like an unprovoked attempt to break the Big XII which probably would have triggered the lawsuits anyway. The Oklahoma bloc leaving established that scenario as the worst case scenario. When that fell through, losing Mizzou suddenly looked survivable, which led Neinas to make his comments about how the conference could survive without them. That coupled with the Big XII’s plans to raid another conference essentially killed any chance of a lawsuit if Mizzou left.
In other sour grapes news
Asked why the Big 12 would be upgraded, the official said, "West Virginia has better football than Missouri, better basketball than Missouri, a better budget than Missouri and more passion among its fans than Missouri. They’re better, anyway you turn ‘em. The travel’s not good (to Morgantown, W. Va) but that’s it."
And WVU will be TOTALLY loyal to the Big 12*, too.
* Other than perhaps getting annoyed and applying for membership to every other conference under the sun again. But that’s totally different, and more loyal, than what Mizzou has done.
Follow me at @SBN_BillC!
SB Nation
Rock M Nation
Football Outsiders
Football Study Hall
the joke is on them
Wait until they realize that they have replaced mild mannered mizzou fans with people who prefer to buy/drink their whiskey from cans….
by JC-Mizzou on Oct 23, 2011 3:27 PM CDT via iPhone app up reply actions
they don't have to pay for their booze,
they brew it in them thar hills.
well, blimey.
by threadkiller on Oct 23, 2011 3:34 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Bohls is a douche
He has throughout this mizzou /realignment process been one of those so called journalists with an agenda against Mizzou. Wonder who his “well placed source” is? kU? The slanted reporting is getting tiresome…
Bob Fescoe
#chiefs hold. Johnson penetrates Bush 3 times
by Logan Hill on Oct 23, 2011 4:01 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Wow...
might want to word that tweet JUUUUUUST a bit different…
There is a God and I'm not it, after that EVERYTHING is subjective. Be careful for what you wish for, you just might GET IT!
by mizzoufan1 on Oct 23, 2011 5:17 PM CDT up reply actions 3 recs
Agree about going out without a bang
I want to be able to get back at these teams we are losing to next year!
A good band I know
all this sec talk..
has had me interested but I am about to kick puppies that we are in “Imminent and nearly inevitable” danger of not going to a bowl game.. I would rather go to conf usa than to miss one..
those extra practices are much needed and we will be insufferably humiliated on our way out of the big whatever and upon entering the SEC or whatever.
meh, happens to every program now and again.
can’t win 9-10 games every year. this, too, shall pass.
well, blimey.
by threadkiller on Oct 23, 2011 4:25 PM CDT up reply actions
Hell!
We’re Mizzou. We’re lucky to win 9-10 games in 2 or three seasons (according to the rest of the Big 12)
There is a God and I'm not it, after that EVERYTHING is subjective. Be careful for what you wish for, you just might GET IT!
We should just be grateful
For our 3 wins this year. We’ll never again hit those heights in the SEC.
I got a deja vu feeling yesterday, quickly coming to the understanding of what it must have been like to play against Missouri’s 2007 squad.
I would actually compare this Oklahoma State team to 2008 Texas Tech, with Justin Blackmon playing the part of Michael Crabtree. Tech even had a porous but opportunistic defense like this OSU team.
Who on the 2007 Missouri team compared to Crabtree/Blackmon?
I dunno...
…All-American Jeremy Maclin? All-American Martin Rucker? Soon-to-be All-American Chase Coffman?
Follow me at @SBN_BillC!
SB Nation
Rock M Nation
Football Outsiders
Football Study Hall
by Bill C. on Oct 24, 2011 5:40 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Seconded...
Having seen them both, Blackmon is just not on Maclin’s level. He’s got wheels, but not the ridiculous moves.
I don't see it.
Was Maclin a Biletnikoff winner?
You can look at Crabtree as one of the most dominant WRs to play in college, and Blackmon is right there with them. Maclin wasn’t on that level.
a) The original point was all about depth of options, not the quality of the No. 1.
b) Maclin caught 80 passes for 1,055 yards (and had 375 rushing yards). That’s more than good enough for a big-time No. 1 when Rucker also had 84 catches, Coffman 52, Will Franklin 49, Tommy Saunders 41 and Danario Alexander 37.
Follow me at @SBN_BillC!
SB Nation
Rock M Nation
Football Outsiders
Football Study Hall
This discussion really isn't about stats
With Blackmon and Crabtree, the defense has to know where they are every play of the game, and you go into the game as an opposing fan knowing there is really nothing you can do to stop either of them, you just hope your defense doesn’t give up too many big plays to them, and you are somehow able to pull out the win. Maclin never inspired that kind of fear.
What makes OSU and 2008 Tech so remarkable was they have/had an offense that is difficult to contain defensively, and an elite WR that is the best in college football in the year they are making their run. OSU would be a formidable offense to stop without Blackmon; having him there makes stopping them damn near impossible. Both Crabtree and Blackmon are a multiplier on the effectiveness of the Air Raid offense.
The lack of such a multiplier on Missouri’s 2007 offense (and the fact that they ran a more conventional spread attack, not the Air Raid) makes attempts at a comparison invalid, in my opinion. If you want to talk about depth of options, there is still no comparison to Tech or OSU. You had two standout receivers in Maclin and Rucker in 2007, which happened to be Crabtree’s redshirt freshman year. Tech still had two receivers with more receptions and more yards that season, and three of the most productive receivers in the conference. Missouri had two guys who were putting up numbers. Whether you are looking at the stats or at the depth of options, Missouri still falls short in either comparison.
I trust you're not talking about me
I’ve always thought we could be friends, Mr. C. Maybe even if you go to the SEC. But please stay. And beat Texas A&M this weekend. That is all.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Rock M Nation
Related FanShots on Rock M Nation
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
