Mizzou Football Links

• Indy Bowl
  MUtigers.com: Independence Bowl Preview Show Set For Air
  KC Star: Missouri tries to reverse its fortunes in bowl games
  The Trib (Dave Matter): Behind the Numbers: UNC passing attack

  Here are some Bryn Renner splits to chew on …

  He’s been excellent in the fourth quarter, completing 78.8 percent of his passes. That’s No. 1 among every FBS quarterback. His fourth-quarter rating (204.0) is fourth-best. His yards per attempt (8.2) is third-best. As good as James Franklin has been in the fourth quarter for Missouri this year, his counterpart has been better, at least as a passer. [...]

  He’s posted a QB rating of 150.0 in eight of 12 games this season. By comparison, James Franklin has gone 150.0 or better five times. [...]

  A quick note on Missouri’s pass defense. The numbers weren’t always pretty this season, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a defense that faced more prolific passing teams than Missouri. Consider …

  Of the Tigers’ 12 regular-season opponents, seven are ranked in the top 17 nationally in passing yards per game: Oklahoma State (2nd), Oklahoma (4th), Baylor (5th), Texas Tech (6th), Arizona State (11th), Miami-Ohio (14th) and Texas A&M (17th).

  Dr. Saturday: Dwight Jones' '1st annual' birthday party nixes his last game at North Carolina
• Freshmen
  PowerMizzou: Redshirt report: David Johnson
• Awesome Quote About Aldon Smith
  Mercury News: 49ers defense shines in 20-3 win over Pittsburgh Steelers

  Rookie Aldon Smith recorded 21/2 sacks to give him a team-high 13 this season, the most ever by a 49ers rookie. Charles Haley held the previous record with 12 sacks in 1986.

  "Is he No. 99? I would prefer not to talk about him," Roethlisberger said of Smith. "He's ... I'll just leave it at that."

  Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel, however, was willing to elaborate about Smith: "He's a beast. Some of these kids come in, they just pick it up right away."

Other Football Links

• Recruiting
  SB Nation (Bud Elliott): What Is The 'Dead Period'?
  

Mizzou Basketball Links

• More DeQuan Jones
  KC Star (Campus Corner): Miami reinstates player linked to Haith in Shapiro allegation
  Post-Dispatch: Miami reinstates player tied to probe of Haith
  Rush the Court: Miami's DeQuan Jones Reinstated
• Dixon
  PowerMizzou: Don't call him a spark plug
• Kimmeh
  KOMU: Kim English Uses His Summer for Change

  Kim English Uses His Summer for Change from KOMU News on Vimeo.

• STEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVE
  The Missourian: Missouri's Steve Moore aims to pleas on the court and in the kitchen
• Fun Season Thus Far
  Post-Dispatch (Bryan Burwell): A hoop junkie revels in Big Three's success

  If I extend a circle around St. Louis and create a 2 1/2 hour radius, there are seven Division I basketball programs to keep your eye on, and four of them seem destined for postseason success (defending Missouri Valley Conference champ Missouri State is off to a 7-3 start). There has been a great tradition of strong college hoops in this area for a long time. From St. Louis U's championship in the NIT in 1948, to Illinois' miracle 2005 season when the Illini reached the national championship finals here at the Edward Jones Dome, to Mizzou's remarkable 2009 roll to the Elite Eight, college basketball season usually brings along something interesting for local hoop fanatics.

  Between 2001 and 2007, we saw SIUC advancing to two Sweet 16s (2002 and 2007), make six NCAA trips and put together 27-, 28- and 29-win seasons. Since the mid- to late 1980s, we've witnessed Charlie Spoonhour lead both the SLU and Missouri State programs to the NCAAs.

  Yet, it has been a while since Mizzou, SLU and Illinois have been on top together. The last time the Big Three made it to the NCAAs in the same season was the 1999-2000 season, when the Billikens and Tigers lost in the first round and the Illini reached the second round. We haven't seen four Division I area teams reach the NCAAs in the same season since 1994-95, when SLU (23-8), Mizzou (20-9), Illinois (19-12) and SIUC (23-9) received tournament berths.

  Rush the Court: Considering the Big 12 Overachievers and Pleasers
• The Other Potential Transfer
  ZagsBlog: Khem Birch Remains in Limbo

Other

• Nigella Is A Rock M Reader
  Nigella Lawson: Bacon Brownies
• USMNT
  SI.com (Steve Davis): Jurgen Klinsmann encourages players to push their limits abroad