Mizzou Links, 8-26-11

So Mrs. Bill C. has officially been put on bed rest for the remaining (up to) two weeks of the pregnancy. By the time I leave for work today, I'll have made sure that she has her crocheting kit and PS3 controller (somebody has to kill those Vegas zombies, after all...) within reach. Give her some other suggestions for killing the time...

Mizzou Football Links

Good to see the offense finding a rhythm, even if there were approximately 19 starters missing from the No. 1 defense...

• Scrimmage
  The Trib (Dave Matter): Offense throws a fastball in finale

  [T]he offense came out intent on playing at a quicker tempo and it seemed to have the defense off balanced. James Franklin was sharp and decisive, completing 4 of 5 passes on the drive, while the tailbacks gashed the front four on a few runs that kept the chains moving. That was probably the most troubling sign for the defense: An offensive line that featured only two players from the first-team line that opened camp three weeks ago won the line of scrimmage against MU's vaunted front four. And Franklin rarely faced any pressure while running the high-speed no-huddle attack. I'd expect to see more of that philosophy when the season begins in nine days.

  "Tempo is so big, man," slot receiver T.J. Moe said. "People don’t understand, when you wear the defense out like that, they can't get lined up. A yard makes a difference. If" a defender "gets 30 seconds to react, he gets to catch his breath. He gets to line up and move where he wants to go. Well, if I'm lined up before he gets his defensive call, they don’t even know what their scheme is and I've already gotten the play and lined up ready to go. If he's one yard to the left, I might be scoring instead of getting tackled for 10."

  The Trib (Dave Matter): Thursday's scrimmage stats
  MUtigers.com: Offense Takes Final Scrimmage, 32-28

  Pinkel on injuries...
  "A lot of this is precautionary in what we do as far as Rex (Sharp) and our medical staff. Many times you Achilles, you get backs, you get hamstrings, they are very touchy. If you come back too soon, you're set back two weeks. I think we're trying to be smart about how we handle it."
  
  Pinkel on Jayson Palmgren getting so much work at center...
  "The good news is, for Palmgren, because of that technique that you have to do for the snap - which you can't take for granted - he's got tremendous amount of work there. So now Travis (Ruth) comes back there and he (Palmgren) moves back to guard, and now your backup center situation is very, very solid. There you kind of turned a negative into a positive."

  PowerMizzou: Finding a rhythm

  Another player who has undergone an attitude adjustment this August is Hunt. After a stellar camp last year, he sat out his freshman season after a late hamstring injury cut his camp short. This August, he's been admittedly inconsistent, but Hunt said he viewd Thursday's scrimmage as a last chance to make a big push for playing time. I don't have the final numbers for Hunt, but he had a handful of catches, including the 60-yard bomb from Costello. Of course, the first play after the touchdown, he dropped a screen pass. All in all, however, it was a good day for Hunt.

  The Missourian: Missouri offense crisp in final preseason scrimmage
  KC Star: MU offense enjoys its day in the sun

  A week from Saturday against Miami (Ohio), Franklin will make the first start of his college career. Thursday’s performance suggested Franklin would be up to the task.

  "He can lead us where we want to go," said Moe. "We’ve just got to give him the chance."

  KC Star (Campus Corner): Mizzou scrimmage stats and some post-scrim comments
  KBIA Sports Extra: Mizzou's young receivers Hunt and Lucas step up in Jackson's absence

  Pinkel is using a "moving them over and moving them up" playing philosophy: instead of worrying about the players lost to injury, focus on the value of added experience for the backup players that have been thrust into starting roles.

  An injury to starting senior wide receiver Jerrell Jackson has given sophomore receiver Marcus Lucas and redshirt freshman Jimmie Hunt the opportunity to show the coaches that they deserve more playing time this season.

  Lucas filled the role of Jackson in the starting lineup during Thursday’s scrimmage and got a lot of playing time with starting quarterback James Franklin.

• Practice Multimedia
  The Missourian: PHOTOS: Tigers play final scrimmage before season
  PowerMizzou: PMTV-HD: Scrimmage Highlights
  PowerMizzou: PHOTOS: Camp Close-Up
  PowerMizzou: PHOTOS: Scrimmage Scenes
  We Are Mizzou: Mizzou Battle for the Black Jerseys

Other Mizzou Football Links

Don't miss the DGB link at the end...

• Quarterbacks
  The Trib: Strict upbringing shapes Missouri's new quarterback
  Post-Dispatch: James Franklin showing poise at camp
• Running Backs
  The Missourian: Missouri running back hopes to repeat success from last season
• Defense
  The Trib: MU defense weaved together with strong thread of faith, ferocity
• Nessie
  Fox Sports MW: Sheldon Richardson working his way back up
• Defensive Backs
  PowerMizzou: One-on-one with E.J. Gaines
• 2011
  The Trib (Joe Walljasper): The Big 12 still knows drama
• DGB
  ESPN.com: Dorial Green-Beckham, the nation's top receiver, has been through a lot but stays positive
  

Other Football Links

RATTERREE!!!!!!!!!!11!!!!!!!!!!!!

• RATTERREE
  Tulsa World: OU's Trent Ratterree wills himself to a scholarship
  

MIZZOUEXPANSIONAPALOOZA™ 2010

I've come to the conclusion that you can tell how much writers respect a school by how far they'll go with feminizing (and sluttifying) them when talking about conference realignment. The verdict: they respect A&M, and they reeeeeeeeally do not respect SMU.

• A&M Sends A Letter
  The Trib (Dave Matter): Texas A&M notifies Big 12: We're looking
  Dr. Saturday: Texas A&M informs the Big 12 it wants to start seeing other conferences
  San Antonio Express-News: Aggies notify Big 12 they intend to 'explore options' on league front
  Post-Dispatch: Texas A&M takes a step toward Big 12 exit
  College Football Talk: First domino? A&M tells Beebe they will 'explore conference options'
  CBS Sports: Texas A&M lets Big 12 know it's leaving
  Frank the Tank: In America, You Leave Big 12. In Soviet Texas, Big 12 Leave You!

  This move is NOT about the SEC being able to reopen its television deal in order to gain more money than what the United States currently has on hand to pay Social Security checks (as so many people have assumed).  Maybe the SEC sees this as the one opportunity to get A&M in the next couple of decades and that’s why they’re moving now despite not being able to realize much (if any) TV revenue from their addition until after 2024.  Whatever the reasoning might be, it seems that since the SEC can’t just open up its TV contracts again by expansion, such expansion is going to be kept at a minimum for now.  As a result, the obituaries being pre-written for the Big 12 and ACC from the SEC supposedly going into 16-school superconference mode immediately are way too premature.  The SEC will need to find a school #14 fairly soon, but who knows who it will be.  (I do NOT believe for a second that it will be Virginia Tech, but I’ll write about that more extensively in a separate post.)  Right now, appears that either (a) the Big 12 will lose another school to the SEC on top of A&M, such as Missouri or (b) the Big 12 and one of either the ACC or Big East (maybe West Virginia) may lose a school to the SEC, yet in each event those leagues will still continue to live.

• Beebe Responds
  CBS Sports: Dan Beebe responds to Texas A&M statement
• SMU Clears Its Throat Loudly In The Corner Of The Room
  College Football Talk: SMU hikes up its skirt, openly flirts with Big 12
  Pre-Snap Read: SMU Waits, Makes Its Case
  CBS Sports: SMU would like to join the Big 12
  Spit Blood: SMU invites itself to the Big 12
• The Navy Birddog: ON AIR FORCE, THE BIG 12, AND STUPID HYPOTHETICALS

Mizzou Basketball Links

• KC Star (Campus Corner): Mizzou at Missouri Southern hoops game a sellout
  

Other Mizzou Links

Big game tonight at the Mizzou Athletic Complex...

• Mizzou Soccer
  MUtigers.com: Tigers Host No. 7 Ohio State Friday
• Mizzou Volleyball
  The Missourian: Youth bolsters roster on this year's Missouri volleyball team

Other

• Crafty Lefties
  Joe Posnanski: The Crafty Lefty Hall of Fame