We have a long-standing rule here at Rock M Nation: win a national award, get your very own 40-comment thread, and get your own set of bullet links.  Therefore...JOHN MACKEY AWARD-WINNING CHASE COFFMAN LINKS:

• Mutigers.com: Coffman Wins John Mackey Tight End Award

  "I’m really honored by this, to win the award that says you’re the best in the nation at your position, it means a lot," said Coffman, who was in Orlando attending the show, as the guest of teammate and friend, Jeremy Maclin, who was one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award (tight ends aren’t invited to the show, but Maclin insisted that Coffman come with him anyway because he deserved it).

  "I’m really happy for my family and especially my Dad (Paul) who taught me so much about football," Coffman said. "I have to give a lot of credit to my coaches over the years, and definitely Coach (Bruce) Walker (MU tight end coach) and Coach Pinkel for giving me the opportunities they have at Mizzou. It’s an individual award, but it’s also something that our team earns, because it doesn’t happen without a great quarterback like Chase (Daniel) and our great playmakers like Jeremy (Maclin) and D-Wash (TB Derrick Washington) who draw attention away from me, and our offensive line which gives Chase time to make the throws. I hope everyone takes some satisfaction in knowing they helped make this happen," he said.

• Dave Matter: Coffman Captures Mackey Award
• KC Star: Coffman wins top tight end award
  

Wow...Dave Matter just joined the mailbag fray, and his first one is a friggin' doozy...in fact, that's right..I think it deserves the graphic...

MAILBAG!!!!

Q: Without Maclin and Coffman next year, will we have a respectable receiving corps? And what do you think about Glazer and Dalton competing with Gabbert at QB? — Roy Johnson

A: Covered the receivers question earlier. There’s not one developed No. 1 option right now. Danario Alexander would be the closest example, but I think he needs a full offseason to get back to where he was before the knee surgeries. If he can get back to where he was before the 2007 season — when he was no less impressive than Maclin in practice, it not more — than he’s the obvious No. 1 weapon. Jared Perry and Andrew Jones can be productive options, but I’d say MU needs significant production out of three or four among Jerrell Jackson, Gahn McGaffie, Wes Kemp, Mike Egnew and Rolandis Woodland.
As for the quarterbacks, I don’t think it’s fair to speculate or evaluate their potential until they’re on campus practicing side by side. Anything else would be premature and wasteful guesswork.

Journalism Bowl Alamo Bowl buzz links!

• Post-Dispatch: Gary Pinkel live from San Antonio in advance of Alamo Bowl
• The Missourian: Pinkel, Fitzgerald begin Alamo Bowl buzz
• KC Star: Northwestern coach has MU connection
• Post-Dispatch: Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald comes a long way fast (weird use of present tense there)
• Chicago Tribune: Northwestern braces for a big challenge vs Missouri

To basketball, where PowerMizzou submits the latest "They're having fun out there" article, the Post-Dispatch talks about the attention Mizzou isn't getting (fine by me), and The Trib's Steve Walentik talks about Mizzou's attendance problems.  Mizzou is 11th in the Big 12 in attendance so far, though I will say...I think the Lloyd Noble Center counts attendance the way the Hearnes Center did...no WAY is OU actually averaging 10,665 in attendance...

Two years ago, it was pretty easy to see what was in store for the Big 12 in football.  Colt McCoy was having a monster RSFr season.  Chase Daniel and Graham Harrell were having monster sophomore seasons.  Stephen McGee and Bobby Reid were young and looked like gamers.  Josh Freeman was a true freshman starter, and while he looked it from time to time, his upside was huge.  Even Bret Meyer and Blake "Blizzle Szyzzle" Szymanski had their moments.

Beyond that, the offensive lines (especially Oklahoma's) were young, as were the RBs and WRs.  Oh yeah, and just about every proven defensive end had run out of eligibility.  While there was still defensive talent throughout the conference, it was clear that the next couple of years were going to see some unprecedented offensive continuity and success in the Big 12.

Sure enough, that's what happened.  And it was an even bigger surge than anybody expected.  Todd Reesing and Zac Robinson outshone their promising counterparts (Dylan Meier and Reid) and thrived.  Jeremy Maclin and Michael Crabtree were All-Americans as redshirt freshmen.  Add to that the fact that half the league's starters are of the "3-year" variety, and this run of offense has just been ridiculous.  Josh Freeman is still talked about as a potential first rounder in the 2009 (or 2010) draft, and he's at best the #8 QB in the conference.

But it all changes in 2009.  Daniel and Harrell?  Gone.  Crabtree and Maclin?  Almost certainly gone.  McCoy, Bradford, Freeman?  Possibly gone.  Chase Coffman, Joe Ganz, Marlon Lucky, Nate Swift, Chris Ogbonnaya, Quan Cosby, Jordan Shipley, Shannon Woods and Eric Morris?  Gone.  Even the J-Train, Jorvorskie Lane, has finally exhausted his eligibility.  So many guys who have become household names in the midwest are leaving.

And that says nothing about William Moore, Brian Orakpo, all of KU's linebackers, Nic Harris, and the potential defensive exodus.  Or even Dave Christensen, Matt Eberflus, Brent Venables, Kevin Wilson, and the potential assistant coaching exodus.

The watchword for '08 was "offensive explosion."  For '09?  "New"  Through the clarity of 2007 and 2008 lies the fog of 2009.  We don't yet know all who will return and who will not, but one thing's for certain: everything changes in 2009.

It's still pretty hard to grasp this yet, as we don't know who will be leaving for the draft, but let's take a super-duper early look at who might be good (or not so good) in 2009.  We'll start with the North Division.  To do this, I'm not going to jump into BTBS numbers.  There will certainly be a time and place for that.  Today, we'll simply go unit-by-unit and make some early rankings.  And I'm not even going to think about redshirts or incoming recruits.  Making predictions about how newcomers are going to fit in and/or thrive can drive you crazy.  Plus, you'll probably be wrong.  Remember how Darrell Scott and Jocques Crawford were supposed to be total studs the moment they walked in the door at CU and KU?

In other words, the projections after the jump are strictly from this year's depth chart.

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Atch is out today...he sent in his contribution below...

1 - Three teams remain in the running for the Big 12 South--Texas, OU, and Texas Tech.  Of the three, who would you most rather face in title game, and who would you least rather face?

2 - Wants aside, who do you think we will face?  (And since your answer will be directly impacted by this game, who wins OU-TT this weekend?)

3 - Favorite moment from the 2008 season thus far?

4 - A week later, I'll ask it again: Any thoughts about your local basketball club yet?

5 - Both Missouri and Kansas have ridiculous numbers of freshmen on this year's basketball team...just a week into their respective careers, who's your favorite to this point?

Continue reading this post »

The basketball and all-sports talk has distracted us from this week's game, but I think the talk has been minimal for one other reason: the only way this game will be memorable is in a bad way.  If we take care of business, none of us will remember this game a year from now.  If we don't...yikes.  Let's not think about that.  Let's just go to the numbers.

Thoughts after the jump...

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So Rivals really likes the rising draft prospects of two Mizzou defensive linemen--Stryker "Perfect as an OLB in a 3-4" Sulak and Ziggy "Disruptive off the snap" Hood.  Nice to see.

Here's a VERY nice KC Star article on the greatness of Chase & Chase.  Meanwhile, William Moore's got a back story we haven't heard much about before.  The P-D's Vahe Gregorian uses his skills for good and digs in deep with Willy Mo.

It's Cut to the...Spoon?

• BTS: You almost played for Baylor Coach Art Briles when he was at Houston. What did you like about him?

Weatherspoon: He’s a pretty cool guy. I’m not sure how many of those guys he brought from his Houston staff, but we had a great relationship. I really liked Art Briles because he was just excited all the time. Just an effervescent kind of guy.

• BTS: Did you figure he was a good fit for Baylor?

Weatherspoon: Well, I didn’t know they’d be this good offensively this fast, but it’s working pretty good for him right now.

Baylor Links!

• The Missourian: Baylor quarterback to test Missouri's defense
• KC Star: Saturday's MU-Baylor preview
• Waco Tribune-Herald: Missouri-Baylor pits former Marlin teammates against each other.

The Trib's your place for basketball Black & Gold Game coverage.  First, there's a nice Steve Walentik article.  Next...it's B&G video!

And if that wasn't enough basketball talk for you, the Missourian has a nice article on a freshman who didn't score a bazillion points on Wednesday night--Kimmie English.

Screw KU.

Finally...need recruiting news?  First, read this Michael Snaer article,  Next, read The Chamber.  That should do for the weekend.

I must say, I'm actually somewhat happy for the city of Philadelphia.  Let's face it--a Mizzou fan should be able to identify with any fanbase that is both a) tortured and b) a little unstable, right?  I'm impressed, though, that I managed to stay sympathetic to the people of Philly despite that their long "championship drought" simply wasn't that long, at least not to a Mizzou/Pirates/Dolphins/Blazers fan.

That, and I'm sorry, but Jeanne Zelasko is awful, just awful.  She's not interesting, she doesn't appear very smart, she says very silly things, and...I mean, she's not even attractive.  She was horrendous during last night's post-game celebration interviews.

Anyhoo...on to a monster edition of the Links...

Marcus Denmon: the next Kareem Rush?  Anthony Peeler?  Just kidding, but wow does he already have the superlatives flowing.  Guess that's what happens when you score 36 points on 14-of-17 shooting in the Black & Gold Game.  Some B&G links...

• Mutigers.com: official box score (pdf)
• PowerMizzou: A Dazzling Debut for Denmon
• The Missourian: Denmon shines in Black and Gold game
• KC Star: Bowers hits the boards for Mizzou

On to football...The Trib has a very well-done "Jeremy Maclin sure is great" article.

Having played just 22 games in a Missouri uniform, Maclin needs only 98 all-purpose yards to eclipse Brad Smith’s MU career record of 4,419, a figure that took four years for Smith to compile. Granted, all but 130 of Smith’s yards were rushing totals - the all-purpose category also counts yards for receiving and returns - but already this season, Maclin has passed Joe Stewart, Darrell Wallace, Zack Abron, Brock Olivo and Devin West on the career list.

So this is something, I guess: Fox Sports will "televise" the Baylor-Mizzou game Monday at noon and 9pm and Wednesday at 2pm as part of their "No Huddle" series.  Baylor links!

• PowerMizzou: Baylor defensive preview
• Dave Matter: Behind the Numbers...and more
• KC Star: This time, Brad Smith plays for Baylor, not MU
• Post-Dispatch: MU's Alexander has rivalry with Baylor's Sanders
• Waco Tribune-Herald: No time to rest for Baylor cornerbacks
• Waco Tribune-Herald: Matchup: Missouri

Jacquies Smith is going to end up at 265 pounds?  Yeah, that sounds really nice..

Chase Daniel: Draddy Trophy finalist.  (What's the Draddy Trophy?  Click the link!)

In last year's regular season, the Big 12 North was 10-8 versus the Big 12 South.  This year?  2-10.

The Post-Dispatch's Jeff Gordon does a nice job in laying out all the reasons why the Mizzou football job is more attractive than Washington or a lot of other jobs that might come open.

In football recruiting news, two MO kids will be playing in the U.S. All-American game--Sheldon Richardson and Ronnie Wingo.

Finally...ouch.  Mizzou Volleyball led Kansas 12-7 in the fifth set last night but fell, 12-25 25-18 25-15 13-25 14-16.  Not much to say about this one--it's gonna sting for a while.  Mizzou blocked much better than KU, but the 'Hawks just dug and dug and dug (92 digs for KU, 68 for MU) and wore Mizzou out.  It also didn't hurt that their passing was far superior (61 sets to 39).

It's time for Cut to the Chase (with your very own Unitas Award finalist)!

Who's the culprit for Jeremy Maclin's bruised knee?  Brian Coulter.  Not sure why Mizzou's very own God would do something like that...

Texas Links!

• Dallas Morning News: Texas' Brown understands Sooners hangover
• PowerMizzou: Texas offensive preview
• The Missourian: Texas faces stiff tests in Missouri, upcoming games
• Post-Dispatch: Tigers must give Daniel time
• Post-Dispatch: Longhorns' 'D' has applied the pressure
• Mizzourah: Good, Bad & Sleezy
• Austin American-Statesman: Four wideout-package was a big hit for UT against Sooners
• Stewart Mandel: Texas new #1 in power rankings

Danario Alexander: still recovering, and still ridiculously athletic.  Chase Coffman: best TE in the country.

Somebody's writing about Mizzou basketball?  Interesting...

And finally...Border War Showdown.  Hearnes Center.  Tonight.  Go.

So as I was entering play-by-play data yesterday, I had an extra spring in my step.  I was very curious what the BTBS data would say about this game...how it would explain the whole "outgained them, broke even on turnovers...still lost at home" thing.  Well...now I'm wishing I hadn't looked at this...wishing I had just skipped right over the BTBS piece this week.  Mizzou dominated in almost every statistical category except one: Passing Downs.  You know that whole concept of "leverage" that I've been pushing recently?  If you haven't hopped on board the Leverage train yet, you might want to do so now, as Leverage cost Mizzou an undefeated record.

• So Missouri outgained OSU in terms of yards and EqPts...
• They split in turnover margin...
• They out-leveraged them (in terms of how many Passing Downs they forced)...
• They won the field-position battle...
• They dominated the OSU O-line in terms of line yards (OSU was averaging over 3.6 line yards per carry)...
• They didn't miss their season S&P average by much...
• They held OSU to what was by far their lowest S&P of the season...
• And they lost.  Because they were absolutely horrific on Passing Downs.
• There were 6 turnovers in the game, and almost all of them were relatively huge.  Mizzou's were worth 4.68 points (Danario trips and falls), 5.89 points (Daniel bombs it to nobody in particular), and 4.37 points (Lavine steps in front of Maclin).  OSU's were worth 6.13 points (Baston recovers fumble at end of half), 3.66 points (Bridges INT) and 4.28 points (Moore sticks Bryant, Gettis recovers).  Any one of those doesn't happen, and the result is probably significantly different.
• Finally, I can't say enough about how well OSU tackled.  They were fast, and they didn't miss.  That was the biggest reason they held Mizzou to 0.40 Points Per Play.

More analysis after the jump.

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Thoughts...

• OSU's offensive leverage total is a little low to me, considering they haven't played many great defenses.  A 72% rate against iffy competition means Mizzou could force them into the high-60% range.  What that means is, a lot of passing downs for OSU.  Now, they've done well so far in Passing Downs this year, but still...the more PD's for OSU, the better for Mizzou.
• Both teams are obviously explosive on offense and decent on defense, but you see from the numbers that, against slightly harder competition, Mizzou's offensive and defensive numbers have both been a bit better.  That's encouraging.  However, in close games, OSU's defense has been mighty stout so far.
• OSU's 3.63 Line Yards per carry is simply astounding.  That's really, really good.  Combined with the meager two sacks they've allowed, you begin to think that OSU has a pretty damn stout offensive line, huh?
• Meanwhile, MU's only giving up 0.16 PPP rushing.  Even when they give up some yards, they're pretty empty yards.
• OSU and MU have pretty much identical S&P numbers in the passing game, but the sheer quantity of passing tells you something.  OSU appears to be an "establish the run, beat 'em deep" team...which is obviously a bit different than Mizzou's strategy.
• Mizzou's success rate is 62.1% on Non-Passing Downs.  Oy.
• Both defenses are good on Passing Downs, but Mizzou's has been a smidge better.  Take out the horrific breakdowns against Illinois four games ago, and Mizzou's Passing Down breakdowns have been minimal at best.
• Both offenses are great in every quarter (I'm ignoring Q4 numbers, as neither teams have played many meaningful plays in Q4), but they're best in Q3.  Meanwhile, Mizzou's defense seems to be iffy in the 'gameplan' quarters (Q1/Q3) and dominant in the 'talent' quarters (Q2/Q4), while OSU's defense gets a little worse each quarter.  Keep that last point in mind if they're actually slowing Mizzou down early.

Projections after the jump.

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It's great that the Big 12 has four Top 10 teams and all, but as ESPN's Pat Forde points out...it's time for the Big 12's 'have's to start playing each other.

It's Cut to the Chase time!

On the time of possession stat …
“I just saw a stat that we were dead last in the NCAA, which is totally fine with us. We’re the second-leading scoring offense in the nation. I think time of possession is the least overlooked stat in America. I’m glad we’re 119 or 118th. That doesn’t mean anything for us. The only thing that means is our defense is out there a lot more.”

On the pro potential of his teammates …
“That’s a hard one to look at. I think everyone in their own right can play in the NFL. I was out at a camp with T.J. Houshmandzadeh, He was at the Elite 11 camp. He was no faster than Tommy Saunders and no bigger than Tommy Saunders. So, I think Tommy can play. Chase” Coffman “can play. Jared Perry can play. J-Mac. Colin Brown, Kurtis Gregory. It’s ridiculous the amount of people on our offense who can play. You look at Danario Alexander, and I’m sure I’m missing some. So, sorry, if your name gets overlooked. On our offense and our defense, there’s so many higher level players than in the past. And we’re doing a good job in college. That’s not my call for the next level; that’s the GMs around the nation.”

Oklahoma State Links!

• PowerMizzou: Sneak peek at the OSU offense
• Post-Dispatch: Clash of (new) titans
• KC Star: OSU's high-scoring offense mirrors Missouri's
• The Missourian: OSU won't change offensive approach against Missouri

Looks like PowerMizzou's on the same page as our BTBS voters yesterday--Derrick Washington was the NU game's best player.  And the Trib has some good news: Washington's only getting started.

Bo Pelini: still irked.  And still not a very good coach.

Not much to be argued with in regard to Stewart Mandel's latest SI power poll...

Finally, be sure to catch Mizzou Volleyball on Fox Sports at #16 Kansas State in Columbia and Kansas City tonight.  It probably won't be too pleasant an experience, but...hey, they'll be on TV.