Rock M Nation: FanPosts

Pinkel on ESPN Radio

Ridiculous Matt — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:45:56 -0000

Coach Pinkel was on ESPN Radio with Scott Van Pelt this afternoon. They'll have the archive up after while, but I jotted down what I heard.

On adjusting to expectations:

"Expectations come from the respect we're earning. You get expectations by working harder. Our kids are pretty focused. We'll see if we can have back to back high level years."

On his success keeping the same coaching staff together and that impact on recruiting:

"Every one of my coaches have been in the same area for 8 straight years. Our guys will talk to janitors, they'll talk to cooks at these schools. They're good guys."

On Missouri's record against the top Big 12 teams:

"I think you earn that. People should question that. Certainly we've made progress. We won the Big 12 North, that was a goal for us. OU played better than us, and they deserved that win. Our next goal is a big 12 championship. Anything after that is gravy. We're going to work hard and see what happens. I tell all my players, "you can talk all you want about football. You have to go do it. "

On goals coming into this weekend's game with Illinois:

""I think you just want to play well. You want to do the things that got you where you were in the past. You want to protect the ball and not have mental errors. We've known they're on the schedule fr a long time. Illinois' a great team, it's going to be a bowl-type atmosphere."

John Anderson was apparently egging Van Pelt on to ask about the gold pants for this year:

"That decision is up to the seniors and captains. John can call me directly if he wants to talk about that. (laughs)"

Three straight bowl games where you've scored 38 points. Do you think you could be scoring 38 points in a game with "BCS" in the title in January?

"I don't know. We'll find out. Hopefully we can make that kind of progress."

Do you think you have a chance?

"Oh, yeah. We've got a chance."

Predicting the 2008 College Football Season

mj122345mcm — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:48:34 -0000

I am here to blow you all away. I am going to predict the record of every single Division 1-A/FBS team in the nation. Every conference, every team, every single game. If the game is highlighted, it’s a win, if it’s not, it’s a loss. Also, I predicted records in my Big 12 and Big 10 Previews but these override those records as I am going more in depth researching in this. So here we go, starting with the ACC and Boston College.

ACC

Boston College

@ Kent St.

Georgia Tech --

UCF--

Rhode Island--

@ North Carolina St.

Virginia Tech

@ North Carolina

Clemson--

Notre Dame--

@ Florida St.

@ Wake Forest

Maryland--

Record: 6-6

Clemson

Alabama--

Citadel--

North Carolina St.--

South Carolina St.--

Maryland--

@ Wake Forest--

Georgia Tech

@ Boston College

@ Florida St.--

Duke--

@ Virginia--

South Carolina

Record: 9-3

Duke

James Madison--

Northwestern

Navy--

Virginia

@ Georgia Tech

Miami (FL)

@ Vanderbilt--

@ Wake Forest

North Carolina St.

@Clemson

@ Virginia Tech

North Carolina

Record: 3-9

Florida State

Western Carolina--

Chattanooga--

Wake Forest

Colorado--

@ Miami (FL)

@ North Carolina St.--

Virginia Tech--

@ Georgia Tech

Clemson

Boston College--

@ Maryland--

Florida

Record: 7-5

Georgia Tech

Jacksonville St.--

@ Boston College

@ Virginia Tech

Mississippi St.--

Duke--

Gardner-Webb--

@Clemson--

Virginia

Florida St.--

@ North Carolina

Miami (FL)--

@ Georgia

Record: 7-5

Maryland

Delaware--

@ Middle Tennessee--

California

Eastern Michigan--

@ Clemson

@ Virginia--

Wake Forest

North Carolina St.--

@ Virginia Tech

North Carolina--

Florida State

@ Boston College

Record: 6-6

Miami (FL)

Charleston Southern--

@ Florida

@ Texas A&M

North Carolina

Florida St.--

UCF

@ Duke--

Wake Forest

@ Virginia

Virginia Tech--

@ Georgia Tech

@ North Carolina St.--

Record: 5-7

North Carolina

McNeese St.--

@ Rutgers--

Virginia Tech--

@ Miami (FL)--

Connecticut

Notre Dame--

@ Virginia--

Boston College--

Georgia Tech--

@ Maryland

North Carolina St.--

@ Duke--

Record: 10-2

North Carolina State

@ South Carolina

William & Mary--

@ Clemson

East Carolina --

South Florida

Boston College--

Florida St.

@ Maryland

@ Duke--

Wake Forest

@ North Carolina

Miami (FL)

Record: 4-8

Virginia

USC

Richmond

@ Connecticut

@ Duke--

Maryland

East Carolina--

North Carolina

@ Georgia Tech--

Miami (FL)--

@ Wake Forest

Clemson

@ Virginia Tech

Record: 4-8

Virginia Tech

@ East Carolina--

Furman--

Georgia Tech--

@ North Carolina

@ Nebraska--

Western Kentucky--

@ Boston College--

@ Florida St.

Maryland--

@ Miami (FL)

Duke--

Virginia--

Record: 9-3

Wake Forest

@ Baylor--

Mississippi--

@ Florida St.--

Navy --

Clemson

@ Maryland--

@ Miami (FL)--

Duke--

Virginia--

@ North Carolina St.--

Boston College--

Vanderbilt--

Record: 11-1

Big East

Cincinnati

Eastern Kentucky--

@ Oklahoma

Miami (OH)--

@ Akron --

@ Marshall--

Rutgers--

@ Connecticut--

South Florida--

@ West Virginia

@ Louisville--

Pittsburgh

Syracuse--

@ Hawaii--

Record: 10-3

Connecticut

Hofstra--

@ Temple--

Virginia

Baylor--

@ Louisville--

@ North Carolina--

@ Rutgers

Cincinnati

West Virginia

@ Syracuse--

@ South Florida

Pittsburgh

Record: 6-6

Louisville

Kentucky

Tennessee Tech--

Kansas St.--

Connecticut

@ Memphis--

Middle Tennessee--

South Florida

@ Syracuse

@ Pittsburgh

Cincinnati

West Virginia

@ Rutgers

Record: 4-8

Pittsburgh

Bowling Green--

Buffalo--

Iowa--

@ Syracuse--

@ South Florida

@ Navy--

Rutgers--

@ Notre Dame--

Louisville--

@ Cincinnati--

West Virginia

@ Connecticut--

Record: 10-2

Rutgers

Fresno St.

North Carolina

@ Navy --

Morgan St.--

@ West Virginia

@ Cincinnati

Connecticut--

@ Pittsburgh

Syracuse--

@ South Florida

Army--

Louisville--

Record: 6-6

South Florida

Tennessee-Martin--

@ UCF--

Kansas--

@ Florida International--

@ North Carolina St.--

Pittsburgh--

Syracuse--

@ Louisville--

@Cincinnati

Rutgers--

Connecticut--

@ West Virginia

Record: 10-2

Syracuse

@ Northwestern

Akron--

Penn St.

Northeastern--

Pittsburgh

@ West Virginia

@ South Florida

Louisville--

@ Rutgers

Connecticut

@ Notre Dame

@ Cincinnati

Record: 3-9

West Virginia

Villanova--

@ East Carolina--

@ Colorado--

Marshall

Rutgers --

Syracuse--

Auburn

@ Connecticut--

Cincinnati--

@ Louisville--

@ Pittsburgh--

South Florida--

Record: 11-1

Big Ten

Illinois

@ Missouri

Eastern Illinois--

Louisiana-Lafayette--

@ Penn St.--

@ Michigan--

Minnesota--

Indiana--

@ Wisconsin

Iowa--

@ Western Michigan

Ohio St.

@ Northwestern

Record: 7-5

Indiana

Western Kentucky--

Murray St.--

Ball St.--

Michigan St.--

@ Minnesota

Iowa--

@ Illinois

Northwestern--

Central Michigan--

Wisconsin

@ Penn St.

@ Purdue

Record: 7-5

Iowa

Maine--

Florida International--

Iowa St.

@ Pittsburgh

Northwestern

@ Michigan St.

@ Indiana

Wisconsin

@ Illinois

Penn State

Purdue

@ Minnesota--

Record: 3-9

Michigan

Utah

Miami (OH)--

@ Notre Dame

Wisconsin

Illinois

Toledo--

@ Penn St.--

Michigan St.--

@ Purdue

@ Minnesota--

Northwestern--

@ Ohio St.

Record: 6-6

Michigan State

@ California

Eastern Michigan--

Florida Atlantic

Notre Dame--

@ Indiana

Iowa--

@ Northwestern

Ohio St.

@ Michigan

Wisconsin

Purdue--

@ Penn St.

Record: 4-8

Minnesota

Northern Illinois--

@ Bowling Green--

Montana St.--

Florida Atlantic

@ Ohio St.

Indiana--

@ Illinois

@ Purdue

Northwestern

Michigan

@ Wisconsin

Iowa

Record: 4-8

Northwestern

Syracuse--

@ Duke--

Southern Illinois--

Ohio--

@ Iowa--

Michigan St.--

Purdue

@ Indiana

@ Minnesota--

Ohio St.

@ Michigan

Illinois--

Record: 8-4

Ohio State

Youngstown St.--

Ohio--

@ USC--

Troy--

Minnesota--

@ Wisconsin--

Purdue--

@ Michigan St.--

Penn St.--

@ Northwestern--

@ Illinois--

Michigan--

Record: 12-0

Penn State

Coastal Carolina--

Oregon St.--

@ Syracuse--

Temple--

Illinois

@ Purdue--

@ Wisconsin

Michigan

@ Ohio St.

@ Iowa--

Indiana--

Michigan St.--

Record: 8-4

Purdue

Northern Colorado--

Oregon

Central Michigan--

@ Notre Dame--

Penn St.

@ Ohio St.

@ Northwestern--

Minnesota--

Michigan--

@ Michigan St.

@ Iowa--

Indiana--

Record: 8-4

Wisconsin

Akron--

Marshall--

@ Fresno St.

@ Michigan--

Ohio St.

Penn St.--

@ Iowa--

Illinois--

@ Michigan St.--

@ Indiana--

Minnesota--

Cal Poly--

Record: 10-2

Big 12

Baylor

Wake Forest

Northwestern St.--

Washington St.--

@ Connecticut

Oklahoma

Iowa St.

@ Oklahoma St.

@ Nebraska

Missouri

@ Texas

Texas A&M--

@ Texas Tech

Record: 3-9

Colorado

Colorado St.--

Eastern Washington--

West Virginia

@ Florida St.

Texas

@ Kansas

Kansas St.--

@ Missouri

@ Texas A&M--

Iowa St.--

Oklahoma St.--

@ Nebraska--

Record: 7-5

Iowa State

South Dakota St.--

Kent St.--

@ Iowa--

@ UNLV

Kansas

@ Baylor--

Nebraska

Texas A&M--

@ Oklahoma St.

@ Colorado

Missouri

@ Kansas St.

Record: 5-7

Kansas

Florida International--

Louisiana Tech--

@ South Florida

Sam Houston St.--

@ Iowa St.--

Colorado--

@ Oklahoma

Texas Tech

Kansas St.--

@ Nebraska--

Texas--

@ Missouri

Record: 8-4

Kansas State

North Texas

Montana St.--

@ Louisville

Louisiana-Lafayette--

Texas Tech

@ Texas A&M

@ Colorado--

Oklahoma

@ Kansas

@ Missouri

Nebraska--

Iowa St.--

Record: 5-7

Missouri

Illinois--

Southeast Missouri St.--

Nevada--

Buffalo--

@ Nebraska--

Oklahoma St.--

@ Texas

Colorado--

@ Baylor--

Kansas St.--

@ Iowa St.--

Kansas--

Record: 11-1

Nebraska

Western Michigan--

San Jose St.--

New Mexico St.--

Virginia Tech

Missouri

@ Texas Tech

@ Iowa St.--

Baylor--

@ Oklahoma

Kansas

@ Kansas St.

Colorado

Record: 5-7

Oklahoma

Chattanooga--

Cincinnati--

@ Washington--

TCU--

@ Baylor--

Texas

Kansas--

@ Kansas St.--

Nebraska--

@ Texas A&M--

Texas Tech--

@ Oklahoma St.--

Record: 11-1

Oklahoma St.

@ Washington St.--

Houston--

Missouri St.--

Troy--

Texas A&M--

@ Missouri

Baylor--

@ Texas

Iowa St.--

@ Texas Tech

@ Colorado

Oklahoma

Record: 7-5

Texas

Florida Atlantic--

@ UTEP--

Arkansas--

Rice--

@ Colorado--

@ Oklahoma--

Missouri--

Oklahoma St.--

@ Texas Tech

Baylor--

@ Kansas

Texas A&M--

Record: 10-2

Texas A&M

Arkansas St.--

@ New Mexico--

Miami (FL)--

Army--

@ Oklahoma St.

Kansas St.--

Texas Tech

@ Iowa St.

Colorado

Oklahoma

@ Baylor

@ Texas

Record: 6-6

Texas Tech

Eastern Washington--

@ Nevada--

Southern Methodist--

Massachusetts--

@ Kansas St.--

Nebraska--

@ Texas A&M--

@ Kansas--

Texas--

Oklahoma St.--

@ Oklahoma

Baylor--

Record: 11-1

C-USA

East Carolina

Virginia Tech

West Virginia

@ Tulane--

@ North Carolina St.

Houston--

@ Virginia

Memphis--

@ UCF--

Marshall--

@ Southern Miss

@ UAB--

UTEP--

Record: 7-5

Houston

Southern University--

@ Oklahoma St.

Air Force--

@ Colorado St.

@ East Carolina

UAB--

@ Southern Methodist--

@ Marshall--

Tulane--

Tulsa

UTEP--

@ Rice--

Record: 8-4

Marshall

Illinois St.--

@ Wisconsin

Memphis--

@ Southern Miss

@ West Virginia

Cincinnati

@ UAB

Houston

@ East Carolina

UCF

@ Rice

Tulsa--

Record: 3-9

Memphis

@ Mississippi

Rice--

@ Marshall

Nicholls St.--

Arkansas St.--

@ UAB--

Louisville

@ East Carolina

Southern Miss

@ Southern Methodist

UCF

Tulane

Record: 6-6

Rice

Southern Methodist--

@ Memphis

@ Vanderbilt

@ Texas

North Texas

@ Tulsa

Southern Miss

@ Tulane--

@ UTEP

Army--

Marshall--

Houston

Record: 4-8

Southern Methodist

@ Rice

Texas St.--

@ Texas Tech

TCU--

@ Tulane

@ UCF

Tulsa

Houston

@ Navy

Memphis

@ UTEP

Southern Miss--

Record: 3-9

Southern Miss

Louisiana-Lafayette--

@ Auburn

@ Arkansas St.--

Marshall--

UTEP--

Boise St.--

@ Rice--

@ Memphis

UAB--

@ UCF

East Carolina--

@ Southern Methodist

Record: 8-4

Tulane

@ Alabama

East Carolina

Louisiana-Monroe--

Southern Methodist--

Army--

@ UTEP

Rice

@ LSU

@ Houston

UAB--

@ Tulsa

@ Memphis

Record: 4-8

Tulsa

@ UAB--

@ North Texas

New Mexico--

Central Arkansas--

Rice--

@ Southern Methodist--

UTEP--

UCF--

@ Arkansas

@ Houston

Tulane--

@ Marshall

Record: 8-4

UAB

Tulsa

@ Florida Atlantic

@ Tennessee

Alabama St.--

@ South Carolina

Memphis

@ Houston

Marshall--

@ Southern Miss

@ Tulane

East Carolina

@ UCF

Record: 2-10

UCF

South Carolina St.--

South Florida

@ Boston College

@UTEP

Southern Methodist--

@Miami (FL)--

@ Tulsa

East Carolina

Southern Miss

@Marshall--

@ Memphis

UAB--

Record: 5-7

UTEP

@ Buffalo--

Texas

New Mexico St.

UCF--

@ Southern Miss

Tulane--

@ Tulsa

http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/rmnffb
Password: motherrucker
Draft: Thursday, August 28 at 8:30pm ET (7:30pm CT)

Go and join. I assure you, a good time will be had by all.

All the ridiculous minutiae about the league after the jump.

10 teams, first come first served.

Here's the breakdown of the rosters:

1 QB
2 RBs
3 WRs
1 TE
1 Team DEF/ST
1 K
6 Bench

Here's the breakdown of the scoring:

Passing TD: 4
25 passing yards: 1
INT: -2
Rush TD: 6
10 rush yards: 1
Receiving TD: 6
10 receiving yards: 1
Any 2pt. conversion (pass/receive/rush): 2
Kickoff/punt/fumble/INT/blocked punt/blocked FG return for TD: 6
Fumble lost: -2
50+ FG: 5

40-49 FG: 4
40-39 FG: 3
FG miss: -1
PAT: 1
DEF 0pts allowed: 10
DEF 2-6pts allowed: 7
DEF 7-13pts allowed: 4
DEF 14-20pts allowed: 1
DEF 21-27pts allowed: -1
DEF 28-34pts allowed: -4
DEF 35+pts allowed: -7
DEF 46+pts allowed: -10
DEF INT: 2
DEF fumble recovery: 2
DEF blocked PAT/FG: 2
DEF safety: 2
DEF sack: 1

Here's the breakdown of the playoffs:

Top 4 teams by record after Week 14 advance to playoffs (tiebreaker is total points)
Two rounds, one weeks each

That's it. Again, the draft is August 28 at 8:30pm ET (that's 7:30pm CT...thanks a lot, Ben Franklin, with your newfangled "time zones").

If you have any questions, reply to this and I'd be happy to respond.

Goals For Saturday

Ridiculous Matt — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:31:51 -0000

Win. I think this should probably be pretty obvious.
Control the quarterbacks. Rollouts are not good for us. The ends need to keep them in the pocket. Our secondary can take care of the rest. No running.
Ease Coffman in. I know TNU wants to get going in a hurry, but we need him healthy for Big 12 play. He needs to come in, get his touches, but let the other receivers have a chance to shine.
Hit them hard and fast. It's the first game of the season and we need to slam them quick to show we're not rusty. The slower we are to get off the block, the harder it will be to catch up.
Find a running back. If we don't show that one of the young guns can be a threat, Zook's going to gamble on us. No good. SlapJack? I'm looking at you.
Spread the ball. Chase is one of the absolute best at distributing the ball, and we need to get the rest of the weapons up to speed. Tommy? Get your hands up, son.
Get nasty. You always want to play physical in football. It's kind a physical sport, if you haven't noticed. But last year we had Pig who would set the tone. Someone, preferably one of the linebackers, needs to obliterate whatever QB they throw at us, and make a point. We're in control.

Mizzou Football Game Notes vs. Illinois

ZouDave — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:21:30 -0000

This is the official press release given by our SID to the media leading up to the game against Illinois.

Missouri vs. Illinois Game Notes

Interesting facts:

It says Chase Daniel was our first-ever Heisman Trophy finalist...what about Pitchin' Paul Christman?
Jerrell Jackson: It's pronounced juh-RELL. Will his son kneel before Zod?
De'Vion Moore: It's pronounced Devin. IT'S NOT SPELLED DEVIN!
Tremane Vaughns: It's pronounced TRUE
Austin Wuebbels: It's pronounced WEB-uls.
Missouri is 9-1 in its last 10 season openers, but apparently we opened the season last year against Western Michigan?
The last time that Mizzou defeated a ranked opponent in the season opner was in 1978, when unranked MU won a 3-0 game at #5 Notre Dame. Nothing else significant happened that day.
Missouri is 14-8 under Gary Pinkel when playing as a ranked team, including 9-2 in 2007.
This marks the 4th straight game that Mizzou has played versus a ranked opponent, and they've all come on neutral fields.

Anyway, there's TONS of great info in here. READ ON!

Pop Tarts feature Mizzou

jpickett1968 — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:11:57 -0000

Any person with true pride in their alma mater loves seeing their school logo emblazoned anywhere it can go. Naturally, I fit into this category.

A proud graduate of Missouri along with growing up in Columbia, I have amassed many articles of clothing with Mizzou upon them. Plus I have a few helmets, more than few prints, a candy dish, a few teddy bears for my girls - OK, you get the picture. So, when I got home today, you can imagine my surprise when I learned that Pop Tarts helped with my collection. To commemorate the upcoming start of College Football, the folks at Pop Tarts are now featuring their fine product with various schools imaged upon their frosting. Hey, if M&M can customize their tasty morsels with your logo, why not the folks at Kellogg’s as well?

Interesting marketing here, in my opinion. Although the normal target is children and moms, Kellogg entertains a different audience; but then drops the ball. Kellogg - why not continue marketing this product with an online fantasy football league, college football blog or tickets to a BCS bowl? Instead, this is what you get when you go to their site.

OK, so not everything at Kellogg’s is perfect. But their Missouri Tiger Pop Tarts are. And I can’t seem to eat mine - I just like looking at…

Mizzou Pop Tarts

I realize most Bears fans wish Rex Grossman some amount of physical harm...

The Boy — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:47:08 -0000

...but this is ridiculous (via).

And since I chose to do this as a Fanpost, I need to come up with 75 words, ZouDave style. I don't think I'm anywhere close yet, so I'll just reaffirm that this looks really painful. Though if it were to happen to anybody, I do believe it would happen to Rex Grossman...might actually be less painful than losing your starting job to Kyle Orton.

DAMMIT...that was only 74 words.

Five Burning Questions, Week 1

ghtd36 — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:23:17 -0000

Week one of college football is upon us, after what seems like the longest offseason in recent memory. Obviously, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of questions entering this season in the Big XII, but I'm going to boil it down to the five questions that are most pressing in the conference.

Cool? Cool.

Question 1: Can the Big XII nouveau riche keep up with the traditional Big XII powers?

It is widely accepted that OU is the class of the conference, and rightly so. Not only do they have one of the most talented teams in the conference, but they have arguably the best coach in college football (yeah, I said it, big whoop, wanna fight about it?) and a favorable schedule (true road games are Washington, Baylor, K-State, A&M and Okie State).

Texas, like it or not, is Texas. You can mark them for at least nine wins every year, and they will very rarely get outclassed. There are some doubts this year, but this program is going to be legitimate this, and every, year.

But two of the traditional Big XII powerhouses figure to struggle this season. Both Nebraska and Texas A&M are installing new coaches, and don't appear poised to be anything more than also-rans in their respective divisions.

In their place, three traditional also-rans are considered the top tier of the conference. Kansas, coming off a historic season, return many of the important players from last year's team. Texas Tech, in case you haven't heard, have 21 of 22 starters returning, including two Heisman hopefuls in Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree. And we all know about Missouri.

But now, the time for hype is over. It's put up or shut up time for the Big XII nouveau riche. Can Kansas prove that it is more than just a soft schedule and an efficient quarterback? Can Texas Tech get over the hump with arguably its most talented team ever? Can Missouri shake the reputation of an underachieving program when the target is on its back?

OU and UT will be there. Who will join them?

Question 2: Which Big XII QB will fall flat on his face?

Chase Daniel. Sam Bradford. Colt McCoy. Graham Harrell. Todd Reesing. Zac Robinson. Josh Freeman. Stephen McGee. Kirby Freeman. Joe Ganz. Cody Hawkins. [Insert ISU quarterback here].

Regardless of your affiliation, you have to admit that the Big XII has a very impressive class of QBs. But they can't all live up to expectations, and at least one is going to fall flat on his face.

Freeman is in a new system and plays at Baylor, so he is primed for failure. ISU's QB will be playing for ISU, and will be starting his first game. Stephen McGee, I maintain, is the most overrated player in the conference. Josh Freeman hasn't lived up to expectations, and has to show me something before I believe that he is for real. Ganz, while his numbers were impressive last season, feasted on some pretty bad defenses, and has to prove that he can do it against a tough team. Put Hawkins in the same category as Freeman.

That leaves what I believe to be the real class of the Big XII: Daniel, Bradford, McCoy, Harrell, Reesing and Robinson. Someone's falling flat on their face. The easy bet is Robinson, since he only has half-a-season of experience. But the sexy wager is on someone like Reesing or McCoy.

Question 3: Who is actually going to play defense this year?

This is an offense-heavy conference, there is no doubt about it. But who is going to step up on the other side of the ball?

Oklahoma, obviously. Kansas, most probably. Missouri, most probably. Texas, most probably. Texas Tech, if they have a prayer of living up to expectations. Baylor, quite possibly.

Who's not going to play defense? Nebraska, regardless of eight months of Pelini. Kansas State, regardless of having an entire junior college on the roster. Texas A&M, regardless of how "successful" Mike Sherman was in the NFL. Oklahoma State, which has to be frustrating for Cowboys fans. Colorado, unless they make a quantam leap. Iowa State, because the defensive genius of Chizik needs time to marinate.

Question 4: What no-name player will become a household name by season's end?

This conference has superstars on both sides of the ball. Names like Daniel, Maclin, Lucky, Bradford, Robinson, Harrell, Crabtree, Goodson, McCoy, Scott (presumably), Bradford, English, Murray, Reesing, Freeman. It's loaded. So who's going to sneak up on us?

Jordan Lake, the safety from Baylor. Cyrus Gray, the running back from Texas A&M. Marquis Hamilton, the wide receiver from Iowa State. Deon Murphy, the wide receiver from Kansas State. Among many others.

Question 5: Who is out of contention before the season starts?

It's hard to count anyone out before the season even begins, but I think it's safe to say that there are three teams that simply won't be contending for the conference (or their division) title this season.

Baylor. Despite the fact that I love the Art Briles hire and they have a defensive playmaker, it's simply not happening for the Bears. Sic 'em, 3-9 record.

Iowa State. Chizik will get this program back to prominence. It will happen. He's too smart. But not this year.

Texas A&M. Dennis Franchione left that program in shambles, and despite a relatively talented offensive backfield (McGee [ugh], Goodson, Lane, Gray as a spell back), who is going to play defense for the Aggies? I don't care how big and loud your stadium gets: if you can't stop anyone, you can't win games. And if you can't win games, you can't contend for a title.

Enjoy week one. Rock, flag and eagle.

Chase Daniel 2008 Preview Video

ZouDave — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:42:24 -0000

At long last, here's the final 2008 Preview Video.

Chase Daniel, Missouri's best QB of all time, returns for his final season with hopes of winning a Heisman Trophy and National Title. For the 2004 National High School Football Player of the Year, nothing is out of reach.

Chase Daniel 2008 Preview Video in High Def

Oh, and someone needs to put my Chase Coffman preview in the section on the right. I WAS ONE FREAKING WORD SHORT THAT TIME! ARGH!

Mizzou-Illinois betting line

ghtd36 — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:20:33 -0000

Via Covers.com, which I have found to be the best site for extensive odds (not that I gamble, of course, since gambling is illegal):

via i35.tinypic.com

As you can see, the line is hovering between Mizzou favored by 8.5 and 9 points. I had the game pegged at Mizzou by a touchdown, which means that Vegas is rather bullish on the Tigers. Not a bad thing.

Everyone seems pretty comfortable with 60 as the over/under, so Vegas is expecting an offensive show. That's probably not a surprise to everyone.

Anyways, interesting to see.

Oh, and...

via i34.tinypic.com

Why, oh why...

The Boy — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:33:37 -0000

...is Lou Holtz allowed on TV? Shouldn't picking Notre Dame to win 11 games (after you picked Notre Dame to win 11 games last year) disqualify you? Shouldn't that immediately void your contract? Shouldn't making Lee Corso look not only reasonable and rational, but like a downright GENIUS, end your TV career? I realize he's self-deprecating and occasionally funny, and it's always fun to look at people who look like cartoon characters, but...come on. [ /rant ]

So, no more Arrowhead?

mcboomofdoom — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:14:27 -0000

Does the Athletic department not want the 2 mil? Do we make more than that at a regular home game? Is having 2 hurting us financially?

So this means no more sweet neutral site game at the end of the year? Is having another one too much of a burden? I like neutral site games. I like having the fans decide who gets the "home-field" advantage. But I guess the AD does not feel the same.

Cheat Code!

ZouDave — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:43:33 -0000

It's catching on, baby!

Cheat Code Reference

I swear to God, if I ever hear Kelly and Kadlec say this in reference to Maclin at any point this season I'm going to run from Kansas City to Columbia with arms raised in a V above my head. They often refer to Coffman as "The Bull" so I know they're not above nicknames. Someone at some point was the first person to say it...GIVE ME MY MOMENT!

KU, expectations and LOLing.

ghtd36 — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:58:13 -0000

Per the incomparable Deadspin (which, to quote EDSBS, is like crediting the water company for the glass of water you just drank), it's Kansas' college football preview.

It's written by Ryan Patton of Kansas Football--It's Business Time, which would be a great blog if it weren't run by Al-Qaeda.

Keeping with the "know thy enemies" mantra, it's definitely worth a read, but I'll pull out some, shall we say, interesting portions:

Yet in just his [Mangino's] sixth season he managed to notch a BCS victory. Kansas now has exactly the same amount of BCS wins as: Nebraska, Florida State, Tennessee and Michigan. They have now exceeded the number of BCS wins by Frank Beamer and his football sized goiter. They also have more than that booger munching team from the east (Methzouri, for the lay person), who has never seen a BCS game (or Final Four). But I digress.

He calls Mizzou "Methzouri" throughout the piece, despite the fact that many different sources have proven that factually inaccurate. Also, "booger munching" should be hyphenated. But I digress...

Offensively they have to replace their tackles (Collins and Rodriguez), their TE (Fine), a WR (Henry) and a RB (McAnderson). The latter two are very replaceable. I have my doubts for the others, but I’m under the impression that while the newbies may not be quite as good as their predecessors we shouldn’t expect a huge plummet either.

Really? "Very replaceable?" Last time I checked, McAnderson was the third-leading rusher in the conference last season. Interesting.

Oh, but here's the true bit of genius:

Almost Sure Wins (6): FIU, Louisiana Tech, Sam Houston St., @ Iowa State, Colorado, KSU
Almost Sure Losses (1): @ Oklahoma
Almost Sure Toss-ups (5): @ South Florida, Texas Tech, @ Nebraska, Texas, Methzouri (@ Arrowhead)

A reminder that Kansas beat Colorado 19-14 last season, and Kansas figures to be worse while Colorado figures to be better. Calling it an "almost sure win" is absurd.

I don't have a problem with calling South Florida a "toss-up," but to call Texas Tech (which would have been the second-best team they played last season), Texas (which would have been the second-best team they played last season) and Mizzou (to which Kansas lost in a game that was much more decisive than the score indicates) "toss-ups" is one of the most asinine things I've ever read.

All aboard the ROFLcopter.

via blog.mediacatalyst.com

Anyways, worth a read.

The Last Time I Manage Expectations

Ridiculous Matt — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:30:49 -0000

We could lose.

The thought stops me now and then. I'll be going about my day, plain as always. And my thoughts will slide to how Stryker's knee wil hold up, or how many yards Maclin will get this season, or if Danario can finally get off the damn injury list. I'll think about how it'll feel to march into Lincoln and march out with their nuts decisevely removed, crying about how good they used to be and how they'll definitely be back, they'll be back they say! I think about putting Reesing's face to the turf again. I think about what would have to happen to get to the national championship game (let's go Texas Tech!). And the thought hits me.

We could lose.

Not that we didn't lose last season. Lord knows I wouldn't just call what happened against Oklahoma losing. I would define losing as what happened in Norman and San Antonio. But they were the only team to beat us. They were the only one. And they were clearly the better team. And i think about how amazing that was for our program. To not fall to a lesser team. To not have any slip-ups. The National Champion lost to a team we smashed into smithereens in the Cotton Bowl, for God's sake. And clearly LSU was a better team than us. But it doesn't change the fact that at no point did we actually slip. We all waited for it, whether we want to admit it or not. We waited for the Pinkel factor. We waited for the inevitable moment where we stood, stunned and angry, looking at each other like "Why? Why did we ever believe anything else would happen?" We waited for the loss that wasn't just inexplicable, it was embarrassing. And it never came. Not against Colorado. Not against K-State. Not against Kansas.

This year, we're better. We're better at almost every position except offensive line, and that unit's starting to gel. We're faster, bigger, more confident, more polished. And above all, we're confident. This is the first time I've ever walked into a season of any of the sports teams I call my own and have said "I expect us to contend for a championship." And it feels good. But it's also terrifying.

The schedule looks daunting one minute and a cake walk the next. Juice gave us fits last year. But Mendenhall's gone. Our history in Lincoln is the stuff of nightmares. But we beat them so bad they thought they stole something last year, and there's even more turnover this year. We took care of business last year. That was last year. I go back and forth.

The absence of Oklahoma from the schedule heightens the feeling. Because it's there. Texas is a great program, and a good team, to be certain. But really, there is a reason they're being widely regarded as overrated. Even in Austin, it's a game that we should win. And outside of that, is there another game we're even near likely to lose until the Big 12 Championship? Illinois? K-State? Iowa State? No. And that makes it even worse. Because last year, if we lost, well, it would have catastrophic, but no more so than any other season where we blow our chance for redemption, our shot at the national stage. This year? It's disaster unknown. If one of the non-cons give us trouble outside of Illinois, it'll be gut wrenching. And if K-State should have one of those days, or if Iowa State decides to make their stand against us, or if miracle against miracle, the Nebraskans are actually right, and their program just has that much talent in its system... Catastrophy. Pure castastrophy.

Last season was the coming out party. And we played with no regard for what we had on the line. This year, we have everything on the line. One more season to possibly cement ourselves in the top programs in the country. Succeed, and they're going to rename College Avenue "Pinkel Ave." and Maryland will be "Daniel Street." Fail, and we're the same Mizzou everyone thinks we are.

So the question then becomes, how much would a loss, two losses, (gasp) three losses suck? I remember thinking last year that if we only lost twice i would go bonkers. And hey, we did! Only one of them was the Big 12 freaking championship. But this year, two losses would be a disappointment, especially if they were outside fo the Big 12 Championship. The losses last year were respectable, understandable. "Sure, it's Oklahoma." The fact that one was in Norman and the other in heavily-Oklahoma supported San Antonio didn't hurt, either. This is not to say the losses weren't decisive. But they were respectable. A loss to anyone oustide of Texas would be embarassing, and a loss to Texas would be a pretty big letdown.

We no longer get to play with nothing to lose. We're a top ten program in the country, going in. We have a relatively easy schedule. We have enough SoS to make it into title contention, especially if we run the table. And it's possible we can do all of it without facing Oklahoma (come on, Tech!). But the idea of having all of that fall away, to be come irrelevant again, is crushing.

But then I think about how far the program, this coach, this quarterback, this fanbase, this team has come. I remember that every time this team has faced a challenge that people said they couldn't reach, they've gone out and done damn near everything to overcome it (unless it's Oklahoma, which is a demon organization wrought from Hell). This team has balls (Golden Watermelon ones of Fury, to be exact). And they can see the biggest chance they could possibly have, staring them in the face.

So yeah, we could lose.

But we could also win.

2008 College Football Preseason Top 25

mj122345mcm — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:43:20 -0000

As the 2007 season showed us, preseason rankings don't really mean squat for some teams. There may be a top ten team that finishes the year out of the rankings. There may be a team (or two or three) that rise up from no ranking to a top five ranking. But some teams stay about where they are predicted. I'm here to try to predict the top 25 teams based on talent and the ability of the players and coaches to use the talents that they are given. My rankings have nothing to do with schedules or where I think they'll finish. My rankings are all about who has the more talented team with a coaching staff that can work the talent for all it's worth. So without further ado, here is my 2008 Top 25 Preseason Rankings.

1. Ohio State

Sorry Buckeye haters, this team has 18 returning starters from a team that made it to the national championship. Yes, they lost again, but how many other teams can say that they made it through the crazy 2007 season with a championship berth?

Bottom Line: OSU is motivated to prove they can finally win a national title, and they have the talent to do it.

2. Georgia

The Dawgs return 17 total starters, including Heisman candidate, Knowshon Moreno. Matthew Stafford will lead a great Georgia attack and the defense is going to be among the best in the SEC.

Bottom Line: Georgia has great coaches and players, but they don't have the championship game experience of Ohio State.

3. Oklahoma

The Sooners are looking really good with super efficient quarterback Sam Bradford and the other seven returning starters on offense. The defense returns six and both the offensive and defensive lines should be monstrous.

Bottom Line: The Sooners are the best team in the Big 12, but can Stoops return to his former status as Big Game Bob?

4. Florida

Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin will lead a powerful offense that should be able to score almost at will. This team returns eight starters on both sides and looks to be Georgia's biggest challenger.

Bottom Line: The Gators offense will be great, but the defense needs to step it up.

5. Missouri

The Tigers return six on offense including Chase Daniel at QB and Jeremy Maclin at WR. The offensive line has some questions. The defense returns ten starters and should be among the best in the Big 12.

Bottom Line: If the O line can be good early this team could challenge OU for the Big 12.

6. USC

USC returns four starters on offense and seven on defense which isn't that much compared to some other teams. But this is USC, they have depth across the board. The second string placekicker for the Trojans could probably start quarterback somewhere else, these guys will be fine.

Bottom Line: The Trojans reload on offense and should once again be the P-10 favorite.

7. Clemson

Clemson returns seven starters on both offense and defense, including the ACC's highest rated passer in Cullen Harper. The Tigers are loaded at running back, and the offense shouldn't struggle. The defense should be pretty good too.

Bottom Line: If the offensive line can protect Harper well enough, this should be the best team in the ACC.

8. West Virginia

The offense returns eight, including Heisman candidate Pat White, but the defense returns four. They will have to adjust to life without Rich Rodriguez, and Bill Stewart will have to prove he can coach this talented group.

Bottom Line: The defense needs to be able to slow teams down, and the offense should take care of the rest.

9. Kansas

The Hawks had a dream season last year, and they are back to prove last year was no fluke. Todd Reesing will lead the offense and its seven returning starters. The defense returns nine and should have one of the best group of linebackers in the nation.

Bottom Line: Kansas needs to replace NFL talent at a few positions, but if they can fill the holes they should challenge for the Big 12 North.

10. Texas Tech

The Red Raiders potent offense returns ten starters and should be amazing this year again, but this year they finally have a better than respectable defense that returns eight from a year ago.

Bottom Line: These guys have the firepower to take down OU in the Big 12 South.

11. Auburn (Clemson's ACC challenger)

12. LSU (I have a hunch...this might be this year's Michigan???)

13. Wisconsin (Ohio State's Big 10 challenger)

14. Texas (Can they handle Oklahoma and Texas Tech?)

15. Arizona State (USC's Pac 10 foe)

16. Virginia Tech (They need to find one QB, no more two QB system)

17. Tennessee (Can they survive the SEC?)

18. BYU (BCS party crasher?)

19. Illinois (Can they contend for a Big 10 title?)

20. Pittsburgh (LeSean McCoy and Co. could win Big East.)

21. Penn State (JoePa can still coach)

22. Oregon (Everyone wants to know: What will the jerseys look like this year???)

23. South Florida (Can they climb the polls and actually stay there?)

24. Fresno State (Could be this year's Hawaii)

25. Alabama (Dark horse SEC contender)

On the Verge: Wake Forest, South Carolina, California, Boise State, Colorado