So first things first, here are the official recaps for yesterday's Big 12 games...
Missouri 41, Texas Tech 10
Oklahoma 17, Iowa State 7
Kansas 19, Colorado 14
Oklahoma State 41, Kansas State 39
Texas A&M 36, Nebraska 14
Texas 31, Baylor 10
And for those of you who are into that sort of thing, here's the MU-TT box score.
Grades: PowerMizzou and Post-Dispatch. Graham might have been a bit high on hyperbole there, but I can't disagree too much. I really agree with Gabe--the D-line was just fabulous yesterday. That comes after a solid game against Nebraska and a great game against Oklahoma. In other words, the D-line has been fantastic for all of Big 12 season. A weakness has turned into a strength.
Ridiculous defensive performance: MU Defense Defies Logic (Trib), Defense roars in Mizzou rout (Post-Dispatch), Defense holds strong in Mizzou win (Missourian), Some guys have your number, and Missouri's DC does (Lubbock Avalanche-Journal).
Rushing attack by committee: Tigers stay grounded without Temple (Trib), Running game leads blowout victory (Missourian).
Fourth Downs: Fourth-down gambles fail for Tech (Trib).
Groundhog Day for Tech at Mizzou: Mizzou overwhelms Texas Tech (Star), Missouri pulls off another rout of Red Raiders (Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
Blaine Dalton: If you missed it in the diaries last night, Blaine Dalton did indeed commit yesterday (Inside Mizzou also has the story). Meanwhile, the rumors are swirling viciously that the other Blaine--Gabbert--will have an announcement later this week. I'm not falling for this one again--I won't believe he's committing until he's committed--but all you have to do is look at Mizzou and look at the current state of Nebraska's program, and you have to figure the odds of a Gabbert (and Compton) de-commitment are at least decent.
Columns: Missouri is national title contender (Jason Whitlock), Tigers pass several big tests (Bernie Miklasz...first time he's ever written something that didn't end with "This puts more pressure on Gary Pinkel to..."), Low Tech: Missouri Flattens Raiders (Brandon George, DMN).
Notes: Trib (plus the Trib Q&A), KC Star, StL Post-Dispatch.
Here are some national thoughts...
-- Maybe the Big Ten should invite North Dakota State to be their 12th team? They've now beaten Minnesota in football and Wisconsin in b-ball. Couldn't be any worse than some of what the conference has to offer at the moment, right? Actually, I DVR'd ESPN's College Football Final, and they just listed the Big Ten's five worst losses of the year: Appalachian State (beat Michigan), North Dakota State (beat Minnesota), Florida Atlantic (beat Minnesota), Iowa State (beat Iowa for their only win), Duke (beat NW'ern for their only win). GGGGGGHHHH. Seriously, that's disgusting.
-- How about the frickin' SEC East?? Five teams with 2 losses and one with 3. Insane. I love clusterf***'s, and that's a pretty fantastic one.
-- Your current undefeated teams: Arizona State, Boston College, Hawaii, Kansas, Ohio State. Yup.
-- Your current 1-loss teams: Boise State, Connecticut, LSU, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Florida, USC, Virginia (???), Virginia Tech, West Virginia. No analysis needed here. This has just been the weirdest damn season.
-- Buffalo's tied for the lead in the MAC East, by the way. Just sayin'.