MotherRucker's redemption: unlike the coaches, the AP acknowledges that T-Rucker is a) a tight end, and b) a really, really, really good tight end. Also good: Chase Daniel (Unanimous 1st-team, Offensive Player of the Year), Jeremy Maclin (Unanimous 1st-team), Adam Spieker (1st-team), Lorenzo Williams (1st-team), Sean Weatherspoon (1st-team), William Moore (1st-team), Chase Coffman (2nd-team), Tyler Luellen (2nd-team), Stryker Sulak (2nd-team), Pig Brown (2nd-team), Colin Brown (HM), Kurtis Gregory (HM), Tommy Chavis (HM), Ziggy Hood (HM), and Brock Christopher (HM). Seriously, have we ever had even half that many get honored or noticed? Sweet jesus. Oh yeah, and William Moore and Jeremy Maclin are Rivals 1st-team All-Americans (Daniel and Rucker: 2nd-team...Spieker: 3rd-team). And Daniel's a Manning Award finalist.
The Missourian covered the Mizzou Spirit Rally last night.
"Gary, Gary, Gary," the crowd chanted before Pinkel, spoke.
"We are going down to San Antonio," Pinkel said, and the crowd responded with cheers. "And playing Oklahoma."
"Boo!"
Jason Whitlock quotes himself and remembers that he thought Mizzou was going to be pretty darn good this year...and then he finishes with this:
We slept on the Tigers.
Their spread offense is every bit as lethal as the unit that won a national championship for Florida last season. In fact, Missouri has a superior unit.
...
The experience against Oklahoma is the reason Mizzou had little trouble dispatching previously unbeaten Kansas over the weekend at Arrowhead Stadium. Daniel had been in the fire. Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing had not. Reesing didn't play well until the fourth quarter.
I expect the Tigers to avenge their loss to the Sooners. Oklahoma helped create this football Frankenstein. It will be good to see the Sooners destroyed by it.
Today's features: Stryker Sulak takes En Vogue's advice (Trib), Tony Temple gets his shot at OU (Missourian...and Post-Dispatch), William Moore and Pig Brown (KC Star), Lorenzo Williams (Post-Dispatch), and OU's Malcolm Kelly (KC Star).
The Missourian has five keys to the MU-OU game (and shares its opinion about conference title games). And I must say, College Football News let me down--they've been talking Mizzou up for about five years now, and now that we've exceeded our promise...they pick OU. It's a cruel, cruel world sometimes.
The KC Star notes that, in a matter of speaking, the bandwagon might just about be full.
The P-D's Tim O'Neil stops by Southlake on his way down to San Antonio...looks into what makes Chase Daniel a winner.
Quick recruiting notes: Arkansas commit Jelani Smith might not be a firm commit anymore, and PowerMizzou has the latest on Texas DE Jacquies Smith.
Finally, Bernie's somewhat like Whitlock--when he's saying/thinking something stupid, he goes off the deep end with it...but when he's on point, nobody nails it home better.
I am confident of this: If the Missouri players were wearing USC or Florida uniforms while doing what this Mizzou contingent has achieved so far — an 11-1 record, scoring at least 31 points in each game, playing entertaining football, and holding firm when another loss would ruin everything — the snobs would have no ground for protest. The elitists would celebrate, not condemn, such a fine football team.
I don't think Missouri coach Gary Pinkel and his players need motivational material for Saturday's Big 12 championship game vs. Oklahoma, but if so, the punditry is all but begging for an OU victory to push Ohio State into the BCS title game against (presumably) West Virginia.
Maybe a recent No. 1 team has been dissed more than Mizzou, but I don't remember any.
You won't win the 'disrespected' game this week, Bob Stoops...no matter how hard you try...