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Live Thread: Oklahoma (Big 12 Championship)

Mizzou Gameday at the Big 12 Championship:


Photo courtesy MUTigers.com

Who: No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners vs. No. 1 Missouri Tigers
Where: Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas (Capacity 65,000)
When: 7:00 CST
Line: Oklahoma by 3.0

    VS.    

Radio: Tiger Network (Mike Kelly, John Kadlec, Chris Gervino)
TV: ABC HD (Brent Musberger, Kirk Herbstreit, Lisa Salters)
Weather: N/A
Online trackers: CSTV, ESPN
Oklahoma blogs: Crimson and Cream Machine, The Sooner Schooner



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AND - don't forget - ESPN's College Gameday is town:

Who: Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard
What: College Gameday on ESPN HD
When: 9:00-11:00 a.m. CST
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Make Rock M Nation your base of operations all day today and weigh in with your predictions, questions, worries, bold statements and observations by signing up for a free account. And, of course, make sure to spot your favorite Gameday signs or come up with your own below.

Fight Tigers!

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CLICK 'FULL STORY' FOR THE LIVEBLOG.

6:27 - Alright, boys and girls.  I've cleaned the living room and bedroom, vacuumed, had a nice, long workout, helped the wife make chicken & dumplings, entered the play-by-play for all of Texas' non-conference games, took a nap (somehow)...I've done everything I could to kill the last 7.5 hours.  I'm settling down to a nice big bowl of chicken & dumplings (which should be fantastic even though I helped with it), and...yeah, I couldn't be less interested in food right now.  The new Biggest Game in Mizzou History is about to start, baby, and as always, I feel less and less confident as the game inches closer.  Let's get this damn thing started already.

6:39 - I spoke too soon.  C&D's aren't quite ready yet.  Which is fine, since it looks like our kickoff is going to be delayed by the end of the USC/UCLA game.  Game was supposed to end at 6:30, but there are 11:05 left.  Note to programmers: thanks to the fact that we got rid of last year's lovely running clock rule (and the fact that I think they cram more and more commercials into broadcasts each year...seriously, cfb is worse than the NFL at this point), games take way longer.  Don't try to cram them in so much.  There was no reason USC/UCLA couldn't have started an hour earlier.

7:17 - Yup, C&D's were great.  Just about time for kickoff.  Mizzou elected to kick.  I never saw that coming.  Injury news: Coffman is likely out, English is likely in.  Awesome.  Exactly the way I wanted to start.

7:18 - Here we go...Maclin with a nice return out to the 30.  I'm surprised Hartley didn't kick that out of the endzone.

7:19 - First pass is a drop by Maclin...would have been good for 15-20.

7:19 - Second down is a trick play to Saunders...was supposed to be a double pass, but Nic Harris blows it up.  I don't like that call, but Saunders SOMEHOW got rid of the ball, so it's 3rd-and-10 instead of 3rd-and-20.

7:20 - Nevermind.  Now it's 3rd-and-21.  Doesn't matter that the whistle didn't blow.  I see.

7:21 - Mizzou to punt.  Three awful plays.

7:22 - Crossett oncorks a BOMB, and William Moore shakes Reggie Smith up on the return.  OU will start at their 30.  I'm curious how Bradford starts out...he's been super-poised all year, but this is the Big 12 title game, and he is a freshman.

7:23 - Poor tackling by Mizzou, and Iglesias gets about 15 yards instead of 3.  Credit Van Alexander for the complete whiff.  MAN I'm in a pissy mood so far...

7:23 - First OU run is eaten up by Ziggy and 'Spoon.  Encouraging.

7:24 - Willy Mo makes his second nice play, and it's 3rd-and-13 for OU.  It is imperative to get the stop here.  I'm breaking out the big words already.  Oh, and I thought Willy Mo was from Hayti?  It said Caruthersville...

7:25 - Make that 3rd-and-18 as Bradford took too long audibling.  Now it is doubly imperative.

7:25 - Make that 3rd-and-23.  False start.  INFINITELY imperative.  This Mizzou crowd is LOUD.

7:26 - Incomplete pass, and OU will punt.  Woohoo.  Bradford threw three passes on that drive--two short ones and an inaccurate one downfield.

7:27 - Punt goes into the endzone for a touchback.  Sulak got into the backfield on the punt, but he was about 3 yards to Knall's left and did a good job in avoiding doing something really stupid by running into him...

7:30 - First down for Mizzou, and Temple gets 0.  The hole closed pretty quickly.  I really don't think we'll be able to run very much...Temple or no Temple.

7:31 - Positive yards!  Bubble screen to Franklin for about 4.  OU's trying to bring a lot of pressure early.

7:31 - Franklin for a first down!  He's already had a better game than he did last week.  Mizzou to the 34.

7:32 - Wow, that was a rough play.  DJ Wolfe held onto Maclin on the short screen, and when the rest of the team came up to crush Maclin (and boy did they crush him), Wolfe got the worst of it.  Somehow Maclin emerged unscathed--two different guys got a free shot at him, and they took advantage of it.

7:35 - Yup...the "Wanna get away?" Southwest Airline spots are still some of the best commercials on TV.  As a proud Wii owner, I can come a lot closer to relating to the "Remote through the TV" commercial than I'd like to.

7:36 - Rucker drops a short pass, but it wouldn't have gone for anything.  REALLY short passes so far.  3rd-and-7 for Mizzou.

7:36 - Option on 3rd-and-7?  Really?  Needless to say, Mizzou to punt.  Not impressed with the scripted plays so far.

7:37 - Crossett with another nice punt...Reggie finds a small seam, and OU will start at their 30 again.

7:38 - Another injury, this time on a Mizzou player.  Not sure who.

7:38 - Oh good, Moore is the injured Tiger.  Howard and Garrett are the safeties.  This could not be going any better so far.

7:39 - Charles Gaines with a fantastic play, eating Allen Patrick up and forcing a third down.  And then an OU O-lineman got a personal foul.  Third-and-22.  INDUBITABLY imperative.

7:40 - I don't think that's how you spell indubitably.

7:40 - OU will punt.  Nice.  Moore is out, and Mizzou forces a 3-and-out anyway.

7:41 - Maclin breaks a nice return, but there was a very obvious block in the back.  But Allen Patrick also cheap-shotted somebody, so that will offset the damage somewhat.  Am pretty sure we'll be seeing Chris Brown on the next OU drive.

7:42 - Brent just said the same thing about Chris Brown.  I said it first, Partner.

7:46 - Jeremy Maclin is so freaking fast.  Daniel looked deep, but his man was covered...Maclin was the safety valve, and he just flew past three OU tacklers.

7:46 - Nice run for Temple for about 6.

7:47 - Another horizontal pass for about half a yard, and it's 3rd-and-3.  We're setting up the pumpfake deep ball, obviously, but it's still frustrating to watch.

7:48 - Stoopsy is PISSED about the upcoming pass interference call on Dominique Franks...sure looked like it in real-time.  Let's see a replay.  It was a tossup, I guess, but there was definitely contact.  I'll take it, especially after some of the calls we saw last week.

7:49 - Fantastic play-fake by Chase Daniel...found Rucker wide open, and then T juked the pants off an OU DB.  First down from the OU 22.

7:49 - NICE run by Tony Temple, and it'll be 1st-and-goal from the OU 9.

7:50 - I hate when it's first-and-goal from the 9 or 10...it's pretty much an automatic passing down against someone like OU.  They just ate up the 1st-down run play, and it's 2nd down from the 11.

7:51 - Incomplete to Rucker?  Interesting...the ref was right there, though, so I guess that would have been a hard call to screw up.

7:52 - Third down...Daniel tries a tough touch pass to MotherRucker in the endzone, but it was too high.  Wolfert to try a FG.

7:52 - Brent is executing the most blatant kicker jinx I've ever seen here.  "Folks, you're about to witness something amazing...Jeff Wolfert has NEVER missed a kick in Big 12 play!  I mean, 87 straight!  Simply amazing!"  Seriously, shut up, Partner.

7:52 - 88 straight.  Not even Brent can jinx Wolfert.  3-0, Mizzou.

7:54 - Allen Patrick with a decent kick return (Brent: "He owes Stoops one after that penalty."), and OU will start at their 33.

7:55 - Bradford attempts a dangerous slant, and it falls INC.

7:56 - Chris Spielman appreciates Jeremy Maclin's speed.  And my wife does not appreciate Chris Spielman.  Those were two unrelated thoughts.

7:56 - Third-and-4 for OU...this would be a nice stop, but I like OU's chances.  Yup, complete to Chris Brown for exactly four yards and not an inch more.  And yes, Brown is in on this possession.

7:57 - Mizzou loads 10 men in the box, and OU calls the obvious play-action deep ball.  Darnell Terrell got roasted one-on-one, and OU has it 1st-and-goal from the 7.  Saw that one coming a mile away.  We have to respect the run, but not THAT much.

7:59 - Loadholt with another false start, and it's 2nd-and-goal from the 12.  Hold them to a field goal, boys.

8:00 - Decent gain by Joe Jon Finley, and it'll be 3rd down from the 4 when the second quarter starts.  Lots of football left to be played.  My wife just said she's getting indigestion...she's NOT pleased with how much she cares about this team right now.  Don't think she expected to fall for Mizzou like she has.

8:03 - Nice comment by Big Head below...he's absolutely right that it would be "JJ Finley" in any state but Oklahoma.

8:03 - Okay, here we go.  Third down...as Brent said, this is Jermaine Gresham territory.

8:04 - Against Mizzou, though, it's Chris Brown territory.  We were playing the pass, and Brown scored.  7-3 OU.  That's fine...now answer.

8:06 - The heart rate really does double when Jeremy Maclin's carrying the ball.  That was a nothing return to the 24, but it sure seemed exciting.

8:07 - ANOTHER inside screen.  Good lord.  Saunders gains about six inches.

8:07 - I'll say this, though...the inside passes are the only thing open.  OU's secondary is covering well so far.  Third-and-10.  A three-and-out wouldn't be a good idea, but it's pretty likely right now.

8:08 - Nice!  Daniel finds Saunders uncovered for a 21-yard gain.  Successful subtle jinx on my part.

8:09 - Maclin looks faster tonight.  Seven-yard gain on the reverse, and it's first down from the OU 44.

8:10 - Chase scrambles for 8 on first down.  He was REALLY close to stepping out at the line of scrimmage.

8:11 - Reggie Smith makes a FANTASTIC tackle on 2nd-down...Temple made a nice spin move, and Smith caught him in the legs mid-spin.  Third-and-inches after a decent spot.

8:12 - PERFECT QB sneak out of the shotgun...OU never saw it coming, and Daniel gained about 20.  Not sure if that was the called play, but the middle of OU's defense was completely empty.

8:13 - We're REALLY trying to establish the run, which is admirable, but it's getting eaten up as we approach the goalline.  Third-and-9 from the OU 15.  Auston English is somehow playing very well, by the way.

8:15 - REALLY late pass interference call on OU...that was way more obvious than the last pass interference call, but the ref couldn't get the flag out of his pants.  OU crowd is booing the call, but OU DB's continue to wrap their arms around the waist of the receiver, and that allows the refs to call PI any time they want.

8:16 - Oh wow...I could have sworn Chase scored on that play, but they marked him down at the 1.  Sure looked like he scored on the replay.  And it won't be reviewed?  Why?

8:17 - Third-and-goal, and Chase is stuck at the 1.  Which really sucks considering he scored two plays ago.  Pinkel should have called the timeout and had that reviewed, but then again, he shouldn't have had to.  That was obvious enough that the booth should have stopped play to review that one without Mizzou calling timeout.

8:17 - Mizzou settles for the FG.  Pretty pissed right now.  7-6 OU.

8:21 - Slight mea culpa.  The replay angle they just revealed showed Daniel tucking the ball and probably coming up a couple inches short.  My bad.

8:21 - OU starts at their 29.  Patrick breaks off a pretty strong 8-yard run, and Lisa Salters' mic just went ballistic.  Somehow she was actually fed through the stadium's PA system, and Chase Daniel heard her talking about him...and then got about 15 seconds of feedback.  That was fun.

8:24 - ANOTHER false start for OU.  8 penalties for OU, 1 for Mizzou.  It's like MU-KU in reverse.

8:24 - Bradford eludes Tommy Saunders and makes a nice pass to Juaquin Iglesias.  Jermaine Gresham really really held William Moore, but it wasn't called.

8:25 - Moore gets his revenge, CRUSHING Gresham to break up a 3rd-down pass, and OU will punt.

8:29 - Second-down for Mizzou after fantastic coverage forces a throwaway.

8:30 - Quickly, it's third-and-10.  I don't like this at all.  OU's close to finding its rhythm offensively, and we need to be ahead when that happens.

8:30 - Mizzou to punt.  OU is covering like they did in the first half last time these teams played.  Christensen is going to have to get creative to find something that works.

8:31 - Crossett's punt takes a Mizzou bounce, but rolls out at midfield.  Trouble brewing.

8:33 - Oh by the way, it's only 7-3 West Virginia over Pitt at halftime.  I assume they'll still win, but suddenly Georgia fans are getting excited...the possibility of an Ohio State-Georgia (or OSU-LSU) final is more realistic now than it was earlier.  Will disgust me if a 2-loss team plays for the title.

8:34 - First down for OU...Bradford finds Brown for about 18, and OU's in long field goal range.  OU does a great job of putting Bradford in easy, no-lose situations.  I see a TD in the near future.  Maybe that would wake the MU offense up.

8:36 - Alright, third-and-7 for OU.  Would be nice to force a FG attempt here.

8:36 - Nope, Bradford finds Kelly one-on-one with Castine Bridges.  First down at the 20.  Poor blitz attempt by Mizzou.

8:37 - Another first down for OU after Patrick goes for about 12 on the sweep.  He gets full-speed really quickly.  First-and-goal from the 8.

8:38 - Third-and-goal for OU from the 3.  That sweep to Patrick is working pretty well.  I'd run it again if I were Kevin Wilson.

8:39 - TD, Chris Brown.  OU's starting to find a rhythm in its running game.  14-6.  That actually relaxes me a bit...Mizzou didn't deserve to be down only 1 the way they were playing, and now they're not.  They have some work to do, but if they're the #1 team in the country, they'll bounce back.  It better happen soon, though.

8:43 - OU blows up the wedge, and Maclin has nowhere to go on the kick return.  Weather the storm, boys.  OU's clicking on all cylinders, but it probably won't last all game.

8:45 - Herbstreit is REALLY excited about being able to name all four of OU's Big 12 champion QB's.  Meanwhile, my 8:39 "If they're #1 in the country..." statement is starting to bug me simply because, if Mizzou loses, Ohio State will get in the title game having proven infinitely less than Mizzou.

8:46 - Six-yard loss for Temple on first down.  Yikes.  Abandon the run for now, guys.  It might be there later in the game, but it's not right now.

8:46 - Maclin gains about 14, and it'll be third-and-2.  I realize they won't go for it if they don't convert here, but they might need to.

8:47 - Quick pass to Saunders for the first down.  Oh, and there's 2:10 left in the half.  Crap.

8:47 - Danario Alexander on the reverse...he gets to the 46 and comes up a little lame.

8:48 - Holy crap...WV is down 10-7.  I wanted to play Ohio State in the title game, but it's going to piss me off if WV gives OSU the opportunity and we lose.

8:48 - Motherrucker!  He drags about 5 OU tacklers to the OU 40 AND draws a personal foul face mask.  Nice.  First-and-10 from the 25.

8:49 - Holy crap!  They just showed the replay...Ryan Reynolds damn near ripped Rucker's head off.

8:50 - Another option.  Why?  That's not going to work against this defense, and we wasted another down proving it.  Third-and-11 with 1:15 left.

8:50 - Chase calls timeout with 1:03 left.  He's really frustrated right now...and for good reason.

8:51 - Chase avoids the blitz and finds Franklin at the 12 for the first down.  That was big.  :50 left...

8:52 - Maclin to the 4.  No timeout yet.

8:53 - TD run, Chase Daniel!  Wow, was that huge.  WOW, WAS THAT HUGE.

8:53 - Mizzou will go for 2...not a surprise here.  Daniel to Goldsmith to Maclin...to MotherRucker on the double-reverse pass!!  14-14 with 0:14 in Q2!  We have NO business being tied right now.  What a fantastic way to end the first half...assuming that's the way the first half ends.

8:56 - Yup, that's the way the first half will end.  On to the locker room.  Mizzou has to be thrilled with being tied.  We've absorbed OU's best shot, but they'll have plenty left in the first half.  And Chase is riling the Mizzou fans up as he walks off the field.  I am infinitely more optimistic than I was 15 minutes ago.

9:15 - There was a dude from OK in the Dr. Pepper "Throw the ball through the big can" contest, and he didn't win.  I'm desperate for good omens, so I'll consider that a good omen.

9:16 - And my cat just threw up.  Bad omen?  No!  For once, he didn't do it under the sofa or bed or some other impossible-to-reach area.  Good omen!

9:17 - And I spelled 'indubitably' correct earlier!  Good omen!  I'm jacked up now!!

9:19 - Alright, I dug up this clip when we were down 14-6, and even though we found ourselves with momentum when the half ended, this clip can only be good luck...

9:20 - Good coverage on the kickoff return...OU will start at their 21.  Expect lots of sweeps to Patrick.

9:21 - Naturally, OU starts with two passes.  First down to the OU 37.

9:22 - I have beer, my wife has cake.  We deal with stress in different ways.

9:23 - Third-and-6 for OU.  First big play of the second half.  OU's had enough success with the deep ball (it only takes one or two), though, that that underneath pass will likely be open the rest of the game.

9:24 - Bradford throws to nobody, and OU will punt.  Awesome.

9:24 - Impressive...we managed to illegally block (or hold) on the punt even though Maclin never touched the ball.  Okie dokie.  That was totally worthwhile.  MU will take over at the 7.

9:25 - REALLY nice catch by Saunders on first down to the 22.  Kept his feet down.

9:26 - Reverse to Maclin, and he does a really good job to get about 2 yards.

9:27 - Oh freaking great.  Lisa Salters just said Alexander is out for the rest of the game.  I realize we have the deepest WR/TE corps in the country, but it really really hurts to lose both Coffman and Alexander.  Need big things from Maclin and Franklin from here on out.

9:28 - Third-and-6 from the 26...Mizzou picks up the blitz, and Chase finds Maclin at the 37.  First down.

9:28 - OU with an all-out blitz again, and Daniel finds Maclin for 8.  J-Mac is slow to get up.  Awesome.  We'll be playing walk-ons soon.  My wife just announced that she doesn't have enough cake left for this.

9:29 - Temple runs for a first down to the OU 47.  Nice, plodding drive so far.

9:30 - Maclin's back on the field, and they immediately give it to him for 17 yards on a reverse!  I really need to breathe.

9:31 - NICE play by OU's Jeremy Beal...Daniel was rolling right and thought he was out of Beal's reach, but #44 tripped him up.  Now we've got an illegal substitution penalty (Pinkel virulently disagrees, lol), and it's 2nd-and-25 from the OU 40.

9:32 - Third-and-23 after what was basically a coverage sack.  Just don't do something stupid here.

9:33 - It seems like we have one of these "multiple sack" drives every game.  Lofton tripped Daniel up this time, and Mizzou will punt.  Pin 'em deep, Crossett.

9:33 - The punt bounces into the endzone for a touchback.  Boo.

9:37 - Brock Christopher and Justin Garrett shut down Allen Patrick on first down.  2nd-and-10 for OU...and now 2nd-and-15 after yet another false start.

9:38 - It's 13-7 Pitt, by the way.  Pat White's back in after twice coming out with an injury.

9:38 - Alright, here we go...3rd-and-6 from the 24.  Manuel Johnson is wide-open for the first down...and we've got a REALLY weak late-hit on Mizzou.  Johnson was probably out of bounds, but he was running full speed and Garrett basically just got in the way.  It was technically a late hit, but I wouldn't have called that.

9:39 - Okay, on replay it was a bit worse than I thought.  But I've seen that go uncalled before.

9:40 - Patrick follows up the nice third-down conversion by ripping off a big run inside the Mizzou 5.  Mizzou's about to be playing from behind again.

9:41 - Two run stuffs later, it's 3rd-and-goal from the 4.  Watch Gresham, watch the run...watch everything, I guess.  Just stop them.

9:42 - My brilliant advice doesn't work.  TD, Allen Patrick.  Phil Loadholt has about 18 false starts today, but when they need four yards, they have no problem running behind the left tackle.  21-14 OU with 4:04 left in Q3.

9:44 - So I was talking to a buddy of mine at halftime.  He was complaining about how sick he felt..."This is what I dreamed of all these years?  To be in a position where I felt this sick for four hours?"  We agreed that at least 8-4 seasons don't cause ulcers.  :-)

9:45 - Hartley kicks it through the endzone.  Alright, here we go.  Another huge drive for Mizzou.  They've been playing with fire all night, and they need to get their crap together fast.

9:46 - Screen to Saunders works this time, for about 8 yards at least.

9:47 - No idea what happened there.  Daniel threw to Rucker on the slant, and it bounced right off of Rucker's hands...right to Curtis Lofton, of course, who returned it to the 5.  We've had so few miscues like that, that it's just stunning when it happens.  Mizzou's about to be down 14.

9:48 - Herbstreit is raving about how Lofton "sees things faster" than others.  Uhh, the ball landed right in his hands.  I'd have had that pick too.

9:49 - TD, Gresham,  28-14.  Uh oh.

9:52 - Meanwhile, I just fired up ESPN 360...West Virginia has it 4th-and-really-long with about 90 seconds left.  Georgia fans couldn't be happier right now.  Can't believe how this has played out.

9:53 - WV's 4th-down desperation pass is incomplete.  Pitt's gonna win.  Wow.  Oh yeah, and Daniel finds Rucker for about 15 to the 35.  NOW's the time for this...

9:54 - OU responds with a personal foul penalty.  They're rattled by Belushi...

9:56 - Screen to Rucker, and he bounces it outside...runs it all the way down to the OU 6.  Pound it in, guys.

9:57 - They insist on running here, and it's just not gonna work.  Temple loses 2.  Second down.

9:57 - Quick screen to Washington, and 18 defenders were waiting to tackle him.  Horizontal passing just isn't working here.  It will be third-and-goal from about midfield.  Okay, from the 14.

9:58 - And that's the end of Q3.  I'm still stunned that Rucker didn't catch that pass.  That hasn't happened all year.  And it hurts worse now that Pitt has officially beaten WV.  In Morgantown.  I felt there were two teams deserving of a shot at the national title...one just lost to an awful team, and one's 15 minutes away from losing a game that Ohio State didn't have to play.

10:02 - Brent just described this year's football chaos thusly: "Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious."  Okay.  Meanwhile, Daniel threw the third down pass way out of bounds.  Wolfert on for the FG.

10:03 - Wolfert good again.  28-17.  Sigh.  Nobody--not even OU--has stopped us in the redzone this much all season.

10:05 - Wolfert with a HORRIBLE kickoff...way out of bounds.  OU will start at the 35.  They're going to run it until we stop them.  Oh yeah, and Brent and Herbie have been talking about the BCS and a need for a playoff for the last 15 minutes.

10:06 - Holding on OU, followed by a face mask on Mizzou.  First down OU.  Pinkel just said "That's STUPID."

10:07 - Replay shows that was nowhere NEAR a personal foul face mask.  Nothing we can do about it, though.

10:08 - First downs: MU 23, OU 11.  Score: OU 28, MU 17.  Redzone trips: OU 4 (with 4 TDs), MU 4 (with 3 FGs).  Meanwhile, it's getting chippy.  And OU has another first down.  OU at the 46 with 13:38 left.

10:09 - You knew that was coming.  MU was loading up on the run, so Gresham was wide open on a play action.  STILL can't believe Rucker dropped that ball.  Gonna take a while to get over that one.

10:10 - Third-and-2 for OU from the 10.  Call me crazy, but it would be a good idea to hold them to a FG here.

10:11 - Chris Brown for a first down to the 5.  FG's probably too much to ask for now.  Maybe a fumble?  Please?  Anything?

10:12 - Brody Eldridge drops a TD pass...we tried to jump the pass and failed, and Eldridge was wide open.  PLEASE make them pay for that drop on third down...

10:13 - Timeout, OU, with 10:33 left.  Sigh.  I've trying as hard as I can to prevent the feeling of hopelessness setting in...

10:17 - Here we go...third down...easy TD to Finley.  35-17, 10:28 left.  Have I mentioned how much I hate conference championship games right now?  And no, I didn't think that before this season.

10:20 - So uhh...third time's a charm?

10:21 - Drop by Maclin.  Sigh.

10:22 - And yes, I would VERY much prefer Hawaii to be in the title game than a 2-loss team.  Or maybe Kansas (ouch).  I just wish the re was a much bigger penalty in the system for losses.

10:23 - Third-and-10 for Mizzou...we're one incomplete pass away from this being all but academic.  Daniel is chased out of bounds.  Mizzou to punt.  Ballgame.  The Belushi clip was NO help whatsoever.  I'm very disappointed in you, Bluto.

10:26 - I can't decide what sucks worse here.  That we're about to get screwed and passed over by both Kansas and Illinois?  That a crappy Ohio State team is going to get a shot at the title?  That a 2-loss team is going to get a shot at the title...possibly one that didn't even make its conference title game?  That Stoops' stupid motivational ploys earlier in the week did the job?  That the biggest play in the game was a miscue by our team's most inspirational player (Rucker)?  That Ohio State (and Georgia) didn't have to play a conference title game?  That Ohio State never had to play a team as good as Kansas, much less Oklahoma?  Many 'sucks' from which to choose.

10:31 - Third-and-4 for OU from the Mizzou 42.  If there's a last gasp in the tank, this is it.  Pass interference on Darnell Terrell.  Awesome.

10:32 - Time to cheer myself up.

And for good measure...

That was fun. But it still doesn't change the fact that a crappy Ohio State team is going to the title game.  That seems to be sticking with me the most.  And in the end, I guess nobody deserves a shot at the title in my eyes, so I'm just going to have to live with whatever.

10:39 - FG, OU.  38-17.  Under 4 minutes left.  Credit the dude from Crimson & Cream Machine for just about nailing this one.

10:43 - Chase just tried for a sneak on 3rd-and-1, and while there was a hole there when he started running, it closed really really quickly.  Mizzou will punt with less than 2 minutes left.

10:45 - I just flipped over to the MU-Cal basketball game.  Mizzou's up 45-37 at half, which is...something, I guess.  I'm also impressed that the first half only took about 45 minutes, coming off the 2.5 hour MU-Arkansas game the other day.

10:46 - Last play for OU.  That's ballgame.  Five conference titles for OU with five different QBs.  Impressive.  Sigh.