Mizzou Links, 11-7-12

Mizzou Football Links

• Game Week
  The Trib: Tigers try to lift QB's spirits
  KC Star: MU notebook: Pinkel backs James Franklin
  Post-Dispatch: Mizzou left guessing by Vols' vow to change defense
  Post-Dispatch: Mizzou's depleted line crucial to Tiger bowl hopes
  PowerMizzou: Tuesday Tiger Notebook
  PowerMizzou: Tuesday's Top Tigers
• Yost And QB No. 1
  The Trib (Dave Matter): Yost goes deep on Franklin's struggles

  Franklin's left leg is the one he plants into the ground to maintain balance as he releases the ball. And it's his left MCL that's still healing. Yost did not offer that as a reason for the high throws, but it's obvious that Franklin is still working himself back into shape from that injury.

  "Some of the throws he makes are exactly how they should be," Yost said. "He's able to transfer" weight "into it. Some of it's building up the confidence and trust that, 'Hey, I can do this.' And also it's getting yourself into a rhythm that you can do this so you do transfer into them. The two balls he sailed, we've watched 50 times, but it's a matter of what you see with young quarterbacks. He saw it open. He wanted to get it there. But he wasn't in a position footwork-wise to get it there as quick as he did. What you do is go quick, you don't step as far, you go short step, your release point comes off quicker. So what's the ball do? It goes higher. I've seen it many, many times. You just don’t like to see it in a game. Normally, a lot of the times it's a young quarterback in practice."

  On Franklin's first interception, a second-quarter throw along the Tigers' sideline picked off by UF cornerback Jaylen Watkins, Franklin rushed his steps, Yost said.

  "He just tried to speed up to get to L'Damian and it sailed and went way over," he said. "He opened his hips, his arm went sidearm and that's the natural reaction when you don’t step toward the target. You balance yourself with your arm angle and what happens is the ball goes high as opposed to coming down."

  "But he has great touch on the football," Yost later added. "There were some other throws he made in that game that he made and no one else was going to, some scramble throws he made on the move, which was probably the bigger question I had going in."

• Mr. Josey
  KBIA Sports: Henry Josey finds extra motivation during his comeback from a devastating knee injury
• Right??
  The Missourian: Matt Hoch starting to shine for Missouri

  "The last couple games he’s been a different player. This is his first year playing inside like that with the amount that he’s playing," Pinkel said Monday. "Him and Sheldon are different type players, and he’s a little bit more like (former Missouri defensive tackle and current Pittsburgh Steelers player) Ziggy (Hood) – just a bigger, more physical guy."

  At 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds, Hoch is both taller and heavier than Richardson. And while Richardson uses his speed and athleticism to break into the backfield and harass the quarterback, Hoch relies on his leverage to fill running lanes.

  That size, though, also has its disadvantages.

  "We call him Megatron, because he’s so big and he’s stiff as hell," defensive end Kony Ealy said, smiling wide. "But, I mean, he blows up plays and gets in the way of quarterbacks and running backs. He’s always in the way."

  For Hoch, the success he’s starting to enjoy didn’t come naturally. Defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski said Hoch is a noticeably better player now than he was in fall camp. He’s more confident and more disciplined.

  That improvement was spurred, at least partially, by Kuligowski’s words of encouragement. Very loud, very enthusiastic encouragement.

• Aldon Smith May Or May Not Have Had An Interesting Trip To Columbia This Past Weekend
  The Trib (via AP): 49ers' Smith faces questions
• Champions Sugar Bowl
  SB Nation: Champions Bowl is the new Sugar Bowl, according to reports
  CBS Sports: Sugar Bowl to host the SEC-Big 12 'Champions Bowl'
  Post-Dispatch: Sugar Bowl to pair SEC, Big 12 teams
• The SEC Also Doesn't Appear To Regret Bringing Mizzou Aboard
  Al.com: Mike Slive: 'This has to be considered one of the golden ages for the SEC'

  Q: As good as the last 10 years have been in the SEC, you always want to grow. How do you grow from here?

  A: "How do you maintain it? That's the goal. How do you think about the future? What do we do to ensure that we continue to be as good as we want to be? When people ask me about expansion, they say, 'How's Missouri doing this fall? How's Texas A&M doing this fall?' The answer for me is that I never thought about this fall or that fall. What I think about is the long-term horizon - 10 years from now, 20 years from now. So for us, one of the ways we can strengthen ourselves and ensure our strength is by adding quality institutions of this nature. I think that's one of the ways. We want to be able to make sure we provide the (right) kind of environment for our student-athletes. We want to make sure we graduate them. We want to make sure we've got enough revenue to support 5,000 student-athletes playing ball for the national championship. In the 62 (championships) we won, we won them in 16 of the 20 sports. One of the things about being a football league is that people think of you as a football league when in reality you're a lot more than a football league. But you don't get the focus." […]

  Q: Do you see the SEC going to nine conference football games at some point?

  A: "We vetted that out in Destin. We spent a lot of time on it, and there was an overwhelming majority (against it). The only thing I would say about that is in '14-'15, when the new playoff comes and the selection committee comes, we have to at least be sensitive and alert to make sure that our model, our formula, works for us in the way in which we want it to work. You can never be married to one thing if facts dictate that something else should be done."

• Music Is A World Within Itself, With A Language We All Understand...
  We Are Mizzou: Mizzou Tiger Song of the Week

And because I couldn't just quote "Sir Duke" without wanting to listen to it...

Other Football Links

• The Only Two Political Pieces You Need To Read Today
  EDSBS: ACCEPTANCE SPEECH 2012
  SB Nation: Sports, elections and the perversion of math

Mizzou Basketball Links

• MU vs. SIUE
  MUtigers.com: Fox Sports Midwest Sets Nov. 10 Channel Lineup
• This Kid's Going To Be Fun
  The Maneater: Stefan Jankovic shines as Haith moves parts again

Mizzou Diamond Sports Links

• Pros
  SimmonsField.com: MU in the Minors: Arizona Fall League
• 2013 Recruiting
  SimmonsField.com: Early Signing Period for Baseball Recruits: November 14-21
  SimmonsField.com: 2013 Mizzou Baseball Recruit: Jake Brentz, OF/LHP

Other Mizzou Links

• Mizzou Volleyball
  MUtigers.com: Tigers Earn Second Straight Sweep, Top Arkansas State
  The Missourian: Missouri earns another sweep
  KBIA Sports: Non-Conference tune-up prepares Missouri volleyball for big weekend
• Mizzou Women's Basketball
  MUtigers.com: Tigers Cruise to 88-46 Exhibition Win Over Lindenwood
  The Trib: Women's hoops thumps Lindenwood days before opener
  The Missourian: Missouri excels in exhibition against Lindenwood
  KBIA Sports: Missouri women tally blowout exhibition win over Lindenwood
• Mizzou Wrestling
  MUtigers.com: No. 7 Tigers Set for Season Opener this Saturday
  The Maneater: Experienced Missouri brings high expectations into season

Other

• This Was Enjoyable (And NSFW)
  The Braiser: Anthony Bourdain Blasts Cadillac On Twitter