Big XII Championship: Position by Position Breakdown

2007 BIG XII CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
#9 OKLAHOMA vs #1 MISSOURI

POSITION BY POSITION BREAKDOWN

Quarterbacks
You can keep your Graham Harrell, folks, because these two are inarguably the best quarterbacks in the conference. The fact that their teams are in the title game is no coincidence, either - you all know about #10, who seems to have been on TV more this week than Wolf Blitzer and Peyton Manning combined. Chase Daniel is now a legit Heisman candidate, and will submit his final statement in that conversation Saturday night. Chase at times looked fidgety against the Sooner pass rush the first time these two played, and last season when OU came to Columbia and won. However, Daniel has been more and more poised in the pocket since then, and displayed unforeseen escapability last Saturday at Arrowhead.

One needs to look no further than the game against Texas Tech to determine how valuable redshirt freshman Sam Bradford is to the Oklahoma Sooners. Bradford exited in the first half with a concussion, and the Sooners never really got back on track, dropping that game in Lubbock. Last week against an overmatched Oklahoma State team, Bradford wasn't asked to do much, completing 11 of 15 passes for 150 yards, with 4 TD's and 1 pick. Bradford leads the country in passing efficiency with a 182.23 rating, but a key thing to note for Bradford is the disparity in home and road splits: Bradford has been impeccable in Norman, with 25 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, and an efficiency rating of 207.35! In 5 games away from home (including the neutral Texas game), Sam has just 7 touchdowns, 4 picks, and a more modest rating of 139.23. He struggled against Iowa State and Colorado on the road, and I think he'll struggle in the Alamodome Saturday.
ADVANTAGE TIGERS

Runningbacks
When these two teams last met, Mizzou's best ground threat, Tony Temple, was inactive. He's back this time, and gives MU the key cog in what really is an underrated ground game. Temple has 382 yards and 5 touchdowns since coming back to the lineup.

On the flipside, the tables have turned a bit, as Oklahoma's best runner and weapon on special teams, DeMarco Murray, is out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury. That puts the onus on Allen Patrick, a beast in his own right, to carry the load for OU. Patrick demolished the Oklahoma State Cowboys last week with 208 yards on 29 carries, and will look to do the same against the nation's 25th best rush defense. Patrick is the key to Oklahoma's success this weekend in San Antonio.
ADVANTAGE SOONERS

Recievers and tight ends
Mizzou is currently enjoying what might be the most talented group of pass-catchers in the history of the school. Chase Daniel has the privelege of throwing to a litany of weapons, including Mackey award finalist Martin Rucker, a freshman with after-burners in Jeremy Maclin, and extremely talented senior Will Franklin. Star TE Chase Coffman has been walking in a cast this week on an ankle he re-aggrivated on a PAT against Kansas, but is expected to play Saturday. His effectiveness on a bad ankle, though, is up in the air. When Kansas keyed in on Maclin and Franklin last week, DaNario Alexander and Tommy Saunders played like All-Americans. It will be interesting to see if they are able to do that against much a much deeper Sooner secondary, should the Tigers' big guns be blanketed.

Oklahoma exploited the size mismatches of WR's Juaquin Iglesias and Malcolm Kelly back the first time these two teams played. Iglesias snagged 7 catches for 77 and a score, while Kelly caught 5 for 58. Tight ends Jermaine Gresham and Joe Jon Finley give the Sooners a nice complement inside to go with the big guns at wideout. That being said, Chase Daniel's downfield accuracy makes his recievers all that more dangerous, and I give the edge to MU.
ADVANTAGE TIGERS

Offensive line
The Tigers offensive line has had a fantastic season, but this one isn't close. The Sooners' offensive line averages 322 pounds, and 6-5, 352 pound left guard Duke Robinson will be protecting some lucky NFL quarterback in a couple of years. That being said, Chase Daniel's run at the little gold man and Sam Bradford's success his freshman year are due in large part to the stellar O-line play they have enjoyed in 2007.
ADVANTAGE SOONERS

Defensive line
The biggest thing to watch on either team's defensive lines Saturday will be the effectiveness of Big 12 sacks leader Auston English for the Sooners. English has missed the last 3 games due to injury, and so far, Coach Stoops has been mum on his playing status. It is hard to believe that English will be at 100% this weekend, but even at half-speed, he's a weapon that needs to be accounted for.

Last week, the Tigers were able to put more pressure on Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing than he had seen all season long. He was frustrated, flustered, and failed to execute on the big stage. The Tigers defensive line doesn't get a whole lot of sacks, but will need to sufficiently pressure Bradford, get him out of his comfort zone, and force him to look like a freshman.
ADVANTAGE PUSH

Linebackers
The Tigers' young core of linebackers doesn't feature one senior, but have rapidly matured and improved over the course of the season. Once considered the biggest weakness of the defense, they have evolved into another strength for a team on fire.

Oklahoma is used to churning out sensational linebackers - see Tedy Lehman, Rocky Calmus, etc. - and they have produced yet another all-world defensive menace in Curtis Lofton. Lofton terrorized Mizzou with 18 tackles in their first matchup, and is second in the conference in tackles per game this season. MU's group has been great recently, but no one on MU's defensive unit is as talented as Lofton.
ADVANTAGE SOONERS

Secondary
When defensive leader Pig Brown was lost for the season, many close Missouri followers expected the Tiger defense to struggle the rest of the season. What it did though, was serve as a catalyst for William Moore to emerge as a star and leader of this Tiger secondary. With an INT of Todd Reesing Saturday, Moore tied the all-time MU single season mark for interceptions in a season of 7 with NFL hall-of-famer Roger Wehrli. The secondary is vastly undersized when matching up with big OU wideouts Iglesias and Kelly, though, and face a difficult challenge Saturday.

The same can be said about the Oklahoma Sooners. It's nearly impossible for anyone to match up well with Rucker and Coffman when they're healthy. One big question in this matchup, of course, is the health of Coffman, who caught 10 passes for 102 yards in the teams' first meeting. CB Reggie Smith was a Big 12 preseason first-teamer, and has subsequently backed that up with 3 picks, while DJ Wolfe and Marcus Walker are ball-hawks who have been menacing Big 12 offenses all season.
ADVANTAGE SOONERS

Special Teams
Both teams are pretty sound in the kicking game, so let's look at the kick returners.
When the Tigers put Jeremy Maclin on the field, the Sooners will, at all times, know where he is. He's second in the NCAA in all-purpose yardage, and has long since broke the freshman record in that statistic. Maclin gives the Tigers this game's best big play threat. That statement is made possible by the absence of DeMarco Murray, who's injury takes away Oklahoma's best weapon in the kicking game. The Sooners are number 1 in the country in kickoff return average at 28.23, but without Murray, that stat is far less significant.
ADVANTAGE TIGERS

Coaching
It's no secret that Bob Stoops might be the best coach in the country. He's 4-0 career against Mizzou, 4-1 in Big 12 championship games, and 27-4 against the Big 12 North. Gary Pinkel has done a sensational job this season, and would become a likely favorite for coach of the year should the Tigers win the game Saturday. That being said, this is an impossible matchup to win for almost anyone not named Bear Bryant.
ADVANTAGE SOONERS

So, to recap: the two biggest things to watch for me in this game will be the health/effectiveness of Auston English, and the ability for the Mizzou defensive line to make Sam Bradford uncomfortable. MU's offense is rolling right now, and are coming off a win in an absolutely electric bowl-game environment last weekend in Kansas City. Oklahoma will be without arguably their best offensive weapon, though Allen Patrick is certainly a pleasant plan B to have available. Sam Bradford's best win away from Norman was against a flat, overrated Texas team, and struggles on the road against ISU and Colorado lead me to believe he may scrap a bit Saturday night in San Antonio. I predict a close game, with a William Moore interception in the 4th quarter leading to a draining TD drive for the Tigers to seal the deal.

PREDICTION
#9 Oklahoma 31, #1 MISSOURI 41

Tigers play WVU in the BCS National Championship.

Countdown to Armageddon at Arrowhead: 5 days

Some notes about the Border War:

-Series tied 53-53-9*
*This total reflects a 1960 Kansas win as a Missouri win due to a Kansas forefeit, it was later revealed that KU used an ineligible player.
-Series dates back to 1891...this is the 'oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi'
-First time game has been played in Kansas City since 1945...18 of the first 19 matchups were played in Kansas City...at neutral sites, KU leads the series 13-6-3.
-Until the early 1950's, the MU-KU game was played on Thanksgiving Day

Biggest games in Kansas-Missouri history:
-In 1909, both teams went into the season finale undefeated. Missouri won the game 12-6 to finish the season 9-0-1.
-In 1960, Kansas defeated Missouri, ranked no. 1 in the country for the only week in the history of the school, 23-7. Kansas was later forced to forfeit the game for using an ineligible player.
-In 1969, Mizzou defeated KU, 69-21. That point total remains a single-game record for the Tigers.
-In 1991, Tony Sands rushed for 396 yards against MU, a mark that is 2nd all time on the single-game rushing yards list (LaDaninan Tomlinson, 1999 vs UTEP, 406 yards).

The MU-KU bass drum:
The MU-KU Bass Drum is issued to the winner of the Missouri-Kansas football game. It originated in 1935, and was originally conceived as Indian War Drum in nature by a couple of Mizzou alumni, since Osage Indians roamed the plains of Kansas and Missouri long before the state universities were founded. The trophy's original intent was to stimulate new interest in longtime series that had dwindled during the Depression of the '30s and MU's all-time low in football victories. The supposedly authentic Indian drum was purchased in a Kansas City pawn shop, and new drum was acquired prior to the 1986 game; it was autographed originally on both drum heads by KU and MU alumni. The tradition was temporarily forgotten for a few years but resumed on an annual basis in 1947.

Pinkel Could Wind Up In Line for Carousel

The Tigers have been good. Almost too good. Maybe too good for their own good.

Good enough to enter the discussion as a dark horse to play for the national championship. So good, their quarterback is throwing his name into the Heisman Trophy candidacy discussion. So good, their head coach is having his name bandied about as a nominee for national coach of the year awards.

Goodness.

One bad part to all these good vibes is the consequences of such good actions. Several prominent programs could be looking for new head coaches this off-season: Nebraska, Texas A&M, Auburn (should Tommy Tuberville take the Aggies' job), Iowa and Michigan all could be jockeying for position on this season's college football coaching carousel, a ride that gets started earlier and earlier every season.

This forecast is coming far, far, in advance: think looking 12-days ahead for weather on an upcoming vacation. The forecast, nonetheless, is not without a bit of foreboding context. Callahan is all but out at Nebraska, and Monday's report of Dennis Franchione's contract being bought out by the Aggies has spelled out the end of his tenure in College Station. Lloyd Carr has been on the brink of retirement for seemingly 5 seasons, now, and Kirk Ferentz is treading on thin ice in Iowa City.

*Cue carousel music*

Let's say the Tigers do the unimaginable and run the table the rest of the season. A Big 12 Championship is going to put Coach Gary Pinkel's name in many a pundit's column for all these revolving spots. Offensive coordinator Dave Christensen also could be performing his way into a job interview or two. It's difficult to imagine Coach Pinkel fleeing to Lincoln after the mass exodus of Husker recruits this fall changing their minds and deciding on Columbia, but it isn't inconcievable to think Christensen could be a candidate for the position. Aggieland is seeking a big name (think Tuberville), but should Auburn need a new head coach, would Coach Pinkel think about heading for a pay raise in the SEC?

What about Ann Arbor? This could be Lloyd Carr's swan song as the Wolverines' head coach, and Big Blue could throw big green at Gary Pinkel to lead their program. The Hawkeyes could, too.

Just some food for thought.

Food that doesn't sound so good.

Ending the Folsom Field Blues, With Authority

How impressive was that?

A quick glance at the luminosity that was Saturday night's performance in Boulder...

Chase Coffman re-asserts self as your future NFL fantasy football team's tight end:

Here's a line pulled directly from the AP story about Saturday's game that basically says it all: "Chase Coffman turned No. 9 Missouri's trip to Colorado into his own personal pro tryout, displaying the talent that has NFL scouts drooling over the 6-foot-6, 245-pound touchdown machine."

I'll say.

Highlight-reel after-the-catch physical prowess makes it any wonder how any team in the country could cover CC with anything less than the entirety of their linebacking core. With three more TD receptions Saturday night, he's got 19 for his career, already passing Justin Gage's old school record of 18. But, he arguably was not the best offensive player named Chase on Saturday night.

Chase Daniel re-asserts self as dark horse to fly to NY for the Heisman ceremony:

How about 26-for-44, and personal highs of 422 yards and 5 touchdowns? The 55 points MU racked up Saturday was the most Colorado has allowed at home since a 59-20 loss on October 8, 1983 to...Mizzou. He is engineering an offense that has scored 30 or more points in all nine of their games this season, which is a school record. The Tigers are now the 6th-ranked scoring offense in the country, 7th-ranked total offense, and 5th in passing. If the Tigers win out, you may be seeing Chase Daniel at Radio City Music Hall in December. But, the best story of the day was easily...

Tigers D bringing home the bacon without Pig:

Let's highlight some key figures here. The Buffs managed a meager 196 yards of total offense. They were a horrific 3-for-17 on 3rd downs, and forced into 3 turnovers. The 8th-best defense IN THE CONFERENCE lost their best player and on-field leader the week before, and may have just painted their best picture of the season.

The 8-1 start is the best for MU since 1969, and I need not tell you that the #6 BCS ranking is the new high water mark for Tiger football.

Whoa.

Truman Cranks Dat Soulja Boy

The song is awful, and has completely run its course, but that doesn't hurt the replay value of Truman getting down.

ESPNU - NEVER GRADUATE!

Deja Vu All Over Again

Saturday's win over a struggling ISU Cyclones team wasn't sparkling, or noisy, like the W's over Nebraska and Texas Tech, but was a win nonetheless in a season of convention going the way of the T-Rex in college football. Regardless, the Tigers were 7-1 overall, 3-1 in the Big 12, and found out Sunday afternoon they had vaulted to #9 in the Coaches', AP, and BCS polls.

And we left the game feeling like we got kicked in the stomach.

We frantically sent text messages and made calls describing what had happened. We listened for Gervino to relay the news on the post-game show. We scoured the interwebs upon arrival at the house looking for an update. An update on our injured star defensive player.

Pig Brown writhed in pain on the turf of Faurot Saturday, with the game hovering in garbage time. His leg was de-mobilized, and he was carried and carted off the field, towel-over-dome, defeated and in obvious pain.

For those of you who haven't heard, Pig Brown, he of two Big XII Defensive Player of the Week awards, has been lost for the season with a ruptured achilles tendon. Brown would have been a top contender for conference defensive player of the year.

Sound familiar?

October 21, 2006. The Tigers had just knocked off Kansas State at home, rebounding from a loss in College Station the week before, to go 7-1 overall, 3-1 in the Big XII. The win, though, was horribly tempered by the loss of Missouri's all-time sacks king and the biggest playmaker on their defense, defensive end Brian Smith. A broken hip had ended his playing career.

The Tigers lost their next three games, and four of their last five.

The vibe was not of the jovial manner it could have been Saturday night in CoMo. It's because we've seen this all before - promise, build-up, even the unwarranted air of expectation surrounding the ballclub. And then the other shoe drops... or the broken hip, or ruptured achilles.

So where from here? Mizzou has lost, arguably, their most irreplacable piece besides Chase Daniel. Justin Garrett and Del Howard are part of a secondary that has been free-wheelingly rotated throughout 2007, so at least they aren't completely green. The litmus test won't come this weekend in Boulder against the Buffs' offense, which is a modest 10th in the Big XII, though any game in the thin air is tough goings. Mizzou has lost their last 4 contests in Boulder, and only won once (1997) there since anyone on their roster has been on earth (1983).

The defense will look to the Sean Weatherspoons, Darnell Terrells, Stryker Sulaks, Brock Christophers and Ziggy Hoods of the world to elevate their games. Garrett and Howard know the shoes they will try to collectively fill are colossal in nature. That D that looked stout against Nebraska, and downright impressive against T-Tech, knows they have a whole new challenge on their hands.

And we'll just try to shake that familiar sinking feeling.

High Times in Columbia

Missouri football truly is unleashed.

Mizzou ran loose in a big win this past weekend, thumping an overmatched Texas Tech squad 41-10, and the team’s rise in the polls Sunday reflected their prowess. Well, for the most part.

The Missouri Tigers now find themselves ranked #13 in all three major polls—including the BCS—but their jump may be due more to upsets this past weekend than any doing of their own. South Carolina plummeted after its loss to Vanderbilt, as did South Florida, California, and Kentucky after their upset losses. So does Mizzou deserve to be higher than #13? In one word, yes.

Many voters still can’t get over the fact that the Missouri Tigers are one of the best teams in the country. A two-loss Florida team is receiving more attention because, well, they’re Florida. USC has one loss, just like the Tigers, but it came at home to 3-4 Stanford, not on the road at 7-1 Oklahoma. USC has one of the richest histories in college football though, and Missouri simply does not.

The Tigers showed on Saturday that they do belong with the big dogs though, with a great all-around effort. Columbia now boasts much more than just a top offense; there’s also some superb defense being played at The Zou. Holding the top offensive team in the nation to 10 points is simply remarkable. It was the ultimate shock-and-awe; I still can’t get over it.

The new “Blackshirts” of the Big 12 forced once-Heisman-hopeful Graham Harrell into four interceptions. In his previous seven games, Harrell had thrown three. They also held the Red Raiders to -9 rushing yards. For those of you scoring at home, that’s less than zero.

The Tigers allowed 397 total yards, but that’s well under Tech’s average, and only 10 points resulted from it. Tech averaged 50 points per game coming in to Saturday. Most teams held 40 points below their scoring average would actually have negative points.

Jason Whitlock, a columnist for the Kansas City Star and traditionally one of Gary Pinkel’s harshest critics, titled his latest piece “Missouri is a national-title contender.” It’s when people like Whitlock change their minds about a program that you can tell it’s on the rise.

Pinkel’s oddball gadget plays and funky formations are finally paying off in a big way. No one is complaining about the lack of a goal-line formation now. And maybe he and his team have improved their focus and attitude off the field as well: in previous years I’m not sure the Tigers would have produced such a dominating effort after a disappointing loss the week before. This year they did, and that’s why this season really is different.

Mizzou deserves every bit of credit they receive and probably a little more on top of that. For so long this program has been a joke or has choked, and this year the tide is turning. Not to say that a collapse isn’t possible, but that’s about as likely as Kansas going undefeated. Not happening.

Pinkel and his team say they don’t pay attention to rankings, but I’ll guarantee you that they’re all bursting with confidence right now. And you know what? I don’t see them losing it anytime soon.

In the season that Michigan loses to Appalachian State, Kansas goes 7-0, and three straight #2 teams lose, I don’t see any reason why Mizzou shouldn’t contend for the national title.

Damn, it feels good to be a Tiger.

-- Tyson Sprick