Big 12 Thoughts After Week 3

A lot has happened in the much ballyhooed Big 12 conference. The conference was supposed to challenge the SEC for supreme dominance, but has faltered several times so far.

• Sam Bradford went down in the first half of the the Sooners first game. The Sooners BCS Title hopes are not dead thanks to the faltering of teams like USC, Ohio State, BYU, Oklahoma State and others
• Oklahoma State came out the gates and rocked Georgia. The letdown against Houston in Stillwater was obviously a case of overlooking an opponent following a big win
• Texas hasn’t seemed invincible early in the 2009 season
• Colorado opened with losses to Colorado State and Toledo; so much for 10 wins Dan Hawkins
• Iowa State and Kansas State are struggling against weaker non-conference opponents
• Baylor surprised many with a win over Wake Forest and then gave it back with a close loss to Connecticut
• Kansas has shown its dominating offense and surprisingly strong defense, albeit against weaker opponents
• Texas Tech’s offense is not skipping a beat and their defense is once again decent
• Nebraska’s offense has sputtered some, while their defense is as stout as expected; the close loss at Virginia Tech cannot make Bo Pelini happy
• Missouri’s offense has been surprisingly efficient, especially in their season opening win over Illinois
• Texas A&M has improved, but it remains a question if they will climb out of the gutter

College Football Opening Day Highlights

My recent projection of Oklahoma going 12-0 was bold. Possibly too bold. Get it? Cause I bolded the font. Whatever, my wit is beyond you.

ESPN reported that OU tight end Jermaine Gresham is injured, and will not be playing against BYU. In my opinion this doesn’t completely hurt OU’s chances because they will have a very stout defense. Gresham’s absence will potentially forecast OU’s offense for 2009-10 season. Gresham was expected to be QB Sam Bradford’s primary target to replace Joaquin Iglesias and Manuel Johnson. This will provide Bradford the ‘forced’ opportunity to develop rapport with his new WR corps. If that doesn’t happen, OU will have to rely on its defense in the high-scoring Big XII.

LeGarrette Blount’s sissy fit heard round the world happened last night after the Boise State – Oregon game. Boise State linebacker Byron Hout apparently taps/shoves Blount and taunts him. Blount was obviously left with 2 choices. First, leave without doing anything and sacrifice the respect of his teammates, or second, sucker-punch Hout, shove his teammate, hop around like an person on roid rage an idiot, try to fight a fan and kick and scream. I’m not sure why Blount was so mad, but my guess is it had to do with the loss, or that he wasn’t good enough to get out of his own end zone earlier in the game and was tackled for a safety, or that his total rushing yardage was -5 with an average of -0.6 yards per carry.

The North Texas Mean Green won their first game of the season last night. Their last 4 seasons finished with records as follows: 2-9, 3-9, 2-10, 1-11. Quarterback Riley Dodge, a redshirt freshman, passed for 216 yards and 1 TD to open their season. Riley might just end up doing all right this season, and at the same time saving his dad, Todd Dodge’s job as head coach for the Mean Green.

Big 12 South Preview

Sam Bradford, Oklahoma Sooners

The Big 12 South is arguably the toughest division of any BCS conference in this upcoming 2009 season. Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, 2008-09 Heisman winner, and Texas’ Colt McCoy return as Heisman favorites, while Okie State returns a dark horse candidate and the nation’s number one wide receiver in Dez Bryant. Mike Leach will once again have one of the nation’s most prolific offensive scoring machines. Baylor might have a bowl game in its sights and Texas A&M is starting to recruit better talent, but the gap remains.

Oklahoma Sooners, 12-0 (8-0): Bob Stoops has the second least experienced offensive line, but the returns of Bradford, Jermaine Gresham, Gerald McCoy and Trent Williams, plus a very talented defense should alleviate the pressure on the offensive line. An undefeated season is obviously very bold, considering how talented Texas and Oklahoma State are, and they face Kansas and Nebraska on the road. No doubt one of the tough schedules for a Big 12 South team. A loss at the end of the season to Tech or Okie State would all but guarantee Texas a spot in the Big 12 Title game.
Games to watch: 10/17 vs. Texas, 10/24 at Kansas, 11/7 at Nebraska, 11/21 at Texas Tech, 11/28 vs. Oklahoma State
Trap game: The road game at Kansas follows the Red River Rivalry. OU could find themselves unprepared following a win, or ultra-focused following a loss. Kansas will be looking to take at least one of their games against the Big 12 South.

Texas Longhorns, 11-1 (7-1): Mack Brown has scheduled a fairly soft non-conference schedule, so Texas will need to win convincingly and avoid any stumbles against lesser ranked opponents. A loss to Oklahoma would not drop them out of the race for the BCS Championship Game, and a win would almost guarantee a trip. Colt McCoy should post some better passing statistics as Texas will not have to rely on McCoy as their rushing threat, although McCoy’s speed provides Texas with another weapon to keep defenses off guard.
Games to watch: 10/17 vs. Texas, 10/31 at Oklahoma State, 11/21 vs. Kansas
Trap game: Not really a trap game, but the road trip to Oklahoma State to face the Cowboys’ high octane offense could be a matchup of undefeated teams.

Colt McCoy, Texas Longhorns

Oklahoma State Cowboys, 10-2 (6-2): The Cowboys’ might have the nation’s most underrated offense since they are overshadowed in their own conference by Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy. Zac Robinson has been a very efficient quarterback for Mike Gundy, Dez Bryant is a high projected NFL draft pick because of his wide receiver talents and special teams prowess. Kendall Hunter might be the top running back in the country, along with Cal’s Jahvid Best and Georgia Tech’s Jonathan Dwyer. They will score in bunches and they will need to if they hope to supplant OU and Texas. OSU has the benefit of avoiding Kansas and Nebraska and facing Missouri in a down year.
Games to watch: 9/5 vs. Georgia, 10/31 vs. Texas, 11/28 at Oklahoma
Trap game: No trap games here. If they can beat Georgia and steal one or both of the OU/Texas games, they could be a surprise title contender.

Robert Griffin, Baylor Bears

Texas Tech Red Raiders, 9-3 (5-3): Mike Leach faces the usual suspects in the South and also gets Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri in the North. The loss of Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree will pave the way for Taylor Potts and Detron Lewis to leave their stamps on Tech’s football history. Tech will undoubtedly have a top offense, but the question that constantly lingers is how well the defense will play. Expect Tech to take a back seat to OSU this season, but retain their control over the Big 12 North.
Games to watch: 9/19 at Texas, 10/17 at Nebraska, 10/31 vs. Kansas, 11/14 at Oklahoma State, 11/21 vs. Oklahoma
Trap game: Nothing here, but the very tough 3-game stretch of Kansas, OSU and OU is alleviated slightly by the 2-week game between KU and OSU.

Baylor Bears, 4-8 (2-6): Art Briles’ team is a bit hard for me to place. The talent in Waco has improved dramatically with quarterback Robert Griffin, linebacker Joe Pawalek and receiver Kendall Wright. Baylor has a very ambitious schedule in non-conference considering the gauntlet that they have to face every year. Wake Forest and Connecticut will be tough matches, but wins in both those games should set Baylor up with a 4-0 record entering conference play. This team, in my opinion, will fall just short of a bowl appearance, although they could surprise a few teams.
Games to watch: 9/5 at Wake Forest, 9/19 vs. Connecticut, 10/17 at Iowa State, 11/7 at Missouri, 11/21 at Texas A&M
Trap game: For a team facing an uphill battle, there are not really traps, just plenty of challenges.

Texas A&M, 3-9 (0-8): Mike Sherman has his work cut out for him. Returning one of the weaker defenses, he will need some consistency from linebacker Von Miller. Quarterback Jerrod Johnson will need to establish the Aggie offense early in the season if they hope to establish some success to build on into the conference games.
Games to watch: 10/3 at Arkansas, 10/17 at Kansas State, 10/31 vs. Iowa State, 11/21 vs. Baylor
Trap game: The Aggies will be at the cellar of the Big 12, so they will be playing the role of the trap game opponent rather than facing pitfalls.