Wil Ol Pal
Hope you`re from Enid etc., this has been a "no brainer" for OU for quite a while. I know Vince Young et al & Tex. is "loaded" AGAIN. Heard this song B4, will believe it when I see it. From Big 10 country so am not partisan. Are there any 2 more significant games deciding conf. championships than this one or Mich/OhSt? I mean yr in yr out it ALWAYS boils down to these 4. At least in the SEC you have more of a mixture, Fla, Tenn, Ga, LSU, Ala,etc.
Hope you`re from Enid etc., this has been a "no brainer" for OU for quite a while. I know Vince Young et al & Tex. is "loaded" AGAIN. Heard this song B4, will believe it when I see it. From Big 10 country so am not partisan. Are there any 2 more significant games deciding conf. championships than this one or Mich/OhSt? I mean yr in yr out it ALWAYS boils down to these 4. At least in the SEC you have more of a mixture, Fla, Tenn, Ga, LSU, Ala,etc.
Missouri is a team to watch in the North. They have the best player in the North in Brad Smith who Pinkel forced into trying to be a pocket passer last year. They switched this summer to the same offense that Utah ran last year under Urban Meyer. This should allow Smith to be himself by giving him the run/pass option. Don't be surprised if they live up to ly expectations this year!
Don't sleep on Colorado. There's nowhere near in the same class as OU and UT, but they're not bad, either. Gary Barnett will never get his due as a coach after his past debacle with the female kicker, but he's still a good coach and the Buffs exceeded expectations last year. Look for them to do the same this year.
Also, you can't count out Nebraska. Zac Taylor should be good right away, and year two under Callahan should be much more successful than year one. They'll sport a QB that isn't completely lost this year; that alone is worth a few more wins. Corey Ross should also improve upon last year's performance, now that he's 100% healthy. The defense could struggle mightily, though.
I agree about Brad Smith and Mizzou, though. Maybe they'll do this year what they were supposed to do last year. god knows they have to. Pinkel's ass is on the line.
Also, you can't count out Nebraska. Zac Taylor should be good right away, and year two under Callahan should be much more successful than year one. They'll sport a QB that isn't completely lost this year; that alone is worth a few more wins. Corey Ross should also improve upon last year's performance, now that he's 100% healthy. The defense could struggle mightily, though.
I agree about Brad Smith and Mizzou, though. Maybe they'll do this year what they were supposed to do last year. god knows they have to. Pinkel's ass is on the line.
If memory serves me right, the reason Mizzou backed out of game with Iowa (and it wasn't just Iowa), was because back in mid 90's, they overbooked their schedule with top teams such as Ohio State, Miami,FL, Michigan, etc. At that time the program was in shambles. When Pinkel took over, he got Mizzou out of lot of these bad games because of the Big 12 being so strong with foes as well as trying to gain some confidence for the program. As a result, basketball rivalry was dropped as well by Iowa. So yes I think they avoided the game but had legitimate reason at that point in time as they were not ready for it as a program and their athletic director screwed up.
This is the first year that Nebraska will have a QB who is familiar with the west coast offense-and he's supposed to be the real deal. It's an incredibly complex offense-that I think will take at least another year for the players to begin to fully grasp.
Nebraska may not be that good this year, but they will sure as hell be exciting to watch.
Colorado is a mess in a lot of ways, and I really don't think that Iowa State will be as good as people seem to think.
I'd say that the north title is up for grabs between Missouri & Colorado with Neb having a shot if they can get the offense working.
Nebraska may not be that good this year, but they will sure as hell be exciting to watch.
Colorado is a mess in a lot of ways, and I really don't think that Iowa State will be as good as people seem to think.
I'd say that the north title is up for grabs between Missouri & Colorado with Neb having a shot if they can get the offense working.
jarbo,
I don't disagree that the Iowa game was pulled out of 2 years ago. They had been trying for a while to get out of their brutal non conference schedule. I am not fond of the administration or coaching staffs and agree is is cowardly but understand why they did it for better or worse on reputation.
I don't disagree that the Iowa game was pulled out of 2 years ago. They had been trying for a while to get out of their brutal non conference schedule. I am not fond of the administration or coaching staffs and agree is is cowardly but understand why they did it for better or worse on reputation.
Teams pulling out of contracts happens more than you think. That is why Nebraska often ends up playing absolute nobodies in their non-conference schedule. These teams bail out 2-3 years before the game, and 99% of the teams already have their schedules locked in......that leaves very little to pick from.
