I am proud of my Mizzou Tigers, and according to this morning's ESPN talking jockhead, they will be #5 in the first BCS rankings. I'd like to think they really are that good, but I think they'd be destroyed if they played Alabama.
Well, Mizzou got destroyed by 'Bama last year, in a torrential downpour that cost me $150--so I had the privilege of getting soaked both financially and physically. But they're a much better team this year. So I doubt Destroyed is the proper verb. Beaten, surely. Handled. Smothered, perhaps even Whooped. Which pretty much puts Mizzou in line with the rest of the Division I NCAA teams which aren't named Alabama, Oregon, Ohio State, Stanford, or Florida State. Heck, with a little luck, maybe we'll get to see the results in Atlanta on Dec 7th.
Fuckin' BCS rankings After being consistently ranked 2 in the polls for 8 weeks, Oregon gets bumped to 3 the moment BCS rankings go live and FSU goes to 2 Yeah yeah, strength of schedule and all that. OTOH, Oregon State got ranked 25 while they didn't make the cut on the AP/Coaches polls.
I certainly wouldn't have expected to see Texas Tech at #10 at any point this season. I would love to believe that number, but really, look at who they have beat to get to 10. The only possible quality win I see is against TCU who didn't have their starting QB. OU coming off that beating to Texas is probably going to come out to make a statement. I hope we're up to the challenge but I'm not holding my breath. If we do win that game then we have OSU trying to salvage their season, an easy one (if I didn't just jinx it) against KSU, and then Baylor. The last game is against Texas who finds a way to beat Tech 90% of the time even when they are in down years. But it's nice to see 7-0.
I have never been a fan of Mizzou's move to the SEC. Yes, hooray for sticking it to Texas, but long-term this means either the school commits to football Very eriously (and will the education suffer?) or becomes a perennial conference doormat. Short-term I figured . . . well, I think I figured about the same as Mizzou had been doing the last few years in the Big 12: some quality wins and some disappointing losses, only fewer of the wins due to being in a much tougher conference. Still not thrilled about it, but I never, ever, ever would have guessed we'd run a record to 7-0 anywhere near this soon, against non-doormats at that. So, hats off to everybody involved for getting their act together to this degree.
Auburn is getting better. Demonstrably, objectively better. I believe the team that beat A&M on Saturday could have beaten LSU. But, I just can't believe that #11 is accurate. That said, we've still got a long way to go before November 30th.
I'm also very, very reluctant to get on the "Gus Bus." We need look no further than Gene Chizik and Terry Bowden to see that first year success does not mean you're a good coach or a good fit for the University.
I feel the same about Mizzou's ranking. Top 10, I can see...maybe. #5...not so much. I don't think that I'd bet on Mizzou if they had to play Baylor, Clemson, LSU, or Stanford, for example. Hell, they'll have their hands full w/ S. Carolina this weekend! They jumped up 11 notches 2 weeks ago and then another 9 last week. Too much, too fast.
We are all so used to losing we can't believe our teams are worth their ranks. Really though, who is actually better than Mizzou? They are definitely top 10, and seem to be top 5. I bet they can beat Ohio State. I think there is a clear top 2, Florida State and Alabama. Oregon is good but I get the impression that they would lose to Bama or FSU 8 out of 10 times. Mizzou and Oregon seem on par with each other. After those 4 teams it becomes much harder to tell who can actually beat whom. I will give Ohio State the benefit of the doubt and call them number 5 but I'm not sure they could beat Clemson, LSU, and they certainly wouldn't beat A&M with a healthy Johnny Dbag. In fact I think Auburn would beat them, Baylor too.
The only part of that I'm not sure about is the part about Auburn beating Ohio State (I'm not saying we couldn't, just that I'm not sure we would) which I guess just reinforces your first point!
Goin' to the Mizzou - Tennessee game this weekend! Am hoping for a good game. It won't be a cakewalk, though. Tennessee has been playing tough this year, and making their games against tough opponents more of a challenge than one would normally think. I hope Mizzou rebounds from their disappointing loss to S. Carolina last week. How they play this weekend may well set the tone for the rest of their season. Rebound strongly and anything's possible up to and including a BCS bowl game. Respond weakly and they could spiral into a disappointing finish.
Come on, we are running out of time. We need to keep the tradition alive. Especially in years where we look to be even. We bet our children's dignity last year. This year we could do the same. Or I'd settle for a bottle of Base Vines & Cattle's finest red. You have anything in mind?
And now prediction time. On paper, given the way OSU has played this year, the spot coming in after Tech's first loss, it all points to a motorboating by the Mariachis. But sports doesn't always work that way, the experts are most often wrong. If the Pokes 're to salvage their season, it has to happen Saturday night. I say that Chelf shows the game he had going last year, Cowboys by three. Plus, I poured vial of Boone Pickens blood into the memorial fountain while in Lubbock this summer.