Great news for the Texas Bowl this week as it announced new conference affiliations beginning the 2010 season. The Big 12 and Big 10 will send teams to Houston beginning with the 2010 Bowl Game. Just as an example of what an upgrade this should turn out to be, if the agreement was in place for the 2009 season, the current game could pit Michigan and Oklahoma. This year’s game should be outstanding, but 2010 shapes up to be better than anyone could hope when the Bowl was 1st founded.
Big 12 This Week
Saturday October 17th
(3-2) #20 Oklahoma vs. (5-0) #3 Texas
The 104th edition of the Red River Shootout commences in Dallas this weekend with the Longhorns holding a 58-40-5 series edge. Both teams are seeking revenge after last year’s strange circumstances which saw the Longhorns win the actual game 45-35 at the Cotton Bowl, but the Sooners represent the Big 12 South in the Conference Title game due to a strange league tie-breaking system. This game figures to be much more defensive in nature with the defensive lines of both teams emerging as standout units. The Sooners have played much better competition having played likely bowl teams Miami, BYU, and Tulsa. It may take Texas a quarter or so to adjust to the Sooners speed on defense.
(4-2) Texas Tech @ (4-1) #15 Nebraska
Chalk up another example to Mike Leach’s fantastic offensive system. Junior QB Steven Sheffield made his 1st start ever in Lubbock and destroyed Kansas State completing 33-41 passes for 490 yards and 7 touchdowns. The Red Raiders figure to find success more difficult against the best defensive line in college football. Ndamukong Suh is a likely top 5 NFL draft pick this Spring. Nebraska is one of the few teams in the country that can produce a pass rush with just the down linemen.
(5-0) #17 Kansas @ (1-4) Colorado
Kansas has a chance for another big game against Colorado, which is last in the conference allowing 30.0 points per game and 11th by giving up 389.6 yards per contest.Todd Reesing has thrown for 515 yards and four touchdowns in three games against the Buffaloes.
(3-2) Baylor @ (3-3) Iowa State
Baylor’s defense deserved a better fate than a 33-7 loss to Oklahoma last weekend. Four times the Bears stuffed the Sooners inside the ten yard line and made them settle for field goals. The Bears have been unable to generate a ground game without injured QB Robert Griffin. Freshman QB Nick Florence played pretty well under the circumstances of never having faced a legit top 5 defense. Iowa State played great football for 58 minutes last Saturday before bowing down the aerial assault of Kansas Jayhawk Senior Savant Todd Reesing. The Cyclones allowed 551 yards of total offense spoiling their own fireworks led by QB Austin Arnaud (293 yards passing, 67 yards rushing, 3 TD’s) and RB Alexander Robinson (152 yards, 2 TD’s). This is probably the most winnable game remaining on the schedule for both the Bears and the Cyclones, so it would behoove each squad to snag a “W” if they intend to go bowling.
(3-2) Texas A&M @ (3-3) Kansas State
The Aggies let a great opportunity slip by last weekend losing to an Oklahoma State team that was missing both WR Dez Bryant and RB Kendall Hunter. The Aggies fell to 0-5 against ranked teams under Mike Sherman. The Aggies need to search for more balance, they were out gained on the ground by nearly 60 yards and the lack of a running attack likely did not help QB Jerrod Johnson who completed just a shade over 50% of his passes. If the Aggies play mistake free football on the road, they are clearly the more talented team in this game.
(4-1) Missouri @ (4-1) #16 Oklahoma State
Last year, Missouri came into this game ranked #3 in the country and were behind from the opening whistle falling to the Cowboys 28-23 in Columbia. This year it is a reversal of fortune with Oklahoma State carrying the burden of raised expectations. The Cowboys are likely to be without All-American WR Dez Bryant who is still seeking re-instatement from the NCAA after lying to investigators about a Summer meeting with former NFL Superstar Deion Sanders. Cowboy RB Kendall Hunter is also out with a possible foot fracture. His understudy, Keith Toston filled in admirably last week rushing for 130 yards in the win over Texas A&M. The Tigers are coming off a 27-12 loss to then-No. 21 Nebraska on Oct. 8 -- the first of three consecutive games against ranked opponents. The Tigers led 12-0 before collapsing in the final period. Two of their fourth-quarter drives ended in interceptions that eventually led to Cornhusker scores. I’m calling for the upset here with Missouri’s Blaine Gabbert out-dueling the suddenly inaccurate Zach Robinson.
Navy This Week
Navy This Week
(4-2) Navy @ (3-2) SMU
Two very good offenses that score in totally opposite fashion square off in Dallas, Saturday night. The Midshipmen triple option was on fire last weekend accumulating close to 500 yards on the ground during a 63-14 thrashing of Rice. June Jones’ Ponies prefer the air. His infamous “Run and Shoot” offense tends to churn between the 20 yard lines, but the Ponies have struggled to convert enough of these scoring chances. Bo Levi Mitchell continues to make mistakes as his 10 TD 10 INT ratio would suggest.
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