Big 12 Roundup: Week 4

by Peter Bean on Sep 23, 2007 2:34 PM CDT in Football Comment 23 comments

Conference play begins with Kansas State next Saturday, so it's time to turn our attention to happenings across the Big 12.

Miami 34 Texas A&M 17

Game Box Score
A&M Season Stats Page

What a pitiful performance from our distant cousins to the southeast. Stephen McGee (11-20, 105 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT) was awful, while the defense allowed Kyle Wright to look like a Heisman Trophy finalist. Franchione foolishly kept trying to get Mike Goodsen free to the outside, but Miami hammered him over and over. Lane was barely used in the first half, to his great dismay. McGee, as has been noted many, many times, just plain sucks.

Next for A&M: Baylor

Oklahoma 62 Tulsa 21

Game Box Score
OU Season Stats Page

In contrast, Oklahoma handled a lively Tulsa team just fine, winning all three phases of the football game in convincing fashion. Sam Bradford is not quite as good as his gaudy numbers, and OU has thrived passing by executing some very simple plays and letting their great receivers pick up yards. Still, Bradford is at the very least effective. OU doesn't need him to be flashy - merely competent.

The running game continues to excel, while the defense is getting along just fine. If anything, I think people have generally overrated OU's defense and underrated their offense.

Next for OU: at Colorado

Oklahoma State 49 Texas Tech 45

Game Box Score
Oklahoma State Season Stats Page
Texas Tech Season Stats Page

Graham Harrell threw for 646 yards and 5 touchdowns... and Tech still lost. How is that possible? Tech's defense ceded 366 yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground to the Cowpokes. And another 244 through the air for good measure.

Mike Leach, disgusted with his team's performance, provided more outstanding postgame quotes to the media:

"We had an offense that was extremely powerful, extremely productive, that probably sits and reads their press clippings and in arrogant fashion sat around the sideline with their arms folded for most of the second half," Leach said.

"And then defensively, the entire first half we got hit in the mouth and acted like somebody took our lunch money. All we wanted to do was have pouty expressions on our face until somebody daubed our little tears off and made us (expletive) feel better. And then we'd go out there and try harder once our mommies told us we were OK. Well, neither one of those things was acceptable."

After four games, 2007 is resembling 2003 for the Raiders, who are averaging 49.5 points but showing signs that they'll struggle to stop Big 12 offenses.

"They think concerned expressions are a replacement for fast legs, low pads and determined effort," Leach said of the defense. "That's not acceptable."

Amazingly, though, Leach was not the biggest star of the postgame show, as he was outdone in entertainment value by OSU head coach Mike Gundy:

Next for OSU: Sam Houston
Next for Tech: Northwestern State

Colorado 42 Miami (OH) 0

Game Box Score
Colorado Season Stats Page

Talk about a total ass kicking: Colorado outgained Miami 634 to 139 in total yards, limiting Miami's quarterback to a miserable 11 of 32 for 95 yards. Meanwhile, CU got their own offense on track, converting an oustanding 12 of 17 of their 3rd downs. Cody Hawkins passed for 275 yards (2 TDs, 2 INTs), while senior Hugh Charles picked up 123 yards on just 17 carries on the ground.

Next for CU: Oklahoma

Nebraska 41 Ball State 40

Game Box Score
Nebraska Season Stats Page

Oh, the shame. The dirty, dirty shame that is the Big 12 conference these days. Texas A&M smelling up the Orange Bowl. Troy romping Oklahoma State. And Nebraska suffering back to back embarrassing weeks.

At least they won, but the hand wringing in Corn Nation must be getting tiresome. Bill Callahan leaves a lot to be desired.

Yesterday, the defense was the culprit, allowing an ungodly 622 yards of total offense, nearly a full 200 more than Ball State was averaging through three games in '07. The Huskers survived, but aren't playing well enough to be considered threats for anything significant this season.

Next for NU: Iowa State

The Rest Of The Field

Toledo 36 Iowa State 35
Missouri 38 Illinois State 17
Baylor 34 Buffalo 21
Kansas 55 FIU 3

--PB--

0 recs | Comment 23 comments

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Comments

Mike Gundy

man, there must be something about that press room that makes OSU coaches go nuts... see: Les Miles.

What article is he talking about?

by the other Andrew on Sep 23, 2007 2:52 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Article

This one

--PB--

by Peter Bean on Sep 23, 2007 3:49 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

wow

That reporter is an IDIOT.

To write a whole opinion column based on conjecture and rumors and suppositions?

Only in Oklahoma.

by Beergut on Sep 24, 2007 6:30 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

re: A&M vs. the U

think you got this one backwards:

Franchione foolishly tried to pound the ball up Miami's middle, with little success, turning the running game outside too infrequently.

in fact, he did the opposite, giving javorski "fat ass clown" lane only two touches in the game and zero in the first half, while continually running on the edge against miami's substantially faster defense. he should have taken a page from pete carrol's 2005 MNC game coaching playbook, where they pounded lendale up the middle all game long against a fast texas D.

but you sure got this one right:

McGee, as has been noted many, many times, just plain sucks.

i'm just not sure if it's fran "the QB killer's" fault for trying to turn him into a poor man's eric crouch.

bleeding orange up in nyc. get a rope.

by cwofford on Sep 23, 2007 3:59 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

You're right

I misread my own notes from that game.

Thanks.

--PB--

by Peter Bean on Sep 23, 2007 4:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

insulting Lane is juvenile

He's a good player. If you want to insult a no-talent big-back, insult your own Henry Melton. Lane hasn't been dumb enough to get suspended for 3 games for driving under the influence.

As for McGee, Fran has pretty much destroyed him. It's hard to be a good passing QB when you come to college, and the passing scheme is less complex than the offense you ran in high school.

BTW, Peter, I'd hold off on ripping on McGee until your linebackers and secondary improve, b/c even with his issues passing the ball, your defense hasn't shown an ability to stop him running the ball. I watched the Rice game; your back 7 still has serious issues.

by Beergut on Sep 24, 2007 6:29 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

intense

can we chronicle this

by abcdmetrius on Sep 24, 2007 8:14 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

juvenile?

title=

he should be hitting francakes and not some poor trainer corps-kid.

bleeding orange up in nyc. get a rope.

by cwofford on Sep 24, 2007 4:39 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

gotta love an aggie meltdown

from some aggie board

"Dear Coach Fran,

You are a fat f uck. You are a uslees excuse for a coach. Why can't
you lay off the twinkies and give them to J train. You can not read
and can not see. You are soo old ur d ick shoots dry loads and ur
wife is never satisfied. You pretend to lead a team while you bring
them down. A half retared monkey could do a better job on picking
which way the option should go. And why do you always run the option?
Every retarded person knows we are either running it left or right.
Why do u have no emotion or no soul? I really think that u are happy
when the aggies lose. Do you realy like for over 45,000 people want
to rape you! The aggie spirit is to win and you flip that and just
sit there and have a dumb a ss smirk on ur fat a ss face.I wish i
could see you and become auroused and sick my undersized di ck in ur
oversized a ss and make all the wrongs u have done right. I would
spit in ur face and s h it in ur mouth, I would rape all ur family
and laugh in there face when they have my babies, and i would use
those have retarted half insane babies to cause u serious pain untill
the day you leave aTm and still even then i would skeet on your face
and make you rub it deep in ur pores. ur ass would turn into a gaping
wound in which mexicans will jump into to hide from the border
patrol, but ur ass would be soooooooooo disgusting that even the most
despreate alien would not spend more than 5 seconds in it. All in all
no one wants you anywhere near aggieland and we want u to grow some
balls and either throw a pass or get the hell out of College Station!"