This week's theme song. Sing along. You know the chorus.
Texas served notice to the rest of the Big 12 Saturday night.
The Longhorns are pointing to their first Big 12 title since 2005. If they play like they did Saturday night, it will be the Big 12 championship game and beyond – like a trip to Pasadena for the BCS title game next Jan. 7.
Usually teams do not shake up their starting line up six weeks into the season, but Greg Davis did just that.
So when Texas announced that Malcolm Williams and Marquise Goodwin would replace James Kirkendoll and John Chiles in the starting lineup, it didn’t mean anybody was strictly relegated to the bench, just that offensive coordinator Greg Davis wanted to give opponents a different look, especially after struggling to throw for just 127 yards against Oklahoma a week ago.
Will Muschamp and Greg Davis discuss the Missouri game.
MBTF has game notes and awards.
Barking Carnival has the good the bad and the ugly- Missouri.
Think of it this way: Missouri is like a very beautifully decorated angel food cake. It’s shiny, it’s got some very flashy features, maybe some nice ripe strawberries on top, it looks good sitting in the middle of your table, but when you finally cut it open and take a bite of it, there’s just not much substance to it.
For more on the Missouri game, see Sunday's Daily Roundup.
This week's Opponent
Quarterback Zac Robinson is playing the best football of his career.
"He's learning to be the playmaker we think he is," said OSU offensive coordinator Gunter Brewer. "He can run it. He can throw it. He manages the clock well. He's our Peyton Manning."
Cowboy tight ends are actually doing something besides blocking.
Wilson Youman and Cooper Bassett both caught touchdown passes in OSU's 34-7 rout of Baylor. It was the first career scoring reception for each.
The Pokes' defense is having a good season.
The Cowboys head into the matchup playing their best football of the season on defense. OSU allowed the Bears just 43 rushing yards (2.3 per carry) and held them to 284 total yards.
"We are flying around, having fun and everybody is playing as a unit," senior linebacker Andre Sexton said. "Nobody is trying to do anyone else's job. We are just flying around and tackling."
There's a hex in Stillwater.
Oklahoma State now gets a chance to erase the curse of recent seasons past against Texas.
"I haven't beat them since I've been here, same for the guys in there," quarterback Zac Robinson said outside the Cowboys locker room after a 34-7 victory at Baylor on Saturday. "It's a little extra motivation obviously with what's on the line and both teams playing well right now. Having them at our place will be a lot of fun."The most significant treat for the winner in the Halloween night game in Stillwater: the lead in the Big 12 South, and control of its own destiny.
"Not a bad way to spend it," linebacker Donald Booker said. "I'll be in my Oklahoma State football player costume."
Still no word on Dez Bryant and Kendall Bryant has been cleared to play.
"Medically, he's been cleared," said Cowboys coach Mike Gundy, echoing his statement from Monday. "He's practiced the last few weeks. I know everybody's looking at me, 'What does practice mean?' Well, he's practiced.
The Cowboys are still awaiting word from the NCAA regarding the possible reinstatement of wide receiver Dez Bryant.
So far, mum's the word.
"People keep asking me when we'll know something on Dez," said OSU athletic director Mike Holder. "What they don't know is I'm waiting by the phone."
Baylor game highlights.
NewsOK breaks down the numbers in the Baylor game.
The Aggies actually won: They beat Tech in Lubbock. Bad sports quotes abound.
"We were at a crossroads," Sherman said. "That was a turning point in the game."
"He brought this team from utter despair Monday to a point where they could play hard and win the game," Aggies defensive coordinator Joe Kines said of Sherman.
This was the most Aggie points scored against the Red Raiders.
Texas A&M's 52 points are the most scored by the Aggies against Texas Tech. The previous high for A&M in Lubbock was 38 in 1961 and 1975. The previous high in the series overall came in a 50-15 victory at Kyle Field in 1988.
The reports of Mike Sherman's death has been greatly exaggerated.
Oklahoma
OU's defense shut down the Jayhawks.
One season after allowing Reesing to connect with Briscoe for 269 passing yards and two touchdowns, OU (4-3, 2-1 Big 12) shut down the duo and routed the Jayhawks 35-13 Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Reesing finished with one of the worst games in his career. The Sooners picked him off three times in the first half, with OU cornerback Dom Franks returning one 85-yards for a defensive touchdown.
Briscoe didn't fare much better.
Kansas running back Jake Sharp was very impressed with the Sooner defense.
"I was very impressed with them. They definitely have a great defense and a great line. They play hard and they are coached well."
If Jake likes that Sooner defense, just wait until he meets the Goon Squad.
Sooner receivers are still struggling.
"We're growing, we're growing every week," said receivers coach Jay Norvell. "We've got to build on the second half today."
Meanwhile, Kenney had just one reception for five yards and dropped at least two passes, including one third down pass late in the first half that he tipped high into the Kansas secondary and was intercepted. The Jayhawks converted that turnover into three points when Lawton native Jacob Branstetter kicked a
Bradford is leaving for the NFL. We hardly knew you.
The questions about Bradford from this point will be legion: He's not mobile; he rarely showed a flame-throwing deep ball a la Matt Stafford or JaMarcus Russell; he now qualifies as an injury risk after being knocked out twice in a little over a month; he comes from a "spread" system at a school that has never produced an NFL quarterback (no Oklahoma QB has ever taken a snap at the next level); and maybe most importantly, he didn't have a chance to prove that he was "above the system" -- Bradford was so well protected and so well-stocked with receiving talent his first two years as a starter, the graduation of four veteran offensive linemen and four of his top five receivers from the record-breaking 2008 attack was the perfect opportunity this year to prove that he wasn't just an unusually competent pawn taking advantage of a perfect storm around him. The challenge was only heightened when his best target, Jermaine Gresham, went down with a knee injury days before the opener against BYU, and Bradford's quick consignment to the same fate against the Cougars is one of the great shames of this season.
Pete Flutak takes some shots at Sam Bradford.
For being such a great decision-maker on the field, Sam Bradford appears to be awfully confused off of it. There's one thing, though, that's for certain in his world that's currently full of question marks: this isn't nine months ago, and he can't press the rewind button.
Barry Tramel looks at Bradford's place in OU football history.
Bradford leaves OU one of its five Heisman winners and its most popular player ever. But Bradford is not the greatest Sooner quarterback ever.
From Barry Tramel's Mailbox column:
Joe: "Enjoyed your OU article focusing on the scheduling. I agree. As a fan of OU, I would much rather see the high intensity games than the gimmes. If we get beat, so be it, at least the game was worth watching. I’m glad OU is known for its difficult schedules and isn’t lumped into the groups like Texas, Florida, K-State, etc. who make a joke of competition."
Let’s be fair. There are three classes of schedules. The total give-ups, who schedule no one. The serious schedules, like OU’s and USC’s and Georgia’s. Then the large mass in the middle, in which teams schedule one legit foe and three easy games. Ohio State and Florida are prime examples.
Well, Barry, at least the Sooners have their schedule. There's that moral victory over the Longhorns.
The Big 12 and the Sunbelt conferences are the most penalized.
Entering this week's play, the Sun Belt and Big 12 conferences are on pace to finish with the highest average number of penalties in league games in the past five-plus seasons, according to data from Marty Couvillon of cfbstats.com.
Wow. The Aggies came ready to play.
"It’s the Big 12, man,’’ Tech defensive tackle Colby Whitlock said. "The fact is, they came here ready to play. We didn’t. As a result, we lost the game.’’
Raider quarterback Taylor Potts just never got into a rhythm. And then it ugly in Lubbock.
The Texas Tech fans couldn’t have been clearer as the second quarter drew to a close.
"No more Potts," their chants rose from Jones AT&T Stadium. The sometimes quarterback had just thrown his second interception of the half, a pass from the 17-yard line that Texas A&M’s Terrence Frederick picked off in the endzone for a touchback.
Saturday was not a good day for the Jayhawks or Todd Reesing. They lost to OU 35-13.
KU coach Mark Mangino didn’t excuse Todd Reesing’s three first-half interceptions, but Mangino was happy to offer up the possibility that his coaching was at least partly responsible. Reesing’s teammates, offense and defense alike, tried to offer some perspective on the kid who showed up on campus four years ago unannounced and changed KU football.
"Todd is a human being," center Jeremiah Hatch said. "No one is perfect."
"He’s not Superman," nickel back Ryan Murphy said.
Tiger quarterback Blaine Gabbert is determined to play against Colorado.
Asked whether he would be Missouri's starting quarterback next week against Colorado, Gabbert didn't hesitate.
"No doubt about it," he said.
Halloween came early for the Cyclones. A few turnovers and a few trick plays helped Iowa State beat Nebraska.
The opportunistic play came in the form of recovering five Husker fumbles and intercepting three passes. David Sims and Michael O’Connell had one of each and James Smith recovered two fumbles.
"They have an outstanding defense. Are you kidding me? Eight turnovers we gained and the final score is 9-7?" Rhoads said. "Anybody else that had that kind of turnover advantage would have won by 30 or 40 points. Credit Nebraska. They have an unbelievable defensive football team."
The trickery was a fake punt by Mike Brandtner midway through the second quarter. His 20-yard run gave the Cyclones a second chance, and they didn’t waste time. Tiller lofted a 47-yard pass to Jake Williams on the next play to give Iowa State a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Colorado lost to Kansas State 20-6. It wasn't pretty.
The Buffaloes had it all on their plate Saturday like early Halloween candy. Momentum off beating then-No. 17 Kansas. The return of dynamic quarterback Tyler Hansen. A wide-open Big 12 North Division. A Kansas State program still finding its way under an old icon.
Facing a fork in the road, Colorado veered off Turnaround Boulevard and drove straight down Disaster Lane. The Buffaloes continued their road ineptness under Dan Hawkins and returned to general haplessness this season in an ugly 20-6 loss.
The Bears lost to Oklahoma State, but they aren't going to panic.
The Cowboys drove another stake into the Bears' sinking bowl hopes as Baylor dropped to 3-4 and 0-3 in the Big 12. If the Bears thought there was a chance the Cowboys might overlook them with a showdown against No. 3 Texas coming up next weekend in Stillwater, they were wrong.
"It was pretty frustrating, but the main thing is that there is no panic," Baylor coach Art Briles said. "I'm not panicking, and the team's not panicking. We know we have a long way to go and we have a lot of time to get better. We have to take advantage of it, because we still have a lot of growing to do as a team."
And finally...
We can't talk about Mike Gundy this week without showing this gem.