| Big 12 Blog- Week 8KAKE Blog Listing | ||||
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What did we learn last week? Well, even though national talking heads claim that the Big 12 is a quarterback dominated league that just "throws the ball up and down the field", if you can't run it you won't win. Four of last week's six winners all featured 100 yard rushers, while Tech won with 97 yards from Baron Batch and Baylor rushed for 147 yards as a team; the losers all failed in the running game. The running game completely decided two games (KU's win over Colorado and Oklahoma State's suffocating of Mizzou) and was a giant factor in K-State's ability to dictate the tempo against Texas A&M. Only one team relied heavily on the quarterback to generate yards on the ground (K-State), but the Wildcats also got 115 yards from Logan Dold (what have I said before in this blog? Balance is key!!). With all of that in mind, here is this week's Power Poll along with the October 18th picks. 1. Texas- A very complete football team.... Colt McCoy continues to be an amazing leader. 2. Oklahoma- I'm still on-board with the Sooners... remember, they lost two league games last season and still won the Conference. 3. Oklahoma State- The Cowboys will need to prove if they're really this good or just the "team of the week"... but they looked great against Missouri. 4. Kansas- What a difference a running game makes, huh? 5. Texas Tech- Slip-ups against Nebraska revealed a potentially vulnerable defense. 6. Missouri- They won't be here for long... much like OU, I still see a solid all-around team... but the lack of committment to the running game against OSU was troubling 7. Kansas State- Can take a HUGE step forward with a win over Colorado 8. Colorado- reeling after three straight losses... where's Darrell Scott?!?! 9. Baylor- As long as Robert Griffin is in the game, they always have a chance 10. Nebraska- showed signs of life against Tech, but couldn't close the deal (did I really just write that sentence about NEBRASKA?) 11. Iowa State- Just when you think they're making a move, they get blown out by Baylor 12. Texas A&M- awful... just awful Picks for October 18th (7) Texas Tech at Texas A&M- The Aggies have no chance in this game. They couldn't do anything consistently on defense against K-State, so what makes anyone think they'll be able to slow down the Tech juggernaut? Pick: Texas Tech Nebraska at Iowa State- This is a MUST win for Nebraska. They still have no running game (seriously, the offensive line is not that bad... is Marlon Lucky playing with a broken ankle or something?). The offense has fire-power, they just can't seem to keep it up over 60 minutes. If the Huskers play an entire game with the same urgency they had on the last drive of regulation against Texas Tech, then they can win... frankly, if they don't have that urgency right now then I don't know when they're ever going to get it! Pick: Nebraska Baylor at (8) Oklahoma State- OSU needs to remember what it just did to Missouri and avoid it themselves. The Cowboys are good and proved that they're ready for "primetime" when they're the underdog... many teams have proven over the years that "taking care of business" can be harder than pulling an upset. Clearly, OSU is more talented than Baylor... but Baylor has Robert Griffin and that could be a factor. When Missouri let Chase Daniel go free and run, he had success against OSU. Baylor's best chance is to turn Griffin loose and see if he can pull out a Brad Smith/Seneca Wallace/Vince Young type of performance. For OSU, just stay at home defensively and don't let that ranking get to your head. Pick: Oklahoma State (11) Missouri at (1) Texas- This should've been #1 vs. #2 but Mizzou blew it. I still can't figure out why they kicked the running game to the curb... Daniel threw the OSU game away, but he shouldn't have been throwing that much; not when your running back is the nation's leading scorer and you're only down by less than a touchdown most of the night. Mizzou has to establish a balanced attack in Austin. Texas needs to maintain the success from the OU game (the 'Horns were very balanced against the Sooners). If it comes down to the 4th quarter, Texas has a HUGE confidence edge. Pick: Texas Kansas State at Colorado- K-State has a tough schedule down the stretch but consider this: If KSU can beat the Buffs, they'll be a home win over Iowa State away from a bowl game even if they lose every other game. Considering how badly Colorado is playing right now, that's a great draw for K-State. The Wildcats have played remarkably well in Boulder even during their recent lean years (the four previous games at Folsom Field this decade are split 2-2). My advice to Ron Prince is to establish Dold and Freeman early, then use the then air and Freeman's strong arm to deliver the knock-out punch. Pick: K-State (18) Kansas at (4) Oklahoma- This should be a great coaching battle. Both of these teams have learned a lot about themselves within the last two weeks. The Jayhawks are gradually figuring out how to get more and more out of Jake Sharp and the Sooners are learning how important defense and special teams are in this league. Throw in the fact that Mangion and Stoops are two of the best "adjustment coaches" in the country and we're in for a treat. This is the kind of game that could completely change from one half to the other. KU players are convinced that they're ready for the atmosphere in Norman, but we'll see. I know that Todd Reesing is an emotional guy on the field and that could play in his favor if the Jayhawks can stick around into the 4th quarter. KU is completely capable of grabbing the momentum in this game, but they have to find a way to keep it. Many teams have gone to Norman and taken the lead only to leave with a loss. The key for KU is to play a strong game from beginning to end and never let up. I think OU has better talent and will be hard for KU to stop. Pick: Oklahoma |
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