Tag: Big 12 (Page 3 of 3)

      Couch Potato Alert: 11/21

      November 21, 2008 /

      Michigan vs. Ohio State
      It’s Michigan-Ohio State – a classic rivalry that unites strangers and divides friends once a year for three and half hours. The Buckeyes are 9-2 with dreams of a BCS bowl bid in their future, and a victory over the Wolverines will give them a share of their fourth consecutive Big Ten title. How bad is it for Michigan? Well, last week’s home loss to Northwestern officially stamped this season as the worst in school history. Never has a Wolverine team lost eight games in one season and Ohio State would love to lower the bar even further. National coverage begins Saturday at 12 PM on ABC. Click here for the official Michigan-Ohio State smack thread.

      Michigan State vs. Penn State
      A win for Joe Pa on Saturday could clinch Penn State’s first Rose Bowl appearance since 1994, their second year competing in the Big Ten. If Michigan State running back Javon Ringer cannot run the football, the Spartans will have no chance of winning this game. It will be a difficult task, as the Nittany Lions are ranked first in the Big Ten and 10th in the country against the run. Michigan State’s last victory in Beaver Stadium was in 1965, the year before Joe Paterno became head coach of the program. Regional coverage begins Saturday at 3:30 PM on ABC.

      Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma
      A win in Norman on Saturday night would leave the Red Raiders two victories away from playing in the BCS national championship game. But an Oklahoma win will leave us with oh so many possibilities for our little bowl series come January. First off, we will have a three-way tie (Texas-Oklahoma-Texas Tech) for the top spot in the Big 12 South, and the conference has an interesting tie-breaker to determine the representative in the Big 12 title game against Missouri. The winner will be decided by which school has the highest ranking in the BCS bowl standing. So, Orwell’s big brother will have a vested interest in the outcome of this weekend’s game. National coverage begins Saturday at 8 PM on ABC. Click here for the official Texas Tech-Oklahoma smack thread.

      New York Jets vs. Tennessee Titans
      Two of the hottest teams in AFC will square off this Sunday, as the New York Jets travel to Memphis to face the undefeated Tennessee Titans and the winner could emerged as the conference favorite to reach the Super Bowl. The East-leading Jets are riding a four-game winning streak into the game, while the Titans are looking to become the 13th team in league history to open a season with a 11-0 record. The media spotlight has shine brightest on quarterback Brett Favre, but the team’s turnaround can be contributed to the Jets running attack. New York has averaged over 160 yards per game and scored eight rushing touchdowns in its last five games. The Titans defense could welcome back two starters this week with defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch (groin) and cornerback Nick Harper (ankle) returning to the lineup. Regional coverage begins Sunday at 1 PM on Fox.

      College Football, Couch Potato Alert, NFL, Television

      Couch Potato Alert: 11/7

      November 7, 2008 /

      Alabama vs. LSU
      How ironic is life…Nick Saban coached LSU to a BCS national championship in 2003, only to take the money and run to the NFL. He became frustrated at the pro level in Miami, and then brokered a deal to return to college football at Alabama. This weekend, Saban returns to Tiger Stadium with the nation’s top-ranked team. LSU’s offensive line could have a tough time opening holes for running back Charles Scott against a Bama defensive front that ranks second in the nation against the run. It would be the Tigers best interest to grab an early lead, as Alabama has dominated their opponents at beginning of games all season. National coverage begins Saturday at 3:30 PM on CBS. Click here for official Alabama vs. LSU smack thread.

      Oklahoma State vs. Texas Tech
      Another week, another contest in the Big 12 that matches two high-powered offenses in a game with BCS national title game implications. The Red Raiders are coming off a last second victory over then No. 1 Texas last weekend, but they cannot afford to relax as a game in Oklahoma looms ahead later in the month. Texas Tech’s 9-0 record is their best start to a season since 1938, and the Red Raiders haven’t been undefeated in conference play this late in the season since 1953, when they were a member of the Border Conference. Regional coverage begins Saturday at 8 PM on ABC.

      New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles
      A road win over the surging Philadelphia Eagles will secure the New York Giants as the class of the NFC and established them as the conference favorites to return to the Super Bowl. Many in the media have downplayed the Giants 7-1 record because of their relative easy schedule, as they have faced teams with a combined record of 27-40 on the season. The Eagles are second in the NFC behind the Giants with 27 sacks and will look to pressure Eli Manning in the backfield all Sunday evening. The Giants’ only loss in their last four trips to Philly came in their 2007 wild-card playoff meeting. National coverage begins Sunday at 8:15 PM on NBC.

      College Football, Couch Potato Alert, NFL

      Week 9 College Football Primer

      October 25, 2008 /

      Top 25 vs. Top 25
      Zac RobinsonNo. 6 Oklahoma State at No. 1 Texas, 3:30 PM ET ABC
      Colt McCoy and the Longhorns are the talk of college football right now, and rightfully so with the way they destroyed Chase Daniel and Missouri last Saturday. But Zac Robinson and the Cowboys are playing as well as anyone right now and this is a huge opportunity for them to prove that they can hang with the big boys. Robinson is completing nearly 70% of his passes and has 14 touchdowns on the year to just four interceptions. But for OK State to pull off the upset, the Cowboy defense will have to be aggressive in getting after McCoy, who completed 29 of his 32 passes last week in the rout over MIZZOU. Mack Brown won’t let his team take their foot off the pedal, but this is UT’s third straight tough Big 12 matchup in as many weeks and the Cowboys won’t be any pushovers.

      No. 3 Penn State at No. 9 Ohio State
      The Nittany Lions are red hot and destroying everything in their path. The switch the spread offense has been a great success for PSU’s offense and QB Daryll Clark, who ranks 18th in the nation in pass efficiency. Clark will certainly have his work cut out for him this Saturday going against a veteran OSU defense, although the Lions can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the trenches. They also have protected Clark incredibly well this season, which has allowed for big plays in the passing game. For the Buckeyes offensively, frosh QB Terrelle Pryor is the real deal and really stepped up his game last week against Michigan State after struggling to make plays in previous weeks. PSU is allowing more than a half-yard less per carry than OSU’s stingy defense, so it might be tough sledding for Heisman candidate Beanie Wells. Either way, expect a battle at the “Horseshoe” this weekend in matchup of the best the Big Ten has to offer.

      No. 7 Georgia at No. 13 LSU, 3:30 PM ET CBS
      This is a huge game for UGA after clawing back into the top 10 last week. LSU is coming off a solid come-from-behind win over South Carolina last week and still has plenty to prove themselves after Florida ran roughshod over them two weeks ago. UGA’s inexperienced offensive line has been an issue at times this year, so QB Matthew Stafford must get the ball out of his hands quickly against a stout Tiger pass rush. And even though Heisman candidate Knowshon Moreno gets a lot more pub, LSU RB Charles Scott is rushing for over six yards a carry. The Tigers are a staggering 41-4 in Tiger Stadium since 2002, which doesn’t bode well for the road ‘Dogs.

      Graham HarrellNo. 8 Texas Tech at No. 23 Kansas, 12:00 PM ESPN
      The Red Raiders have flirted with disaster the past couple of weeks, even though Heisman candidate Graham Harrell continues to play beyond impressive. Still, Tech is off to its best start in 32 years and will get to test its mettle against the upper-echelon of Big 12 foes over the next four games. The Jayhawks, meanwhile, were drubbed by Oklahoma last week and just haven’t looked sharp in over a month. They have sorely missed Brandon McAnderson in the backfield, but they could be due for a game in which they put it all together. Could this be the prime upset of the weekend?

      Upset Watch:
      Michigan State at Michigan, 3:30 PM ET
      The Wolverines have been absolutely brutal this year, but this is a game they win. The Spartans were crushed by Ohio State last week in a game that they were trying to use as a measuring stick to see how good they were. This is a huge letdown game for them and Rich Rodriguez is desperate not to lose to his in-state rival and save at least a little face in his first year at Big Blue.

      College Football

      Best and Worst of College Football’s First Half

      October 16, 2008 /

      Rivals.com put together its best and worst moments from the first half of college football.

      Colt McCoy5 MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WE’VE LEARNED
      1. THE BIG 12 IS THE NATION’S BEST CONFERENCE. Yeah, yeah, defense wins championships. But the offenses in this conference would cause a video game to short-circuit. Never before has one conference had so much firepower. As we turn the corner on the halfway mark, the Big 12 has four teams –Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State – ranked in the top 10. And Missouri and Kansas are in the top 20.

      5 THINGS WE’RE STILL WAITING TO LEARN
      2. IS NOTRE DAME BACK? The Irish are 4-2. But, honestly, who have they beaten? Even if the Fighting Irish march on to finish 9-3, we won’t know how good this program is until next fall.

      5 BEST MOVES
      3. OHIO STATE HANDS ITS OFFENSE TO TERRELLE PRYOR. It took some guts to hand the starting quarterback job to a true freshman, particularly since incumbent starter Todd Boeckman had directed the Buckeyes to a BCS Championship Game appearance. But Ohio State has looked like an entirely different team with Pryor at the helm.

      5 WORST MOVES
      1. AUBURN SWITCHING TO THE SPREAD OFFENSE. Auburn has the type of championship-caliber defense that could have made the Tigers a top-10 team as long as their offense was merely competent. Switching to the spread when you don’t have players suited to that offense assured Auburn would waste all the talent it had assembled on the other side of the ball.

      5 HOTTEST SEATS
      2. TYRONE WILLINGHAM, WASHINGTON. It’s not if but when he will be asked to turn in his keys. When he leaves, Willingham can know he has left the place better than he found it.

      Do yourself and click on the link to check out the entire article because it’s great.

      And speaking of the disaster that is Willingham and Washington, the Huskies are 42-point underdogs at home this Saturday against USC. Forty-two point underdogs…at home…and the Trojans are probably a lock to cover…seriously.

      College Football

      Missouri tops Illinois 52-42 in wild shootout

      August 31, 2008 /

      Jeremy Maclin helped No. 6 Missouri beat No. 20 Illinois 52-42 in a thriller Saturday night at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

      It was over when… Missouri LB Sean Weatherspoon picked off Juice Williams and returned the INT 35 yards for a touchdown with 3:18 left in the game, pushing the score to 52-35 and ending Illinois’ comeback attempt.
      Gameball goes to… Chase Daniel, who saw a second quarter INT brought back for a touchdown, but settled down and finished the game with three TDs, 323 yards passing and 47 yards rushing.
      Stat of the game… 1,081: The Tigers and Fighting Illini combined for over 1,000 yards of total offense in their second straight thriller in St. Louis.

      Missouri’s defense didn’t look good, but Illinois deserves massive credit for hanging with the Tigers for four quarters. Even though they couldn’t pull out a win, the Illini needed a showing like this to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke and that the program is making strides. Ron Zook is turning Illinois into a competitor and if Saturday night was any indication of what’s to come for them, the Illini are going to battle Ohio State and Wisconsin this year in a weak Big Ten.

      As for Missouri, the defense was an issue but what an amazing offense. The season just started but I can’t wait for the MIZZOU-Kansas game.

      College Football

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