When the Defense Roars: Missouri Tigers Dynasty

[Kcordloh]

Conference alignment finally finished?

The Big XII finally made their move, and it was kind of a let down.
Notre Dame was all set to join the Big XII, but the Big 10 decided they really wanted Notre Dame, as reports came out that if Notre Dame went to the Big XII then Arkansas was going to join also which would lock up Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and rumors were TCU, BYU, and SMU along with Arizona and Arizona State, which would make the Big XII the first super 16 BCS conference.

Instead Notre Dame joined the Big 10, but Arkansas made the leap. The first team to ever abandon the SEC was the Razorbacks, who should immediately be a top 4 team in the Big XII. Back up to 10 teams, the Big XII stayed pat, leaving SMU, Rice, and all the other schools out in the cold.

The SEC removed their offer to Clemson. Clemson was re-invited to the ACC, which put the ACC in a bind at 13 schools, until they stole West Virginia from the Big East and settled at 14 schools.

The Big East, at 8 schools, offered SMU a deal and they leaped at the opportunity to become AQ, and the Big East moved back to 9 teams.

The MWC pulled a coup, with C-USA on the ropes already the MWC extended offers to Houston and Tulsa, pulling a pair of top 40 non-AQ's to the MWC and giving them a more solid hold on their AQ status.

The Pac-12 made another stab at Pac-16, but after being denied by Oklahoma and Oklahoma State they stayed steady at 12.

The WAC ended, with Idaho/Utah State/San Jose State University/LA-Tech forming a loose alliance. They will play each other each year, and award a trophy for the champion, and they even have bowl bids if they become bowl eligible but due to the rules of the NCAA they are not a conference.

[Kcordloh]

Tigers slaughter Red Raiders

The Missouri Tigers thrashed the Texas Tech Red Raiders secondary, bullied their offensive line, pushed around their receivers, and hurt their quarterbacks.

The Tigers took a 14-0 lead after one quarter, and never let the Red Raiders into the game.


D. Washington intercepts S. Doege

The Tigers defense forced 37 hurries, 4 interceptions, and 5 sacks.
The Red Raiders attempted 67 passes, but only managed 298 passing yards.
Both J. Karam and S. Doege were injured, and 3rd stringer S. Young had to enter the game and also got hurried and injured.

S. Doege getting sacked, and receiving a concussion



B. Moore also got an interception

With the 37-3 victory the Tigers take a very firm hold on first place, with the two tests left being #18 Kansas and #16 Texas A&M.

Missouri Tigers at Texas Tech Red Raiders
Oct 27,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#7 Missouri Tigers (5-1)	14	7	14	2	37
Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-2)	0	0	3	0	3

Team Stats Comparison
	MIZZ	TTU
Total Offense	415	211
Rushing Yards	145	-89
Passing Yards	270	298
First Downs	17	12
Punt Return Yards	20	16
Kick Return Yards	50	44
Total Yards	485	239
Turnovers	2	5
3rd Down Converstion	6-14	6-19
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-1
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	7-4-0	2-0-1
Penalties	2	3
Posession Time

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		MIZZ	TTU
2:28	(MIZZ) H. Josey 4 yard TD rush (PAT)	7	0
0:26	(MIZZ) H. Josey 4 yard TD rush (PAT)	14	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		MIZZ	TTU
0:40	(MIZZ) E. Waters 25 yard TD pass from J. Franklin (PAT)	21	0
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		MIZZ	TTU
5:10	(MIZZ) R. Woodland 18yd pass from J. Franklin (PAT)	28	0
3:33	(MIZZ) T. Moe 11 yd pass from J. Franklin (PAT)	35	0
2:05	(TTU) D. Peterson 38yd FG	35	3
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		MIZZ	TTU
5:25	(MIZZ) Safety, sack by B. Moore	37	3

Missouri Tigers

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Missouri POTG:
J. Franklin 16/28 for 232 yards and 3 TD with 1 int
H. Josey 22 rushes for 96 yards and 2 TD
L. Harris 11 tackles, 8 TFL, 3 sacks, 1 FF
D. Washington 6 tackles, 2 INT

[Kcordloh]

Around the league after week 10

There was almost no major upsets this week, but #5 Virginia Tech decided to leave the defense and offense at home in a 34-14 loss to unranked Duke.

In other action:
#18 Michigan beat #20 Nebraska 35-30
#1 Oregon State defeated Arizona State 41-26
#6 Illinois slipped past Penn State 31-27
#24 Wisconsin romped #21 Ohio State 36-3
#15 Utah demolished Arizona 56-10
USC bypassed #8 Stanford 28-14
#19 Kansas defeated #11 Oklahoma State 48-38
#3 Auburn defeated LSU 38-31 in OT

[Kcordloh]

Poll results and projections

Idaho (7-0) became ranked on the coaches poll for the first time anyone can remember, pulling out the #25 spot.
Everyone says it's for their record, but most people forget Idaho beat current #10 Notre Dame 35-33 in South Bend.

Idaho is currently #25, and a long ways from becoming a BCS buster like the other Idaho team (Boise State). Currently Troy is ranked ahead of Idaho, and most likely with the schedule layouts if Troy finishes 10-2 or better then they will be ranked higher than Idaho, and as long as one of them finishes top 16 then they will most likely be in a BCS bowl due to nobody being ranked in the Big East, even conference front runner USF.

The next highest non-AQ ranked is UCF at #28, so the competition for Idaho is to go undefeated and hope that Troy stumbles.

Oregon State and Boise State are locks for the BCS Title game if they go undefeated, although Boise State could be passed for a 1 loss AQ, but most likely not. As long as the Broncos finish 12-0 they are playing for that crystal football.

Coaches Poll

NCAA Football Rankings - Coaches Poll - Updated: Oct 28, 2012
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Oregon State (40)	8	0	1504
2	2	Boise State (21)	7	0	1288
3	3	Auburn	7	1	1201
4	4	Oregon	7	1	1174
5	6	Illinois	7	1	1137
6	7	Missouri	6	1	1056
7	9	Oklahoma	5	2	955
8	10	Troy	7	1	941
9	12	Michigan State	6	3	847
10	13	Notre Dame	7	2	817
11	14	Georgia	7	1	775
12	15	Utah	7	1	736
13	16	Texas A&M	5	2	697
14	19	Kansas	6	1	688
15	5	Virginia Tech	6	2	672
16	18	Michigan	7	2	623
17	8	Stanford	6	3	554
18	11	Oklahoma State	4	3	520
19	24	Wisconsin	5	3	496
20	--	USC	6	2	463
21	22	Mississippi State	6	2	457
22	23	Arkansas	7	2	421
23	25	Ole Miss	6	2	343
24	--	Iowa	7	1	325
25	--	Idaho	7	0	285

BCS Top 10

NCAA Football Rankings - BCS Rankings - Updated: Oct 28, 2012
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Oregon State	8	0	1.000
2	2	Boise State	7	0	.994
3	3	Auburn	7	1	.989
4	4	Oregon	7	1	.983
5	7	Illinois	7	1	.978
6	6	Missouri	6	1	.972
7	9	Michigan State	6	3	.958
8	10	Notre Dame	7	2	.947
9	14	Troy	7	1	.942
10	11	Texas A&M	5	2	.941

[Kcordloh]

Matchup Preview | November 3, 2012
	@
#6 Missouri Tigers (6-1, 3-1 Away)		Baylor Bears (4-3, 2-0 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison #2 Points Per Game #22 #92 Total Offensive Yards #64 #102 Rushing Yards #63 #24 Passing Yards #51 Defensive Stats Comparison #1 Total Yards Allowed #59 #11 Passing Yards Allowed #87 #1 Rushing Yards Allowed #9 Game Notes This game is Missouri's chance for a break, but most importantly it is a must win game. Missouri controls their destiny, if they beat Baylor they will be 5-0 in Big XII play and still controlling their own destiny. Plus if they hold any hope of making the BCS Title game they must go 11-1, backing into the BCS National Championship at 10-2 requires a ton of luck. Expect Missouri's defense to dominant as the Tigers are 17 point favorites.

Other games to watch
#3 Auburn (7-1) @ #23 Ole Miss (6-2)
Cal (3-5) @ #1 Oregon State (8-0)
Northwestern (5-3) @ #9 Michigan State (6-3)
#16 Michigan (6-2) @ #24 Iowa (7-1)
#2 Boise State (7-0) @ Wyoming (1-6)
#13 Texas A&M (5-2) @ #7 Oklahoma (5-2)
#21 Mississippi State (6-2) @ #11 Georgia (7-1)
#12 Utah (7-1) @ Arizona State (2-6)
Texas (2-5) @ #14 Kansas (6-1)

[Kcordloh]

Will we have an undefeated national champion?

The debate is currently raging if anyone will finish the season undefeated. #1 Oregon State has 2 difficult contests left, #12 Utah and #4 Oregon; and if they win them and go 12-0 in the regular season Utah or USC will most likely be waiting for them in the Pac 12 championship game.

#2 Boise State has an easier road, their most difficult game left is Fresno State (8-1) but that game is in Boise where the Broncos have lost only one game since 2005. If the Broncos finish undefeated, they still have to win the bowl game they are in, which will most likely be the BCS national championship.

#25 Idaho is the darkhorse, but due to the scheduling woes the WAC had this year have given Idaho the weak schedule they need to go undefeated. However, Idaho has no shot of making the national championship. Even a win over a highly ranked Notre Dame team is not enough to propel you to the BCS National Championship game with all those FCS and Sun Belt opponents.

Big XII talk

For the second straight year the Big XII is one of the most loaded conferences with Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas A&M all top 15, and every one of them legit contenders for the Big XII Title. Most likely the title will belong to either A&M or the winner of the Kansas/Missouri battle. Oklahoma already has two conference losses, and Kansas and Missouri are both undefeated in the Big XII. In order for Oklahoma to win the Big XII, either Kansas and Missouri both have to drop three conference games, or a 3 way tie occurs if Missouri and Kansas both drop two conference games.
A&M can win if they defeat Missouri, and Kansas drops two games; or if A&M beats Missouri and Missouri defeats Kansas and they end with a three way tie, one A&M might win due to the BCS rankings rule.

But mainly everyone expects it to come down to Kansas & Missouri. A&M/OU cannot afford to lose, whoever does this week is almost completely out of the race for the title, and therefore the Fiesta Bowl bid. If Kansas and Missouri win out, the Border War will be a matchup of most likely two top 8 teams, a nice tribute to 2007 when it was #2 Kansas vs #4 Missouri.

If Kansas or Missouri go 11-1, and either OSU or BSU lose, then they have a shot at the national championship game.

SEC/Big 10

The SEC has 5 teams ranked like usual, and a team in the national championship banter like usual, but for once they don't control their own destiny. #3 Auburn has to battle #23 Ole Miss this week and eventually 1 loss UGA, possibly facing UGA again in the SEC Championship. Besides UGA and Auburn there is no title contender in the SEC this year, and it is highly unlikely an 11-2 Auburn or Georgia team will play for the crystal football.

Despite having several ranked teams, including 1 loss Iowa, the hopes of the Big 10 rest solely on #5 Illinois's shoulders. The Fighting Illini have the best shot at making the BCS Title game, as even though the Michigan State Spartans are a top 10 team, they already have three losses and most likely will not get a fair shake at the title game even if the win the Big 10.

[Kcordloh]

Arkansas officially a member of the Big XII

After over 2 years of debate and conference alignment, the Big XII lost three members but gained one, and with that one has reestablished themselves as a top force to be reckoned with. It's not that Arkansas is the best team ever, or even loaded with tons of history, it's simply that the Big XII lured an SEC team away, and almost landed the top program in any expansion plan (Notre Dame).

Arkansas signed the deal today, and is completely a full fledged member for the 2013 season, as of June 1st, 2013 them will be competing in the Big XII.

"It is truely a sign of how strong we are," Oklahoma Sooner AD Joe Castiglione stated. "We decided a more fairly shared revenue stream was appropriate, and Arkansas was a perfect fit. With Texas agreeing to share the revenue generated by the LHN, and us using that network to broadcast our own games as a conference, plus switching to a more even revenue sharing plan that rewards success, all were key factors in landing Arkansas."

"We gave up a lot to keep the Big XII together, it has been our home for many years and we would have been sad to leave. Taking a small revenue cut was worth saving the history and tradition of the Big XII. We will be trying to keep the Lonestar showdown, and face that Texas A&M failed to collapse the Big XII and instead just merely switched places with Arkansas makes it even sweeter," Bill Byrne the Texas AD stated.


While the 2012 season has not yet finished, projections for next year make people eagerly await the 2013 Big XII season as the Big XII will feature most likely 5 to 7 pre-season top 25 teams in Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Missouri, Texas Tech, and possibly even Baylor and Kansas State.

[Kcordloh]

Bears fall short in upset bid

The Tigers streak of dominate routes of foes ended when they slipped out of Waco with a 34-31 victory.

The Tigers took a 3-0 early lead, but relinquished it when Baylor scored with 1:39 left in the 1st. Missouri retook the lead thanks to J. Franklin moving the ball down the field extremely well in the second quarter, but the Baylor Bears defense suddenly reacted in the 3rd quarter. The Tigers eliminated N. Florence and B. Betty had to fill in for him as a backup QB.
They held the Tigers to 10 points, and then went into attack mode. The Tigers managed no first downs in the fourth quarter, and the Bears scored twice, but used all their times out and could not force the Tigers to hand over the ball with enough time left to finish their upset bid.

Missouri Tigers at Baylor Bears
Nov 3, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#6 Missouri Tigers (6-1)	3	21	10	0	34
Baylor Bears (4-3)	6	0	10	15	31

Team Stats Comparison
	MIZZ	BAY
Total Offense	510	499
Rushing Yards	140	104
Passing Yards	370	395
First Downs	22	17
Punt Return Yards	21	10
Kick Return Yards	16	86
Total Yards	547	595
Turnovers	1	0
3rd Down Converstion	4-12	2-9
4th Down Conversion	2-2	1-1
2-Point Conversion	0-0	1-1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	6-2-1	2-1-0
Penalties	2	1
Posession Time

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		MIZZ	BAY
4:05	(MIZZ) C. O'Connor 23yd FG	3	0
1:39	(BAY) T. Williams 86yd pass from N. Florence (missed PAT)	3	6
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		MIZZ	BAY
4:07	(MIZZ) T. Moe 23 yard pass from J. Franklin (PAT)	10	6
2:36	(MIZZ) J. Franklin 3 yard rush TD (PAT)	17	6
0:17	(MIZZ) L. Washington 14yd pass TD from J. Franklin (PAT)	24	6
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		MIZZ	BAY
4:39	(BAY) J. Gordon 49yd pass from B. Petty (PAT)	24	13
3:15	(MIZZ) C O'Connor 53yd FG	27	13
1:24	(MIZZ) R. Woodland 22yd pass from J. Franklin (PAT)	34	13
0:36	(BAY) A. Jones 46yd FG (PAT)	34	16
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		MIZZ	BAY
4:08	(BAY) J. Salubi 2 yd rush (PAT)	34	24
2:22	(BAY) T. Williams 108yd punt return (PAT)	34	31

Missouri Tigers

Baylor Bears

Missouri POTG: James Franklin 29/40 for 370 yards and 3 TD, 11 carries for 50 yards and a TD.
M. Sam 9 tackles, 4 TFL, and 2 sacks

Baylor POTG:
B. Betty 16/23 for 248 yards and 2 TD