Texas

[VaderFin]

Would you think USC still plays in the Rose Bowl if they lose tonight?

I hope not but you never know with the BCS.

[Free Bagel]

Having seen Colorado play the last two weeks now I can safely say that those guys are nowhere near being a legitimate D1 football team. I have never seen a team from a major conference look as bad as they do. They can't block, can't catch when they're wide open (and they don't act surprised when they drop it, they just had back to the huddle like it's what they're used to doing), can't play defense, can't do anything.

Texas on the other hand, looked great.

And no, if USC loses I don't think they should still go to the Rose Bowl. It's the same deal as 2 years ago, when you play a cakewalk, garbage, pansy schedule you have to win every single game to even have a second thought of playing for a title. Texas and USC both had to win out this year.

If USC loses, Penn State should be next in line.

[knapplc]

I was figuring for a score somewhere in the range that it was the last game, something like 49-10 or a similar score. 70-3 against the Big 12 North champ? I guess that goes to show how weak the Big 12 is outside of Texas this year.

well, the north is just plain pitiful...but the south isn't half bad.

I'm not exactly going to defend the North Division to you, but don't necessarily take CU's play in this game as as indicative of how all teams would have done vs. Texas. I think that if Missouri or Nebraska had played in this game it would have been a little bit closer - maybe 35-7 or 28-10 Texas or so - but there are extenuating circumstances that explain CU's effort today.

They were very full of themselves around the middle of the season and felt certain they would walk away with the North Title, especially when Nebraska failed to show up against Missouri and Kansas (I still can't believe we lost to Kansas!). Then they go to Ames and get their asses handed to them by ISU (a decent-to-good team) and enter the Nebraska game more demoralized by that loss than they thought. Nebraska kicks their butt in their own stadium because CU was A) upset at the ISU loss and still thinking about it and B) sort of overlooking Nebraska (which is a huge insult to Nebraska, but that's where our program is these days).

So after they get whooped by NU, Colorado thinks (rightly) that they aren't going to the Big XII Championship Game because all Iowa State has to do is beat a one-dimensional Kansas team and ISU wins the North. But then Kansas rises up and beats ISU and CU is thrust into a game they weren't expecting to go to, still smarting over two straight losses to teams they expected to beat easily, facing the #2 team in the nation - a team who was just coming off of a lackluster game vs a very weak opponent so they had a lot to prove.

On top of all that there's lots of talk in Boulder (and in CNN, USA Today, Sportscenter, etc) that Barnett, a very popular coach with his players, is on the hot seat big time and may not be allowed back next year (he will, but there's still talk). All of this leads to Colorado not putting up their best effort in this game and making the North look worse than it is.

Here's the deal - NOBODY in the Big XII North is really good this year. We're all about equal - everyone has things they do well, things they do very well, things they do poorly and things they do very poorly. Parity has struck, but it struck when the teams were all equally mediocre. We're not a terrible group of six teams, just so-so teams with exploitable flaws. Each program has issues right now that they're trying to work through.

I think next year will be a bettter year for the North. Colorado should be decent-to-good again, Nebraska should be much better than they were this year, and ISU should be OK as well. Kansas is showing definite improvement (especially on defense) and Missouri is building some talent and has a good QB to replace Brad Smith when he graduates after this season. With Snyder leaving KSU I have no idea what they'll do, so I can't make a prediction on them just yet.

[CC]

This USC game is ugly as well. 31-6 with Leinart playing like crap? That's ugly.

Reggie Bush locked up the Heisman with his 1st half, 220+ yards rushing and 2 TDs. Lendale White as per the usual is getting the job done with little to no recognition.

[VaderFin]

This USC game is ugly as well. 31-6 with Leinart playing like crap? That's ugly.

Reggie Bush locked up the Heisman with his 1st half, 220+ yards rushing and 2 TDs. Lendale White as per the usual is getting the job done with little to no recognition.

That guy is someone who should get more pub for sure.

[moonhead]

This USC game is ugly as well. 31-6 with Leinart playing like crap? That's ugly.

Reggie Bush locked up the Heisman with his 1st half, 220+ yards rushing and 2 TDs. Lendale White as per the usual is getting the job done with little to no recognition.

That guy is someone who should get more pub for sure.

yeah for something besides faking his death.