What is the Big XII coming to?

[TheProphet]

If you take Texas out of the Big XII, you might as well call it the big east. I am so chagrined by the current status of my home conference, I felt it necessary to post a thread because I don't see it getting any better. Forget UT is in the equation for a minute and think with me. The Aggies lose McNeal, Appel, and McDaniel after this year. Thats all of the offense and a little over 1/2 the woeful defense. Tech loses Taurean Henderson and will finally have to put a non-senior at QB. Although the offense appears to be plug and play, they have shown horrid weakness against both Kansas and Nebraska (where they should have lost). Okie St brings tears to my eyes, they have nothing, no hope. Baylor is favored to beat them. Which brings me to my soon-to-be-bowl-eligible Bears! They beat A&M at Kyle Field forsaken the Dead Dog Scoreboard. Baylor has a chance to step up to Holiday bowl level. That is scary, that is pathetic. My beloved Big XII will be sending Baylor against UCLA, o what a sad, sad day.

[GTown02]

Has anyone seen Taurance Rawls play for Tech? He is the backup for Henderson, and he was awesome for Garland in HS... I havent seen him play yet, so could someone commentate on his performance (if any) this season :D

[jtk1519]

I see a possible bright future. I believe Jayhawk the Hutt and Morris have the cellar dwellers (Kansas and Baylor moving in the right direction). Mobilhoma has talent, but they are young. Give them time and they will only get better (there is no way they could get much worse). I see VERY bright futures from Texas and the land thieves for a while now.

I truly believe that Nebraska is on the upswing and will be very good in the future if Callahan is given the chance. Colorado will be good so long as keep whoring out co-eds for the recruits. I believe Tech is a program on the brink. The talent level is rising and I think Tech will start battling UT and Blow U for conference supremacy soon.

I don't know (nor really care) about Iowa State, Oklahoma State or Kansas State. The only two programs I see on a real decline are aggy and Mizzou and in the case of aggy, that decline is quite steep. Mizzou will have to deal with the loss of Brad Smith who is 92% of their offense. Chase Daniel is good, but I don't know if he is Brad Smith.

[FootballJunkie]

If you take Texas out of the Big XII, you might as well call it the big east. I am so chagrined by the current status of my home conference, I felt it necessary to post a thread because I don't see it getting any better. Forget UT is in the equation for a minute and think with me. The Aggies lose McNeal, Appel, and McDaniel after this year. Thats all of the offense and a little over 1/2 the woeful defense. Tech loses Taurean Henderson and will finally have to put a non-senior at QB. Although the offense appears to be plug and play, they have shown horrid weakness against both Kansas and Nebraska (where they should have lost). Okie St brings tears to my eyes, they have nothing, no hope. Baylor is favored to beat them. Which brings me to my soon-to-be-bowl-eligible Bears! They beat A&M at Kyle Field forsaken the Dead Dog Scoreboard. Baylor has a chance to step up to Holiday bowl level. That is scary, that is pathetic. My beloved Big XII will be sending Baylor against UCLA, o what a sad, sad day.


I like you...keep speaking the truth :D

[TheProphet]

Thank you Junkie, and I agree, Chase Daniel is certainly not Brad Smith, plus he loses Sean Coffey who is his best receiver.

[Firebird]

Here's my thoughts on the Big 12--

South
UT- If they can land a big-time qb this class, they are set for the forseeable future. They have gotten the OU monkey off their backs, and have continued to pull in great classes. What can you say, they are on the upswing,and they were already darn good.

OU-- Get your licks in now. Bomar is gonna be good. Stoops need to beginn thinking about Petersen's future. Let the kid really heal. I don't see another season like this coming from them for a long, long time, although another run of dominance over UT isn't gonna happen. Having a down year, should be back.

TT-- The prophet is glaringly underestimating TT's future. Next year's qb is Grahm Harrell, Texas' all time leader in passing yards, and he was one rolled ankle away form winning the job THIS year. Taurean Hendersen is special, but they have backs to work with. Baron Davis really excites me. Plus, we are undefeated this year with an inexpienced O-Line. Luis Vasquez and Mrlon Winn are great players, and we our line will better next season. Defense continues to improve every year under Stentich, our db's are looking good and we signed some great prospects last year on the D-Line. This is team on the rise. If we pull in some good classes this year and next, we should start to challenge OU and UT, although it will be difficult. MUST NOT LOSE LEACH!!!

Aggie-- What can you say. On the decline. I think Franchione sold them a bill of goods. They need to forget about challenging UT and OU and work on getting to Tech level. Heck, if they don't wathc out, Baylor is gonna pass them up. They continue to get poor production out of pretty good classes. There are big problems in Aggieland.

Baylor-- No reason for Baylor to have been so bad for so long. I think it is good that Baylor is winning some ball games. They will never be a year-in-year out conference challenger, but should be able to shoot for bowls. They need to work on getting Central Texas kids (the one's UT doesn't get) in Waco instead of Collge Station. Morris is a good coach, and Bill Bradley is putting together a good D. A team that COULD be on the rise.

Okie State-- Don't know and really don't care. Will always play second fiddle to OU in Oklahoma, and has its work cut out to try to make any further inroads into Texas recruiting. Probably wills stay where they have always been-- about 4-5 in the South, 6 in a bad year. Loss of Les Miles was a killer for a program that appeared to be ready to take a huge jump.


Up Next- Big XII North

[Firebird]

Nebraska-- Early Reports of Nebraska's demise under Callahan greatly exaggerated. The D is really damnded good this year. His offense is making strides, Zac Taylor is getting better every week. A team on the rise. My fearless prediction-- within 2 years will be a top-ten program again, and challenge UT and OU for overall conference supremacy. Just like it oughta be.

Colorado-- Will they ever go away? It seems like for about 4 years they have been mired in controversy, yet they always end up challenging for the North at the end of the day. Will never be like they were under Bil McCartney, but should make semi-regular trips to the conf. champ. game.

K-State-- Truly mystifing to me. I really don't know why they got so bad, so quickly. I think either Bill Snyder turns it around within 2 years, or a major rebuild up there will be needed.

Kansas-- Mark Mangino is a good coach, but needs to overcome an apathy about football on campus. No reason they can't be a regular bowl-team. But, this is KU and they are HAPPY with a mediocre football team as long as the Jayhawks make the Final Four. They have their work cut out for them making recruiting in-roads out of state, as Kansas is not a recruiter's paradise.

Missouri-- Not so much of a fall, as the fact that folks just got too excited about them to begin with. Pinkel is not a genius, and Brad Smith has been their only real weapon. Missour will not develop into a power.

Iowa State-- Will always be Iowa state. Most years they wil be bad, and every now and then decent. End of story.

So, here it is my Big 12 future (over the next few years:

First Tier: UT, OU (after this speedbump), Nebraska soon to join them.

Second Tier: Texas Tech (could jump up with luck and hard work), Colorado (ditto), K-State, Missouri.

Middle of the Road: Kansas, Iowa State, Aggie (needs to watch out), Baylor.

Cellar: Okie State.

[jtk1519]

What firebird said.

BTW, isnt Snyder on his way out at Kansas State?

[rantanamo]

I'm not saying tech won't win, but until they slow their offense down a little, they will have a hard time being elite. This is the Indianapolis syndrome. They have had the defensive talent, but their offense never allowed and defensive rest. The difference with Tech and Florida of the mid 90s is simply guys like Fred Taylor that could seriously eat clock. I think Tech would benefit from slowing down just a little and letting their defense rest. Why do I say this? Look at Nebraska. Had they scored more than 15 in regulation before yesterday? Too much fast break. Your defense is tired. Their defense is tired. So when you play a team that can really gash you and eat clock, you run into trouble. Not only is your defense tired, but their defense is fresh. Why didn't Cal just try to pound Tech on the ground in the Holiday Bowl? Lack of experience in how to manage the game against them. When they play UT, they'd better hope that Chizik can't figure them out the way Robinson did or they will be blown out again. SLOW DOWN like the Indy Colts of 2005

[lonny23]

The Big 12 will never be down too much. There's too much talent in Texas for it to be that way.

Tech is on the rise. They aren't going away as long as Leach is there. Nebraska will be back soon. OU won't go away. UT will stay up there. A&M should get back to being real good and I'm surprised they're not. Baylor is getting better.

[TheProphet]

aggy isnt going anywhere until it learns how to recruit players...lesson 1 dont take morons who go on ego trips and have their decision broadcasted on FSN after putting a whole show on...martellus will never be as good as david thomas because he has no mind and no work ethic...they also wont be any good until players start playing the right positions...tech is way overrated by the way, i dont know if anyone has noticed but they struggled with nebraska and kansas, which are the only two D1 teams they have played all year...oct 22 they will get slapped around austin like little children then this charade of rnaking them ahead of florida can finally be done with

[Firebird]

Rantanamo, if Indianapolis has a "syndrome", I certainly hope that Tech catches it. All Indy's "too-fast" offense has done is lead them to be a fixture at the top of the division, and two straight trips to the AFC title game(Where they lost to one of the best teams ever to play in the league in New England). they also often finish with the best record in the league. I guarnatee that any defense loves to have the "problem" of the O scoring too quickly. The reason the D was so bad for so long, was that the cupboard was literally bare when Leach arrived, and they couldn't keep a DC. They have recruited well on defense lately, and under Stentich, while they haven't be knocking out the lights, they have been getting better every year. Tech doesn't need a great D, just an adequate one, and they are well on their way.

TheProphet, Tech scored 34 points of a Nebraska defensive team that was undefeated, playing in one of the toughest venues in football, and was itching for revenge after a 70 point thumping. They beat Kansas, not a crappy team, 30-17,w ith most of KU's points coming off penalties and garbage time in the 4th quarter. Tech most likely goes 10-1, with the loss coming to UT in Austin. Regardless of who they play in non-conf, that earns them a top 15 record at the end of the year.

[FootballJunkie]

Rantanamo, if Indianapolis has a "syndrome", I certainly hope that Tech catches it. All Indy's "too-fast" offense has done is lead them to be a fixture at the top of the division, and two straight trips to the AFC title game(Where they lost to one of the best teams ever to play in the league in New England). they also often finish with the best record in the league. I guarnatee that any defense loves to have the "problem" of the O scoring too quickly. The reason the D was so bad for so long, was that the cupboard was literally bare when Leach arrived, and they couldn't keep a DC. They have recruited well on defense lately, and under Stentich, while they haven't be knocking out the lights, they have been getting better every year. Tech doesn't need a great D, just an adequate one, and they are well on their way.

TheProphet, Tech scored 34 points of a Nebraska defensive team that was undefeated, playing in one of the toughest venues in football, and was itching for revenge after a 70 point thumping. They beat Kansas, not a crappy team, 30-17,w ith most of KU's points coming off penalties and garbage time in the 4th quarter. Tech most likely goes 10-1, with the loss coming to UT in Austin. Regardless of who they play in non-conf, that earns them a top 15 record at the end of the year.

Point is they scored 34 points but should have lost. If their defense was better would not have been that way.

[Firebird]

I will take walking out of Lincoln, on homecoming, facing an undefeated NU team, with a win, any day. Most Tech fans knew this was going to be our biggest test up until UT. The team came down from behind with a great drive excepting the alomst int., and put away a fired up Husker team on the road. Every team has its wins that are "almost" losses, heck look at the scare Cal threw USC last year. Tech wins the rest except for UT, (OU scares me a bit, just cause its OU).

[TheProphet]

Just because Kansas can wake up from time to time and give UT a scare doesnt mean Jabba the Jayhawk and Kansas are a good team. I know how good Charles Gordon is, but if Tech can only score 30 points on Kansas that shows why they needed all those I-AA games to boost their offensive stats. Nebraska isn't any good, I don't care if they were playing in honor of a fallen comrade, Tech had THE LUCKIEST WIN IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL HISTORY, against a team thats not even ranked. So if you want to be a top 15 team then play like one, UT plays like crap every week and still wins by 30-50 points depending on the team

[Firebird]

TheProphet, you are exposing your self. The luckiest win in college football history, huh. Luckier than Doug Flutie and BC vs Miami? Luckier than Kordell Stewart and Colorado vs Michigan. Do you even really watch the games?

Is it impossible for you to understand that sometimes a good team can have struggles against an inferior team? Particularly if that team's strengths match up particularly well against the good teams particualr weakness. (Tech's o-line v. Nebraksa's defensive front). Have you really never seen a team play outside themselves and beat (or nearly beat) a team that's better than them. That is why they are called "upsets".

Plus, no one is calling Kansas a powerhouse, but they are no longer simply a walkover. They have put together bowl seasons, and Mangino has them playing much better than in recent years. Besides that, your logic is inconsisitent:

Consider: A highly ranked Cal loses against Tech in the Holiday bowl, and all it shows is that they were a better team that didn't come to play against a crappy Tech team.

Meanwhile: A highly ranked Tech team almost loses to a lower ranked Nebraska team, and it shows that Tech sucks. Not that Tech perhaps didn't come to play, or ran up against a fired up squad, they suck.

You make no sense, and it is obvious that you are one of these fans that lives in an aritficial world of stats and rankings, with no clue about what happens when two teams play each other.

[TheProphet]

You have no clue what you are talking about. What has THIS Tech team done to make anyone outside of Lubbock think they are real? Beat the crap out of the most pathetic non conference schedule in 1-A football? Edged out the almighty Jayhawks? Lucked out against Nebraska? You know you mention Flutie, but a hail mary pass at least takes a QB's ability to get the ball off the ground, in this case the game was literally in Nebraska's hand then handed over to Tech. Nebraska scored 7 points on Pitt, yet rolled over the Tech defense at will. MAINE held Nebraska to 25 points for crying out loud. We all knew Tech's D was trash, and if their offense can't hang 40 on Nebraska or Kansas then the offense in not good enough to propel them over a real team.

[Firebird]

Blah, blah, blah Prophet. You've been hating on Tech since the beginning of the season, and yet again show you are able only to think in terms of...

"Nebraska scored only 25 points against Maine, so that means that since they scored more on Tech, Tech's D is worse than Maine."

Thinking like that doesn't allow for teams to improve over the season. It doesn't allow for teams to play beyond their level. Yet every single year, teams do these things.

However, any commentator would tell you that the Nebraska team that played Maine and Pitt was not the same Nebraska team that played Iowa St. and Tech. The coaches recognized that-- they had them ranked 25 coming into the Tech game. Remember, Zac Taylor was playing his first games out of Jr. College versus Maine and Pitt. Against Iowa State, especially towards the end, he was finally getting into his groove. Against Tech, in the 2nd half, he played up to his potential. Nebraska is a quality football team that got off to a slow start. Quality teams get off to a slow start every season. By the end of the season, that win will look good for Tech. Nebraska will finsih ranked and in a pretty goood bowl. Tech will finish with one or two losses.

But from now on, I say we use the Prophet's uncontestable logic when it comes to ranking teams. Their most impressive win came against a by-all accounts crappy Arkansas team. USC allowed lowly Arizona to pull within one touch down of them. They have had struggles against inferior teams. THEY SUCK!!!!

[Firebird]

And for the last time, Tech did not "edge out" the Jayhawks. They kicked their butt up and down the field and gave up garbage points in the 4th quarter.

[TheProphet]

is there a different Nebraska team that played Maine and Pitt? O well thats fair enough, then lets talk about the Nebraska team that played the Iowa St team down to the wire...the Iowa St team that just got spanked by Baylor...at home? Or was that a different Nebraska team too? How many teams do they run on the field up there in braska?