WEAKLY RETORT: WEEK 6

Introduction:
Things are slowly start to take shape in the Big XII, and that shape is a giant compass that points south. The conference has 3 ranked teams in what appears to be a down year, and they are all in the Southern Division, Texas, Oklahoma State, and Oklahoma. It doesn’t look like anyone in the Big XII will be competing for the MNC this year so it will probably just come down to a slugfest for bowl pecking order, making each week even more interesting. Crap. I just wrote all that and then glanced down to see that Kansas was ranked at number 17. As usual, I maintain my commitment to not go back and fact check so I will leave the above text as a testament to just how little meaningful research I actually do. Only this time I lucked out and happened to catch myself before a flood of emails alerted me to the fact. So let’s get out our reading glasses, sharpen our pencils, and think of a five letter word for perineum to complete 35-across. _ _ I N T

20/20 Hindsight:
Nebraska 27 - Missouri 12
The scoring in this one led off with one of my favorite football plays, the safety. Not just because it is rare and usually an exciting play (unless it is just the kicker running out of the back of the end zone), but I like seeing players and fans erupting into “The Safety Dance."

And although Missouri scored again to lead 9 – 0 at the half, you know what they say, “In a monsoon, it’s anybody’s ballgame.” The Children of the Corn suddenly came to life in the 4th quarter, scoring 27 points, 20 of which in a span of just over 3 minutes early in the quarter. It certainly didn’t help the Missouri cause, that quarterback Blaine Gabbert was strug-uh-ling to the tune of 17 for 43 for 134 yards and two picks. I admit it, I still giggle whenever I refer to a Missouri QB and picks.

Oklahoma State 36 - Texas A&M 31
Okay, I’m not trying to sound like sour grapes, but after the nonstop talk about how Oklahoma State was missing their top receiver, I wondered why it was never mentioned that A&M was also missing their top receiver. Sure, Jeff Fuller isn’t as crucial to the Aggie offense as Dez Bryant is to the Cowboys, but he was out with a broken leg while Dez was MIA for lying to an investigatory panel. All things aside, the NCAA penalization of Oklahoma State on Saturday was nothing compared to the whistle-thumping laid on them by the zebras. The Cowboys were hit 11 times for 118 yards, many times 15-yarders in key situations. I haven’t seen that much flying yellow laundry since Greg Wiggle’s dressing room got broken into by the Tasmanian Devil.
However, it was Robinson through the air and Toston on the ground that eventually put the Aggies away in the second half.

Kansas 41 - Iowa State 36
The Kansas offense seems to be in good hands as Todd Reesing has another outstanding showing, going 37 of 49 for 442 yards and four TDs. And on the other end, receivers Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe continue to play one up as they go back and forth breaking each other’s records for career receptions. Apparently they play other things as well, as big teddy bear coach Mark Mangino said of the duo, “It’s hard to believe there’s a better pitch-and-catch group in the country than those guys.” The defense, however, lives far more to be passionately desired, as they allow the lowly Cyclones to rack up over 500 yards of offense and 36 points. The kicking game wasn’t much better for either team, as the first 3 PATs of the game were missed. Iowa State held firm until the end, but couldn’t complete a 4th and 9 pass in the end zone with just under a minute left. I’m sure Coach Mangino was really sweating this one out. I mean, I’m sure he was sweating anyway, but this time he was REALLY sweating.

Oklahoma 33 - Baylor 7
Art Briles and the Bears who have never gotten the better of Oklahoma faced off against Bob Stoops, who has never gotten the better of sensible headwear. And nothing changed on Saturday, as the visored one welcomed back his starting QB Sam Bradford, who showed up along with 389 passing yards and a touchdown. His numbers would have been even better if his receiving core wouldn’t have eaten three tubs of movie popcorn before the game, leading to almost a dozen dropped passes. I can’t help but think that the Sooners were hoping for a better showing against the Bears and their 3rd string quarterback as they get ready to face off next weekend against the Longhorns in the only football game in Texas not played at Jerryworld.

Texas 38 - Colorado 14
Once again, the Longhorns started off slowly, trailing 14 – 3 amidst a chorus of boos, before all of the burnt orange t-shirt owners from community colleges in the greater Austin area became jubilant when Mack Brown’s crew was able to pull away in the second half. This is not the game that Austin was hoping for as the Longhorns managed a paltry 313 yards and only 46 yards on the ground. That was still far superior to the Buffali, who only put together 127 total yards of offense, barely enough to make it down the field once. Both teams also spent the game mired in penalties as, forget what I said about the OSU game, the Horns racked up 8 for 93 yards, and Colorado was whistled for 20 penalties for 140 yards, more than they had in total offense. Fortunately for the Horns, Jordan Shipley is bills-in-the-mail fast. He had 147 yards receiving as well as a punt return for a touchdown. Yet despite all of this, the Longhorns just aren’t playing like the number 3 team. In fact, at this point I will go on record as saying they are more overrated than that crushed ice feature on your refrigerator. You know, how you see it in the store and you are like, “sweet, this thing makes crushed ice, I’ll take it” but you get it home and when you actually crush the ice it is more like randomly shaped pebbles mixed in with snowconesque ice shavings and it kind of just piles up on your face when you try and drink your beverage and you swear you will never use it again. Texas is kind of like that.

Texas Tech 66 - Kansas State 14
The Red Raiders show that just about anybody can put up big numbers in this offense as backup quarterback Steven Sheffield plugs in for 490 passing yards and seven touchdowns in his first career start. The LOLcats were outgained 739 yards to 284 and looked completely overmatched in every phased of the game, including rushing where the Raider Air Assault piled up 185 yards on the ground, en route to scoring at least two touchdowns in each period.. It kind of had that odd look to it, like when you see a bird running down the street, and you kind of wonder why it doesn’t just fly. I mean it is a bird, and that’s what birds do. Maybe it is just sandbagging because it is being chased by a wildcat that only has one leg. Sadly, the only way that these Wildcats stood a chance would be if Coach Bill Snyder hopped aboard a broom and somehow grabbed the golden snitch.

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Story courtesy of psychoag at www.raiderpower.com