New Blog in the Landthieves Network

Back in the day when Bearmeat was active, President Red Andrews made a plea for an Oklahoma State blogger to join the Oso Amigos network and no one nibbled. That stuck in the back of my mind. Since no one would stand up for the Pokes, I thought I would create one for them. Check it out over at Pistols Firing! Mainly it's a place for me to make fun of the Cowboys without cluttering up this site. Most posts will be under the pseudonym of Oklahoma State Cowboy legends, like Brent Parker. As a bonus in this video, you get to hear Lee Corso as color commentator, and Gundy is the QB. If you want to skip to the climactic plays, jump to the seven minute mark.

Urine the Game

Bill Walker was called for no fouls.

He did pee in some towels.

No free throws he sank.

The heavens we thank

He did not move his bowels.

OU - Mizzou Analysis

There's a lot of infatuation with the highly touted Mizzou offense by the pundits who predict a Tiger victory this weekend. What they're ignoring is that courtesy of a good offense, excellent defense, and good special teams, the Sooners are actually more effective at scoring points than the Tigers.

Mizzou averages 41.9 yards per game and 507 yards per game. The Sooners get fewer yards (457), but are more effective with them, scoring 43.8 points per game.

The Sooner D is markedly better. One of the geeky things my math brain likes to do is look at a team's ability to hold an opponent to a score below their average, and how much below they hold them. The Sooners are 4th in the nation in this area, and Missouri is 48th.

On the offensive side of the ball, Missouri ranks 3rd in their ability to exceed the opponent's defensive points allowed, while the Sooners rank 7th in that area.

All this to say that the Sooners have demonstrated a stronger ability to contain their opponent's offense than the Tigers, and that the Tiger's advantage offensively is not nearly as significant as the Sooners defensive advantage.

IMO, this will be the deciding point in the Sooners favor. on the other hand, the last time I posted anything remotely statistical in nature our QB was knocked out on the first offensive play.

Other items in the Sooners favor:

• Chase Daniel on the cover of SI. Worked well for the Jayhawks last week, didn't it?
• Missouri has opined that they "gave the game away" when the Sooner won in October in Norman. This seems to have riled Stoops and co, and Stoops is great at playing the disrespected role. Even if that disrespected team is the betting favorite and is ranked 9th.
• Last evening I saw Skip Bayless arguing with Todd McShay on the Budweiser hot seat about the Tigers/Sooners matchup. Bayless was incredulous that anyone could think that OU was the better team. I think that has to be in the Sooners favor.

Baylor Hires Art Briles

As I had mentioned earlier this week, I think this is a great choice for Baylor. Around the state and nationally, folks are saying "Good hire" on Briles. One of my fav sites, www.coacheshotseat.com, has a good analysis of Briles that is encouraging to the Bear faithful. Hopefully, Briles will still be there in 8 years when my older daughter gets there. Not that she'll care.

All Big 12 Rant

QB – Sam Bradford leads the nation in pass efficiency, completed 70% of his passes and averaged 9.5 yards per attempt. He threw for 32 TDs (same as Kansas’s Reesing, on 120 fewer attempts). The All Big 12 team named three QBs to the first and second team, and he was not any of the three. I don’t disagree with Chase Daniel as an all Big 12 selection, but I have to go with Sam for the #2 slot.
TE – Brandon Pettigrew from Oklahoma State had 32 catches for 501 yards and 4 scored. Jermaine Gresham caught 32 balls for 450 yards and 10 scores. Mizzou TE Martin Rucker was named second team after catching 75 balls for 739 yards and 8 scores.
FB – Brody Eldridge, listed on the Sooner roster as a TE, was named all Big 12 fullback. We don’t have a fullback position in our offense. I can’t believe they even vote on one.

The Third Rail

The Asian-American Football Coaches Association today expressed outrage that present Dallas Cowboy assistant Cash Machine University great Dat Nguyen was not considered as a candidate for the briefly vacant Aggie head coaching position. Norm Chow. a Chinese American who ate at a McDonald's outside of College Station while driving from Los Angeles to Nashville, was also not given any consideration for the position.

Aggie Athletic Director Bill Byrne was not available for comment.

LandThieves Poll #8

I realized I hadn't finished my poll for the week. I know both of you were dying to read it, so here goes.

1. Ohio State - the leader in the clubhouse.
2. West Virginia - I'm a big Pitt fan this week. Love Bill Fralic and Tony Dorsett.
3. Missouri - They're going down.
4. Virginia Tech -
5. Kansas - opponent's W/L ranking (45.7%) kills them in computer rankings.
6. Boston College - opponents W/L ranking (60.3%) helps there computer rankings. Who'da thunk Notre Dame would be the worst team on their schedule.
7. LSU - this is where computers don't do you justice. Two triple OT losses don't play well.
8. Georgia - in the BCS rankings, it's almost possible for them to back right into the champsionship game. Which is my favorite scenario.
9. Oklahoma - my evil plan for the Sooners to sneak back in to the BCS Championship game was foiled by Chan Gailey's Yellowjackets' loss to Georgia.
10. Southern Cal - playing really well now.
11. South Florida
12. Illinois
13. Florida
14. Clemson
15. Arizona State
16. Cincinnati
17. Michigan
18. Oregon
19. Northern Iowa - fear the Pirates.
20. Virginia
21. Auburn - with the attack dogs on the sideline, they should be higher ranked.
22. Rutgers
23. Texas - Longhorns tried to save Fran's job, but just like OU's loss to Cash Machine U in an attempt to save Slocum's job in '01, it didn't work.
24. Penn State
25. Connecticutt

Saban Makes Another Offensive Remark

by Major Ogilvie, SEC Insider for Landthieves

Tuscaloosa, AL (LTP) - Nick Saban made yet another offensive remark following the loss to Auburn last Saturday in the Iron Bowl. Last week, the Tide coach related a loss to the Louisiania-Monroe Warhawks as 'catastrophic event' such as '9-11'.

This week, the coach avoided war or terrorist attack analogy, but nonetheless may have offended many people in our incarcerated community. In Monday's presser, Coach said, "Look, Auburn has now beaten us six times in a row. Going into last week's match, after the loss to ULM, we felt like a white collar prisoner returning to his cell block. He knows his 'tough as nails' cellmate is going to violate him later that night, and there's nothing he can do about it. Sure, he dreams of being able to put up a fight and win, but it's not going to happen yet."

The Alabama chapter of the ACLU immediately posted a rebuttal to Coach Saban's comments. "Coach Saban sets another nasty precedent with his remarks this week. We do not condone his attempts to incite white collar criminals to prison violence. The retaliatory actions Mr. Saban speaks of would only lead to heightened tensions in our prison communities and result in slowing the rehabilitation process of these downtrodden citizens."

Whos the Best #12

Monte Deere (61-62) - Led Sooners in passing in 1962, comleting 41 of 71 passes with no interceptions. As a DB wearing number 32 in 1960, Deere led the team with three interceptions. Also had one of the heavier golf bags at the Trails Golf Club from 1986-88, and I got tired of lifting that bad boy.

Cale Gundy (90-93) - leading passer of the pre-Stoops era of Sooner football. Currently is third in career passing yards and third in career TD passes.

Paul Thompson (03-06) - QB for disastrous season opener in 2005 against the mighty TCU Horned Frogs. Benched and went to WR catching passes totalling 102 yards. After Cargate, Thompson assumed helm at QB and led the Sooners to Big 12 championship. 5th in career TD passes and 6th in total passing yards.

Curtin Fagan (98-02) - Fagan is 5th in career receptions at OU, catching 135 for 1,689 yards (also 5th). Also led the team in punt returns in 2001.

Justin Fuente (95-97) - QB with the misfortune of being at OU for the Desert Era. Transferred to Murray State and was quite successful there. Presently an assistant at TCU.

Mike Winchester (84-86) - punter on national championship team in 85.

John Hammond (63-65) - completed third longest pass in OU history, for 90 yards to Lance Rentzel in 1964.

Bobby Grayson (78-81) - Grayson led the Sooners in receiving in 1980 and 1981, catching 14 passes in 1980 and 12 in 1980. Those were the days.

Boone State announces performance shoe line

by Cowboys Insider Dexter Manley
Stillwater, OK (LTP) - LandThieves has learned that Boone State has joined forces with Starbury shoes to release the first ever collegiate licensed football shoe for the masses. OSU President, Athletic Director and #1 Fan T. Boone Pickens lauded the move, saying, "This is the next step in collegiate athletics. So many programs suck up to Nike, but we wanted to make a statement with affordable shoes that our own athletes use on the field. This first shoe commemorates the heroic defensive effort we gave throughout the 2007 season."

Operators are standing by.

Around the Big 12

On Saturday night, the Border War rivalry between Phog U and Mizzou was revisited. The Tigers beat the Jayhawks 36-28 to secure the Big 12 North title. It was good to see a Big 12 game so prominent on the national landscape, even if it didn't involve the Sooners. It was the second lowest point total of the year for the Tigers. During the telecast, Herbie indicated that the Tigers outplayed the Sooners, but turnovers cost them the game. They had four turnovers. I have reviewed the tape of the 2004 Orange Bowl, and realized if it wasn't for the first three quarters of the ball game, we would have beaten USC.

Some coaching carousel in here as well...

Colorado ran over the Bugeaters Friday 65-51. Nebraska celebrated the sixth time of giving up 40 points or more this season by firing head coach Bill Callahan. Some likely people to be considered are former Husker QB and assistant Turner Gill (presently HC at U of Buffalo) and LSU defensive coordinator and former Husker DC Bo Pelini. Husker faithful will tell you that Pelini was the interim head coach for the Alamo Bowl after Solich was fired. Pelini was only in Lincoln for a year. I saw no signs in the stands proclaiming John Blake as a candidate, but if Kevin Blackistone were still working at the Dallas Morning News, he would be proclaiming Blake as the front runner. Since Osborne is likely to be involved in the hiring, I would think that Gill would be a more likely candidate than Pelini, even though Pelini has been pretty high profile since landing in college fb in 2003. The guys at midwestcoastbias have a good handle of the situation, apparently there's a team meeting at 4 pm on Tuesday.

Cash Machine University defeated Travis County Jail 38-30 on Friday. Promptly after that, Aggie HC Dennis Franchione announced his resignation. This stunned Aggie faithful that had been trapped in a cave for the past four months. The loss eliminated Travis County Jail’s hopes to back into the Big 12 South championship while drinking and smoking doobies

Mike Sherman has been hired to replace Coach Fran at ATMU.

I actually like this hire. I follow the Packers as much as I do any NFL team. I thought he did a good job there, he won three division titles. It’s not like Callahan, who lost the locker room and was fired in two years at Oakland. He's experienced the cultish fervor of College Station before, so he knows what he's getting into.

On the Baylor coaching front, over the Thanksgiving break Singletary indicated he was not going to be the Baylor head coach. Lots of rumors around Houston Nutt (resigned from Arkansas today) or Art Briles (allegedly interviewing Tuesday). If I were Baylor search committee, I would add Jeff Bower, recently abrupty resigning from Southern Mississippi, to the mix. He was very successful there for a long time, and I don't believe Hattiesburg is luring people there by default. Based upon my four months of experience as a college fb blogger, I would rank them 1a) Briles; 1b) Bower; 3) Nutt.

Further analysis of those three: Briles - If I didn't enjoy watching Houston play fb so much, I would bump Bower to the top of the rankings. If you haven't watched a an Art Briles coached Houston game, I would characterize it as an entertaining combination of pass happy Mike Leach with the propensity for goofy trick plays of Chris Petersen. He will make the game entertaining, has demonstrated an ability to recruit serviceable talent to UH, and has loads of high school coaching connections via his long tenure at Stephenville; Brower - was very successful at Southern Miss for years. Allegedly passed on several different higher profile gigs a a few years ago. The folks at sundaymorningqb.com have a good analysis of what happens to coaches at mid-majors. You could do a lot worse than Bower. Nutt - I always thought Houston was underappreciated in Fayetteville and throughout the state. He's had some good teams there, and won three west division titles. On the other hand, he managed to get himself named as a candidate for darn near every major job the past few years, and between that and the soap opera around Arkansas fb the last couple of years, I think Nutt would be nearly radioactive to Baylor, unless you know more behind the scenes facts about his consistent flirting with other schools and how he managed to inspire fans to file Freedom of Information Acts requests around his phone and email records.

The biggest news around Baylor was that Senior Editor in Charge Red Andrews stepped down from BearMeat last week. Personally, this is more distressing than the B not hiring Mike Singletary. Red, we will miss you.

Finally, if you're wondering why I spent 344 words analyzing the Baylor coaching situation, I don't know either. It's helped dull the sting of work today, and is cheaper than drinking.

Prose Review of Boone State

DE Jeremy Beal started our poorly. He was crashing down hard on the running back against the Cowboys zone read, and Zac Robinson broke containment and burned him repeatedly. He got used to the pace of the game and played well overall, particularly in the second half. Considering that he’s the 4th – 5th DE on the depth chart, he did quite well.

Allen Patrick had a huge day. A lot of folks were hard on Patrick for his fumble last week against TT, and it’s fair to say that he hasn’t been as productive this year as he was the past couple of years subbing for Adrian. In Allen’s defense, he started out the year with an injured ankle and wasn’t getting that many reps due to the years that Murray and Chris Browne were having. Today he showed no ill effects from the ankle and ran through the Boone State defense for over 200 yards.

Boone State just doesn’t have a good defense. The Sooners came out playing power football. While the Sooners haven’t blown anyone off the line this year (okay, maybe North Texas and Utah State), they were able to dominate the Cowboys in the run game.

Sam Bradford broke My Little Pony’s one year old record for most TD passes by a freshman quarterback. Bradford threw for 4 TDs, connecting on two to Joe Jon Finley, one to Allen Patrick and one to Quentin Chaney (Chaney made a great catch). Zane Zaslaw dropped a certain TD pass in the first half. Bradford followed it up with a TD toss to Finley. Bradford has 32 TDs for the year. It's the third highest total in Sooner history, behind both of Jason White's senior years, and he's 5th alltime. With three years to go.

The Sooner D had a great game. Much maligned after the TT and Baylor games, the Sooners shut down a Cowboy attack that was one of the higher scoring attacks in the country.

Overall this was one of the better performances of the year for the Sooners, and I would say their best performance since the Missouri game. With the power running game, the Sooners controlled the clock and the D played well for the most part.

Boone State Game Review in Poetry

Worlds Greatest Offense, they say,
Scored seventeen points that day.
For T Boone's big dough
They'll see El Paso
Where their defense will shout ol`e!

Happy Thanksgiving to All...

We'll be heading up to the promised land tonight and be there for several days without the internets or world wide webs.

I wish everyone a joyous thanksgiving, and I pray you have much to be thankful for.

Boone State Preview Limerick

Sooners will be playing hurt.
The Cowboys are on alert.
We will beat their ___,
Their cheer squads eat grass.
Now Lewis Field is all dirt.

Boomer Sooner!

Sooner Title Hopes not dead

Most folks are proclaiming the Sooners national title hopes dead. Well, Dr. Crimson N. Cream is here to tell you the patient is not dead yet, but has some serious life support issues. Here's how those championship hopes could start breathing on their own: (rankings are BCS rankings and point spreads are off of Yahoo! or DMN Monday paper, copied without permission):

• #18 Tennessee, a 3 point underdog, beats unranked Kentucky this weekend.
• #10 Oklahoma beats Oklahoma State.
• #1 Ranked LSU (12.5 pt favorite) loses to Arkansas this weekend , or loses to Tennessee in the SEC Championship game.
• #2 Kansas- #4 Missouri winner loses to #10 Oklahoma.
• West Virginia (17 point favorite) loses to #20 Connecticut, or even less likely, is upset by Pitt the following weekend.
• #11 Southern Cal (3 point favorite) defeats #6 Arizona State.
• #7 Georgia, (3.5 pt favorite) loses on the road to Georgia Tech.
• #8 Virginia Tech ( 3.5 pt favorite), loses either at Virginia this weekend or loses in the ACC championship game to Boston College. Per the Sagarin predictor (also cited blatantly without permission), the Hokies would be a 3 point favorite or so in that game.
• #9 Oregon, a 2 pt favorite, loses to UCLA at home this weekend, or they lose to their 7-4 intrastate rival Oregon State the following weekend.

With the scenario, I believe you'd have an 11-2 Sooner team as a Big 12 champion playing Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.

Here are the most unlikely elements of this, according to point spreads:

• should Tennessee upset Kentucky, they'll likely be a 14 pt underdog to LSU
• West Virginia is a 17 point favorite at home against #20 Connecticut.

The other on the field elements all involve games where the point spread is less than 4, and as a result, are quite possible.

The other big hurdle, in my opinion, would be the human poll voters. I perceive, through my crimson and cream colored glasses, a bit of bitterness toward the LandThieves for backing into the national championship game in 2003 and failing to show up at the Orange Bowl following the 2004 season. If a voter realized the Sooners were poised to be the two loss team to play the Sweatervests, they might "vote down" the Sooners and choose another two loss team as the #2 team. Looking at the other two loss teams at that point, you'd have:

• LSU, with losses at Kentucky and to Tennessee/Arkansas
• West Virgnia, with losses to Connecticut and South Florida
• Arizona State, with losses to USC and Cal
• Oklahoma, with losses to Colorado and Texas Tech
• USC with losses to Oregon and Stanford
• Texas, with losses to Oklahoma and Kansas State

Looking at losses only, LSU is the team that lost to the most formidable foes. Because of this, from a Sooner perspective, I think it's important for LSU to beat Arkansas then lose to Tennessee. A loss to Arkansas and then a victory at the SEC Champ game would probably leave poll voters putting LSU ahead of the Sooners.

Also, if Missouri beats Kansas, you'd have a one loss Kansas team - who didn't win their division and might not beat a team that ends the year with a record above .500 - that might be ranked higher than the Sooners. I don't think that's likely, though, as the Sooners would have at least beaten Texas (9-2 or 10-3), and Missouri (11-2 with both losses to OU), and I think Kansas will be punished severely if they lose to their one premier foe of the season.

Now, you can take this checklist with you on your Thanksgiving trip and you'll know just how to root for the games this weekend.

LandThieves Poll #7

1. Ohio State - I would give you some insightful comments on the Ohio State victory over the Maize and Blue this weekend, but I lost consciousness watching it.
2. LSU - they should falter with Les secretly campaigning for the Michigan job.
3. West Virginia - Rich Rodriguez was up all night Saturday night, thanking God he didn't take the Alabama job.
4. Kansas - the best undefeated team in the country. Missouri is playing well, it should be a good game Saturday night. check your local listing.
5. Missouri - scores 38+ again.
6. Arizona State - Dirk Koetter is now cleaning the Boise State locker room.
7. Boston College - BC just keeps eaking out victories.
8. Virignia Tech - Hokies would be higher if not for that near miracle comeback by BC a few weeks ago.
9. Illinois - my favorite Big Ten team = any team that beats Ohio State
10. Georgia - Dawg fans are big fans of the Kentucky Wildcats this weekend. A KU victory gives Georgia a berth in the SEC championship game.
11. South Florida - don't look now, but South Florida is winning again.
12. Oregon - who's a better QB? Brady Leaf or Joey Halzle? Discuss.
13. Oklahoma - see above.
14. Florida - the Heisman tropy winner plays on this team.
15. Texas - if Boone State beats the Sooners, Texas will represent the Big 12 South in San Antonio for the Big 12 Championship.
16. Cincinnati
17. Virginia - eight victories by a total of 53 points (7 by 23) and a whupping of Miami-FL by 48. The battle with Va Tech should be a defensive snoozefest this weekend.
18. Clemson
19. Michigan
20. Southern Cal
21. Connecticutt - remember when beating Syracuse meant something.
22. Northern Iowa
23. Rutgers
24. Auburn
25. Penn State

Baylor Fires Morris, Who's Next

Baylor announced today that Guy Morriss would not retained for the 2008 season. Frankly, my interview with Morris at the Big 12 Media days led me to believe he was losing his grip on the team. Early reports indicate that Baylor and NFL great Mike Singletary is a leading candidate. Personally, I think he would be a great hire because he's an alum, he's climbing the coaching ranks in the NFL, and he's an undeniable leader. I also read (don't recall the source) today that the Baylor administration would also like to talk to Houston Nutt if he were to be made available by the Razorbacks.

Since I live in a suburb with a fair amount of Baptists and Baylor grads, I thought I would do some "person on the street interviews" and get a feel from those with Baylor interests about their next football coach. I thoughtfully considered how to ask my question. As an experienced journalist, I know this is an important part of the interview. The question I planned to pose to my interview subjects, was "How would you feel if BU selected Houston Nutt as head coach over Mike Singletary?" However, this interaction with a Baylor grad housewife led me to abandon future polling efforts.

Job 1:20-21

Job 1:20-21 says, "At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;may the name of the LORD be praised."

Well, we were all fired up when Dennis Dixon blew his knee out Thursday night. Then Sam attempts a tackle after a fumble by Allen Patrick and sustains a concussion. Personally, I don't think it's as much the Tech defender as it was Duke Robinson helping out on the tackle from behind.

The injuries ended up being huge. In the game, the Sooners lost Adron Tonnell (concussion), Alan Davis (knee), Bradford (concussion) , and DeMarco Murray (kneecap?).

Oklahoma needs to beat Boone State next week to win the Big 12 championship. If Bradford and Murray are unable to go, then it's a whole different ballgame.

Thoughts on the game: First of all, a big tip of the hat to Tech. They played well, and they were absolutely unstoppable in the first half, and their defense shut the Sooners down in the first half. On to other analysis. The o-line has been disappointing all year. They were supposed to be the nation's best unit, and I just don't believe we've seen that often enough this year. In the first half, we should have just been able to take the ball and run it and get control of the game, and for various reasons, we just didn't do that. Joey Halzle was rusty. He was awful in the first half. He improved in the second half, but missed some big throw in the second half. I know of at least two times on 3rd down where he threw outs to receivers to points that were 1 yard shy of the first down marker. Once Alan Davis went down with a leg injury, the Sooners played a lot more agressively defensively. In the first half, it seemed as if the Sooners were just always rushing 3 or 4 and sitting back in a zone. Harrell picked them apart. Crabtree was as good as expected. He is special. The botched fake punt didn't look like it was going to work. I thought it was poor time to even attempt it...your D hasn't stopped them, your on your 40, it's only 4 yards, you need some momentum. It was a time that the fake was obvious. The failed snap just put the play out of it's misery.

Overall, if you would have told me that Bradford was going to throw for 11 yards, Harrell would throw for over 400, and that we'd have two turnovers, I would tell you the Sooners got blown out. While they were definitely down 24 at one time, I was surprised the Sooners fought back into the game...they had two failed fourth down attempts in the red zone in the last six minutes of the game, and still got a score and had an onside attempt to get one more chance to score.

Oh well, I hate losing. But a W next week still gives us a South Division championship and a BCS bowl game.

Prediction for the Tech Game

I decided this morning to be a little bit of "analysis" on the Red Raider game. Seems like Tech is always scoring lots of points, but those points don't translate into much against the Sooners. Let's take a look at the Leach era.

Year	Ave Pts In Reg Season	Std Dev	Pts Ag OU
2000	26.4	14.9	13
2001	37.3	17.1	13
2002	37.0	16.0	15
2003	44.5	13.2	25
2004	37.6	17.2	13
2005	44.0	20.4	23
2006	32.2	17.1	24
2007	42.5	15.9

TT has yet to obtain their average points scored against the Sooners. In 5 of the 7 years, their score has been less than the average minus a standard deviation, with the exceptions being 2000 and 2006, the lowest scoring seasons for the Red Raiders. Now, look at similar data for the Sooners.

Year	Ave Pts in Reg Season	Std Dev	Pts Ag TT
2000	40.1	13.9	27
2001	32.5	14.0	30
2002	38.0	12.1	60
2003	47.6	15.5	56
2004	36.3	12.1	28
2005	28.5	11.2	21
2006	30.6	12.2	34
2007	45.0	17.7

OU has exceeded their average points three of the seven years. The other four years have been within the standard deviation of the average score.

All this to say the Sooners have had more success defending the Red Raiders and been able to control the game. This shouldn't be a big shocker, the Sooners have been 6-1 against the Red Raiders since Leach left.

I expect this form to hold, that the Sooners will win 28-24.

Correction

Don't know where I was getting my facts, but the Oklahoma Centennial as previously reported was not Nov 7, it was Nov 16.

LandThieves regrets the error. On the other hand, if you were looking for facts here, you probably came to the wrong place anyway.

So you're wondering how Texas Tech matches up to the

Sooners on the gridiron?

Offense		Texas Tech averages 543 / game; Sooners "only" average 459. The Sooners average 45 ppg, Tech averages 42.5. Michael Crabtree is the nation's best receiver. Think Malcolm Kelly in an offense that featured him.
Defense		Sooners are 16th in total defense, even after playing offensive leaders Tulsa and Missouri. TT is 49th.
Special Teams		OU is 3rd in the country in KO returns, courtesy of DeMarco Murray. Both teams have kickers that have struggled this year, and are middle of the road in the punt return game.
Stadium Name		Jones AT&T Stadium. So, it's a little corporate sounding. But it's simple.
Coaching		I'm a big Leach fan, but I have to go w Coach Stoops staff overall.
Cool Alumni		TT boasts Harold Welch, the First Father-in-law, and Ed Rappaport, interim director of the National Hurricane Center. Wikipedia entry was pretty lame.
Shafted by Hometown referees	Tie

Big day for Sooner Sports

Arizona is dominating - in the sense of "giving up lots of yard and losing time of possession 2-1, but scoring on D and special teams" - Oregon on ESPN.

Other thoughts on the Arizona / Oregon game:
Dennis Dixon has hurt his knee on an ugly play. No contact, just a cut and he was down. Dennis is having a great year, and as much as I want the Ducks to lose, I wouldn't wish ill on the kid. I hope he's back next week.

Interesting data elements:
Arizona's record under Stoops for the season, and in November:
2004 3-8 (2-2)
2005 3-8 (2-2)
2006 6-6 (3-1)
2007 4-6 (1-0)
Mike Stoops' Arizona squad is 8-5 in November and 8-23 in other months.

Over that same period, here is Oregon's record under Bellotti
2004 5-6 (0-3)
2005 10-2 (3-0)
2006 7-6 (1-3)
2007 8-1 (1-0)
Oregon is 5-6 in November and 25-9 the other months.

That info is free of charge, folks. And might have been even more insightful BEFORE the game started.

LandThieves Expands Territory

Coppell, US America (LTP) - LandThieves continues to create alliances to dominate the Big 12, and national landscapes. We've added two more accomplices. For Bugeater coverage, check out the folks at midwestcoastbias.com. For overall Big 12 coverage, check out the Big XII War Blog.

Testigate Part Duex

It's been quiet on the Testigate front in Oklahoma, but now we have this in Wisconsin, a normally hospitable place. The topic in question grabs your attention at about the 3:40 mark, when Ruvell Martin does the Lambeau Leap after scoring a TD. As you can see from this picture, a fan greets him with what can best be described as a "testicle tear" move.

A radio station in Milwaukee is looking for the offending grabber. We'll keep you posted on this matter. If you watch the video, you realize it's not our culprit from OKC, and the gent appears to skinney to have been a Husker defender.

Texas Tech and Officiating

It's been tempting to poke fun at the Great Pirate this week after his post game rant, but I just couldn't do it. Then, in the wee hours of this morning, I read this from my compadres at DiscoTech! I think it's an interesting reasoned analysis of the situation that I highly recommend.

LandThieves Poll #6

This week's poll has serious flaws, as you'll soon find out. I've got to work on my math.

1. Ohio State - according to the official LT scoring system, the Buckeyes maintain their number one ranking despite losing to Illinois. One of the anomalies here is that even though the Buckeye's have not played many folks with any sort of national rep, they MAC and 1-AA schools they played non conference have middle of the road records as well. So their strength of schedule is deceivingly high.
2. Oregon - the Ducks play at Arizona on Thursday night. I have to believe the HeadVisor is camping out in Tucson, giving his brother some help this week. He can coach the Sooners on Friday and Saturday. That loss to Cal is looking less impressive week by week.
3. LSU - the Tigers travel to Oxford to play Ole Miss this week. According to media reports, this game went into OT last year. Tough to imagine that happening again. Then again, if Les is stumping for the UM job all week, they could lay an egg anywhere along the way. If you don't believe me, dial up the video of the Oklahoma State - Ohio State Alamo Bowl when less was "coaching" his final game for the Cowboys.
4. Kansas - the Jayhawks beat someone we've heard of. Kansas is rising in the human polls after beating the Bugeaters (w/l record 5-6) and Boone State (5-5). Iowa State, winners of their last two, travel to Lawrence this week. Central Michigan may be the only team, outside of Mizzou, that Kansas plays this year that achieves 7 wins.
5. West Virginia - the Mountaineer defense is 4th in total defense, per the NCAA. That surprised me.
6. Arizona State - the Sun Devils squeak by the schizophrenic UCLA Bruins, and now they get the week off before spending Thanksgiving with the Men of Troy.
7. Oklahoma - playing "the B" hurts the ol' strength of schedule a bit. Playing in Lubbock can hurt the WL record a bit. I'm not surprised that OU is 9-1 at this point. I'm surprised the loss is to Colorado.
8. Illinois - the Zooker wins a big game. The Illini jumped from 18-8 this week.
9. Virginia Tech - how times have changed. Hokies last three games are FSU, Miami-FL, and Virginia. And Virginia is by far the toughest teams of those three.
10. Missouri - the Tigers travel to the Little Apple this week to play Willie and Friends. Who were slapped around by Nebraska last week.
11. Clemson - another team that's used to collapsing late hasn't yet.
12. Florida - Tim Tebow is awesome. Believe the hype.
13. South Florida - has played the second toughest sched of the top 25, next to the 12th ranked Gators.
14. Georgia - Auburn had allowed 44 points in the previous 5 games. Georgia got 45 in one.
15. Virginia - a tip of the hat to the Cavaliers for humiliating the Canes before the lights go out in the Orange Bowl.
16. Cincinnati - thanks for shutting up the "hey, look at the Huskies" folks.
17. Texas - they are due an arrest.
18. Southern Cal - are they still selling John David Booty for Heisman?
19. Michigan - the Badger flogging of the Wolverines put to bed that talk of "Michigan is one of the better teams in college fb right now".
20. Boston College - my, they've fallen.
21. Connecticut - nice performance against Cincinnati this week.
22. Northern Iowa
23. Penn State
24. Kentucky
25. Auburn

Veterans Day

I'm sure with the expansive readership out there a veteran will read this. Thanks to all the veterans who serve or have served in the United States Armed Forces. We wouldn't have the freedom to waste time on blogs, or even some more improtant things, without the service you all model.

I'm attaching a link here to an article about former Sooner All American Bob Kalsu, who died in the Vietnam War.

The 1967 Sooners were Big 8 Champions, and had a 40 year reunion this weekend. Kalsu was on that team.

Thanks again to all those servicemen and women out there.

Baylor Sooner review

The Sooners missed Auston English last night from a pass rush perspective...the Sooners played a lot of soft zones against the Bears. Adrian Taylor, subbing for English, made a nice pick in the red zone against the Bears. Reggie Smith made an athletic intercetpion early in the game in the end zone. If the Bears convert both of those trips to the red zone, this game would have had a completely different tone. Former Sooner offensive coordinator Mack Brown says there are five plays a game that make a difference in the game, and the Bears rarely seem to win those five plays.

Malcolm Kelly made a couple of ridiculous catches during the game, reaching behind him on a slant on one play and pulling one off of his hip after it went past the Baylor defender. The Daily Oklahoman gallery provides a couple of good shots of this TD catch. Bradford was 20-25 for the day. It's not like he's an inaccurate passer, but it seems to me like Bradford saves his most inaccurate throws for Kelly, and more often than not Kelly bails him out...Demarco Murray had an unbelievable TD run in the first half, followed later in the half by a ridiculous kickoff return for a score.

I listened to part of the post game stuff. Favorite moment was OC Kevin Wilson, after taking several calls from fans that were less than satisfied with the 31 point victory, said, "We scored 52 points today. Isn't anyone going to congratulate me on a good game?"

I guess that sums up my analysis. The Sooners won by 31, but the Bears gave the game away at critical points, it didn't seem like the Sooners were taking it to them much.

Around the Big 12

Phog U defeats Boone State 43-28: Boone State has allowed 203 points in 6 conference games. They are 5-5 with road games remaining against Baylor and my beloved Sooners. In Sagarin's ratings, there are 3 teams in the top 30 that have not played a single game against another team inthe top 30. Those three teams are Boise State, Hawaii, and Kansas.
Bugeaters wake up, drill Willie and Friends 73-31: This game reminds me of the KSU-Nebraska games pre Bill Synyder. Joe Ganz, younger brother of Albert, throws for 510 yds and 7 TDs in just a little over three hours. KSU rolled up 428 yards themselves, but allowed over 700 to Nebraska.
Baylor North continues roll, defeats CU Later: The Buffaloes went 3-9 against the Big 12 South, but are 0-4 against the North Division. Iowa State appears to be reacquiring a level of competency in their last four games, extending Missouri and Oklahoma into the fourth quarter then beating K State and Colorado.
Travis County Jail defeats Dust Pirates: Texas defeats TT 59-43. Texas was 12-18 on third down and a "Leach-like" 4-4 on fourth down. The Horns rushed for 283 yards and passed for 268. Texas has now scored 48 points in their last two fourth quarters. After the game, Leach condemned the Austin native led officiating crew. Had their been a plank nearby, I'm sure Leach would have compelled Referee Randy Christal to walk it. In a related matter, several Sooner fans recalling the 2005 Sooner game in Lubbock, burst into flames.
Missouri makes a deposit at Cash Machine U, 40-26: The lowest point total the Tigers have scored all year is 31 point in a loss to the Sooners. The Aggies played poorly in the first half, trailing 24-9 at the break.

Best Sooner #11

I would not have thought so initially, but this number is pretty strong in Sooner lore.

• Ronnie Fletcher (1964) - completed longest pass (95 yards) in Sooner history. Father of 90s QB Patrick Fletcher. Wore #28 in 1962-64.
• Lendy Holmes (2004-07) - switched from WR to DB and has had solid career as a defender. Chased down Mike Goodson from TAMU after Musberger declared TD Aggies in 06 game.
• Ontei Jones (1998-99) wore #42 his senior year of 2000. Ontei was one of my favorite defenders in the Desert Era. He was all over the place during Blake's final year, and would hit anything. Led team in tackles as a LB in 1998, the last year of the Desert Era. Switched to DB in Stoops system and was a contributor on the national championship team.
• Teddy Lehman (2002-03) - All conference and All American LB in 02- and 03. Butkus Award winner in 2003 as well. Ranks 12th all time in tackles. Caught deflected pass and returned for TD as a result of Roy Williams leap over Texas FB Brett Robin. Ranks second in career pass deflections by a LB. Injuries have hampered his NFL career.
• Jack Mildren (1969-71) - All American QB in 1971, commanding the Sooners who led the nation in total rushing, total offense and total scoring. Ranks 7th all time in passing yards, and left campus in 71 ranked second. WL Record was 24-9-1 as a starter. Drafted by the Colts as a DB. Later was OU Lt. Governor.
• Freddie Nixon (1976-79) - ranks 8th all time in punt return yards. Led Sooners in receiving in 1979. Son Lanear Nixon also played for Sooners.Started as a RB but was moved to WR due to crowded backfield that included David Overstreet, Billy Sims, Kenny King and Jimmy Rogers, all who played in the NFL.
• Tinker Owens (1972-75) - All Big 8 Split end in 1974. Completed collegiate career ranked second in Sooner receptions (70) and receiving yards (1619). Led Sooners in receptions each of his four years.
• Otis Taylor (1988-92) - finished as 8th all time kick returner in Sooner history, and 10th in punt returns.
• Bob Warmack (1966-68) - named All Big 8 in 1967. Left campus ranked 1st all time in passing yards with 3,744 yards (held that record for 25 years), and led Sooners to a WL record of 21-9-0 during his starts.

Baylor OU Pregame Analysis

So you're wondering how "the B" matches up to the

"the O" on the gridiron?

Offense		Baylor is 110th in scoring offense. Air Bear hasn't gone as planned. This means that they are better than Notre Dame. In the words of Clark Griswold, "That's nothing to be proud of, Rusty."
Defense		Baylor is 102nd in Scoring defense.They do a bad job of defending the run and the pass. Sooners rank 8th in Scoring defense.
Special Teams		Baylor has not recovered after Daniel Sepelvuda completed this doctoral thesis and went to the NFL.
Stadium Name		Floyd Casey Stadium. Floyd's son did that in 1988. They could've named in Baylor Field at Floyd Casey Family Stadium, but thought it sounded stupid.
Coaching		As long as Baylor doesn't hire Singletary, we'll have the edge here.
Cool Alumni		Vinnie "The Microwave" Johnson,Crystal Bernard (Wings, one of my fav old shows), Jerry Moore (Head FB Coach at App State), Olympic Gold Medalists Michael Johnson and Jeremy Warner, Matt Moseley (espn.com Hashmarks) and too many good friends to mention.
Schools my daughters want to attend	Tie	One wants to go to the B, the other wants to be a Sooner. Either way, it's costing me money.

Baylor Preview

No more for Coach Guy Morris
The Bear defense is porous
The switch to Air Bear
Vanished in thin air
All those dropped passes bore us.

Versus Coverage of the TCU Game

Pardon me while I digress for a moment. I watched part of the TCU-BYU game last night. Boy, the Versus network pulls out all the stops for the telecast. The graphics were mediocre, the replays were minimal, and the gents doing the play by play and color commentary were either off of Provo local access channels or were the backup guys on the BYU network.

Finally, I've watched two Frog games now. I haven't figured out Andy Dillard. He looks all world in a hurry up offense if the game is not on the line. Other times, he's maddening to watch.

Orange Bowl Memories

U of Miami plays its last game in the OB this weekend. Several writers are doing the "what a stadium...what memories...etc.". Here's my take.

I went to the Orange Bowl in 1986 to watch the Sooners take on Penn State. What a freaking dump. And that was 21 years ago. I was a soph in college. I took a wrong turn walking to the stadium and stepped into a war zone that made this young Okie think that the Cotton Bowl was surrounded by million dollar estates. I quickly made a u-turn.

Let's see, the stadium lacked: adequate parking; bathrooms; anything remotely resembling comfortable seating; proper police coverage of the area - basically imagine the Cotton Bowl if it lacked the "overwhelming" city support to upgrade it. Sure, Thug U had quite a winning streak there, but if you've every played a national championship game on a "neutral field" that just happens to be in your foe's home stadium or home state, the memories just aren't that grand.

The Sooners have some great history in the Orange Bowl GAME, but the venue those games were played out were irrelevant. JC Watts becoming a precision passer wasn't because he was at the Orange Bowl...Keith Jackson outrunning Penn State DBs...Steve Rhodes making clutch catch after clutch catch...Roland Sales going absolutely freaking nuts and wrecking the Sooners title hopes in 78...all those memories and more were from the game, not the stadium.

I've had the pleasure of visiting some great venues for watching sports; Fenway, Wrigley, the Kingdome (yea, right), Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Husky Stadium. Those places were unique and special for having interesting designs and/or thousands of national memories. When most people think of Orange Bowl stadium, you think of a) a dump; b) one of the most corrupt college fb programs ever and their "storied run" of several national championships from 1984-2002. The Canes home advantage had more to do with the best Florida high school talent that money could buy more so than great support of fans in the area. The stadium's off campus, the folks in the immediate area couldn't afford tickets - or had to purchase tickets off the radar screen to continue to disguise income. It's not like the U has one of those, "consecutive sellout streaks" like Nebraska has (for now) or that the Stoops led Sooners have. They couldn't sell out the stadium.

The OB is nothing special as a venue, unless you count especially bad.

Finally, the game related memory of going to the OB in 1986 was that there was a guy next two me that had a son on the training staff at OU and on the training staff at the University of Tennessee. While we were beating the Nittany Lions, he was also listening to the Sugar Bowl, monitoring the Vols drumming of the Canes. If you wipe off the cobwebs of your brain, you might recall that the Jimmy Johnson led Canes has beaten the Sooners earlier that year in Norman. Jimmy spent the week in NO stumping for poll votes because the Canes were better, and the PSU-OU game was a 1 vs 2 matchup. Anyway, I guess between the Canes partying on Bourbon Street, Jimmy's constant complaining, and Tennesee being good, it all became moot as the Vols drilled the Canes that night. This all being before the days of scoreboard crawls on a Jumbotron (OB doesn't have that now, either, sure didn't 21 years ago). The dad that was next to me was ecstatic over the fortunes of the two teams he was following.

Hoops Coverage

The Sooners have now beaten Rockhurst, Fayetteville State and San Francisco. While that's no mean feat, it's better than losing to 'em. Ohio State lost to Findlay, Kentucky lost to Gardner-Webb, Baylor lost to Tarleton State.

Hope springs eternal.

Plus, Capel has some rollover minutes on his cell phone the NCAA hasn't found out about yet.

Longhorn Holiday Cards

In my mailbox the other day I found a precious gem. Apparently you can now order Christmas and other holiday cards sporting the colors and logos of your favorite team. Since I am here on a mission in Texas, the bulk mail folks decided I should get the Texas Longhorn series. Since my photoshop skills are decidedly limited, I turned my attention to the statements on the inside of the cards. The options they provided just weren’t getting it done, so I came up with a few of my own that I believe are better suited for a Texas Longhorn Holiday Card.

The Shepherds followed the star in the sky.
I got arrested for DUI.

We wish you the warmest Seasons Greetings
If you rat on us we’ll give you all beatings.

We wish a Merry Christmas to all
We were caught shoplifting at the mall.

Up on the roof the sled came to a halt,
I pleaded no contest to aggravated assault.

We wish you a holiday that is warm and tender.
I really like the public defender.

The shepherds asleep in fields where they lay
In Cell Block H there’s no place to play.

The Baby was born peaceful and frail
I spent the night in the Travis County jail.

The three wise men were guided by stars
I was arrested for stealing two cars.

With boughs of holly, deck the halls,
At Henry Hudson’s a dude tore my *****.

We wish you the best during your Ramadan fast
Next week on parole should be my last.

If you have other greetings you’d like to suggest, please do so in the comments below.
And Merry Christmas.

LandThieves Poll

A special thanks to my friends at Verizon, I still don't have internet at home. Enough complaining, onto the poll:

1. Ohio State – wins another ho hum game against a middle of the road Big 10 school. The Buckeyes have held every opponent underneath the opponent’s season scoring average.
2. Oregon – I keep waiting for them to fade and they haven’t yet. The opponent’s W/L % is higher than anyone else in the top 10.
3. LSU – Les Miles and the gang keeps squeaking by. Their defense gives up a lot of points.
4. Kansas – Kansas has given every opponent they’ve played this year their worst defeat of the season. It all boils down to the Missouri contest in Kansas City over Thanksgiving weekend for them.
5. Boston College – Florida State now has two road victories – at Colorado and at Chestnut Hill.
6. Oklahoma – thank goodness we're ranked ahead of Michigan. That Missouri wins keeps looking better. The Miami FL win keeps looking less impressive. And the CU loss continues to baffle most folks. Adding Baylor to the strength of schedule this week is going to hurt. If the Sooners keep winning out, that will solve itself in the Big 12 Championship game against a one-loss Mizzou team or an undefeated Jayhawk squad.
7. Michigan – The Big 10 reminds me of the mid 80s Big Eight where Oklahoma and Nebraska were really good, and everyone else was average at best. Only difference is there aren’t two good teams in the Big 10 right now. So it’s probably more like the ACC of the early 90s, where FSU went undefeated for several years.
8. West Virginia – Opponents won loss percentage barely better than Kansas. Dominated Rutgers this weekend, but other victories are: Western Michigan; Marshall; Maryland; East Carolina; Syracuse; and Mississippi State.
9. Arizona State – you didn’t expect the undefeated season to last, did you?
10. Connecticut – like Ohio State, they’ve held every opponent underneath its scoring average. Like Ohio State, watching their games is akin to watching paint dry.
11. Florida – the young defense is hurting the Gators. That and their opponents 68% won-loss percentage.
12. Virginia Tech – they’d be higher if not for the incredible comeback by BC two weeks ago. That being said, the Hokies boast victories over East Carolina; Ohio; William & Mary (William was tough but they were able to exploit Mary for a couple of scores); North Carolina; Clemson; Duke; Georgia Tech.
13. Missouri – the big matchup against the Shamanginos awaits. First they have to get past Cash Machine U.
14. Georgia – on a bit of hot streak after a bye week, beating Florida and Troy. Troy is undefeated in the SEC, losing to Arkansas, Florida and Georgia, but dominates the Sun Belt conference and Okie State.
15. Northern Iowa – you can’t stop them, you can only hope to contain them. Actually, they contain everyone they play.
16. Auburn – rumors persist about Tuberville to College Station. He does well at Ag schools with an inferiority complex, so it’s a logical fit.
17. South Florida – the glass slipper shattered, but that’s still an attractive high heel their wearing.
18. Illinois – Zook sure can recruit.
19. Texas – my predictions for a comeback W against Boone State were true.
20. Virginia – this team keeps barely squeaking by. They’ve lost to North Carolina State and Wyoming.
21. Clemson – Don't know nuttin' 'bout 'em.
22. Alabama – the Tide are two heartbreaking losses at home (Georgia in OT, LSU in final 3 minutes) removed from being a top 10 team.
23. Southern Cal – That run oriented domination of Nebraska in Lincoln a few weeks ago looks a lot different now, doesn’t it? They haven’t been on the ABC Sat. night in a few weeks, and they’re feelings are starting to hurt.
24. Yale – Don’t mess with the Ivy League.
25. Cincinnati – I have nothing to say here. I know it’s in Ohio.

Bonus FishEater Coverage

Great analysis by Seth Kolloen for a breakdown of the ND recruiting classes. Maybe they weren't so bad after all.

Today's a Special Day...

Today Oklahoma celebrates 100 years of statehood, and LandThieves is projected to publish its 200th post later today (with at least 10 comments!). It's truly an auspicious day, assuming my new router cooperates tonight.

Adrian Peterson

Lunch break to vent about Adrian Peterson. First, here's the depth chart for the Minnesota Vikings. I didn't know Chester Taylor was that good. I have to think Chester is walking into the front office in Minnesota demanding a raise. I mean, he's so good the NFL's leading rusher can't beat him out for the starting job. That's phenomenal.

The, here's the NFL experts video highlights and analysis. Mariucci and Terrell Davis predict AD will be stopped...he'll hit the rookie wall...teams will load up on the run b/c the Vikings can't pass. Really? People in the NFL thought prior to this week that Tarvaris Jackson was a bigger threat than Adrian? Are they that stupid? The following players have higher QB ratings than Tarvaris Jackson (55th best passer rating in the league) : JT O'Sullivan; Cleo Lemon; Byron Leftwich; Kellen Clemens.

I think the reverse is true, I think there are some peoople in the Vikings organization asking Tarvaris if he's ever had an interest in bulldog fighting. It's so bad Chan Gailey says he thinks the Vikings offense lacks imagination.

Review of the Aggie Band

The home internet connection is down, and work is kicking my rear, so we may be more silent than usual this week.

We've covered enough of the Fran Death Watch here, and the Ou game was methodical and somewhat dry (unless you were Jermaine Gresham). So, I thought I'd provide you with a unique perspective of the halftime show. One of the highlights of having the cultish Aggies visit your stadium is they bring the Aggie band with them. The precision of the marching is amazing.

To show you how amazing it is, here is a photo. I have a unique vantage point in the end zone, and you can really see the precision of the lines. Wait, you can't see the band? Me either. Because this dude wouldn't SIT DOWN. I could go on, but in the interest of resuming / maintaining employment, I'll shut up and move on.

Jersey Poll Winners

Below are the Best Sooner Footballs by jersey number, courtesy of the prestigious LandThieves voters. I'll update this as we go along.

1. JC Watts
2. Derrick Strait
3. Darrol Ray
4. Jamelle Holieway
5. Steve Davis
6. Thomas Lott
7. Brandon Everage
8. Nate Hybl
9. Mark Clayton
10. Uwe Von Schamann
11. Jack Mildren
12. Cale Gundy
13. Steve Sewell
14. Josh Heupel

Preview of Games I can't Watch

After the 7U softball season finale, I'll be travelling up to the promised land to watch the Sooners beat up on the Aggies. At least that's how I see it. With all the travelling, here's what I'll be missing.

Bugeaters at Jayhawks - this holds some interest to me because for some reason the Bugeaters decline this year fascinates me. Normally I like the N, but I never was a fan of Callahan. Anywho, I would be stunned if there was anything but a blowout Jayhawk win on this. I also expect people to be talking about Kansas after this win, like a win over a seriously depleted Nebraska team would somehow validate their record more so than last week's win at Cash Machine U, or beating Willie and Friends on the road, or at Colorado. Those other teams are, surprisingly, much more formidable this year. Prediction: Kansas.
Travis County Jail vs Boone State U - The Cowboys have outscored the Horns 85-70 in the first half over the last 5 years. Horns have dominated the second half, however, outscoring the Horns 141-19 after halftime. The Cowboys have a potent offense, but I believe their putrid defense will hurt them today, and they'll lose three of their next four. That'll leave them 6-6 and headed for Shreveport. Prediction: Texas
LSU vs Bama - The Egomaniac Bowl, sponsored by Bill Parcells. I would love for Bama to pull this one off. It's in Tuscaloosa, so that should help. However, the o-line losses due to the textbook scandal (thought it was great they were using textbooks, frankly) are going to hurt the Tide too much. Prediction: LSU, and hoping I'm wrong as usual.
Navy vs FishEaters - the commanders cup portion of the FishEaters schedule starts today. My only interest in this game is to see if Middies can break the 43 game losing streak. Coming off a loss to the Delaware Blue Hens, that seems unlikely. It's the 107th best Defense out to stop the 119th best offense. Prediction: Navy
Arizona State at Oregon - the folks at SundayMorningQB refer to this matchup as the "Game of the Century of the Week". Erickson's Sun Devils against Belotti's Ducks. Oregon is 8-11 over the last 5 seasons in November. Oregon's just been outscoring folks, with the 4th best offense and 68th best defense. Arizona St is 33rd in O, 19th in D. I keep expecting Oregon to lose a late season game. This just might be it. Prediction: Sun Devils.

Cash Machine U - Sooner Preview

So you're wondering how the Cash Machine U Aggies match up to the

Sooners on the gridiron?

Offense		Coach Fran says Aggies run the ball well. HeadThief says Aggies can't pass (ranked 107 in nation).
Defense		Sooners are 3rd best run defense in country. But they haven't exactly played run heavy teams. Sooners are 11th in nation in total D, TAMU 40th.
Special Teams	tie	both FG kickers struggling; Sooners formidable in punt return; Aggies good at covering punts
Stadium Name		Kyle Field. Named after Aggie horticulture professor who set aside land for first field.
Coaching		Head Visor vs Coach Fran. A few years ago this would have been a tossup. Now my $ - literally - is on Stoopsie.
Cool Alumni		Robert Earl Keen and Lyle Lovett lead the Aggie list. The list of non-athlete Aggies is short for a 280k alumni group.
Tradition		Cash Machine U has Gig 'em, Muster, 12th man. Sooners have seven national championships and 40 conference championships.

Aggie Limerick

The Sooners tried to save Slocum
The plan was clearly "brokum".
The Ags bought Coach Fran,
'Cuz he is their man.
Now on who is the "jokum"?