Around the Big 12 – Week of September 14

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Letting mobile quarterbacks run wild since 2003

 

[colored_box color=yellow]Last Week: 7-1 Straight Up (3-5 vs. Spread)

 

Season: 14-3 / 9-8[/colored_box]

 

I was a kid, and it was the first day of Christmas vacation. I was in the living room watching a Cowboys game on a Saturday afternoon.  During the game, I noticed that I had a little bit of an itch on my arm, but thought nothing of it. Overnight that turned into a rash, and the next morning I awoke to find that I had the full blown chicken pox. Just in time for Christmas vacation. Wonderful.

 

So while all my friends were having fun, enjoying freedom, living life to the fullest, I was imprisoned in my room and basically bedridden.  For the entire Christmas break.  Everyone else got to have all the fun, and meanwhile I was nothing but completely miserable.

 

 

 

Now that the 2013 Texas Football program has contracted full-blown AIDS, that’s pretty much how I feel again as a Texas fan this season.  Everyone else in the land of College Football is still full of optimism, having fun, and enjoying life. And we’re here in Austin dealing with the fallout of another Football Chernobyl.  And it’s only mid-September! Sweet. At least the crushing disappointments don’t usually come until October.

 

 

 

Remember when college football used to be fun?

 

 

 

Let’s go Around the Big 12.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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TCU (-3) at Texas Tech, Thursday 6:30pm [ESPN] – At the beginning of the season I had this game circled as possible free-money from Vegas. I expected that a highly-touted TCU would be way overvalued, and we all know what mysterious awful things can happen to teams that visit Jones Stadium.  But after a loss to LSU, a less than inspired effort versus SE Louisiana, and an injury to Casey Pachall, TCU is only giving 3 points. So now what the hell do we do? We waffle! Last year Tech’s offense mostly solved the testy Horned Frogs defense, as Seth Doege completed 30 of 42 passing and seven (!!!) touchdowns. But the real key was the Tech’s +3 turnover differential. Baker Mayfield’s facing his first college midterm on Thursday night, and much like my first college midterm it’s going to be a rough experience.

 

 

 

HORNED FROGS – 30 Red Raiders – 24

 

 

 

 

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Georgia State at West Virginia (-40), 11:00am – I’m a little concerned about the psyche of the Mountaineers after last week’s respectable showing in Norman. Judging by the Twittersphere and some player quotes after the game, you’d think WVU entered Norman as 14 point favorites over OU. Dudes, it’s only mid-September, y’all can’t be taking these losses so hard. You’ve got a lot more of them headed your way. But not this weekend. Holgo rolls.

 

 

 

MOUNTAINEERS – 47  Panthers – 10

 

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Tulsa at Oklahoma (-24), 11:00am [ESPN2] – I don’t know what happened to the Golden Hurricane, but Tulsa is a terrible football team.  I don’t care what problems OU has on the offensive side of the ball, the Sooners cover with ease.

 

 

 

SOONERS – 38  Golden Hurricane – 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Iowa (-2.5) at Iowa State, 5:00pm [FS1] – I know that Iowa State opened the season with an FCS loss. But what, exactly, has Iowa done to warrant being a road favorite in a bitter in-state rivalry game?  Iowa State has had two weeks to think about their season opening loss to Northern Iowa, and I’m telling you that loss is not as bad as you might think it was. You know what cures all ills in Ames? A victory over the hated Hawkeyes. I do not trust that Kirk Ferentz / Greg Davis collaboration in any sort of hostile or high pressure situation.  Actually I don’t trust them in any situation at all, unless the mission is to put an entire stadium of fans to sleep. 

 

 

 

CYCLONES – 26  Hawkeyes – 21

 

 

 

 

 

 

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UMASS at Kansas State (-39), 6:00pm – Are you getting sick of crème puff non-conference games?  I sure am. Not even worth discussing. Yet again we’ll enter conference play having absolutely no idea whatsoever what KSU is made of.

 

 

 

WILDCATS – 52  Minutemen – 7

 

 

 

 

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Lamar at Oklahoma State (-47), 6:30pm – Oklahoma State follows up last week’s showdown with UTSA by hosting Lamar. What??? Yo, Ok State, are y’all angling for a move to the Southland Conference or something? The mood in Stillwater this week can best be described as ‘surly’, after noted OU shill and worthless hack Thayer Evans helped launch a five-part investigative report which details improprieties within the Cowboys football program.  Surely Thayer Evans doesn’t have an axe to grind, right? This is the same “professional writer” that referred to the Pokes as “Chokie State” in a 2011 article, and who famously recounted the Longhorns’ alleged shady courtship of big time recruit Jamarkus MacFarland.  Umm, except for the fact that it was all made up – a fictional account that MacFarland dreamed up as part of an English paper. In fact, it seems whenever another chink in the Bob Stoops armor appears, there’s Thayer Evans, at the ready to retaliate by lobbing another (usually) unfounded grenade at one of OU’s rivals. There’s also this, which is only one of the countless times Evans has been eviscerated by the internet/blogosphere. You can Google the others. The man’s reputation has more stains than the floor at Eskimo Joe’s. The real question here is not: “What’s happening in Stillwater?”  The real question is: “How does this idiot keep getting promoted?” Thayer is the Lane Kiffin of sportswriting. Sweet lettuce though, brah.

 

 

 

COWBOYS – 55  Cardinals – 16

 

 

 

 

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Kansas at Rice (-6.5), 6:30pm [CBSSN] – The Kansas Jayhawks have lost 22 consecutive road/neutral site games, with the last victory coming at UTEP in 2009. Fortunately for KU, Rice Stadium is anything but a snakepit. With an expected crowd of fewer than 25,000 disinterested observers, the scene in Houston Saturday night should feel just like a typical home KU home game!  Unfortunately for KU, it’s not the airplane ride to foreign venues that caused those 22 losses; it’s the fact that KU is a terrible football team. Rice actually has talent, and KU is not ready to slow down the Owls offense, which is led by mobile QB Taylor McHargue. Expect a lot of points in this one, but in the end KU won’t be able to hang with a team like Rice for four quarters. Ha ha, the last part of that sentence felt so weird to write.

 

 

 

OWLS – 43  Jayhawks – 30

 

 

 

 

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Ole Miss at Texas, 7:00pm [LHN] – Remember last week when I said you should stay far, far away from Texas Football? Now do you understand? That directive still stands, though it may be tempting to fade the Horns the rest of the 2013 season and I wouldn’t blame you if you did. Just remember though, that the game Saturday night in Austin represents the last stand for Coach Mack Brown. This is it — at least in his mind (in reality it may already be over). For all of his faults, Mack Brown excels at self-preservation, and so I fully expect one of the most inspired Longhorn performances in years. Inspiration wouldn’t be enough if the opponent was anyone other than Ole Miss.  There’s still something about the Rebs that I’m just not quite buying yet.  They’re young and talented, but prone to bouts of stupidity and overconfidence – both of which were on display when Cody Prewitt decided to start running his mouth on Facebook. Really, bro? Don’t poke the bear, man. I’m taking Ole Miss to cover and win outright, simply because I believe the Horns’ weaknesses are far too systemic and deep-rooted to be cured by interim coaches and hustle. Oh, and there’s the fact that Case McCoy is your likely starter. But literally anything could happen when one sideline is full of utter desperation. There is no possible outcome in this game that would surprise me, which means: Don’t risk your money here.

 

 

 

REBELS – 34  Longhorns – 30