Week 12 in the Big 12

  Big 12 Title Game Talk

This has been a strange and ever changing season in the Big 12.  The South is flipped upside down from what every “expert” predicted and the North, well it’s the North.  It’s almost certain that Nebraska will face Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Title game, a rematch of the October 23 battle which Nebraska won.  There are some scenarios that involve other teams in the Big 12 Championship game though. 

The North is a two team race.  Nebraska heads to Kyle Field this weekend for a game with the red hot Texas A&M Aggies, which they very well could lose.  The Huskers then face the Colorado Buffaloes, rivalry games bring out the best in teams.  For Nebraska to lose their spot in the Title game, they have to lose both of these games and Missouri has to win their final 2.  Missouri has to travel to Ames, IA this weekend for a battle with the Cyclones, then to Kansas City, MO for the Jayhawks.  I hope it comes down to that game for Mizzou, but I seriously doubt it.

The South is still a little more open than the North.  Oklahoma State has a one game lead over Oklahoma and Texas A&M, but they hold the tie breaker over the Aggies.  The Cowboys need to beat the Sooners in two weeks and they represent the South, simple as that.  OSU faces the Jayhawks this Saturday in Lawrence, KS, which should be an easy victory.  Oklahoma needs to win out and they are in the title game again.  Texas A&M needs some help.  The Aggies need to win out and get the Sooners to beat the Cowboys.  Baylor is officially eliminated from the race, but they are still fun to watch.

The Big 12 Top to Bottom

1. Oklahoma State Cowboys (9-1) Big 12 record 5-1   Should put up 50 against the Jayhawks.

2. Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-1) Big 12 record 5-1  Face a very hot Texas A&M team, hopefully they are ready to play.

3. Missouri Tigers (8-2) Big 12 record 4-2  Always struggle in Ames, will this year be any different?

4. Texas A&M Aggies (7-3) Big 12 record 4-2  Can they slow down the Husker rushing attack, if so the Aggies win.

5. Oklahoma Sooners (8-2) Big 12 record 4-2  Heading to Waco for a battle with the Bears will be tough.

6. Baylor Bears(7-3) Big 12 record 4-3  Can RG3 run all over the Sooners D?

7. Kansas State Wildcats (6-4) Big 12 record 4-3  Head to Boulder, CO after a mistake filled loss to Mizzou.

8. Iowa State Cyclones (5-6) Big 12 record 3-4 Can they pull of the upset and ruin the Tigers chances?

9. Texas Longhorns (4-6) Big 12 record 2-5  This team is horrible, will they struggle with FAU this weekend?

10. Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-5) Big 12 record 3-5 They play Weber St this weekend, wherever that is.

11.  Kansas Jayhawks (3-7) Big 12 record 1-5  The Jayhawks need to slow down the Cowboys offense, they do that and who knows what’ll happen.

12. Colorado Buffaloes (4-6) Big 12 record 1-5  The Buffs beat the Cyclones last week and get a similar offering this week from KState.

Top Big 12 Performances: Week 11

Cyrus Gray RB Texas A&M  Ran like an animal, scoring 4 TD’s in the process.  One of the reasons the Aggies pulled out the win.

Brandon Weeden QB Justin Blackmon WR Oklahoma State  This connection has done it all year and it didn’t stop in the Texas game. 

Blaine Gabbert QB Missouri  Looked great running and passing the ball.  He looked comfortable in the pocket.

Aldon & Jacquies Smith DE Missouri  This duo wreaked havoc on the KSU QB last week and combined for a sack/strip and fumble return for a TD.

Landry Jones QB Ryan Broyles WR Oklahoma  These 2 could match the Weeden/Blackmon combo, if they continue on the pace they are on.

Cody Hawkins QB Colorado  His dad just got fired and he had a great game.  He deserves a little credit.

Week 12 Picks

Oklahoma State @ Kansas- The Cowboys have too much offense and the Jayhawks don’t have enough for this game to be close.  I’ll take Okie State 52-20.

Kansas State @ Colorado- The inconsistency of each of these teams drives me crazy.  I think the Wildcats have a few less, so I will take K-State 33-23.

Weber State @ Texas Tech- I’m not wasting my time with this one, TTU wins 45-13.

Florida Atlantic @ Texas- Texas is fighting for a bowl appearance, they inch closer with a win here, I’ll take Texas 39-13. 

Missouri @ Iowa State Jack Trice has been a tough place for Mizzou, but I like Gabbert to lead the Tigers.  Give me MU 35-24.

Oklahoma @ Baylor This will be a fun game full of playmakers, I like the Sooners 40-31.

Nebraska @ Texas A&M Tannehill has been a blessing at QB for the Aggies, but the TAMU D and running game will win this one. A&M wins 24-20.

 Big 12 Bowl Projections

Insight Penn State vs Oklahoma This would be a dream matchup for the Insight Bowl and a pretty entertaining game. 

Texas Baylor vs Michigan Denard Robinson and Robert Griffin III in the same game?  The stadium might implode due to awesomeness!!

Alamo Missouri vs Arizona  This game would be entertaining.  Two great offenses led by two great QB’s.

Pinstripe Kansas State vs West Virginia Daniel Thomas and Noel Divine, the only reasons I would watch.  Each team has a great grandpa for a coach as well. 

Holiday Texas A&M vs Oregon State  I love this game.  Fun offenses and each team has a first rounder on defense.  I’d watch!

Dallas Football Classic Northwestern vs Texas Tech  I like the Northwestern QB and TTU RB Baron Batch, but other than that this game is boring.

Cotton Nebraska vs Alabama  Big time matchup!  Nebraska is pissed after losing to the Cowboys in the Big 12 Title game.  Alabama says bring it.

Fiesta Oklahoma State vs Pitt  Oklahoma State would roll the Pitt Panthers.  The Cowboys have too many weapons on offense for Pitt to keep it close.

Written by Jason Madson.  Follow on Twitter @I_AM_JMAD.

GameDay

After a very long week of sub-par football games, College Football Saturday is finally here!! This week is mainly focused on some big time match ups in some of the big time conferences, but a couple key out of conference games are still on the schedule. Check us out every Saturday morning for our primer to GameDay!

The Big 10 boasts a couple games to keep an eye on this week. Indiana brings its high powered offense to The Ohio State University and the Buckeyes stingy defense. Depending on the health of Terrelle Pryor, this could be a tight game. The game of the week in the Big 10 would have to be Michigan State at Michigan. This rivalry got a whole lot more interesting with the emergence of Denard Robinson facing the very talented Spartan defense, led by Greg Jones.

A couple of the out of conference games to at the very least keep an eye on would be Arkansas and Texas A&M in Dallas at Jerry’s Palace and Utah at Iowa State. The Arky/TAMU game should be an offensive explosion, and it features a handful of NFL Draft prospects. Utah at Iowa State should be a close game in my opinion, I just think ISU is playing with a confidence right now.

The ACC is having somewhat of a down year, but could have a couple interesting games this week. Clemson travels to UNC to face the Tar Heels in a game that features two underacheiving teams, the Tar Heels are getting their core players back every week though. The game to watch is FSU at Miami. This match-up will be centered around 2 big time QB prospects in FSU’s Christian Ponder and Miami’s Jacory Harris. The QB that has the best game will lead his team to a win.

Finally we get to the SEC. Possibly the 2 biggest games of the week are held here, I could probably write that every week. Alabama travels to South Carolina, if the GameCocks can stop the Bama rushing attack they have a very good chance. Ingram rushed for close to 250 yards last year in a 20-6 Tide victory. LSU heads to Gainesville, FL to face the Gators. This game should be a very close low scoring battle because both teams have speed to burn on defense and very shaky offenses.

The PGWU crew will be in and out all day today, so use this as an open thread for any college football discussions you would like to have. No matter what game you are watching, there is always a Draft prospect to keep an eye on!

Written by Jason Madson. Follow on Twitter @isbnJMAD

PGWU Podcast: Week 4

This week we discuss the legal troubles at Florida, talk about the big stories in each conference in The Breakdown, make our selections in the PGWU Pick’Em segment and finish the show off with the World Famous Prospect Quick Fire. Enjoy!

Big 12 Happenings

We saw some very close games and some blowouts last week in the Big 12.  Oklahoma State and Nebraska had very impressive routes of quality opponents.  Mizzou and Oklahoma beat inferior opponents in games that came down to the last few minutes. Texas and Kansas State battled to victories over Big 12 conference opponents.  Texas A&M and Colorado won, while Kansas and Baylor lost to out of conference foes.

Highlights From Week 3

Colorado had an impressive showing against Hawaii in all aspects of the game.  The Buffs held the high powered Warrior offense to 337 total yards and only 7 on the ground.  Tyler Hansen had an impressive game, throwning 2 TD’s, one each to WR Toney Clemons and WR Scotty McNight.  The Colorado running game was the star of the show, running for a combined 270 yards.

Nebraska had three 100 yard rushers in a blowout victory over the Washington Huskies. Taylor Martinez(137 yards), Roy Helu Jr.(110 yards) and Rex Burkhead(104 yards) were all the Huskers needed on Saturday in Seattle.  The “Black Shirts” held the Washington offense to less than 250 total yards and Jake Locker had an ugly 4-20 passing day, 20% completion percentage is not good.

Oklahoma State demolished the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 65-28.  Brandon Weeden threw for an astounding 409 yards and 6 TD.  Cowboys WR Justin Blackmon had a great day as well, 6 receptions 174 yards and 3 TD.  What impresses me the most about this game was the Okie State defense.  They picked Tulsa QB GJ Kinne 3 times and the final 3 TD were late meaningless points for the Golden Hurricane against some Cowboy backups.

Games to Watch: Week 4

Oklahoma @ Cincinnati - Oklahoma has seemed to play to the level of their opponents this season.  Close games with Utah State and Air Force, with a blowout victory over Florida State.  I like the Sooners big in this game for two reasons: 1) they have better talent and coaching than do the Bearcats and 2) This is considered by some as a tough road test, so they should show up and make a statement. 

UCLA @ Texas- UCLA beat a very good Houston team at home last week, knocking out Cougars star QB Case Keenum with a leg injury.  Texas went into Lubbock and came out of the dogfight victorious.  Garrett Gilbert struggled last week throwing 3 INT and getting sacked 3 times as well.  This will be a good matchup for the struggling Gilbert.  I like the Longhorns to take it, and it won’t be that close. 

UCF @ Kansas State- Daniel Thomas, Daniel Thomas, Daniel Thomas!  That is all you need to know about the Wildcats this year.  He is so much fun to watch every week, running the ball or passing it from the wildcat he does it all.  UCF boasts a strong crew at LB, led by Derrick Hallman and a good defensive backfield.  Neither will help though, if they don’t get good push on the line of scrimmage.  Once again, Daniel Thomas is the only reason I will watch this game.

Ranking the Big 12

North-   1. Nebraska  2. Missouri  3.  Kansas State  4. Colorado  5.  Kansas  6. Iowa State

South-  1. Oklahoma  2.  Texas  3. Oklahoma State  4. Texas A&M  5.  Texas Tech  6. Baylor

Team News

Baylor- Demolished by TCU last week, head to Rice for a chance at a 3-1 start to the season.

Colorado- Worked a lot of no-huddle offense in Saturday’s game against Hawaii, and it worked.  The Warriors were gassed.  The elevation of Colorado is a huge home field advantage for the Buffs.

Iowa State- The Cyclones host Northern Iowa this weekend in what should be an easy victory for the Cyclones.

Kansas-  The Jayhawks host New Mexico State on saturday.  They should rebound quite nicely against the below average Aggies.

Kansas State- Daniel Thomas trails Michigan QB Denard Robinson by just a handful of yards to be the nations leading rusher.  I expect him to have a huge game against the Knights.

Missouri- DE Aldon Smith has a broken bone in his leg and is expected to miss at least 2 weeks.  TJ Moe and Michael Egnew continue to get the majority of the looks from Gabbert.

Nebraska-  Eric Hagg, who plays the Peso postion(a hybrid safetyoutside linebacker) is a star in the making.  He makes plays every time he’s on the field.

Oklahoma- The Sooners need help with blitz pick ups.  They struggled to stop the Air Force pressure in the close victory.

Oklahoma State- If Bill Young’s defense can make some plays, this team could be very dangerous this year.  The Cowboys can score with anybody.

Texas- They struggled to get anything going on offense against the Red Raiders.  Will they get it fixed before it hurts them?

Texas A&M- Will OLB Von Miller’s ankle be at full strength to begin conference play?  Jerrod Johnson has been performing well below his abilities this season, how much did off-season surgery hurt his game?

Texas Tech- The Red Raiders had their lowest yardage output since 1990. 

Week 4 Picks

Baylor @ Rice  Baylor wins 24-21

Oklahoma @ Cincinnati Oklahoma wins 44-17

UCLA @ Texas Texas wins 31-17

Northern Iowa @ Iowa State Iowa State wins 23-14

New Mexico State @ Kansas Kansas wins 34-19

UCF @ Kansas State KState wins 30-20

Miami(OH) @ Missouri Missouri wins 52-21

South Dakota State @ Nebraska Nebraska wins 59-10

 Written by Jason Madson @isbnJMAD on Twitter