4B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30,2007
NCAA FOOTBALL
Mizzou out for revenge against Oklahoma in San Antonio
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Missouri's Chase Daniel can move the ball down the field. His much-improved offense and Missouri's solid defense could be tough for Oklahoma to handle this time around.
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP:
NO. 9 OKLAHOMA (10-2)
VS. NO. 1 MISSOURI (11-1)
Missouri players didn't talk much about their top national ranking, their Heisman candidate quarterback or even a huge victory against Kansas. They were mostly focused on going to San Antonio for the Big 12 Championship and avenging their loss to Oklahoma.
A 41-31 loss in Norman, Okla. is the only blemish on the Tigers' record this season. And the Tigers feel like they should have won.
Missouri led by a point going into the fourth quarter before Daniel's two turnovers. The Sooners scored 21 unanswered points.
Behind an improved Daniel, Missouri thinks it's the team to beat in San Antonio. Daniel hasn't thrown an interception in fifteen quarters and has looked nearly perfect. He averaged 354 yards and four touchdowns in the last four games.
The Tiger defense has improved since the loss in October. Junior Stryker Sulak and senior Lorenzo Williams provide a scary pass rush Junior William Moore has intercepted more passes than any Missouri player in 39 years.
The Sooners will try to overwhelm the Tigers with a proficient offense. Freshman quarterback Sam Bradford ranks first in the nation in passing efficiency. Even without freshman running back DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma has a deep backfield, but it can't count on Missouri's mistakes to propel it to victory again. Not anymore.
SEC CHAMPIONSHIP:
NO. 14 TENNESSEE (9-3)
VS. NO. 5 LU1(0-2)
The two teams' paths to Atlanta for the Southeastern Conference Championship couldn't have been much different.
LSU clinched the SEC West division nearly three weeks ago. Tennessee had to win two weeks in a row to conquer the East Division. It took a missed field goal by Vanderbilt in the final seconds and a quadruple-overtime thriller against Kentucky for the Volunteers to advance.
No one expects them to compete with the Tigers. The Tiger rush defense was exposed in last week's loss to Arkansas. Expect coach Phillip Fulmer to call a multitude of rushing plays early to try to attack the vulnerability. Tennessee running back Arian Foster has run for two straight 100-yard games. The weakness for the Volunteers is their passing defense.
LSU senior wide receiver Early Doucet and sophomore wide receiver Brandon LaFell will create tough match-ups for the Tennessee secondary.
ACC CHAMPIONSHIP:
NO. 6 VIRGINIA TECH
(10-2) VS. NO. 12 BOSTON
INC. NOE (B.P.)
COLLEGE (10-2)
downs in the final minutes to beat Virginia Tech.
The Hokies have a formidable pass rush with senior defensive lineman Chris Ellis and junior defensive lineman Orion Martin. Ellis and Martin will try to take Ryan out of his zone early in the game.
Although Ryan has been one of the nation's best quarterbacks this season, he has thrown 16 interceptions. Virginia Tech's offense is led by junior running back Brandon Ore. He hasn't been outstanding this season but had his best game last week and ran for 147 vards.
Defensively, the two teams are evenly matched. This game could come down to the end once again.
PITTSBURGH (4-7) AT NO.
2 WEST VIRGINIA (10-1)
Don't assume the Mountaineers are in the BCS Championship Game until they beat the Panthers in one of the nation's most underrated rivalries. "The Backyard Brawl."
Last year the Bruins ruined the Trojans' national title hopes. This year the Bruins can ruin the Trojans' Pac 10 Championship hopes.
UCLA (6-5) AT NO. 8
USC (9-2)
WASHINGTON (4-8) AT NO. 11 HAWAII (11-0)
The Huskies won against their first Western Athletic Conference foe this season, the Boise State Broncos. Can they do the same against Hawaii, a team that is almost guaranteed a spot in a BCS Bowl with a victory?
ARIZONA (5-6) AT NO. 13
ARIZONA STATE (9-2)
If the Wildcats beat the Sundevils, they will be bowl eligible for the first time in nine years. If the Sun Devils beat the Wildcats, they will hope for a USC loss to land in the Rose Bowl.
OREGON STATE (7-4) AT NO. 18 OREGON (8-3)
Behind linebackers Derrick Dogget and Joey LaRocque, the Beavers boast the nation's top ranked rushing defense. That's bad news for the Ducks because since starting quarterback Dennis Dixon's injury they've had no way to move the ball through the air.
》 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
— Edited by Rachael Gray
Teams, fans await weekend games,bowl placement results
BY ASHER FUSCO afusco@kansan.com
As it does every year, the Bowl Championship Series is attracting plenty of attention in the last few days of college football's regular season. Some people love the system and some hate it, but there's little doubt that the constant reshuffling of contending teams makes for compelling — and confusing — theater. With just a few games yet to be played, the possible BCS scenarios
seem endless. Here's a quick rundown of what the top teams in the nation have to gain or lose going into Sunday's selection show (7 p.m. on FOX, Sunflower Broadband channel 4).
NO.1 MISSOURI
This week: No. 9 Oklahoma (Big
12 Conference Championship in San
Antonio, Texas, at 7 p.m.)
Missouri is in control of its own destiny. With a conference title-clinching victory against Oklahoma
Saturday night, Missouri can guarantee itself a spot in the National Championship game. If the Tigers lose, they would most likely fall out of the BCS picture completely and go to the Cotton Bowl.
NO.2 WEST VIRGINIA
This week: Pittsburgh (Morgantown, W.Va., at 6:45 p.m.)
West Virginia's scenario heading into the final weekend is very similar to that of Missouri. If the Mountaineers defeat the 28-point
underdog Pittsburgh Panthers, they are headed for the BCS National Championship no matter what. If West Virginia falls victim to the "Curse of No. 2" and somehow loses, it could plunge out of the BCS picture altogether.
NO. 3 OHIO STATE
This week: idle
The Buckeyes will be keeping close tabs on Missouri and West Virginia this Saturday, because a loss by either of the top two teams would
send Ohio State to the championship game. The Big Ten Conference's lack of a championship game could end up paying off for Ohio State, as the Buckeyes don't have much to lose while sitting at home this weekend. In the worst-case scenario, Ohio State is going to the Rose Bowl as the champion of the Big Ten.
NO.4 GEORGIA
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This week: idle
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Georgia finished the regular season as one of the nation's hottest teams, destroying Auburn two weeks ago and soundly defeating Georgia Tech last week. An early season loss to Tennessee kept the Bulldogs out of Saturday's SEC Championship and took their destiny from of their own hands. Georgia needs both Missouri and West Virginia to fall to have a shot at the national title game. As things stand now, Georgia's situation is extremely fluid. The Bulldogs will probably earn an at-large bid to the Orange Bowl but also could play in either the Fiesta or Rose Bowls.
NO.5 KANSAS is week idle
This week: idle
A week ago, Kansas sat in the driver's seat, needing only two victories to reach the championship. But the Jayhawks blew their title hopes by losing to the Tigers and no longer
Fiesta Bowl Kansas vs. Arizona State
Rose Bowl Ohio State vs. USC
have a hand in their fate. The good news for Kansas: A Missouri victory almost guarantees the Jayhawks an at-large bid to the Fiesta Bowl. The almost-as-good news: An Oklahoma victory could still send the Jayhawks to Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl. If that scenario plays out, Kansas would face Oklahoma in the Fiesta — in conference matchups are allowed if the teams have not played earlier in the same season. If Kansas somehow falls out of contention for the Fiesta, it could be headed out of the BCS to the Cotton or Holiday bowls.
Bowl predictions
Sugar Bowl LSU vs. Hawaii
— Edited by Amelia Freidline
Jayhawk Bookstore
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