16 BIG 12
MISSOURITIGERS
Tigers abandoned the run after big first-half success
By Matt Gerstner
The Maneater
COLUMBIA, Mo. — I hate people who don't know when to use something that actually works.
That stubbornness almost cost Missouri the ball game Saturday. Had it not been for the defense, Colorado would've kept the second half momentum going and the Tigers would've suffered one of the worst meltdowns of the year.
more quarterback Blaine Gabbert, whose ankle soreness really seemed to flare up in the second half.
Missouri's ground game set the tone in the first half. Tailbacks junior Derrick Washington, sophomore De'Vion Moore and freshman Kendial Lawrence scorched the Buffalo defense for runs Tiger fans have been craving all year. Seriously, we had all but given up on the running game. It was starting to look like the Texas Tech offense: Pass 50 to 60 times a game and run for five.
And yet, with all the evidence the coaching staff needed as to how Missouri could put the game away, coach Gary Pinkel and offensive coordinator David Yost refused to recognize the rushing attack and put the game in the hands of the suddenly-shoddy sopho-
Instead of pounding the defense with the run, Missouri ran its signature middle- and jailbreak-screens and swing passes to the outside. I don't know about you, but I am far past those plays. They never work. Not against this kind of competition. You don't have the kind of personnel to run those plays like Texas does.
Running the ball worked. Why the coaching staff got away from that, I have no idea. Maybe they wanted to show off Gabbert. Maybe they thought with the game handily put away, he'd relax and start making smart throws. That backfired into a pick-six.
Almost all the credit of the second half goes to the defense. Minus the opening second half drive, the defense played one hell of a game.
What I've noticed, as I'm sure a few others have, is the alarming difference of the first and second halves for the Tigers. Maybe it's a lack of endurance. Maybe the Tigers are really easy to adjust to. Either way, something has to change.
OKLAHOMA SOONERS
What's the matter with the Big 12 North division?
By Jono Greco
The Oklahoma Daily
NORMAN, Okla. — It is safe to say the Big 12 South is the far superior division in the conference.
This has been true both in 2009 and historically, but the extent of how bad the Big 12 North has been this season is somewhat surprising.
Since the Big 12 was established in 1996, the South has dominated the conference, and its teams have been the main representatives for the conference during Bowl Championship Series play since its inception in 1998.
The South, which consists of Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Baylor, has won five straight Big 12 titles - Oklahoma has won four of those five - and nine of 13 titles since the conference's birth.
The only teams from the North to win a conference title have been Nebraska (twice), Colorado and Kansas State.
Despite the overall dominance by the South, the North has been very competitive over the past few years.
Mizzou was a national contender and was at one point ranked No.1 in the nation when quarterback Chase Daniel played; Kansas won the 2008 Orange Bowl; and many of the North-South matchups have been exciting.
But the North has struggled and has fallen far from grace this season. The division as a whole has a 10-16 record, which is significantly worse than the South's 16-10 record.
So why is it that the Big 12 North is so bad this season? You could blame it on the fact that the teams within the division are beating up on each other. You could blame it on the fact that some of the teams are young and inexperienced.
Both are valid points, but the answer is that outside of Kansas State, the division just is not that good. Four other teams in the North each have three losses, and only Iowa State has more than one victory.
It is hard to believe Kansas State, who is back under the control of legendary head coach Bill Snyder, has the best shot of playing in the Big 12 Championship Game instead of the preseason favorite Nebraska.
THE WAVE NOVEMBER 6,2009
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN