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THE UNIVERSITY GARY KANSAN
THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2006
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
Columnists weigh in as conference play heats up
Oklahoma jubilant after victory; now faces Texas A&M
After a rough start, Oklahoma will play Texas A&M Saturday in what will be the national game of the week. Michael Kimball wrote in Tuesday's Oklahoma Daily that Oklahoma hasn't peaked yet.
As I stood on the field watching the Sooners head for their locker room after beating Missouri Saturday, I saw them exhibit
emotions I haven't seen yet this year.
I saw jubilation, fist-pumping and dancing. I saw a veritable explosion of joy and satisfaction from OU players and coaches alike.
Sooners who spent nearly three straight months on a roller coaster ride with more lows than highs finally got a big win over a ranked team and actually looked like they were actually enjoying themselves.
OU's confidence has not been this high all season.
"We have a lot of confidence in the team, not only with ourselves, but with the coaches as well," quarterback Paul Thompson said. "I feel real comfortable about where we're going. The team feels real comfortable with the adversity we've had to overcome. And where we're at, we feel real good."
And OU should feel good. A
replay official in Oregon took one game away from the Sooners and they beat themselves against Texas when the whole country was watching. But against Mizzou, they made all of the plays they had to make in a convincing road win over a tough Tiger team.
Confidence is key in athletics and the athletes' belief in themselves will serve the Sooners well when they hit the road again — this time to Texas A&M's Kyle Field, one of college football's toughest stadiums. ESPN's College GameDay will be there, heaping national attention on a Sooner team eager to showcase its newfound self-assurance.
But the rising tide has not lifted all boats. Even as its defense made big plays and its offense capitalized, OU left the Tigers big windows of opportunity when it didn't execute on some of the game's most important plays.
Tiger tight end Chase Coffman dropped what was a sure touchdown catch in the first quarter, and in doing so dropped an opportunity to give his team a 10-0 lead. Someone in the Sooner secondary — OU coaches won't say who, but it was either Lendy Holmes or Darien Williams — blew a coverage assignment. Without the drop, it could have been a different day for Mizzou.
And the Sooners weren't as
sharp as they could have been on offense. Case in point: On fourth-and-one in the second quarter from the Tiger 38-yard line, Thompson threw to a triple-covered Malcolm Kelly instead of a wide-open jermaine Gresham. Had he made the right read, Thompson could have led OU into the locker room with a 23-half time lead.
Instead, Missouri got the ball back, OU punned on its next (and last) possession of the half and fumbled on its first possession of the second half, letting Missouri right back in the game.
Despite the miscues, OU remained in control and went on to earn its biggest victory in a year. The confidence the Sooners gained in Columbia, Mo., will certainly carry over to their game against the Aggies.
The key for OU is to sharpen its execution and combine it with the poise and swagger from the victory against the Tigers. A confident Sooner squad hitting on all cylinders would be too much for Texas A&M to handle, no matter where the game is being played.
Even though OU didn't play a complete game against Mizzou, its effort was more than enough to win. If the Sooners can put all of the pieces together against the Aggies, the team's confidence, already flying higher than it has all season, could soar into the stratosphere.
Oklahoma State much improved since last season
The Oklahoma State football team has improved from last season. The Cowboys have beat teams like Kansas and Nebraska and lost to Texas A&M by one point. The team has games left against Texas, Baylor, Texas Tech and Oklahoma and needs one to become bowl eligible.
Two weeks after a victory against Kansas, Oklahoma State has shed its reputation as a perennial Big 12 Conference loser. In Wednesday's Daily O'Collegian, Jason Lemon wrote that this year's Cowboys team is likely going to a bowl.
After the 41-29 comeback victory the Cowboys pulled against Nebraska, most would agree the question "Is
this the same team from last year?"
has been answered with a no.
This team is a lot better than last year's team.
Some Cowboy football players said it didn't take a victory over Nebraska for them to find that out.
"We knew," senior defensive end Victor DeGrate said. "It's the people that weren't in the locker room that didn't know."
Sophomore quarterback Bobby Reid said he agreed.
"We knew coming into camp that this wasn't the same team as last year," Reid said. "This team from this season can beat the team from last season any day. There's no comparison."
Just like last season, the Cowboys are still questionable at this point, but a look beneath the wins and losses, the question "Is this the same team from last year?" could still be answered with a no.
"When we lost those games people said we're the same team from last year, but Texas A&M beat us 62-23 and this year they beat us by one," senior wide receiver D'Juan
Woods said. "If people don't look at the little things they don't know."
The main reason for the Cowboys' improvement this season is Reid's play.
Last season, Reid never got settled at the quarterback position. When he wasn't battling safety Donovan Woods for the job, he was battling a foot injury and a new offense.
Coming into this season, Reid said he felt a lot more comfortable at the position in part because he didn't have to look over his shoulder.
"That just shows that hard work pays off." Reid said. "Sometimes at night I can't sleep and get up and watch film."
He was expected to be the sidekick to DJuan Woods but has instead taken the spotlight. This season he has 877 receiving yards, 39 recceptions and 10 touchdowns.
Against Houston, the offense gave OSU plenty of opportunities to win the game, but the defense could not handle Kolb's passing and running attack.
When it came to Nebraska, the defense gave OSU an opportunity to win the game, and the offense took advantage of it.
This season, Reid has 1,616 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also leads the Big 12 in passing efficiency.
Another reason for improvement this season has been the play of junior wide receiver Adarius Bowman.
His most notable game was against Kansas, when he had 300 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
After the Cowboy defense allowed 509 yards against Houston.
"Sometimes at night I can't sleep and get up and watch film."
it has been the biggest question mark this season.
BOBBY REID Oklahoma State quarterback
Saturday, the OSU defense allowed Nebraska to jump to an early 10- lead, but then the Cowboy offense was able to score two unanswered touchdowns to
After another Nebraska touchdown made the score 23-13, the Cowboy defense held the Cornhuskers scoreless until their final possession.
make the score 16-13.
The Cowboy offense scored four unanswered touchdowns to seal the victory.
The defense has finally shown that it can come through when the game is on the line.
The Cowboys are one victory away from bowl eligibility and show this is not the same Cowboy team from last season.
That is also why this season will likely end with a bowl game.
When DeGrate was asked whether the team was confident about going to a bowl game he said, "Oh, yeah. That's what we want."
Edited by Erin Wiley
Injuries plague Iowa State before Kansas matchup
lowa State quarterback Bret Meyer runs the ball in the first half of the game Saturday in Manhattan, Kan. Meyer will have to carry the Cyclones on Saturday against Kansas, as several players are out with injury, including star running back Steve Hickens.
Kelly Glasscock/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Headed into Saturday's game against Kansas, Iowa State is down several key players. In Wednesday's Iowa State Daily, Grant Wall gave a rundown of the current injuries.
Injuries keep mounting for the ISU football team.
State with a knee injury, which put the remainder of his final season in jeopardy.
Hicks had his knee scoped Tuesday and will not play against Kansas on Saturday.
He missed three complete games last season and parts of three other games with various leg injuries.
He is Iowa State's leading rusher this season. Hicks gained 523 yards
in the Cyclones' first eight games.
Jason Scales will start for the Cyclones in place of Hicks.
Scales, a sophomore from West Des Moines Valley, got his first career start against Kansas State and rushed for 67 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown.
He missed the second half of the Kansas State game with an ankle injury but will be ready to play against Kansas.
"Jason should be ready to practice," said coach Dan McCarney at a press conference on Monday.
If Scales can spend time on the practice field, he should be available come game time.
Freshman Josh Johnson also saw time at running back, gaining 15 yards on seven carries against the Wildcats.
Receiver Jon Davis is recovering from a collapsed lung suffered near the end of the second quarter of last
Saturday's game.
"It was very, very serious and thankfully he's doing fine now," McCarney said.
The injury could sideline Davis for the remainder of his senior season, although there is a chance he could return for the season-ending game against Missouri.
Fellow receiver Austin Flynn said Davis has remained upbeat despite the injury, but the thought of never slipping on the cardinal and gold again has been hard for Davis.
"He just knows that it could be the end of his career, and that's hard to swallow." Flynn said.
Besides injuries, viruses have had a large effect on the team. Junior receiver Todd Blythe missed the Kansas State game with a virus and is questionable for the next game.
Edited by Derek Korte
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