MU The Big 3 - Page 2

Pitt Gorilla · 09-14-2008, 08:05 PM

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/notebo...amedayFinal083

It's early. There are a dozen major plot twists still to come. A Stanford or a Pittsburgh or a Colorado may yet have something to say about the chase for the 2008 national championship.

But as we stand today, three weeks into the season, three teams stand above and apart from all the rest: USC, Oklahoma and Missouri.

Heisman hopeful Chase Daniel leads a potent Missouri offense.

And of those three, USC stands on its own plane after making Ohio State look like Ohio State can look when it plays the big boys: slow, weak, soft and overmatched.

The big three have won their eight games by a combined score of 429-114. And they all have played at least one somebody.

USC has taken on two teams that won a combined 20 games in 2007, and squashed them both. This is a complete team, dominant right now in all phases. Gazing down the Trojans' schedule, it's hard to envision where the challenges will come from between now and January.

Oklahoma has cranked up its passing game to another level in routing Cincinnati and Washington. The Sooners are scoring points in gushes, pushing quarterback Sam Bradford up the Heisman Trophy lists.

But he isn't even the leading Heisman candidate in his own league. That would be Missouri QB Chase Daniel, who has more touchdowns (seven) than incompletions (six) the past two weeks. Which is just silly. The Tigers put 52 on Illinois in the opener, 52 more on Southeast Missouri State and then a whopping 69 on Nevada (a 2007 bowl team) on Saturday.
Missouri and Oklahoma don't meet in the regular season, which could make the Big 12 championship game slightly enormous (if both of them can beat Texas, among others, in a salty league).

None of this means the Southeastern Conference won't have a say in the proceedings. But so far, the SEC is specializing in UglyBall, taking a little of the luster off its top teams.

Georgia wheezed its way to 14 points against a South Carolina team coming off a loss to Vanderbilt. And the Bulldogs needed a Gamecocks fumble into the end zone to avoid a potential overtime. The Dogs haven't looked like anything special yet.

Florida was decidedly unspectacular against young Miami at home Sept. 6. The Gators looked susceptible up front on offense to pressure in that game and will have to prove they can beat a blitz consistently in a league that will bring a lot of heat.

Auburn scored three points Saturday. And won.

LSU might yet be up to a defense of its national title, but the Tigers haven't played any meaningful games to get a true gauge on their quarterback play.

So at this moment, a trio of teams have separated themselves from the pack. But at this stage last year, the big four were USC, LSU, Oklahoma and Florida. All went on to lose more than once.

Remember that. Nobody wins anything permanent in mid-September.

**Reaper16** · 09-14-2008, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Missouri QB Chase Daniel, who has more touchdowns (seven) than incompletions (six) the past two weeks. Which is just silly.

That's unreal.

|Zach| · 09-14-2008, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Daniel, who is in his ninth consecutive year of operating the spread offense, looked Saturday like he was sitting on his living room couch manipulating a control panel.

bkkcoh · 09-15-2008, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by triple

I think Missouri's defense is too suspect to call them an elite team.

They are very good and capable of beating anyone, but you probably can't go a whole year winning every week if they're all shootouts

It is tough for a defense to play 35 - 40 minutes a game and stop the opponents all of the time. The MU defense needs to have 2 sets of defenses to rotate because of the amount of time that the defense has to rest when the offense is running up and down the field.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

The biggest advantage Mizzou has this year over OU is Arrowhead will be more of a Mizzou tilt than OU.

MU's D only gave up 125 yards in the 2nd half, nice improvement. Illinois' offense is a good offense and will be able to put points on anyone.

DJ's left nut · 09-15-2008, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by triple

I think Missouri's defense is too suspect to call them an elite team.

They are very good and capable of beating anyone, but you probably can't go a whole year winning every week if they're all shootouts

Give it some time. Remember, last year MU's defense looked like slop throughout the non-con schedule.

They promptly led the Big XII in total defense during the conference schedule.

They're playing down to their opponents. It's not excusable, in fact its downright stupid, but it is what it is. We'll see the real unit come to play against NE.

We'd better. As good as this offense is, I still don't see it putting up more than about 35 in Lincoln, and that's being nice. I expect more in the 24 pt range.

OmahaChief · 09-15-2008, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

They're playing down to their opponents. It's not excusable, in fact its downright stupid, but it is what it is. We'll see the real unit come to play against NE.

Not exactly. We did not play down to Illinois level. Fact of the matter is they took advantage of a weakness on our team, the second CB. Vaughns and Bridges are not the answer. Until they figure out how to cover we will continue to give up the long ball.

I don't buy the playing down to anyone's level in any game so far. We just have given up yards but not many points. The name of the game is keep the other team from scoring and out score them. So they fact Mizzou has done a decent job of this, outside of the Illinois game, is great. The bad part is a better team will score if they are getting the yardage that is being gained by these lessor teams.

HC_Chief · 09-15-2008, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper16

That's unreal.

No kidding. That is incredible!

Pitt Gorilla · 09-15-2008, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

...As good as this offense is, I still don't see it putting up more than about 35 in Lincoln, and that's being nice. I expect more in the 24 pt range.

I think we'll score more than 24 pretty easily.

Sure-Oz · 09-15-2008, 12:21 PM

The 2ndary concerns me from Mizzou the most...

They def. need more of a pass rush but i think that will come, not sure what to think of these corners ****ing up assignments or getting flat out burned

Sure-Oz · 09-15-2008, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

I think we'll score more than 24 pretty easily.

Agreed...this offense has so many weapons and chase is in the zone right now...i expect us to continue to score 28+

eazyb81 · 09-15-2008, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

I think we'll score more than 24 pretty easily.

Agree. I wouldn't be shocked if we put up 24 in the first half. It's been awhile since I've seen a college offense this efficient and explosive.

Pitt Gorilla · 09-15-2008, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by |Zach|

Is that your video on Youtube (bar reaction)?

Sure-Oz · 09-15-2008, 01:15 PM

ESPN is pimping Mizzou like crazy as well, esp Chase with his 7 td's being more than his incompletions the last 2 games. I am just glad i have a really damn good team this year, Go MIZZOU

Frazod · 09-15-2008, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

ESPN is pimping Mizzou like crazy as well, esp Chase with his 7 td's being more than his incompletions the last 2 games. I am just glad i have a really damn good team this year, Go MIZZOU

We are definitely The Sexy Team in college football, and Kansas won't be pissing in our pool this year. But it won't mean anything unless we can seal the deal. I'm sure none of the other teams give a shit about these stories, especially the Gooners.

chagrin · 09-15-2008, 02:21 PM

Who did they play that is a "somebody" again?

Frazod · 09-15-2008, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chagrin

Who did they play that is a "somebody" again?

Well, we did open the season against a BCS team at a neutral site.

Does that count?

09-14-2008, 08:05 PM
Pitt Gorilla Banned! Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: NOT Columbia, MO 65201 Casino cash: $60194	The Big 3 http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/notebo...amedayFinal083 It's early. There are a dozen major plot twists still to come. A Stanford or a Pittsburgh or a Colorado may yet have something to say about the chase for the 2008 national championship. But as we stand today, three weeks into the season, three teams stand above and apart from all the rest: USC, Oklahoma and Missouri. Heisman hopeful Chase Daniel leads a potent Missouri offense. And of those three, USC stands on its own plane after making Ohio State look like Ohio State can look when it plays the big boys: slow, weak, soft and overmatched. The big three have won their eight games by a combined score of 429-114. And they all have played at least one somebody. USC has taken on two teams that won a combined 20 games in 2007, and squashed them both. This is a complete team, dominant right now in all phases. Gazing down the Trojans' schedule, it's hard to envision where the challenges will come from between now and January. Oklahoma has cranked up its passing game to another level in routing Cincinnati and Washington. The Sooners are scoring points in gushes, pushing quarterback Sam Bradford up the Heisman Trophy lists. But he isn't even the leading Heisman candidate in his own league. That would be Missouri QB Chase Daniel, who has more touchdowns (seven) than incompletions (six) the past two weeks. Which is just silly. The Tigers put 52 on Illinois in the opener, 52 more on Southeast Missouri State and then a whopping 69 on Nevada (a 2007 bowl team) on Saturday. Missouri and Oklahoma don't meet in the regular season, which could make the Big 12 championship game slightly enormous (if both of them can beat Texas, among others, in a salty league). None of this means the Southeastern Conference won't have a say in the proceedings. But so far, the SEC is specializing in UglyBall, taking a little of the luster off its top teams. Georgia wheezed its way to 14 points against a South Carolina team coming off a loss to Vanderbilt. And the Bulldogs needed a Gamecocks fumble into the end zone to avoid a potential overtime. The Dogs haven't looked like anything special yet. Florida was decidedly unspectacular against young Miami at home Sept. 6. The Gators looked susceptible up front on offense to pressure in that game and will have to prove they can beat a blitz consistently in a league that will bring a lot of heat. Auburn scored three points Saturday. And won. LSU might yet be up to a defense of its national title, but the Tigers haven't played any meaningful games to get a true gauge on their quarterback play. So at this moment, a trio of teams have separated themselves from the pack. But at this stage last year, the big four were USC, LSU, Oklahoma and Florida. All went on to lose more than once. Remember that. Nobody wins anything permanent in mid-September.
Posts: 47,330

09-15-2008, 02:21 PM	#29
chagrin Giggitty! Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Missoula, Mt Casino cash: $9804905	Who did they play that is a "somebody" again? __________________ Times have changed, so have I, things are better now.
Posts: 13,414