Ripper Ramblings

Heisman. All the coaching activity has quieted what could have been fairly loud Heisman chatter. The lack of noise hurts Missouri's Chase Daniel the most. He needed his 40 of 49 passing performance against Kansas to create some buzz. More importantly, he needed this weekend's BCS play-in game against Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game to get a lot of build up. Given the lack of buzz about that game, it will be tough for Daniel to nip Tebow at the finish line in what has been a great race.

Georgia. It seems as if nearly every bowl projection has Georgia playing in the Orange Bowl. Most projections include a Missouri win over Oklahoma. In that event, the Fiesta would choose have the first choice of available teams. Most expect the Fiesta to replace their Big 12 tie-in with another Big 12 team and select Kansas. There is little tradition between the Fiesta and the Big 12. I find it hard to believe that the bowl would pass on a higher ranked team that would bring more fans and more tv viewers - that team is Georgia. Expect Bulldog fans to hunker down in Glendale.

Boarder War. Two major things, other than Chase Daniel, won the game for Missouri. They were the ability to stop the Kansas run game and their own ability to run the football in the first half. Kansas' was held 130 yards below their season average and Brandon McAnderson was held to 2.9 ypc. Rushing struggles contributed to their first half redzone struggles. Missouri came out of the gates running very well against the naiton's 7th best run defense. Kansas adjusted but at expense of their pass defense - the teams biggest weakness. 7 of Daniel's 9 incompletions occurred in the first half. The hot Daniel didn't let the Jayhawks back into the game in the second half, despite an excellent game by Todd Reesing.

BCS. Baring a West Virginia loss to Pittsburgh this year, in my mind the BCS is going to work out very well. Right now Missouri and West Virginia are a pretty agreeable 1-2. If Missouri were to fall, it would be difficult to argue against Ohio State. That being said, it seems as if the BCS is taking a lot of heat yet again. I think there is one general reason why that is and one reason specific to this season. The general reason is that it is difficult to get a good feel for how the BCS should play out unless you've been following the college game all season. A lot of national media types roll out of bed after following the World Series and the start of the NBA and try to make sense of the BCS. The larger source of criticism to the BCS this season is that non-traditional powers sit atop the rankings. In people's minds programs like Missouri and West Virginia are inferior to those like Georgia, Ohio State, and USC. Novices then rationalize the situation by thinking if Missouri and West Virginia did not directly beat those teams, there is a problem with the system. The fact is, a topsy-turvey, edge-of-your-seat season will produce a very legitimate national champion. Thanks to the BCS, games like USC versus Nebraska in the early season had a playoff like feel. In the end, the BCS has generated a lot of excitement and a quality champion. Now just don't blow it West Va.

Big 12. It's ironic that following an offseaon in which the conference saw its commissioner Kevin Weiberg leave largely due to the impending fight between the lower profile schools and the higher profile schools, those lower profile schools made great strides. Unlike other conferences, the Big 12 splits half of its tv revenue equally between all members and the other half is divided based on how often each institution appear on television. Prior to the season nobody would have envisioned Kansas playing in two Saturday night ABC games. Texas' and Nebraska's haul will likely be smaller this season and it will be interesting to see if that changes their stance in the ensuing negotiations.

Mangino. With the coaching carousal spinning at an all-time high speed, there is one name that I'm very surprised hasn't come up. The shoe-in coach of the year Mark Mangino.

Hawaii. With a win over Washington, Hawaii will be headed to New Orleans to take on the SEC Champion in the Sugar Bowl. Hawaii running out of the Superdome tunnel will be like Happy Gilmore teeing of at Augusta. Their SEC opponent will likely turn their nose up at the renegade Rainbow Warriors. However, this year's Hawaii team lacks a key element for the '06 team. Last year Hawaii had two running back selected in the NFL draft, Nate Ilaoa and Reagan Mauia. The powerful Ilaoa ran 990 yards and added 837 yards receiving out of the backfield a year ago. Hawaii's rushing has dipped by 40 yards per game this season. The threat of the 5'9'', 248 pound Ilaoa helped to slow pass rushers, but without him Hawaii could struggle against a defensive line that can really dig in.