SB Nation User Blog: rockchalk

Open Game Thread :: College Football :: Saturday October 31st

rockchalk — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:02:08 -0000

Open Game Thread :: College Football :: Saturday October 31st

This is your Open Game Thread for all of the day's College Football. On Halloween! Sorry for being a deadbeat blog manager, but luckily Denver is the greatest co-manager in the history of the world. So yes. In any case, there are some good games on, most notably two absolute monsters tonight in USC-Oregon and Texas-Oklahoma State. Hopefully I can show up for awhile. And don't forget to show up to the Kansas-specific OGT, which will go up at 1:30 CST.

Open Game Thread :: Game #6 :: Kansas 5-0 (1-0) @ Colorado 1-4 (0-1)

rockchalk — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:40:53 -0000

The classic Trap Game. Oklahoma is next week, and even though they have a losing record, they are still Oklahoma. And it's still going to be a huge game. So, no doubt, we're looking ahead at that.

Plus, Colorado isn't very good. They probably aren't as bad as they showed that one Friday night at the Glass Bowl, but even if they are better, they could still royally suck. They don't suck, and have enough talent/ability to score some points on us and maybe, just maybe, even pull off an upset.

The only thing in our favor, in a sense, was that we played absolutely dreadful last week. I mean, we played just as poorly on defense as we did last year against Texas Tech, it's just that Iowa State didn't have Harrell and Crabtree. And yet, they still put up 36 points, and would have likely won the game had Austen Arnaud not overthrown a wide open receiver in the endzone. That shit sucks, man. That's just really bad.

So, we need to play a lot better. Odds are we do. In any case, this is your Open Game Thread for the game. If need be, we'll put up a new one at halftime. It is away from the friendly confines of Memorial Stadium, so hopefully a bunch of people show up.

I should be here, pending extenuating circumstances. I'd imagine we'll have all of the regulars. Stupid FSOhio is being stupid and not showing the game here, so I'm resorted to the computer, yet again. But it should be okay.

We better win. I want to win so bad, and play Oklahoma in a big game next week. A 2-3 Boomer Sooner team still wears the Crimson and Cream and still has plenty of mystique. But if we are 5-1, it won't feel nearly the same. Just don't blow it. Please.

Open Game Thread :: College Football :: Saturday October 17

rockchalk — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:53:42 -0000

Open Game Thread :: College Football :: Saturday October 17

This is your Open Game Thread for all things College Football until the Kansas game. A specific Kansas-Colorado thread will pop up an hour prior to kickoff, so be on the lookout for that.

But for now, this is your place to talk football. I will be here for part of the day, so I hope you join me. It'll be fun for sure.

Kansas Wins Ugly, 41-36

rockchalk — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:09:15 -0000

More photos » by Orlin Wagner - AP

about 1 month ago: Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing (5) congratulates teammate Dezmon Briscoe (80) following their NCAA college football game against Iowa State, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009, in Lawrence, Kan. Kansas beat Iowa State 41-36. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Browse more photos »

That was ugly. As Bill Simmons calls it, that was a Moral Defeat to be sure. Yikes.

That's all the commentary necessary for right now. Use this as your Open Game Thread for the rest of the day's action.

Open Game Thread :: Iowa State Cyclones 3-2 (0-1) @ Kansas Jayhawks 4-0 (0-0)

rockchalk — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 06:32:03 -0000

You know the drill. Kansas football. Open Game Thread. Let's put up some ridiculous number. I'll actually be here, yes, for most of the game. If not all of it. I will be resorted to the computer because no Versus, but whatever.

We should win. We will win. We will win big. I'm pumped.

Not to look ahead or anything, but yeah. I'm not worried at all.

This is almost like the Duke game. Basically. It's an early afternoon game, morning even in the central time zone. It's on Versus. It's against some awful BCS conference team. Let's just have the same result.

Oh, and let's hit 1,000 comments or something. That would be pretty sweet.

Open Game Thread :: Missouri vs. Nebraska

rockchalk — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:44:47 -0000

Open Game Thread :: Missouri vs. Nebraska

Sorry for the delay. It's a pretty frickin' important game for us Jayhawks, as it makes one of our North matchups more important and one less so.

I'm personally cheering for Missouri, partially for selfish reasons. I am hopefully getting to go to the Arrowhead game, so I would love it if that decided the North. So, yeah.

Comment your hearts away the rest of the night.

SB Nation Big 12 Roundtable -- Week Six

rockchalk — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:29:45 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Is Landry Jones Oklahoma's Problem? (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Browse more photos »

Instead of the usual hosts, Rock M Nation, hosting this week, they are passing it on to their opponents in Thursday night's rather large game. Yes. Nebraska blog Corn Nation is hosting all festivities this week, so make sure and pay 'em a visit. Right now.

1. I'm sure everybody had preseason predictions for their team. Now that we're a few games in, revise your predictions with your best and worst case scenarios (being reasonable on both sides), and then revising your prediction for the season result.

Trying not to get too technical with Best and Worst (14-0 or 4-8 respectively), I think the expectations basically remain the same. We were expected to go undefeated in the non-conference, with perhaps an almost-slip up somewhere in there. I'd say the Southern Miss game qualifies as an almost-slip up, and we are, in fact, 4-0.

So, in all reality, our Best Case is probably 11-1. That's quite optimistic, yes, but I'm drinking the Kool-Aid. Maybe it's being required to defend Kansas a kabillion times a day because you're surrounded by Big 10/11 ridiculousness and such, but I feel like this team is really good. I don't know. In any case, every game not being played in Austin we have a legitimate chance to win. That would get us into the Big 12 Championship Game, and probably a BCS game regardless of what happens there. I'll take it.

Our Worst Case would most likely be 6-6. We are going to beat Iowa State at home. But what if we play like absolute shit and drop one of the other two "gimmes", @ KSU and @ CU, and lose all of the other games. That isn't a scenario that is impossible by any means, and I just kind of half-freaked myself out typing the thing.

Sheesh.

2. In 2010, the Big 12 will send it's 7th place team to play in a new bowl game to be played at Yankee Stadium, replacing the Independence Bowl in Shreveport. What's your take on this move? Is it a good move for players? Is it a good move for the conference? Is it a good move for fans?

I like it. Given the setting, it'll probably be hyped a bunch, which is sweet exposure for the conference. Plus, I think it would be really cool, as a fan, to go and watch your team play in Yankee frickin' Stadium. That would be fantastic. Another positive is the fact that we can never, ever go to Shreveport again -- I've never been, personally, but based on what I heard, that can't be a negative thing.

Another positive -- I'm sick of all of the bowls being in the South. I understand why, and everything, but I think it's cool that they are at least putting one bowl in the northern half of the United States.

For players, I don't see how it's a negative. You get to talk for the rest of your life about how you played a football game in Yankee Stadium. That's just freakin' fantastic.

3. Oklahoma is now 2-2, with one of those victories coming against a winless 1-AA team. Will all be well in Soonerland once Sam Bradford returns?

Nope. The problem runs a lot deeper than Landry Jones, I promise. The real problem was talked about before the season even began, by me and others. The offensive line. 4 starters from last year's nation's-best unit, which gave Sam Bradford hours back there in the pocket, are gone. Bye-bye. That's the real problem.

The defense is good. They held The U's offense in check, for the most part. 21 points is impressive. And Landry Jones isn't bad. They have the runningbacks. They just don't have the O-Line to create holes or give Landry enough time to find his receivers. Of course, the receivers aren't as good as they were last year, either, with only Ryan Broyles presenting a consistent threat, but the vast majority of the blame lies with the big uglies.

4. This week, Missouri and Nebraska face off on an ESPN Thursday night broadcast at 8 pm. Last Thursday, Colorado lost to West Virginia. Missouri and Colorado both have played Friday night road games. What's your take on non-Saturday games?

As a college football junkie, I couldn't love them anymore. They give me a taste of football before the weekend, plus it's nice to be able to sit down and watch a game with no other games going on at the same time, and simply enjoy every play of a game.

However, I'm not so sure I'm a huge fan of my team playing them. I suppose I'd be fine with it, I guess, but I don't know. It would be nice, as I said, to just focus on your game. However, it would make a potential loss a lot worse to take, with just work to turn to after it's over to drown out your sorrows as opposed to a day of football.

So, basically, I'm split on as a fan. I love 'em as a CFB fan, and if they involved my team, it's fine either way really. It's cool that Nebraska and Missouri are playing Thursday night, because the game should get a bunch of pub for it. If it was a regional game at 3:30 on ABC, it wouldn't get the same type of pub. But there's something about football on Saturday...

5. It seems everybody is in agreement that the bottom three teams in the North are the bottom three teams in the conference. Is the gap growing, and which of these teams is going to break out of the cellar first. Or is it hopeless?

Yeah, I would say the gap is growing. It's to the point where nobody even considers trying to shake things up and switching the order. Now, I don't think it will continue. Eventually, they will catch up. It has to happen.

I'll put money on Colorado to turn the corner first. They seem to have the most talent, and as crazy and pyscho as Dan Hawkins is, I trust him and his successor more than Bill Snyder or Paul Rhoads. Although, if the Wildcats could just get a QB, they could be pretty good.

6. Rank all of the division 1 football conferences from top to bottom. Not just the BCS conferences (ACC, Big 12, Big 10/11, Big East, Pac 10, SEC), but the others (MAC, Conference USA, WAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt) as well. Who's the strongest conference, and who's the pretender?

We're going explanation-less for now.

SEC
Pac 10
Big 12
Big 10/11
ACC
MWC
Big East
CUSA
MAC
WAC
Sun Belt

7. PowerPoll time. Rank 'em 1 to 12 based on who you think would be the victor on a neutral field.

Texas
Oklahoma
Kansas
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma State
Texas Tech
Texas A&M
Baylor (no Robert Griffin...)
Colorado
Kansas State
Iowa State

That's all for now.

Open Game Thread :: Saturday October 3rd

rockchalk — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:11:23 -0000

Open Game Thread :: Saturday October 3rd

Sorry for getting t his up so late. For those of you who are my Facebook friend, you probably know why. In any case, here is your OGT for the rest of the day.

Next week is Fall Break, and I'm staying in the Nati, so I should have a lot more free time (after Wednesday, at least) to start posting contenta gain. I know, I can hardly believe it either

Big 12 Roundtable: Week Five

rockchalk — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:49:56 -0000

Yet again, the fabulous folks on over at Rock M Nation are hosting the Roundtable. Pay them a visit, por favor.

1. Is it time for the Big 12 to collectively pour one out for the departure of Baylor quarterback Robert "Hot Tub" Griffin? Even if your team benefits from his injury, are you sad to see one of the conference's premier playmakers done for the season?

Yes. I think everyone liked Robert Griffin, for multiple reasons. First and foremost, I think everyone enjoys programs that typically don't see success, such as Baylor, become relevant. Robert Griffin was clearly leading the charge of Baylor's possible ascent to relevance. But also, he's just such a likable guy. As Kenny laid out in our commiseration thread:

All Robert Griffin has is:

1. World-class hurdler speed
2. A rocket cannon for an arm
3. Prodigy-level football IQ (set the record for most pass attempts to start a career without an interception)
4. Prodigy-level non football IQ (4.0 student; father is on the Texas Supreme Court).

The only reason he isn’t a Super Duper Star is that he plays for Baylor.

It's hard not to like that kind of kid. The fact that he was such a "Super Duper Star" in Waco, as I said, makes it even better.

Everyone should be sad. Everyone.

2. Play the role of Mythbusters for us. If you could dispel one national perception of your team, what would it be?

We don't play defense. No, we won't be confused for a grind-it-out, old-fashioned, win 9-7 team. The game has changed, though, and it isn't necessarily a good thing to be that kind of team. As a whole, spread teams are often thought of as kind of gimmicky, quick-striking and holding a desire to simply outscore the opponent. As Mike Gundy would say, that's not true!

Kansas has a good defense. It isn't as good as our offense, and is still finding itself, but it is a good unit. It's been getting good, if not consistent, pressure on the QB and has some playmakers in the secondary. The linebackers have stepped up, and are probably a better fit against other spread offenses than the more traditional linebackers of last year, most notably Mike Rivera and Joe Mortensen.

Kansas plays defense. Most spread teams do.

3. Give us the name of one player on each side of the ball on your team that everyone else in the conference may not know about or fully appreciate.

OFFENSE -- LT Tanner Hawkinson. By now, I'd imagine that most have heard of Toben Opurum and Bradley McDougald, so those answers would be kind of silly. However, Hawkinson isn't known as well as he should. His story probably is -- came to Kansas last year as a TE, moved to DE halfway through the season, then was moved to LT prior to spring practice and is now the starter there -- but not his impact. He's good. He's still undersized, and will be prone to bull rushes and such during Big 12 season, but he has a bunch of natural skills. For the most part, he's impressed at protecting Todd's blind-side. Give him another year, and he'll be a name that everyone thinks of when making All-Big 12 lists.

DEFENSE -- DE Maxwell Onyegbule. A lot of different directions I could go with this one, but I'll go with Max O. He's been dominant so far this season, finally showing the talent and ability he's only shown flashes of before this season. Some other possibilities would include LB Arist Wright, CB Daymond Patterson and even, maybe, LB Huldon Tharp.

4. OU vs. Da U: Who ya' got?

Miami. It's in South Beach, even though it's really north of Miami because it's in Dolphin Stadium, and Sam Bradford probably won't play. If he does, I guess it switches to Boomer Sooner, I don't know. I'm still not all that sold on the Sooners, but they looked really good the past two weeks, shutting out the opponent and putting up absurd point totals. Still not a Landry/Lance Jones fan (warden), though, which is probably irrational. Keep in mind -- I haven't seen a second of Boomer Sooner football since opening weekend, so maybe they've gotten a whole bunch better. I don't know.

As far as Da U goes, they have to be pumped up, right? They looked like a legitimate National Title contender in the first two games, and while they played pretty awful in equally terrible weather in Blacksburg, I still think the first two games is what is closer to their true talent level.

Plus, that Jacory...I don't even have to say it. You know what's coming.

5. Give us your Offensive Player of the Week, Defensive Player of the Week, and Storyline of the Week for last week.

OPOW -- IDK. Blaine Gabbert? 400+ yards is pretty sweet, even if it was against Nevada's absolutely abysmal secondary.

DPOW -- Chris Harris. For whatever reason, I entirely forgot him from my game recap yesterday. I feel bad, so I'll give him this award.

Storyline of the Week -- Robert Griffin out for the season. If it's worth a discussion topic on the Roundtable, it wins this Award. Easy.

6. Power Poll! Rank the teams 1-12 based on who would win on a neutral field.

Texas
Oklahoma
Kansas
Oklahoma State
Missouri
Nebraska
Texas Tech
Texas A&M
Baylor
Iowa State
Colorado
Kansas State

Post over.

"Well, That Was Basically Exactly What We Expected" -- Kansas 35 Southern Miss 28

rockchalk — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:27:13 -0000

More photos » by Orlin Wagner - AP

about 1 month ago: Kansas coach Mark Mangino talks with a game official during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Southern Miss in Lawrence, Kan., Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Browse more photos »

Going in, everyone kept on talking about how "scared" they were for Southern Miss. And for good reason -- the Golden Eagles have a very good offense, a passable defense and a really solid coaching staff. They are kind of like that one mid-major you never want to play in the NCAA Tournament. We all continued to say that it wouldn't be easy, that it would be a legitimately tough test and that it would be all okay as long as we won.

Well, that's pretty much what happened. Denver showed off his immense football predicting abilities, prognosticating a 38-28 Kansas victory, with the final score 35-28. So, yeah, it's basically exactly the type of game we expected.

Mostly filled with offense. Enough intrigue to get the Kansas fanbase nervous for the first time this year. Not in the bag until a minute-or-so left. Some national pundits calling for the upset, and acting like they were half-correct given the close game.

So, the point is -- it isn't a bad thing it was so close. The Golden Eagles know how to play football well. We aren't perfect. Don't freak out. I'm glad it was this close. It should be helpful to at least have some experience in close-and-late situations. The College Football Landscape is beginning to look like 2007 again -- it's our job to make sure we put ourselves in position just like two years ago. Except, yeah, let's win that game in Arrowhead.

Extra thoughts after the jump

Todd and the passing game looked better, which is comforting. I don't think anybody was seriously freaking out or anything, but it was nice to see him pick apart a not-terrible Golden Eagle defense. The pass to Kerry Meier on the first score was absolutely perfect, too.

Toben Opurum, I like what I see. I'm kind of miffed that Rell Lewis didn't get anything in the way of a carry, but obviously the staff feels there is a substantial gap between the two. And TO, or Toben, or whatever certainly didn't disappoint -- nearly 4 yards a carry on 28 carries is nothing to sneeze at. Of course, we still desperately need Jake Sharp and a 1-2 punch for future games, but Toben can be the man. Kind of.

Best part of the game was the dominating, suffocating run defense. The first three games, Clint Bowen and Company reared back their head and continually went after the quarterback. Repeatedly, we put in pass-rush specialists, sometimes even in non-passing downs, with the goal to get to Trevor Vittatoe or Thaddeus Lewis. With Southern Miss, though, the real danger is runningback Damion Fletcher -- he is going to play in the NFL, and he is as talented as any runningback we'll see all year. So, the defensive strategy changed. No longer was the primary goal to get to the quarterback, but instead to try and 2007 it, limiting the running game. And it worked beautifully -- 10 carries, 27 yards. That is fantastic. Probably the worst game Fletcher will have all season.

Of course, that still doesn't entirely excuse the embarrassing amount of pass rush on 3rd and long. Maybe it was turning back on the get-to-the-quarterback-at-all-costs switch or something, but even when the run wasn't a possibility, we really struggled in getting much pressure at all on Austin Davis. I wouldn't be entirely surprised if opponents have figured out that four defensive end front, so now it's time for Bowen and Bill Miller, with a bye weak, to throw in a new wrinkle.

We have four good players in the secondary. Four players who nearly everyone is confident in, at least on some level. Daymond Patterson, Darrell Stuckey, Justin Thornton and Chris Harris (who has struggled some since moving back to a pure corner, however). Of course, with our switch to a base 4-2-5 defense, we're left searching for that fifth member. Coming into the season, it was supposed to be Anthony Davis. He picked up three PI penalties in the first game. If he faltered, as he did, Calvin Rubles was the back-up option. He showed major JUCO rust. Then we re-arranged everything and tried out Phillip Strozier. He had middling results. He's still seeing the field, unlike the other two who are gone, but not as much. That would be because of Brian Murphy, who showed up in a big way yesterday. He was quite often tasked with defending the tight end on third down passing situations. And quite often, our secondary did a good job of forcing the ball to the tight end, short of the first down marker. And nearly every time, Brian did an excellent job of wrapping up, making the tackle short of the first down and getting the offense the ball back. Don't forget the interception, either. Being a hometown boy and all, it would be sweet if he can emerge as a RS sophomore and turn into a really solid player. He showed serious flashes of that yesterday.

Kerry Meier, do you really have to graduate?

But since you do, and it isn't negotiable, at least we have Bradley McDougald. Todd already trusts him to get open on third downs, and he is doing a pretty good job at it. As opponents key more and more on Kerry Meier, he is the guy who is going to benefit. He'll end up on a linebacker, and that just isn't fair.

Also -- Me likey McDougald at kickoff returner. For whatever reason, Briscoe hasn't been all that great. We're obviously looking at other options (Stuckey returned a kickoff too, IIRC), and McDougald had a good first audition.

That's all for now. Starting in Big 12 play, these will go up either Saturday night or Sunday afternoon. I promise x 1000. I'll get this whole thing worked out.