Archive for the 'Big 12 Football' Category


Athletic Supporter Blogging Changes

I think in order to make things more streamlined and formative, I am going to start doing some frequent posting that encapsulates different items on certain days in order for fluidity to the site. That being said, here is what my schedule will be going forward per conference:

Monday-Big Ten

Tuesday-Pac 10

Wednesday-ACC

Thursday-Big East

Friday-Big 12

Saturday-SEC

Sunday-All others

In these daily capsules, I will have different posts discussing the previous week’s events, news, and future discussions about the teams and conferences themselves (not limiting to specific sports). I will also post on news events as they transpire with my two, or three cents, maybe even a dollar’s worth. For those of you out there that would like to have a discussion on a certain topic, shoot an email my way and I’ll be happy to give it a shot.

Thanks for your support of the site and I look forward to getting started on this!

Tim AKA “The Athletic Supporter”

Posted on 13th January 2008
Under: ACC Football, ACC basketball, About me, Atlantic 10 Basketball, Big 10 Basketball, Big 10 Football, Big 12 Basketball, Big 12 Football, Big East Basketball, Big East Football, College Basketball, College Football, Conference USA Basketball, Conference USA Football, Independent Football, MAC Football, MWC Football, Pacific 10 Football, Pacific 10 basketball, SEC Basketball, SEC Football, Sun Belt Football, WAC Football, Women's Basketball | No Comments »

And then I saw their win…Now I’m a believer…

I wrote a post not entirely too long ago questioning the hype around Kansas, citing that they were media darlings and didn’t have a solid resume to back up the ranking.

Mmmm, that crow sure tastes good. A little gamey though.

After Kansas beat Virginia Tech 24-21 in a game that actually was not as close as the score indicates, the Jayhawks not only used their offensive trickery, but they won the game with solid defense against a good Hokies offense. The first TD was an interception return, and with the total number of takeaways equaling 17 points, the Jayhawks may have not even needed their schoolyard antics on offense to win the game.

Eric Mangini, the AP’s coach of the year, has certainly turned this program around, and even though they stumbled to Missouri, the Jayhawks proved once and for all that they certainly did deserve to be in the BCS. The only sad part of the game was that if Virginia Tech would have won, it would have been one of the more feel-good stories of the year, as the university has bonded behind its football team after the terrible tragedy that struck almost nine months ago. Still, you can’t underestimate that VT still had a good showing and a great year.

Congrats to Kansas and your Orange Bowl win. You’ve officially put a target on yourselves though! :)

Posted on 4th January 2008
Under: ACC Football, Big 12 Football | No Comments »

No doubt: Mountaineers dominate Sooners

Hey, I won’t lie, I thought Oklahoma, amidst all of their crying about not being able to play in the national title game, would pull a USC and basically play for the masses the way to show that they deserved to be there. With West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez bolting for greener pastures in what was his football team’s finest hour in a long time, the bookmakers had Oklahoma as a near-lock in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Enter Bill Stewart.

Highlighting the big-time offense that catapulted them into the BCS game against the Sooners, the Mountaineers dominated from start to finish, winning in convincing fashion 48-28. And in a class move by the university, the interim coach that Stewart held was officially knocked off, and he has been named the football coach. Take that, Mr. Rodriguez. Enjoy your beatings by Ohio St.

Things couldn’t get much worse for Sooners coach Bob Stoops, who has lost big bowl games now 4 straight times. Oklahoma, who last won “the big one” in 2000, couldn’t mount (no pun intended) any offense behind top-rated QB Sam Bradford, literally being in the backfield almost every play. And on the other side of the ball, the Sooners vaunted defense couldn’t find an answer for the wily Pat White, who kept them guessing all game long.

white.jpg

Gonna make ya sweat ’til y’all bleed….

So, now that all of this talk for USC possibly vaulting to a national title, why not discuss West Virginia? I mean, the Mountaineers beat a higher ranked team on a higher platform, beat the crap out of them no less under much more dire conditions. If you are going to place the Trojans near this pedestal, you have to consider WVU then as well.

Oh yeah..the national championship game still hasn’t been played.

*Sigh*

Posted on 3rd January 2008
Under: Big 12 Football, Big East Football, College Football | No Comments »

The Athletic Supporter weighs in on the Heisman

Wow, now that’s a subject line that should get me at LEAST a million hits. WOO HOO!

Anyways…

Is there any real reason to debate the Heisman Trophy at this point? I mean, seriously, should anyone else even waste their time flying to sit in the Downtown Athletic Club other than Tim Tebow? (Well, that would be weird, but for there to be winners there has to be losers–write that down).

Let’s face it. Tebow comes from the defending national champion, has been a media darling since last year, has some pretty gaudy numbers (29 TD passing and 22 TDs rushing), and plays in what is arguably the best conference in the country. When you compare that to the other front-runners (so to speak), it just doesn’t compare. And with this year not having a dominant team coming into the bowl season, there’s no real “knock” on Tebow for having a team with 3 losses, when there is a team with 2 losses (LSU) playing for the title.

Plus–again the irony that struck the BCS standings-Tebow sitting at home and watching games last week actually “helped” his Heisman standing–because with Chase Daniel looking lost against the Oklahoma defense and Pat White’s “non-performance” against Pitt, Tebow solidified his standing without raising a finger.

But we also must remember that past performance does not guarantee future results. For the listing of Heisman winners over the past three decades, of course there’s been some great NFL players, but there also some guys that never even played in the NFL (Remember Charlie Ward–the guy tried to play pro basketball, for cripes sake!) What it comes down to is this–for every Tony Dorsett and Barry Sanders, there’s also a Rashaan Salaam and Eric Crouch.

And, honestly, I don’t think the results of this year will be much different. Tebow may take home the trophy, but my feeling is that in a few years he’ll be doing much of what he did last weekend–watching football. I honestly feel the player that will make the most forward-looking impact is Darren McFadden. He ran for 1700+ yards and 15 TDs while having to shoulder the offensive load and still had huge performances.  This guy simply has the build, the gridiron smarts, has basically played without the tools that Tebow has had, and again has beat up on some of the best defenses in the country.

But–will Mcfadden win the award for the “best player in the country”? Nope.  Now, I look at players like Daniel, , and I am not discounting their talent. There can be arguments made for all of them, but the simple fact is that McFadden should be taking home the famous trophy this year–no ifs, ands, or buts.

The Supporter has spoken……

tebow.jpg

Hey coach, they are giving me the Heisman..Isn’t that hilarious? Wait…why is that funny again? Coach? Coach? Stop Laughing!

Posted on 7th December 2007
Under: Big 12 Football, College Football, Pacific 10 Football, SEC Football, WAC Football | No Comments »

Ohio State is number 1: Hold on while I laugh–Really LOUD

You know those times when you hear a joke, or you are watching a show where the funny bone is literally twinging as you laugh until your ribs hurt? One of my weaknesses is the scene where Jeff Daniels is….well, you know…ok, let’s be blunt–he has explosive diarrhea that would blow your Aunt Connie’s socks off.

Anyways, that USED to be one of my favorite things–and now it’s been one-upped. The Bowl Selection show that was on this evening for ESPN was pure comedy genius–Can you believe that Ohio State is number one in the country?? And what was even funnier was that the chuckleheads on there were actually defending that a team who hasn’t even donned a uniform over the past two weeks is now the best team after all these other teams have fought it out on the gridiron. AND–what’s even better–is that a team that was ranked #4 in the BCS last week DIDN’T move up in the standings but a team that was ranked below them and played–and won–now leapfrogged them and is playing for the national championship.

I don’t honestly harbor any type of animosity towards these two teams–they obviously didn’t have control over this–but there’s something to be said about what Georgia coach Mark Richt noted during the show that there’s no rule saying that teams NOT playing for a conference championship shouldn’t get a chance for a national championship, yet the media basically had disqualified the Bulldogs even before they had a chance.

This may sound like I am bitter because I am a Georgia fan–well, I’m not either. It just is really a travesty, and the domino effect has some pretty questionable matchups as well because of this–Illinois versus USC in the Rose Bowl? If the opening line favoring USC is in single digits, my kid’s college money is going on the line. Virginia Tech and Kansas?? Orange Bowl officials actually passed on Missouri? Seriously?? Michigan-Florida–Lloyd Carr will be remembering the butt-kicking that Urban Meyer gives him for a very long time. Perhaps the best matchup is Oklahoma-West Virginia, with the Sooners going strong and the Mountaineers trying to gain some respect.  But other than that, this holiday season is just a joke for the bowls.

Posted on 3rd December 2007
Under: Big 10 Football, Big 12 Football, College Football, Pacific 10 Football, SEC Football | No Comments »

Here’s to Mizzou

While everyone prognosticates about the fervor that the BCS is bringing, all of the matchups that could be a possibility, there is one thing that remains with the teams that are near the top of the standings, and that is the fact that they all lost games at the right time.

It doesn’t make it right–I’ve already gone on record about it–but it is what it is. With this in mind, I am thinking about what I’d like to cozy up to the night of the national championship game with my beer in one hand and remote in the other. First of all, if the experts have their due, it will be Ohio St and West Virginia. If that is indeed the case, my remote hand will certainly be getting more work than my beer hand, which is NOT a good thing (well, perhaps for my liver).

Why? Because that would be the single most BORING game that could possibly happen. No flash, no panache (that’s peh-nawsh for those of you without class), I mean–the Mountaineers are a working man’s team, a grind-it-out tough-it-out team that lulls other teams to sleep with execution, much like how Pete Sampras used to play tennis–precise, but utterly hard to watch without falling asleep.

So–if there is a team I am rooting for this Saturday, it’s going to be Missouri–and it’s for purely selfish reasons–because I believe they will bring the excitement that the BCS needs to recoup those that will 1) continue to remark about teams backsliding into the big game and 2)Because they are just fun to watch. Sure, their defense sometimes looks like the special olympics, but the offense is something to take in–call it “Hawaii without the feeling of getting motion sickness from watching guys run routes like their hair was on fire.”

They’ve got star power in Chase Daniel and a deep running and receiving crew. And they are really the underdog for even being in the national title game–despite being number 1, because people feel that the Oklahoma Sooner defense is going to dismantle this offense, despite giving up 31 points to Mizzou in their win–at home.

Ohio St. being in the national title game is really kind of a joke to me. The Buckeyes didn’t play an entirely strong schedule, the Big 10 was for the most part not strong at all despite Illinois’ resurgence, and they really haven’t dominated anyone. They literally have benefited from the losses of other teams and have not fought their way to the top.

If I had my choice, right now I would pit Georgia versus USC in the national title game. These two teams are at the top of their games and have been playing wonderful opponents. USC came back from an embarrassing loss to basically kick the crap out of a good Arizona St. team. And Georgia has been on an offensive roll, winning six in a row, and their biggest win in the last month was a 25 point drubbing of Auburn.

But–alas–I don’t have any say. BUT I DO HAVE A BLOG!!! MUHAHAHAHAHA! (whoops…obviously my beer hand has been working overtime…)

Posted on 27th November 2007
Under: Big 10 Football, Big 12 Football, Big East Football, College Football, Pacific 10 Football, SEC Football | No Comments »