ChiefsPlanet - View Single Post - MU Whitlock-MU is a Fraud

Pitt Gorilla · 12-30-2008, 11:25 PM

10 win season, again.

Oh, and a response by Star blogger Bradford Doolittle:

Alamo Bowl Coda: It's OK to be excited

The Tigers celebrate their Alamo Bowl victory.There was a lot going on as I watched and blogged Mizzou's overtime Alamo Bowl win over Northwestern last night, so maybe I missed something.

The reaction I am seeing is not in line with what I would have expected. What I saw was an exciting game, with play on both sides a little ragged but with plenty of effort from a couple of good, not great, teams that aren't that far apart on the talent scale.

The idea that MU fans, players or coaches should feel embarrassed about winning a bowl game is, frankly, absurd to the point of offensiveness. Just what the hell do people expect?

Northwestern was no pushover. They went 9-3 in a BCS conference. Using Jeff Sagarins ratings as a proxy, here is how the schedules broke down this year:

Both teams beat the teams they should beat and lost to the teams they should have lost to for the most part. Northwestern was upset by Indiana. Missouri was upset by Kansas. Missouri's schedule was tougher, but what difference does that really make when you're not competitive against elite teams?

Northwestern has a solid defense, a premier running back in Tyrell Sutton, who missed several games this season, and a decent passing attack.

The Tigers were fortunate to win the game. The fact that they were happy to have done so, rather than hanging their heads in shame, is only a natural reaction to winning a tough competition. That they were able to win while playing at less than their optimum level is a credit to their preserverance and proof positive that they wanted to win just as bad as Northwestern.

The problem here is expectation. This is a trap I fell into myself this season. I wanted Mizzou to be a national title contender so badly that it clouded my judgement. Simply put, the team was overrated. This was not a national championship-caliber team. They aren't physical enough on the line of scrimmage on either side of the football and their secondary simply cannot cover against even an average passing attack.

That's not to say that things couldn't have broken the Tigers' way. If Chase Daniel hadn't thrown that last interception against Oklahoma State, if they hadn't played so poorly in the first half against Texas, if they had gotten a stop against Todd Reesing and Kansas and if someone besides Oklahoma had squeezed into the Big 12 title game, who knows? Maybe Mizzou is prepping right now to get peppered by Florida.

To me, it's a great leap for the program that any kind of a scenario that results in a BCS title shot can be concocted. But let's not fool ourselves. Talent for talent, Missouri is not on the level of Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, USC and some others. They may get there, but they aren't there now. Our problem is that we were expecting them to compete on the biggest stage when we should have been hoping they could get there.

In any given season, there are about five to eight teams that have legitimate No. 1-type ability. Sometimes one or two of those teams rise above the rest. More often than not, they don't. After those elite teams, there is a second tier of, I'd say, 20-25 teams that are very similar in terms of talent. How well they fare in the season depends upon schedule, health and just plain luck. If everything breaks right, maybe they get the chance to challenge one of the elites. This is the tier on which both Missouri and Northwestern reside, at least for this season. Next season, Northwestern may go right back to being a doormat. For that matter, so may Mizzou. (Though I seriously doubt it.)

At this point in time, these were two second-tier teams from power conferences with similar records. It was an evenly matched game, an exciting contest and Missouri should be proud to have won and to have given their fans the first back-to-back 10-win seasons in school history. Kudos to Coach Pinkel, Chase Coffman, Chase Daniel, Jeremy Maclin and the whole squad. You've done the Mizzou fan base proud. This will be your legacy: Success, excitement and the first whiff of big-time football we've had in Columbia in almost a half-century.

Submitted by Bradford Doolittle on December 30, 2008 - 4:33pm.
College Football - MU | Stories | login or register to post comments

12-30-2008, 11:25 PM	#5
Pitt Gorilla Banned! Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: NOT Columbia, MO 65201 Casino cash: $10194	10 win season, again. Oh, and a response by Star blogger Bradford Doolittle: Alamo Bowl Coda: It's OK to be excited The Tigers celebrate their Alamo Bowl victory.There was a lot going on as I watched and blogged Mizzou's overtime Alamo Bowl win over Northwestern last night, so maybe I missed something. The reaction I am seeing is not in line with what I would have expected. What I saw was an exciting game, with play on both sides a little ragged but with plenty of effort from a couple of good, not great, teams that aren't that far apart on the talent scale. The idea that MU fans, players or coaches should feel embarrassed about winning a bowl game is, frankly, absurd to the point of offensiveness. Just what the hell do people expect? Northwestern was no pushover. They went 9-3 in a BCS conference. Using Jeff Sagarins ratings as a proxy, here is how the schedules broke down this year: Both teams beat the teams they should beat and lost to the teams they should have lost to for the most part. Northwestern was upset by Indiana. Missouri was upset by Kansas. Missouri's schedule was tougher, but what difference does that really make when you're not competitive against elite teams? Northwestern has a solid defense, a premier running back in Tyrell Sutton, who missed several games this season, and a decent passing attack. The Tigers were fortunate to win the game. The fact that they were happy to have done so, rather than hanging their heads in shame, is only a natural reaction to winning a tough competition. That they were able to win while playing at less than their optimum level is a credit to their preserverance and proof positive that they wanted to win just as bad as Northwestern. The problem here is expectation. This is a trap I fell into myself this season. I wanted Mizzou to be a national title contender so badly that it clouded my judgement. Simply put, the team was overrated. This was not a national championship-caliber team. They aren't physical enough on the line of scrimmage on either side of the football and their secondary simply cannot cover against even an average passing attack. That's not to say that things couldn't have broken the Tigers' way. If Chase Daniel hadn't thrown that last interception against Oklahoma State, if they hadn't played so poorly in the first half against Texas, if they had gotten a stop against Todd Reesing and Kansas and if someone besides Oklahoma had squeezed into the Big 12 title game, who knows? Maybe Mizzou is prepping right now to get peppered by Florida. To me, it's a great leap for the program that any kind of a scenario that results in a BCS title shot can be concocted. But let's not fool ourselves. Talent for talent, Missouri is not on the level of Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, USC and some others. They may get there, but they aren't there now. Our problem is that we were expecting them to compete on the biggest stage when we should have been hoping they could get there. In any given season, there are about five to eight teams that have legitimate No. 1-type ability. Sometimes one or two of those teams rise above the rest. More often than not, they don't. After those elite teams, there is a second tier of, I'd say, 20-25 teams that are very similar in terms of talent. How well they fare in the season depends upon schedule, health and just plain luck. If everything breaks right, maybe they get the chance to challenge one of the elites. This is the tier on which both Missouri and Northwestern reside, at least for this season. Next season, Northwestern may go right back to being a doormat. For that matter, so may Mizzou. (Though I seriously doubt it.) At this point in time, these were two second-tier teams from power conferences with similar records. It was an evenly matched game, an exciting contest and Missouri should be proud to have won and to have given their fans the first back-to-back 10-win seasons in school history. Kudos to Coach Pinkel, Chase Coffman, Chase Daniel, Jeremy Maclin and the whole squad. You've done the Mizzou fan base proud. This will be your legacy: Success, excitement and the first whiff of big-time football we've had in Columbia in almost a half-century. Submitted by Bradford Doolittle on December 30, 2008 - 4:33pm. College Football - MU \| Stories \| login or register to post comments __________________ Your son is a bench warmer because of your weak genetics not because of the coach Norlin Mommsen is disgusting.
Posts: 47,344