Whitlock-MU is a Fraud

[KC_Connection]

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/col...ry/957217.html

SAN ANTONIO | When it was over, when the 12-point-favorite, former-national-title-contending Missouri Tigers finally subdued Northwestern in overtime, the Tigers danced across the Alamodome as if they’d beaten Kansas or won the Big 12 title.

When he was handed the microphone at the Alamo Bowl trophy ceremony, Gary Pinkel shrieked: “How ’bout dem Tigers?!?”

I wondered what game I’d just watched.

The one I watched was an embarrassment for the Tigers. An inferior opponent had outplayed them for most of the night, settled for a moral victory in the fourth quarter and gave up in overtime.

Congrats, Mizzou. Beating Northwestern 30-23 in overtime inside a half-empty stadium at the conclusion of a season that started with national-title hopes is now the signature moment at the end of the Chase Daniel-Dave Christensen-Spread Offense era.

I’m sorry to rain on the parade scheduled for Columbia today to celebrate the 10-4 Tigers. But I expected more. Coming off losses to Kansas and Oklahoma, I expected Daniel and Christensen to exit Missouri and the Alamodome amid fireworks they sparked.

Instead, while the Tigers were wildly celebrating their “big” victory, the Northwestern Wildcats were at the losers’ postgame news conference claiming a moral victory. Coach Pat Fitzgerald talked about how no one expected the Wildcats to be competitive in this game and how much they proved by taking Missouri into the fourth quarter.

Northwestern proved Missouri is a fraud. The Tigers’ over-the-top celebration let us know that they know they’ve been overrated and overhyped, benefactors of Bill Snyder, cupcake scheduling.

Yeah, they cooed about averaging 10 victories during the Daniel-Christensen era. Uh, 10 victories is like 1,000 yards in the NFL. It used to mean something when the NFL season was 12 and 14 games. Ten victories used to mean a lot before teams started scheduling four nonconference victories.

The Tigers have mastered the art of beating weak teams and sneaking past decent ones. We’ll call the Wildcats decent.

What should we call the Missouri Tigers?

I’m not sure. It’s all pretty much under review now — the Daniel-Christensen-Spread era.

Daniel seems more like a system quarterback now than a Heisman Trophy contender. He played miserably against Northwestern, tossing three interceptions and becoming progressively more inaccurate as the night wore on.

Christensen’s Spread seems flawed by forced diversity. On a night when the Tigers should’ve simply thrown the ball to Chase Coffman 20 times, Mizzou’s big tight end caught seven passes for 67 yards.

We might one day remember Coffman as the Michael Jordan of college football and Christensen as Dean Smith. Christensen might be the only man capable of holding Coffman to fewer than 10 receptions a game.

I spent all night begging Daniel to throw to Coffman. He caught everything in his area code and a couple of over-the-border balls. On a night when the Tigers just needed to move the chains, Christensen repeatedly got cute with reverses, fake reverses, the Wildcat formation and deep balls to receivers not named Jeremy Maclin.

It was very frustrating.

Pinkel and Christensen both need to write thank-you notes to Pat Fitzgerald.

Northwestern simply refused to score points in the fourth quarter. Fitzgerald stood on his sideline, dropped to his knees and prayed that the clock would expire during the final quarter. Rather than throw deep against Missouri’s vulnerable corners and safeties, Fitzgerald had his QB throw slants, screens and occasional dumps over the middle of the field.

With a chance to drive for the game-winning field goal at the end of regulation, Fitzgerald ran the ball once, threw sideways twice and punted. Herm Edwards must be his coaching role model.

Whatever, the Wildcats are always irrelevant when it comes to big-time football. Northwestern traveled to San Antonio to reveal things about the Tigers.

The questions that were raised about the Tigers in the losses to Kansas and Oklahoma were all answered on Monday.

The answers were unpleasant and unflattering. They put Missouri’s last two seasons in proper perspective. Gary Pinkel still has a lot of work to do. The Tigers have not arrived. They’re the kings of a pathetic Big 12 North.

Let’s save the ticker-tape parades and unseemly celebrations and shrieking until Pinkel puts a bit more on his resume.

And this is why I was laughing yesterday, Frazod.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Valiant

KU was horrible.. They just happened to expose MU's horrid defense and Chase's choking..

This is not about how good a team KU is. It was quite obvious to anybody going into this year that they would be far worse than last year, and they played like it.

The issue here is that MU went from being a national title contender to a team struggling to beat Northwestern in the Alamo Bowl. Many MU fans (particularly Frazod) treated them as if they were something special...as if they were on a level above KU.

The fact that they are no better than KU makes them the true frauds.

[Discuss Thrower]

I wish I had the knowledge to persuasively convey this point, but it's not wholly the fact that MU was an overrated "fraud" this season, but more or less teams that are not named OU, USC, UT, LSU, Florida, Alabama(?), or (even though I hate to say it) Ohio State are not strong enough recruiting wise to get enough talent to legitimately compete for a National Title. Some person suggested that one factor is that most of these schools are in warmer climes and this influences a recruit's decision, both for on and off the field reasons.

Personally, I'll be very surprised to see a team that is from a BCS conference be consistently on par with the aforementioned teams in the future. Outside of that, you'll never see anything more than a Boise State-esque upset of a team in a lesser bowl once every decade or so.

[Valiant]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

This is not about how good a team KU is. It was quite obvious to anybody going into this year that they would be far worse than last year, and they played like it.

The issue here is that MU went from being a national title contender to a team struggling to beat Northwestern in the Alamo Bowl. Many MU fans (particularly Frazod) treated them as if they were something special...as if they were on a level above KU.

The fact that they are no better than KU makes them the true frauds.

Hypothetically I think MU would beat KU 90% of the time.. The choke job they did this year was just really really bad.. The team seemed to have no heart..

Should be interesting to see what happens in the future.. They need some major defensive upgrades, especially for Dbacks..

[BWillie]

I think the entire big 12 is frauds. Missouri, on paper and by popular opinion should have piss pounded Northwestern. Instead they squeak out a win against a mediocre team in the worst of the major conferences. Oklahoma State loses to a average Oregon team. I think the rest of the bowl games will be more of the same. I'm going to say it, *gasp*, I think Texas is going to go down to Ohio State.

[Valiant]

Originally Posted by BWillie007

I think the entire big 12 is frauds. Missouri, on paper and by popular opinion should have piss pounded Northwestern. Instead they squeak out a win against a mediocre team in the worst of the major conferences. Oklahoma State loses to a average Oregon team. I think the rest of the bowl games will be more of the same. I'm going to say it, *gasp*, I think Texas is going to go down to Ohio State.

Hey now.. Oregon is a great team..

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Valiant

Hypothetically I think MU would beat KU 90% of the time..

I don't see any reason to believe that at all.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by BWillie007

I'm going to say it, *gasp*, I think Texas is going to go down to Ohio State.

I hope that was a joke.

[HolyHandgernade]

Originally Posted by BWillie007

Oklahoma State loses to a average Oregon team. I think the rest of the bowl games will be more of the same. I'm going to say it, *gasp*, I think Texas is going to go down to Ohio State.

An average Oregon team? They did finish second in the Pac 10 while possessing one of the most explosive offenses in the nation. Couple that with the fact OSU lost their top receiver and the QB played most of the game in obvious pain, I don't think "overrated" is an adequate description. I think if you hobbled any team's QB and top reciever they would be hard pressed to win.

Except for KU over MU, of course.

-HH

[Mecca]

Oregon is a good team, but it's just an example of how the Big 12 was about perception and not reality...people acted like any of the Big 12 teams would smoke all the Pac 10 teams but SC.

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

I don't see any reason to believe that at all.

That's because you are typing with homer glasses on....

And as for your other comment about Tiger fans thinking they were NC-worthy, you must be a bit confused. Most Tiger fans I talked to knew that we would lose to Texas and probably dump another game we were supposed to win....most of us were hoping to sneak in and get a BCS game (not the title game) that should have been ours last year.

I agree with whomever said that MU was never the same team after the loss to Okie State....and Whitlock's column is nothing more than an attempt to garner "Tiger-rage" to sell print. It's almost as bad as his "grading the Chiefs" article posted on another thread.

mmaddog
*******

[sodcat]

Whitlock cant write, cant critique bbq, and loves king carl. whats him neal and keitz gonna do now that carl has moved on?

[Priest31kc]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

I don't see any reason to believe that at all.

95% of the time.

[Chiefs_Mike_Topeka]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

My thoughts:

Northwestern played great....Mizzou not so much.

A win is a win. How many programs have back to back 10 win seasons?

Chase Daniel went downhill after the Okie State game. Not the same player.

Disappointing season to be sure but I'll take a Top 20 ranking again.

Teams don't celebrate their bowl wins anymore? Really?

Jason is trying to sell papers.

Big 12 hasn't looked good so far this bowl season.

They have no validity for being ranked. They are riding the coat tails of being unbelievably overrated at the start of the season. Nothing on their resume indicates they should be ranked.

[Chiefs_Mike_Topeka]

Originally Posted by Valiant

Hypothetically I think MU would beat KU 90% of the time.. The choke job they did this year was just really really bad.. The team seemed to have no heart..

Should be interesting to see what happens in the future.. They need some major defensive upgrades, especially for Dbacks..

What possible logical reasoning do you have to support that ridiculous statment?

Especially considering the series between the 2 is a virtual push.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Chiefs_Mike_Topeka

What possible logical reasoning do you have to support that ridiculous statment?

Especially considering the series between the 2 is a virtual push.

They have nothing. There is no major difference between the 2 programs at this point (and there never was), even if they don't want to admit it.