Thoughts on the Tournament

It's taken almost a week but I'm finally past the Missouri Tigers horrible loss last Friday afternoon to Norfolk State. If you live in a cave and don't have Internet access, the second seeded Tigers were beaten by the 15 seed Spartans 86-84 in the NCAA We

Mizzou was lucky to lose by only two points. Norfolk State out shot, out rebounded, out hustled and out muscled Missouri. Norfolk State took a page from Kansas State's book and got physical with the Tigers. K-State beat Missouri twice during the regular season, won both times and pushed Mizzou around. (I have to say I was surprised Norfolk didn't have a better showing against Florida on Sunday. The Gators beat the Spartans by 30).

If you had told me at the start of the season the Tigers would make the tournament I would have been ecstatic. They far exceed my pre-season expectations. But, when it came to the Big Dance they fell short of mine and a lot of other Missouri fans expectations.

Thoughts on This Week's Mizzou Game

First of all I was happy to see my Missouri Tigers get back on track with a 38-28 win over Kansas State. K-State is a tough and dangerous football team. Yeah, I know they were down 18 points with 7:00 to go in the game, but had it not been for a few poorly timed turnovers, K-State could have been in position to win the game.

K-State quarterback Carson Coffman fumbled the ball on the Mizzou half yard line just before the half, and you could see it take the momentum away from the team. Then in the second half Missouri's Aldon Smith sacked Coffman for a fumble and the loose ball was picked up by Jacquies Smith and returned 53 yards for a touchdown that put the Tigers up 28-14. Otherwise, the play was relatively even with both squads struggling at times. The Tigers go 8-2 on the season and 4-2 in the conference. K-State is 6-4 and 3-4.

Up next for Mizzou is Iowa State in Ames. The Tigers have always had problems playing up there and they had better be ready this week as again they will face a team that moves the ball on the ground extremely well. I bleed Black and Gold but this one will be tough and it could be a tough night for the Tigers.

Bad Night in Lubbock

I am having a tough time getting past the loss my Missouri Tigers put up last night at the hands of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Missouri went into Lubbock ranked in the top 20 and played a stinker losing to Tech 24-17. I give credit to Tech coach Tommy Tuberville and his staff for a solid game plan and for being able to move the ball on the ground against the Mizzou defense. On the other hand the Tigers didn't execute last night and much of the credit has to go back to Tech's defense. Blaine Gabbert, Mizzou's quarterback, had his worst night of the season completing just 12 of 30 passes. Gabbert's receivers didn't give him a lot of help either. The Tigers are now 7-2 on the season and 3-2 in the Big XII conference. Texas Tech is now 5-4 & 3-4.

What is perplexing to me is that Tech's pass defense was ranked 119 of 120 BCS schools coming into the game and the Missouri coaching staff didn't exploit a known weakness. The middle of the field appeared to be open most of the night, but the Tigers rarely struck there. I am looking forward to Gary Pinkel's news conference Monday morning.

I'm confident Pinkel and his staff will fix the passing game before next week's game against Kansas State and will make the needed adjustments to the team's rush defense. But, K-State will be sky high coming into Columbia after beating a highly regarded Oklahoma team last night in Manhattan. At the risk of using a cliché the game will be a dofight. Fox Sports will show it to the nation beginning at 11:30 Saturday morning.

A Win and a Loss

My beloved Tigers stepped up this weekend and beat a decent Kansas State team out in Manhattan 38-12. Danario Alexander continues to impress with his speed and agility. He may be one of the most under rated wide outs in the nation. And the defense did a great job too. Sean Weatherspoon dominated the Wildcats and helped lead the Tigers fourth quarter goal line stand that rebuffed K-State on four trys. The Tigers are back home this weekend against Iowa State at Faurot Field and will be looking to improve on their 6-4 record.

Sunday was not as good a day for St. Louis football fans. The Rams played well in the first half but ultimately lost to a very good New Orleans Saints team, 28-23. The Rams are now 1-8. The Rams were tied at half 14 apiece, but New Orleans ran the second half kickoff back for a touchdown and never looked back. Up next for the Rams, the defending NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals in the Valley of the Sun.