Happy New Year!

As the title of this post indicates, I really hope that you and the ones you love have a Happy New Year.  It was a good one, except for the hoosier neighbors down the street waking everyone up with fireworks at midnight.  

You may have noticed this is written on January 2nd, mainly because I spent New Year's Day sampling the Smorgasbord of NCAA football bowl games.

I also learned, again, that if it's New Year's Day the Big 10 (or maybe it's the Big 12 or possibly the Big 14) will choke big time.  The Big Ten went a whopping one and four.  The only winner in the group was Northwestern which finally won a bowl game for the first time since 1949.  The Big Ten losers list includes Nebraska, Michigan, Purdue and Wisconsin.  At the same time the SEC conference played three games yesterday winning two of them (South Carolina in the Outback Bowl and Georgia in the Capital One Bowl).

And a final thought on the Bowl games yesterday; Northern Illinois had no business playing in the Orange Bowl.  Florida State had their way with the NIU in a 31-10 romp.  My guess is Louisville of the Big East will  suffer a similar fate this evening in the Sugar Bowl when they run into the Florida at the Super Dome.  For the record I forecast a 31-14 Florida win.

Thoughts on This Past Weekend

First of all congratulations to Nebraska on it's 31-17 win over my beloved Tigers. The Huskers punched Mizzou squarely in the mouth on their first possession of the game and never looked back. Running Back Roy Helu, Jr. ran for 307 yards and scored on three long touchdown runs. I am sure there were some Tiger D'backs who had nightmares for Halloween dreaming about trying to run him down. But, they couldn't he was just too doggone fast. In fact the whole Nebraska team is fast. Combine that with the domination from the Huskers Offensive Line and that was the difference in the game. On a brighter note, while the Tigers got down 24-0, they never gave up and at one point had cut the gap to ten points. But, then Helu took off down the field frustrating the Tigers. Still even in a tough loss on the road to Nebraska, I am very proud of my Missouri Tigers. They are now 7-1 and ranked 12th in the latest BCS poll. Up next this Saturday is a trip to Lubbock, Texas to take on a 4-4 Texas Tech Team. M-I-Z!!!

On a happier note the young St. Louis Rams continue to grow and learn how to win. The Rams beat a bad Carolina Panthers team 20-10 yesterday. Even with injuries at the Wide Receiver position the Rams were able to move the ball when needed. The Rams are now 4-4 headed to their bye week. The schedule is not nearly as favorable for the Rams in the next eight weeks. The team has one one home game between now and December 19th. But, I look forward to the second half of the season as this team continues to grow and improve. Go Rams!

Mizzou Gets Slaughtered

There was no doubt Saturday night who the better team was at Arrowhead Stadium. I knew Oklahoma would probably beat the stuffing out of Mizzou. After all, they've been pounding teams all season. The only thing I didn't like was Brad Stoops running up the score so his team could score 60 points in five straight games. The whole BCS ratings thing needs to be changed so margin of victory and total points don't play a factor.

Does OU belong in the national championship game? I don't know. Texas beat them in mid October and they both have the same record. So, my thought is Texas is the better team and deserves a shot at the national title.

Mizzou ends the regular season at 9-4 and is headed to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio. It's a decent bowl, but Missouri should be playing in the Gator Bowl on New Year's Day and not Nebraska. Missouri has a better record and beat Nebraska 59-10 back in October. But, apparently game results are meaningless in the world of Bowl executives.

How 'Bout Them Tigers

My beloved Missouri Tigers stomped Nebraska last night 52-17. The Tigers scored on ten of 12 possessions and Nebraska was clueless most 0f the game about what Missouri was doing.

The win is particularly sweet to me since it had been 30 years since Mizzou had won in Lincoln. This one win isn't a payback but it's a start.

For years Nebraska was said to have some of the best fans in the country. Well, apparently losing has changed some of their "great" fans into obnoxious asses. And the same can be said of at least one Nebraska player. Chase Daniel, Mizzou's quarterback, said he had extra motivation last night after being spit on by a Cornhusker player. Daniel took the high road and refused to name the player, but also made the allegation that Nebraska is one of the dirtiest football teams he has played.

The bottom line is Missouri 52 - Nebraska 17. Mizzou 5-0; Nebraska 3-2

Mizzou Rah...

My beloved Missouri Tigers are now 2-0 after beating up on Southeast Missouri State on Saturday night in Columbia by a final count of 52-3.

Now, in itself that isn't much cause for celebration. But the Tigers played well. And that combined with the season opening win over Illinois gives me hope as the team starts to build momentum towards what I hope is a national championship season. The first real test won't come until the first weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska. Missouri hasn't won there in 30 years. But, I am putting the cart before the horse.

This week the opponent will be Nevada. A division one team that has had success in the past and is well coached. This will be a better test and I look forward to the game.