Picking the Big 12 North
Posted by qc at 7/24/2009 8:01 AM 
Categories: College Football
Tags: Big 12 North Big 12 football Big 12 North preseason projections
Categories: College Football
Tags: Big 12 North Big 12 football Big 12 North preseason projections
33 days 10 hours until kickoff, but who's counting?
As you all know the Big 12 Championship trophy is hidden each year in the musty basement of the Cotton Bowl and can only be found on a Saturday in October when the air wafts of corn dogs, cheap (not to be confused with inexpensive) beer and the mass of humanity that is the Texas State Fair. As Prince Bob would say "everybody knows that."
Colorado - Dan Hawkins summed it up when he was speaking at their Senior dinner. "10 wins. No excuses." Unfortunately, I would guess those words are probably written into his contract or might as well be. The one excuse that I'll give them for last year is that they were the "walking wounded" with a large # of starters injured. The Buff's started off strong last year at 3-0 and then the wheels came off. Tyler Hanson should start at QB with Cody Hawkins providing the Soph with a steady backup. IF Speedy Stewart and Darrel Scott stay healthy, they should have a pretty good one two punch in the backfield. Freshmen receivers are going to have to step up to fill a pretty slim receiver corps. On the Defensive side of the ball, they are looking to fill some major holes and it's not going to happen,
Iowa State - Gene Chizik is out. Paul Rhodes is in. Paul Rhodes built the teams that led to the Cyclones Bowl trips in the early 2000's. Austen Arnaud will be solid at QB, they have a smorgasbord of no name receivers and running backs. They have an experienced Offensive Line led by Stephens, Lamaak and Alvarez. Their D is a train wreck. Their secondary can't fall from the floor but they will be worn out by the Big 12 offenses. The Cyclones might win 4 games this year. Next year is their .500 year.
Kansas - The fighting Manginos will be back and come strong out of the gate with a powder puff lineup. They'll go 5-0. They'll be the new Mizzou for the TV hype machine at ESPiN. And then they get hit with the murderers row that is the Big 12 schedule. On the offensive side of the ball, they are solid all the way around with Reesing at QB and Briscoe/Meier at receivers. Their running backs are a little undersized and may not be able to take the pounding of the Big 12 schedule. They are rebuilding on their O line after losing 3 starters which will be huge even though they are downplaying it. On Defense, they were horrible against that pass last year, not much improvement on the D line. Graduated their starting LB's and their secondary is fast and that's about it.
Kansas State - Bill Snyder is back at the helm, but this isn't your grandpa's Big 6 anymore. Get used to hearing "Coffman to Banks for a Touchdown" because that's their offense. They are pretty solid on the O line. On Defense the line has a really good duo in Harold and Childs. They bolstered linebacking corps last year and there's a lot of depth there led by Hrebek and Pomele. The secondary should come on in the 2nd part of the season in their new 4-2-5 scheme.
Missouri - Daniel, Maclin and Coffman are gone. They've had two awesome seasons and now the fans prep for mediocrity again. Blaine Gabbert will fill in nicely for Daniel with some strong seasoned weapons at RB and WR. Their offensive line returns three starters and they will score some points. On the defensive side of the ball, they are rebuilding on the D line around Jaron Baston, their linebackers are solid with Weatherspoon, Lambert and Ebner. Their secondary can't be much worse than their 117th ranking last year, but they graduated 3 starters so look for improvement.
Nebraska - The defensive improvement will continue this year just like last. Joe Ganz graduated, Patrick Witt transferred and that leaves Zac Lee (son of Bob Lee) as the favorite. Their offense will suffer from lack of reps with the #1 Qb as the competition continues. Jacob Hickman anchors a salty offensive line and Roy Helu comes back at RB. Ndamukong Suh and Barry Turner lead a strong Defensive Line. Too much indecision/competition for reps at LB and DB will have a negative impact on performance out of the gate. Huskers lose at Va Tech but come back strong in the back half of the season when it counts.
Big 12 North Predictions:
Nebraska - 5-3, 8-4
Kansas - 4-4, 8-4
Missouri - 4-4, 7-5
Colorado - 2-6, 5-7
Kansas State - 1-7, 5-7
Iowa State - 0-8, 3-9
As you all know the Big 12 Championship trophy is hidden each year in the musty basement of the Cotton Bowl and can only be found on a Saturday in October when the air wafts of corn dogs, cheap (not to be confused with inexpensive) beer and the mass of humanity that is the Texas State Fair. As Prince Bob would say "everybody knows that."
Colorado - Dan Hawkins summed it up when he was speaking at their Senior dinner. "10 wins. No excuses." Unfortunately, I would guess those words are probably written into his contract or might as well be. The one excuse that I'll give them for last year is that they were the "walking wounded" with a large # of starters injured. The Buff's started off strong last year at 3-0 and then the wheels came off. Tyler Hanson should start at QB with Cody Hawkins providing the Soph with a steady backup. IF Speedy Stewart and Darrel Scott stay healthy, they should have a pretty good one two punch in the backfield. Freshmen receivers are going to have to step up to fill a pretty slim receiver corps. On the Defensive side of the ball, they are looking to fill some major holes and it's not going to happen,
Iowa State - Gene Chizik is out. Paul Rhodes is in. Paul Rhodes built the teams that led to the Cyclones Bowl trips in the early 2000's. Austen Arnaud will be solid at QB, they have a smorgasbord of no name receivers and running backs. They have an experienced Offensive Line led by Stephens, Lamaak and Alvarez. Their D is a train wreck. Their secondary can't fall from the floor but they will be worn out by the Big 12 offenses. The Cyclones might win 4 games this year. Next year is their .500 year.
Kansas - The fighting Manginos will be back and come strong out of the gate with a powder puff lineup. They'll go 5-0. They'll be the new Mizzou for the TV hype machine at ESPiN. And then they get hit with the murderers row that is the Big 12 schedule. On the offensive side of the ball, they are solid all the way around with Reesing at QB and Briscoe/Meier at receivers. Their running backs are a little undersized and may not be able to take the pounding of the Big 12 schedule. They are rebuilding on their O line after losing 3 starters which will be huge even though they are downplaying it. On Defense, they were horrible against that pass last year, not much improvement on the D line. Graduated their starting LB's and their secondary is fast and that's about it.
Kansas State - Bill Snyder is back at the helm, but this isn't your grandpa's Big 6 anymore. Get used to hearing "Coffman to Banks for a Touchdown" because that's their offense. They are pretty solid on the O line. On Defense the line has a really good duo in Harold and Childs. They bolstered linebacking corps last year and there's a lot of depth there led by Hrebek and Pomele. The secondary should come on in the 2nd part of the season in their new 4-2-5 scheme.
Missouri - Daniel, Maclin and Coffman are gone. They've had two awesome seasons and now the fans prep for mediocrity again. Blaine Gabbert will fill in nicely for Daniel with some strong seasoned weapons at RB and WR. Their offensive line returns three starters and they will score some points. On the defensive side of the ball, they are rebuilding on the D line around Jaron Baston, their linebackers are solid with Weatherspoon, Lambert and Ebner. Their secondary can't be much worse than their 117th ranking last year, but they graduated 3 starters so look for improvement.
Nebraska - The defensive improvement will continue this year just like last. Joe Ganz graduated, Patrick Witt transferred and that leaves Zac Lee (son of Bob Lee) as the favorite. Their offense will suffer from lack of reps with the #1 Qb as the competition continues. Jacob Hickman anchors a salty offensive line and Roy Helu comes back at RB. Ndamukong Suh and Barry Turner lead a strong Defensive Line. Too much indecision/competition for reps at LB and DB will have a negative impact on performance out of the gate. Huskers lose at Va Tech but come back strong in the back half of the season when it counts.
Big 12 North Predictions:
Nebraska - 5-3, 8-4
Kansas - 4-4, 8-4
Missouri - 4-4, 7-5
Colorado - 2-6, 5-7
Kansas State - 1-7, 5-7
Iowa State - 0-8, 3-9
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