Football Roundtables
SBNation Big 12 Roundtable - Week 6
by Jon Woods on Oct 8, 2009 6:00 AM MDT
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1. I'm sure everybody had preseason predictions for their team. Now that we're a few games in, revise your predictions with your best and worst case scenarios (being reasonable on both sides), and then revising your prediction for the season result.
Oh geez, "10 wins no excuses" ring a bell? Let's just say all of our preseason predictions have been tarred & feathered. Worst case? The Buffaloes don't win a game the rest of the season (and yes, that's still being reasonable). Best case? CU beats Iowa State, Kansas State and Texas A&M and then manages to upset one of either Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma State or Nebraska. I'm going to guess that the Buffs win 2 out of the first group and 1 out of the second to finish 4-8.
2. In 2010, the Big 12 will send it's 7th place team to play in a new bowl game to be played at Yankee Stadium, replacing the Independence Bowl in Shreveport. What's your take on this move? Is it a good move for players? Is it a good move for the conference? Is it a good move for fans?
I think the game will bring the conference some needed exposure as the game is going to have a lot of hype for a bowl featuring the Big 12's 7th team. The players should love being in New York City around the holiday season and the game should be fun to participate in (outside of the cold). For fans, no not really. Have you ever tried to get a hotel in NYC during the holidays? Add that cost to a flight from Big 12 country and you are looking at one expensive trip.
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SBNation Big 12 Roundtable - Week 4
by Jon Woods on Sep 23, 2009 4:30 PM MDT
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1. The game between Texas Tech and Texas got the Big 12 in the national eye early in the season. If your team was approached with this opportunity (or for Tech and Texas, approached again), would you accept and reap the benefits of the exposure, or decline because of the potential pitfalls of playing a conference foe so early in the season?
I prefer that non-conference and conference games are all lumped together whenever possible. I like that the Big 12 is one of the few conferences that keeps them separate for the most part. It isn't that I mind of a conference game earlier in the season, more so that I don't like teams having a non-conference game (which is usually an easier opponent) later in the year.
2. Some of the Big 12 teams are starting to become known quantities, but there are still a few teams that most of us can't quite measure. Which team in the Big 12 do you consider the biggest enigma right now?
Oklahoma State. I'm really torn about this team, as well as two of the teams that they have played. It will be a few weeks and a few more games before we have a good idea how strong Houston (we should know much more about the Cougars after this weekends game with Texas Tech), Georgia (who looked MUCH better against South Carolina) and the Cowboys are.
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SBNation Big 12 Roundtable - Week 3
by Jon Woods on Sep 17, 2009 3:57 PM MDT
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1. The Big 12 has looked more unimpressive than impressive thus far. Do you attribute this to early season struggles, or does the conference look to have regressed from '08? Please explain.
Overall I think the conference has actually improved from last year as there is a lot more depth this year than last. However, the top 3 teams this year are not quite as strong as the top 3 teams were last year. I believe that Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Kansas are all top 15-20 teams while Nebraska, Baylor, Missouri, Texas Tech and Texas A&M (yep, even the Aggies) are all top 30 teams. If we could somehow see some improvement in Iowa State, Kansas State and Colorado then we would have a very good argument for the Big 12 being the deepest conference in the country.
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SB Nation Big 12 Roundtable - Week 2
by Jon Woods on Sep 10, 2009 8:59 AM MDT
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1. A solid 10-2 showing for the Big 12 this weekend. Which of these wins was biggest for the Big 12 and why?
It has to be OSU over Georgia. The Missouri win was big and it showed (along with the A&M and Baylor victories) that this conference might be much, much deeper than we thought, but the Big 12 needed that victory over the SEC. After an extremely poor showing in last years bowl season, the conference had to have that win, otherwise we never would have heard the end of it from the SSSSSS EEEEEE CCCCCC.
2. Conversely, the Mountain West did its damage against Colorado and Oklahoma. What's more disconcerting -- a sleeper in Colorado coming unglued, or a power in Oklahoma getting knocked off?
As a Colorado website, I certainly have to say that the Buffaloes terrible performance was more than a bit unsettling. The OU loss hurts, but it was a neutral site game, with two big injuries, against a team that a lot of people around the country thought was going to be pretty darn good. Colorado lost at home and let THE OPPOSING TEAMS FANS storm the field. They looked unprepared and out of sync and all of Buff Nation is holding their breath that this was just a one game slip up.
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SB Nation Big 12 Roundtable - Week 1
by Jon Woods on Sep 3, 2009 3:10 PM MDT
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The football season is back and so is the Roundtable. In case you're new here or neglected the roundtables last season, it's when the Big 12 bloggers get together and share their opinions on the same topics. Feel free to add your own opinions in the comments section.
1. Everyone knows the national talking points for each Big 12 team by now (Oklahoma has new linemen! Bill Snyder's back at Kansas State! Baylor might upset somebody!). Give us a storyline for your team that isn't quite getting the attention it should.
I guess the only storylines you ever hear out of Boulder on a national level are "10 wins, no excuses", "It's the Big 12 brother" (still) and of course, "Cody Hawkins is the quarterback because his Dad is the coach" talk... basically everything other than what is taking place on the field. The quarterback competition is always going to grab most of the headlines but the storyline I will be watching is how the Buffs inexperienced players respond on the defensive line and at wide receiver, both considered unknowns going into the season.
At defensive line Colorado replaces three graduating seniors who underperformed a year ago but still leaves everyone uneasy because those seniors played the majority of the snaps. No one really knows what to expect from the big guys up front but if they can outpace their expectations Colorado has the talent elsewhere to be a top tier defense in the Big 12. We should know a lot about the defensive line, which has two true freshmen on the two deep rotation, early on as Colorado State's offensive line is the most experienced group in the country with 129 total starts.
At wide receiver the Buffs can be horrible or they can have the best group of players since Hawkins has been here... and no one has any idea which way it will go. The two most talented wide receivers are Markques Simas and Andre Simmons, but neither has ever taken a snap at the division one level and have established their reputations on potential alone. To make matters worse, Simmons, a 6'3 215 pound 4.4 running junior college transfer, was not cleared to play until last week so his timetable for impact is unknown and Marques Simas continues to have off field problems. Simas, suspended last season for being ineligible, was also suspended for the first two games of 2009 for "violating team rules". Once again, who knows when we will start seeing an impact from him. With those two players healthy and on the field the Buffaloes have a strong group of wideouts. Without them we will be looking at Scotty McKnight (former walk-on, led the Buffs in receptions the last two years) , Jason Espinoza (walk-on), Ryan Maxwell (walk-on) and Will Jefferson (true freshman who was an August 2009 signee) as the top four receivers.
Should be interesting...
2. The Big 12 continues to be derided by other conferences as a pass-happy, no defense, made-for-TV free-for-all. The question must be asked, how accurate is this description, and is the perception something of which the conference should be ashamed?
Pass happy? Yes. No defense? Not at all. Let's look at the conference bowl game results:
Missouri holds Northwestern to 23 points. Northwestern season average - 24.5
Kansas holds Minnesota to 21 points. Season average - 23.4
Nebraska holds Clemson to 21 points. Season average - 25.5
Texas holds Ohio State to 21 points. Season average - 28.1
Oklahoma holds Florida to 24 points. Season average - 45.2
Yes, I left out Oklahoma State and Texas Tech because we all know that neither one of those defenses aren't any good. But otherwise the numbers don't lie. The Big 12 defenses are fine, the offenses are just that good.
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BlogPoll Roundtable - Midseason Review
by Jon Woods on Oct 23, 2008 3:24 PM MDT
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This week's roundtable is being hosted by SBN Nebraska Cornhusker blog, Corn Nation. Check out some of the other responses to the questions here. Enjoy.
1. We’re about half way through the season. Has your team met your expectations, wildly exceeded them, or are you about to light the torches and storm your athletic department demanding blood?
It's kind of hard to say. I think if you told the average Buff fan before the season that we would be sitting at 4-3 heading into the Missouri game they would tell you that that's exactly where they thought we would be. However, if you then proceeded to tell them exactly how we got to be 4-3 said fan would probably be disappointed. Let's break it down this way, Cody Hawkins and the Buffalo offense has been a wild disappointment, only being saved from the depths of pure mediocrity by the emergence of Rodney Stewart and to a lesser extent, Tyler Hansen. On the other hand the defense has actually been a bit of a surprise, especially the reworked secondary. Unfortunately the ineptness of the offense greatly outweighs the strides that the D has made.
2. In an election year, all sorts of promises will be made, few will be kept. What is one promise or item you thought you could count on that hasn’t come to pass yet this season? Is there still a chance?
After the growth that we saw in Cody Hawkins over the second half of last season I think that we all thought he would make an even bigger leap this year. At the very least we expected to see continual improvement and that hasn't been there at all. I do think there is a chance that Cody can improve on his first seven games of 2008 (not much room to go but up). He has been hamstrung by the injuries on the offensive line that have sent their vertically challenged quarterback running for his life and hopefully our makeshift line will continue to get better as the year goes by. Lost in all of the hoopla over Tyler Hansen's first action last week was how well Cody played at the end of the game. He was more poised than he has been all season and hopefully he uses that final drive and third down completion as a building block for the rest of 08.
See the rest of the questions after the jump...
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Colorado Buffaloes Mid Season Report - TRR Style
by irish1611 on Oct 14, 2008 11:37 AM MDT
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Alright dedicated readers of The Ralphie Report. We need your help. Let's assess how we feel about the Buffs so far through Tuesday, October 14th. We will comment/grade/suggest our opinions on a number of subjects all relating to the Buffs (could be any sport) at the halfway point. This won't be your typical review. We will try and keep it as light as possible as we know we could go down that same depressing path around Cody Hawkins and the Buffaloes offense. When we get enough of your comments, we will throw together the best of the best responses along with our own! Let the games begin.
1) In 20 words or less, what player has been the biggest surprise on offense, what player has been the biggest disappointment of offense that is not named Cody Hawkins? It's hard, I know!
2) In 20 words or less, do the same for the defense.
3) Keep the spread offense or dump the spread like your high school prom date?
4) What is the number of wins the Buffs have left in them? Remaining schedule is Kansas State, @ Mizzou, @ Texas A&M, Iowa State, Oklahoma St and @ the Fuskers.
5) Bump Set Spike! Who is the cutest senior CU Buff Volleyball player below (only number needed). Yes, they are all seniors so it isn't illegal. Sorry if any of our readers are the father of these ladies, its all in good fun I promise. Hey it might actually increase attendance. Public service is a hobby of ours! For additional pictures go here. Pictures compliments of cubuffs.com
6) Which Buff would you rather have? WR Josh Smith or RB Rodney Stewart
7) How many years will Dan Hawkins be the coach of the Colorado Buffaloes?
8) More wins in the 2008 - 2009 season: CU Football Team or CU Basketball Team?
9) Finish the sentence (less than 30 words): In 2010, Darrell Scott will be...
10) You are celebrating a Buffs win. What is your beverage of choice?
11) The "I Have A Dream" Question. For example, like in The Ralphie Report Buff Bites today, I said, "I have a dream that one day the Buffs will have a quarterback in the top tier of the Big 12, I have a dream!" What is your Buffs dream...think BIG! (under 50 words).
12) Your favorite CU Buff player of all-time?
I realize half of these questions aren't related to football but hey, we could all use a break after the last three games! Spread the world to other Buff fans that you know to get this thing rocking full of good answers about how Buff Nation feels. Enjoy
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BlogPoll Roundtable - Week 6
by Jon Woods on Oct 8, 2008 10:26 AM MDT
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Special thanks to Barking Carnival (who has the best OU/TX preview I have seen to date) for hosting this week's Roundtable. Enjoy and debate below.
Please observe the latest ESPN Heisman Watch. What gridiron presence draws your suspicion and ire?
Javon Ringer. When is the last time a "consistent" running back won the Heisman trophy? Ron Dayne in 1999? The guy had over 2,000 yards. Ricky Williams? Same thing. I just don't see Ringer being the "game-changing" player that most Heisman winners are now a days. He isn't going to get that close to 2,000 yards now that the Big 10 schedule has started and if he stays healthy, Donald Brown will finish with more yards and most likely a better record.
In World War I, British troops were famously characterized as "Lions Led By Donkeys." What Donkey leading a college football team of Lions is leading his troops into the Somme again this Saturday? Who should replace him after the court martial?
Tommy Bowden. The guy just absolutely cannot get it done. How many chances is he supposed to get? How many times have his teams let the public down with an insane amount of talent, especially in the watered down ACC? I would put a lot of money on this team if they hired the right coach. With the players that they have on campus right now someone like Brian Kelly could come in and have this team dominating almost instantly, a la Urban Meyer or Bob Stoops/
See the rest of the questions after the jump...
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