Making a Statement

Wow. All I could say after that Missouri game was wow. I've been preaching about that inevitable loss (or two) since the beginning of the season and I'm not about to completely back off of that claim just yet, but I will say this: if they play like they did on Saturday the rest of the way, they will cruise into the title game. Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet, but these guys are clicking on all cylinders.

I know hindsight is 20-20, but I can't help but to think that on the first play of the game when Missouri attempted that reverse and Roy Miller (think it was him) burst through the line for a 12-yard loss may have been the game. That play seemed to set a tone right off the bat for the entire game. More on Texas' offense in a minute, but the defense was really something. I'm not going to read too much into that 28-point second half - especially given the fact that Mizzou's offense was going against the Texas second and third stringers. But the first half? Holy cow. There was never a point when Daniel was comfortable and in control of his team. Never once. Yet again Will Muschamp has his crew playing at an extremely high level. Did you see him chewing out the backup defensive back after he gave up an easy touchdown? The game was over and he was ripping this guy a new you-know-what as he was coming off of the field. He's setting the tone for this defense and they're responding.

And what can you say about the offense. Granted, we all knew Missouri's defense was suspect at best, but regardless, the numbers that Colt is throwing up is just stupid. 91% completion percentage for the game - what? Are you serious? He's still over 80% and looking like the top player in the country right now. Still a ways to go and a tough road ahead, but like I said, if they can keep this level of play up for another 5 games then screw the pencil - chisel their names in stone for the title game.

What Did We Learn This Weekend:

1. There is no game with greater meaning and impact than next week's Penn State at Ohio State game. Although anything can happen down the stretch, the chances are very good that the winner of this game will win the Big 10 and (maybe) get an opportunity to play for the big title. Honestly, I think if Penn State wins (and wins out) they go to the title game, but if Ohio State wins and wins out, they'll have a much harder time of getting in - they would need a lot of things outside of their control to happen. Set your DVR for this one.
   
2. That parity rules and college football can be very a cyclical thing. Ball State, Tulsa, TCU, Boise State, Utah and BYU - all teams ranked higher than Florida State in the first BCS poll. I know they've been struggling for a number of years now, but that still just seems weird. Point is, can you really criticize Georgia and Alabama for winning games that may have been deemed a little too close? They won right? Penn State game out sluggish, quite possibly looking ahead a bit, but look what they did at the end? It seems like they went from 10 down to 25 up in about 10 minutes. They're good - all of them are good. Competition is better these days. Mizzou losing 2 games in a row doesn't make them a bad team. They'll certainly take on one on the chin in the polls, but what big-time team out there right now *wants* to play Mizzou? None. Competition is better and it's exciting to see.
3. That Texas Tech is going to run into some problems when they hit the meat of their schedule. Remaining games against Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Their defense was just plain bad in the first half of their game against a bad Aggie team. And yes, I know it's a rivalry, but it was bad. The good news is the Red Raiders made adjustments and came out looking impressive. I felt like they still let the Ags stick around a bit too long, but at the end of the day they got the job done. However, the Aggies are the worst team in the division and maybe the conference. I just don't think they'll be able to outscore the Sooners or Horns - both of those defenses are more than capable of making just enough plays to let the offense take over. They travel to Lawrence this weekend which is no easy task - Reasing put up some wicked numbers on OU's defense and even without Reynolds they're a lot better than Tech's defense. I'm just saying, that game was a big X on the calendar all year and all of a sudden I'm not as concerned based on what I've seen.
   

Other Weekend Observations:

• Classic line from Mark Schlabach article on Sunday: "...Yet we still don't know if Texas is the best team in college football. And we still might not know 2 weeks from now after games against Oklahoma State and Texas Tech." Uh, what? Didn't they just beat 2 consecutive top 10 teams? Didn't they beat #1 ranked OU? What in the hell has 'Bama or Penn State done differently? Needless to say the article went on to talk about the lack of defense being played in the Big 12. Couldn't you argue that SEC/Big 10 have crap offenses? Whatever, it doesn't matter. But to say that they aren't clearly the best team in the country right now is ridiculous.
• Jerrod Johnson looked ridiculous awful in the Tech/Aggie game - his decision making was suspect at best.
  
• I'm not sure if you can put action on this in Vegas, but I would bet that the winner of the ACC is outside of the top 25.
  
• Mike Stoops just saved his arse for one or two more years.
  
• If I'm Deloss Dodds and Mack Brown I'm putting a plan together to keep in the top drawer - a plan that would make Will Muschamp the highest-paid coordinator at a million+ a year. It's not realistic to think he'll stick around for 5 years or anything, but if they can get 2 or 3 out of him it would be great. Worth the money....and you can afford it. If he can keep doing exactly what he's doing for the rest of this year and next year he could almost pick his job. But, if you look at this year, Clemson is open and you have to think that Washington comes open (although who wants that juggernaut?). Anyway, I think he holds out for a year or two. I hope so.
• I think Lane Kiffin gets a good look for the Clemson job. Perhaps Tennessee as well.
  
• How about that statement Ohio State made? Huge game next weekend.
• One small confession: I'm more worried today, on Sunday, about Oklahoma State than I ever was at any point last week leading up to Mizzou. These guys are coming in on quite a high...

NFL Notes:

• I think Dallas made the right move in getting Williams. They may have given up a bit too much in general "worth", but they could afford to do it - they are loaded and young at skill positions with Romo, Creighton, Jones, Barber, Witten and now Williams. People are knocking him because he didn't excel at Detroit....because he was at Detroit. I think this is a good move. And Detroit will be absolutely loaded with draft picks - they've got Calvin Johnson they can build around. Win win.
• With that said..... the fit has hit the shan in Big D. Welcome to Wade Phillips - if his teams are winning he's good, but when adversity strikes he has no idea what to do. And amazing what happens when you combine a me-first personality, a bona fide thug with a drinking problem, a hands-on owner and, a "player's coach". Oh, and Cowboy fans and talk show hosts may to back off of the "Super Bowl favorites" talk....until they actually win a post season game. They play in too tough a division to stumble like this - they've got to right the ship and fast.
  
• I can't help but to wonder if Indy's window has officially closed.
  
• How about those Tennessee Titans? I think it's safe to say that removing Vince Young from the lineup has turned this into a different team....a better team.
  

That's what I got folks - I'll be back on Friday with a preview of the big game against the Cowboys (not those Cowboys). Have a good week.