Big 12 Roundtable: Week 2

10 comments so far September 9, 2008 by Jason Siffring

With two games under our belts, it's time to reconvene the Big 12 Blogger Roundtable (pictured above). We have the honor of hosting this week. So, readers share your thoughts in the comments and follow the links to our fellow Big 12 blogs to see what they have to say.

What has been the biggest surprise of the Big 12 season so far? The home loss to Arkansas State by Texas A&M, the impressive scores by Kansas State and Iowa State, or something else?

Steve: I wouldn't call Arkansas State a total surprise because I have been a doubter of the Mike Sherman hire from the start. Nevertheless A&M should steamroll the Ark State's of the world no matter who their coach is.

Should the ankle injury to Jeremy Maclin concern Missouri fans and does it alter the Tigers chances at a division or conference title? Or do his 65 all-purpose yards and a touchdown (on just 6 touches) tell us that he’s fine?

Steve: The fact that he played so soon against such a non-threatening opponent is a positive sign for Tiger fans. But 65 all-purpose yards won't necessarily keep opposing teams up nights either. This is a wait and see.

Many people thought this could be the year that Texas Tech finally breaks through and wins the Big 12 South or at least finishes in the Top 10. Do their performances after two games change your perception of them at all or does this look like a team that can get to a BCS bowl game?

Brandon: Thanks to the Big 12's fantastic television deal most of us probably haven't even seen Tech play yet, but I honestly think the fact that the Raiders haven't quite looked like the offensive orgasm they have been (and were expected to be again) is a good thing. Maybe it's more a case of the rest of the pack catching up rather than Tech struggling--they still lead the conference in passing offense--but at least it feels different than the typical start to the typical season. The key game here is Texas. TT hasn't won against the Longhorns in 5 years and if the Red Raiders have lost some of their preseason aura it's probably due to the fact that Texas has gained some.

Tom: I'm going to jump in and add one thing. The Red Raiders were over-hyped coming into the season so their games so far feel like a disappointment. I think the pendulum has swung too far back and they are better than some of the media is giving them credit for right now. I still think that they will surpass Texas in terms of fighting for the Big 12 South this year. Texas Tech should still be on track to be one of the top 4 teams in the Big 12.

Oklahoma has put together some strong performances so far and should be favored in every game they play. But Bob Stoops’ teams have shown themselves to be vulnerable to an upset from time to time. Is this team going to go 13-0 (regular season plus BCS championship game) or will they get knocked off (and if they get upset, who gets ‘em)?

Steve: I'll go with the easy pick and say the Red River Shootout as the loss for OU. I'm drinking the Kool-Aid on the new defensive coordinator at Texas and certainly don't think the Longhorn offense is any worse than the Colorado squad the upset the Sooners a year ago.

After two games, what can you say with confidence that you really know about your team?

Darren: I can say decisively that Nebraska is playing with substantially greater energy and effort than last year, especially on defense. It is also clear that NU has strong special teams, both in kicking and the return game. Finally, I *think* I know that NU has more talent at wide receiver than some may have thought. Swift looks like a true #1, Holt is a talent, and the supporting players (Peterson, Paul) make timely plays and block.

On the downside, I know based on results in the running game that NU's offensive line is not living up to its pre-season billing.

With two games down, how would you re-rank the divisions?

Brandon: This is still a relatively small sample to draw from, even more difficult when you consider the wildly disparate strengths of schedule, but here it is as I see with a two game resume:

SOUTH (Overall Rank)
1. Oklahoma (1) - The Sooners have established themselves early as not just the class of the conference but perhaps the country at this early juncture.
2. Texas (3) - Middle of the pack in terms of total offense and defense, but McCoy has 7 TDs to 1 INT. How easily they handle a struggling Arkansas team could be telling.
3. Texas Tech (5) - For some reason I think its good for the overall "Tech Making the Leap" theory that they've struggled early on.
4. Oklahoma State (6) - Home to your current conference leaders in rushing and receiving and the defense is in the top half of the league as well. Long term, if not for the fact that the Cowboys have to go to Lubbock, I might give them the nod over TT right now.
5. Baylor (11) - Same record as Ag. & Mech. without the embarrassing home loss.
6. Texas A&M (12)- Same record as Baylor with an embarrassing home loss.

NORTH
1. Missouri (2) - The question is not whether or not there are question marks on defense right now. The question is, will they really matter with this offense?
2. Kansas (4) - Allowing 5 points a game. That ain't much.
3. Kansas State (7) - Only reason to discount the Wildcats is due to their schedule. Freeman's been great against two cupcakes.
4. Nebraska (8) - Signs of life, signs of weakness. Definitely a work in progress. How much talent is truly there on the defensive side of the ball?
5. Colorado (9) - It's just that Eastern Washington is SO bad.
6. Iowa State (10) - Will they continue to be the third best rushing team in the conference? Probably not, but if they do the Cyclones have a good shot to avoid the cellar.

What do you think? Readers, leave your thoughts in the comments. Bloggers, drop a link.

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