| 19 October 2009
Dear Big 12 North,
I think I can speak for all B12N teams when I say that, in August, we believed that five of the six teams were building better teams, with kU being the one team expected to have their best team in years. Mizzou, Colorado, and Nebraska were all thrown out to be pretty good teams, with Iowa State and K-State starting to get better. kU was rightly given preseason dap by most. I can also say that we believed that our best team in the B12N would probably be the fourth best team in the B12S behind Texas, Oklahoma, and Okie State.
The fact is: nobody deserves a shot at going to the Fiesta Bowl. All of your teams are playing like shit. Overall, the survivor of the B12N would probably finish fifth in the B12S behind the previous three, and throw in Texas Tech. Hell, ATM has surprised and played solid ball at times. I fully expect your champ to go 1-2 against the B12S teams, and I am still content with this. 0-3 is a possibility now.
Maybe you're wondering why I feel this way. Let me break it down for you. It's not a power poll, because I'd rate all six teams as 6a-6f.
kU- Easily the most returning talent. Todd Reesing has saved the buckleshoes' asses more than once before finally falling to,**gulp** Colorado. Struggling at home to Duke and Southern Miss did kU no favors. They were easily the worst undefeated team before, you know, losing. Not blowing out the opponents they should have, and giving up big play after big play to opponents has killed the Jayhawks.
Mizzou- Losing two winnable games, one at home and one with the opponent's best players missing, has made the Tigers look vulnerable. After coming out like gangbusters against (a supposedly pretty good) Illannoy made Mizzou look like a top 10 team. The thing the Tigers have going for them is they are young, and probably have the most talent overall if they can ever put it together. If the Tigers could mix DWash and the OLine from '08 with the '09 squad, Mizzou would win the B12N hands down. Fact is, Mizzou's young team can look great at times, but then shoot both feet off in less than five minutes. Take a look at Saturday's game for example: a great 1st half by the offense was mixed by a D that played a bit below average. The D then played fairly well in the 2nd half, with zero offense. Young team learning on the job. They can win games they aren't supposed to, and lose to one's they should smoke.
Nebraska- The Huskers have the most dominant player in the entire conference, but he can't throw, catch a pass from his own QB, cover a reciever, or return kicks. With the Huskers secondary sucking hind teat in a conference that is based on passing, even you can figure this out. Sure, the Huskers have some young talent at LBs, but a pretty piss poor QB has Bo Pelini thinking of starting a true freshman QB. Is this Nebraska waving the white flag? If Cody Green was the starter from the go against those shitty Sun Belt squads, I don't think this would be a big deal. Now, he is possibly going to start for a team that has some rough games left. What does starting a true freshman QB do to this team? Would Lee hang around for his senior year? Kody Spano return? Would Tyler Gabbert still roll into Lincoln? Is Roy Helu back in '10 for the Huskers to contend? How will Super Rex heal? The Huskers have enough talent to contend for your crown next year with Mizzou and possibly kU, but damn, the only thing restored are questions about the Husker football team.
Colorado- I'm not even sure where to start with the Buffs. They have been a bigger disappointment than Pizza Hut's ring of cheese crust pizza. Pundits called for the Buffs to finish 2nd or 3rd in the North, with even a few going for the win. I learned my lesson last year on these fools. Cody Hawkins is garbage, but Tyler Hansen is pretty good from what we've seen. When can we officially call Darrell Scott a bust? If you'd like to let Dan Hawkins know that his team is playing like an intramural team, that'd be great. Calling for a 10 win season before the year began, this squad will be struggling to get to the six wins they will pathetically need to get to a bowl.
Kansas State- Nobody knows what Bill Snyder is doing. He's up waaaaay past his bedtime. Now listen, Snyder in the mid-90's was solid. Now? He's just the face of a team that is going nowhere. They've lost every road game, including one to Louisiana-Lafayette. They will lose their last two road games (Nebraska, Oklahoma), and possibly lose out the rest of the season. Brandon Banks has played pretty solid for the Wildcats, but nobody knows who the QB is from week-to-week. Somehow, they are still leading your sorry pack of teams through Week 7 with a 2-1 record. I'd probably give good odds that Snyder isn't back in '10, which could totally eff up anything he's got going right now.
Iowa State- The only team that has improved drastically over their '08 team are the 'Clones. Paul Rhodes has done a great job in his first season harvesting Chizik's players. ISU is eight points from being 6-1. Yep, you read that correctly. A hard loss in Larryville and a one point loss at Camerohead in Farmageddon, and ISU is 4-3 right now. I imagine any 'Clone fan would roll around in a sheet full of 4-3 right now. They do have a lot of returning starters in Rhodes first year, which helps out immensely, but those starters couldn't find wins in their first few years if it was wearing a G-string. Iowa State has a shot at bowling this year, and I can probably again speak for the other five B12N teams when I say that nobody wants to go to Ames to play.
In closing, there are three teams that will probably be better than what the B12S has to offer in '10. The South could be doing some serious rebuilding next year. But as far as 2009 goes, you, B12N, are a poop filled diaper.
Thanks,
BH
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