In what has to be one of the best things we've ever done at Mizzourah, former Tiger great, T Rucker, has come aboard to throw some knowledge our way. You sent your questions in, and without further adieu, your answers and bowl picks by T himself.
(Patrick in Madison by the way of St. Joe) Around Super Bowl time you always hear about NFL players getting hounded by everybody and their brother for tickets and it being a big distraction before the big game. I'm curious if players get the same questions before bowl games and if its a big distraction or just an annoyance?
No players don't get hounded for bowl tickets like super bowl tickets. UNLESS, its the National Championship game. I can remember when my brother was at the school that shall remain nameless and people wanting his National Championship tickets. And it's not much of a distraction because at the collegiate level the tickets are free, the problem in the NFL is that the tickets are $500 a piece!
(Bryan, Kahoka MO) Best bowl gift bag you ever got, and what was in it?
The bulk of the gift bags are mostly the same with sweat suits, shoes, luggage, jackets, and gift cards. The thing that sets them apart is the "big gift" a.k.a the one we REALLY want, and the best was the Cotton Bowl. They gave us Cannon Power Shot digital cameras and an iPod touch.
(AJ, Balwin MO) In your opinion, with the way Texas looked in their last two games, should TCU or Boise State have received a shot at Alabama?
NO WAY!! TCU and Boise are good programs and have good players but the problem I have with teams like these is the conferences they play in are weak! They aren't tested week in and week out physically or mentally like teams in the Big XII, SEC, etc... So I don't think they should be able to breeze through a season with maybe one tough game on the schedule and then be able to go play in the National Championship against a team that has had numerous tough/big games that exhaust them mentally and physically.
(Matt, Houston) Teams usually have 3-5 weeks off between the end of the season and the bowl game. For bowl practices, do you focus specifically on the bowl opponent for the 3-5 weeks, or is it more like Spring or Fall camp where you're working on several things until you close in on game week?
It's more like spring ball. The older guys actually don't even really practice for the first week. The younger players get a chance to run the offense/defense and the older players get a little bit of rest. A week and a half to two weeks is what we usually spent on the opponent.
(James, Kansas City) With a lot of games on New Year's Day, how does New Year's Eve work with the team? I know you had this come up with the '08 Cotton Bowl.
New Years Eve is treated as a regular day before the game. I think we may have had a luncheon early in the day, but its business as usual that evening and night while the rest of the world celebrates haha!
Navy runs an offense that Mizzou hasn't seen in years. What kind of adjustments must the Tigers make on D? Sell out for the run?
They are going to have to play with GREAT discipline. As tricky as their offense can be there are keys on every play, such as pulling tackles, motions, etc.. The coaches will do a great job of identifying the keys and relaying them to the players and it's the players' job to read the keys and execute their assignments.
With Army/Navy being a week later this year, Mizzou will have had two more weeks off than Navy will. Will that make any bit of difference?
I believe it will make a difference. It helps with getting the players fresh and this may sound weird but the more time you get off from football the more anxious/excited you are to get back to it. I've been playing xbox online with a few of my favorite Tigers a lot lately and I can tell you they are feeling good and enjoying the time off, but are very anxious to get to work.
TEXAS Missouri vs. Navy, Dec. 31, Houston The gifts $300 Best Buy shopping spree Under Armour backpack Under Armour shirt and hat Fossil watch T-shirt Texas Bowl belt buckle
INSIGHT Iowa State vs. Minnesota, Dec. 31, Tempe, Ariz. The gifts Electronics package from Davene, Inc. Fossil watch Game hat OGIO backpack
Nice. Of the four non-commits that visited this weekend, three committed, and it sounds as if the fourth is close. Tyler Gabbert and cornerback Kenronte Walker joined up with Marcus Murphy to become '10 Tigers. Here's a pretty solid article on the weekend, and it sounds as if Curtis Carter is thisclose to becoming a Tiger (the 4th of the players). Murphy and Walker are both 3-Star Rivals players, and Gabbert is a 4-Star. (Looks like '10 Tiger Tristan Holt got upgraded to a 4-Star player)
We mentioned it was a big recruiting weekend for Pinkel and Co. with ten guys on officials to CoMo, several of which had already committed to Mizzou. The Tigers did grab a new commit in running back Marcus Murphy, aka 'The guy in the video below'.
Very few of the Vegas and online sports-books have released their Texas Bowl line, and after that barn burner of a 17-3 Navy win over Army, it's questionable on the ones that have. The book has Mizzou as a six point favorite, and with that 54.5 point Over/Under, they are going with something like 30-24 Mizzou.
Navy struggled to throw 17 on the board against Army. Army! I've seen more attempted scoring at junior high dances than in that Army/Navy game.
Tell me the release, and of course, the height/weight (6ft/200lbs) of Tyler Gabbert doesn't look a lot like a younger Chase Daniel in this video. Just sayin'. We can all hope the kid plays like Chase.
Tyler is visiting Mizzou this weekend along with NINE (9!) others. Many of the attendees are already solid Mizzou commits, but some are undeclared, and some are wavering towards Mizzou, or the rumor mill would have it.
everything I hear about him is that he is a great guy with great character...which by the way is out of character for ku (so where's the fit in this situation?).
Sorry, just a slow day, but yes, big news is headed to your screens. Of course, we're hoping to have T Rucker's bowl post up in a couple of days as well.
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The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site.. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
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