Big 12 Quoteboard: An Aggie Eating Crow

Basketball season is officially underway and thus the first Big 12 Basketball Power Poll has been released by Big XII Hoops. The expectations for Oklahoma aren't very high this season and that is reflected in the poll but at least the Sooners don't come in dead last. Not sure that I agree with the three-way tie at first place. 

Basketball has started, so that means it's time for the first Big 12 Hoops Power Rankings of the year! With no losses in the conference -- and zero marquee wins -- this is basically just a preseason polling. -Big 12 Hoops

T1. Kansas Jayhawks Overall Record: 1-0 Last Week's Record:  1-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: N/A What Nathan Says: Jayhawks put the hurt on Towson Friday night. Non-conference schedule to get much tougher, starting with Kentucky tonight.

T1. Baylor Bears Overall Record:  2-0 Last Week's Record: 2-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: N/A What Nathan Says: Baylor looked good dominating a couple of SWAC opponents. Encouraging to see freshman Quincy Miller lead the team in scoring.

T1. Texas A&M Aggies Overall Record:  2-0 Last Week's Record: 2-0  Last Week's Ranking/Movement: N/A What E. Carnes Says: Even without Khris Middleton, the Aggies are looking strong. Plus, it's a great sign that Billy Kennedy was feeling well enough to sit on the bench in last Sunday's game against Southern.

Anyone remember this little gem published by our delusional favorite A&M blogger.

P.S. The only Crampmaster I know of is your offensive coordinator, who seemed to be suffering brain cramps all game. I think he just called another run on fourth and goal. - I Am The 12th Man 

Hey Beergut, I think your team just choked off yet another double-digit lead. Five losses on the season now with a current three-game losing streak, looks like you guys won't have to worry about any ring controversy this season. Yep, things are back to normal for your Aggies. Man that crow must have a bitter taste. 

SBN finally as a Baylor site and of course they're talking basketball just like pretty much everyone else. 

When trying to assess a basketball team, many people look at traditional data - points per game, rebounds per game, turnovers per game, et cetera. In a closed system wherein Baylor played Texas A&M every game for 30 games, those figures by themselves would be useful. However, the world of NCAA basketball doesn't occur in a vacuum, but in a dynamic system where Team A plays Team B, but not Team C, but Team C played Team D which played Team A but not Team B.

A useful way to judge teams against one another is through tempo-free statistics. - Our Daily Bears

How bad did things get for Texas Tech last Saturday against OSU? Check this out!

Apparently it was getting so bad on the field that the Texas Tech center started telling OSU's defensive linemen the plays they were about to run. And where that would usually be a funny joke on this site, this time it is absolutely true.

Overall, it was a dominating performance in all three phases of the game. The only hiccup came from Joseph Randle who had two very uncharacteristic fumbles in the game. Other than that, the offense rolled with over 600 yards. Weeden had another huge day with 423 yards passing and 5 touchdowns. You know it's bad when the TV commentators are asking for the backup quarterback to be put into the game. - Cowboys Ride For Free

Oklahoma State's next opponent is the Iowa State Cyclones who are trying their best to get juiced up for a brutal home stretch of the season. 

And then it happened, albeit in the most unexpected and yet completely predictable way possible. After a 4-game losing streak and facing a Texas Tech team fresh off an upset of Oklahoma in Norman, the Cyclones were able to pull out their seemingly annual Week 8 road win over an opponent that nobody gave them a chance against. A tough win against an increasingly hungry Kansas team allowed the Cyclones to limp into their second bye week with a 5-4 record for the third straight year. 

So here we sit, perched upon a winning record that can't possibly be maintained. The hardest next three games of any 5-win team in the nation lie ahead. And should we somehow eek out a miracle win over a top ten team looking ahead to the de facto conference championship? We will be the first fan base in history to ever be undeniably excited about heading to New York City in December. Such are the hazards of being the fan of a fringe bowl team. - Wide RIght And Natty Lite   

The Kansas Jayhawks had the Baylor Bears firmly on the ropes Saturday evening but couldn't deliver the knockout punch. 

What more can you ask for.  Kansas seemed to be getting all the breaks early.  From the opening coin toss when Baylor mistakenly chose the wind instead of the football, Kansas was finally on the right side of things when it came to good fortune.  The move meant the Jayhawks would get the ball to open both halves and after putting together three strong quarters of football Kansas led Baylor 24-3.  

Then things went South.   Kansas did their best to wind down the clock but Baylor put together 21 points and nearly 300 yards of offense with just over 11 minutes remaining in the game.  A late drive by Kansas that would have resulted in a field goal attempt for a potential win was ended by a Baylor interception following a no call on a pass interference. 

In overtime the Jayhawks answered Baylor's in initial score with a one play strike to Tim Biere and then Turner Gill elected to go for two and the win.  It was the right call, Kansas wasn't even supposed to be in this but then Jordan Webb threw into double coverage and the ball fell incomplete.  Baylor wins this one by final score of 31-30. -Rock Chalk Talk

The Texas offense has not only become painful to watch but painful for the athletes who play in it. 

So that whole ground and pound, run the ball down the opponent's throat identity that Texas was developing?

Yeah, so much for that. 

The entire edifice Mack Brown and Bryan Harsin built for the Texas offense has come crumbling down in the last several weeks.

Numerous cliches apply here, but suffice it to say that the 28 carries true freshman Malcolm Brown had against Kansas in the blowout victory were a few too many.

Suffice it to say that the 29 carries by the other true freshman running back,Joe Bergeron, in the blowout against Texas Tech were a few too many.

Sensing a trend here? Those 880 yards gained on the ground against the Jayhawks and Red Raiders? Yeah, they came with a price. - Burnt Orange Nation

Ever wonder what you'd say after your team lost 66-6?

THE RESULT | I'D RATHER HANG BLINDS | Yesterday, I had to take family photos and I knew that I was going to miss the first two hours of the game, but would be back later to watch. No worries. I get back around 1 p.m. and get a text from a friend saying that there was an offensive FanPost up and that I might want to take it down. At that point I had the opportunity to peek at a score and it was a bunch for Oklahoma St. to a little for Texas Tech. I made a few comments and I went into the living room to start the game, knowing that the score at this point was 66-6, the score of Beelzebub, I dedided that I wasn't going to waste my time with this game and I was going to hang the blinds in the bathroom so I wouldn't be flashing my neighbors (although I'm sure they've enjoyed it) every time I take a shower. So that's what I did and I didn't watch the game. I'm almost too embarassed to watch the game, but I'm sure I will fast forward through it later tonight. - Double T Nation

It appears that we've found the reason why Tony Jefferson hasn't been on the field very much. 

We had speculated that it was an injury but not much info was out there on it. He seemed to be able to play but on a very limited stint. So, what happened? - Crimson And Cream Machine

The Big 12 injury bug has now claimed one of the best running backs in the conference. 

When I saw Howard Richards' tweet last night, I was a shaken up. Not necessarily because of Mizzou, however. The Tigers have dealt with an incredible number of injuries this year, and this is one more, but the silver lining is that Kendial Lawrence and De'Vion Moore, whose respective injuries opened the door for Josey in the first place, are back and healthy (or in Moore's case, at least mostly healthy). Lawrence is not Josey, of course. As I put it in comments earlier this morning, "Josey is much more efficient and decisive. Lawrence probably has as much speed and skill in the second level as Josey, but Josey reaches the second level more because Lawrence dances and runs horizontally too much." Against Texas Tech and Kansas, Lawrence and Moore should suffice. - Rock M Nation

There may not be a better defense in the Big 12 to build up a quarterback's confidence than Texas A&M's. Run heavy KSU quarterback Collin Klein had a field day against the Aggie secondary. 

For the season, Klein had thrown more than two completions for 23+ yards in a game only once against a real defense, and against an admittedly weak-but-not-awful aTm secondary, he did it on back-to-back plays. By the end of the day, a quarterback who had thrown 9 passes of 23+ yards all season (3 vs. KU) had five of them on one windy afternoon, and I found myself wondering yet again if perhaps Snyder was right all along.

The most incredible part of the performance, in my mind, was that he needed every one. Snyder's turnover voodoo apparently ran out, and his special teams voodoo was injured (we miss you, Tyler). But thanks to Klein's usual running heroics and stunning passing performance, K-State managed to overcome a -2 turnover margin and getting outgained by 71 for yet another improbable win as an "underdog."

Is there any way Bill Snyder and his coaching staff didn't smile when Vegas made Texas 9-point favorites this week? - Bring On The Cats