Guest Post: Mrs. dallas hokie (Part 2)

If you missed part 1 of today's post you can check it out here.  Mrs. dallas hokie gave us some great info about Oklahoma State and this coming football season.  

In this post I ask her to make some predictions for the upcoming season.  I've read them and while I might not agree with everything, I can't argue with her logic.  

5) So we all know you hate OU and think Landry Jones is overrated, but who do you think will win the Big 12? And do you have a preseason pick for Heisman? If so, who? If not, why won’t Landry Jones win it? Also, who will play for the National Championship? Who will win?

Let me just say that as I have gotten older, I don’t hate OU – I’m just tired of OU because sometimes they just whip right into why their football program is better than ours (Not disputing that, it is historically better than ours) rather than having a good debate about our program and other Big 12 teams programs. But they should be cheering for OSU/Baylor/Kansas State to be better in football so our conference has more parity; it makes our conference more exciting. It’s kind of boring with Texas and OU always duking it out. I have had solid discussions with OU fans about our program and other Big 12 team’s programs, though. I respect their team and program and their history. And what annoys me most about Landry Jones is that molest-stache. Bothers me on Derek Holland. Bothers me on Landry Jones.

Honestly, I really have enjoyed watching Matt Barkley. Although I really think Collin Klein from Kansas State is such a talented, old-school style QB. He probably won’t win because he doesn’t put up the snazzy numbers that RG3 did/numbers that seem to win Heisman’s, and he plays for Kansas State. But he is so incredibly consistent. Landry Jones won’t win because he just hasn’t seemed consistent enough to me. I think a Heisman candidate shines when his team is losing/loses – and when OU lost to Baylor, TX Tech and OSU, he seemed to collapse into himself. But I could be incredibly wrong – his off-season could have been very productive and I wouldn’t know. So he could win.

As far as who wins the Big 12: I don’t know, I mostly think preseason predictions are a crapshoot anyway, because this is anyone’s game at this point. On any given day, any team can beat any other team. We can give preference to “Powerhouse” programs, but how many times do we see the mighty fall? Besides, I cheer for the underdog at all costs; I mean, I went to what is considered the “Little Brother” school in Oklahoma. Despite us having 50 National Championship, which is the 4^th most. That fun fact was for free.

6) Now let’s talk about conference realignment.  How do you feel about the addition of TCU and West Virginia in the Big12 this year? How well do you think Texas A&M and Missouri will fair in the new 14 team SEC?

I’m honestly excited to have TCU, mainly because we live so close to Ft. Worth that we can go watch Big 12 games! Yay! But I’ve always thought they did well in their conference and I’m excited to see what they bring to the table. Plus they defeated Boise State last season – this now makes me a huge fan. Honestly, West Virginia horrifies me. Their coach is our old offensive coordinator, so that’s kind of intimidating when someone knows your secrets. And their fans seem like hoodlums. Burning couches? I mean, really? Throwing snowballs with batteries in them? I mean, really? They realize they’re at a university, not a federal prison, right?

I hope TX A&M and Mizzou do well, because that looks good for the Big 12. Realistically? I think the first couple of years will be difficult for them. It’s an adjustment; especially an adjustment to being pilgrims in the unholy land of SEC. Those folks do not mess around. Football is the sport that counts in that conference, so they take it very seriously. I have my negative opinions about the SEC as a whole, but you can’t deny that their conference is nutso good at football. And neither of those teams have been nutso good at football recently.

7) Which Big12 team ranked in the top 25 will most likely end the season outside the top 25 and why? Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, West Virginia or Oklahoma?

At this point, I don’t know. I want to say Texas because they have struggled pretty badly these last couple of seasons. And of course I don’t want to say OSU, but that’s a definite possibility. I think Kansas State comes in as the underdog, big time. I love Kansas State and hope they do well. Who doesn’t love a 72-year-old coach who wears a 2002 Holiday Bowl jacket?

8) From the expanse of knowledge you now have from marrying a Hokie… If VT wins the ACC, what will be the biggest reason for their success? If they don’t, what will be the reason for their failure?

All of these opinions are all based off of watching the 2011 season, so I’m a little harsh. But I think your defense would be the reason why you win. I saw your defense as reasons you guys won so many games. See follow up question for more reasoning. . .

The biggest reason for failure – Your offense. Last season you guys went 3 & out a ton and tended to not be as productive as you would like your offense to be. There was one game, it was either v. Clemson or v. UNC that your defense would force turnovers or recover a fumble and then your offense would come on and just fart it away. As a football fan, that bothers the crap out of me. I hate it when OSU does it – that’s usually the point that I expletive and yell the most. You have to use what your defense gives you and be productive with that.

9) Finally, who will win the match-up this weekend in Arlington between No. 8 Michigan and No. 2 Alabama?

As someone who has such strong disdain for Alabama and a mediocre feeling for Michigan, can I just say I want the earth to open up and swallow the stadium?

Thanks for taking the time to answer these.  We will have to do it again sometime! Great work beautiful!

Again if you missed part 1: You can read it here. 

Heisman: Week 14

After last week, my mind has changed some on the Heisman trophy.  I have taken last week’s post and updated it to reflect what happened in last week’s games.  But first, here is how I would vote with last week's ranking in parenthesis:

1)      Montee Ball (+2)

2)      Trent Richardson (+0)

3)      Andrew Luck (+1)

4)      Matt Barkley (NR)

5)      Case Keenum (+0)

Below is the original list of players that I listed as of last week for Heisman consideration.  I’ve marked out the few players that I think are out of the race after this past weekend's games. 

Trent Richardson

Brandon Weeden

Justin Blackmon

David Wilson

Logan Thomas

Andrew Luck

Kellen Moore

Case Keenum

Landry Jones

LaMicheal James

Colin Klein

Aaron Murray

Montee Ball

Russell Wilson

Robert Griffin

Matt Barkley

First of all, LaMicheal James was injured for the second half of last week’s game and while that doesn’t mean he is any worse of a player, we saw that Oregon was still able to roll without him.  He won’t be able to make up any ground next week because of the weakness of UCLA.  Even if he has 3 TDs and 200 yards, I don’t think that gets him back into consideration.  Landry Jones had a very sub-par performance against Iowa State.  When compared to Weeden’s stats from the previous week (even though OSU lost), Jones looked far inferior.  Russell Wilson and Colin Klein were the hardest to cut from the list.  Wilson has fallen off stat-wise for the past two weeks.  His yardage, TDs, and completion percentage are all down and Montee Ball has stolen the show in Wisconsin for now.  Klein on the other hand has fallen out of the national spotlight.  He looked great against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State however with being off this week and a game against Iowa State next week.  I don’t think Klein is still in consideration.  I also think that Logan Thomas should be out, but I feel like leaving him in just for the heck of it. 

Now I’ll divide them into QB and non-QB for discussion purposes.  First let’s discuss the non-QB.

Trent Richardson – 1583 yds, 6.0 yds/attempt, 20 TDs; 3 TD rec; 9 100-yard games; 327 rec yards

Justin Blackmon – 1241 yds, 12 yds/reception, 15 TDs; scored a TD in each of teams last 10 games

David Wilson – 1595 yds, 6.3 yds/attempt, 9 TDs; 1 TD rec; 10 100-yard games; never rushed for below 82 yards

Montee Ball – 1622 yds, 6.5 yds/attempt, 29 TDs; 5 TD rec; 2 200-yard games; scored at least 2 TDs in every game

Here is how I rank the RBs/WRs with previous ranking in parenthesis:

1)      Montee Ball (2)

2)      Trent Richardson (1)

3)      David Wilson (3)

4)      Justin Blackmon (4)

Montee Ball moves ahead of Richardson this week in my mind due to his scoring 4 TD’s against a very good Penn State defense.  Richardson and Wilson both also had superb outings this week as well.  Wilson could move ahead of Richardson with a dominating performance in the ACC Championship game (200 yds, 3TDs would probably be needed).  Also, Montee Ball needs a win to remain in his perch atop the non-QB rankings.  Blackmon remains in a distant fourth, but could jump to 2^nd with Wisconsin and Virginia Tech losses. 

Now on to the QBs

Brandon Weeden – 4111 yds, 73 comp%, 34 TDs, 12 ints, 162.2 rating; 4 400-yd passing games and 1 500-yd game

Logan Thomas – 2525 yds, 60.5 comp%, 18 TDs, 7 ints, 141.2 rating; 10 TDs rushing; 23 total TDs and 2 picks in last 7 games

Andrew Luck – 3170 yds, 70 comp%, 35 TDs, 9 ints, 167.5 rating; 2 TDs rushing; 8 games with 3 or more TD Passes, at least 2 TDs in every game

Kellen Moore – 3194 yds, 73.8 comp%, 38 TDs, 7 ints, 175.2 rating; 9 games with 3 or more TD passes, at least 2 TDs in every game

Case Keenum – 4726 yds, 73.4 comp%, 43 TDs, 3 ints, 187.3 rating; 3 TDs rushing; until last week, never had a game rating below 150, 9 TDs in one game

Aaron Murray – 2698 yds, 61 comp%, 32 TDs, 10 ints, 155.4 rating; 2 TDs rushing; led team to 10 straight victories

Robert Griffin – 3678 yds, 72.9 comp%, 34 TDs, 5 ints, 191.1 rating; 7 TDs rushing; thrown for 3 TDs in 8 games

Matt Barkley – 3528 yds, 69.1 comp%, 39 TDs, 5 ints, 161.2 rating; 2 TDs rushing; 2 6-TD games

Here is how I rank the QBs with their previous ranking in parenthesis.

1)      Andrew Luck (2)

2)      Matt Barkley (8)

3)      Case Keenum (3)

4)      Brandon Weeden (5)

5)      Robert Griffin (1)

6)      Aaron Murray (10)

7)      Kellen Moore (7)

8)      Logan Thomas (9)

This past week most of these quarterbacks did a significant amount to improve their Heisman profile.  However, my #1 ranked player last week, Robert Griffin III, was the only player to digress.  That will hurt his chances significantly moving forward.  Matt Barkley had the best day statistically; however, I think that Andrew Luck did the most to bolster his Heisman chances.   Kellen Moore had another great game, but is falling drastically out of the race due to a lack of exposure.   For two of the players listed above, their season is over (Luck, Barkley).  Brandon Weeden will have a chance next week to jump right back into the Heisman picture and Case Keenum could easily move up with the national exposure of the Conference USA Championship Game.  Also, Aaron Murray and Logan Thomas could both make a case with a very strong performance in their respective championship games.  Murray would need to beat LSU and Thomas would need a 5-TD performance and team domination over Clemson.  Robert Griffin will need to play next week (he is currently listed as questionable) to have a chance.  He is playing Texas, which should bring exposure and could boost his resume.   

Heisman: Week 13

If I had a vote for the Heisman trophy and had to vote today, here is how I would vote:

1)      Robert Griffin

2)      Trent Richardson

3)      Montee Ball

4)      Andrew Luck

5)      Case Keenum

Before you get completely up in arms, I’ve outlined my thinking below.  But, I would love to hear your thoughts on this, especially if you disagree. 

First of all, here is the list of players that I think should be considered. Sorted by team ranking:

Trent Richardson

Brandon Weeden

Justin Blackmon

David Wilson

Logan Thomas

Andrew Luck

Kellen Moore

Case Keenum

Landry Jones

LaMicheal James

Colin Klein

Aaron Murray

Montee Ball

Russell Wilson

Robert Griffin

Matt Barkley

Now I’ll divide them into QB and non-QB for discussion purposes.  First let’s discuss the non-QB.

Trent Richardson – 1380 yds, 5.8 yds/attempt, 20 TDs; 2 TD rec; 8 100-yard games; 322 rec yards

Justin Blackmon – 1241 yds, 12 yds/reception, 15 TDs; scored a TD in each of teams last 10 games

David Wilson – 1442 yds, 6.2 yds/attempt, 7 TDs; 1 TD rec; 9 100-yard games; never rushed for below 82 yards

LaMicheal James – 1284 yds, 7.4 yds/attempt, 13 TDs; 1 TD rec; 3 200-yard games

Montee Ball – 1466 yds, 6.6 yds/attempt, 25 TDs; 5 TD rec; 2 200-yard games; scored at least 2 TDs in every game

Taking into account the stats of these players, their competition and support from other teammates, I rank them as follows:

1)      Trent Richardson

2)      Montee Ball

3)      David Wilson

4)      Justin Blackmon

5)      LaMicheal James

I have gone back and forth over whether Richardson should be ahead of Ball or not.  The only distinguishing mark for me is that Alabama is ranked number two in the country.  Other than that, the pair seems to be very equally deserving.  Wilson is third because of his 9 100-yard games and Blackmon comes in 4^th because of being able to score so consistently over the past 10 games. 

Now on to the QBs

Brandon Weeden – 4111 yds, 73 comp%, 34 TDs, 12 ints, 162.2 rating; 4 400-yd passing games and 1 500-yd game

Logan Thomas – 2338 yds, 60.4 comp%, 16 TDs, 7 ints, 139.3 rating; 9 TDs rushing; 20 total TDs and 2 picks in last 6 games

Andrew Luck – 2937 yds, 70.3 comp%, 31 TDs, 8 ints, 167.4 rating; 2 TDs rushing; thrown at least 2 TDs in every game this year

Kellen Moore– 2915 yds, 73.8 comp%, 35 TDs, 6 ints, 177.5 rating; 8 games with 3 or more TD passes, at least 2 TDs in every game

Case Keenum – 4269 yds, 73.4 comp%, 38 TDs, 3 ints, 186.9 rating; 3 TDs rushing; until last week, never had a game rating below 150, 9 TDs in one game

Landry Jones – 3796 yds, 65.3 comp%, 28 TDs, 10 ints, 153.4 rating; 2 TDs rushing; 3 5-TD games

Colin Klein – 1587 yds, 58.5 comp%, 11 TDs, 5 ints, 126.1 rating; 25 TDs rushing; 1013 yds rushing; 23 total TDs and 2 picks in last 6 games

Aaron Murray – 2446 yds, 60.6 comp%, 28 TDs, 8 ints, 153.3 rating; 2 TDs rushing; led team to 9 straight victories;

Russell Wilson – 2506 yds. 73.6 comp%, 26 TDs, 3 ints, 199.3 rating; 5 TDs rushing; lowest game rating is 159.8 with 5 games over 200

Robert Griffin– 3572 yds, 72.9 comp%, 33 TDs, 5 ints, 191.7 rating; 5 TDs rushing; thrown for 3 TDs in 8 games

Matt Barkley – 3105 yds, 67.6 comp%, 33 TDs, 5 ints, 155.6 rating; 2 TDs rushing; 6-TD game

The difficulty with ranking the QBs is that you have to muddle through all these stats and figure out who has had the biggest impact on their team’s performance and carried the stats to warrant being the nation’s best player.  All of that then has to run against how good the team is and how good of competition they have played. 

1)      Robert Griffin

2)      Andrew Luck

3)      Case Keenum

4)      Colin Klein

5)      Brandon Weeden

6)      Russell Wilson

7)      Kellen Moore

8)      Matt Barkley

9)      Logan Thomas

10)    Aaron Murray

11)    Landry Jones

The decision to place Robert Griffin as the number one choice was highly motivated by his performance against Oklahoma on Saturday night.  However, note that he also has the stats to back-up being placed here.  I think that Andrew Luck and Case Keenum both seem to be doing an excellent job with a sub-par supporting cast.  Luck gets the nod because of better competition.  Klein is tied for the national lead in rushing TDs.  He has fallen this far because he has pretty awful QB stats, but wins out over Weeden to to Weeden’s interception count and the loss to Iowa State.  Russell Wilson is a model of consistency and has performed well the entire year.  However, he has been aided by a limited passing game and the efficiency of Montee Ball running the ball.  Logan Thomas didn’t come in last because of his recent superb performances and my natural bias!