Tim Griffin's Big 12 Predictions

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

ESPN Big 12 Blog

 

Missouri 38, Nevada 24: The Wolf Pack likely will stack the box and dare Missouri sophomore quarterback Blaine Gabbert to beat them by throwing the ball without much benefit of a running game. If the Tigers can do a good job of containing Nevada defensive ends Dontay Moch and Kevin Basped, they should be able to dominate the offensive part of the game. Nevada has lost disappointing road games to Notre Dame and Colorado State, and Chris Ault’s team will be charged about its home debut in a rare national television game. And bet the Wolf Pack will be itching for revenge after last year’s 69-17 loss to the Tigers at Columbia. But Missouri still has too many weapons.

 

Kansas 31, Southern Mississippi 20: It’s been a trying week for the Fighting Manginos around Lawrence after some players were involved in a nasty brawl with the Kansas basketball team that splashed both programs on the front pages. They will be challenged to stop the Golden Eagles, who come into the game with an eight-game winning streak -- tied with Mississippi behind only Florida on the national list. The streak continued last week when the Golden Eagles rallied from an early 17-point deficit to claim a 37-34 victory over Virginia. The improving Kansas defense will be challenged to contain running backs Damion Fletcher and Tory Harrison, who both gashed the Cavaliers for more than 100 yards. Both teams should be able to score points in bunches, but I’m thinking that Kansas has too much firepower with Todd Reesing and Dezmon Briscoe, even with the status of leading rusher Jake Sharp likely to be a game-time decision.

 

Kansas State 31, Tennessee Tech 7: The Wildcats have started out slowly on offense, scoring the fewest points since Bill Snyder’s first season coaching them in 1989. And they will be playing an underrated Tennessee Tech team coached by Watson Brown, older brother of Texas coach Mack Brown. The Golden Eagles were competitive against preseason Ohio Valley Conference favorite Eastern Kentucky last week before falling 17-7. But they’ll be stepping up in class against a Kansas State team hopeful of stopping a recent two-game losing streak. Look for Snyder to try to get tailback Daniel Thomas involved early and try to build some confidence for quarterback Carson Coffman to take into Big 12 play.

 

Texas 52, UTEP 10: Texas still hasn’t strung together a complete game this season. This might be the Longhorns’ opportunity. Colt McCoy struggled again last week in the first half, battling the vestiges of a flu attack. But he again rebounded in the second half, taking advantage of new offensive weapons in running back Tre’ Newton and flex receiver Dan Buckner. UTEP has been effective running the ball with Donald Buckram, who is averaging almost 7 yards a play. The Miners scored five rushing touchdowns in last week’s victory over New Mexico State -- their first victory of the season -- but will be supremely challenged against Texas’ massive defensive front.

 

Oklahoma State 48, Grambling 17: The Cowboys will be looking to build some momentum in their final nonconference game. Zac Robinson looked closer to his 2008 form last week against Rice, although the Cowboys’ struggling pass defense continues to be a concern. And Oklahoma State might have to play without top playmakers Dez Bryant (calf) and Perrish Cox (shoulder) in this game. Grambling has been plagued with 12 turnovers in its first three games and will be facing an opportunistic Oklahoma State defense intent to boost that total.

 

Iowa State 33, Army 21: This should be an intriguing battle as two 2-1 teams coming off impressive victories over Mid-American Conference teams will meet. Iowa State will be gunning to beat its 2008 season win total with a victory Saturday night. The Cyclones rebounded from a struggling performance against Iowa with an impressive victory at Kent State that snapped a nation-worst 17-game road losing streak. Austen Arnaud orchestrated a strong performance as Alexander Robinson rushed for 143 yards for his second straight 100-yard game. The key for the Cyclones will be to contain Army’s option-based attack and force quarterback Trent Steelman into long-yardage passing situations. This one will be won in the trenches, and I like Iowa State’s chances because the Cyclones are more multi-faceted.

 

Nebraska 45, Louisiana-Lafayette 10: All things about Nebraska football will be celebrated in this game as the Cornhuskers toast their 300th straight home sellout. This game will be similar to many of the previous ones during the streak. Look for the Cornhuskers to mash the Ragin’ Cajuns at the point of attack with a potent running attack keyed by Big 12 rushing leader Roy Helu Jr. Quarterback Zac Lee sustained a splinter fracture on his left (non-throwing) thumb last week against Virginia Tech, but should play. More worrisome, the Cornhuskers' defense collapsed in last week’s disappointing loss, but won’t be tested that much by Louisiana-Lafayette quarterback Chris Masson. Look for the Cornhuskers to empty the benches early, using youngsters like Cody Green and Rex Burkhead throughout much of the second half.

 

Texas A&M 38, UAB 24: The surprisingly potent Texas A&M offense will get its toughest challenge to date against UAB. A key for the Aggies will be to continue their explosive passing game that has helped quarterback Jerrod Johnson, who ranks third nationally in total offense and 20th in passing efficiency. Johnson should have a ready target in the UAB pass defense, which ranks 118th nationally and was blistered for 413 yards last week by Troy. The Aggies will have to play without leading receiver Jeff Fuller, but precocious freshman Uzoma Nwachukwu produced four touchdowns on four “touches” last week against Utah State. Texas A&M’s defense needs some improvement after struggling against Utah State’s option-based attack and UAB quarterback Joe Webb will test it. A&M should win this game if it can give Johnson enough time to hit his downfield receivers.

 

Baylor 48, Northwestern State 7: The Bears will be attempting to rebuild their confidence after a disappointing loss to Connecticut snuffed out much of the momentum after their season-opening triumph over Wake Forest. Quarterback Robert Griffin struggled through a miserable game with a career-low 139 yards of total offense. He needs to get his confidence back, hopefully by throwing the ball downfield to get David Gettis and Kendall White involved early. The Bears’ rush defense has to be a big concern after allowing 235 yards and two touchdowns to Connecticut last week. And they’ll be facing a competent Northwestern State rushing attack that dented Houston for 155 rushing yards in their first game of the season. But I’m expecting the Bears to rebound with a strong performance after last week.

 

Texas Tech 45, Houston 44: Get out your calculators and prepare to stay up late to watch the end of this one. It should be an entertaining contest between two of the nation’s top quarterbacks in Texas Tech’s Taylor Potts and Houston’s Case Keenum. The Red Raiders stuck with Texas last week until deep in the fourth quarter when turnovers and penalties finally caught up with them. But Potts passed for 430 yards in an impressive road debut. He’ll be facing another challenge against Houston, which stunned then-No. 5 Oklahoma State two weeks ago before taking last week off. It will be the first matchup between the two old Southwest Conference rivals since the conference dissolved in 1995. The No. 18 Cougars will be playing as a ranked team for the first time since 1991 -- when David Klingler was their quarterback. The Red Raiders have a better defense than Oklahoma State and are familiar with Houston because they face a variation of the Cougars’ spread offense every day in practice. That should provide them with just enough of an edge to boost them to win a wild victory.

 

Last week: 9-2 (81.8 percent)

 

Season: 25-8 (75.8 percent)

[CENTEXHUSKER]

Nebraska 45, Louisiana-Lafayette 10: All things about Nebraska football will be celebrated in this game as the Cornhuskers toast their 300th straight home sellout. This game will be similar to many of the previous ones during the streak. Look for the Cornhuskers to mash the Ragin’ Cajuns at the point of attack with a potent running attack keyed by Big 12 rushing leader Roy Helu Jr. Quarterback Zac Lee sustained a splinter fracture on his left (non-throwing) thumb last week against Virginia Tech, but should play. More worrisome, the Cornhuskers' defense collapsed in last week’s disappointing loss, but won’t be tested that much by Louisiana-Lafayette quarterback Chris Masson. Look for the Cornhuskers to empty the benches early, using youngsters like Cody Green and Rex Burkhead throughout much of the second half.

 

Nothing worrisome about the defense dude, they played very well for 98% of the snaps....not gonna rehash what happened on the other two percent. Defense is fine, getting the plays in and fine tunning the offense is what we need to work on. Defense pitches a shutout on Saturday.

 

GBR

[LouisianaHuskerFan]

Nebraska 45, Louisiana-Lafayette 10: All things about Nebraska football will be celebrated in this game as the Cornhuskers toast their 300th straight home sellout. This game will be similar to many of the previous ones during the streak. Look for the Cornhuskers to mash the Ragin’ Cajuns at the point of attack with a potent running attack keyed by Big 12 rushing leader Roy Helu Jr. Quarterback Zac Lee sustained a splinter fracture on his left (non-throwing) thumb last week against Virginia Tech, but should play. More worrisome, the Cornhuskers' defense collapsed in last week’s disappointing loss, but won’t be tested that much by Louisiana-Lafayette quarterback Chris Masson. Look for the Cornhuskers to empty the benches early, using youngsters like Cody Green and Rex Burkhead throughout much of the second half.

 

Nothing worrisome about the defense dude, they played very well for 98% of the snaps....not gonna rehash what happened on the other two percent. Defense is fine, getting the plays in and fine tunning the offense is what we need to work on. Defense pitches a shutout on Saturday.

 

GBR

 

 

Couldn't agree more. Our defense played great last Saturday.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

 

Nothing worrisome about the defense dude, they played very well for 98% of the snaps....not gonna rehash what happened on the other two percent. Defense is fine, getting the plays in and fine tunning the offense is what we need to work on. Defense pitches a shutout on Saturday.

 

GBR

That would be cool. I don't think we've had a shutout since our game against Troy in the 06 season.

[zoogs]

With 80+ yards to go in a little over a minute, down 5, with the way our D had been playing, you might say it would take a complete defensive collapse to lose the game there.

[HuskerJosh]

He probably should have made his point a little more clear with regard to the defense. The way it is right now makes it sound like the defense played horribly all game and gave up like 50 points to Va Tech instead of what it actually was.

[captain obvious]

He probably should have made his point a little more clear with regard to the defense. The way it is right now makes it sound like the defense played horribly all game and gave up like 50 points to Va Tech instead of what it actually was.

 

Yeah we're still used to the Kevin Cosgrove definition of "defensive collapse." I like the Pelini version a little better.

[CENTEXHUSKER]

He probably should have made his point a little more clear with regard to the defense. The way it is right now makes it sound like the defense played horribly all game and gave up like 50 points to Va Tech instead of what it actually was.

 

Yeah we're still used to the Kevin Cosgrove definition of "defensive collapse." I like the Pelini version a little better.

 

RED ALERT RED ALERT

A POST IN REFERENCE

TO KEVIN COSCROVE

 

BOOK HIM DANO

[Drowning_in_the_Sea_of_Red]

He probably should have made his point a little more clear with regard to the defense. The way it is right now makes it sound like the defense played horribly all game and gave up like 50 points to Va Tech instead of what it actually was.

 

Yeah we're still used to the Kevin Cosgrove definition of "defensive collapse." I like the Pelini version a little better.

I don't know... at least with the other guy you knew we were going to lose. I don't like surprises...

 

 

[TheCheshireCat]

Tim Griffin is a goon.

[SWHusker]

Looks good but I think Tennessee Tech puts up more of a fight against K State. Do you think Bill Snyder regrets coming back yet?

[alairguard]

Army beats Iowa state! Just throwing it out there.

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Good lord on the defensive collapse comment....................

[holvy83]

He probably should have made his point a little more clear with regard to the defense. The way it is right now makes it sound like the defense played horribly all game and gave up like 50 points to Va Tech instead of what it actually was.

 

Yeah we're still used to the Kevin Cosgrove definition of "defensive collapse." I like the Pelini version a little better.

 

RED ALERT RED ALERT

A POST IN REFERENCE

TO KEVIN COSCROVE

 

BOOK HIM DANO

 

Classic

[Fuzzy]

Speaking of Tim Griffin, I liked this little portion he did on Mizzou after their win against Nevada.

 

"Missouri: A-minus. I liked Blaine Gabbert's performance, but the Tigers must run the ball better if they have any hopes of beating Nebraska and other North powers. And the defense still is allowing too many easy yards."

 

Makes me feel pretty good.