Tech tabs Billy Gillispie

BCG

Billy Clyde Gillispie is known for many things.

The first thing that comes to mind, however, is not single handedly resurrecting the Texas A&M or UTEP men's basketball programs.

Instead, we think about his floundering at Kentucky, the school he jilted the Aggies for. Or his struggles with alcohol. Hell, being Gregg Williams' roommate in college may get a lot of attention.

If redemption is possible, Gillispie will find it at Texas Tech University -- a program who would have probably gotten beat by the women's team the last 20 years.

Tech's tried. They made a splash with Billy Knight, who strung together some decent seasons. Then his son Pat took over and it all went to shit. The Big XII may not be a "basketball" conference in the way the Big East or ACC are, but when you recruit out of Houston and Dallas, and across the nation, you can get good.

Competing against Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Baylor is not an easy task in football or basketball.

Gillispie will need to do in Lubbock what he's done in El Paso and College Station. Recruit fundamentally-sound kids that'll stick around four years. You don't do that in Kentucky. Kids that go to Kentucky expect to be NBA-ready within a year and if they win a national championship that freshman year, then so be it.

Expectations are high despite Gillispie's failures. However, Lubbock will be a different ball of wax. If he can recruit at all, foraging Texas for seven guys that can play shouldn't be too tough. Finding guys that'll stay shouldn't be too hard either. Guys that will sign on at Tech will expect to stick around three or four years to build whatever NBA Draft status they might have.

I predict good things for Tech and Gillispie. I think for any fan that enjoys someone getting a second chance will feel the same.

Thursday morning grab ass bag

Hope this makes it a good day

The Dallas Stars lost, again, 2-1 to the Phoenix Coyotes and are now in a dead heat for the Pacific Division. The surging San Jose Sharks have gone 9-0-1 and are tied atop the division. In fact, the Stars are just six points out of last in the division.

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Wisconsin wanted a rematch of the Rose Bowl with TCU next year. TCU balked at it. TCU has nothing to gain there and leave it to a big school to want a rematch after getting beat.

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The Dallas Mavericks are the worst-best team in the NBA. They win. They win a lot. Ten straight. Beat the Sacramento Kings 102-100. But they can't blow out bad teams. It kills them. They were up on the Kings by 19 in the first half and needed 15 points from J.J. Barea in the fourth to win the damn thing. The Mavericks are posers and nothing short of overhauling the entire line-up will help.

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The Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers chatted about Michael Young. He isn't going anywhere.

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Mike Hindman goes off on Young.

TCU knows perfection

I wish I were still in college so I could get shot down by these females

Before TCU faced off against Big Ten heavyweight Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl today, I really felt all of the pressure was on the shoulders of the Horned Frogs and head coach Gary Patterson.

They're the red-headed stepsons looking in from the outside, wanting to play with the big boys. A good way to get respect is winning BCS bowl games. TCU hadn't done that.

Going against Wisconsin was a huge test. And they passed. To the tune of 21-19.

Honestly, it was a really well played game for both teams and you could really tell they both wanted it. There was no consolation let-down for the Badgers that could've pouted not being in a bowl game of consequence. Of course, so could've the Horned Frogs. But both wanted that game like a fish needs water.

It had a bit of the good and some of the unordinary bad for TCU. Andy Dalton was silently perfect. Efficient and easy, just seems to glide on the field where every step is swift and every pass looks like he's in no big hurry.

Dalton gets no credit and that's shameful. He should've been a Heisman candidate or at least more attention as one of the best players in college football.

The defense took its lumps. Granted, they limited Wisconsin to 6-15 on third downs and it seemed Wisconsin picked things up late trying to get in the game.

They managed 386 total yards. Running backs Montee Ball and John Clay averaged about 6.5 yards per game. The Frogs defense had no turnovers and just two sacks.

Still, there was control. Nothing got out of hand. They forced the Badgers into third downs after bending a little. The Badgers couldn't convert and they left a lot of yards on the field sans points.

Anyway, GIGANTIC win for the Horned Frogs and I couldn't feel happier for fans of the school. It's the biggest game in program history and puts them squarely on the map in college football as they jump to the Big East. A huge day for Dallas-Fort Worth sports.

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Other games:

Oklahoma 48, Connecticut 20
Just six of Connecticut's 20 points came on offensive drives as they turned in a TAINT and kickoff return. Anyone that's seen these two play knew what was going to happen here. OU may have been able to win by 42, if they wanted. Landry Jones capped off an absolutely monster year going 33-48 for 426 yards and three touchdowns. OU goes 11-2 with a very young team that's returning almost in tact next year.

Texas Tech 45, Northwestern 38
The TicketCity Bowl may be the long-gone Cotton Bowl, but it still entertained. Sometimes, all you ask for is a good game and I'm happy to see a Big XII represent. If you didn't know any better, you'd think Tech was a lot better than they have this year. Northwestern will probably do that. Tommy Tuberville is 8-4 in bowl games.

Big XII teams are 3-4 in bowl games with Texas A&M left.

Bowl cut

Gig 'em

What's fascinating about all the pundits putting down the current college football bowl scene is that even though there are around 40 games, there's no way anyone watches all of them.

Especially the talking heads in the media. So why bitch about it? What does it matter? As my father said once, if you don't like it, don't watch it. Actually, he never said that. But it's something he would say.

If you don't pay a bowl game any attention, what's the point in hating it?

Although, I do have one gripe about the current bowl system. It's not that there's 25 or so meaningless smaller bowl games being played in mid-December with 6-6 teams.

It's that the second-tier bowl games have dropped off significantly in terms of their importance and position in the college football scheme.

Everyone pays attention to the crappy bowl games and the BCS bowl games. Ignored are the Cotton Bowl, Citrus Bowl, Holiday Bowl and these other bowls that have been around for a long while, were almost always played on New Year's Day and always had really good teams going.

Now, they can't play on New Year's Day because of the influx of crappy bowls and their role in terms of hosting good teams is eliminated due to the BCS bowls.

To bowl games of regional significance:

Insight Bowl
Missouri vs. Iowa
A really good game. Two ranked teams that played well in the season that incurred several hiccups that derailed their BCS hopes. Also, their proximity to each other should be interesting. What do you do with two midwest universities? Send them to Arizona, of course.

Texas Bowl
Illinois vs. Baylor
I don't think Illinois is any good and I think the Bears don't know any better. Illinois plays zero defense and has lost to any team of significance this year.

Alamo Bowl
Oklahoma State vs. Arizona
Talk about spitting the bit. Arizona was riding high until four straight conference losses. Meanwhile, OSU's looking for win No. 11 and potentially a pretty high pre-season ranking should they wind up around the top 10 this year.

Armed Forces Bowl
Army vs. SMU
Of all the talk of schools losing money having to pay for travel, SMU must feel pretty good. What's the big difference between the Armed Forced Bowl and the Honolulu Bowl? Nil. Why not save the money, play at home and enjoy a holidays in the continuous 48?

Pinstripe Bowl
Kansas State vs. Syracuse
New York Yankees. Get it? K-State as disappointing of a team as you'll find and I hope they lose by 20.

Holiday Bowl
Nebraska vs. Washington
I give a little credit to Washington. They could've packed it in after getting nailed by Oregon and Stanford. Instead, they pulled themselves up by the bootstraps and beat Cal, Washington State and UCLA to end the season and finish 6-6. Meanwhile, Nebraska crapped the bed against Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma to wind up here. Mixed with the Pelini Brothers Fight and Anger Club, it's been a bad year for the Huskers.

TicketCity Bowl
Northwestern vs. Texas Tech
The new Cotton Bowl game at the old Cotton Bowl. And what a turd in the toilet this is!

Rose Bowl
Wisconsin vs. TCU
A really, really good game. Nothing against this. The black-and-blue badgers from the Big Ten against the upstart Horned Frogs, on the verge of going to the Big East. The Frogs are 5-4 in bowl games under Gary Patterson. But since moving to the Mountain West and entering their prime, they've won four of five, which included last year's loss to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. A big test for TCU if they want favor in pre-season rankings.

Fiesta Bowl
Connecticut vs. Oklahoma
Connecticut is a team that was shut out by Louisville before rolling off five straight against the best of the Big East and taking the conference. I feel like OU should win by five or more touchdowns.

Cotton Bowl
LSU vs. Texas A&M
I don't know how good a game this is as much as it's an interesting match-up for us locally. We've longed for the Aggies to right the ship. They have. Now I can't help but feel they're going to get their ass whipped by the seasoned LSU team that plays as good a defense as you'll find in the country. Again, A&M's proved they can win as evidenced in their 9-6 win over Nebraska.

Bell tolls for college football

Big XII champs, while it lasts

Why were all the big games Saturday played so early? Wouldn't have Auburn-South Carolina or the Oregon-Oregon State game have been great in primetime?

Granted, I enjoyed Oklahoma-Nebraska, but it felt like most of the college football was done by 2 p.m. I like having my sports Saturday spread out.

That's why NFL is king. You've got a Thursday game to whet the appettite. Sunday morning pre-game rolls around. Iron out that fantasy roster. Get set for noon games. Eat lunch. Enjoy second half of noon games. Right when you think all is over, hell, there's the 3 p.m. games.

By 5 p.m. you're kinda drowsy. Get a pick-me-up and roll through until 60 Minutes. Then by 7:20 p.m., you're refueled and ready for another three hours of football.

Saturday, all was essentially done by 5 p.m. and the one night game of note wasn't worth getting one's panties in a bunch.

Games:

Oklahoma 23, Nebraska 20
Does Bob Stoops get enough credit in this world or does he get just enough? The Sooners were cooked last year and they didn't look altogether great this year, but Stoops helped steer the ship through the choppiest of waters, won the important games and took another Big XII title. The Sooners are wildly impressive and it's really hard to imagine them putting together a year like Texas had.

As for Nebraska, always a bridesmaid. They had the conference by the balls if they'd just kept it all together. They couldn't. They lost the important games. The coaches lost their cool and now they're going to the Big Ten with its tail between it's legs. A loser. They leave the Big XII a loser and I think that speaks volumes for that program. I think Bo Pelini's done a hell of a job in Lincoln, but he still hasn't gotten over that hump and it doesn't get any easier next season. In fact, it gets tougher. No more Iowa State and Colorado to beat up on. From week to week, it's a beast on the schedule.

I don't think the Cornhuskers are winning until Taylor Martinez relies more on his arm than his legs.

UCF 17, SMU 7
Again, SMU goes as far as Kyle Padron takes them. He's a sophomore and is going to get better. His improvement from last year to this year is phenomenal and is a big factor in their successful season. SMU is not on UCF's level, which is an odd thing to say because I don't consider UCF as having a "level" the same way Oregon or TCU have a "level." However, I would literally be shocked if SMU didn't win the Conference USA title in a year.

Mean Green's uninspired move

McCarney: Good wife beater, bad coach

With all the name's associated with the University of North Texas' coaching search, Dan McCarney was one of the most uninspired.

They wound up hiring him the other day. My first reaction was, "Wasn't he fired by Iowa State?" Like the episode of Seinfeld when Jerry starts dating Newman's ex and he finds out Newman broke up with her. Like, what's wrong with McCarney?

The first thing that comes up with McCarney is leading the Iowa State Cyclones to five bowl games in the early 2000s.

This is true. What they don't go into is the bad.

McCarney's 56-85 overall as a head coach, all at Iowa State. He finished with one top 25 ranking in 12 seasons.

During his tenure, he had seasons of 3-8, 2-9, 1-10, 3-8, 2-10 and 4-8.

In 12 seasons, he had one year where his team wound up over .500 in conference. Seriously. Of his 85 losses, 68 came in conference. In seven of the 12 years, McCarney's Cyclones won one or less conference games.

Yes, the Cyclones made it to five bowl (only once did he win more than seven games) games, but he went 2-3 in those games.

In the end, McCarney might not be any good. He wasn't that good at Iowa State. He was fired and no one's hired him since. Except UNT.

McCarney's seemingly lone attribute is that he's a defensive coach, which will help the Mean Green. If they had played an ounce of defense this season, they're bowl eligible. So many close losses.

McCarney might not be an uninspired hire. It might be a bad one.

Way back in 1995, when he was hired by Iowa State, it came out that McCarney was beating on his wife:

In March, Iowa State announced that it would honor the contract it had signed in November with new football coach Dan McCarney, even after learning that his estranged wife, Brenda, had told police he had beaten her 20 to 30 times, beginning a few days before their marriage in 1986 and continuing periodically for nearly eight years.

Yikes. Maybe he's not beating up his wife anymore. Maybe he's suddenly a good football coach. Maybe Dennis Franchione's still looking for a job.

Changes at UT

Greg Davis: Job search is on

Following their worst season in forever, changes are coming to Texas Longhorns football.

It's started. Vaunted offensive coordinator Greg Davis is fired. Sooner or later, it was coming.

Davis is, frankly, a sacrificial lamb. He won't be the only one. Look at this way, the Longhorns lost two of the best two most otherwordly, transcendent players in their history: Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley.

This on top of the yearly vacating of other skill players and offensive linemen in the NFL Draft. Guys like Quan Cosby, Jamaal Charles, Justin Blalock, Phil Loadholt and others. Guys that aren't otherworldly and, yet, when they're gone you miss them.

That can only happen for so long. After eight years of Vince Young and McCoy, eventually you have some ounce of futility at quarterback because no one else is getting snaps. Garrett Gilbert may be a good college quarterback, but he's not Young or McCoy even at his best. He's a pocket quarterback.

This drop off was coming.

The other thing that kills Davis is the recruiting. They haven't had a good running back in two years. However, Davis is expected to make lemonade out of whatever fruit is purchased. It doesn't matter. You need 200 yards a game, if you need it, with Fozzy Whittaker, Cody Johnson and Tre Newton.

The Longhorns have struck out with offensive playmakers as of late. They might blossom next year. Unfortunately for Davis, he'll not be around to see it.

A&M gets hosed

Me and Landry Jones

Sunday evening, I doubt the Texas A&M Aggies thought they were going to be named the Big XII South champions.

Oklahoma had beat Oklahoma State Saturday forcing a three-way tie in the Big XII South with the tie breaker going to the team with the highest BCS ranking. OU got the nod with a No. 9 ranking. Oklahoma State's No. 14 and Texas A&M is ranked No. 19.

A&M got screwed, I think.

In college football with the currently bowl/ranking system, we are led to believe that teams tend to rise up after an early loss and dip after late losses. Essentially, a team with a week No. 1 loss has a better shot at getting into the top five than teams with a loss in the conference championship game.

A&M's last loss was Oct. 16. OSU's last loss was Oct. 23 and then again last week. OU last lost Nov. 6.

To the Texas A&M Aggies.

So, how are the Aggies a full 10 spots behind OU and OSU's just five spots behind OU?

I suspect it's the three overall losses, the third coming to Arkansas, a potential BCS team. However, both are 6-2, A&M has better wins than OSU and it's not like OU tore through their opponents. Just feel like A&M got a raw deal.

Games:

Oklahoma 47, Oklahoma State 41
I was stunned that Oklahoma won this game. OSU showed that it's still the younger stepbrother to the big guns in the Big XII. Until further notice, nobody's knocking OU off the pedastal.

TCU 66, New Mexico 17
Beating the shit out of New Mexico is nice, but TCU's dreams were busted when Auburn came back against Alabama. With Boise State's loss, TCU will get the BCS nod, but it's not enough.

Kansas State 49, North Texas 41
Lil' North Texas gave K-State it's best 1-2 punch. Then K-State countered with their 1-2 and upper cut and the Mean Green couldn't quite handle it. The teams combined for 671 rushing yards and Lance Dunbar must be a the No. 1 option in Denton next season.

Texas Tech 35, Houston 20
Tommy Tuberville got the Raiders to 7-5 in his first year. Not great. Not awful. Need a few headline wins, however. No way Houston was winning in Lubbock at night.

Missouri 35, Kansas 7
Mizzou gets to 10 wins and if not for that loss to Nebraska they'd be top 5 in the national.

SMU, champs; A&M, riding high

Horny

Thanksgiving has scattered our college football weekend.

What we know and then what we don't know.

Texas A&M 24, Texas 17
Sucks that A&M finally beat Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech in the same season and, yet, they'll not win the Big XII South. All thanks to that loss to Oklahoma State and I'm pretty sure that if Ryan Tannehill were quarterbacking that game, they would've won. Anyway, Texas is awful.

SMU 45, East Carolina 38
Kyle Padron had one of those games. Almost perfect. No interceptions. Three touchdowns. SMU is missing out on eight- and nine-win seasons because Padron can't do this on a regular basis. Nonetheless, he did it today and it got them into the Conference USA title game next week. Then again, Padron's a sophomore. SMU's got another two years for days like today.

Nebraska 45, Colorado 17
No word is Bo Pelini screamed at any players or if his dipshit brother tackled a cameraman.

Oklahoma (9-2, 5-2) vs. Oklahoma State (10-1, 6-1)
You get the feeling the tides haven't shifted enough for OSU. I'm rooting for the Pokes, but Oklahoma is not going to go quietly in the Big XII South. However, the Cowboys are good and OU is particularly awful on the road and a night game to get the OSU fans lubed up is not going to be pretty.

TCU (11-0, 7-0) vs. New Mexico (1-10, 1-6)
Gary Patterson said he'll be pleased even if his Horned Frogs beat New Mexico by a point. Bullshit. TCU needs to beat the shit out of New Mexico. They need to run up the score and make a statement because they can't afford a one-point win with Boise State nipping at their heels.

Missouri (9-2, 5-2) vs. Kansas (3-8, 1-6)
Mizzou playing for 10 wins and maybe a notch up in the polls and a virtual tie in the Big XII North (although Nebraska has the tiebreaker). Kansas playing to not be Kansas.

Kansas State (6-5, 3-5) vs. North Texas (3-8, 3-5)
The finale for Fouts Field up in Denton as they'll open their new digs next season. K-State's lost four of five and has not looked good.

Houston (5-6, 3-4) vs. Texas Tech (6-5, 3-5)
Winning in Lubbock at night is tough enough. A banged-up Cougars team will find it even tougher. Raiders somehow wind up with seven wins.

Parity, for what it's worth

Kendall Hunter, poke

Say what you will about "parity" or the idea that in any given season or game, the perceived worst team could win.

"Parity" sucks for just the minority -- fans of perennial good teams. We assume. However, "parity" isn't something that typically exists in college football and, yet, it's made the 2010 season 100 times more enjoyable.

Is it "parity" that Auburn and Oregon are undefeated and vying for a national title? Certianly not. Both are pretty good football programs that have been ranked and decent enough for years.

Is it parity that Texas, USC and Florida are all down? Most will tell you "Yes!" and those will be sycophants or fans of those programs. But I refuse to acknowledge that there's a flaw in the system of winning and losing because Texas can't win a game at home.

The fact is, a team not from Texas or Oklahoma will not win the Big XII title this year. Probably. I give Oklahoma a 20 percent chance of winning the conference. Still, how fun has Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Missouri and Baylor been? Moreso, how great has it been seeing programs like Texas, Florida and USC fall on their ass?

Remember, it wasn't that long ago that OU, UT, USC and others were so-so programs until Bob Stoops, Mack Brown, Pete Carroll and other coaches came in during the 2000s. Thirty years ago, we never thought Florida State or Miami would be fighting for a dumb bowl game.

Parity rules. Thank goodness.

Texas A&M 9, Nebraska 6
Over the past 15 years, the Aggies undeniably would've have lost this game. A ridiculously tight game that Aggie teams have lost over and over again. The best sign is that Ryan Tannehill didn't commit any turnovers allowing Nebraska any undue opportunities with the ball. A fantastic win for the Aggies in front of the entire country after barely getting any televised games over the past six years.

Oklahoma State 48, Kansas 14
The Cowboys set up next week's humdinger against OU. Reel off 38 straight points against the hapless Jayhawks, who are praying for the season to be over.

Missouri 14, Iowa State 0
With the win and a Nebraska loss, Mizzou won the Big XII North. They'll get win No. 10 next week against Kansas. Based on points, Mizzou has the seventh-ranked defense in the nation.

Oklahoma 53, Baylor 24
I guess OU's road woes and Baylor's perfection at home didn't matter. The Bears, as we've learned, were a bit overhyped. Not ready for the big show.

SMU 31, Marshall 17
For the second straight year, SMU is bowl eligible with their sixth win and with a win next week, take the Conference USA title. This wasn't nearly as close as it seems. SMU was up 24-0 by half. Zach Line rushed for 202 yards. Kyle Padron is on the brink of being very good.

Colorado 44, Kansas State 36
The Buffs have won two straight and scored 78 points in that stretch in the post-Hawkins era. Cody Hawkins looks like an All-Conference stud and Rodney Stewart nearly hit 200 yards rushing. An unlikely win against Nebraska next week makes them bowl eligible after starting 0-5 in conference.

Texas 51, Florida Atlantic 17
I doubt the Longhorwns took a trash win against directional Florida school very seriously. But I believe the Longhorns will be better next year. They should take these games and try to get better. Find a year to run the ball. Shore up the defense. Get Garrett Gilbert some confidence.

Texas Tech 64, Weber State 21
Texas Tech should pick on someone their own size.

Lousiana-Monroe 49, UNT 37
UNT's scored 128 points in the last foru games. Lance Dunbar went for another 134. Playing better. A little defense in the fourth quarter wins this one.

SFA 36, Northwestern State 13
Chief Caddo stays in Nacogdoches. The win also gives the Lumberjacks their first outright Southland Conference championship in 20 years.

Flying coach

Norman trim

The Big XII recently lost a coach -- Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins. However, I don't think it should be truly reflective of the coaches in the conference.

There are the big dogs, Mack Brown and Bob Stoops.

Turner Gill, frankly, has turned water into wine in his first year in Lawrence winning three games with the Jayhawks. Two veterans Mike Sherman and Art Briles have taken two dormant (that's being kind) programs and turned them into ranked winners.

Two names -- Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State and Gary Pinkel in Missouri -- has passed the test. They've built up their programs, turned them into top 10 teams, weathered the drafts and turnover and are still top 10 teams.

If there are any big programs looking to make a change at coach, I would bet Gundy and Pinkel will be in the talks.

Nebraska (9-1, 5-1) vs. Texas A&M (7-3, 4-2)
Do you think Nebraska's regretting that loss to Texas at home? Cripes. That looks awful now. And it's basically keeping them out of the national championship after shitting the bed against an awful (absolutely awful!) Texas team. They've since scored 133 points in four games.

Oklahoma (8-2, 4-2) vs. Baylor (7-4, 4-3)
OU is not invincible. Outside of their losses, they barely beat Air Force, Cincinnati and Utah State. Baylor is 4-0 at home.

Oklahoma State (9-1, 1-5) vs. Kansas (3-7, 1-5)
Is enough credit given to Mike Gundy? Seems like -- even with all his players going to the NFL -- he puts out a nine- or 10-win team. Also, it's a borderline miracle that Kansas beat Georgia Tech at the beginning of the year. No matter how ordinary Ga Tech looks.

Missouri (8-2, 4-2) at Iowa State (5-6, 3-4)
Those wins over San Diego State and Texas A&M are looking much better today.

Marshall (4-6, 3-3) vs SMU (5-5, 4-2)
SMU still has a shot at the conference title. I don't know how good or bad SMU is. Hopefully the week off gave them some time for thought.

Kansas State (6-4, 3-4) vs. Colorado (4-6, 1-5)
K-State's has a brilliant running game (200 yards a game), and good enough to beat the underlings of the conference, but can't beat anyone of substance. Bill Snyder needs himself a signature win. Against Colorado isn't it.

Florida Atlantic (4-5, 3-3) vs. Texas (4-6, 2-5)
Texas can't lose their fifth in Austin and fifth in a row overall, can they? Florida Atlantic's a good team to get back in the saddle with. To put them in perspective, they lost to the University of North Texas. They're that bad.

Weber State (6-4, 5-3) vs. Texas Tech (5-5, 3-5)
A team like Tech can't completely sleepwalk through Weber State, a team that'll score some points on you. I doubt there's a team in the nation (including most junior varsity squads) that Tech can't sleepwalk against.

Northwestern State (5-5, 4-2) vs. SFA (8-2, 5-1)
The battle for Chief Caddo!

UNT (3-7, 3-4) vs. Louisiana-Monroe (4-6, 3-3)
Big game for UNT. A shot at .500 in conference play.

Tre Newton: Possibly very smart

Tre Newton: Concussed

Tre Newton, the stand-out running back from Southlake Carroll and current dud on the Texas Longhorns, is quitting football.

He was concussed two weeks ago against Kansas State and didn't play against Oklahoma State. Honestly, he wasn't really missed. Newton's been a rather big disappointment at Texas.

He has a total of 180 carries in two seasons totaling a paltry 781 and nine touchdowns.

Newton's had a number of concussions dating back to his high school days, if not before. Newton, of course, is the son of Cowboys great Nate Newton, so there was probably an unspoken pressure to play professionally.

I doubt Tre would've translated to the NFL. He was missing something. But he had at least two years to prove himself and figure it out.

As it stands, if it stands, Tre will be 80 years old and know how to tie his shoe as he gets a fantastic college education at a premier institution.

Smartest move of his life.

The great escape

Angry, vengeful

I think I've made it clear over the past three years that I am no fan of a playoff system in college football.

However, I am also no fan of the Bowl Championship Series. This based on my assumption that the NCAA is one of the most crooked sports organizations in the world.

What makes it more crooked is that fact that no one says anything about it. The NCAA is like Al Capone -- everyone knows they're crooked, but the right people are kept happy (see: big schools) and it's going to take something like tax evasion to "get" them. If there's anything to get.

I love college sports. But it's the biggest con job in sports.

BCS is the mysterious gatekeeper of college football. You can't question it because it's a computer. Therefore, it's always right. Or the NCAA can say its right. The media and fans can bitch but the NCAA just says, "Hey! What can we do? It's a computer!"

TCU is still No. 3 in the nation in the BCS, but the AP Top 25 has Boise State jumping TCU. That's insane. Granted, TCU almost lost. Still, they almost lost to a team (San Diego State) with some chops. A good team in a conference with a little bit of say. Boise State beat Idaho.

Until TCU and Boise State play in a big conference, they don't deserve a spot in the national title game. But you don't jump Boise over TCU becuase of Idaho. Seriously.

TCU 40, San Diego State 35
The Frogs simply slipped out the gate. I worried about this game because of the hype surrounding last week's game in Utah. They looked hungover a little, but righted the ship in pretty short order. Even sloppy, they look better than most.

Texas A&M 42, Baylor 30
Super disappointed. I thought Baylor was going to show a little something beating a ranked team. Looked good early. Couldn't get that offense going late. So, if Ryan Tannehill was this much better than Jerrod Johnson, why wasn't he playing in September? They beat Oklahoma State with Tannehill, right? And they probably get even closer to Arkansas. Possible wins just down the drain.

Oklahoma State 33, Texas 16
Justin Blackmon is a man amongst boys. What did we expect here? Texas can't run the ball and their quarterback is not good enough yet to carry the team. They're losing. But losing to good teams. Texas simply isn't that good. They're suddenly not going to get really good.

Oklahoma 45, Texas Tech 7
Texas A&M not only beat Tech, but they went and got OU all riled up and they took it out on Tech. Have you seen Landry Jones' year? Twenty-seven touchdowns and six interceptions.

Missouri 38, Kansas State 28
Don't let the score fool you. Mizzou beat K-State pretty hard. It was a 17-point game going into the fourth quarter and except for some trash-time touchdowns, the Wildcats were kind of out of it. Missouri's good, but they're still a level below the top tier teams in the nation.

Nebraska 20, Kansas 3
What a miserable game. Kansas had 15 yards passing.

Colorado 34, Iowa State 14
Hmm. Interim coach leads their lackluster team to a win, their first in the conference. Sounds familiar. Cody Hawkins has the best game of his college career. Without his daddy on the sidelines.

UNT 23, Middle Tennessee 17
If the Mean Green hitch their wagons to getting turnovers and running the ball (Lance Dunbar: 36 carries, 226 yards), they will continue to win. It's the antithesis of "Dodgeball" and it works.

SFA 51, Southeastern Louisiana 14
Don't bring Kool-Aid to the gin party.

At least Texas has this going for it

Since it happened, I hadn't commented on the firing of Dan Hawkins as the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes. It was probably a long time coming, but the university allowed Hawkins plenty of time to show a certain amount of turnaround for a once-great program.

However, with the move to the PAC-10 next season, Colorado wanted to move on. Hawkins may regret leaving Boise State, a program he helped build up to what it is today.

Instead, he went to the big conference and got his ass beat. In his second year, Hawkins seemed to have the program back in some generally good direction. The Buffs went 6-6 and 4-4 in conference.

It all went downhill. From six wins to five to three. This year, the Buffs are 0-5 in conference, which included allowed a mammoth comeback by a bad Kansas team last week in Boulder.

As a fun side note, this is the second firing of a coach of local interest that had his son playing quarterback for the team (Todd, Riley Dodge at UNT).

Kansas State (6-3, 3-3) vs. Missouri (7-2, 3-2)
With Nebraska all but sown up the Big XII North, Mizzou and K-State have little to really play for outside of pride and winning for winning's sake. I suspect Mizzou will look to take care of business at home and keep the pressure on Nebraska.

San Diego State (7-2, 4-1) vs. TCU (10-0, 6-0)
TCU's allowed 23 points in six games. The offense has scored less than 30 points once (Colorado State, 27-0). Still, the Frogs shouldn't sleep on the Aztecs. They average almost 450 yards per game on offense. Even at home, the Frogs need to be focused following the huge win over Utah.

Iowa State (5-5, 3-3) vs. Colorado (3-6, 0-5)
I suspect the Cyclones to win this game and get to six wins for another bowl appearance. Including last year's seven-win team, Paul Rhodes' tenure at Iowa State has been impressive ... in terms of Iowa State football.

Texas Tech (5-4, 3-4) vs. Oklahoma (7-2, 3-2)
If this game were in Lubbock, I'd sound the alarm. I think Bob Stoops will put a boot in his team's ass following last week's turd in College Station. As much as OU's rebounding, Tech's coming off a huge win at home against Mizzou. Two teams coming off very different weeks.

Texas A&M (6-3, 3-2) vs. Baylor (7-3, 4-2)
Who knew that this would probably be the marquee match-up in Big XII football in mid-November? Baylor is 4-0 at home and they score big on familiar turf. Aggies riding the wave of Ryan Tannehill. The thought of A&M possibly being a top 20 team chills me to my bones.

Kansas (3-6, 1-4) vs. Nebraska (8-1, 4-1)
Nebraska can be susceptible to the let-down game with an easy schedule to end things until the Big XII Championship game. At best, Kansas strives to be "plucky."

Oklahoma State (8-1, 4-1) vs. Texas (4-5, 2-4)
When's the last time Texas lost four in a row? When's the last time they lost four in Austin? The answer to these questions on Sunday will be "2010."

UNT (2-7, 2-4) vs. Middle Tennessee (3-5, 2-2)
UNT's scored 68 points in their last two games with Riley Dodge running things. Again, UNT will have a shot at winning their third game. Middle Tennessee allows almost 400 yards of offense per game.

Southeastern Louisiana (2-7 ,1-4) vs. SFA (7-2, 4-1)
The Lumberjacks should cruise here.

Making heads nor tails

TCU, still digging

If the Big XII is a baby, it just got dropped on its head.

An insane day.

TCU 47, Utah 7
Thanks for playing, Utah. TCU took the sixth-ranked team in the nation at their own field and whipped their ass. Frankly, TCU could have been playing Wyoming or Idaho State. Considering what happened elsewhere in college football, I would daresay that -- should the TCU win out -- this win would guarantee them the No. 3 spot in the land. An Auburn or Oregon loss puts them in the title game.

I do think the nation is noticing now. I think the defense impresses most of all. They held Utah to 198 total yards. The Utes had 54 rushing yards. No one's beating TCU with that output. The Frog offense is just too good. TCU is a special team. They'll get to show it on a huge stage soon enough.

Oklahoma State 55, Baylor 28
The Pokes were up 24-0 before the Bears woke up. Then, 34-0 before the Bears could get up off the ground. That "thud" you heard were the Bears falling flat on their face in a gigantic game and the "swoosh" was the Cowboys taking full control of the Big XII South. The Cowboys piled up 724 total yards. Of those, 172 went to Justin Blackmon, who is a stud's stud. This game showed that if Baylor is going to play with the big boys, defense is the most important thing. The Bears would've traded their one Robert Griffin for an Earl Thomas, Ndamukong Suh, Michael Griffin, Brian Orakpo and a couple of the guys from the Wrecking Crew.

Texas A&M 33, Oklahoma 19
I hope everyone took A&M and the points. Simply put, A&M controlled the front on both sides of the ball. They ran the ball really well -- with DeSoto's Cyrus Gray -- and OU couldn't run if they wanted to. Landry Jones was sacked three times and it was ball game. Mike Sherman needed a signature win and he's got one. Meanwhile, OU has to be at a loss. I think they expected to be playing for the South against Oklahoma State. Now, they'll be looking forward to the Holiday Bowl. Ryan Tannehill wasn't awful, but he wasn't very good either. Didn't matter. Aggies ran the ball wherever they wanted.

Texas Tech 24, Missouri 17
Home teams in the Big XII went 5-1 this week. No matter what, it's tough to play on the Llano Estacado at night. Ask the Longhorns of a couple of years ago. Ask the Tigers right now. The Sooners' dreams were smashed along with the Tigers'. Tech threw the kitchen sink at Mizzou and they played stellar pass defense. The usually good Blaine Gabbert was awful going 13-32 for 98 yards. When someone playing that poorly is throwing a pass for the win with four minutes in the game, you might as well concede.

Kansas State 39, Texas 14
Don't let the trash-time points fool you, this was a rout like Texas hasn't seen in a good, long while. Still, this wasn't some methodical victory for K-State. They weren't very good, although they ran the ball at will. The Wildcats scored five touchdowns. For their touchdown drives, the Wildcats took 15 plays for 124 yards. So, on average, the Wildcats took three plays and 24 yards. Thanks to five Garrett Gilbert interceptions, K-State started drives within the Texas 20-yard-line. K-State didn't win it; Texas gave it to them.

Kansas 52, Colorado 45
This game is getting buried. That's a shame. Colorado was up 45-17 at the start of the fourth quarter. Naturally, they allowed 35 unanswered points to Turner Gill's Jayhawks for a win. Damndest thing I never saw. Despite 10 penalties, Kansas went 11-16 on third-down conversions. It's remarkable that the Jayhawks had enough time to comeback. One touchdown came on a fumble return. The other four scoring drives took no longer than three minutes and 39 seconds. We need a funeral for Dan Hawkins' coaching career in Boulder. Is he still employed?

Nebraska 31, Iowa State 30
If you thought the week was already crazy, it was almost completely off the hook. Nebraska was up 24-10 starting the fourth quarter. They gave up 14 unanswered and the Cyclones took Nebraska to overtime. Instead of taking it to a second overtime, Iowa State opted for the two-point conversion at home and it failed. Gusty. Nebraska officially in control in the Big XII. Although, the hold is tenuous.

UTEP 28, SMU 14
SMU's put up some stinkers this season. This is one of them. Mustangs have to win this game against the Miners. No turnovers, but 10 penalties broke the Mustangs' backs and the offense was sleepwalking and have been the last four or so weeks. Disappointing.

Troy 41, North Texas 35
Riley Dodge has never looked so good and if UNT has an ounce of A) luck or B) defense, they have six wins this season.

SFA 48, Nicholls State 13
More like it. SFA shakes off some ugly starts and whips up on Nicholls State.

Big game weekend

ISU can get cute, too

Why I love college football, reason No. 435:

Every week -- especially after week six -- there are a ton of great games and match-ups to the point that you think it won't get any better.

Then, the next week, it gets better. Mainly because teams' fortunes and rankings change. Anybody playing Auburn at the beginning of the season never thought it'd be huge. Now, they play Alabama, LSU or Florida and it's a huge game.

Same with Oregon, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Utah and others. Nobody considered these teams as being important or nearly as important as they are now. For the last three weeks, it's huge game after huge game.

If college football is broke, I'd hate to see it fixed.

The match-ups:

TCU (9-0, 5-0) vs. Utah (8-0, 5-0)
Playoff? Who needs a playoff? It's week 10 and both these teams are playing, essentially, for their seasons. A win catapults one of these teams probably into the top three. They are in the national championship talk. This is as big of a game as there will be this season in any sport.

Baylor (7-2, 4-1) vs. Oklahoma State (7-1, 3-1)
Huge. Gigantic. Monstrous game for both teams. They're essentially playing for the Big XII South. A spot in the Big XII title game. Big road game and test for the Bears. A win puts them in top 15 and Robert Griffin directly in the Heisman talk. Both have Oklahoma looming.

Colorado (3-5, 0-4) vs. Kansas (2-6, 0-4)
Someone will come out with a conference win. The loser will retreat to the wilderness in shame. Worst game of the week. They all can't be good.

Nebraska (7-1, 3-1) vs. Iowa State (5-4, 3-2)
Make sense of Iowa State and I'll tell you who wins this game. They lost by 41 and 52 to Utah and Oklahoma, respectively, then beat Texas in Austin. The Cyclones might lose by 40. Or win by 14.

Missouri (7-1, 3-1) vs. Texas Tech (4-4, 2-4)
A trap game for the Tigers. At Tech at night coming off the disappointment against Nebraska. At best, Tech is frisky. Sometimes frisky is all you got.

Texas (4-4, 2-3) vs. Kansas State (5-3, 2-3)
Texas is awesome on the road (3-1). When's the last time Texas had allowed more touchdowns than they scored?

Oklahoma (7-1, 3-1) vs. Texas A&M (5-3, 2-2)
Welcome to college football Ryan Tannehill. You don't get Texas Tech every week. OU wins by 21.

SMU (5-4, 4-1) vs. UTEP (5-4, 4-2)
SMU is coming off their thrilling win over Tulsa. Meanwhile, UTEP's lost three straight and are utterly ordinary.

Troy (4-3, 3-1) vs. North Texas (2-6, 2-3)
It's odd seeing UNT at 2-3 in conference. As if they were average and not the worst team in the nation. The Mean Green are 0-4 at home with two 1-point losses.

SFA (6-2, 3-1) vs. Nicholls State (2-6, 1-3)
SFA must bounce back. Giving up a huge fourth quarter in a loss to Texas State ain't going to cut it. Should feast on Nicholls State, but they haven't played well in three games.

TCU maybe on the move

Frogged

Those that make decisions within the Big East decided that they'd like to expand from eight teams to 10.

Who do they want? First and foremost, the TCU Horned Frogs.

The school says they haven't had contact regarding this. I heard another report that they'd be into the idea.

The Frogs have three options.

They can wait, if they want, and maybe a bigger, badder conference decides to expand (Big XII ... currently the Big X?) and jump ship there. However, I really doubt that a major conference really wants to face world beaters like TCU every year. There's a reason Colorado was brought in by the Pac-10.

They can stay in the Mountain West beating up on Colorado State and Wyoming, being in the top 10 every year hoping that some of the big boys in the big-boy conferences stumble enough for them to "sneak" into a BCS Championship game.

Or they go to the Big East.

There, they are automatically BCS bowl eligible. In theory, this means that should they wind up being undefeated -- at least, one of two -- then they will play in the BCS Championship game. Currently, playing in a non-BCS conference is killing them. They get no respect and it's suspected that a one-loss Alabama or even Oklahoma would jump TCU, Boise State or Utah if it came down to it.

The Big East is no patsy. In the past five or so years, they've had West Virginia, Rutgers, Louisville, South Florida, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Connecticut made significant noise in the BCS, sometimes vying for the big prize.

With that said, not only is the Big East down (Syracuse has the best record at 6-2), but even in a good year TCU probably still wins that conference.

It's a win-win. TCU gets legit. Big East gets legit, too, they can tap into the Texas recruiting scene and the Dallas-Fort Worth media market. I can't imagine how this doesn't work out.

Tiger, Bears and Aggies -- oh my

Bob Griffin

It was stumbling block week. Did the Big XII become irrelevent?

Nebraska 31, Missouri 17
Answer: Yes. Mizzou was the Big XII's only national championship contender being the last undefeated team until they rolled into Lincoln and Nebraska played like the world beater that we thought they were. Mizzou never had a shot. Nebraska went up 24-0 as the Cornhuskers had touchdown plays of 66, 40 and 73 in the first 13 minutes of the stinkin' game. Midway through, the Tigers' body language completely changed and they were TKO'd. There was three quarters left to go, but the game was over. On the first three drives of the game, Nebraska had one offensive play and 66 yards. The Tigers had eight offensive plays and -1 yards.

The story, however, was Roy Helu Jr. Twenty-eight carries and 303 yards. Averaged 11 yards per carry. Stupendous. Then the Blackshirts. Held Blaine Gabbert to 19-42 passing with six sacks and one interception. Men vs. boys.

Baylor 30, Texas 22
We have a new king in the Big XII South. The perfect description of Texas is that they're a field goal team playing a touchdown game. If you need a field goal, Garrett Gilbert can get you that field goal. Unfortunately, Baylor is a touchdown team with a touchdown maker -- Robert Griffin. The dude was responsible for three touchdowns and Jay Finley rushed for 116 yards. The Bears beat the Longhorns' asses in Austin. First since 1991 in Austin and the first time Baylor's beaten Texas at all since 1996.

TCU 48, UNLV 6
Seems like TCU barely tried. And won by 42. TCU's allowed a mere 16 points in October. Outscored opponents 189-16. Incredible.

SMU 31, Tulane 17
With the season on the brink, the Mustangs woke up. Down 17-3 and looking lethargic, the Mustangs scored 28 unanswered at the end of the third and the whole of the fourth to take the game. SMU needed that. They were on the brink of getting out of the Conference USA race and possibly out of bowl eligibility. Should easily get to eight wins now.

Oklahoma 43, Colorado 10
Again, if Cody Hawkins is your quarterback, you are going to lose. OU is varsity; Colorado, junior high.

Texas A&M 45, Texas Tech 27
The Ryan Tannehill era is off to a 1-0 start. The new quarterback went 36-50 for 449 yards and four touchdowns. It's his team now. Mike Sherman probably bought himself another year.

Oklahoma State 24, Kansas State 14
Oklahoma State forced K-State into three interceptions in three straight possession in the second half down 21 points, and that was the game. K-State can clearly beat up the small guys, but can't keep up with a decent team.

Iowa State 28, Kansas 16
It says a lot when Iowa State is significantly better than you.

UNT 33, Western Kentucky 6
UNT ... dominated? Riley Dodge came back just in time not to save his daddy's job and Lance Dunbar rushed for 215 and three touchdowns. If UNT wants to fasttrack back to respectibility, they run the ball and learn to run the ball very efficiently.

Texas State 27, SFA 24
Twenty-seven unanswered points in the fourth quarter to overcome a 24-0 deficit? I'd like to thank the SFA defense, special teams and running game for showing up. Not really.

Gutcheck time

Husker

It's getting to the meat-and-potatoes time of the year. This is when pretenders fade after eight weeks of grueling football, getting beat to all hell. There is where the road gets tough.

It's also when good teams from around the nation play their best and assert themselves as the best team in the land.

For us locals, we have a couple of teams of this nature. Some are just seeking a win or two (UNT), others are fighting for respect (SMU), others want to be spoilers (Nebraska) and some want to dance (Mizzou, TCU).

Tomorrow starts the coolest couple of weeks of college sports.

Missouri (8-0, 4-0) vs. Nebraska (6-1, 2-1)
OK. This is it for the Tigers. Don't want to look too far ahead, but the Cornhuskers are the Tigers' last big hurdle toward a perfect season and, probably, major talk for a championship game in January, February or June ... whenever they play that thing. Mizzou's had a very weird schedule. Six of their first seven were at home. Tomorrow in Lincoln starts four of the last five on the road.

Texas Tech (4-3, 2-3) vs. Texas A&M (4-3, 1-2)
Tech really cares about this game. A&M doesn't. It's why Tech wins. A&M also is apparently rolling with Ryan Tannehill at quarterback, the heir apparent over Jerrod Johnson. It's amazing that the Aggies didn't win more with Johnson. Not that he's Vince Young or anything, but he's good enough, right? It's at College Station where A&M hasn't beaten anyone of substance since George H.W. Bush was president.

TCU (8-0, 4-0) vs. UNLV (1-6, 1-2)
Frogs roll.

Baylor (6-2, 3-1) vs. Texas (4-3, 2-2)
I have a sick feeling in my stomach for the lil' Bears. They'll roll into Austin all hot to trot and then get slammed by a "who cares?" Texas team just because they can when they want. All hoping that Baylor takes it to them and puts a ... gulp ... stranglehold on the Big XII South.

Oklahoma State (6-1, 2-1) vs. Kansas State (5-2, 2-2)
Upset alert. K-State is at home against a Poke team that had its air let out of its balloon at home against Nebraska. K-State would love to play spoiler and get bowl eligible. Plus, Wildcats can run the ball. OSU's playing with out star, stud receiver Justin Blackmon.

Texas State (3-4, 0-3) vs. SFA (6-1, 3-0)
Throw the record books out whenever the Fightin' Raccoons come to Nacogdoches. Speaking of, I went to the local Rally House Texas only to discover they sold these Texas State salt shakers (honestly, I don't know what the fuck they were). I asked if they had any SFA stuff. "No." But they had Texas State? They said they'd gotten them by accident. Bullshit Raccoons.

Colorado (3-4, 0-3) vs. Oklahoma (6-1, 2-1)
Isn't Colorado in the Pac-10 yet?

SMU (4-4, 3-1) vs. Tulane (3-4, 1-2)
SMU doesn't lose three straight in conference especially to a bad Tulane team, does it? Mettle will be checked.

Kansas (2-5, 0-3) vs. Iowa State (4-4, 2-2)
Wonder if playing such a tough schedule helped Iowa State beat Texas. They've already played Iowa, Oklahoma, Utah, Kansas State and Texas Tech. Beat Texas. Now they have Mizzou and Nebraska. that must build some moxy with that team.

UNT (1-6, 1-3) vs. Western Kentucky (1-2, 1-6)
Somebody's got to win. I'd bet Western Kentucky as they've played Nebraska, Indiana, Kentucky and South Florida. Much tougher competition.

The shakedown, 2.0

Might as well jump

If the landscape of Big XII football was shattered two weeks ago, this week it was swept up, glued back together and rebroken. The house was set on fire. The ashes were dumped in the Grand fuckin' Canyon.

To the collapse:

Missouri 36, Oklahoma 27
I don't know what's bigger: The disappointment for the Sooners or the credence it'll give the undefeated Tigers. For OU, it was probably going to happen sooner or later. They'd surfed through some tough games early. Sooner or later they were going to get theirs. It came in Columbia, Ms. Turnovers killed the Sooners. Three, two in the Missouri red zone. Then the missed field goal.

Missouri, on the other hand, were quite efficient. Blaine Gabbert was like a surgeon out there, reminiscent of Chase Daniel: 30-42, 322 yards, 0 sacks, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions. That'll get you a win most of the time, even against the best teams. What are the chances that No. 3 Oklahoma is ranked higher than No. 18 Missouri on Sunday? Oklahoma's gonna have to drop hard or Mizzou's gonna have to jump big.

Nebraska 51, Oklahoma State 41
I thought Oklahoma State actually neglected Kendall Hunter. I know he got 20-something carries, but I didn't think it was enough. I thought they could've gone to him much more. I think he panicked. A huge game at home and another Mike Gundy OSU team comes up short. I'm starting to notice a trend.

Iowa State 28, Texas 21
Holy crap. One week you're in Lincoln beating the top-five Cornhuskers. The next week you're losing to Iowa State in Austin. Texas is so ordinary.

TCU 38, Air Force 17
Well, TCU's now allowed 20 points in the month of October. Slackers.

Houston 45, SMU 10
Bad, bad day for the Mustangs. They got their assed whipped by the fourth-string Houston quarterback. Shitloads of mistakes and just poor play.

Baylor 47, Kansas State 42
Baylor is now bowl eligible after a really nice win on the road. I believe it's the first time they'll play in the post-season since 1994 and the first time to be in the AP poll

Texas Tech 27, Colorado 24
In the who cares bowl, Tech wins. As long as Cody Hawkins gets a majority of the snaps, the Buffs will suck.

Texas A&M 45, Kansas 10
Would Mike Sherman be fired had the Aggies lost to Kansas? Should the Aggies go ahead and hire Mike Leach? Greatest idea ever?

SFA 31, Sam Houston State 28
A close one at Reliant Stadium in Houston to a seemingly large crowd. SFA takes care of business, but for a second straight week they don't win by 70. What's wrong with this team?