Oklahoma vs. Missouri
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Arrowhead Stadium
Kansas City, Missouri
The Oklahoma Sooners (11-1) face off against the Missouri Tigers (9-3) in the Big 12 Championship game amidst some uproar from football circles. MO was undisputed winner of the Big 12’s North division. However, OK won a three way tie in the South by a fifth tiebreaker, besting Texas by a mere .01 of a point in the BCS computer rankings. This is a sour note for Texas, who beat OK during the season. The Big 12 has promised to review its tiebreaker system during the off season. The Sooners are at #4 in the AP poll (Texas is #3), while the Tigers dropped to #19 after a loss to Kansas.
Oklahoma: UP: The Sooners offense may be the best in their history. They have scored over 58 points in five consecutive games, and have averaged 53.3 for the season. Tailbacks DeMarco Murray & Chris Brown average over 5 yards per touch. QB Sam Bradford is in the hunt for the Heisman, averaging 340 yards passing. He has 46 touchdown passes vs. 9 interceptions. DOWN: The defense, though respectable, doesn’t measure up to normal OK standards. They have allowed nearly 25 points average per game and over 359 yards offense. During the last game Bradford tore ligaments in his thumb (not his throwing hand), which will require postseason surgery. He could be playing 100% from the shotgun this week, which is not his normal game plan.
Missouri: UP: This will be Mizzou’s second straight game at Arrowhead Stadium. QB Chase Daniel led four TD drives vs. Kansas and was their best rusher with 103 yards. TE Chase Coffman was brilliant with two TD’s and six catches on the day.
DOWN: Where are the tailbacks? The QB should not be the leading rusher in any game, let alone against Kansas. On defense the cornerbacks & safeties routinely lose track of their men, resulting in huge gains and/or TD’s. Special teams have yielded big yards to less than lustrous opposition.
Keys to the Game: SOONERS: Offense should just keep on keepin’ on. Turn Bradford loose, especially to TE Jermaine Gresham, the all time receiving TE at OK. Defensive line must penetrate and not give Daniels time to find the open receiver.
TIGERS: They simply have to play their best game of the year. The backfield must contain the Sooner’s receivers while the line has to contain Murray & Brown. Daniel must be patient to find Coffman open.
By the Numbers: With the line at OK -17 it would appear this game is a cakewalk. The Sooners are 9-2 ATS (10-1 O/U) while the Tigers are 5-6 ATS (6-5 O/U). Mizzou is 3-5 ATS against conference opponents while OK is 6-2. On neutral fields in the past three years MO is 5-2 ATS and OK is 2-5. A win by the Sooners virtually assures them of an invite to the BCS National Title Game. An unbelievable upset by Mizzou would almost certainly give the invite to Texas. The odds are all against the Tigers, but that’s why they play the game.