The Bed Bugs Bite

Was I the only one who couldn't sleep last night? Was I the only one who crawled out of bed this morning at 6:30 a.m. on a day off and starting walking around the house kicking the floor, waiting for the time to pass? ESPN Radio 930 AM has been loud all day long in my place, I even went to Home Depot and bought an extension cord that could span from my house to the barn so I could listen to college football jabber all day long while working on a canoe. I had to do something, the house cats were starting to look at me weird as I wore lines in my kitchen floor pacing back and forth.

I haven't eaten.
I haven't slept.
I haven't talked to anybody.

*A few pregame notes to consider. West Virginia looked pretty much untouchable against Connecticut today. With that romp, WV made a serious statement about the quality of their football team. They scare me. No doubt. And I think if they take care of business next weekend, then they're a shoe-in for the national title game. And I don't see them having any problems next weekend.

*A few of my suspicions were confirmed from yesterday. During the nine hour span of College Gameday on ESPN radio, the national title contenders list was almost dead on with what I mentioned yesterday. The experts are even giving LSU a little love still.

Cousin Paul pointed out to me that LSU had two losses, not just the one that I had mentioned in yesterday's blog. Both of those losses coming from unranked teams. Considering that...I'd say they've blown their chance.

It seems most of these "experts" think USC is playing the best ball in the nation right now, followed by Georgia and West Virginia. And I'm not sure who it was but two of these football talkers came on ESPN radio this afternoon and gave their "real top five."

Guess what? Neither one of them had Missouri or Kansas in their top five. Are you kidding?

Hey. Look. The truth is this, maybe USC is playing the best ball in the country right now. But they didn't take care of business when they had to. Ohio State didn't take care of business when they had to. LSU didn't take care of business when they had to.

Missouri and Kansas have. So has Georgia and West Virginia. So excuse me...but I've got a memo to all those "experts" who can't seem to stop sniffing Pete Carroll's ass: take your west coast wine party back to California, buy a surfboard, wear your shorts slightly below your hipbone, and start calling all your friends "bro."

Missouri. Kansas. Border War. Next.

IN GAME STUFF:

*First quarter: Looks as though both teams are a little nervous. MU is the first to settle down. Two scoring opportunities to KU's none in the first quarter has got to provide a little excitement.

*Good to see Daniel settle down and start using other recievers outside of Maclin. He might be the most versatile on the squad, but Kansas has him zeroed in. We have so many other threats, USE THEM!

*Will Franklin can't make that mistake as a senior. Keep your head on your shoulders.

*Maclin's injury could seriously change the dynamics of this game. Let's hope it's nothing major. He had a legit chance at breaking both the opening kickoff and a punt in the first quarter. The kid is the real deal.

*I had heard that Ole Mangino was big. But I simply had no IDEA that he was that big.

Second Quarter Stuff:

*HUGE PICK. From the All-American. Let's hear those West Coast cheese and cracker eaters talk a little bit more about MU's defense. It may still be early, but so far we're completely shutting down this "incredible" KU scoring machine.

*Tony Temple is looking healthy. Averaging about ten a carry right now. That's good to see.

*It's nice to have tight ends that catch the ball, then immediately start looking for a blue jersey to just plow over.

*KU's cheerleaders don't compare to the Golden Girls. The Jayhawk cheer squad just looks out-of-place, unfit, without a clue, and a little frumpy (which means..."not appealing").

*WOW. Chase Daniel is special. And he just made Kansas' defense look like a special needs squad. How in the heck do you allow him to run backwards 30 yards, then come forward - all on third and goal from the 11 - and find an open reciever five minutes later? By the way, Alexander is the early front runner for the Horse Trailer Player of the Game.

*I can't hate on Pinkel right now because we're beating the #2 team in the nation by 14. BUT...what is up with these short high kickoffs? Why are we letting Kansas play with a short field every possession? Any answers? One twenty yard pass and KU is in field goal range? That doesn't make sense to me.

*Field goal off the yellow, BABY! Kansas is certainly struggling on MU's end of the field. A pick at the duece and a missed field goal has got that that KU offense feeling like that undersized kid you played coaches pitch baseball with when you were 8 years old. You know, the kid that forgot his cleats, then, surprisingly... actually hit the ball on their first at-bat, but forgot to drop the bat on their way to first. You know...that kid.

*Despite the 14 point lead and KU's failure to convert big plays thus far, I'm still as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

*Hey. If you're going to go for it on fourth and one. And you're going to throw the football. Then you HAVE to throw it beyond the first down marker. Not in front of it. That was a bad decision by Daniel, and not a great play call by Pinkel. TEMP22 has been running all over that defense, give him the rock.

*How about this MU red zone DEFENSE. CLAP CLAP. DEFENSE. CLAP CLAP. DEFENSE! BABY.

*You're on your own for the second half. I'm off to a more a cozy spot for frame #2. Go Tigers. Howl at that full moon BABY!