I am not in Kansas anymore. I am in Lisa’s and Wilson’s stomping ground here. Unlike Tiger, I have my “A” game going and I’m feelin’ good. In case you missed them, here are the links to my previous out-of-conference (OOC) grades. The ACC, Big East, Big XII, Big X(+1), and the SEC. By the way, I now see why Lisa has been harping on the non-FBS (Div-1A) games. Also, let’s keep in mind that the PAC-10 usually has only three games on it’s OOC schedule because they play all of their conference every year. After those nine games, that only leaves 3 spots open for OOC competition. If there is a FCS team on the schedule, it really, really sticks out.
Here is a reminder of what I am looking for and what is important to me when evaluating an OOC schedule: First, the quality of the team is important to note. I can’t very well evaluate USC’s schedule the same as I would Stanford’s. Secondly, I look for FCS (Div-1AA) teams on the schedule. After that, I will look at the present level of competition that the scheduled team may present. My favorite example is Nebraska. I can’t give a team more credit for scheduling Nebraska as I would Iowa State because of the present level of competition. I do not give any credit to how good the team was when the game was scheduled. Conversely, I would give copious amounts of credit for having South Florida or Rutgers on the schedule. Get it? Got it? Good!
Univerity of California at Los Angeles – Tennessee, Brigham Young, Fresno State. Here is a case of grading on the curve. UCLA is a pretty good team. They certainly are not stinking up the joint. Speaking of stinking, there is not a stinker in this gaggle of games for UCLA. This is why I have their schedule above USC’s. Tennessee is one of the best SEC teams year-in and year-out. They lost Ainge, but they will still be good. BYU had a special season last year and is the reigning MWC champion. The Cougars are pretty good. And then there is Fresno State sitting there all waiting to burst like a 10-year-old girl at a Jonas Brothers concert. When your OOC schedule’s weakest team is a reigning FBS conference champion, you got the goods. I believe UCLA has a very distinct chance in losing all three of these games, but you have to give them some credit here. Grade: A++
Washington – Brigham Young, Oklahoma, Notre Dame. Here is another case of the grade on the curve thing. Washington is really trying to schedule tough and they have done a good job here.. They understand that if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. I would think that the decision makers at Washington were thinking the BYU game would have been the easy one, not the Notre Dame game. I guess we will see. I think it is unlikely that Washington wins both those games. Washington has Oklahoma on the schedule and that says volumes as to the fearlessness in the scheduling philosophy. If Washington has a good team this year, then they should win 2 of these 3. Grade: A+
University of Southern California – Virginia, Ohio State, Notre Dame. Much props to USC for this bold schedule. Ohio State just seems to make it to the National Championship game year after year. The sweater-vest loving Tressel consistently has a top 10 team there in Ohio. You cannot deny the talent there in Buckeyeland. Any team that actively goes out and tries to get a consistent top 10 team on its OOC schedule gets a ton of respect in my book. Any team that has LSU, USC, Florida, Oklahoma, or Texas on the OOC schedule will get mad props from me. Virginia is no slouch either. Sure they lose Chris Long, but they have a good amount of starters coming back. Notre Dame is what it is. Maybe they pull it together this year, maybe they don’t. I’m leaning towards the latter. Grade: A+ (I can’t penalize USC for ND because they play every year.)
Stanford – Texas Christian University, San Jose State, Notre Dame. This is a monster schedule for a team like Stanford. TCU was disappointing last year, but they are a quality opponent year after year. The Horned Frogs will be a good test for the Cardinals. San Jose State is ok. I think it is ok for Stanford to schedule them because they are Stanford and not USC. The SJS Spartans are in the WAC and they finished in the upper part of the lower half of that conference. Notre Dame is what it is. This year’s game should be exciting at the very least. Personally, I am looking forward to it. Grade: A (Because it is Stanford)
Washington State – Oklahoma State, Baylor, Portland State, Hawaii. For a team like Washington State, this is a very good job of scheduling. They took on an extra team so I will for give the Portland State thing. The Cowboys will give the Cougars a run for their money for sure. There is a scary thing about that Cowboy offense. Hawaii lost their coach and their QB, but they still have the system. The Warriors would have been a good gauge as to where this Washington State team is on the grid, but the game is the last one of the year. That is too bad. Baylor should have been the easiest game on the schedule. That is respectable because as bad as Baylor is, they are at least in a BCS conference. Grade: A- (Hawaii brought them down a bit, and I am ignoring the Portland State game because WSU has four OOC games and the rest of the PAC-10 have three.)
Oregon State – Penn State, Hawaii, Utah. You can’t say that this is a bad schedule for the Beavers. Penn State is a good test to evaluate where OSU will be this year. The Nittany Lions have one of the best home field advantages in the NCAA. Oregon State should be able to handle Hawaii this year with all the changes the Warriors will be dealing with. The Utes should be the weakest team on the schedule and they may very well be, but they should not be taken too lightly. Just ask UCLA. We are seeing a trend here in the PAC-10. Grade: B+
California – Michigan State, Maryland, Colorado State. With the exception of Colorado State recently, this schedule has very good competition on it. Michigan State is a consistent bowl game participant, and they do get some talent playing for the Spartans. Maryland is coming off a semi-disappointing year, but they are still a decent team from a BCS conference. Colorado State has been disappointed me last year big time. The best I can figure it, the Rams will end up in the middle of the MWC this year. I would have been harsher on this schedule if it were last years because Cal is not the same team they were 1-2 years ago. Grade: B
Arizona State – Northern Arizona, University of Las Vegas, Georgia. Even though there is that stinker of Northern Arizona on the schedule, I must give a decent grade. Georgia will be a monster this year. The stars and planets have aligned for the Dawgs this year. My best Mr. T impression “I pity da fool who’s got to play Georgia this year!” UNLV should have been the worst team on this schedule. This schedule would have been “A” material if there was a team with a talent-level between UNLV and Georgia. There a many, many teams that fall into that category. Grade: C+ (Would have been much higher if not for N. AZ)
Oregon – Utah State, Purdue, Boise State. This is very disappointing coming from Oregon. They do have a history of bold scheduling, but this must be an off year. Toughest team on the schedule is probably Boise State. Maybe Purdue will surprise some me in the Big 10, but right now I would give a slight edge to the Broncos. That is not saying much for the schedule as a whole. Utah State is ok to have as the “special practice game,” but a team like Oregon needs to step it up a bit after that. Purdue or Boise State are ok for the second team, but they needed a team like Michigan again to make this OOC schedule respectable. Grade: D
Arizona – Idaho, Toledo, New Mexico. Ok, Arizona hasn’t been spectacular lately, but this is really pushing it. When New Mexico is the best game on your OOC schedule, you have issues. The real stinker is Idaho. They went winless in the WAC last year. New Mexico has been improving, but they are not to be confused with a real quality opponent. (well, maybe for Arizona) Toledo is towards the bottom of the barrel in the MAC. This is disappointing from a PAC-10 team. Grade: D-
Through all the time-outs, through all the replays, the students of Arizona University showed a level of restraint that is uncommon amongst students at a football game. It was as if there was an invisible barrier, a "force-field" if you will, around the field. This "force-field" exhibited a calming effect on the otherwise rowdy student body.
The students were a bit premature in the rushing of the field, but they made up for the mistake by waiting patiently right off the sidelines. As many students as there were packed in the tiny space between the side-lines and the wall, I was shocked that no one encroached the field of play. The students did a better job of avoiding a side-line penalty than most coaching staffs.
I would like to introduce a new award category in the college football repertoire. The new category is "Best Performance By A Student Body."
What happens to other colleges in the state when the premier school looks out of state for talent? Just look at Nebraska for the answer.
Over the last few years, the state of Nebraska has blossomed in the sport of football. The Division 1 team, the Cornhuskers, may not have fared very well, but the rest of the state is doing just fine.
Here is a list of the records of some of the other schools in the state.
Chadron State - Chadron, NE
2007 – 11-0
2006 – 12-1
2005 – 4-6
2004 – 7-3
University of Nebraska - Omaha, NE
2007 -- 10-0
2006 -- 8-3
2005 -- 8-3
2004 -- 8-3
Nebraska Wesleyan – Lincoln, NE
2007 – 7-3
2006 – 7-3
2005 – 6-4
2004 – 5-5
Contrary to popular belief, there are football players in Nebraska. California, Texas, and Florida have enough to justify the talent export of their states, but there are players in Nebraska if you look.
My case in point is a young kid by the name of Danny Woodhead. This fantastic young man wanted nothing more than to play football at the college level. Coming from North Platte, NE, of course he wanted to play for the Cornhuskers. He ends up at Chadron State. He also ends up with more than 7,555 yards rushing for his career. Yes, that is a record. That is the record for all divisions in the NCAA.
Over the bye-week that Nebraska is currently in, the Coaching staff is going to focus efforts in-state. I wonder if this is Bill “as good as canned” Callahan’s idea or Tom Osborne’s?
I have refrained from piling on the soon to be ex-head coach of Nebraska, but I guess I’m in a fightin’ mood. After reading the articles above, I don’t think anyone would blame me.
I was one of his staunchest supporters for most of the year. The 41-6 loss to Mizzou was enough for me to start to criticize, but I was not calling for his head. I was calling for him to get the ship back on the right course.
Deplorable is the best word I can come up with to describe the behavior of this egomaniac that is the worst excuse of a coach I have ever seen.
Let us put aside the “X’s” and O’s” for a minute. I want to talk about Bill Callahan as a role model, as a father figure, as a nurturing head coach. Maybe I am too touchy-feely, but part of the job of the head coach is to protect his kids. A good head coach will take the bullets being fired from the media. A good head coach will praise his players for outstanding performances.
Bill Callahan has a lot of growing up to do. I pity the team he goes to after he gets $h!t-canned by a living legend. Sorry about the language, but I am fired up and I want to make sure this comes across as true to my emotions as it can.
The most anticipated game for the Big 12 North will be played 11/24 in Arrowhead Stadium against the Missouri Tigers and the Kansas Jayhawks. If both teams can refrain from losing a game until then, then the ramifications of that game could be enormous.
Let us travel for a bit to the land of what ifs. What if a 11-0 KU team beats a 10-1 Mizzou. Does KU finally jump in front of the rest of the one-loss teams? I say no. What if KU pulls out a victory against Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game? Will that be enough to catapult KU past any one-loss teams in front of the Jayhawks? I would certainly hope so. KU would have 2 top ten victories in as many weeks. Do I think this will happen? No. I have my doubts that KU will make it past Oklahoma State much less Missouri and Oklahoma.
What if Mizzou beats the Jayhawks and Oklahoma? With one loss, will that be enough to propel the Tigers to the front of the one-loss line? If the rankings stay as they are now, I would certainly hope that 2 wins against 2 top ten teams would count for something. I would give more credit to this "what if" prediction because Missouri is playing well on both sides of the ball. We know they have one of the best QBs in Chase Daniel, but they are now playing good defense to boot.
I think Oklahoma needs help in order to get to the National Championship Game. They would only have one win over a top 10 team. That would put them in the same boat as LSU, Oregon, Boston College, Arizona St, and West Virginia. That is big pack of one-loss teams. OU would stand out a bit because of the extra game for the Big 12 Championship. LSU would not be playing a team as highly ranked as KU or Mizzou in the SEC Championship. LSU should be rooting for Georgia right about now, but that is another blog for another person to write.
Who is the biggest fan of KU right now? I would say Mizzou is pulling for the Jayhawks to win this week against Oklahoma State and Iowa State next week. If Mizzou beats an undefeated KU and comes through on another shot at Oklahoma, then they have to be a lock for the National Championship Game. Right?
Friends Forever (or at least until 11/24)
I have given my opinion on the current state of affairs in the Big 12 North. For the record, I would like to say that the North has surpassed any expectations I had before the start of the season, but it does not seem to be deserving of two top ten teams.
free polls
I like the match-ups and the years of bad-blood between rivals in college football. I enjoy a good game no matter the national implications. Give me a 3OT game between a couple of Sun Belt teams over a 40 point blowout between a couple top 25 teams anytime. I consider myself to be a fan of the game. I will be as respectful to visitors on my blog as they are to me. Go Huskers! Go Navy! Go Jags! Go Cubbies!
I am not in Kansas anymore. I am in Lisa’s and Wilson’s stomping ground here. Unlike Tiger, I have my “A” game going and I’m feelin’ good. In case you missed them, here are the links to my previous out-of-conference (OOC) grades. The 
Here is a reminder of what I am looking for and what is important to me when evaluating an OOC schedule: First, the quality of the team is important to note. I can’t very well evaluate USC’s schedule the same as I would Stanford’s. Secondly, I look for FCS (Div-1AA) teams on the schedule. After that, I will look at the present level of competition that the scheduled team may present. My favorite example is Nebraska. I can’t give a team more credit for scheduling Nebraska as I would Iowa State because of the present level of competition. I do not give any credit to how good the team was when the game was scheduled. Conversely, I would give copious amounts of credit for having South Florida or Rutgers on the schedule. Get it? Got it? Good!
Univerity of California at Los Angeles – Tennessee, Brigham Young, Fresno State. Here is a case of grading on the curve. UCLA is a pretty good team. They certainly are not stinking up the joint. Speaking of stinking, there is not a stinker in this gaggle of games for UCLA. This is why I have their schedule above USC’s. Tennessee is one of the best SEC teams year-in and year-out. They lost Ainge, but they will still be good. BYU had a special season last year and is the reigning MWC champion. The Cougars are pretty good. And then there is Fresno State sitting there all waiting to burst like a 10-year-old girl at a Jonas Brothers concert. When your OOC schedule’s weakest team is a reigning FBS conference champion, you got the goods. I believe UCLA has a very distinct chance in losing all three of these games, but you have to give them some credit here. Grade: A++ 
Washington – Brigham Young, Oklahoma, Notre Dame. Here is another case of the grade on the curve thing. Washington is really trying to schedule tough and they have done a good job here.. They understand that if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. I would think that the decision makers at Washington were thinking the BYU game would have been the easy one, not the Notre Dame game. I guess we will see. I think it is unlikely that Washington wins both those games. Washington has Oklahoma on the schedule and that says volumes as to the fearlessness in the scheduling philosophy. If Washington has a good team this year, then they should win 2 of these 3. Grade: A+ 
University of Southern California – Virginia, Ohio State, Notre Dame. Much props to USC for this bold schedule. Ohio State just seems to make it to the National Championship game year after year. The sweater-vest loving Tressel consistently has a top 10 team there in Ohio. You cannot deny the talent there in Buckeyeland. Any team that actively goes out and tries to get a consistent top 10 team on its OOC schedule gets a ton of respect in my book. Any team that has LSU, USC, Florida, Oklahoma, or Texas on the OOC schedule will get mad props from me. Virginia is no slouch either. Sure they lose Chris Long, but they have a good amount of starters coming back. Notre Dame is what it is. Maybe they pull it together this year, maybe they don’t. I’m leaning towards the latter. Grade: A+ (I can’t penalize USC for ND because they play every year.)
Stanford – Texas Christian University, San Jose State, Notre Dame. This is a monster schedule for a team like Stanford. TCU was disappointing last year, but they are a quality opponent year after year. The Horned Frogs will be a good test for the Cardinals. San Jose State is ok. I think it is ok for Stanford to schedule them because they are Stanford and not USC. The SJS Spartans are in the WAC and they finished in the upper part of the lower half of that conference. Notre Dame is what it is. This year’s game should be exciting at the very least. Personally, I am looking forward to it. Grade: A (Because it is Stanford)
Washington State – Oklahoma State, Baylor, Portland State, Hawaii. For a team like Washington State, this is a very good job of scheduling. They took on an extra team so I will for give the Portland State thing. The Cowboys will give the Cougars a run for their money for sure. There is a scary thing about that Cowboy offense. Hawaii lost their coach and their QB, but they still have the system. The Warriors would have been a good gauge as to where this Washington State team is on the grid, but the game is the last one of the year. That is too bad. Baylor should have been the easiest game on the schedule. That is respectable because as bad as Baylor is, they are at least in a BCS conference. Grade: A- (Hawaii brought them down a bit, and I am ignoring the Portland State game because WSU has four OOC games and the rest of the PAC-10 have three.)
Oregon State – Penn State, Hawaii, Utah. You can’t say that this is a bad schedule for the Beavers. Penn State is a good test to evaluate where OSU will be this year. The Nittany Lions have one of the best home field advantages in the NCAA. Oregon State should be able to handle Hawaii this year with all the changes the Warriors will be dealing with. The Utes should be the weakest team on the schedule and they may very well be, but they should not be taken too lightly. Just ask UCLA. We are seeing a trend here in the PAC-10. Grade: B+
California – Michigan State, Maryland, Colorado State. With the exception of Colorado State recently, this schedule has very good competition on it. Michigan State is a consistent bowl game participant, and they do get some talent playing for the Spartans. Maryland is coming off a semi-disappointing year, but they are still a decent team from a BCS conference. Colorado State has been disappointed me last year big time. The best I can figure it, the Rams will end up in the middle of the MWC this year. I would have been harsher on this schedule if it were last years because Cal is not the same team they were 1-2 years ago. Grade: B
Arizona State – Northern Arizona, University of Las Vegas, Georgia. Even though there is that stinker of Northern Arizona on the schedule, I must give a decent grade. Georgia will be a monster this year. The stars and planets have aligned for the Dawgs this year. My best Mr. T impression “I pity da fool who’s got to play Georgia this year!” UNLV should have been the worst team on this schedule. This schedule would have been “A” material if there was a team with a talent-level between UNLV and Georgia. There a many, many teams that fall into that category. Grade: C+ (Would have been much higher if not for N. AZ)
Oregon – Utah State, Purdue, Boise State. This is very disappointing coming from Oregon. They do have a history of bold scheduling, but this must be an off year. Toughest team on the schedule is probably Boise State. Maybe Purdue will surprise some me in the Big 10, but right now I would give a slight edge to the Broncos. That is not saying much for the schedule as a whole. Utah State is ok to have as the “special practice game,” but a team like Oregon needs to step it up a bit after that. Purdue or Boise State are ok for the second team, but they needed a team like Michigan again to make this OOC schedule respectable. Grade: D
Arizona – Idaho, Toledo, New Mexico. Ok, Arizona hasn’t been spectacular lately, but this is really pushing it. When New Mexico is the best game on your OOC schedule, you have issues. The real stinker is Idaho. They went winless in the WAC last year. New Mexico has been improving, but they are not to be confused with a real quality opponent. (well, maybe for Arizona) Toledo is towards the bottom of the barrel in the MAC. This is disappointing from a PAC-10 team. Grade: D-
Chadron State - Chadron, NE
University of Nebraska - Omaha, NE
Nebraska Wesleyan – Lincoln, NE 
Let us put aside the “X’s” and O’s” for a minute. I want to talk about Bill Callahan as a role model, as a father figure, as a nurturing head coach. Maybe I am too touchy-feely, but part of the job of the head coach is to protect his kids. A good head coach will take the bullets being fired from the media. A good head coach will praise his players for outstanding performances.
Bill Callahan has a lot of growing up to do. I pity the team he goes to after he gets $h!t-canned by a living legend. Sorry about the language, but I am fired up and I want to make sure this comes across as true to my emotions as it can. 
Let us travel for a bit to the land of what ifs. What if a 11-0 KU team beats a 10-1 Mizzou. Does KU finally jump in front of the rest of the one-loss teams? I say no. What if KU pulls out a victory against Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game? Will that be enough to catapult KU past any one-loss teams in front of the Jayhawks? I would certainly hope so. KU would have 2 top ten victories in as many weeks. Do I think this will happen? No. I have my doubts that KU will make it past Oklahoma State much less Missouri and Oklahoma. 
What if Mizzou beats the Jayhawks and Oklahoma? With one loss, will that be enough to propel the Tigers to the front of the one-loss line? If the rankings stay as they are now, I would certainly hope that 2 wins against 2 top ten teams would count for something. I would give more credit to this "what if" prediction because Missouri is playing well on both sides of the ball. We know they have one of the best QBs in Chase Daniel, but they are now playing good defense to boot.
I think Oklahoma needs help in order to get to the National Championship Game. They would only have one win over a top 10 team. That would put them in the same boat as LSU, Oregon, Boston College, Arizona St, and West Virginia. That is big pack of one-loss teams. OU would stand out a bit because of the extra game for the Big 12 Championship. LSU would not be playing a team as highly ranked as KU or Mizzou in the SEC Championship. LSU should be rooting for Georgia right about now, but that is another blog for another person to write.
