Bowl

[ozark trout fisher]

It will now be the Capital One or Cotton for Mizzou (LSU has already taken what would have been my least favorite option in the Outback Bowl), and the opponent will almost certainly be Wisconsin (Capital One) or Oklahoma State (Cotton.) Once we've recovered from the disappointment last night, either game should be seen as a great opportunity for Mizzou to play a quality team on a big stage.

Yeah, it hurts, but we'll still have a chance to get to 12 wins against a really, really good team. Hard to ask for more than that. Feels almost like a repeat of 2007, we can only hope the bowl goes the same way.

[Jerry Rapp]

hope they can adjust on defense whoever they play. You can't fire Pickle because of the success he has had, but....... come on man. Adjust in a big game. So what if it fails, you have proven countless times that non adjustments never work out.

[ozark trout fisher]

I agree it was pretty inexcusable, especially given that this has been one of the best defenses in the SEC all year. Luckily we will have awhile to prepare and probably won't be playing a triple option team.

Of course Pinkel's job is beyond secure, but he may not get as many phone calls from other schools in need of a coach after that defensive performance..............Texas already has a coach that can give up 4-500 rushing yards, so no need to bring in Pinkel as some (maybe just me?) have feared would happen if Mack Brown is gone.

[ozark trout fisher]

And it looks like it will indeed be the Cotton Bowl. Back to the Big 12 for a game, ya'll. Short of winning yesterday, this is the most exciting outcome for me.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Should be a great match up. OSU is very strong, but got caught by a team that is always dangerous, especially with the added historical grudges.

[Al Agnew]

Yeah, I like the Cotton Bowl matchup.

Jerry, think about a few things...

Nobody stopped the Auburn offense this year except, somehow, LSU.

Bama tried all kinds of adjustments against them. Run blitzed and got burned every time. Loaded the box and got beat on passes. You really think Pinkel and Steckel are better than the Bama coaches? Especially since Bama knew all year they'd be playing them the last regular season game and had all year to prepare for them, while Mizzou had one week.

Adjustments? People seem to think good coaches can make wholesale changes in the middle of a game. It doesn't work that way. Adjustments are usually little things, little tweaks, changes in the positioning of one or two players, etc. You practice all week with what you THINK will work. You don't and can't practice wholesale changes to your defense for a week and expect the players to pick them up and execute them well.

Pinkel and Steckel may or may not be great game coaches, but they aren't idiots. If they thought the four man front was going to work the whole game, they would have played it the whole game. I'd guess that they saw enough in the films that they knew Auburn would adjust to it, so they ran it one possession and it worked. They took it off the next possession. That didn't work. They put it back on the next possession after that...and it didn't work. Basically, they ran the defenses they'd played all year because that's what they practiced all year and done well. When they didn't do well against an offense very different from any other they'd faced all year, there really wasn't a whole lot they could do. You can't just move players around to positions they aren't familiar with and expect them to know what to do.

We'll see what the FSU coaches can do with a month or so to prepare for that Auburn offense...but I'd almost be willing to lay big money on that game ending up similar to the SEC championship game. They won't stop Auburn, and Auburn won't stop FSU, and it will be a shoot-out with more than 80 total points scored.

[ozark trout fisher]

I think FSU crushes Auburn, even after what happened to us on Saturday. Give a d-coordinator a month and they will solve that offense, I believe. But we will see.

After that dirty hit late in that game that knocked Josey out, well, I can't exactly cheer for Auburn to make it eight straight.

[Feathers and Fins]

OTF that was not A DIRTY HIT! I am tired of hearing people say it. Josey actually wouldn't have been hurt near as bad had some dumbass cheerleader not left the cardboard laying on the ground that helped him slide in to the cart. There was momentum by both players and the late shove was by no means a "Dirty Hit" as initial contact occurred before they were out of bounds. It is the Josey Story that has people more sympathetic to him and crying over it.

Now for the Bowls

National Championship; If this game was played within two weeks I would say Florida as we have seen many times the LONG time off effects teams and I think this plays in to Auburn much more than Florida. Auburn will come out play its game and Florida will have to settle down and adjust. Auburn should go up several TD's and this could demoralize Florida and force JW to make ill-advised passes. Florida tries to make it a shoot-out and that Plays to Auburns strength. Auburn should win this despite what Vegas thinks. Florida can win but it would take them coming out on their first drive and score and then stuffing Auburn showing they ( fl ) have no rust on them and has the momentum. I believe this to be the key for either team, the one who gets early momentum and shakes the month old rust off.

Rose Bowl; Stanford will certainly have the crowd behind them and have played hard nosed football all year, Michigan is on the road I think Stanford is to much for the Spartans.

Fiesta Bowl; Not much to be said here UCF shouldn't be here and Baylor is going to massacre them.

Sugar Bowl; If you are a football fan this is the game to watch it could be billed so many way but simply Saban v Stoops! Though I would love it to have happened in 2010 this will be a game to watch, two of the best coaching minds in football going head to head. I would typically predict Alabama over most any team but not against a Stoops coached team. This is an exciting game and Is liable to remind many people of old-time smash-mouth football. I'm loving it.

Orange Bowl; Ohio was proven lacking in their play against a top 10 ranked team. BUT Clemson is not ranked in the top 10 and they have lost to two ranked teams when they played them. Ohio should easily handle them.

Best BCS games will be the NC and Sugar.

[Quillback]

I don't know if I can accept the "Missouri D can't adjust" argument. That's pretty sorry if they can't. They did adjust on the first series of the 3rd quarter, brought up a couple of linebackers to the line of scrimmage, and stopped Auburn that series. Then the following series they dropped the linebackers back 4 yards off the LOS and Auburn was off to the races. Maybe making adjustments wouldn't have worked, but it's just plain dumb to play the same ol' same ol' when the other team is racking up 500 yards of rushing.

[Jerry Rapp]

this article pretty well summarizes my frustration with Missouri's lack of adjusting

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/bernie-mizzou-had-no-clue-against-auburn-attack/article_739d0ea4-7777-5ca2-8e8f-6d676d919814.html