Five Minutes for Blogging, Early Edition Dec. 30
It’s 3:55 a.m. and the night is young.
Crazy football game, eh? Mizzou wins over Northwestern 30-23 in OT.
I’ll always remember the Alamo Bowl…
1. FOR MUCH OF THE GAME I HAD TO RESIST THE URGE TO THROW A BOTTLE OF CHILLED GREY GOOSE THROUGH THE TELEVISION SCREEN, BUT AT THE END I WAS HAPPY FOR CHASE DANIEL: I’m telling you, as I watched Daniel struggle through those gadawful series in the second half, when he was freaking out, sailing passes and drifting swiftly into madness, I started thinking… you know what? We’ve seen this before. Or at least something like it… Rick Ankiel, on the mound, peppering the screen behind home plate with his wild throws during the NL playoffs. But late in the game, Daniel gathered himself and put together money drives to force a tie and carry this ordeal into overtime. And he threw a perfect strike to J. Maclin in the OT for the winning TD. Daniel surely can be irritating; some of his junior-year success swelled his ego. And he’s been in decline. He threw only one INT in the first five games of the season, but was picked off 17 times in the last eight games, including three on Monday. But considering all that he’s done for Mizzou football — all of those magic moments, all of those wins — it would have been a shame to see Daniel finish his MU career on depressing, dirty lowdown evening of failure. The Texan rallied himself. He didn’t go out like Ankiel against the Braves, Ankiel against the Mets, in 2000. Daniel went out a winner. And the kid deserved that.
2. WHAT THE HECK WAS GARY PINKEL THINKING ABOUT? Chance to tie the game, or win the game, less than a minute left in the 4th Q, ball at the Northwestern 23 yard-line. OK, Jeff Wolfert is a helluva kicker, as reliable as they come in the college game. He’s facing a 40-yarder there. Not a gimme putt, but a high-percentage kick. Except that Mizzou — instead of trying to carve out a few more yards to advance the ball and give Wolfert an easier shot — ran two passive plays that lost between four and five yards. (Pinkel apparently was trying to position the ball closer to the left hash mark for Wolfert. Heck if I know). So now all of a sudden, Wolfert is staring at a 44-yarder. Yes, I know up to that point he’d made 6 of 7 field goals from distances between 40 and 49 yards this season. But anything from 40+ is fraught with risk, especially at the end of the game. It’s never an easy kick. Not for Wolfert, not for anyone. You just don’t back your kicker up and put more pressure on him. You run a couple of low-risk plays there, maybe get Wolfert another six or seven yards, and let him hit the field goal attempt from about 33, 34 yards out. But you don’t push him back and give him a more difficult kick. That’s just goofy. Well, now… Wolfert, as you already know, missed the 44-yarder and the drama spilled into OT. And Wolfert didn’t deserve to have this on his conscience as he concluded his final game for MU. But for Wolfert’s sake, and Pinkel’s, the Mizzou offense and defense sharply disposed of Northwestern in the bonus stanza.
3. WHICH REMINDS ME OF FONTELLA BASS: It is my humble opinion that the greatest song recorded by a St. Louis Rock N’ Roll, R & B or pop artist is “Rescue Me,” by Ms. Bass. Controversial choice, I know. I’m not trying to diss all of that wonderful stuff from Chuck Berry, Nelly, Ike & Tina Turner, Uncle Tupelo or any number of acts we could mention. Yes, even “The Cheater” cranked out by Bob Kuban and The In-Men, featuring the late Walter Scott on lead vocals. But “Rescue Me” always jumps, always hits it, and never gets old. Feel free to discuss, and dissent. But “Recue Me” certainly applied to Daniel, Wolfert and Pinkel on Monday night.
4. JEREMY MACLIN, THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES: The kid’s gotta declare and head to the NFL, right? Mizzou’s sensational sophomore wideout, return man and blaze runner is going to make a lot of money in the pro game, and it is time for him to get paid instead of risking another major injury that could jeopardize his NFL draft status in 2010, or 2011. (Whisper: Maclin thrills the Rams’ scouts.)
5. WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO BASEBALL AMERICA … I don’t care where the Cardinals’ player-development system is ranked. Sure, it’s nice to know that the Cardinals are apparently doing better in stocking the system with more talent. But until I see this brigade of wunderkinds, phenoms and prodigies up in the majors, tearing it up over the course of several seasons, I’m not going to buy into the hype. No sale. Not now. I want to see the players getting it done in the majors, and then I’ll be happy to start singing their praises. Until then, I’m not going to go Pavarotti and belt out “Nessun Dorma” in a tribute to a bunch of kids who may or not play in the majors. Let’s hold off on the parade, OK? Thanks.
First 30-second bonus: Missouri winning at least 10 football games in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history is a significant achievement — even if the diabolical Mizzou hater Joe “El Diablo” Strauss only gives the Tigers credit for several legit wins over the two-year period because of the soft schedule.
Second 30-second bonus: Debate topic for all of you former or current J-Schoolers out there. The Alamo Bowl got me thinking (which can be dangerous). Who’s got the better journalism school these days, Missouri or Northwestern? Let the throwdown begin. Keep it clean.
-Bernie
Hey, badgerboy, you must be ever so proud of Wisconsin, huh? You might be sick of hearing about Mizzou, but they could beat the snot out of your team. Itchie, Buffalo could probably beat Indiana by 30+, and Vandy by 20+. Nevada would probably knock Indiana into next year. And cornhead, you must be smoking something funny. The University of Iowa journalism school was founded in 1924, SIXTEEN years after Mizzou’s (source: University of Iowa website). Iowa State established a journalism program in 1905, but it didn’t become a fully-fledged school until later. I fail to see how U of I could have the oldest journalism school west of the Mississipi. Last I checked, Mizzou was about 120 miles west of the river.
Bernie, great article and extra points as usual… Typing here from snowy and cold Durango, CO. Where do you think Maclin will go in the draft? How about Coffman? I would love to see him too, but probably not top on the priority list. Have you heard anything about Illinois’ Aurelious Benn leaving early as well? He’s a big, physical, gifted wide receiver.
Correction: IOWA has a better record than Buffalo or Nevada, but the other three schools named by itchie have worse records (in the case of Mississippi State and Indiana, significantly worse) than those two schools. Vanderbilt closed with a hush at 6-6.
Mizzou has the oldest School of Journalism in the world. This negates the claim that Iowa has the oldest school of journalism west of the Mississippi. And the SLU joke made me laugh.
To the matter at hand: Good win for the Tigers. Any win is a good win, and every team has its struggles. Bottom line, no matter what that simpleton Joe Strauss says, is that the Tigers have averaged 10 wins over the past three seasons, and they schedule just like 99% of all other BCS schools out there. Yet, somehow, the list of programs that has averaged 10 wins over three years is rather short. You can’t ignore that.
The Tigers are good, and the fact that it gets Big Ten fans and other St. Louis haters all worked up only proves that point. Mizzou is 2-0 vs. the Big Ten this season, and has a nice streak going vs. the Illini. I’ll take it.
Bernie, right on about Fontella Bass. It will always have life. The orchestal composition is outstanding. But leaving out Chuck Berry? Ouch.
Somebody please put the stats together for all of Chase Daniels fumbles/INT’s during this years losses and the bowl game!!! The guy is not good, and his ego is horrible. Any big game he has played in he has completely choked. Mizzou is an average program right now that can not get over the hump. The Big 12 North is nothing compared to the South….Captain Obvious! And on top of it Mizzou coaching has been horrible. Having a top 5 team and averaging huge points going into the OK State game and not going for it from the 1 yard line on 4th down on the opening drive. Shows real confidence in your team/offense. Setting up rediculous PeeWee plays on crucial drives during the KU game when you needed to make plays and move the football (5 yard splits in offense line). The spread offense is fun and exciting, but you have to be able to run the ball too in college football. OU dominated Mizzou with the run and exposed the holes in the secondary after establishing the fact they could trample over Mizzou. I was in live attendance at the OSU, KU and OU games this year (and no I’m not a Mizzou fan, just a fan of college football) and I saw the same story breakdowns in each BIG game.
Bernie, I think we all agree that newspapers are a dying industry. At least in the form we’re used to holding in our hands. So, no matter where you enter journalism school, what do you do with your degree? Where do you see journalism heading? Is it still worth being a stand alone degree? As an old newspaperman I realize that sometimes progress hurts.
Mizzou underachieved this season, simply put. They won the games that any mediocre Big 12 team should win, and lost the games that any mediocre Big 12 team would likely lose. Hence, they are a mediocre team. As everyone has already stated, the tests for this program run through Norman, OK and Austin, TX. Until this team can play on par with Texas and OU, let’s keep the expectations closer to reality from here on out. This season KU, OK State and Texas Tech all proved themselves to be superior within the conference leaving Mizzou in the middle of the pack. No better, no worse.
Until Mizzou disavows Jeff Gordon, I’m going with Northwestern.
One, some people here are getting a little carried away in their criticism. The 2007 team did not underachieve. They lost a tough game in Norman and then came up short in the Big 12 title game, but 12-2 was a great season. And the Arkansas win was against a legit team, too, for anyone who forgets watching the Razorbacks beat LSU in Baton Rouge. (Although losing their coach before the Cotton Bowl must have been a huge disruption.)
Two, I wonder if there is any college player whose draft stock has fallen farther than Chase Daniel’s this season. Not that he was the prototype NFL quarterback to start with. But from where he stood entering the OSU game to where he sits now . . . has to be a long tumble.
Three, yeah, this season was disappointing. No way to spin it. Glad the Tigers eked it out last night. I would have been very happy for Wolfert to win it and end his brilliant career that way. I agree with you, Bernie, and thought the same thing at the time – Mizzou’s end of regulation clock management and play selection was terrible.
OK, one other thought. Sorry to be so long. Every team likes to take the ball second in OT. But when Mizzou scored the TD, knowing they had that as a foundation gave the defense a chance to gamble. That Moore and Weatherspoon blitz on third down was devastating.