Cotton Bowl open thread

Submitted by Darth Wolverine on
Just in case any other college football junkies are out there. This should be a good game. I have KSU winning in a close game.

LSAClassOf2000

January 6th, 2012 at 9:24 PM ^

Lots of defense being played on both sides - something is amiss among the bowl gods, I think. 

EDIT: Just like that, 10-0 Arkansas. Rather poorly defended kick return goes for a TD. If nothing else, we're in the 2nd quarter  before the first special teams gaffe - that's better than most bowls to date this season. 

LSAClassOf2000

January 6th, 2012 at 9:37 PM ^

....wondering how you mortgage your home to get a completed pass to an open receiver on 3rd down...

EDIT: Say what you will - KSU is apparently just good enough on defense to minimize the bleeding in comparison to other games most of us have watched this bowl season. 

Yeoman

January 6th, 2012 at 9:45 PM ^

With a Big 12 loss tonight the MAC and the Sun Belt are the conferences with the best bowl records this year and it'll be decided on the field in the GoDaddy.com Bowl.

mbee1

January 6th, 2012 at 9:45 PM ^

Not sure if anybody saw this, but Edwin Baker is turning pro. Kind of surpriisng because he had a down year. Perhaps he saw that Bell was going to be the workhorse next year. Not sure if it hurts sparty too much, but Baker gave us problems the last 2 years.

FreddieMercuryHayes

January 6th, 2012 at 9:53 PM ^

Yeah, I saw that.  I don't think it hurts them too much.  It will really hurt them if another RB gets hurt, but Baker lost his starting spot to Bell.  They have good depth at RB as well.  I'm guessing that Baker could see that his carries were going to go down next year even more, and decided to bolt while that productive sophomore season was even fresher in mind.  Plus, he is fast and well built, so the pro scouts will like that. 

And now for some schadenfreude: remember Baker's preseason goals of 2,000 yards and 22 TDs?  HAHAHAHAHAHA

snarling wolverine

January 6th, 2012 at 9:53 PM ^

That could be a break for us against them.  We've generally done well against inside runners, but speedy guys with the ability to get to the edge (like Baker) have given us some problems.  In our game against them this year, Baker had 167 rushing yards and Bell had 20.

dmoo4u

January 6th, 2012 at 9:49 PM ^

Guidry just did the 'gotta eat' DRob hand motion. Why is everyone doing this now? I saw Sparty doing it repeatedly in their bowl game.

jmblue

January 6th, 2012 at 9:49 PM ^

I'm really impressed with the job Petrino's done, but I can't help thinking that it's got to be frustrating for him to have to compete against Alabama and LSU in the same division.  I can't see him staying there long-term.

michbenn

January 6th, 2012 at 10:04 PM ^

Just like that we have a game again. They've had some drops, but I think KSU has actually looked decent so far. The drops have been on wide open passes because they knew Arkansas would be keying on the run. Snyder will have them ready for the second half.

michbenn

January 6th, 2012 at 10:12 PM ^

They also have 5 drops on plays that would have either kept drives going or been big plays in their own right. This isn't a case of nothing is working. They're getting guys open. If they catch those balls and make Arkansas pay for focusing on the run so much, this is a completely different game at this point. Catch a few of those and suddenly running lanes start opening up.

FreddieMercuryHayes

January 6th, 2012 at 10:19 PM ^

Yeah, but that's assuming that drops aren't normally part of their team dynamic.  I honestly haven't watched them enough to know if holding onto the ball during the passing game is a big deal season long, but I believe all the stats suggest that they are primarily running team.  Thus I wouldn't be surprised if they have struggled with various aspects of the passing game throughout the year.  That might just be an aspect of their offense much like getting big turnovers is part of their defense for whatever reason.

michbenn

January 6th, 2012 at 10:40 PM ^

That is a valid point. I am currently a student at Michigan, but was born and raised in Manhattan, KS, and hence have followed KSU all year. The drops are unusual for them. The issue has been accuracy in the passing game. Snyder called Klein a running back who happens to throw the ball occasionally. His accuracy has looked fine hitting wide open receivers, but has struggled when there is coverage. Usually that has meant when they've been able to get receivers wide open due to their running game, they've been able to throw the ball too. Right now they're getting guys open, and in those conditions I think their offense is set to take a big step forward.

 

It does hurt them that they've had great field position all year long due to true freshman Tyler Lockett, a 2011 all-american return specialist. He's injured for today's game, and Tramaine Thompson hasn't been able to match Lockett's production (and showed his inexperience with catching the ball ont he 2 yard line).

Tshimanga Cowabunga

January 6th, 2012 at 10:10 PM ^

With the prevalance of head injuries in football today it really peeves me off that football players dont buckle their helmet straps correctly or at all. Helmets function best when properly used and players hould be forced to wear them correctly. I don't think it would've helped there but i'm sure it could help in some situations