SQJ Taipei

yeah… I know that Mizzou is gonna win this one… probably about 43-17 or so…

but I still picked NU to win 33-31 over at Huskerpedia (because 32-31 was already taken)

Here’s the deal… Mizzou has always been the sleeping giant of midwest football (along with Illinois) and it seems like they’ve finally put fences up around the border to keep other schools from recruiting their top players. You’ve gotta give credit for that. Now that Mizzou is regularly getting *all* the top talent from KC and St. Louis they have a chance to compete every year.

Reasons Mizzou will win:

• They have better talent at almost all positions.
• Chase Daniel is a fantastic QB and his receivers hang on to the ball. He’s one of those players that has gotten to a point where everything in the game comes so naturally and is so routine that you get the idea that he could be planning out his NFL fantasy football strategy while he drops back and avoids the pass rush.
• Mizzou’s improved running game (from last year) will help the offense in multiple ways.
• Big plays… again and again.

Reasons Husker fans should have some hope:

• For the most part, Nebraska has always competed on a national level with less talent than the other schools. The players’ passion, attitude, and teachableness (teachability?) puts them on equal footing. Bo Pelini and staff have brought these traits back to Husker football.
• Depth is a problem, but NU’s D line can get pressure on Daniel and they need to hit him every play.
• Mizzou’s D is not very good. They have playmakers, though.
• If the game stays close, I think that Pinkel will give NU three to ten points somehow.
• Nate Swift and Todd Peterson are excellent receivers and can make big plays.

It is easy to see why Mizzou is the clear favorite but I think Nebraska has a shot. I know Mizzou is *way* better than Virginia Tech, but there were about 3 plays that made the game v. VaTech an “L” instead of a “W”, despite subpar play. To play so poorly against a good team like VaTech and still have a chance to win in the final minute says something about this year’s Huskers.

I think that this is the first time since I’ve been in Taiwan (since 1999) that I won’t be able to follow at least part of a Nebraska game online. Due to the late game start time and our church taking a trip to visit a church in another city tomorrow (which means leaving early) I probably won’t know anything of the game until I get home and the game is long over.

GO BIG RED!