Big 12 Roundtable, Week 5 Edition

Peter Bean over at Burnt Orange Nation is hosting the Roundtable this week.

1. We start with a review of your team's non-conference performance. Give us your Offensive MVP, Defensive MVP, and Projected Finish. (Limit 125 words max on each.)

Offensive MVP:  Well, I think the fact that Mike Goodson is NOT our Offensive MVP at this point in the season is testament enough to the struggles we are currently having on our offensive line. Going into the season, the plan was to feature Goodson in our pro-set offense so he could rack up yards, TDs, and hopefully, victories. A 2-2 record and offense that ranks last in the Big 12 is a sure sign that isn't happening. At this time, I would say our Offensive MVP is true freshman WR Jeff Fuller. He has 4 TDs in the last three games, and is proving a very dangerous offensive threat for us.

Defensive MVP: Michael Bennett. I'm waiting to find out how much he'll be limited after an injury against Army, because he has played well for us so far. 21 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 2 fumble recoveries doesn't quite do justice to how disruptive he has been on defense. Against New Mexico, he WAS the whole defense. He needs to keep playing at a high level in conference, though. Bennett has always had the potential for be something special; whether he reaches that potential has always been the question.

Projected Finish: Well, all indications so far this season are that we're not very good. We can't run the ball well, and we can't stop the run. That is usually the definition of a bad team right there. If I'm being optimistic, I think we equal the 2003 record of 4-8. The pessimist in me thinks we might finish as bad as 2-10.

2. Oklahoma State is one of two Big 12 teams not represented by bloggers. Don your oversized Cowboy hat for a day and give us your take on Mike Gundy's team. Are they same old same old (above average offense, putrid defense)? Or something else?

I think Okie State is actually slightly better than the squad they've previously fielded. Dez Bryant might be the best wide receiver they've had in Stillwater since Hart Lee Dykes (I was never a fan of Rashaun "Push-On" Woods). Their defense is nothing to write home about, they still struggle with stopping the run, but their offense will win them enough games that they'll have a good season in an improved Big 12 South this season. Gunter Brewer has that offensve humming, and they have a terrific triggerman in Zac Robinson. I think they'll win between 8-10 games, and finish 3rd in the Big 12 South. Probable losses are OU and texas.

3. Your team has reached the Big 12 title game, but in a cruel twist of fate, your coach is declared ineligible and you have been asked to select among the other 11 coaches in the conference your team's game day maestro. Who do you select and why?

Bob Stoops, no question. I think no one prepares their team better for the Big 12 Championship Game than Stoops. He even won a title with Paul Thompson playing QB. He had that one slip-up against Kansas State in 2003, but has been nails ever since. I'm changing coaches again before the BCS bowl game, though.

 4. Same situation, but different replacement: Assume this time that it's your quarterback who can't participate in the Big 12 title game. Which other quarterback from the conference would you select to lead your team for that game?

Chase Daniel would be my replacement starting QB, simply because I like his confidence and his mobility. Given a chance to pick a QB from this conference to win one game, I would go with Daniel. The kid's a winner, plain and simple. I would need to change the offensive scheme we're running, but hey, what's a championship game without a little pressure? Runner-ups would be Sam Bradford, who isn't mobile enough, and Robert Griffin, who is too raw right now to lead my team to a win.

5. Imagine it is July 2008 and you receive an email from the conference's director of public relations, who informs you that the Big 12 has officially partnered with Austin City Limits Music Festival 2008. To promote the partnership, the conference has asked you to choose one of the festival's participating bands as metaphor for your football team and explain it. Go.

I'm in Las Vegas in July, still celebrating winning the Big 12 Championship. My cell phone doesn't work in the casinos there.

In all seriousness, I have to go with Robert Earl Keen. Why? Hmmmm, check out where he went to college. Nothing metaphorical there.

6. Answer all of the following in no more than two sentences:

(A) Conference's best quarterback?
(B) Conference's best offense?
(C) Big 12 South winner?
(D) Big 12 North winner?
(E) Big 12 champion?
(F) Big 12 team you would adopt as your favorite if forced to abandon your own?
(G) One prediction that might surprise the rest of us?

A) Sam Bradford

B) Oklahoma State

c) Oklahoma

D) Missouri

E) Oklahoma

F) Kansas State. Their fanbase is the most similar to A&M, IMO.

G) I'm sticking with my upset prediction from the pre-season. Kansas State will take down Texas Tech on Saturday.