SB Nation Big 12 Roundtable - 2009 Season - Week 5

by Beergut on Sep 30, 2009 5:19 AM CDT Comment 7 comments

This is the fifth installment of the 2009 Big 12 Roundtable, a weekly feature during the season. Each week, an SB Nation Big 12 blogger will host the Roundtable and submit a series of questions to all Big 12 bloggers. This week, the Roundtable is being hosted by Rock M Nation. Listed below are I Am The 12th Man's answers.

1. Is it time for the Big 12 to collectively pour one out for the departure of Baylor quarterback Robert "Hot Tub" Griffin? Even if your team benefits from his injury, are you sad to see one of the conference's premier playmakers done for the season?

I think most Big 12 bloggers have already mentioned Griffin's injury, and sent along their condolences in their own way. As I have already pointed out, Griffin's season-ending injury means my pick for first team All-Big 12 QB is done, and my pick for the upset of the year, Baylor over Texas Tech in Waco, lost its foundation. Griffin is a thrill to watch on the field when he is playing, and I think all Big 12 bloggers are college football fans at heart, regardless of our team affilitation, so we are all sad to see him out for the year. I think it is also important to note that despite Griffin's freakish athletic ability, he wasn't a brash or cocky person who talked trash or made you hate him; he let his play on the field do the talking for him, in an example of class I wish more athletes would follow. This makes Griffin's injury doubly sad, because he is a positive role model of how exceptional star athletes should act.

2. Play the role of Mythbusters for us. If you could dispel one national perception of your team, what would it be?

Really not sure how to answer this one, because I'm not sure what myths are out there about our team. I think most people regard our team as an enigma, not sure what to think of us because we've rolled up some astronomical offensive numbers on some weak defenses, so they're not sure if we're for real or not. The only myth I can think of that might exist about the football program is that Coach Sherman is on the hot seat; that simply isn't true, and it wasn't true before the beginning of this season.

3. Give us the name of one player on each side of the ball on your team that everyone else in the conference may not know about or fully appreciate.

Jamie McCoy, Tight End: I think most Big 12 bloggers know of McCoy to some degree, but I don't know if they appreciate what he does for our team. The coaches move him around a lot, and since we often operate out of 10 personnel, Jamie is sometimes asked to come in motion frm the slot and act as a wingback, and kickout a defensive end, or motions over to fullback, and blocks in the I-formation. This is in addition to being our team leader in receptions, with 13 for 169 yds on the season so far. With the injury to Jermaine Gresham, I think a legitimate case can be made for McCoy as the Big 12's best tight end.

Trent Hunter, Strong Safety: Obviously, Big 12 bloggers don't know about or appreciate Trent Hunter, because none of them voted for him for All-Big 12 on our preseason all-conference team. Am I bitter? Damn right I am. Hunter is the second-best safety in the nation, right behind that Eric Berry fellow from Tennessee, who really should win the Heisman. Hunter currently leads our team in tackles, with 20 on the season so far. Is calling Hunter one of the best safeties in the nation hyperbole? No. Watch him play, and I defy you to disagree with me.

4. OU vs. Da U: Who ya' got?

Oklahoma, all the way. I'd root for OU just out of conference pride, but I think Oklahoma's defensive front is going to be a nightmare for Jacorey Harris. If Miami can't handle Virginia Tech's defense, Oklahoma is going to make for a long night. Miami is playing at home, so I think they might keep it close, and OU's secondary is still questionable, in my mind, but I still think OU takes this one.

5. Give us your Offensive Player of the Week, Defensive Player of the Week, and Storyline of the Week for last week.

Offensive Player of the Week: Jerrod Johnson, QB, Texas A&M.

You can call me biased, and I really don't care. Jerrod had 3 TDs rushing and 3 TDs passing, and that is simply a phenomenal individual effort. The Big 12 Conference chose Iowa State's Alexander Robinson and Missouri's Danario Alexander as Co-Offensive Players of the Week, after Robinson rushed for 127 yds and scored 3 TDs against Army. Alexander had 9 receptions for 170 yds and 2 TDs against Nevada. Now, Alexander's performance against Nevada was impressive, so I don't want to take anything away from him, but Johnson scored more TDs than those two combined. I really don't understand the media. Colt McCoy throws another pick-six against UTEP, and the pundits fall all over themselves declaring him back in the Heisman race; if he had a statline like Jerrod last Saturday, they''d be calling him better than Tim Tebow. Jerrod puts on an incredible performance, though, and nary a peep. Like I said, you can call me biased, but I don't care. Someone needs to give Jerrod recognition for what he did last Saturday.

Defensive Player of the Week: Sean Weatherspoon, LB, Missouri

Missouri played a legitimate opponent in Nevada, and going up against the reigning WAC Offensive Player of the Year in Colin Kaepernick, they had their work cut out for them. 'Spoon had 9 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss in helping his defense control Nevada's explosive Pistol offense.

Storyline of the Week: It has to be Kansas' football team fighting with Kansas' basketball team. While basketball players aren't always known for their intelligence, you'd think they'd be able to do simple math: 85 scholarships versus 13 scholarships means they're outnumbered and will lose every time. Furthermore, football players train to do violence multiple times a minute for 60 minutes every Saturday in all types of weather. Basketball players train to put a ball through a hoop indoors; you'd think this would occur to these hoopster brainiacs, but apparently it didn't. It did make for some fun television and some nice discussion of Mark Mangino's disciplinary hold on the Kansas team (are they off that 2006 probation yet?).

6. Power Poll! Rank the teams 1-12 based on who would win on a neutral field.