OU vs. The Mizz

I'll spare you the drama. I feel confident about this one. Not in a PlayStation domination sense but OU is the better squad. They have been tested both by the road and the competition. So yes, Mizzou is good, Columbia will be tough. But I believe Mizzou has more pressure on them. Or, they will be affected more easily by it. This will, in turn, lead to mistakes (dba turnovers). And turnovers, as any mouthbreather can attest, is the difference in games like this.

I do worry that the confidence Mizzou has in their defense could work in their favor if they have success early and they become buoyed by the crowd. The Mizzou offense could have some success against the OU defense. In fact, I'm certain they will.

Let's be real though. The OU offense is dynamic. I don't care how good Mizzou's defense is (and remember they have played NO ONE) they can't cover everyone on every play. Maybe OU won't run roughshod up and down the field all night but they will have their own share of success.

The question for OU's defense is whether or not they can get in Blaine Gabbert's head. If the D can't hit him can they at least make him rush his throws? It's not like Mizzou's offense is revolutionary. It isn't a one-off a la Air Force. Stopping Mizzou will come down to discipline in the secondary. Fortunately, the 2010 Sooner D seems to be pretty damn disciplined.

This game will be a bit of a shootout but OU is the better team across the board. I can't envision the Sooners getting rattled to the degree that the game gets out of reach. As the clock winds down and the pressure ratchets up, OU will show the value of having been there done that. Plus, the road team has the advantage of being afforded the "nothing to lose" mentality. So tell me in all seriousness how Mizzou wins?

The Picks

Offense
Losing DeJuan Miller for the season sucks. He was really coming into his own as a valuable possession receiver. Cameron Kenney will be replacing him and I'd love to tell you that Sooner Nation has confidence in him but I can't. This is a pretty big dropoff. Rather than Kenney stepping up (which is possible and would be awesome) I see Kenny "Fucking Shitbag" Stills stepping up. So I'm picking him for my offensive player. I would pick DeMarco Murray (and I'm sure he'll be quite deserving) but that's quickly becoming the easy way out.

Defense
I'm going with budding superstar and current badass, Tony Jefferson. All season long he's been beyond solid but this week he'll be in the running for Big 12 Player of the Week. He's going to be all over the place feasting on the spread offense. I'm feeling very good about this.

The Score
It's going to be close. There's going to be a lot of Offense. But in the end the Sooners come through.

OU 35 Mizzou 31