Missouri Governor Does Not Think Highly of Texas Tech: The Missouri governor will start back-tracking, but when you start a sentence by saying, "I'm not going to say anything bad about ___" then he's going to start saying something bad about someone:
"I'm not going to say anything bad about the Big 12, but when you compare Oklahoma State to Northwestern, when you compare Texas Tech to Wisconsin, I mean, you begin looking at educational possibilities that are worth looking at," Nixon, a Missouri graduate, said "If a significant conference with a long history of academic and athletic excellence talks about you joining them, you shouldn't just say, 'We're from the old Big 8 and I remember when ...
Ryan Hyatt has already suggested that Governor Nixon kiss Texas Tech's ass (he didn't cuss, but I will) and I would concur. I also happen to know a few law school that are some of the higher ups in the Mizzou Legislature and will also convey Hyatt's message.
On a personal note, I'm sure this will turn into who has the better school meme and I think that's one of those circular arguments that you would never win because you'll never be able to convince the party across from you of your point of view ("My school is better than your school" "No it's not, my school is better that your school", etc.). I've always believed that the education that a person receives is more or less dependent on what that person wants to get out of it. For example, if Person A goes to Harvard (or some other fancy school) and decides that he doesn't care about education and just goes through the motions then Person A will probably not be very educated despite having a degree from Harvard. Person B could get an education from State U and put additional time and effort into bettering Person B then that person will have a degree from State U, but probably be more educated. Bottom line, I believe that education is a personal thing, not a thing based on where you went to school.
Game Tonight:
#16/20 Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Wichita St. Shockers
Television: None
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Charles Koch Arena : Wichita, Kansas
Preview: Link :: Game Day Thread: 6:00 p.m. post today
Hostile Shockers: LAJ's Courtney Linehan writes that the Red Raiders are preparing themselves for a very hostile crowd in Wichita tonight and here's PF D`Walyn Roberts:
"Our coaches keep telling us to make sure we talk on the court because we aren’t going to be able to hear them when they call out plays and stuff," forward D’walyn Roberts said.
And head coach Pat Knight talks about what to expect from Wichita St. and he likes playing in hostile environments:
"They’re going to pose a lot of problems because they can push the ball up, they defend," Knight said. "Playing in that environment will be tough but we have to."
Snip
"We’ve got to start playing in some hostile environments," Knight said. "Just putting ourselves on the butcher’s block will help us, I think, when we play on the road in the Big 12."
Defensive Raiders: Wichita Eagle's Paul Sullentrop writes that the Shockers can expect a more defensive minded group of Red Raiders and Wichita St. head coach agrees:
"They get out in passing lanes," WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. "They can sit down and guard you. They've got some guys with some length that can block the shot if you don't finish strong around the basket."
Snip
"We've got to eliminate easy baskets that they're going to get, and we've got to get some," Marshall said. "Grinding it out for 40 minutes — they probably have better players on paper."
Scotty Young = Texas APSE Player of the Year. Congrats to Texas Tech QB commit Scotty Young, who was named the Texas Associated Press Sports Editors Player of the Year. A huge honor, congrats for sure!
Red Raiders Wary of Spartans: SAEN's Jerry Briggs writes that Texas Tech is very wary of Michigan St. and defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill explains:
"I know what type of players they recruit at Michigan State and the players they recruit in the Big Ten," Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said. "They have a very talented football team. Their staff, they do a great job on the road (recruiting) and they do a great job coaching."
Spartans Embracing the Challenge: Two articles from the great state of Michigan regarding the Spartans embracing the challenge of playing without suspended players: freep.com's Shannon Shelton and mlive.com's Howie Beardsley. Here's Michigan St. QB Kirk Cousins:
"This has tested our leadership, tested us as players and how we respond to adversity," he said. "But at the same time, we’re very excited about the opportunity we have.
"We’re a 6-6 team going to play in a January bowl game on a Saturday night as the only game on prime-time. Bottom line is, we need to play well. There’s going to be a lot of eyes on Michigan State, and we need to represent well and win the game."
And MSU head coach Mark Dantonio looks at the Red Raiders:
"When you look at them offensively, you look at them in five facets," Dantonio said. "What do they do? They run the zone. They run a little bit of full bubble, a draw. They run a pass game, naturally. They run the three-step pass game, and they run the screen game. And those are the things that you have to stop. They do those things over and over and over."
Miscellaneous Links: Rivals.com's All Big 12 freshman team features SS Cody Davis and WR Alexander Torres (congrats to both!) . . . Dr. Saturday's Matt Hinton nominates Graham Harrell as one of the quarterback of the decade (I previously missed Michael Crabtree's nomination for receiver) . . .