What they're saying

With the first round of the Big 12 Round Table officially complete, let's take a look at what Big 12 bloggers have to say about the Tigers entering the season.

(All responses to the Round Table can be found here, thanks to our friends at Crimson and Cream Machine)

Bring On The Cats
-- On the topic of the best team in the division:

"I've picked Missouri to win the North and Texas to win the South"

-- On the topic of Heisman contenders:

"Other candidates could include A&M's Mike Goodson (will be hurt by sharing time with Jorvorskie Lane), Oklahoma State's Bobby Reid and perhaps Adarius Bowman (will be hurt by Okie State's lack of prominence on the national radar), and Mizzou's Chase Daniel (will need to overcome Gary Pinkel's coaching and will probably need to lead his team to the North crown, at least, to get any real credit)."

-- On a Big 12 Top 25 snub:

"It has to be Missouri. They're the media pick to win the North over Nebraska and are the top vote-getter among non-ranked teams in the AP Poll."

Midwest Coast Bias
-- On the topic of the best team in the division:

"North - …You’re kidding, right? Missouri would have to be the obvious choice as Iowa State’s biggest event lately involves uniforms, Colorado is still questioning their manhood over losing to Montana St., Kansas no longer has three linebackers a’leaping (although they do have Aqib Talib) and Kansas State has the second coming of Jared Lorenzen only not as accurate.
Chase Daniel is a great quarterback for the offense he’s being put in charge of. Martin Rucker and Chase Coffman are the deadliest pair of tight ends in the nation. Tony Temple has settled down some and Will Franklin has always brought his lunch pail as far as I’ve seen, but see if you can do this: Name five Missouri defensive starters."

-- On the topic of Top 25 rankings:

"I’d switch Mizzou and A&M. To be quite honest, I’m surprised the AP didn’t. Maybe the coaches will have a different take. It seems like most publications pick Mizzou to win the North and play in their first Big XII Championship ever, but whenever watching a preview of the Big XII, all I ever hear is that Nebraska’s been pegged to head to San Antonio which has treated them oh so well in odd-numbered years past. Still, I think that Missouri’s offense alone would be enough to get them into the rankings. They have a schedule that will afford them a season end’s spot in the Top 20 as well."

Clone Chronicles
-- On the topic of the best team in the divison:

"Nebraska's defense will carry them as far as they want to go. Missouri has had a condition where they tend to lose one or two games that they shouldn't. I also can't rightly pick a team that lost to us last year."

-- On the topic of Top 25 rankings:

"Probably Mizzou, as I can't think of a better candidate unless Okie State breaks through, as many feel they will, but with Chase Daniel and what we know they can be capable of, Mizzou is the team."

Rock Chalk Talk
-- On the topic of the best team in the division:

"Instead of discussing my division winners, I am going to take a look at the teams I have slotted for second, just for equality purposes. In the North, Missouri is the team. They have all the talent needed on offense, led by Big 12 POY candidate Chase Daniel. However, their coach is a question mark at best and their defense isn't quite championship caliber, even if it is just the "champion" of the Big 12 North."

-- On the topic of coach most likely to get fired:

"Well first off, I would never gamble money on something so trivial, it is often hard to predict the motives and beliefs of school presidents and athletic directors. However, there are a couple of coaches I would be less than surprised to see let go after the season. Gary Pinkel comes to mind first, and I guess he is my pick on the most likely coach to be axed. Kansas State and Colorado are rebuilding, and Nebraska is playing worse than he has in the past. Combine that with the best Muzzurrah team in awhile, and folks in Columbia could get a little angry if they are denied a Big 12 North title."

Corn Nation
-- On the topic of coach most likely to get fired:

"I did an article earlier in the season entitled Big 12 Coaches Most Likely To Be Fired in which I stated that Gary Pinkel is the most likely to go. Unfortunately, people in Missouri don’t care all that much about football, so someone else will probably go first."

-- On the topic of Top 25 rankings:

"Missouri should be ranked so that we can all enjoy it more when we beat them early in conference play and knock them out of the Top 25."

Husker Mike
-- On the topic of the best team in the division

"In the North, the best team not named "Nebraska" would be the Missouri Tigers. I think Chase Daniel is the best quarterback in the conference, the best tight ends, and they'll have one of the top offenses in the conference, with Tony Temple as the featured back to keep defenses from thinking they are one-dimensional. They'll be a fun squad to watch this season."

-- On the topic of coach most likely to get fired:

"If I had to put money on anybody, it would be Missouri's Gary Pinkel. Pinkel tempts Tiger fans with some big wins, then befuddles them two or three times a season by losing games they shouldn't. He got an extension to keep his recruiting moving forward, but expectations are growing in Columbia."

-- On the topic of Top 25 rankings:

"Missouri. Granted, preseason rankings are just guesses, but they'll be loaded on offense and can't be much worse than last year on defense."

-- On the topic of impact players in the conference:

"On offense, Chase Daniel from Missouri. That offense is going to be loaded. (My second and third choices are Keller and Bowman, who have the capability to explode.) But from a consistency perspective, I think Daniel is the conference offensive MVP."

Buffs.tv
-- On the topic of the best team in the division:

"Missouri is the team to beat in the North. Everything is finally coming together for them. They will have the leadership and ability of Chase Daniel. But they also have the desire after being shut out of the title game for too long. Missouri has Nebraska at home and that will make the difference."

-- On the topic of Heisman candidates:

"People talk about Colt McCoy and Malcolm Kelly Jr, but I they are the best players on good teams top to bottom. Chase Daniel is my vote. He has the ability to carry the Tigers on his shoulders and make the rest of his team play at his level. He is much more special individually than McCoy or Kelly."

-- On the topic of Top 25 rankings:

"This one is easy. Missouri. They are picked to win the BigXII North over Nebraska, but are ranked behind them. Total inconsistency. This is another example of Nebraska being overrated in the polls"

Crimson and Cream Machine
-- On the topic of the best team in the division:

"Last year in the north I bought into the Iowa State hype and got burned. This year I'm on the Missouri Tigers bandwagon. I think Nebraska might have a slight upper hand in that division but I like the Tigers schedule and the fact that they are more settled in the quarterback position."

-- On the topic of coach most likely to be fired:

"Another guy to keep an eye on is Gary Pinkel at Missouri. The Tigers are loaded on offense and the people in Columbia are hungry for a title shot. The problem for Mizzou is going to be defense and if the Tigers fall on their face then Pinkel could really be in trouble."

-- On the topic of Top 25 rankings:

"The Missouri Tigers should be ranked! I realize that I've got a personal love fest going on for the Tigers here but their offense will win them enough games to deserve a Top 25 ranking."

-- On the topic of impact players in the conference:

"Offensively I'll continue with my crush on the Tigers and go with Chase Daniels [sic]. In my opinion he's sitting in the best position to make the biggest impact. Playing in the North will allow the possibility of eye-popping stats and there aren't the question marks around him like some of the other top offensive players in the conference. Malcolm Kelly and Adarious Bowman have quarterback question marks. Colt McCoy and Jammal Charles have offensive line question marks and Mike Goodson has the Coach Fran question mark. Daniels [sic] is setting pretty good to be an impact player."

Mizzou Sanity
-- On the topic of Heisman candidates:

"I guess Colt McCoy. Chase Daniel will put up bigger numbers, and there’s at least some chance that Mizzou has a really really good year, but Texas is more likely to be at the top of the polls in December, and that obviously means a lot."

So what did ETS learn from other bloggers?
-- Mizzou's rivals, Kansas and Nebraska, have some serious doubts about Gary Pinkel's job security.
-- Nearly all bloggers agree Mizzou was shafted out of a Top 25 ranking.
-- There is some love brewing for Chase Daniel, which should only continue to grow if the team breaks through to the Big 12 title game this season.

If there are any Big 12 blogs that participated that I missed, let me know. So, to the blogosphere, what are your thoughts on how Blog Nation sees Mizzou in 2007?