Big 12 Bookends for Week 1: Changing of the Guard
September 11th, 2009 by James Lawrence
Colt McCoy (thanks Scout.com)
The Texas Longhorns turned in the highest-scoring effort among Big 12 teams in week 1, putting 59 points up on hapless UL-Lafayette. Colt McCoy threw for 317 yards and a TD, 180 of which went to Jordan Shipley. If the opening week is any indication, a good third to one half of Texas’ passing yards could be going to Shipley, making him an elite fantasy player. Cody Johnson scored three times despite gaining just 27 yards, and will once again be used in short-yardage situations.
Missouri QB Blaine Gabbert got the post-Chase Daniel years off to a great start, going 25/33 for 319 yards and 3 TD against Illinois. Gabbert also ran for 39 yards and a score. Rumors of Mizzou’s demise appear greatly exaggerated with this freshman phenom QB, who actually looked like an upgrade at the position in terms of athletic potential.
Nebraska’s Roy Helu racked up 152 yards on the ground and 3 TDs in a convincing win over Florida Atlantic. The Huskers maintained a run-heavy balance of 32 rushes to 25 pass attempts as many have been predicted with the many new faces on their offense. While Helu had just 16 of those carries, this is not because of a dual-back system but rather him being subbed out when the game was well out of reach midway through the third quarter. I’m hesitant to jump on the bandwagon with this team’s offense just yet, but keep in mind that two of their next three opponents are also from the Sun Belt conference.
QB Todd Reesing (thanks Scout.com)
Todd Reesing of Kansas showed some versatility against Northern Colorado, taking advantage of the Bears’ coverage-heavy defensive schemes to run for 79 yards and 2 TDs — this on top of his 208 yards passing with two more touchdown tosses. With Dezmon Briscoe out for a team suspension, Kerry Meier was the primary target, hauling in 115 yards on 5 catches.
If you were worried that the departures of Michael Crabtree and Graham Harrell might slow down Texas Tech’s offense, think again. In his first start, Taylor Potts threw for 405 yards and 2 TDs, with another 2 TDs on quarterback sneaks, although 3 INTs kept the Red Raiders below 40 points. Detron Lewis was the clear #1 target this week, catching 8 balls for 146 yards and a score.
Lastly, it was not one of the finer statistical outings in the conference, Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant made the most of his three receptions against the Georgia Bulldogs, scoring on receptions from 46 and 12 yards out. The Cowboys won’t face many defenses of this caliber in 2009, and if this game is kind of a worst-case scenario for the Heisman contender, he could be in for a big season.
Week 2 Preview
While we’re on the topic of OSU, the Cowboys face the opposite extreme from Georgia in week 2 – a Houston Cougars team with one of the nation’s more explosive offenses but a very porous defense. A year ago the Cowboys racked up 699 yards against UH, but with a final score of 56-37 the starters played the entire game. Dez Bryant and Kendall Hunter each topped 200 yards in that game, and you should expect similar numbers this time around. Zach Robinson, Hunter, and Bryant are all must-starts for week 2 fantasy leagues.
Tailback DeMarco Murray (thanks Icon SMI)
Missouri may be in a similar situation against Bowling Green – a clear favorite but against a team who could put enough points on the board to force Mizzou to keep their offensive starters in the game into the 4th quarter. The top three receivers split yardage (Danario Alexander on far more receptions) and the ground game was a bit lacking against Illinois, but if you’ve snatched up Blaine Gabbert to try to fill a hole at QB, he could be in for similar numbers this week as last.
Oklahoma tailbacks Demarco Murray and Chris Brown could be in for monster outings against Idaho State this Saturday. ISU is fresh off a 50-3 pounding at the hands of Arizona State, and that score could be worse on both sides of the ball against the Sooners. At the same time, with Sam Bradford out a few weeks and Jermaine Gresham lost for the season, the time for OU to get that running game going is now.
The Rice Owls had the NCAA’s 8th-worst passing defense in 2008, and Taylor Potts must be licking his chops at the thought of going against that secondary. Potts and Detron Lewis are must-starts once again, but unfortunately for fantasy owners a true #2 target has not yet emerged.
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