OPEN GAME THREAD: Bye Week Blues Edition

Texas A&M Aggies (3-0) AT Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-0)

Red River Agronomy
Boone Pickens Stadium — Stillwater, Okla.
Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010 — 6:30 PM CST

ESPN

The Pokes and the Ags get it on in about 30 minutes. I dunno about the rest of you, but this bye week is just dragging and I'm desperate for any football at all.

That this is a key Big 12 South showdown that likely will expose at least one of the participants as a fraud simply is a bonus.

Feel free to use this thread to discuss the game or banter about the newly released conference schedules.

P.S. Thanks to work, I'll be late, so feel free to carry on without me.

Elsewhere in the Big 12...

Obviously, the premier game this week is the Red River Rivalry Shootout* in Dallas. Here's a quick blurb on the game I wrote for the Sooner blog Blatant Homerism:

Even before last Saturday's events, I thought Oklahoma was the better team. Mack Brown has had Bob Stoops' number one too many times of late, and the law of averages seemed to indicate the pendulum will shift back to the Sooners.

But now that UCLA has provided everyone and their dog with an easy way to violate the Longhorns' once-statistically sound defense, I expect DeMarco Murray to have a solid day on the ground. That should open things up nicely for Landry Jones, who likely is eager to atone for his two fourth-quarter interceptions in this game last season.

I don't think Texas will roll over and play dead, however. This is, after all, a rivalry game, or so ESPN tells me — incessantly. But the Longhorns offense has no identity, and I predict it will have trouble moving the ball on the ground or in the air, even against an Oklahoma defense that largely has been subpar this year.

If the Longhorns can't block a kick or spring a return, they'll be out of it by the end of the third quarter. Even then, Ryan Broyles very well could match whatever they manufacture on special teams. Oklahoma just has too many weapons and too much hatred to lose this game.

I like all the home teams this week except Iowa State, but if there is an "upset," it probably will be in Ames.

Nothing about the Red Raiders is impressing me right now.

Granted, Georgia could find itself suddenly with the addition of A.J. Green, but anytime an SEC team starts 0-3, it's probably got more problems than just the wide receiver spot. I'll be generous and say that Colorado squeaks the win with an assist from Boulder's elevation. But it will be the Buffs' last win for a while...

The less said about the pillow fight in Waco, the better. Anyhow, enjoy having all the conference games on TV this week. That probably won't happen again this season.

*Screw you, political correctness. I'll call it what I want to call it.

Texas A&M at Oklahoma State (ESPN)
Cowboys 26, Aggies 16

Kansas at Baylor (FSN)
Bears 31, Jayhawks 24

Oklahoma vs. Texas (ABC)
Sooners 16, Longhorns 13

Georgia at Colorado (FSN)
Buffaloes 26, Bulldogs 24

Texas Tech at Iowa State (FCS Central)
Red Raiders 25, Cyclones 20

All helmet images are courtesy of The Helmet Project. Check it out — it's pretty cool.