Earlier today I put out an APB on Twitter for my followers’ thoughts on the over/under of 8.5 wins for this year’s Oklahoma State football team.

Nobody took the under.

We got two “I wouldn’t touch Phil Mickelson’s bookie touching that with a 10-foot pole” responses and the rest took the over. Most took it emphatically. Here’s a sampling:

MattVMyers: 8.5? Under 10 would be a disappointment with this team. Too much talent. We will lose to OU of course. Per the usual.

mattamilian: 7 Ws + 2 tough road games (A&M, Miz) + 2 iffy road games (Tech, UT) and OU at home. Weeden won’t let us lose 4 of those. Over. Great points, and well thought out synopsis.

tmax1024: Over, road schedule is tough, but we tougher. Yes, we is.

Brianraper: I would take the over. Anything under 9 wins will be a disappointment!!

cdtreece: If OSU somehow wins less than 9 games this year it will be an epic failure. How the standards have changed…

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As I noted here, I don’t gamble on anything related to Oklahoma State as it generally makes me more nauseous than watching Willis McGahee’s leg snap into three thousand pieces over and over again. BUT if I were to gamble, these numbers would be intriguing.

Yesterday the Hilton Superbook released its 2011 college football over/under win totals. Picking over/under win totals is a lot like a musician banging out an album. You have to know what you’re doing even when it seems like it’s pretty easy, you only have 10-12 chances to screw everything up or get it all right, and the end payout is usually pretty much a crapshoot.

I think over/under bets are a lot more fun than national title bets because most times they ride until at least the beginning of November, if not the end of the season. National title bets might be ended by early October when a team loses for the first (or second) time and is completely out of it. (also this is exhibit #1 for why a playoff actually makes the season more interesting…but we don’t have time.)

These bets are tantalizing precisely because they seem so simple. That’s how Vegas wants it. For example: Oklahoma State’s over/under total is 8.5. To us irrational, slightly-still-glowing-from-the-massacre-in-San-Antonio Cowboy faithful this seems like free money. Consider:

• OSU has never regressed in wins under Mike Gundy.
• Three straight seasons of 9+ wins and this is the best of the last four teams.
• Gimme games against Louisiana, Tulsa, K-State, Baylor, and Kansas mean they only need to win four real games to get to nine.

How do they not move right past 8.5, right?

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Preseason polls are about as important and meaningful as Reggie Bush relationships and yet we pore over them like the lives of our family members are at stake. We defend our teams, rip apart our rivals, and explain away any negative national publicity with rational statements like “that [fill in college sports pundit who dissects football for a living] idiot doesn’t know anything about football!”

Yes, as summer reaches its apex and ESPN unloads its stockpile of lists and polls and polls about lists you know college football is closing in on its yearly genesis.

So let’s irrationally break down the Big 12 media preseason poll!!

First, a recap:

1. Oklahoma (41) 428
2. Texas A&M (1) 362
3. Oklahoma State (1) 360
4. Missouri 281
5. Texas 265
6. Baylor 194
7. Texas Tech 191
8. Kansas State 140
9. Iowa State 93
10. Kansas 51

The scoring goes: 10 points for a first place vote, 9 points for second, etc.

Forty-three beat writers and/or media members voted on the ten remaining Big 12 teams and all but two had Oklahoma at the top. It’s the seventh time in the last ten years the Sooners have been favored to win either the Big 12 South or (in this year’s case) the entire Big 12.

With good reason too. Although I do want to know the two writers who had them finishing second just for future reference. And Twitter friendship.

In terms of how this shapes up overall it’s pretty much 1. how I though the media would vote and 2. how I would vote if I had one.

I do wonder if OSU would have gotten a few more first and/or second place votes if the A&M game was in Stillwater instead of College Station. I really think that night game in Aggieland really weighs on everyone’s opinion of how the Big 12 will play out.

The first three teams are so clearly above the rest that the structure of the league is starting to look like the ATP: Djokovic (OU), Nadal (OSU), and Federer (A&M)…then everybody else. Mizzou and Texas are in the same tier (one because of talent and one because of coaching and home field). Baylor, Tech, and KSU have no idea if they’re good, bad, or both.

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This is not going to be a popular stance among OSU fans, many of whom are all ablaze over the handshaking and back patting going on between DeLoss Dodds and John Skipper over the newest Texas shrine: the Longhorn Network.

You know how when people complain about schools that aren’t “their school” they say things like “gosh, they’re on TV all the time” or “all we get is 24-7 coverage of [school x]“? Well now those are both very literally the truth.

ESPN will carry various Texas auxiliary sporting events such as track, tennis, and soccer. Eight basketball games will be aired and so will two football games, including this pervasive “I cannot believe this is happening to us!” (even though we don’t know who “us” is yet) Big 12 game.

They will also carry local Texas high school football games. That’s the one that has A&M’s conservative contingent telling Rick Perry “I don’t care if you want to be president of the United States and need our time and support, we HAVE to figure out this high school football conundrum and we’re going to have 12-hour meetings every day until we do!!”

To all this I say, who cares?

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Kenny Stills takes a few shots at Justin Blackmon

First of all I don’t believe an exchange of dialogue can be classified a “war” until there are shots fired from both sides (and I can pretty much guarantee that will not be happening). So for those of you who tweeted and/or retweeted that Kenny Stills and Justin Blackmon are in a Twitter war because of the conversation Stills had with Patrick Peterson yesterday, let’s not get carried away.

For those who missed the conversation (and it has since been deleted), here’s a good recap by the Oklahoman.

If you want my version, here it is: Patrick Peterson said “follow Justin Blackmon on Twitter, he’s the best WR in college football.” Stills responded by saying, “you mean Ryan Broyles is the best?” Peterson came back with (again I’m paraphrasing), “who has the Biletnikoff?” To which Broyles said three things: “Blackmon runs sloppy routes, Blackmon is all about deep balls, and Broyles has better receiver teammates.”

I have no idea what the last point has to do with anything between Blackmon or Broyles, and the first point (that Blackmon runs bad routes) is fair if not a fairly subjective matter. Although if true it kind of speaks more to the ceiling that has been lifted on Blackmon’s future more than anything. Stills hasn’t seen him play since last December (just like anyone else) so who’s to say he hasn’t improved this so called “sloppy footwork” to the point that it would take two Patrick Petersons to cover him?

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I think every OSU article I’ve read this summer has mentioned one of the following things:

• Todd Monken might not be as prolific an offensive mind as Dana Holgerson (this is like saying Abby Wambach might not be quite as pretty as January Jones).
• Justin Blackmon is the best receiver in the country.
• Brandon Weeden is adept at throwing a football.

Seriously, if I read one more column that says something along the lines of “Oklahoma State looks to overcome the loss of Dana Holgerson and repeat its success in 2010 with wide receiver Justin Blackmon who is the odds on favorite to win the Biletnikoff award and Brandon Weeden who is amongst the best quarterbacks in college football” I’m going to come through my computer screen and take a flat-head screwdriver to the keyboard of whoever wrote it.

Give me some context, entertain me, make something up, do anything. I feel like Will Ferrell playing Alex Trebek on SNL: “write anything, Connery!”

Okay, sorry for the mini-rant, and on to why I’m making it.

Obviously we’re all aware of the collective greatness dripping from this year’s deadliest quarterback to wideout duo. But just how prolific will each be considered in Oklahoma State circles when the curtain closes on their respective careers? Let’s take a look at the record books:

First, Blackmon – Unfortunately Rashaun has mostly put every WR record out of reach for any non four-year (or maybe three-year) starter. He holds most relevant Big 12 records (though Broyles is going to obliterate all of them by like week six this year) and all notable OSU records at the position. 293 catches, 4,414 yards, and 42 touchdowns. That’s 73 catches a year for 1,100 yards and just over 10 touchdowns. Can you imagine David Glidden coming in as a Freshman, posting those numbers, and doing it for four straight years? Jordan Shipley’s head would explode.

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