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Mailbag: NU vs. OSU, A&M's rise

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News Junkie
By David Ubben

Thanks for the questions, everyone. I'll be blogging Nebraska and Colorado's game which kicks off here in a bit. For now, enjoy the Mailbag.

Utku in Houston, Texas writes: Do you think Mike Sherman has finally turned things around in Aggieland and that the sleeping giant has finally awoken or is this year just a dud?

David Ubben: Well, the results are better, but your question reminded me of something Mike Sherman said after the Arkansas and Nebraska games that I found pretty insightful. Obviously, losing isn't fun. Winning is. Both affect a fan base, morale to some extent, and a few other things. But like Sherman has said (and I'm paraphrasing) "Whether you win or you lose, you're still the same team at the end of the day." Texas A&M put itself in position to win games against Arkansas and Oklahoma State. They didn't make the plays necessary to do it. Being 3-3 didn't fundamentally change who they were, though. There's no doubt that Sherman reminded them of that pretty often, and they put themselves in position to beat Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. They made the plays necessary to do so. Within reason, Texas A&M could be 11-1 right now. It could also be 6-6. Sherman knows that. His team put itself in positions to win games, and good teams do that often. Great teams take advantage of those opportunities. The greatest teams dominate, and when the game is tight, make the plays necessary to win games. You are who you are, but late-game execution decides a lot in almost every sport. Texas A&M is in those positions a lot more this year (Losses last year with scores of 65-10, 62-14, 44-20 and 47-19? Ouch.) and they're taking advantage down the stretch. Sherman has put together a team that's a lot better than it was last year, and should be ready to find itself in position to win games next year almost as often. Do they take advantage? Well, that's why we watch the games.

Caitlin in Stillwater, Okla., asks: If Oklahoma State beats Oklahoma on Saturday like expected, do you think Oklahoma State will play with a vengeance against Nebraska next week in the championship? How good are OSU's chances of beating Nebraska this time around?

DU: Oklahoma State would beat them right now, but it doesn't have anything to do with vengeance. Since the two teams last played, Oklahoma State is a lot better. Its defense has made big improvements, playing its best in big games, and it found other weapons on offense that can contribute consistently. Nebraska, I think we can all agree, has gotten worse. It needed overtime to beat Iowa State, looked uninspired against Kansas and lost last week. Injuries (specifically the one to Taylor Martinez) have had a lot to do with that, but it's looking very doubtful that Martinez will be full strength if Nebraska wins today and gets to the Big 12 title game. The good news for Nebraska is its defense is playing as well as it has all season, reverting closer to its 2009 form, but the Huskers still allowed Oklahoma State to put 41 on the board against them earlier this season. There's no way this Nebraska offense could score 51 against Oklahoma State again, and I'm not very confident they could score 30 or 35, which is probably the fewest number of points it would take to beat the Cowboys.

Brett in Kansas City asks: David, happy Thanksgiving, what do you think the odds are of Bob Stoops being coaxed into going up north to Kansas State to replace an aging Bill Snyder?

DU: Long.

Ryan in Richmond, Texas asks: Dave, I think it's time for Von Miller to resume his rightful place as the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. After starting the season slow due to an ankle injury (no sacks in the first four games), he has one in every game except one, Kansas, which A&M didn't really need him. He's come up huge in huge games and big time situations. He leads the Big 12 in sacks with 10.5, all coming in the final 8 games, including 2 against Nebraska and 3 against Texas. He is easily the most disruptive defensive player in the Big 12. Thanks and Gig'em

DU: That's a pretty good argument, Ryan. Couldn't have said it better myself. He also had three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and eight tackles against Oklahoma. He probably could have padded his stats early in the season against weaker competition, but he was slowed by an ankle injury. If he still ends up leading the Big 12 in sacks, that would be pretty outstanding. He leads the Big 12 by a full two sacks heading into the final weekend. We'll see what guys like Jeremy Beal, Orie Lemon and Lavonte David do to close the season, but Miller's got a great, great shot to win it, and he was hardly on the radar a month or so ago.

Originally posted by ESPN.com - Big 12 Blog
Click here to view the article.
 
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