On the 7:00 AM ET hour of SportsCenter, around 6:45 locally in Norman, Oklahoma, a fired-up Desmond Howard joined the show live from the College GameDay set to discuss his M-V-P for Week 2 college football Saturday.
That means Howard's Matchup of the week, a team he believes is Vulnerable, and his big time Player of the week. MVP!! So when Howard hopped on SportsCenter, the guys were very curious about his pick of one player to look out for in Week 2.
"The player to keep an eye on — it's Kansas vs. Missouri, they call him the waterboy, this quarterback right here, Jalon Daniels," Howard shouted over the screaming GameDay crowd. Kansas at Mizzou could have gotten the CGD nod if not for Oklahoma vs. Michigan, but Howard will have his eyes glued to the Jayhawk-Tiger matchup nonetheless.
"He's on fire so far," Howard bragged of Daniels. "In two games, completed 80% of his passes, seven touchdowns and just one interception. They're the underdog on the road, and if they're going to pull off this huge upset today, Jalon Daniels is going to have to be THAT guy."
Howard even sourced his high expectations, noting that he spoke to Kansas' OC, who believes the Jayhawk quarterback is going to come out guns ablaze in the rivalry renewal of the Border War.
"I spoke to his offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski earlier this week," Howard shared. "He said that Jalon is finally healthy, he's having fun, he's having a good time out there. They expect Jalon to play at a high level today, so keep an eye on that matchup, too."
On the surface, a matchup between Kansas and Missouri may not appear a major draw, but the renewal of the Border War is cause for a sellout.
For the first time since the Tigers fled the Big 12 back in 2011, Mizzou and KU will renew their historic rivalry and battle once again for the Indian War Drum, which Missouri has held since 2009. Mizzou won the 2009, 2010 and 2011 matchups before the series spontaneously combusted following the conference shakeup.
Missouri has back-to-back 10-win seasons to boast about, while Kansas has completely taken a step forward as a football program in the 2020s after a brutally poor 2010s. The contest in CoMo IS officially a sellout and one of the highest-priced tickets in the entire country this weekend.
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