Don't Hate The Playa...
Wow, a ton to sift through in the wake of the latest BCS scandal. (If you're looking for the most level-headed breakdown of this mess, check out Dr. Saturday's blog entries from the last couple days.)
*This is not OU's fault.
OU has had such good fortune during the BCS era that it seems important to emphasize this point to all the talking heads preparing excoriate the Sooners as undeserving and overhyped.
It's impossible to plan for every single scenario when it comes to college football, as the BCS has illustrated year after year. Chalk this one up as a learning experience for the Big XII. It's clear this never came up when setting up the divisional tiebreaker scenario. So if you want to blame anyone for Texas being "snubbed," blame the conference's lack of foresight.
The conference will almost undoubtedly tweak the tiebreaker system in the offseason, but this is it for this year. Deal with it.
*The BCS rules of thumb still apply.
Homerism has previously discussed his two patently obvious keys to BCS success: schedule quality opponents and don't lose. First of all, when you lose a game, you lose your right to complain. Winning is what college football is all about. When you do lose, you've turned yourself over to the system. If Texas had won all of its games, would there be any chance that OU would be ranked ahead of the 'Horns? None.
More importantly, this fiasco illustrates the vital role scheduling--rightfully--plays. True, Texas did play Missouri as part of its in-conference slate, whereas OU did not. However, OU's non-conference schedule blows the Longhorns' foes out of the water. Even when Chattanooga and Washington are included, wins over TCU and Cincinnati are far superior to anything Texas did outside the Big 12.
But these schedules are made so far in advance, and Arkansas was supposed to be good! Well, even if UT's schedule was set 10 years ago, I'd think the schedule-maker could infer how Rice and UTEP and Florida Atlantic would stack up relative to both the 'Horns and other potential opponents from major conferences. Also, that argument makes OU's schedule seem even better. Washington is clearly down from when the game was scheduled, but the Sooners also played two other highly regarded non-conference teams this year, instead of loading up on cupcakes. The computers obviously took notice.
*Since when did Texas Tech's games not count this year?
I'm not quite sure how Texas Tech got left out of the equation. I mean, last I checked the Red Raiders beat Texas. So, for purposes of determining the Big 12 South, why should that game count any differently?
Let's say OU had lost to OSU last night. I guess we're supposed to assume that Mack Brown et al would have been fine with giving the division title to Tech in that case? OK, so if Tech is more deserving than Texas in the case of that hypothetical two-way tie, why should the OU-OSU result change that? I don't hear anyone bemoaning the injustice to the Red Raiders.
*This is isn't the last word.
I never realized that Texas fans and all the talking heads valued the Big XII title so highly.
The fact of the matter is that all we know right now is who will be playing in the conference championship game. This week's rankings have nothing to do with the BCS championship game.
Obviously, OU could still lose to Missouri on Saturday, which would probably put Texas in the title game. For argument's sake, though, let's say OU does win. The Sooners certainly would receive a bump in the BCS formula's computer rankings, where they already lead the Longhorns.
However, the human polls count for two-thirds of a team's BCS ranking. If the voters really believe Texas should play in the national championship game, they can make their voices heard. If the polls favor UT by a wide margin, it could push the 'Horns into the title game, whether OU wins or not.
*Not so fast, my Florida friends.
It's important to noted that OU and Texas ranked one and two in the computers. Florida was way down at six. Assuming OU beats Missouri, if the Gators beat Alabama, third in the computer rankings, in the SEC championship game, will that be enough to push the Gators past either OU or Texas? If not, will the human voters give Florida a big enough bump in their polls to make up the difference.
An OU-Texas rematch suddenly doesn't sound so far-fetched.