04/24/24
December 06, 2008
OU Fans Launch Air Attack on Texas: The text of a banner that was flown over the University of Texas campus in Austin on Thursday: "Hey Mack, Quit Whining U Knew the Rules."
There is also a strong possibility that Texas could still win the AP national championship with a big win in their bowl game and OU winning the BCS title game.
posted by TheQatarian at 02:52 PM on December 06, 2008
Now that OU has taken care of Missouri, and Florida has beaten Alabama, the title game is set. The winner of the Florida-OU game will win the title, no questions about that.
However, I still wish we had a 8 team tourney instead of the BCS, but Mack Brown and I will have to wait.
I did like the banner that was flown over the stadium prior to the Big 12 game today. "Welcome to the BeatByTexas.com Bowl"
posted by dviking at 01:05 AM on December 07, 2008
I must admit that I really got tired of hearing Mack Brown campaigning for his Horns... I realize it worked in 2004, but OU isn't CAL.
But, way I see it... Cost for flying plane at OU's game in Stillwater - $10,000. Flyers with 45-35 printed in large letters - $5,000. Having to sit and watch the Sooners dismantle the Tigers - PRICELESS.
I realize that TX gained in the human polls. But, if you want to take the computers out of it, or better yet get them to push you to the front.... then play someone tough - out of conference. That, or if you are going to loose, do it early. How it's always been. It's what is fresh on the voter's minds.
posted by Mickster at 01:39 AM on December 07, 2008
All the bellyaching about the BCS is a bit of a red herring. This comes down to the Big XII's tiebreaker rules, which look at BCS rankings to determine what team gets to go to the conference championship game in the event of a three way tie (if prior tiebreakers, such as one of the three having beaten each of the other two, do not apply). In the SEC, if three teams are tied and the initial tiebreakers do not break the tie, the bottom team in the BCS standings gets thrown out and then, of the remaining two teams, the representative selected for the conference championship game is based on head-to-head record. So if the Big XII used an SEC-type system, it would have been Texas representing the Big XII South (as a result of Texas Tech being eliminated for lowest BCS ranking and then Texas getting the nod for its head-to-head win against OU) against Mizzou yesterday and, likely, getting the BCS title game berth.
posted by holden at 10:04 AM on December 07, 2008
a) There will always be one team screaming about being left out of the title game--look at pro leagues where one conference or division dominates and the loser of that semi-final can legitimately claim to be a better title game opponent than the one which gets in.
b) Texas cannot win the BCS title if the title game is OU vs. Florida as the title by contract goes to the game's winner. At best they might get a split title if the AP (writers) votes them over the top. Apparently the Longhorns will meet Ohio State in the Fiesta and Alabama will go to the Sugar Bowl, though I think the schools should lobby to meet up to give themselves the best shot at a split title.
posted by billsaysthis at 12:31 PM on December 07, 2008
My desire for a playoff really isn't BCS oriented, even before the current system we had teams that felt they were slighted.
I feel that a playoff would give more of the bowl games true meaning, and would make them more exciting to watch. A UT and OSU Fiesta bowl might be watchable, however, a UT/Alabama game with the winner moving on to play for the title would be a far more exciting game.
True, if it's the top 8 teams in the ranking, the number 9 team is going to be screaming that they were left out, just like teams do for the basketball tournaments. A playoff wouldn't be perfect, just better.
posted by dviking at 12:55 PM on December 07, 2008
I am not disappointed with the way this season played out for Texas. It would have been nice to see them play for another national title but UT managed a division co-champion campaign after being picked to finish 3rd in the big 12 south. I was figuring three losses for sure, maybe even four. In my opinion, the reason Texas FANS are complaining is because the 'horns were overtaken by a hated rival(the players aren't the ones complaining about making a BCS bowl).....and the trash talk will not subside until October of next year. It should be a slug-fest, to be sure. For the record, Mack Brown was campaigning. At no time did he ever "whine". He was just doing what every other coach in his position would have done. The whining would have started if all of Stoops' sixty-point efforts would not have been enough to overtake Texas.
posted by ksb122 at 12:28 PM on December 08, 2008
To say that Bob Stoops would have complained / whined or any of that stuff that Mack Brown was doing is nothing more than conjecture.
Here is the plain truth. Mack Brown and the TX alumni did its very best to print up flyers, fly planes (not once, but twice), go on the air live at halftime of the OU / OSU game to try and persuade voters his team was MORE deserving. He even called (along with staff) people at the halftime of OU's game against Texas Tech to remind them that they had beaten OU in Dallas (the neutral field). To me, that is nothing more than politicing for your team. Hey, it worked in 2004 right? They jumped another team and won the title. But, isn't that a bit demeaning? Bob Stoops was asked to come on the air at the half-time game of TX - Texas A & M and he declined. He has been asked point blank to say why he felt his team was "as deserving" and he replied by saying 7 straight wins and dominating some really strong programs.
I guess I was like so many others in that I would vote for a playoff system anyday. I don't see this as ever happening thought. The only problem with this is that you would have basically the same 8-10 teams would be in the playoff year after year. With some it is a populararity contest.
Now, how do you not put Texas Tech in a BCS game instead of TX when they beat the Longhorns head to head? I have heard all the "with 1 second remaining..." But, Tech led most of the game and had only to kick a field goal with the time left. Had Crabtree stepped out of bounds with just a few seconds left and had a chip shot field goal, it would be no different than the finish between TX and OSU. A loss is a loss. If they wish to redo the rules, great. I am for it, but don't change them after it goes to a fifth tie breaker.
Last bit to get off... I am sure that many people believe that TX got robbed. I would feel the same if it was reversed, but I would have said "that was the rules, so be it" rather than to drag this on.
Texas had their chance and nobody to blame but themselves. They did manage to sway many of the pollsters to change their votes for them. But, they couldn't fool the computers. OU beat at least 5 ranked teams... including TCU and Cincinnati. Who did the Longhorns beat outside of the Big XII? Nobody. These schools that put cupcakes on the schedule year after year to avoid having to risk their perfect season must realize that there is a price to be paid. Auburn 2004 or so was also proof of that. Yeah, I have heard about the TN - Chatt. game, but that was due to a cancellation and nobody else would play them then. It hurt them more than it could have ever helped them.
Lesson learned????
posted by Mickster at 01:05 PM on December 08, 2008
The plain truth, mickster, is that Bob Stoops knew what he needed to do to work the system. After OU took their loss at the hands of Texas, Stoops took a step back and realized that if he wanted to have any chance in hell, he needed to run the score up in every game and pray for a Texas loss. It is the same thing Stoops always does when he has the talent to and doesn't care whose throat he steps on in the process. This guy is the most classless coach in the nation and since the media tends to like him, he gets a free pass almost every time. Say what you will, sooner, but when Stoops has his first string offense in the game with two minutes left in a 30 point blowout-still throwing the ball-he is trying to run up the score.
Bob Stoops is no saint, my friend, contrary to what the Sooner nation thinks. Oklahoma learned the hard way that they did not belong in the national title game in 2003 or 2004 and they certainly do not deserve it this year.
I find it amusing that OU doesn't want a rematch with Texas this year. Texas had been clamoring for a rematch on neutral site but Stoops is having no part of that. Why tempt fate twice right? OU's best chance to win a national title is to not play Texas again.
posted by ksb122 at 08:29 AM on December 09, 2008
Say what you will, sooner, but when Stoops has his first string offense in the game with two minutes left in a 30 point blowout-still throwing the ball-he is trying to run up the score.
That may be, but don't hate the player, hate the game. If Stoops ran up the score to impress the computers and get into the national championship game, then mission accomplished. Likewise, if you have a problem with that, then you have a problem with the system.
posted by bender at 10:31 AM on December 09, 2008
I find it amusing that OU doesn't want a rematch with Texas this year. Texas had been clamoring for a rematch on neutral site but Stoops is having no part of that
Maybe that's because major college football programs don't operate that way.
posted by tahoemoj at 04:00 PM on December 09, 2008
Hey ksb122, what planet are you from? Bob Stoops isn't the only coach to play his players into the fourth quarter. Colt McCoy was playing in the fourth quarter of the Texas A & M game when there was absolutely no chance for the other team to win. They were up by over 30 and if my memory hasn't failed me, they were still running offensive plays.
So, what do you suggest that they do? Kneel on the ball with 12 minutes to go in the game? I think if you go back you will find two things wrong with your post.... Bob Stoops pulled his starters in the fourth quarter many times throughout the season. Also, OU led TX by at least 11 points throughout the game. They are neither scared of / or fearful of TX. What happened in Oct. is done. What is the excuse for TX loosing to Tech?
You need to understand that the rules are what they are. All coaches play by the same rules. If there is anything wrong with this, it is the system and not the coaches.
Finally, with the chance to break a record easily within grasp, do you sit on the ball, or try to break a record? If the roles had been reversed, bet Mack Brown would do the same. If he needed to win big in every game to overcome OU he would do it without hesitation.
And it you wish to talk about classless coaches I give you Mack Brown. To go on TV and beg for votes - how can you defend that. He knew the rules and the only way he could overcome OU was by the human votes - those which he was begging for. That my friend is classless. He knew the computers would not reward him because he plays too soft of non-conference schedules. His only hope in hell was to try to swing voters.
The ironic thing is that all the coaches that played against both teams rated OU in front of TX.
posted by Mickster at 10:14 AM on December 10, 2008
My two cents on this: First, I really don't find it classless that Brown tried to get votes...he knew the reality of the situation, and was only trying to help his program. I don't fault him for that.
Two, the fact that Stoops and Brown (and, all the other coaches) feel compelled to run up scores to the degree they do is part of the problem.
If there was a playoff system in place I think we'd see less of that. Perhaps the teams fighting for the last spot would do that, but I think they do now anyway. Maybe a filter could be put in the computer that ignores any point differential above say 21 points.
posted by dviking at 04:19 PM on December 10, 2008
I'd agree -- aside from against worthy opponents.
Running up the score against North Texas or UTEP differs greatly from Oklahoma blasting Missouri. That 40-point win shows the real gap between the two, so I have little problem with it in that context.
posted by wfrazerjr at 02:44 PM on December 12, 2008
Yeah, it does suck to be Texas, but that's the way it goes in a sport that bases most of the biggest decisions it makes on a freakin' computer. I agree that Brown's whining obviously does no good, but this continues to point out how ridiculous Division 1 college football really is. It's really too bad the Big 12 has their uneven divisions this year, because it would really be great to be able to see Oklahoma play Texas today, pitting the two best teams in that conference, opposite the Florida/Alabama game. You'd have the four top teams battling to see who would play for the right to meet in the overall championship. At least Texas still has a glimmer of hope, because it's not totally out of the realm that Missouri could pull one out. There have been much bigger upsets.