ALL HAIL THE ALPHABETICAL, BCS RANKINGS, MASS HYSTERIA

The outrage and riot is occurring at Peter’s place right now. Reading the comments is both sadly funny and absolutely painful. I’m pouring a little out for my burnt orange brethren.

Oh man, the Gators must be ecstatic! Come January, end of first quarter or so, they get to be West Virginia/Boise State/ USC version 2009.

Thank you for that photo. I will now be re-enacting the face-melting scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

hisssssssssssssss. Good day.

EDSBS Live this week is going to be epic. Perhaps, just perhaps, this might be the catalyst for a real playoff.

On second thought, nah, it probably won’t.

O -

Reesing’s performance pales in comparison to the Pouncey Twins’ performance @ FSU after the week they had following their stepfather’s horrific accident.

I expect Peter to be uproariously plastered. My God the BCS is confounding.

Is it just me or does it seem possible that Florida could get left out of the National Championship should they beat Alabama. Right now the computer have them ranked at 6. Considering that the computer have Alabama ranked at 3(???). Isn’t it possible that Florida may not jump many of the teams ahead of them in the computers? Then if OU wins and the voters decide to move them up to one, only move Florida up to 2, and leave Texas at 3 couldn’t Florida still end up 3 in the BCS.

To: Texas Fans
From: Cal Fans

RE: BCS Standings

Payback is a bitch, have fun at the Holiday Bowl.

We’ll get left out, the BCS title game will be a re-match, and you know what will happen to the BCS next year?

Not a damned thing.

To: Cal Fans
From: Texas Fans

We may have gotten screwed in regards to the Big 12 and NCAA Championships, but we will still be in a BCS bowl, not the holiday bowl. Go hug some trees.

Or Fiesta Bowl. Whatever. HAAAATE.

Perhaps this happens when you schedule Rice, UTEP, and Florida Atlantic?

If you’re so tough, play real teams every week.

After seeing the human polls, I was expecting it to be Texas because I thought they would have a slight edge in the computers. But Oklahoma ended up having such a huge edge with the computers that their average is now ahead of Alabama.

The PB vs. Orson Bowl is still possible. Alabama beats Florida in the SECCG and is ranked number one, Oklahoma wins the Big 12 and is number 2. The Sugar picks Texas with their replacement pick and the Fiesta picks Utah because they’d send more fans than Florida. The Sugar picks Florida as their at-large the Fiesta would either pick Boise State or Ohio State.

To: Cal Fans
From: Texas Fans

RE: RE: BCS Standings

Cal was terribly undeserving, which Tech made it quite evidently clear.

Payback is a bitch, have fun at the Holiday Bowl.

All I have to say is Texas beat both teams playing for the Big XII title. If that does not lead to some sort of change in the system then I say fuck it all. I QUIT!!!

How could you think the computers would have the bias that the SECRET ballot human polls have where all kinds of shenanigans go on? Why do you think Mack Brown was interrupting the OU/OSU game and flying planes all over the place with banners and basically staging a political campaign to win votes. How pathetic. And we all know how that goes- don’t we. I bet Mack Brown bought votes by agreeing to all sorts of votes in return. Bob Stoops gave up his vote in the stupid coaches poll because its a SHAM and Stoops has class and integrity. Texas barely beat OSU at home by a mere 4 points. Texas didn’t beat anybody this year except for OU. Too bad it was a three way tie but it was so shut up already.

13, can you inform us as to your previous position so that we can have HR getting on filling that spot as quickly as possibly? Thaaaaaanks.

Mark May, that girth-faced melonhead.

If Paul Johnson faced fourth down and the width of May’s noggin, he’d punt the ball.

13- Well, I guess ya’ll should have beaten Tech. Honestly, it may be more fun in this scenario than if OU had just ran the table. Say OU wins against Fla/Bama, then we get the trophy AND make texan heads explode all through the winter, spring and summer. Triumph + schaudenfrued = awesome. This has GOT to be the karmic return for the Oregon nonsense from a few years back.

#13: Then quit. Texas was #1, had their win over the hardest team on their schedule, and had the inside track on the division championship – and they blew it. In fact in their loss they only led on the scoreboard for 1:28, and got owned in nearly every possible statistical category by Texas Tech. The same Texas Tech that got blown halfway to Mother Russia a week ago by Oklahoma.

I thought Texas would stay ahead of Oklahoma too, but they pretty much got what they deserved for not taking care of business.

I have to agree with #11. OU has played 5 of the current top 15 teams in the BCS, and beat 4 of them. Plus, played and owned a ranked (at the time) KU team. Although ‘Bama went undefeated, they didn’t even play that many ranked teams.

Yes, Texas beat both teams playing for the Big 12 title, and they lost a game they shouldn’t have shortly after. The bottom line is: you lose a game, you lose the moral high ground in these arguments. Texas still had a very strong argument to be ranked ahead of the pack, as did OU. Hell, you could even mount a (less convincing) argument for Tech. I nearly sucked a bullet from a pistol last night when I found myself agreeing with Lou Holtz, who, in his senile grandfatherly sort of way, stated that he could see the argument for both UT and OU but couldn’t bring himself to argue against either of them.

I honestly believe that OU is the team playing better football right now and, by a slim margin, the system in place agrees. Fair? That concept was abandoned long ago. So, we’re going to end another year arguing about who really deserved what. That puts 2008 in the company of every other year the game of college football has been played without a playoff.

Note to Tressel:

If you end up in the Fiesta against Texas…preposition the ambulances.

@18. As I recall, we played two teams in the top ten at the time, absolutely melted their fucking gonads off, then won the hatefest against #11 LSU in BR. Oh, and um, did beat that Ole Miss team, for a total of 5 bowl bodies. While not as impressive a body of work as OU’s (admittedly), it is A) not our fault that UT and the Barn didn’t live up their worth, and B) that no one, and I mean absolufuckinglutely no one in the Big 12 plays defense.

I wish flaming hot death on this whole bullshit system. 45-35. 56-31. Hook ’em.

I am disliking the expanded ACC more and more every year. I harken for the halcyon days of yore…which to be honest I did not know, where you just got invited to the best bowl that wanted you, and there could be two national champs…which isn’t nonsensical with 119 teams. BOO to ‘progress.’

How about doing an alphabetical calling Charlie Weis “fat” in a bunch of different ways? Irish fans would love that, as thing are getting pretty vicious after these last 2 weeks. Might not get all 26 letters, but it’d be close.

#12: The Fiesta can nix it if the Sugar Bowl tries to take Texas – that’s a rule that was put in after the Orange Bowl took Iowa in ’02 to replace Miami. And they probably would.

#21: Agreed on the first sentiment. As to the second: 33-39. You want Texas Tech in there instead?

There’s no obvious way to break the tie by conference play – even looking at opponents in the other division, both beat a 5-3 team (Missouri or Nebraska), a 4-4 team, and a 2-6 team, so strength of conference schedule fails too. At this point, the only obvious thing to do is look at something about non-conference play and/or the full season.

I fail to see why throwing out the lowest team and taking head-to-head among the top two (the approach Texas fans are obviously favoring, and, it must be said, the approach the ACC and SEC would take here since the teams are sufficiently close in the rankings) is any more valid than picking the highest-ranked and being done with it. It’d be better if the system had no subjectivity in it, something regarding strength of schedule maybe, but as it is someone gets to complain about beating the division representative and getting left out anyway no matter who gets picked.

If a bowl loses it’s conference to the title game, it gets first pick of a replacement from that conference. So Sugar would pick Florida and Fiesta would pick Texas. No chance of a non MNC matchup.

@21: How do you see Tech winning the North?

…duh… @24 that is…

I don’t have a dog in the fight, but Texas got screwed! What a bunch of HORSESHIT.

Der Schatten, I’m not taking away Alabama’s ranking, or the fact that OU’s secondary has always scared the shit out of me, I’m just stating it’s easy to see how the computers ranked OU #1. And I’m all for an SEC/B12 MNC. Rational (although few of us) Big 12 fans realize that defense is lacking, but at least 61-41 is far more exciting than the Auburn/Miss State battle back in September…

Is that Jeff Tedford giggling in the background?

I don’t want to get too far ahead (and lose all this enjoyable invective), but what happens when Texas and Oklahoma end in a rematch in Miami even after Florida downs Alabama? How wide-spread and far-flung is the devastation in such a scenario? World War Z, or merely Europe circa 1945?

Fingers crossed…

BAMA is going to beat florida, and then beat the ever living piss out of OU or tejas or tejas tech. the big 12 teams this season are even shittier than normal. OU. tejas, and tejas tech all suck a fat dick and would finish a combined 0-6 against BAMA and florida.

What a bunch of fucking idiots.

@#16, don’t you realize that a team could go 2-6 in the conference and still be watching two teams it beat play for the conference title? I know, let’s put a 2-6 team in the conference championship.

Secondly, @ everyone arguing that it’s effectively a two way tie in the Big XII: how do you eliminate TTU from consideration based on their margin of defeat to OU, thus placing UT into CCG by virtue of their head to head win over OU? Are you seriously arguing that if OU had only won on a last second TD, say 39-33, that TTU would then be in consideration, meaning OU’s better overall resume (IMO) would place them in the CCG? In effect, OU would have benefited by winning by fewer points against TTU?

@Texas fans, your best argument is to say that conference titles should be based solely on conference play. Personally, I’d favor a computer ranking, including MOV, (a la Sagarin Predictor) among conference games to settle a conference champion. You’d probably have won under this method.

Lastly, for all the bitching about the Big XII’s tiebreaker system, they have it right, at least as far a money and stature are concerned. The conference’s job is to make sure it’s members have the best chance of being represented in the BCS National Championship. Therefore, it’s logical to make sure that it’s divisional champions are the best positioned to play for the crystal ball. This year, it probably wouldn’t have mattered, but imagine if the BCS rankings of OU, UT, and TTU weren’t 2,3, and 7(?), but 2,6, and 7. If the 6th place team were selected by virtue of an SEC style tiebreaker, then you’ve probably just fucked your conference out of a national title appearance.

Go Gators, Shut these delusional cocksuckers up.

Does this mean Nebraska wins the North? I mean,

1. Nebraska and Mizzou both finished 5-3 in conference.
2. Mizzou beat Nebraska
3. Nebraska Wins!!

Blow this thing up. College football needs to read some Schumpeter – creative destruction and all that.

was it not:
- Oklahoma that lost a conference championship and still wound up in the BCS Championship game?
- Oklahoma that stayed ahead of Auburn in BCS standings although Auburn defeated more Top 20 teams and teams with winning records?
- Oklahoma that jumped over Texas although Texas beat them and BCS stars show Texas’ schedule ranked number 1 in difficulty and Oklahoma’s is number 3?

Face it. For some reason they own karma. And yes, I’m still bitter over 2004.

#29: “As to the second: 33-39. You want Texas Tech in there instead?”

Absolutely not, I think of the three teams Tech probably had the least sound case to make. I apparently undervalued how much the computers were going to take the nonconference schedule into account, and that’s where Oklahoma won big from the way it sounds.

#39: No, because you forgot the part where there wasn’t a three-way tie in the north and a convoluted tie-breaker system to resolve it. Besides, watching Missouri get mauled by Oklahoma will be more amusing than watching Nebraska get destroyed again for the second time in six weeks.

The longhorns aren’t even the best team in Texas. Shouldn’t you have to win your own pompous ass of a state to be able to compete for your conference title?

What’s so convoluted about the tie-breaker?

1) Head-to head — which resolved nothing, since each was 1-1 vs. the other two teams

2) BCS standings, which is a neutral means of breaking the tie.

I think the SEC has (or used to have) some sort of tiebreaker involving the coaches voting for the winner. Would you rather have that? I think not.

39

Keith Olberman thinks Joe S. played wingback for Yale in the late 1800’s. Bush & Obama both have sed that he is on the “No Fly List”. Mike Leach discusses his econ theory versus the Keynsian Model and Thorstein Veblen’s at length.

The BCS will be OU vs. Tejas. UF beets Bammer & gets screwed due to the SEC being sooooo mediocre this year.

If Florida beats Alabama, it’s possible that the Gators will not pass Texas in the BCS. Goddamn it. HOW THE FUCK IS THIS SUPPOSED TO WORK???!?!?!?!?!? I mean really…. I’ve been trying to remain calm and collected and shit, but this is insane.

I think Fate has a hand in Bamas success.
Here is how the stars are aligning and its freakin me out. Facts:
1. Nick Saban is in his second year and has the “2nd Year Magic” working strong for him…
2. Bama has won National Championships when there was a Democrat in office or being sworn into office—-see 1992.
3. Bama has to play Florida for SEC Championship and is a heavy underdog—see also 1992—and I think one play will decide the fate of either team, last time it was a late Pick 6 from Shane Matthews……
4. Bama has a strong defense and a strong running game and a “game manager” at QB—-see 1992
5. This year is really Bama’s only real shot since some guys may go pro and some key elements will graduate. Breaking in a new QB to the SEC doesnt work too well in the first yr….see Auburn, LSU, etc…
6. If Bama wins vs. Florida, they will be the underdog against OU. Stoops will then fall flat on his face AGAIN on the biggest of big stages for the 3rd time….or 4th? 5th? I really wanted to play Texas since they actually beat a good OU team, straight up, and beat Mizzou, so WTF? Who do you have to pay off to get some love? Oh yeh, Texas Tech, via transitive properties beat Texas which beat OU that beat Texas Tech which beat Texas…..why dont they just spin a “wheel of fortune” (which is what I think the coaches do when they vote anyway) 10 times and whoever comes up the most wins…..PB, we feel your pain,and it is because Mack Brown is too nice for not running up the score and cheap theatrics like a backwoods attorney—see Stoops….

Pegboy meet BCS.

In the same scenario in any other conference Texas goes to the championship game. And for those of you arguing SOS Texas did not play a 1AA school unlike blOU. I guess if Mac was not such a nice guy he should have voted Texas #1 in the coaches poll. That would have solved everything. I want to know who besides Mike Leach voted blOU #1?

Can Obama get a congressional investigation? Hell, how bout Bush on his way out since he is from Texas?
What good does it do you to win against your rival?
How does Jeff Sagarin even get involved with his Voodoo Math? Play it on the field, or hell, let NCAA 2009 simulate the seasons 100 times like it does for Whatifsports.com? I guess Texas gets to see how Auburn felt, cept AU was undefeated and because they played the Citadel, they were left out via SOS…So I guess change your schedule to a murderers rows, non conference at least, and let the pieces fall where they may…..and I am talking head to head creme of the crop Big 12 vs SEC vs Big 10 vs Pac 10, so if we cant have a playoff, we can have some sort of litmus test to see who is the strongest, in and out of conference, at least have the Top 4 of each conference play each other randomly….all I have seen is 2 really good SEC teams beating up on the conference and the Big 12 really just beating weaker opponents and running up the score in and out of conference. TT never scared me, all OU did was get them out of sync, Texas played a good OU team on a neutral site and beat em, then they turn around and drop one on the last play to TT….what irks me is watching the OSU game, THEY call a timeout ,down by 2 scores, not really a blowout, and with 20 secs left—-then it looked to me that they LET OU score so they would have a higher point margin since NO ONE TRIED TO TACKLE THE RUNNER,and I think Gundy has a brother or something on the OU staff….makes ya go mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Wrong, Drifter.

http://secsports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=46

Under the SEC’s tie-breaker, it would’ve come out the same way.

Wait, I stand corrected.

interesting “Head to Head”clause in the SEC Rules….

Gator processing right on schedule. Hubris … check. Overconfidence … double check. Atlanta will see Sherman-esque march of the Andre Smith bot and Coffee percolation and talking head IwassureFloridawouldcakewalktothetitlegame flabbergast.

Tahd rollage so sayeth our Dark Lord Saban. You will be Processed.

I think OU is the more impressive team, but Texas is more deserving. Nobody’s mentioning this: In the three games between the three Big XII South co-winners, OU played zero road games (one neutral and one home), and Texas played zero home games (one neutral and one road).

Texas Tech is the fluke of the bunch. There’s no legit way to throw them out of the mix, but it should be between OU and Texas, and Texas beat OU. Point differential shows OU way out ahead of Texas, and Texas Tech sucking nuts in a distant last.

Eh, fuck it, let’s just let Auburn and Notre Dame play the last game of the year and instead of commentary, just put “Yakety Sax” on repeat.

Here’s to hoping that ’Bama beats Florida, OU squeaks by Mizzou, moving Texas up over Florida in all of the polls with enough to overcome OU and puts Texas vs. Alabama in the National Championship Game.

Or even better… Florida beats ’Bama by a missed extra point on OT, Mizzou wins, and UCLA wins giving us a BCS matchup of rematch ’Bama vs. Florida with USC, OSU, and OU all out and Utah, Boise State, Texas Tech, and Ball State in.

All hail chaos! Break the system!

I don’t think I’ve ever been more torn over a BCS debate. Most years I either thought the results were complete utter bullshit like 2001 or 2003, or I was solidly behind the rankings’ results.

In 2004, I thought Oklahoma was more deserving than Auburn which turned out to be dramatically wrong. In 2007, I thought Michigan had little case after losing to Ohio State. This is the first year where I can see both sides arguments.

Hey 37, Texas and OU would most likely go three and three against Florida and Bama, with all three of those losses coming at the hands of Tebow and company. Don’t think for a second that your legendary football team would stand a chance. Saban would get his balls knocked off by the Horns anytime, anywhere. And Texas has a guy at the head of the defense that would know exactly how to do it…

BOOM MOTHERFUCKER!!!!!!

@35: Tedford is giggling, but only in between bouts of cursing Oregon State for not taking care of business against Oregon and so damning Cal to play in Las Vegas.

In other news: Dabo Swinney now officially qualifies for the All-Name Team Coach (though he faces stiff competition from NIU’s Jerry Kill).

Ok, serious question here…

It is customary for crowds to cheer when a player (home or visiting) who is injured is helped from the field. It shows that the fans, while hoping their team crushes you into the ground, hopes you live through it. What was it about the cheering by FSU fans that made Tebow believe it was offensive, instead of supportive (you know, besides Papa Bowden standing on their sideline)? I was busy watching Kodi Burns completely disappear under a pile of Terrance Cody at the time.

Oh, and white bra and panties over garnet and gold oil based paint… very classy.

… and if Pete Carroll wants us to believe he doesn’t care about style points, how does he explain Sanchez throwing a touchdown from his own 24yrd line to the North end zone of the Rose Bowl?

Texas fans brook no schedule smack from an OU team that:

—Beat I-AA school Chattanooga (who finished 1-11 and in last … in I-AA)
—Beat Big East “champ” Cincy, who got rolled by 24 not only by OU but also by UConn
—joined mighty Wazzu in being able to beat the Willingham Huskies

… and by every conceivable schedule strength measure including all six computers had a weaker to far weaker schedule than Texas. That apparently won’t stop OU’s fans from crawling to every board lecturing Texas about how its nonconference cost them the conference title game, though. Play real teams, indeed.

Whenever I have been at a game in the Swamp we clap when an injured player makes his way off the field. I did not hear the cheering in the Florida State game, but it is easy to tell the difference between clapping for a young man who hurt himself entertaining us even if he is from the other team and cheering an injury. I wouldn’t be surprised if FSU fans cheered it fits the character of their program. After all they did used to put up a picture in the lockeroom of a Florida player that would not finish the game(confirmed by multiple FSU players).

So when the SEC champion pummels Oklahoma in the national title game, we have to hear about how Texas would’ve been a better matchup? Even though Texas and Oklahoma is the same exact school. George W. may as well been the governor of Oklahoma. All My Exes Live in Oklahoma. Mike Price enjoys strip joint junk whores in El Paso, Oklahoma, and charges his bill on the UOEP credit card.

Didn’t they put a rule in that you have to win your conference to be eligible for the MNC game?

In regards to #58:

It was pretty obvious that they were cheering for the fact that Percy was injured. Most crowds get quiet when a player is down and then give a round of applause when he makes it off the field. The assholes at the game were wildly cheering before he got up. It was a disgusting display.

Florida is going to positively shred Alabama on Saturday to the tune of 45-10 or something similar. Alabama hasn’t played an offense ranked in the Top 25 all season. Yes, that’s right, that “great” defense has faced only one offense in the Top 30 – Georgia – and gave up 30 points, not to mention playing 4 teams with an offense ranked below 100. Can you say overrated?? It’s going to be ugly when they face a team with athletes on the offensive side of the ball.

On a similar note, SEC fans calling out the Big 12 for not having good defense is total hypocrisy. SEC may play better defense, but the offenses collectively suck, as evidenced by the fact that 1/3 of the conference teams are ranked below 100, and only Florida is in the Top 25 offensively. UF is the only SEC team that can play on both sides of the ball. They deserve to play for the MNC after they handle Bama on Saturday.

@ #65 -

No.

@ Joe Killpack: I’m in agreement as far as the overall schedule is concerned, and I’m not defending the earlier post that set you off. But your argument misses the point.

“–Beat I-AA school Chattanooga (who finished 1-11 and in last … in I-AA)
–Beat Big East “champ” Cincy, who got rolled by 24 not only by OU but also by UConn
–joined mighty Wazzu in being able to beat the Willingham Huskies”

-Granted. Horrible team that was all we could pick up when a I-A opponent bailed. Doesn’t matter. The I-A team would have been just as bad.
-You can drop the air quotes. Cincy is the Big East champ, 10-2 I believe, and ranked #12 in the BCS. Using OU’s dismantling of them as proof they aren’t that good is circular and won’t get you very far on this board. Try running that against the USC fans here re:Ohio State and see what happens.
-Granted. Horrible team that was just shy of mediocre when we scheduled them. The results would have been the same and equally unimpressive.
-You left off perennial whipping boy TCU, so easy to dismiss just 3 short hours to the north of Austin. Currently ranked #11 in the BCS.

The strength of schedule argument is essentially what Chloe Denmark said @22. Two teams in the BCS top 12 vs. Rice. That tips for OU and was a mitigating factor against the rush back to UT in the human polls. It may be the luck of the scheduling guessing game of who will be good years down the road, but that’s how it broke this year.

@ mookieszpilman: Yes, you will have to listen to that. Just as you’ll have to live with USC and PSU fans saying the same thing. Just as we all still hear about Auburn’s chances against USC or Miami’s against OU or any number of teams the year Nebraska backed into the MNC. Maybe they’re right. Maybe not. Another year in the BCS.

@Joe

Cincy and TCU and far better than any OOC team UT played.

What is funny is that if OU only beat tech by 4 instead of by 40, nobody would bitch about this senario ’cause Tech is still involved.

You can put me in the Texas got screwed camp. But whatever, it’s their tiebreaker system and they have to live with it.

And I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who noticed the hilarity of the Versus announcers in the Civil War. I was in the midst of a bourbon stupor and did one of those double-takes, “Did he just say that guy’s butt was huge?” They also went off about the facial hair of the OSU players, with one of the guys remarking about a player’s “pencil thin mustache” followed by silence from the other announcers.

PSUfanNYC @ 67:

I don’t like the reality of what you said, but I like that you said it. Finally, someone putting some facts and stats behind the “Florida’s gonna trounce ’Bama” argument. That’s pretty damn interesting too…did not realize UA has only faced one offense ranked in the top-30…and it’s UGA. The Bulldogs are terribly coached on that side of the ball and are only ranked that high in offense b/c they’ve got studs…so that one doesn’t really even count either.

The Gator hype does not scare me…but those facts and stats you mentioned do. I knew there was a reason the spread for the game is around 10 points right now.

…And Texas DEFINITELY got screwed. Don’t see the argument from the other side…and I could care less which team gets the nod…like I said…Texas and Oklahoma are basically the same school/team/state.

When deciding which team to rank higher, how does a person/computer choose the team that LOST the head-to-head game??? I don’t care if Texas beat every other team on the schedule by one point and Oklahoma beat every other team by 100 points…TEXAS BEAT OKLAHOMA!!!!!

PG, I believe you, I was just curious what was so evil about it. I have family (that I don’t claim) who are FSU people, so I understand what they can be like.

Mookie @73

Based on your arguement TT would be equally screwed if Texas got in. You just proved the exception (three way tie) that exposes the failings of the rule.

@westbrooke:
Granted, I left out TCU not as an oversight but because I think they’re for real, and a quality win for OU.

And while I’ve been more philosophical than most about Texas being left out, I still hang with the majority who say Texas played a tougher schedule overall — so it chaps my ass a bit when OU fans, instead of resting on their luck, decide to deliver a lecture on scheduling. “Martin, you got greedy!”

I’m letting go of my anger and plan to apply Irish whiskey until Saturday — do it Blaise Pascal-style.

@meatbob:
It wouldn’t have mattered how much OU beat Tech by … some voters would still consider them a nonfactor and decide between OU and Texas. Because while the tie dictates that the polls decide it, the human voters then follow their own logic. It’s not like they’ll be incapable of turning in a ballot because of Bob Stoops’ three-way syntax error mind conundrum.

@76,

I think UT played a slightly tougher Big XII schedule, but their North opponents did have the exact same conference record as OU’s North opponents. UT’s opponents had a an average Sagarin predictor ranking around 1.5 points higher.

Some have mentioned that of the three tied teams, UT was the only one that didn’t get a home game. To me, this is UT’s strongest argument. But you also can’t look past the fact that in the other six conference games, UT had four home games to OU’s two.

As for strength of schedule, I don’t think you can just average opponents to see which schedule is tougher. you have to look at which team had a tougher time getting to a top ranking. You have to look at it probabilistically. If team A plays four opponents that all have a 25% chance of winning, and team B plays two teams with a 50% chance of winning and two teams with a 0% chance of winning, each team plays, on average four non-conference opponents that have a 25% chance of winning any one game. But the chances of team A going undefeated are around 31-32%. The chances of team B going undefeated are 25%. OU is more like team B. Plus, I’d argue that even though the records are about the same, the probabilities are even more in OU’s favor (meaning a top 5 team would have a much harder time going undefeated against OU’s schedule).

Lastly, I think you’re right that some voters would have eliminated TTU even if they’d lost a close one at OU. But that’s mostly based on reputation, which, to me, shouldn’t really be a factor. Also, a lot of people wouldn’t have eliminated TTU if they’d only lost to OU by 14 or so, and you’d have heard a lot more talk about a three-way tie, instead of a two-way tie on ESPN this week.

tzubear @75:

Under my logic (which is shoddy anyway), you’re right…TT would be screwed as well. But they got shambuckled by Oklahoma. Now, if that had been a close game and all three teams were really in line to make the Big12 Champ. game, then it’d be a different story. Not saying they don’t have an argument at all…I was just looking at it as a Texas vs. Okla. argument. In fact, TT is the whole reason this thing is fouled up with the three-way tie. If they hadn’t gone and gotten all competitive for the first ten weeks of the season, Texas would be in the Big12 Champ. no questions asked.

The main thing that irks me is, for instance, the guy in the background during the Sooner QB’s interview after their win vs. Okla. St. His sign had two scores on it: 65-21 and 39-33. So he was obviously campaigning against both Texas AND TT, but Oklahoma’s argument against Texas just has no merit. (“We beat the hell out of the team that beat you at the last second…so that is more important than you beating us.”) Think about how silly that sounds.

I pray ALL conferences get rid of the BCS ranking tie-breaker after this season. Can’t imagine how Texas feels right now.

Oh yeah, the guy with the sign conveniently left off the 35-45 score.

@78 & 79

Don’t really think OU’s argument is that they beat a team that beat UT. Their argument is that Texas cares about head to head as long as we aren’t talking about UT/TTU. Maybe the guy’s sign was just pointing out the other two games that are responsible for this problem, something that Texas conveniently leaves out when discussing the conundrum.

Many of us think that the UT argument that they won head to head leaves out 2/3 of the eqaution.

Head to head is the first tie-breaker people. It didn’t work. Neither did 2-4. So UT wants to argue that we go back to the first tie-breaker and forget about the lowest ranked team. You know what else didn’t work? Mack Brown’s politicking. How does Texas pass OU and Florida in the Harris Poll? By crying about it.

So yeah… head to head… except in the UT/TTU game.

Kellen @80:

It’s a complex argument that was (maybe not should’ve) broken into sub-parts: Oklahoma’s two sub-part arguments:

(1) Texas Tech: We beat the snot out of you.

Ok, that’s sound.

(2) Texas: We beat the snot out of the team that beat you in the last second.

Not so sound.

Texas’s two sub-part arguments:

(1) Oklahoma: We beat you.

Sound.

(2) Texas Tech: You suck but still beat us.

Not so sound.

As for TT, they have an a two-part argument too, but we’re not really discussing whether they should be in the championship. They’re just the monkey wrench in the situation.