ALL HAIL THE ALPHABETICAL, BCS RANKINGS, MASS HYSTERIA
The Alphabetical is up in all its glory. We think the letters are all there. More importantly, the BCS has decided that the criteria for valuation is who wins biggest and last, because Oklahoma is above Texas in the fresh rankings, and will therefore get the shot at a Big 12 Championship this week. You go ahead and just let that outrage out, you outraged person, you.
If Oklahoma somehow loses to Missouri–probability ZERO but we state it for the record anyway–then all blazing, many-tentacled hell breaks loose. Until then, welcome your new/old overlord Bob Stoops. Get your Vanessa Carlton on like it’s 2002 all over again!
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51
PW says:
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.
November 30th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
52
PW says:
Wait, I stand corrected.
November 30th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
53
Mich-Placed Gator says:
interesting “Head to Head”clause in the SEC Rules….
November 30th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
54
Nick Saban Stole Your Lunch Money says:
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.
November 30th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
55
WarCardinals says:
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.
December 1st, 2008 at 12:09 am
56
Richard Cranium says:
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!
December 1st, 2008 at 12:22 am
57
John says:
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.
December 1st, 2008 at 12:30 am
58
Mr. M from Austin says:
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!!!!!!
December 1st, 2008 at 1:06 am
59
AERose says:
@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.
December 1st, 2008 at 2:19 am
60
Magic Hobo says:
In other news: Dabo Swinney now officially qualifies for the All-Name Team Coach (though he faces stiff competition from NIU’s Jerry Kill).
December 1st, 2008 at 2:59 am
61
PeterPumpkinhead says:
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?
December 1st, 2008 at 3:25 am
62
Joe Killpack says:
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.
December 1st, 2008 at 6:51 am
63
Tractorr says:
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).
December 1st, 2008 at 7:25 am
64
mookieszpilman says:
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.
December 1st, 2008 at 8:11 am
65
Erdinger says:
Didn’t they put a rule in that you have to win your conference to be eligible for the MNC game?
December 1st, 2008 at 8:14 am
66
Panhandle Gator says:
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.
December 1st, 2008 at 8:14 am
67
PSUfanNYC says:
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.
December 1st, 2008 at 9:39 am
68
Great Caesar's Ghost says:
@ #65 –
No.
December 1st, 2008 at 9:52 am
69
westbrooke says:
@ 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.
December 1st, 2008 at 11:55 am
70
meatbob says:
@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.
December 1st, 2008 at 12:18 pm
71
Brian O'Blivion says:
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.
December 1st, 2008 at 1:29 pm
72
mookieszpilman says:
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.
December 1st, 2008 at 3:53 pm
73
mookieszpilman says:
…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!!!!!
December 1st, 2008 at 3:58 pm
74
PeterPumpkinhead says:
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.
December 1st, 2008 at 4:19 pm
75
tzubear says:
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.
December 1st, 2008 at 5:16 pm
76
Joe Killpack says:
@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.
December 1st, 2008 at 9:11 pm
77
Steve-O says:
@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.
December 1st, 2008 at 10:08 pm
78
mookieszpilman says:
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.
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:27 am
79
mookieszpilman says:
Oh yeah, the guy with the sign conveniently left off the 35-45 score.
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:28 am
80
Kellen says:
@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.
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:47 am
81
mookieszpilman says:
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.
December 2nd, 2008 at 5:24 pm