Don't Kid Yourselves, Texas

I'm no professional sports journalist. I am paid neither dollars nor cents for my input on the matter. Hey, at best, I'm expecting the same three people to read this blog, ponder its words, and leave a comment. At worst, I will be attacked by Flying Motorcycle Bear, and this entry will never even see the light of day. You think it can't happen? Rest assured, it can.

Anyway, back to the neety-greety. This has been the first time in roughly a decade I have closely followed college football. I have watched every OU game this season. I have tracked individual and team stats. I have watched other Big 12 teams to better understand our competition. I have even learned players' names, negating any need to yell, "Run that ball, Number 7!! Run it good!!"

So, I believe I know what I'm talking about when I say that Texas has absolutely no right to throw such a hissy fit over their standings as they relate to my Sooners. Let me quickly address the single argument upon which Texas balances their claim to Big 12 leadership: their 45-35 victory over Oklahoma in this season's Red River Shootout (or Showdown...whatever). Sure, their head-to-head victory may signify to UT fans that the Longhorns deserved the nod to face Missouri for the Big 12 title. Some may argue that, by the same token, Texas Tech deserves the title over UT because the Red Raiders were triumphant in their head to head matchup with the Longhorns (and save the "Tech only won in the last play" bit-the only time UT ever had the lead in that game was in the last minute and a half of the fourth quarter, and they still couldn't stay ahead!). Some may contend that the fact that OU proceeded to wipe their rears with the team that beat the Longhorns, winning by over 40 points, says much about the teams' relative standings. Yeah, some may say that. Not me. I would just like to remind those who would throw away the remaining season's performance by both teams, relying solely on that one game, that the ONLY reason UT won that game was the injury of Ryan Reynolds.

This guy would've cut your score in half.

Seriously, anyone with half a mind for football could see where UT's offense was going following Reynolds' injury and departure in the early third quarter. Pass after pass was thrown to Reynolds' zone throughout the rest of the game. This, coupled with a few of the worst late hit calls ever made, and some honest-to-goodness decent play from the Longhorns (hey, I can admit when an opponent's deserving...your turn, Tejanos) added up to a relatively close game that, while indicative of Texas' quality football program, comes nowhere close to providing enough evidence that Texas is the best team in the Big 12 South.

In the interest of cutting this short, because I'm on the verge of going on a tangent that will surely reveal how infantile my knowledge of college football really is, I'll just offer two thoughts on the dilemna.
#1: The BCS sucks (yeah, yeah, it's the best we have for now-that's 'cuz nobody's changed it yet), and playoffs are needed. I know alot of folks say that the bowls bring in money. Well, just give bowl names to the various brackets leading up to the championship game. Done and done. None of this paper-rock-scissors quandry would have to happen. The teams in question would return to face each other, and Texas would have to recognize OU's legitimate claim to Big 12 supremacy.
#2: Give OU and UT the championship game. Oklahoma lost to a 5th ranked team on a neutral field; UT lost to 7th-ranked Tech in Lubbock. Florida lost to...an unranked Mississippi team on Florida's home turf? Really??
Which loss is worse?

So, in conclusion (because it's late, I stink, and frankly, I'm too ADD to have written as much as I have), it can be agreed that, while the BCS system may not produce the best matchups in college football, OU has proven that they deserve a shot at the championship this year. Texas, well...you have, too. Apparently, though, the Big 12 can't send two teams to the big game, so we had to send our best. Maybe next year, Austin.

Horns down.

Boomer...