OU or Texas? We already settled that
Posted: Sunday, November 23, 2008 8:13 AM
While wondering what Arkansas fans think about Houston Nutt right about now, we’re back to wrestle with the mess that’s left following Week 13 in the college football season.
RESULTS SHOULD MATTER MOST: If Texas’ 45-35 victory over then-No. 1 Oklahoma on Oct. 11 in Dallas on a neutral field doesn’t settle any debate between those two teams, then what does? Any coach in the USA Today Poll ranking the Sooners higher than the Longhorns, should turn in his whistle (Mike Leach probably doesn’t use one, so he can do what he wants). The wacky lineup comprising the Harris Poll would presumably be more susceptible to employing factors less sturdy than a good ol’ fashion head-to-head meeting, but that group actually produced a bigger gap between the two Big 12 rivals than the coaches last week (2,476-2,375 to 1,322-1,305). And now after Saturday night’s 65-21 Oklahoma rout over Texas Tech practically removed the Red Raiders from the debate, leaving just the Sooner and Longhorns, we’re hearing increased support for Oklahoma and phrases such as “hot team right now” and “currently playing the best football.”
Yes, those descriptions do fit the Sooners well and as we wrote last week, Oklahoma is currently more fearsome than Texas and you’d rather not mess with the Sooners. However, it’s a shame that something as subjective as the BCS rankings will be used if there is a three-way tie in the Big 12 South. Furthermore, unlike the SEC and ACC, the Big 12 unfortunately doesn’t include a head-to-head component within its BCS three-way tiebreaker, which states that if the top two of the three teams in question are ranked within five-or-fewer spots of each other, the game played between those two top teams determines the participant in the conference championship game. Lack of that stipulation in the fine print could make all the difference in the world next week, especially since the Sooners have more of a chance to further their case on Saturday at Oklahoma State, while the Longhorns spend Thanksgiving with cellar-dweller Texas A&M.
All these talking heads on TV can’t have it both ways. They’re constantly pushing for playoff, saying that things should be “settled on the field.” But then they’re also singing the praises of the Oklahoma and building a case to counteract what took place in the Cotton Bowl at the “Red River Shootout.” It just doesn’t make sense.
BACK TO REGULAR RANKINGS: Although we prefer ranking teams as we did last week, according to who you’d least like to face on a neutral field, the item above illustrates leads us back to a more “traditional” Top 10 with the nebulous criteria we’ve all come to not-know and hate.
1 – Alabama (being undefeated -- for now -- has its privileges)
2 – Florida (hey, everybody’s losing to Ole Miss at home these days)
3 – Texas (final seconds in Lubbock still haunt 'Horns)
4 – Oklahoma (could be headed to bowl that will hold their interest)
5 – USC (odd that possible No. 2 team in Pac-10 can be this high)
6 – Texas Tech (consider how close they were to loss to Texas)
7 – Penn State (spread offense went back to being HD vs. Spartans)
8 – Utah (new record for hangovers in Salt Lake City set Sunday)
9 – Ohio State (fifth in a row over Michigan should have asterisk)
10 – Boise State (Humanitarian Bowl getting a helluva team)
HEISMAN HOMESTRETCH: One of the newest members of the Heisman Trophy electorate -- along with Tim Tebow -- we’ll be casting a ballot for the first time in a couple weeks. After all the conference championship games, we’ll decide on somebody for the top of the ticket, but that certainly isn’t clear at the moment. The only thing we’re sure of at this point is that several players who have had outstanding seasons and are deserving of recognition won’t be able to squeeze into the three slots.
We’d really like to find room for Iowa running back Shonn Greene, who rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s 55-0 romp at Minnesota. He has run for no less than 115 yards in each of the Hawkeyes’ 12 games and finished the 2008 campaign with a school-record 1,729 rushing yards and 17 scores. What’s most amazing about Greene’s accomplishments this season is that he did it all while being the absolute focus of every defense that he lined up against. When you’re coupled with a passing offense that ranks eighth in the Big Ten and 89th nationally, being able to break off an average of 6.2 yards per rushing attempt is quite impressive.
LONG WEEKEND OF FOOTBALL: We’re entering Week 14 of the season so it’s about time that the ACC race got squared away. After three muddled months, the Atlantic Division comes down to the Boston College’s home game against Maryland. The Eagles advance to the ACC title game if they win. If they don’t, Florida State turns back the clock and gets the nod. There’s a similar situation in play with the Coastal Division as Virginia Tech needs a victory at home against Virginia to stay alive for another BCS berth. If the Hokies don’t pull it off, Georgia Tech goes to Tampa under the direction of Paul Johnson, who deserves lots of consideration for Coach of the Year honors.
After some solid Thursday and Friday action, the marquee matchups Saturday include: the aforementioned Oklahoma at Oklahoma State “Bedlam” game that’s always a tight affair, Oregon State hosting Oregon in a “Civil War” battle that features the Ducks taking up the fight for USC’s Rose Bowl hopes (although many within the Trojans camp would prefer beginning the New Year in BCS location other than Pasadena), Florida visiting Florida State in a game that people shouldn’t view as a forgone conclusion, and the “Iron Bowl” between Auburn and top-ranked Alabama (which can be viewed as a forgone conclusion).
WONDERNG ABOUT WEIS: It’s a good time for Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis to be headed out of town. But after dropping a home game to Syracuse, arguably the worst team on the schedule (San Diego State pounded UNLV on Saturday to lower the Aztecs’ level of incompetence and possibly give the “honor” to the Orange), the Irish travel to Los Angeles to face USC, the best team on their slate without question. The Trojans, who are still fighting for every style point, aren’t candidates to show Weis any mercy whatsoever.
Perhaps the Notre Dame administration isn’t in a forgiving mood either. Losing to woeful Syracuse and its fired-man-walking coach at home represents rock bottom for the Irish, who will drop their 15th game since the start of the 2007 season on Saturday in the Coliseum. If they employ the same criteria used to judge Bob Davie and Tyrone Willingham and aren’t troubled by the millions of dollars that will be owed to a fired Weis, the powers that be in South Bend should cut their losses here and start looking for a new leader. Isn’t it crystal clear that Notre Dame should be much further along in the fourth year of any coaching reign? There simply are no excuses.
