Between the Hashes - Inventing the Mess

THE BIGGEST MESS the BCS has made are some of the notions coming out of the sports media. Names have been redacted to protect the innocent.

“IF THERE WAS A PLAYOFF SYSTEM SET UP, WE WOULDN’T BE HAVING THIS DISCUSSION.”

THE DISCUSSION THEY wouldn’t be having is which team – Oklahoma, Texas or Texas Tech – deserves to win the Big 12 South and represent the divison in the Big 12 Championship game. Of all criticisms of the BCS, this is the farthest stretch. Each conference decides their own tiebreaker. People need to begin to accept that all too often there is no objective way to decipher and rank teams in the word of college football – there are no standings.

The implication was that both Oklahoma and Texas would make an eight-team playoff and there would be no need for discussion. But, who decided that Texas Tech doesn’t deserve to be in the same discussion? Which leads us to...

“TEXAS TECH DOESN’T BELONG. YOU CAN SEE IT.”

REALLY? YOU CAN see it? I guess not every college football writer received their full proof know-which-is-the-best-team glasses. I wonder how many people saw the New York Giants were the best team in the National Football League last season? You know, the league that has a playoff. Is that


how they decided who makes the playoffs in the NFL?

Presumably, the call for a playoff is one for objectivity not subjectivity. Let them decide it on the field many cry! Well on the field all three teams – Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech – have the same overall record, the same conference record and the same head-to-head record. No matter what you think you saw.

While we’re at it, let’s take a look at how the humans have done rankings these teams:

On October 11th No. 5 Texas defeated No. 1 Oklahoma. On November 1st No. 7 Texas Tech defeated No. 1 Texas. On November 22nd No. 5 Oklahoma defeated No. 2 Texas Tech. With that track record – 0-for-3 – maybe it is time for the computers to pinch hit for the pollsters in this crucial late-inning at-bat.

TEXAS TECH IS A “ONE TRICK PONEY”, “HOT TEAM”, “TRENDY TEAM” (TAKE YOUR PICK)

HELLO! TEXAS TECH was 10-0 before they lost to Oklahoma on Saturday. Yes, they were utterly dominated, but does that erase 10 weeks of resume building? They did beat No. 1 Texas, didn’t they? Yes, it was at home and by a close margin, but the Longhorns didn’t blowout the Sooners (45-35) or Oklahoma St. (28-24), who by the way, Tech handled 56-20. Moreover, Texas has only left the state only twice all season long, so lets not make them out

to be road warriors if that is suddenly a criterion. Their best road win is at Kansas 35-7. The Red Raiders went into Lawrence and won 63-21.

“A PLAYOFF WOULD TAKE CARE OF IT”

TAKE CARE OF what exactly? Most playoff proponents are in favor of an eight-team playoff. After six automatic bids (which could include Oregon St., Cincinnati and Virginia Tech), there are two at-large bids remaining. You try picking between a one-loss USC, two one-loss Big 12 schools, and the SEC Championship game loser. Better yet, you go tell the 11-1 Trojans or the 12-1 Crimson Tide they don’t belong in an eight-team playoff. How about undefeated Utah and Ball St. (possibly Boise St. as well)? Isn’t the college basketball argument that it gives the “little guys” a chance, so they would need to be included as well, wouldn’t they?

“IT’S BETTER TO LEAVE OUT NO. 9 THAN NO. 3.”

HOGWASH! BY NOW we’ve established we don’t know who really is No. 3 or No. 9. Can anyone say with a straight face they believe USC, Alabama, Oklahoma or Texas is the ninth best team in the country? One should at least believe in their own argument.

Mind you, this is not a position that the BCS is the solution, but let’s not pretend a playoff is a panacea either.

Photo Credit: College Press Box (Texas, Texas Tech)

Between the Hashes - The Road to Miami

A CLEAR PATH

THREE PROGRAMS CONTROL their destiny – Alabama, Texas Tech and Florida. A trip to Norman awaits the Red Raiders this Saturday and a December 6 playdate is on the docket for the Crimson Tide and the Gators. It’s far from a day at the beach for these three BCS teams, but they are in the driver’s seat. At this point in the season what else can you ask for?

Win and you’re in – the four prettiest words in all of sports. In the past, the BCS has brought election controversy befitting the Sunshine State. There was undefeated Auburn left out in 2004 and both Oklahoma and Nebraska advancing despite not winning their conference. Kind of like winning a presidential election without winning your party’s primary – something we as a nation thankfully have not seen yet.

If the Red Raiders win out and play the winner of the SEC Championship game, the BCS will be flak and fuss free – no “hanging chad” if you will. Of course, the current could shift at any time and, as the natives of Miami can tell you, chaos can strike at moment’s notice and disrupt the college football atmosphere.

Ironically, the National Weather Center makes its home on the campus of the University of Oklahoma. Nevertheless, don’t expect the Storm Prediction Center to inform us if Sam Bradford is prepared to play the role of jet stream this Saturday. This much we do know – Bob Stoops is 60-2 at home since taking over the Sooners.

A LITTLE HELP

IF BOOMER SOONER is able to defeat the tidal wave coming out of Lubbock, conventional wisdom says they’ll take the lead in the Big 12 South race. Technically they would create a three-way tie atop the standings between themselves, the Red Raiders and the Longhorns heading into the final week of the season. How does the Big 12 plan to settle that tempest? The team with the highest BCS ranking is declared the South representative. Seriously.

Currently, Texas leads Oklahoma in the BCS standings, but what will happen if the Sooners knock off the No. 2 team in the country and a very good Oklahoma St. team (No. 12 in the BCS)? The expectation is that those two wins would be enough to sway voters and impress the computers’ radar, vaulting the Sooners into the top two.

A LOT OF HELP

IF THIS LOGIC holds true, expect a long lasting cold front out in Austin when it comes to the BCS. The Longhorns need Oklahoma to win in Lubbock to even have a chance. They also need the Sooners to win in Stillwater, because if they are left tied with Texas Tech alone, the Red Raiders advance via their head-to-head win (assuming Tech handles Baylor).

Could it be that the 10-1 ‘Horns are already frozen out? The only chance UT has is if the voters step back and decide that the Longhorns have had a better season than either Oklahoma or Texas Tech. After all, their lone loss (assuming they defeat Texas A & M) came in the final seconds in Lubbock.

Even then, who can say if that would be enough?

The only other team with a fighting chance is the USC Trojans. They need the most help of all, but it’s rather simple. If Missouri wins the Big 12 Championship game, it would in all likelihood knock the Big 12 out of the BCS Championship game – no Texas Tech, no Oklahoma, no Texas. It would also behoove the Men of Troy to win the Pac-10 Title, which is also out of their hands. Not only do they need to win out, but Oregon St. must drop one of their final two games (at Arizona, home for Oregon).

See you in Miami…

Photo Credit: SEC Sports Media, University of Texas Athletics

Between the Hashes: Mid-Season Report

Offensive MVP: Colt McCoy, QB, Texas: This was a toss up before last Saturday, but with McCoy beating Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford head-to-head and Chase Daniels’ three second half interceptions in Mizzou’s loss, the Longhorn signal caller is the clear cut choice. McCoy has thrown for 1,557 yards and 17 touch-downs (three interceptions), putting him on pace for 32 touchdowns and only six interceptions for the season (22-18 in 2007). The junior is completing passes at an impressive 79.4 percent clip, while at the same time averaging a career best 9.44 yards per pass attempt. Not only is he leading the ‘Horns in passing, but he is their top rusher as well with 348 yards. McCoy is averaging 5.9 yards per carry and has scored four times on the ground. Of course the most impressive stat is No. 1 in the country, which is where the 6-0 Longhorns sit in both polls.

Defensive MVP: Terrence Cody: The juniors’ numbers don’t pop out by any means—15 tackles, 3.5 tackles or a loss, no sacks and one forced fumble. But a nose tackle is never measured by individual statistics—the entire defense’s production is what counts. The Crimson Tide are fourth in the SEC in scoring defense, allowing just 13.5 points per game (12th in the nation). They are second in total defense (10th overall) and where a stout nose man can make the biggest differ-ence, run defense, Nick Saban’s boys lead the SEC and are second in the country. In Coach Saban’s 3-4 defense, the nose man is the most important position, needing to be a force against the run while constantly occupying double teams, which is exactly what Cody does. The 365-pound junior college transfer represents an increase of about 80 pounds from last season at the nose. But make no mistake, this man in the middle isn’t only about girth—he can move. The Florida native has quickness and agility that belies his size, allowing him to penetrate the line of scrimmage to make plays himself or at least disrupt the play enough to allow his teammates to clean up. Without the addition of Cody, it is doubtful the Tide would have made the quantum leap so fast (No. 2 in the country after going 7-6 last season).

Best Question: Who is the top quarterback in the Big 12? Right now the answer is Colt McCoy, but in 48 hours that could change as Chase Daniel (2,055 yards, 16 touchdowns) gets a chance at a reprieve when the Texas native leads his Missouri Tigers into Austin to take on No. 1 Texas. What if Daniel outperforms McCoy? It’s back to the drawing board. In another North-South clash in the Big 12, Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford looks to “bounce back” from his five-touchdown perfor-mance in Dallas, against KU’s Todd Reesing (1,980 yards, 15 touchdowns), who has led the Jayhawks to a 17-2 record since the start of last season. Then there is duel threat Zac Robinson (1,250 yards, 12 touchdowns), whose Pokes upset Missouri last week, propelling Oklahoma St. into the top ten. Baylor’s freshman quarterback Robert Griffin (1,109 yards, nine touch-downs) is the conference’s most dangerous runner at the position, while Kansas St.’s 6’6” Josh Freeman (1,509 yards, 12 touchdowns) could be the best prospect of the bunch. Oops, almost forgot Graham Harrell (2,311 yards, 20 touchdowns) of Texas Tech, who has 109 scoring strikes in his career.

Best Answer: No, last season was not a fluke: Touted as a season for the ages, 2007 appears to have been simply a harbinger, which is a good thing. Two weeks ago nine ranked teams fell and last week the only top-four team who didn’t lose was Alabama—they didn’t play. Go ahead tell me who’s going to win this week—I double dare you.

Photo Credit: OU Athletics Department & University of Texas Athletics

Between the Hashes: Debating Season

GOOD EVENING MEMBERS of the college football nation. We would like to welcome you to this Football Forum “Debate” hosted by the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame.

Moderator: Lets start with the gentleman from the “Heart of America”. What is your position on APR (Academic Progress Rates)?

Kansas Coach Mark Mangino: I'm in favor of the APR. But I'm concerned about the student athletes that just didn't have the resources in high school to prepare them for the challenge of college. Does that mean they shouldn't have an opportunity to go to college? I don't think so. In fact, I know so. Every young man and young lady should have an opportunity to get an education if they want to, and if it's because of an athletic scholarship, I think that's great.

Moderator: Can we here from the gentleman from the south, Dr. T.K. Wetherall (Florida St. University President)?

Dr. Wetherall: Once you make that commitment to admit that student, I think that student deserves every opportunity that any other student would get, including while they're in high school. Now, that violates a number of NCAA rules. We have a program called “Care at Florida State”. You look at U.S. News & World Report, you'll see we're actually graduating African American students at a higher rate than we are white students at one of the highest rates in the nation. The reason we're doing that is the programs we put in place before they get to Florida State. But if I send those same counselors out to talk to a football player, I'm going to be slapped with some kind of a violation. That doesn't seem right to me. But you've got to take the chains off of us if we're going to deal with those students.

Moderator: Coach Jim Tressel, representing the great state of Ohio. What’s your take on recruiting younger players?

Coach Tressel: I know what's happening in our state, a lot of the schools from out of the state, colleges from out of state, are coming in and just offering all kinds of sophomores. We really haven't gotten to know them as well, and it puts a little bit of heat on us being the home school and all that, so it's put a little bit of -- all of a sudden now you're trying to find out more about that 010 guy or 011 guy. I'm hoping we don't get into the eighth and ninth grade deal, but everything in this world is getting faster.

Moderator: I turn to the man from the great northwest, Coach Ty Willingham. What needs to be done to increase the number of African American coaches?

Coach Willingham: We need programs of all natures to develop a coaching pool. We need programs that teach the skill sets that are needed. But you also -- we must have legislation. I think it's clear. We're not changing the numbers based on how we've done it in the past. So therefore it's necessary to have something not to mandate that a president or an athletic director hire an African-American or a minority, but at least they have an opportunity to sit down and then you expand the pool and can determine what young men are capable, and maybe they create another opportunity through that interview in itself. We've gone too long with the numbers the way they are, and to sit around and explain them and rationalize them, and we could be coming up with all the different programs, they're good, they're necessary, but we have to change the face of what we're doing, and the only way to do that is legislation.

Moderator: Lets go to the state of Texas, Coach Gary Patterson of TCU, what are your thoughts on a playoff?

Coach Patterson: If you think the playoff system is going to be fun for the kids except for the team that wins the final game, we'd all be kidding ourselves because you put the amount of -- every ballgame is a National Championship game. It's going to be -- because to get to the next round, so you're talking about six hard days of work, we let them take one day off, somewhere we'll work finals in between all of it, and then yeah, we'll end up with the National Championship winner, but there's not going to be anybody else happy.