Due to the 3-way tie in the Big XII South between Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech, the conference went all the way down to the 5th tie-breaker to determine the division champion; and, subsequently, who has the inside track at the BCS National Championship Game. With the nation watching, and millions of dollars on the line for all schools involved, the conference laid an egg.
The BCS was, simply put, designed to place the nation’s #1 and #2 teams in a particular bowl game to face-off in order to create a “true” National Champion. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s what we have. However, it is very clearly not designed to determine division and conference champions, which is precisely what happened in the Big XII South.
This season in the Big XII South, Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech all finished up with one loss, and all went 1-1 against each other, creating a logjam atop the division standings, and mass confusion in the National Championship picture. The conference went all the way down to the 5th tie-breaker in this situation which, sadly, states that the team with the highest BCS standing upon completion of the regular season will be declared champion, and represent the division in the Big XII Championship Game. That rule needs to be changed.
Human polls and computer rankings should not be used in determining conference champions. They should be used only in situations where conferences must “trim the fat.” Having played eight games already in-conference, it’s apparent which team is the most deserving, and it’s the Texas Longhorns. Unfortunately though, they won’t be going to Kansas City, Mo. to play for the conference title.
This isn’t an easy situation. Texas Tech is, obviously, the “odd man out.” No, Mike Leach, graduation rates should not be used to break the tie. You got absolutely smoked by Oklahoma late in the season. In other circumstances, maybe you could have an argument. But in this particular one, you don’t. You simply lost to the wrong team, at the wrong time, in the wrong season.
This is really a discussion between Texas and Oklahoma, and in that case, it isn’t much of a discussion. Oklahoma fans littered ESPN’s College Gameday set on Saturday with signs saying, “TT 39 – Texas 33, Oklahoma 65 – TT 21.” Do you realize how ridiculous that looks? You lost, fair and square, on a neutral field. Those folks holding up “45 – 35” signs on Thanksgiving night in Austin, Texas had a much more convincing argument than you. Unfortunately though, computers can’t see those signs, and used peripheral factors in their determining merit, rather than the most obvious one – head-to-head competition.
The SEC has it right. In this particular situation in the SEC, the team with the lowest BCS ranking would be thrown out, and the two remaining teams break their tie based on head-to-head matchups, so long as the two teams are within five spots of each other in the BCS rankings. Hypothetically, if the Big XII did it that way, Texas would go to the Big XII Championship Game, which is what should have happened.
Sadly though, we are going to be stuck with the wrong team in the Big XII Championship Game and, unless Chase Daniel can pull some Mizzou magic, we are going to be stuck with the wrong team in the BCS Championship Game too. Meanwhile, Longhorn fans will be stuck on the sideline, having never thought that they could be betrayed by their very own conference. But, in fact, that’s exactly what happened. The Big XII made a huge blunder by using the BCS as a determining factor, and not just a “tool.” In the process, they most likely cost their best team a shot at a National Championship.
