Berry Tramel, Sports columnist
In the tiebreaker triangle, Longhorns have the edge
BCS MESS Where’s Solomon when you need him?
BY Berry Tramel
Comments 
60
Published: November 27, 2008
I’m with everyone else. I can’t think of a better way to break college football’s Bermuda triangle than the BCS rankings.
Sam Bradford PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN
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The
Big 12 South’s three-way tie is a conundrum fit for Solomon. Cut the baby three ways.
But the BCS is inadequate, too, for a simple reason.
The best solution for a three-way tie is within the confines of the triangle.
And in that context,
Texas clearly deserves the edge. Not because the Longhorns beat OU, but because of
where the Longhorns beat OU.
In the triangle, Texas had to go to
Lubbock,
Texas Tech had to go
Norman and OU
didn’t have to go to
Austin. Oklahoma-Texas was played on a neutral field.
In the triangle, the
Sooners didn’t have a road game and the Longhorns didn’t have a home game. That’s a major advantage for the Sooners and a major disadvantage for the Longhorns.
But the tiebreaker — the BCS — doesn’t live within the triangle. The BCS is the full season’s body of work, and in the BCS, OU clearly has the advantage.
The Sooners played the tougher schedule. Their non-conference victims include TCU and
Cincinnati, foes currently ranked 14 and 16 in the BCS.
Neither Texas nor Tech played a non-conference opponent that would be in the BCS top 40, if the rankings went that deep.
So clearly, the Sooners are most deserving of a spot in the BCS championship game. But the
Longhorns are most deserving of a spot in the Big 12 title game.
And in the event of the triangle, it’s the national-championship formula that will determine the conference-championship representative.
Where’s Solomon when you need him?
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then put ou and and texas in a bowl game, big 12 national championship
settled
THERE IS A VOTE TO ASSESS PUBLIC OPINION.
RIGHT NOW THE VOTE IS 54% TO 46% AGAINST OU JUMPING TO #2 ! ! ! ! (Part of Texas's lobbying?)
How's this for another "triangle stat" - in the three games between the tied teams, Oklahoma has led the other two for 104 minutes, 13 seconds. Texas Tech has led for 53 minutes, 9 seconds. Texas for 9 minutes, 6 seconds.
Richard, Visalia: I too live in a "hostile"environment, 50 miles south of Moscow on the Colorado (Austin). My experience is similar... heck, even after the loss in Dallas, every UT fan greeted me with "see you next year"...BTW: Thank you for your service!
All the "trash-talkers": Let the games play out. Right or wrong, there will be a next year. Many of us wouldn't mind discussing a playoff, but only if every team and conference can have a shot at the prize.
As I post this UT is taking care of business and beating the AG's... just like they should. I expect TT will do the same. BOOMER SOONER!
HA!
OU fans should hold up the score of the Texas vs Texas Tech game in Stillwater!!!!!
I think Colt gets the nod over Sam for the heisman. He is completing over 80% of his passes this year. That is amazing! The QBs are pretty even throwing the ball, but Colt can do more with his legs than Sam can. I would love to see Sam bring another one home to Norman, but I think Colt McCoy is just a little more deserving......wow cant believe I just said that!
i.e. West Virginia ect..
OU will need to continue their improved defensive play, but more importantly is their also improved run game. Balanced offense, ever since the Texas game, has been what's made this a different team....
The Cowboys have two losses and are out of the Big 12 and national title picture. Heck, one of those losses was a 56-20 beatdown to a team OU beat 65-21.
OU has the toughest SOS in the conference hands down, and if not, they will after OSU, win or lose. Besides, Berry never said the game didn't qualify as a tough game.
Anyway, none of this would even matter if the BCS computers took out the polls that still have Tech ranked ahead of OU...that mush is just insane.
You may be the first one I have read that actually states UT is a good team. But in fairness, no one can state who is truly a better team now. I could use your same argument versus us for UT when they played Tech. There are only 3 common opponents so far...KU, Tech and Baylor. You beat KU at home by 14/UT beat them by 28 on the road...You beat Tech/We lost...The Baylor game was almost an identical score. Was Texas' victory over Mizzou any less impressive than OU's over Tech? We led by 32 at half...OU lead by 35 and both games were over.
Texas will (according to the pundits) still have the edge on SOS after the OSU game, but the margin will be so close that the Human voters will make the difference.
The reality is that the resumes are the same. Both can make very compelling arguments. The issue is that history will be made in the BCS. No team, this late in the season, has jumped a team in the BCS that beat them and has not lost. Yes, there have been teams that have been ahead in the BCS already and held off a team that beat them, but never has a team jumped a team that beat them especially with even resumes and from the same conference.
And, most people have never said that UT was not a GREAT team this year. I think everyone would agree if there was an 8 or 4 team playoff, Texas should be in it, regardless of the ranking.
But, if you want to nitpick that one game, then if you've done any kind of analysis of OU's team you would know and agree it was OU's worst performance. UT had something to do with that, certainly, but OU did as well. That's not to discount UT at all. They only play once, and the one game they did play, UT stood up and played out of their minds, and OU flat out played their worst game of the year. If they played 10 times, I believe OU wins 7, or at worst 6. But this one game, UT won, fair and square.
BUT, it's because people recognize that OU could have played better then, and IS playing better now, that they identify that OU is the better team. It's showing against now common quality opponents.
Congrats on your year. If Sammy doesn't win the Heisman, I hope Colt does. My biggest hope is for an FSU victory, so that UT can slide in backwards into Miami. UT gave OU their absolute best shot. I would love to return the favor.
Consider the facts...
- Ryan Reynolds also played on offense and that is why OU scored 18 points below their average.
- DeMarco Murray's knee was so bad that Chris brown couldn't make up the additional 150 yards OU needed to get to their rushing average.
- Sam Bradford fell down...He wasn't sacked.
- the referees handed the ball to the defensive backs that have accounted for 1/3 of Bradford's season int. totals
- When OU goes for a fake punt...they should automatically make it.
- Its an anomaly that OU only scored 14 points in the last 40 minutes of the game and needed a "running into the kicker" penalty to extend one of the scoring drives.
- Loadholt was loving on Orakpo...not holding!
- Herbstreet doesn't know what he is talking about. They should give OU that interception even though the player that intercepted the ball was holding the intended receiver off the line of scrimmage.
- The stats of the game were very misleading. Texas only punted twice after the first quarter (both in the second half after Reynold's injury).
- It is another anomaly that Texas had roughly the same stats in the first half as they did in the second...even though UT lost a full possession due to a kickoff return.
- Without the KO return Texas couldn't have won...although OU let one happen against Cincy, A&M and almost against TCU.
- OU is the better team because we just played bad that day...Texas can't say the same because OU beat Tech at home by 44.
- There is NO WAY Texas is closer to being undefeated than OU
- We should only look at margin of victory or differential because margin of defeat isn't realistic or favorable. OU scores alot so that makes us better.
- Even though every method of measurement disagrees OU's SOS is far superior to Texas.
Yep...OU is definitely better.