Sunday, December 2, 2007

OU should be in the National Championship Game


Okay. Time for me to be a homer. Still, let's look at this reasonably.

OU should be in the BCS National Championship game. There. I said it. Now it's time for Bob Stoops to say it, and maybe somebody will listen.

#2 West Virginia and #1 Missouri lost on the final weekend of football during the regular season. Now there's a glut of teams prepared to fight amongst themselves for the right to play in the BCS National Championship Game (time for a playoff system anyone?)...

Oh sure, there are plenty of "worthy" candidates, but let's think objectively for a moment. Ohio State's in, despite the fact that they haven't played in several weeks because the idiotic powers-that-be don't require them to play in a conference championship where they would have lost again to a decent Illinois team.. Nevertheless, they're "next in line."

After that, the line's muddled. But I think I can clear it up for you all.

Georgia and Kansas... great teams, but they didn't even make it to their own conference championships. Next!

Virginia Tech... decent squad that actually won its conference championship to a decent Boston College team. But they lost by 41 points to LSU earlier in the season. LSU gets the edge over them.

Hawaii... I'd love to give the 12-0 team a crack at winning it all, but without a playoff, their "quality win" against then #19 Boise State doesn't hold enough weight to excuse their pitiful schedule.

LSU... Granted both its losses were in overtime, but it still lost (to Arkansas and Kentucky). And it barely won just as many games as it barely lost -- hardly the sign of a dominating team. Even their conference championship was won just by one touchdown against a half-good Tennessee team.

USC... Lost to Oregon (which looks much worse now than it did then) and (AT HOME) to Stanford. Plus, they won their final game, but it was against UCLA... woo...hoo...

OU, however, just defeated the #1 team in the nation (for the second time this season). Not only did they defeat them, but they crushed them by three touchdowns! And why are they not the current front-runners for the BCS title game? Because they lost by one touchdown two weeks ago to one of the highest-scoring offenses in the nation (Texas Tech) in a game in which OU had lost their starting QB, Sam Bradford, to a concussion. Oklahoma is not the same team without Bradford at the helm, and they proved that in Saturday's game! If it's all about who you've played and who you've beaten, OU is the only team in contention right now that's beaten a number one ranked team this season.

If I had my way, OU would be playing LSU or USC in the BCS title game, but I doubt the voters will be that savvy. Hence, the lack of a playoff will once again place our college football crown at the hands of "voters," leaving Division-1 college football little more than a figure skating competition.

That said, I'll give OU a 9.5!