The Aggies apparently weren’t too keen on their intrastate rival Longhorns getting their own television network, despite the fact that the Longhorn Network will be available to exactly seven households in America, none of which are in Austin. But logic has never been A&M’s strong suit, so they’ve chosen to abandon 100+ years of tradition and possibly as much as $30 million in exit fees in hopes that the SEC will let them in to their exclusive club. Yeah, good luck with that. Let’s see, how many Big 12 football titles has A&M won? How many BCS games have they gone to? How many National Championships have they won since the rise of the BCS? Zero. And yet they really expect to do better against the likes of Auburn, Florida, Alabama, and LSU?

I have a suspicion that winning isn’t really important to the Texas A&M Board of Regents, though. Their decision to leave is strictly fueled by pride, with a healthy dose of TV cash mixed in. Win or lose, A&M stands to make more money in the SEC, where the TV contracts are greater and revenues are shared equally among all its members. The Aggies were never going to make money off the Longhorn Network; Texas was. It’s just that simple.

Was that the right decision to make? I don’t know. And I don’t care, quite frankly. I think it was a tad petty and childish, personally. If the Aggies really wanted respect, all they had to do was go out and win ballgames. No temper tantrums necessary. That’s been the strategy of OU, and it seems to have worked out pretty well for them so far.

But right or wrong, the Aggies have made their decision, and a year after Nebraska and Colorado bolted for the Big Ten and Pac-12, respectively, Dan Beebe’s bunch is left with only nine members. So what now? Does the Big 12 recruit another school to replace A&M, or does this latest departure signal the beginning of the end of the conference? Here’s how I see the different scenarios:

Scenario 1: The Big 12 recruits a new member.

Maybe it’s BYU. Maybe Air Force. Notre Dame has been floated, but I don’t think they’d be interested. The Big 12 is attractive to non-BCS teams such as Air Force due to the conference still being a BCS automatic qualifier. That was what drew TCU to the Big East, after all. But everyone knows that Texas dominates the Big 12 when it comes to money, so any team coming in would have to be willing to do so at a discount. Who would do that? SMU, for one, who’s already publicly begged for the spot. And I’m pretty sure BYU would as well.

Odds of this happening: Very good.

Scenario 2: The Big 12 disbands.

With only nine teams remaining, OU, OSU, and others may decide to get out while they have the chance. OU, OSU, and Tech go to the Pac-12. Missouri goes to the Big Ten. Kansas and K-State go to the Big East. Baylor goes to the Mountain West. And Iowa State goes, um, somewhere. And Texas? They go independent, happy to still be flush with cash on their very own burnt orange island. Would this really happen? Maybe eventually, but I don’t think any time soon. As long as OU keeps winning Big 12 titles, they’ll probably be content to stay, and none of the other conferences have expressed much interest in expanding further. So if the Big 12 eventually breaks up, it probably won’t happen for at least a few more years.

Odds of this happening: Unlikely.

Scenario 3: The Big 12 does nothing.

But what if the Big 12 chooses to stay at nine members? Is that even realistic? Well, the Big East only has eight teams right now, nine if you count TCU, which joins next year. And they’re an AQ conference. And with two of the Big 12 being Texas and OU, I can’t see them losing their AQ status. So in a way, there’s not that much of an incentive to rush to fill the 10th spot. Only when it becomes financially necessary to do so will the Big 12 be forced to expand. Why do you think they chose not to replace Nebraska and Colorado? How sustainable is such a scenario in the long run? Not much. But again, that’s in the long run. In the short run, it’s actually very doable.

Odds of this happening: Possible.

Obviously, nothing in college sports is set in stone. Heck, it’s even possible that A&M could change its mind if the SEC doesn’t give it an invite. All I know is that the college football season kicks off tomorrow with TCU and Baylor. And right now, that’s all that matters.

Previously:
Wait, that was it?!
Speculating on conference expansion rumors
Longhorns Inc., Part 2
Longhorns Inc.

A month later Lawrence returned the favor before the BCS National Championship game, giving Shipley a verse from 2 Corinthians 12:9: “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

Those words, ironically, seem to have even more meaning in the wake of the Longhorns’ disappointing loss to Alabama. But the final score is only part of the story.

When asked how he felt after the game, quarterback Colt McCoy — whose incredible college football career ended rather suddenly in the first quarter with a nerve injury to the right shoulder — responded, “I always give God the glory. I never question why things happen the way they do. God is in control of my life. And I know that if nothing else, I’m standing on the Rock.”

And it’s not just McCoy, Shipley, and Lawrence. Or even center Chris Hall, who opted out of the NFL draft in favor of attending seminary. As Rivals.com writer Jason King points out:

What makes the Longhorns unique is the quantity of players who are so open and passionate about their relationship with Christ. …

Attendance at Wednesday night FCA meetings can often be overwhelming, players said. And each Friday before home games, a group of Longhorns visit children at a local hospital.

Offensive lineman Adam Ulatoski spent time last summer building a house for a less fortunate family through Habitats for Humanity while McCoy went on a mission trip to Peru for the second straight year.

As often as he can, Shipley speaks to various high school groups and church youth groups in and around Austin. Shipley said his faith went to a new level during his first two years at Texas, when injuries kept him off the field.

“It was tough,” Shipley said, “but it allowed me to figure out who I was away from football. I did a lot of soul searching and developed my faith. Now that’s my motivation for every game. I try to use the pedestal I’ve been given to glorify God.”

Indeed, the record books will show an Alabama victory — and deservedly so — but ultimately that doesn’t matter. These players understand that they are part of a bigger plan and that their faith will have a far greater impact than football championships ever will.

And that’s the best legacy anyone could ever hope to leave.

Hook ‘Em, Horns!

Previously:
We need more Tebows, McCoys, and Bradfords

Granted, he’s very good at what he does, and he deserves a certain amount of recognition for that. If nothing else, his ability to recruit virtually unknown players and turn them into one of the most dominant passing offenses in the nation is worthy of admiration.

But NCAA records are one thing; results are quite another. At some point, those billions of passing yards have to translate to meaningful wins, and that’s where Leach has so far come up short. Sure, they beat Texas last year in what was arguably one of the biggest games in the country, but at the end of the season, all they had to show for it was a shared Big 12 South title and a loss to Ole Miss in the Cotton Bowl. In fact, in the nine seasons Leach has coached at Tech, they’ve never outright won the Big 12 South division or played in a BCS bowl game.

So how does that qualify him as “the best college football coach in the country”? The fact is, it doesn’t.

But if Leach isn’t the best, then who is?

Well, of course that’s pretty subjective, but popular choices among the experts include:

• Urban Meyer, Florida
• Nick Saban, Alabama
• Pete Carroll, USC
• Bob Stoops, OU
• Mack Brown, Texas
• Jim Tressel, Ohio State
• Les Miles, LSU

There are others, of course, but you’d be hard-pressed to find Leach’s name anywhere on the list.

I’m sure the Pirate of the Panhandle is just fine with that. He certainly isn’t worried about anyone’s opinion of him, that’s pretty obvious. But to earn the hyperbole bestowed upon him by the Texas Monthly editors, he’ll have to do more than just beat Texas at home; he’ll have to win national championships.

A lot of them.

Previously:
At least he’ll always have his spiffy visor
Longhorns should root for Tech and Bama to win out

That, apparently, isn’t a good enough consolation prize for Mack:

I’m really disappointed for our kids that two teams we beat this season will be playing for the Big 12 Championship. I’ll try to explain it to them, but most importantly, my message will be that you’ve done enough to put yourself in position to play for the conference championship, you had a great season and there still is a lot out there for you to play for. …

Since this situation has never happened before in the Big 12, I think the conference should follow the lead of all of the other BCS leagues with championship games (ACC/Conference USA/Mid-American/SEC) in how they settle three-way ties. I think their systems are fairer and give more credit to how the two highest ranked teams performed against each other on the field.

I have to wonder, though: Would Mack and all the other angry Longhorn fans feel the same way if they had come out on top?

It seems like this same argument comes up every year about how flawed the BCS system is and why a playoff system is necessary. Maybe it is flawed, and maybe playoffs would be a better alternative. But so what?

Anyone who thinks for a minute that the BCS is about determining the best college football team in the country is kidding themselves. If it were, then why would a 9-3 Missouri team ranked No. 20 have more of a shot at a BCS bowl than undefeated Boise State who’s ranked No. 9? Why would a 3-loss Boston College team ranked No. 17 have a shot when 1-loss Texas Tech (No. 7) will probably have to settle for the Cotton Bowl?

No, the BCS is about making money. That’s it. That’s why some conferences such as the Big 12 and SEC get automatic berths while others, such as the Mountain West, do not.

Hey, Frito-Lay paid good money to put their Tostitos brand on the Fiesta Bowl. They expect to get their money’s worth. FedEx has a vested interest in how many viewers tune in for the Orange Bowl. The cities that host the BCS bowls (Glendale, New Orleans, Pasadena, and Miami Gardens), have a vested interest in how many tickets they can sell and how much money the spectators spend while they’re there.

Teams also have a vested interest. Just for playing in a BCS bowl, a school stands to earn about $17.5 million, and many coaches’ contracts provide for extra bonuses for making to and winning a BCS bowl.

Meanwhile, non-BCS bowls, because they’re not as lucrative, end up getting a bad rap. From Texas Monthly:

Last season, teams that would have otherwise accepted invitations to the Cotton (SEC runner-up Georgia) and the blue-turf Humanitarian (WAC champ Hawaii) earned a lucrative promotion to the Sugar Bowl. As part of the resulting lineup shuffle, 6-6 Alabama played 6-6 Colorado in the “Who Cares?” Independence Bowl—except that the Crimson Tide’s 30-24 win over the Buffs made for better viewing than the Bulldogs’ 41-10 blowout of the Warriors. One year before that, the Fiesta Bowl gave us Oklahoma-Boise State, an all-time classic. But that same season the Sun (Oregon State beat Missouri 39-38 by going for 2 points at the end of the fourth quarter) and the Alamo (Texas overcame a 14-0 hole to hold off Iowa 26-24) bowls were just as entertaining.

Do Texas fans have a legitimate argument that they deserve to be ranked higher than OU based on the head-to-head matchup? Sure. But it didn’t work out that way. Not this year.

Instead, Texas ended up ranked No. 3 in the nation at the end of the regular season with only a single loss (which came in the final seconds of the game). Their quarterback broke a string of school records and is a finalist for the Heisman. They beat both OU and A&M. And they will likely play in a BCS bowl against Ohio State (a game I, for one, am looking forward to). They even still have a slight (albeit unlikely) chance at playing for the National Title if OU loses to Missouri.

So tell me, how is it that Mack Brown is disappointed?

The BCS isn’t fair sometimes, just like life isn’t fair. But as long as the money keeps rolling in, that’s the system we have to deal with in college football.

Like it or not.

So here’s where we stand: Texas moved up to No. 2 in the BCS while OU is No. 3 by a razor-thin margin, with Tech dropping to No. 7. Texas has to beat A&M, period. That shouldn’t be hard this year since the Aggies are 4-7 for the year. And Tech will almost certainly beat Baylor. That leaves the OU-OSU game as the wildcard.

If OU wins, they’ll probably leapfrog UT in the BCS and will face Missouri for the Big 12 Championship. A win there would probably put them in the National Championship against the SEC Champion (either Alabama or Florida). Texas still ranks higher than Tech and would probably go to the Fiesta Bowl.

If OSU wins, Tech wins the Big 12 South tiebreaker and heads to Kansas City to play Mizzou for the Big 12 Championship. If the Red Raiders win there, they are guaranteed a BCS bowl, but it wouldn’t be the National Championship. Texas would move back up ahead of OU in the polls, and it’s very possible they could end up in the National Championship game.

So as long as the Horns beat A&M, they should be fine regardless of the outcome of the Bedlam game. But an OSU win would probably be more beneficial. Is it possible? Sure. Is it likely? I think it’s 50/50, but only because they’re playing in Stillwater, so the Cowboys will have the home field advantage.

Of course, all of this is ammunition for the anti-BCS crowd, and I kind of agree. How would it look for the Longhorns to be playing for a National Championship when they didn’t even win their own conference?

I’d like to find out.

Should OU win and then beat Oklahoma State on the 29th, there would be a three-way tie in the Big 12 South between OU, Tech, and Texas, with the winner decided by the BCS results. Consequently, there is a slight possibility Texas could come out on top (probably thanks to the BCS computers), and then a Big 12 victory over Missouri would then give them a very good shot at the National Championship.

On the other hand, in a three-way tie Texas could end up in third place in the Big 12 with an invitation to the Holiday Bowl. (Although apparently it is possible all three teams could end up in BCS bowls — if the rules are bent.)

It’s that latter scenario that has me rooting for the Red Raiders this week and for Alabama in the SEC Championship on December 6th. Bama and Tech are both undefeated and ranked first and second in the country, respectively. By beating OU, Tech not only locks in their spot in the Big 12 title game but also guarantees that a 2-loss OU team can’t leapfrog 1-loss Texas. Plus, the Horns’ single loss looks a lot less painful because it will have been to a top-rated undefeated team. Barring an embarrassing loss to Mizzou by Tech, the Horns are pretty much a lock for the Fiesta Bowl — a much better ending to the season than the Holiday Bowl.

So why root for the Crimson Tide? Because a lot of voters are anxious to move Florida up in the polls, and a stronger Florida (which is currently No. 4 in the BCS) is a direct threat to Texas (which is No. 3), regardless of how the Big 12 shakes out.

So, no, I won’t be rooting for OU tomorrow. Let Tech and Bama fight it out for the National Championship. It’s a lot safer for Texas than hoping for a mathematical miracle.