The Topeka Capital-Journal: Negative perception potentially requires Big 12 champ to run table

[TopFrog]

The Topeka Capital-Journal: Negative perception potentially requires Big 12 champ to run table

By Kevin Haskin
kevin.haskin@cjonline.com

The Big 12 needs a football team to run the table.

Not just a 12-game blitz, but also an exclamation point stemming from the presumed need for a 13th set of data.

Technically, that December infomercial will be called the Big 12 Championship Game. The conference really doesn’t need it. The showdown could easily wreck a regular-season champion’s bid to reach the College Football Playoff.

Besides, a round-robin schedule is the best way to decide a champion and the Big 12 plays that format.

Read more at http://cjonline.com/sports/catzone/...gative-perception-potentially-requires-big-12

 

[GoFrog Yourself]

People in Kansas care about something other than basketball?

 

[BrewingFrog]

They're just prepping the battlespace for leaving out 12-0 TCU and taking 11-1 Ohio State.

 

[jack the frog]

UT won one game last year and moved to # 12 or thereabouts? Some dummy with an AP vote had them at #4 I think. I suspect UT goes to the playoffs ahead of just about any other 11-1 team in the nation not named ND or Bama and probably ahead of a few undefeated teams. They meet all the criteria. Big-Box school, huge name, huge alumni base, a million t-shirt fans plus the southern compass point coverage.

 

[netty2424]

UT won one game last year and moved to # 12 or thereabouts? Some dummy with an AP vote had them at #4 I think. I suspect UT goes to the playoffs ahead of just about any other 11-1 team in the nation not named ND or Bama and probably ahead of a few undefeated teams. They meet all the criteria. Big-Box school, huge name, huge alumni base, a million t-shirt fans plus the southern compass point coverage.

Damn shame what this great sport has been reduced to.

 

[BABYFACE]

The perception is media driven. However, David Boren didn't help things a few years back when he became the voice of some butt hurt OU boosters. Glad he came to senses in the end but he didn't help in the perception department.

Money is still the number one priority of conferences. So the Big 12 is in good shape.

Clemson and FSU have won NC's but they would also like more money. The ACC is not delivering the cash compared to the Big 10, SEC, and Big 12.

 

[Limey Frog]

Yeah, so let's add an extra opportunity for them to get beat. That's smart.

 

[berryfrog95]

Yeah- let the local media outlets in the big xii start adding the image pressure, that's nice

 

[HG73]

All that needs to happen for the Big 12 to be the most stable conference in the country is for UT and OU to say that they love the Big 12 and would never leave. They already make more tier 3 money. They play long term geographic rivals. [ What the heck? ] else do they want?

 

[Dogfrog]

Berry's paper will fold before B12 folds. Jockeying for a position at ESPN.

Edit: wrong thread

 

[Jefffrog1993]

All that needs to happen for the Big 12 to be the most stable conference in the country is for UT and OU to say that they love the Big 12 and would never leave. They already make more tier 3 money. They play long term geographic rivals. [ What the heck? ] else do they want?

UT wants more of everything, more than everyone. They want to go independent and do it better than Notre Dame. They don't need no stinking conference. They want their own National T.V. Broadcast network deal. They only want to play other huge team sand make the most money. UT is arrongance no one else is good enough or equal to UT.

 

[Wexahu]

In most years Texas and Oklahoma absolutely have a better chance of making the playoffs than other Big 12 teams with one loss. You know why?

For one, neither Oklahoma or Texas bother playing FCS schools. I don't think UT ever does, OU has on occasion but its rare. UT is playing at USC this year, last year they played Notre Dame AND at Cal. The year prior they played at Notre Dame and Cal at home OU is playing at OSU this year, last year they played OSU AND at Houston. In other words, they play more difficult schedules, so it stands to reason that whenever they are compared to 1-loss teams, it's likely they'll have an edge.

I guarantee if we beat OSU and lose 1 game next year, we'll be in the playoffs. Guaranteed.

If Texas goes 11-1 this year, that means they'll have either beat USC on the road or swept the conference. Both of those will get them into the playoffs for sure, no questions asked. But if they played, say, some below average P5 team at home and two more cupcakes in OOC, all of the sudden that 11-1 isn't quite so automatic in getting in (but it'll still most likely be good enough since they'll have the Big 12 CG as well so it would be 12-1).

 

[ifrog]

For once I (sort of) agree with Wex. We need to get rid of FCS teams and/or SMU.

 

[frognutz]

In most years Texas and Oklahoma absolutely have a better chance of making the playoffs than other Big 12 teams with one loss. You know why?

For one, neither Oklahoma or Texas bother playing FCS schools. I don't think UT ever does, OU has on occasion but its rare. UT is playing at USC this year, last year they played Notre Dame AND at Cal. The year prior they played at Notre Dame and Cal at home OU is playing at OSU this year, last year they played OSU AND at Houston. In other words, they play more difficult schedules, so it stands to reason that whenever they are compared to 1-loss teams, it's likely they'll have an edge.

I guarantee if we beat OSU and lose 1 game next year, we'll be in the playoffs. Guaranteed.

If Texas goes 11-1 this year, that means they'll have either beat USC on the road or swept the conference. Both of those will get them into the playoffs for sure, no questions asked. But if they played, say, some below average P5 team at home and two more cupcakes in OOC, all of the sudden that 11-1 isn't quite so automatic in getting in (but it'll still most likely be good enough since they'll have the Big 12 CG as well so it would be 12-1).

In this day and age if you have playoff aspirations, it is foolish to schedule anyone where you aren't at least a 1 touchdown favorite. Texas is 1-9 in non conference P5 games over the last 4 years and OU's 2 OOC losses kept them out of the playoff last year. I know it's somewhat of a crapshoot with the scheduling being several years out, but you know most of the teams to avoid.

 

[Wexahu]

" OU's 2 OOC losses kept them out of the playoff last year.

Yes they did, but good for OU for having the balls to schedule those games, that's what college football needs more of in OOC play. and if they just win one of those games, they are a lock. If they happen to win both, they could've stubbed their toe in another game and still have been a lock.

 

[Deep Purple]

UT wants more of everything, more than everyone. They want to go independent and do it better than Notre Dame. They don't need no stinking conference. They want their own National T.V. Broadcast network deal. They only want to play other huge team sand make the most money. UT is arrongance no one else is good enough or equal to UT.

l still say UT could never pull off the Notre Dame independent model. It's true UT has 482,000 alumni and perhaps another 10,000-20,000 t-shirt fans. Notre Dame has only 120,000 alumni, but it's in the t-shirt fan department where they trump UT. In addition to its own alumni, Notre Dame draws on a constituency of 70.2 million American Catholics -- 22% of the total US population. Even if only 10% of American Catholics are fans of Notre Dame, their t-shirt fans alone outnumber UT's entire alumni base. That gives the Irish a total fan base of about 840,000 -- roughly half again the size of UT's fan base.

UT not only has nothing to compare to that, it has no prospect of developing a comparable following, whether their pride will allow them to admit it or not. UT could probably be a moderately successful independent, but they would never become the wealthy success that Notre Dame is in either fans or dollars.

 

[Deep Purple]

Yes they did, but good for OU for having the balls to schedule those games, that's what college football needs more of in OOC play. and if they just win one of those games, they are a lock. If they happen to win both, they could've stubbed their toe in another game and still have been a lock.

Frankly, I think the Ohio State loss didn't hurt OU that much because, after all, it was Ohio State. It was the Houston loss that killed the Sooners' playoff hopes.

 

[gohornedfrogs]

l still say UT could never pull off the Notre Dame independent model. It's true UT has 482,000 alumni and perhaps another 10,000-20,000 t-shirt fans. Notre Dame has only 120,000 alumni, but it's in the t-shirt fan department where they trump UT. In addition to its own alumni, Notre Dame draws on a constituency of 70.2 million American Catholics -- 22% of the total US population. Even if only 10% of American Catholics are fans of Notre Dame, their t-shirt fans alone outnumber UT's entire alumni base. That gives the Irish a total fan base of about 840,000 -- roughly half again the size of UT's fan base.

UT not only has nothing to compare to that, it has no prospect of developing a comparable following, whether their pride will allow them to admit it or not. UT could probably be a moderately successful independent, but they would never become the wealthy success that Notre Dame is in either fans or dollars.

UT only has 20,000 t-shirt fans? I bet they have that in Fort Worth alone. Twice that in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, not to mention small towns. I bet their t-shirt fans equal their alumni in numbers, if not more.

That being said, Norte Dame has more fans total.

 

[RollToad]

l still say UT could never pull off the Notre Dame independent model. It's true UT has 482,000 alumni and perhaps another 10,000-20,000 t-shirt fans. Notre Dame has only 120,000 alumni, but it's in the t-shirt fan department where they trump UT. In addition to its own alumni, Notre Dame draws on a constituency of 70.2 million American Catholics -- 22% of the total US population. Even if only 10% of American Catholics are fans of Notre Dame, their t-shirt fans alone outnumber UT's entire alumni base. That gives the Irish a total fan base of about 840,000 -- roughly half again the size of UT's fan base.

UT not only has nothing to compare to that, it has no prospect of developing a comparable following, whether their pride will allow them to admit it or not. UT could probably be a moderately successful independent, but they would never become the wealthy success that Notre Dame is in either fans or dollars.

UT has WAY more tshirt fans than that.

However, yes, ND has about 10 times as many just in Catholics alone.

I have a friend who is a huge ND fan just because he has an Irish surname. (Thanks to me he's also a Frog fan.)

 

[OmniscienceFrog]

In most years Texas and Oklahoma absolutely have a better chance of making the playoffs than other Big 12 teams with one loss. You know why?

For one, neither Oklahoma or Texas bother playing FCS schools. I don't think UT ever does, OU has on occasion but its rare. UT is playing at USC this year, last year they played Notre Dame AND at Cal. The year prior they played at Notre Dame and Cal at home OU is playing at OSU this year, last year they played OSU AND at Houston. In other words, they play more difficult schedules, so it stands to reason that whenever they are compared to 1-loss teams, it's likely they'll have an edge.

I guarantee if we beat OSU and lose 1 game next year, we'll be in the playoffs. Guaranteed.

If Texas goes 11-1 this year, that means they'll have either beat USC on the road or swept the conference. Both of those will get them into the playoffs for sure, no questions asked. But if they played, say, some below average P5 team at home and two more cupcakes in OOC, all of the sudden that 11-1 isn't quite so automatic in getting in (but it'll still most likely be good enough since they'll have the Big 12 CG as well so it would be 12-1).

Beating some below average P5 team and three more cupcakes in OOC would be good enough for an SEC team.