Now they will know how it feels to be in a 3 way tie for the South, and watch Oklahoma, a team they beat, go on to the Big 12 title game.  Now we have a little bit more in common with our frenemies from College Station.

On another note, I can't help but notice a lot of the games we lost this year were due to turnovers or missed opportunities to recover fumbles.  Could Gilbert improve this offseason by not looking down receivers, special teams eliminate mistakes, and the horns turn into another juggernaut next year?

1. We win out

2. To avoid a 3-way tie, OU must lose two games to big 12 opponents.  They are at Missouri (#24), at A&M, and at OSU.  These are the 3 games I have circled that are possible OU losses.

Rationally, no one can expect Missouri to beat OU.  I just have a feeling.

That leaves A&M and OSU as our only hopes.  I'd buy an upset by the Cowboys in Stillwater (it has happened in the fairly recent past). 

For us to have a shot at winning the last real big 12 title, we must rely on our frenemies in Aggy-land.

The nice part is, if we can win out and OU somehow loses a game to the big 12, it will make for a very interesting and exciting Thanksgiving weekend of football viewing - us vs. aggy, OU vs. OSU.

This is a pipe dream.  But crazier things have happened in college football.  See LSU last week.  In fact see LSU in 2007.  Hey!  Someone go down to Baton Rouge, grab some voodoo or whatever the hell it is down there giving the Tigers ungodly luck, and bring it back home to Austin, Texas, BABY! 

This might sound stupid, but the stress of being a fan of such a front running team for the last couple years has really worn me out.  Now that we are probably out of the MNC picture, I feel like a giant weight has been lifted off my shoulders, fan-wise.  Now I can comfortably watch my horns, hope they win as an underdog, not worry about effing style points, and just overall improve my game watching experiences.  Let's stun OU next week baby. 

I love Boise State's football team.  They seem to beat every decent, good, or great team they play in recent memory.  And they do it in dramatic fashion.  Not unlike a one Vince Young, I think he played for our team a few years ago. 

It is not likely that UT will end up lobbying with Boise for a final spot in the MNC.  By my estimation that would take Boise going undefeated, us going undefeated or with 1 loss, and many other teams faltering...Let us also not forget that it is the MNC we are debating - the mythical national championship.  It can't be that important if it is a mythical entity.

So let us appreciate, not denegrate, Boise's victories as the underdog against the traditional powerhouses.  Especially against programs as despicable as OU and VT (and Oregon - I hate that mascot duck man).  I always say "Hook Em!"  But tonight, I also say "Go Broncs!"  Comments welcome. 

Did anyone see College Football Final on the Mothership after the 10/10/09 game coverage?

They do a segment called Final Verdict, where Rece is the judge and Lou and Mark are arguing their cases. 

Tonight they chose to discuss the following:

1) Florida and Alabama are the two best teams in the country (note this was not a statement that was debated, it was just presumed as unanimous)

2) Lou and Mark debated which team is the best non-SEC team.

3) Lou argued for Texas

4) Mark argued that USC was better than Texas

5) Rece ruled in favor of Lou; he noted that USC lost to Washington, a team that did not win a game last season.

Most people I have talked to and things I have read in various media outlets have said that since UT was ranked # 2 to start the season, if they went undefeated then they would be in the title game. 

Realizing the Final Verdict segment is probably 99% entertainment, a few thoughts:

I realize # 4 above is only the opinion of Mark, or possibly he was told by his boss that he had to argue that case even if he did not agree with it just to make the show interesting, or something else I can't think of.

I could understand the # 4 argument above, if UT and USC both had a loss.  But to argue this when USC lost to Washington already..... In the words of John McEnroe, "YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!"  Think about this.  This is what analyst experts chose to debate on national TV, following this week's games.  Entertainment or not, coaches, harris poll voters, etc. may have watched this and (god forbid) let it influence their thoughts on which teams were better than others.

Some people think USC does not get special treatment by the national media over other seemingly equivalent or better teams.  I am not one of those people.  And come on, let's face it, the SEC undefeateds are the BEST.  No questions.  In fact, I still think LSU and Auburn are ahead of UT, even with 1 loss.  This is how good the SEC is! 

I still would bet that if Texas wins out, they will be in the big game.  I'm not really all that mad about the above.  I am rather going through a bout of reality, as in "did they really do that?  Why did they do that?  Why would anybody do that?  Are these people uninformed?  Do they watch college football games?  Are they evil? Is Gary Danielson their idol?"  Just the typical thoughts and questions.

Or maybe I'm way off and they did that entire segment just to showcase that no one could possibly make a legitimate argument that USC is better than UT at this point in the season.  But nobody is better than the SEC undefeateds, I mean come on!  Let's not get crazy here.

Final comments: I plan to make this my last "injustice driven" or "anger driven" post.  Unless something super-insane happens that warrants written condemnation. 

I hate A&M because they gave Colt a supreme cheap shot a couple years ago on a play that was over.  They were trying to hurt him.

I hate USC because their coach claimed to be playing Michigan in the Rose bowl for the national championship in 2003, when in fact all the coaches had previously agreed that the BCS national championship would decide, get this, the NATIONAL CHAMPION.

I hate OU because they lobbied to win the Big 12 South last year by running up the score on weaker competition, and then took a dump in their BCS game.  They make the Big 12 look bad every time they go to a big bowl game because they stink it up.

These reasons for hating are justified in my mind.  I got a wake up call the other day at work, while discussing college football with a coworker.  This person is an avid LSU fan, and I was surprised to learn that this person hates the Longhorns, for no apparent reason! 

Side note - my wife is an LSU grad (you can imagine what it was like during the college world series earlier this year...suffice it to say we had to watch in separate rooms with the doors closed).  I've always been fond of LSU.

Back to the topic of hating on other teams.  Some teams and alumni just hate other teams because they are rivals.  Why would anyone hate the Longhorns?  Being a biased alumnus, I had never really considered this question since anyone that did not love the Horns must have a mental disorder (I give A&M and OU a pass on this, as we are rivals, but some of them probably still have mental disorders).

If you look at my reasons for hating A&M, USC, and OU, they are:

- players are mean spirited (A&M)

- coaches are whiny (USC, OU), classless (OU), and have a feeling of entitlement (USC, OU)

So other than our traditional rivals, why would anyone hate UT? 

The only things I can think of are jealousy, and we have had some players have a few run-ins with the law in recent years.  Remember "book 'em horns"?

I don't really have a point to bring home....just random thoughts.   

Since the 1st AP and coaches polls were released for the 2009 season, I have been pondering the chances that Texas would play in the BCS title game.  After the majority of week one action has come to an end, I submit my thoughts.

Executive summary - if USC is undefeated, there could be trouble. 

I need a basis from which to begin the discussion.  I assume the winner of the SEC will play in the BCS championship game.  I also assume Texas wins out.  While these are by no means a lock, they are the assumptions to begin my analysis.

I am also going to assume that no team ranked lower than 10 at the beginning of the season could jump the second ranked team.  For instance if California (currently ranked # 12 in both polls) were to go undefeated, it is not possible for them to jump Texas, should Texas also go undefeated.

So I consider the current top ten.

SEC: Florida, Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU.  This list of 4 is shortened to a list of one (the SEC conference champ).  Reasoning: the SEC runner up by definition has one loss; the runner up cannot be ranked higher than undefeated Texas.

Big 12: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State.  Neither jump Texas because Texas beats them both and is undefeated.

Big 10: Ohio State, Penn State.  This list of 2 is shortened to a list of one.  Reasoning:  Ohio State and Penn State play each other, therefore one of these has at least 1 loss.  A 1 loss team does not jump undefeated Texas.

ACC: Virginia Tech.  They are out.  They lost yesterday, a 1 loss team doesn't jump undefeated Texas.

We are now down to SEC winner, Texas, Big 10 winner, and USC.

Scenario # 1: Ohio State is undefeated.  This means OSU beat USC at home and Penn State on the road.  Is that worthy of jumping from #6 to #2, over an undefeated Texas?  I argue no, since Texas' and OSU's strength of schedule is fairly even.  They both play 3 top 25 teams which are very close in rank.  Also, the Big 12 conference is nationally perceived as stronger than the Big 10.  And voters may remember what happened in last year's Fiesta Bowl (and the choke jobs OSU put up in the previous 2 years' BCS championship games).

Scenario # 2: Penn State is undefeated.  The only ranked teams on their schedule are OSU and Iowa, both of whom had weak performances in their first games.  And the perceived weakness of the Big 10 does not vault an undefeated Big 10 winner over the undefeated Big 12 winner.

Scenario # 3: USC is undefeated.  This is the one that scares me and the one that prompted me to write this post.  They have 4 ranked teams on their schedule, all on the road.  Although Oregon may not be ranked after their performance at Boise State earlier this week.

We all know how the national media can and will dub an undefeated USC.  If USC goes undefeated, the Trojans are not only the best football team on the face of the planet, but the best football team of all time.  They jump Texas.

The above is a slight exaggeration.  My intent is not to insult any USC players (I happen to think they are very good).  My beef is with the college football experts we watch on various sports news networks.  Does USC still have the ability to hypnotize the national media as in recent years past?  The answer to that question is likely the answer to my post headline.