What if Mizzou had beaten Oklahoma State?

miz-zou..fku — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:58:26 -0000

I know a lot of people don’t like hypothetical situations like the one I’m about to describe, but I think this one is worth exploring. As we all know, the Big 12 (in particular, the Big 12 South) is in quite the predicament at the moment thanks to my three favorite letters: B-C-S. With a log jam in the South and three great teams who have beaten each other, it may create a historic mess when all is said and done.

Keep in mind that it actually could have been even worse. How would things look right now had MU scored on their last possession and ended up beating Oklahoma State at home as was expected? They could be heading into the Big 12 Title game a one loss team (assuming they beat Kansas, but nothing is guaranteed of course in such a rivalry of course). If they were then to beat a one loss team from the South division for the title, where would that have placed Mizzou in the BCS and bowl picture?

Things to consider that would have hurt Mizzou’s case:

Overall, Mizzou ended up having a very easy schedule this year
- Neutral field games against two out of state rivals in Kansas and Illinois (both of whom, Illinois especially, underacheived this season big time)
- The Big 12 North was very, very weak this season
- No Oklahoma or Texas Tech on the schedule
- Lopsided loss to the one power (Texas) on the schedule prior to the Big 12 Title game

There would still be a good chance that both Texas and Texas Tech would have higher BCS totals than Mizzou based on their strength of schedule. If that was the case, Mizzou fans would have been none to happy after being shunned by the BCS last season. It could have made for quite a pickle.

What do you guys think would have happened if the above scenario had played out? Maybe it would have been enough to finally topple the mighty BCS and lay the groundwork for a playoff.

**Of course, Mizzou still has an opportunity to turn things on its head, but things could have been far worse had we beaten Oklahoma State with the potential to pull off an upset in the Big 12 Title. Still, I will be all the happier if the Tigers pull off the upset in KC. I’ll be down there for the game and hoping for the best.

SB Nation User Blog: miz-zou..fku

What if Mizzou had beaten Oklahoma State?