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Texas Tech feels BCS' cold shoulder
Published December 8, 2008
I may not love the BCS’s choices, but I love the system because it provides me with plenty to talk about.
Sunday was the Bowl Championship Series’ selection day and, as many folks predicted, it will be Oklahoma vs. Florida for the BCS Championship. Oklahoma (12-1) won the Big 12 Championship in commanding style as they smoked Missouri while Florida (12-1) came from behind to knock off Alabama in the SEC Championship game.
Before I get too far, I want to congratulate the Pierre-Louis family.
As many of you know, Kevin was named Newcomer of the Year in District 29-5A for his play with the Del Rio Rams during this past football season. His brother, Wondy, is a backup cornerback for Florida. Wondy, who wears No. 4, is a junior and does most of his work on special teams. He even recorded a tackle on a punt return against Alabama in the SEC title game Saturday.
The other BCS bowls look like this:
Penn State will take on USC in the Rose Bowl. Virginia Tech will face Cincinnati in the Orange Bowl. Alabama gets Utah in the Sugar Bowl. Texas draws Oho State in the Fiesta Bowl.
So where’s my argument? Oh, it’s coming.
Alabama, Texas, Ohio State and Utah drew the at-large bids this year.
Alabama won all its regular season games but came up 11 points short against Florida. Texas went 12-1 with its only defeat coming against Texas Tech on a last-second touchdown.
Utah went 12-0 and was the highest ranked non-BCS school in the rankings and thereby took the one slot guaranteed for those “little” schools.
Then there’s Ohio State.
It’s ridiculous that the BCS Committee let a team with two losses, especially one that has underperformed all season, into a BCS bowl for no more apparent reason then their fan base is willing to spend more money then the other schools considered.
The Buckeyes have no reason to be in a BCS bowl. They did not win the Big 10. They finished ranked behind non-BCS bowl teams Texas Tech and Boise State. They defeated only two Top 25 schools during the season.
But just like Missouri was shutout of a deserving BCS bowl game last season, this year’s Big 12 victim is Texas Tech.
Tech’s only sin this year was a 65-21 loss to Oklahoma Nov. 22 in Norman. Other than that, the Red Raiders were perfect. They picked up three wins over Top 25 teams, including then-No. 1 ranked Texas.
But Tech, like Missouri last season, is the ugly stepchild the BCS did not want to deal with.
First off, the BCS can’t handle three teams from the Big 12 being in the BCS because they would probably deny a spot from the media darling SEC or everyone’s favorite bullies USC.
Secondly, Mike Leach is not a politician. He doesn’t play the media game like Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, Texas’ Mack Brown or USC’s Pete Carroll. He knows that performance on the field is what counts. People got after the Red Raiders for running up the score on teams (a tactic many experts say helped Oklahoma reach the national championship game), but Leach said it’s the other team’s job to stop them. It hurts to hear, but at the collegiate and pro levels, it’s the truth.
Third, Tech fell victim to the old college football adage – “Better to lose early than late.” When Tech lost to Oklahoma 16 days ago, people immediately wrote off the Red Raiders because they couldn’t recover in time. They struggled against Baylor, but still won that last game.
Despite all of that the Red Raiders finished ranked seventh in the BCS standings and eighth in both the AP and USA Today Coaches poll – ahead of Ohio State in all three polls and even Penn State in the BCS standings.
So instead of playing in a BCS bowl and showcasing two of the best players in the nation in Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree, Tech gets to go to the Cotton Bowl and take on an Ole Miss team that is ranked no higher than 20th in any of the three polls but is probably favored over Tech because the Rebels beat Florida earlier this year.
Besides, if Tech got to play in a BCS bowl it would mark the first time a former Del Rio Ram, reserve linebacker Michael Hanson (DRHS Class of 2006), would get that opportunity. Instead Hanson and his teammates area headed to Dallas.
Big deal. Like he’s never been to Dallas before.
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But That’s Just Me Talking appears every Monday in the Del Rio News-Herald. You can contact the author, Brian Argabright, Del Rio News-Herald Sports Editor, at sports(at)delrionewsherald.com
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