PantsCast February 16 2011

It's a slow sports week, so Joe and I discuss everything from epic fail seasons to dog shows. Plus, it was only a matter of time before text arguments turned fatal on What's Wrong With Humans.

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Old Vs New

I was watching a college football pre-game show today from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where tonight the Penn State Nittany Lions will attempt to upset the Crimson Tide at home. Personally, I don't think Penn State has a shot, but that's not what this post is about.

Behind the commentators was a crowd of pro-Alabama fans (who would have thought.) One gentleman held up a giant sign that said "Clash of the Titans." Below the title were two pictures: one of Penn State head coach Joe Paterno and one of Alabama head coach Nick Saban.

My first reaction was anger. How dare this kid compare flavor of the year Nick Saban to a legend like Joe Pa! Paterno is an institution. He is as much the identity of Penn State as the bland uniforms or the Happy Valley crowd. He graduates kids and he makes them decent citizens. You don't hear of shoplifting and drug selling on his teams.

Saban? His loyalty is to one place: himself. He goes where the money and fame is. He keeps his kids in class mostly, but have no doubt, he's there to win football games. Well, unless he decides to go down the street to your rival school and coach there. He disgusts me.

And then I thought about it and realized that is what a college football coach has become. And it's our own fault. As much as I love Joe Pa, when is the last time I stopped down just to watch a Penn State football game? I know they've had a recent resurgence, but they are still a boring team and I've personally never seen them as a national title contender for over a decade. The Penn State teams are just like their coach: solid.

Saban? He's one of the most successful coaches in college football right now. He's won two national titles this decade. His teams are usually in the top ten. His defenses are legendary. Ask fans and they'll take that any day. Solid citizens can't be bragged about at the bar. Championships can.

So I stand corrected. This game really is the clash of the titan coaches. But instead of a heavyweight fight, it's more like the lightsaber battle between old Ben Kenobi and Darth Vader from the original "Star Wars." One man is noble and a beacon of light, but he's old and losing power. The other is a dark lord who is at the top of his game. Saban is the new face of college football: a mercenary coach for a money making machine. And it's exactly what most fans want.

Go Penn State.

When Players Don't Think Of All Aspects Of The Game...

This is just too bad. These guys are in the middle of a game and they're trying to sort out the next defensive series. Meanwhile snarky a-holes like myself make fun of them for their last names. It's just wrong. And yet you're smiling....

Congratulations. I Feel Empty

And the Heisman goes to Mark Ingram. Hmmm. Well, he had a good season. 1500 yards. 15 touchdowns. He had some great games (150 yards against Virginia Tech, 246 yards against South Carolina, 144 yards against LSU) and he had some stinkers (50 yards against Arkansas and only 30 against Auburn).

Ingram rushed for fewer yards than any Heisman winning running in recent memory. He didn't even have the most rushing yards out of the Heisman finalists. Toby Gerhart had more playing for a less talented Stanford team.

Of course, Gerhart wasn't on an undefeated team. Ingram was on a team that won games, so I guess that's why he got the nod.

Wait, are the wins important? Because Colt McCoy is the winningest quarterback in the HISTORY OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL. He led his team in rushing and passing last year and has lost only one game in two years under center. If you were judging by winning teams, no one could beat Colt McCoy.

Yes, I know. McCoy got ruined by his awful performance in the Big 12 championship. Apparently no one remembered Ingram melting down just a week earlier against Auburn.

McCoy also had trouble getting anything done in that championship game because of one massive defensive tackle that destroyed the Texas offensive line. So why not give the Heisman to Suh? It's been a defensive year, why not give it to the best defender?

But they didn't. They gave it to a sophomore running back who had a solid season and just happened to have a great game at the right time. If the regular season were one game longer and McCoy had a massive game in that last week while Ingram was ordinary, McCoy would probably get the trophy. Same thing with Gerhart.

It just proves what a sham the Heisman Trophy really is. People across the country look at stats and watch the final games of the season. They don't put out an informed vote, they vote with either what the media pundits say, or what they see at the end of the season.

No disrespect to Mark Ingram. He had a solid season. Just not a magical one.

The BCS Lets Them Eat Cake

The BCS bowl schedule is set and it seems the people are very unhappy. Here are just a few Facebook updates I found from last night:

-The Fiesta Bowl was born from the Western Athletic Conference's frustrated attempts to obtain bowl invitations for its champions. It is ironic that is is now being used by the BCS Selection Committee to quarantine Boise State and TCU rather than give them a chance to embarrass a major conference.

-what the hell BCS- we Definitely want to see TCU and Boise St., BUT NOT AGAINST EACH OTHER! Let them each take on a big boy...

-BCS bowl game of the year will be the Fiesta Bowl. Way to protect Iowa from being embarrassed by a small school, BCS.

It's true that the BCS appears to have gone out of it's way to prevent TCU or Boise State from making the biggest case yet for a change in the old system by having the two undefeated small school teams play each other instead of taking on (and possibly upsetting) a big BCS giant. But before we get moving with our screams about the fatuous old men who are frightened of any change in an arcane bowl system, take a look at the choices for bowl match-ups this year.

Texas and Alabama are in the big one, everyone knew that was going to happen, so those two teams aren't available.

The Rose Bowl insists on having the Pac-10 and Big 10 champs continue to play one another (unless one of the teams is in the big game) so Ohio State and Oregon are out of the picture. If you don't like it, take the issue up with the Rose Bowl for refusing to change.

That leaves six teams: TCU, Boise State, Cincinnati, Florida, Iowa, and Georgia Tech.

If TCU played Iowa and whipped them, no one would even blink. The Big 10 has zero respect right now in bowl games.

If TCU played Cincinnati and won, it wouldn't be much different than TCU beating Boise State. Cincinnati isn't considered a BCS school despite the undefeated record and the Big East isn't exactly respected as a conference either.

That leaves Florida and Georgia Tech.

TCU could make some waves by beating those two schools in a bowl game. But even then it may not get the reaction you were hoping for.

If TCU beat Georgia Tech, it would be a bout how the Tech option is much easier to defend when you have a month to prepare for it. After all, the Jackets got smoked by LSU in last year's bowl game.

If TCU beat Florida...former number one Florida with St. Tebow in his final game....some folks would explain that Florida just wasn't into the game. (Remember what they said about Utah over Alabama last year?) Florida would be unfocused and uninterested in that simple Sugar Bowl. They had bigger fish to fry and without a shot at the title, the Florida seniors had already moved on to the NFL.

It's really a no win situation for TCU or Boise State this year, so at least we can hope for an exciting Fiesta Bowl that shows an entertaining brand of football that none of the other bowls can match. It's all we fans have right now until the BCS revolution finally takes place. Prepare the guillotines!

Torn Between Love And Chaos

Anyone who has read my stuff knows that I'm a big Texas Longhorns fan. I grew up in Texas rooting for the Horns, so naturally I'm rooting for them to win the college football championship this year which means I'm rooting for them to smoke Nebraska tonight.

If you have no rooting interest in Florida, Alabama, or Texas, then I totally understand if you'll be wearing a Cornhusker hat. If I wasn't so involved with Texas, I'd completely root for Nebraska because a Cornhusker win means my favorite moment in college football, which is BCS chaos.

I love nothing more than watching the old guard explain how the bowl system is the best for college football (aka makes them the most money) and then see them completely nonplussed by their own system.

The winner of the Florida and Alabama game gets an automatic birth in the title game. Texas will also get one if they win. But if the Longhorns are upset tonight, no fewer than three teams will have legit shots at the title game.

Will it be TCU? They Horned Frogs are ranked fourth and haven't lost this year. Unfortunately, TCU isn't a big school which means the bowl system will probably find a way to drop them out of title game for a team that will sell more merchandise and make them more money (see a theme?)

Cincinnati is also undefeated and just beat Pitt to win the Big East title. Maybe they will leap over TCU to make it to the title game. Again though, Cincinnati doesn't travel like the major schools do. So that means less money for the big wigs.

Boise State is undefeated, but there isn't a snowball's chance in the Rose Bowl of the Broncos getting a shot.

That would leave the loser of Florida/Alabama to get a rematch in the title game. Of course, that would expose the BCS as a front for a system that's just there to get the biggest schools to play each other. Plus, no one wants to see a rematch.

It would be a wonderful situation. Either TCU or Cincinnati would be screwed over and everyone would see it. Maybe both schools would. Then everyone could argue over the system one more time.

But that would be a mute point if Texas won tonight. Then everything would workout again and the BCS would get the two big schools it wants for a title game. I usually root for chaos. But I just can't tonight. Hook'em.

Remembering Ole Bobby

Those of us who are under the age of 45 probably know Bobby Bowden as the big southern old man who has wandered the Florida State sideline since the dawn of time.

He's had success, but Florida State has fallen on hard times lately and they're currently the third place team in their own state. It's time for ole Bobby to step down and let go.

Yet, I think a lot of people don't give Bowden enough credit for what he did at Florida State. Sure, you hear announcers fondling themselves as they talk about how awesome Bowden is and he has two National Championship rings to prove he had some success, but that's just the tip of iceberg for accolades he should receive as a football coach. To fully appreciate Bobby Bowden, you have to go back to the beginning.

Florida State wasn't a terrible team in the early 1970's. They finished a few times in the top 25, but the team was never a real threat to win a title. The Seminoles had only won one bowl game and the school still had that stigma of being an all girls school until World War II.

It takes an intrepid coach to build up a football program without a built in history to recruit players. Bowden arrived in 1976 and proceeded to build one of the powerhouse programs in college football.

After a modest 5-6 start in 1976, Bowden changed Florida State into a perennial Top 25 team, but it wasn't until the early 80's when the Seminoles turned into the powerhouse we remember them as. Starting in 1982, the Noles have been to bowl game every single year and they didn't lose a bowl game until they lost the National Championship game to Florida in 1996. The team finished in the Top 5 of the polls every single year between 1987 and 2000. Unreal.

Bowden had his troubles. The Miami Hurricanes came into prominence (many people including myself think they did so very illegally) in the early 1980's and proceeded to ruin many a Florida State championship run. Other times the Noles would lose an early game to a lesser opponent and derail their season. There's a reason Bowden only has two championship rings despite all of his success.

Then there are some of the off-field problems Florida State players have had. There was the Dillard's scandal where Florida State receivers Peter Warrick and Laveranues Coles were arrested for grabbing a bushel of clothes for practically nothing. Coles was kicked off of the team while Warrick, who was a Heisman Trophy candidate, was only suspended for two games despite being more involved than Coles. Bowden admitted that the team was in a title hunt and he didn't feel they could win without Warrick. Nice double standard there.

Then there is the giant academic scandal still under investigation where athletes from several Florida State sports teams cheated on exams. Bowden might have to forfeit some of his wins as football coach as a result.

Those issues seem to be at the forefront these days has Bowden steps down at Florida State. While they shouldn't be swept under the carpet, I think we need to look at Bowden's total body of work to realize just what college football has lost today.

Trophy Colt

As I watch the waning moments of the Florida/Florida State game and everyone falls over each other to talk about how wonderful Tim Tebow is and legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden deals with whether he will be forced to rusticate after this season, I think about the upcoming weeks in college football.

Barring a major upset, Texas will play the winner of the Florida/Alabama game for the national championship. TCU and Boise State should at least make a BCS bowl and if they don't, college football is flawed beyond recognition.

That just leaves one thing up in the air: who will win the Heisman Trophy (aka the most overrated award in sports)?

Some will probably vote for Tebow just because he's just so awesome and wonderful, but I'm guessing most people will resist the alluring pull of Saint Tebow. Which leaves a pretty tight race between the deserving players.

Alabama running back Mark Ingram was the front runner through last week, but with only 30 yards against rival Auburn, Ingram didn't leave a very good final impression. He'll have to dominate the SEC championship game to be the favorite again.

Stanford running back Toby Gerhart has come out of nowhere this year to get into the Heisman discussion. He's a powerful back who has a nose for the endzone. The problem is that his team just lost their rivalry game to Cal. Losses hurt even if Gerhart had a great game.

Speaking of losses hurting, C.J. Spiller is an all around threat at running back for Clemson, but that couldn't prevent the Tigers from losing three of their first five games this season. He also only ran for 18 yards against rival South Carolina today in a big loss.

With no front runner really emerging, I'd like to re-introduce Heisman voters to one Colt McCoy of Texas. Like the other Heisman favorites, McCoy has had his ups and downs this season. He started slowly and had a miserable day against Oklahoma earlier this year. Two big things though: the Longhorns won that game and McCoy has been scorching defenses since.

He's completed nearly 75% of his passes for 16 touchdowns and only two interceptions since the OU game and has run for 277 yards as well. The crown jewel was his performance against rival Texas A &M. Colt threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns, plus he ran for 175 more yards and a touchdown. It was a dominant performance against a juiced up rival. Without McCoy, the Longhorns don't win that game. He doesn't have the stats he did last year, but the Longhorns don't have a loss either.

And that's where McCoy separates himself from the other candidates. While some people keep beating me over the head with the fact that Tebow set a new SEC record for touchdowns in a career, I can look them in the eye and tell them that McCoy is the winningest quarterback in college football history.

Should winning count so much for the Heisman trophy? Probably not. But it does. With that in mind, it's hard to argue against Colt.

McCoy replaced Vince Young at Texas as a freshman which is feat no one could imagine doing. He led Texas to the brink of a championship last year, but was denied both a title bid and the trophy to the rival Oklahoma Sooners. This year, he hasn't been pretty always, but he's won. And now McCoy is rolling. He has one more game against a top defensive team in Nebraska. If McCoy performs in the Big 12 championship, he should finally get his trophy.

That's Not What The Gipper Meant

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Whether you love them or hate them, they have a lot of tradition. Generally, Notre Dame is known for it's Catholic education and rigid schedule that produces martinets for alumni. It's Brady Quinn telling us in a commercial how he worked 14 hours a day between football and school work because "that's how it is at Notre Dame."

It's annoying and the golden domer holier than thou attitude always rubbed me the wrong way, yet I always respected them. A Notre Dame fan generally understood sportsmanship. They weren't a group of drunk morons who didn't care if the linebacker raped a woman last week as long as he led the team in tackles. They had dignity.

Either I was wrong or losing took that away too since Notre Dame fans are apparently acting just like the idiots at any state university.

First came the potshots at Charlie Weis. This is a guy who actively seeked out the Notre Dame coaching job because he's an alumnus. He wanted to bring his beloved university back to the mountain top. Things haven't gone as planned and according to Weis, they are much worse than anyone can imagine.

Speaking candidly like a coach who knows he's gone after the season, Weis absolutely blasted Notre Dame fans for taking such personal shots at him saying that people went over the line and hurt his family. Weis said "The damage to Maura and Charlie Jr. is irreparable, it's watching me get hammered. I'll never forgive the people who character-assassinated me without even knowing me. Those people did irreparable damage to my wife and son, and I'll never forgive them."

You might be thinking that Weis just has a thin skin and is overreacting. Then how about this cheap shot....literally? Jimmy Clausen the star quarterback for the Irish was having dinner with his family and friend after this weekend's loss to UConn when there was an altercation where he was sucker punched in the face by a fan.

Apparently losing makes Notre Dame fans forget all about that silly stuff like dignity and discipline. What a pile of hypocrites. Oh well, I guess there's still Joe Paterno.

Too Bad, So Sad, Bye Bye?

As Nebraska and Kansas State battle this weekend to figure out which Big 12 North team gets to be fed to Texas in the conference championship game, a program that was favored in the North continues to unravel.

The Kansas Jayhawks went from pre-season favorites in the North division to a 1-5 disaster in the conference. The hard feelings are starting to bleed over into the press as the Kansas fatty Mcbutterpants of a head coach, Mark Mangino, has been called out by former players for using billgingsgate, throwing around remarks in poor taste, and even physically abusing his players.

Former Kansas receiver Raymond Brown says that one time during a practice that followed an unrelated iincident where Brown's brother was shot and wounded in his home city of St. Louis, Mangino got upset with him. "I dropped a pass and [Mangino] was mad," Brown said. "And I said, 'Yes, sir. Yes, sir.' The yelling didn't bother me. But then he said, 'Shut up!' He said, 'If you don't shut up, I'm going to send you back to St. Louis so you can get shot with your homies.'

Brown was obviously a little shocked that his coach would throw out that type of comment.

Brown also tells the story of another former Jayhawk who confided in the team that his father was an alcoholic and the player dreamed of becoming a lawyer. "One day, [Mangino] said in front of the entire team, 'Are you going to be a lawyer or do you want to become an alcoholic like your dad?' "

Brown has been backed up by some other former players who agree that Mangino would take your personal business and use it against you. Sometimes he'd even grab you if he lost his temper.

Mangino maintains that these are false accusations by bitter players whose college career's didn't turn out the way they wanted.

But the accusations linger and now SportsbyBrooks.com is reporting that university reps are looking to buy out Mangino's contract at the end of the season. This is a coach that only two years ago resurrected a dead Kansas football program and won the Orange Bowl with them. That's one hell of a fall.

Even if Mangino gets to stay, opposing coaches will have field days with these accusations during recruiting season. It could be dark days ahead, again, for Kansas Jayhawks football. Hey, at least basketball season is starting.

Was It Worth It Lane?

Remember 9 months ago when Lane Kiffin called out Urban Meyer for cheating? To refresh your memory, Kiffin was recruiting a blue chip player on the Tennessee campus when said player got a call from Meyer down at Florida. For some reason, Kiffin thought that was cheating and he gleefully told a group of Vol boosters that the player had signed with Tennessee despite Meyers attempts to cheat.

That got Kiffin into trouble with the conference and he was forced to issue an apology for being a dumbass. Clearly unfazed by his mistake, Kiffin has perseverated his headline making ways through this season.

Maybe now he'll be speechless.

That player whom Kiffin was recruiting when Meyer called was Nu'Keese Richardson (no relation to Nu'Kar Richardson). Kiffin was so gleeful when he signed with the Vols, and now Kiffin gets to be the one to dismiss Richardson from the team because he attempted to commit armed robbery.

Thus ends the first saga of Lane and Urban: An attempt at armed robbery and a dismissal from the team.

Perhaps the next recruiting battle will be for aggravated assault.

The Dance Of The Jilted

This weekend TCU will visit Utah in a college football game that involves last year's jilted girlfriend versus the flavor of the season this year who will probably be dumped once the bowl schedule comes out.

Last year Utah went 13-0 and smashed Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. That started the clamoring for justice in the bowl system. After all, Florida played Oklahoma for the championship and both teams had lost.

Of course, both teams played in much tougher conferences where week in and week out was a battle to the end.

One side of those arguing say that it's hard to go undefeated anywhere and what's the point of having a football program in a lesser conference if you won't get a chance for a national championship try.

The other side says that if you stuck Utah in the SEC or Big 12, that team would have maybe been .500 because it's much different playing one game against a good team as opposed five over a two month span.

Both sides agree that last year's Sugar Bowl outcome asseverates the need for some sort of tournament for college football. But you won't see that any time soon, so stop wasting your energy until there might be a chance.

Meanwhile, TCU is preparing for the same disappointment at the end of this season. When asked about the possiblity of going undefeated only to miss a chance at a championship, the undefeated (and ranked #5) Horned Frogs were mum on the subject. Coach Gary Patterson told the Dallas morning news that he isn't going to make a big deal out of it like Utah did last year because it won't do any good to complain.

Maybe. But if TCU gets by Utah this weekend, the Horned Frogs wheel might get just a little bit squeakier. It won't matter, the Horned Frogs won't play for the National Championship. College football just doesn't like the little man. If TCU wins it's bowl though, it could raise some thoughts among the college football elite that maybe a small school team might actually someday belong with the giants.

First though, TCU has to get passed last year's girlfriend. Chick fight.

Official Disgrace

Okay Arkansas fans, calm down. Yes, I know about the officials during your close game against the Gators this weekend. Some of you have written me to inform me of these controversial refs.

For those of you who don't know, a Southeastern Conference officiating crew called a very debatable personal foul penalty against Arkansas in a close game. This sent the Razorback fans into a tizzy.

The problem is I've already written about SEC officials, apparently not aesthetes to the emotional volcano of college football, who have ruined close games by calling killer penalties on kids who genuinely get excited when they make a big play.

Guess what? The referees that ruined that earlier game between Georgia and LSU by calling an unneeded excessive celebration penalty are the SAME refs who dropped an unwarranted penalty on Arkansas during the game against Florida! I guess it's good that they're consistent.

Southeastern Conference executives apparently noticed these refs as well because the officiating crew has been suspended until November 14. Maybe now teams might be able to actually play a full game without having it decided by controversial calls.

These games have enough pressure. Let'em play ref.

Name Dropping

Anyone out there heard of Rachel Glandorf? If you say yes, you're either a obsessive Texas Longhorns fan, or you're a compulsive liar.

Until today.

Rick Reilly wrote an article about Texas quarterback Colt McCoy today during the build up to the big Texas/Oklahoma clash this Saturday. During the article, he felt the need to mention Colt McCoy's girlfriend by name and let us know that she's as hot as Indian food. He even gets her take on her boyfriend's popularity around the city of Austin.

If she were just another college student, you might think that this could lead to unwanted publicity and harrasment by the press.

The issue is that apparently, Ms. Glandorf appaerently wants to be part of the press. She's a track runner at Baylor (which is a bit unstable since Baylor is a Big 12 rival to Texas and she's always shown at Texas games wearing a Longhorns shirt. Where's the Baylor Bear pride?) and it seems she's be happy to be a sports reporter once school is done.

I don't know Ms. Glandorf and she might be the most pukka journalist in the country. But she'd better get ready for some backlash if she randomly ends up with a nice job in sports journalism next year. The entire journalism industry is nothing short of a disaster right now and there are more than a few talented journalists who are out of work. To have some hot blonde come out of school and grab a precious job will lead to many ugly thoughts. Thoughts that could follow Colt McCoy around wherever he ends up.

But we're in a recession, so I wouldn't blame her if she took a job she didn't necessarly earn. It's a nasty market out there and some people just have better opportunites.

Thanks, But No Thanks

When Deion Sanders played defensive back in the NFL, he made life miserable for wide receivers. He's keeping that streak alive today.

Sanders has become a mentor to many young football players coming out. He holds a Deion camp to prepare players for the NFL Draft and he invites different players in college and the pros to his home for convivial activities. In this process, players have grown to trust Deion's counsel as that which is in their best interest. They might want to rethink that.

Two different players, both wide receivers, have made the news recently for their involvement with Sanders and is wasn't good news in either instance.

Well, it was good news for 49er first round pick Michael Crabtree in that he finally signed his contract to end the longest holdout of this year's NFL draft picks. The bad news for Crabtree is the he got about the same amount of money he would have gotten if he had just signed back before the season like every other draft pick did.

Now Crabtree comes to a 49ers team that has been successful without him, he's never played in an NFL style offense before, and he's over a month behind in learning the San Francisco playbook. He's essentially destroyed his rookie season and burned any number of advertising opportunities, plus he has to rebuild his soiled reputation with the fans. All because Sanders (amongst others in his group) told Crabtree he was worth more money than what he was slotted to get as the tenth pick of the draft.

Gee, thanks for the advice Deion.

Now we find out that Deion may have inadvertently ruined another player's year when Oklahoma State star receiver Dez Bryant lost his college eligibility due to involvement with Sanders. Bryant was the top offensive threat at Oklahoma State and a top ten draft pick. Now he leaves the Cowboys in a ditch for the rest of this season and may have injured his draft stock since NFL teams pay so much attention to character issues these days.

Sanders doesn't take the full blame on this because Bryant is the one who lied to NCAA investigators who asked if he had dinner with Deion. Bryant thought it was a violation of some sort, so he lied and said he hadn't. Deion confirmed they did. It was a panic move by Bryant and a stupid move too.

But does a player really lose an entire year of eligibility because he said he was somewhere else? Is Bryant really the only player that has ever lied about stuff to avoid getting into trouble? And if Deion is such a mentor to these guys, wouldn't that little tidbit have been brought up?

If Bryant only had dinner with Sanders and got ruled ineligible for simply lying about it, that is truly an unfortunate occurrence. But it's possible that there were other people in the room aside from Bryant (like agents who are barred from speaking to college players).

It may never be proven if Deion was simply mentoring a young kid who is eventually going to be in the NFL, or if he had something more selfish in mind. Either way, two young players have had involvement with Sanders and both of them have to clean up a mess.

Be Careful What I Wish For

Human 1: Did you know Texans owe their lives to Oklahoma?

Human 2: They do? Why?

Human 1: Because Texas would have fallen into the ocean long ago if Oklahoma didn't suck so much.

As most of you know, I'm a big Texas Longhorns fan. This inherently means that I hate the Oklahoma Sooners. I wish nothing but failure on the team and often wonder aloud why Sooner fans are spread throughout Texas like a flu virus if they love Oklahoma so much. I can't help it, I was brainwashed by my family at an early age to become a burgeoning Texas fan/Sooner hater.

This is why I'm so happy these days. Oklahoma is officially out of the national title hunt. Even if they go undefeated the rest of the season, there will be no national title in Norman...again. Happy Happy Joy Joy Happy Happy Joy Joy

But wait, there is a downside to this wonderful turn of events.

One thing Oklahoma did this season was actually play a difficult non-conference schedule. The fans got to see the Sooners play big games against BYU and at Miami. It was a rare treat considering most big college programs rarely take the chance at an upset during the early part of the season.

The problem is that Oklahoma lost both games.

While the Sooners were playing those big time games, the Longhorns were playing such juggernauts as Louisiana Monroe, Wyoming, and Texas/El-Paso. Texas won those three games by a combined score of 164-37. Wow, way to test yourself Longhorns.

In a slight defense of Texas, Arkansas backed out of a game against the Longhorns this year, but that still doesn't get close to the Sooners strength of schedule.

And here we are now, the Longhorns coasting as an undefeated national title contender while Oklahoma had it's nationl title dreams dashed before confernece plays even began.

Gee, what do you think teams will do in the future, schedule tough (aka interesting) games or throw a bunch of patsies in there? It's sad because I love watching college football, but there's only so many 66-7 blowouts I can take. Fans deserve more, but they'll never get it after what has transpired this season.

The one way this could help the fans out is for Oklahoma to beat Texas in a close game next week. That way, people could argue that the Sooners difficult early schedule better prepared them for the Red River Rivalry than the Longhorns row of weak sisters.

But that would mean that I'd have to root for Oklahoma and we know that will never happen.