Oklahoma win has Big 12 facing sticky situation

Nov 24, 2008 - 7:16 PM By Bob Birge PA SportsTicker Staff Writer

Let the posturing begin.

With the Big 12 South race possibly hinging on BCS rankings, Mack Brown and Bob Stoops figure to spend this week campaigning for their teams not unlike politicians stumping for votes.

Texas got a head start on the politicking. During Oklahoma's 65-21 rout of then-No. 2 Texas Tech on Saturday, the school sent e-mails to national writers reminding them of the Longhorns' 45-35 win over the Sooners earlier in the season.

Oklahoma's win over Texas Tech left the Sooners, Longhorns and Red Raiders in a three-way tie atop the Big 12 South heading into the final week of the campaign.

If all three finish tied, the team with the highest BCS ranking would be declared the division champion and face Missouri in the Big 12 title game.

There are two issues to contemplate. One is whether the BCS standings should be used to determine a division champion in the first place.

The second is which of the three teams would be most worthy if it did come down to that.

Texas Tech would seem to be the odd man out in that argument. As magical as the Red Raiders' season has been, teams that lose 65-21 do not deserve to play in conference title games.

That would leave Texas and Oklahoma, and both can make compelling arguments. One would be very happy and one would be very angry.

But Texas Tech's situation is not entirely hopeless, as Oklahoma has to beat No. 12 Oklahoma State in Stillwater - no slam dunk.

If the Sooners lose, the Red Raiders could sneak into the Big 12 title contest. Of course, it would be odd seeing them playing in the game two weeks after getting waxed by Oklahoma.

Texas (Texas A&M) and Texas Tech (Baylor) appear to have easy home contests to conclude their seasons.

Assuming the Big 12 South ends in a three-way tie, the debate between Texas and Oklahoma will be a contentious one - and it's reflected in the polls.

The humans apparently have forgotten Texas' win over Oklahoma, ranking the Sooners ahead of the Longhorns in the coaches' and Harris Interactive polls.

In the coaches' poll, Oklahoma is second and Texas fourth, while the Harris poll has the teams ranked third and fourth, respectively.

However, the computers disagree, as Texas (second) leads Oklahoma (third) in the BCS rankings.

Still, Texas' advantage is razor thin - .008 percentage points - which is a virtual dead heat. Like a tight election, this race is too close to call.

The argument on behalf of Oklahoma would be:

- Only one of the three Big 12 teams to win its last six games.

- Playing as well as anybody in the country (along with Florida)

- Soundly beat the team (Texas Tech) that beat Texas when the Longhorns were ranked No. 1.

Now the case for Texas:

- Beat the team (Oklahoma) that routed Texas Tech fairly decisively (45-35) on a neutral field.

- Only loss came on a last-second play on the road (39-33 at Texas Tech).

- Wouldn't even be having this discussion if Graham Harrell didn't complete that 28-yard TD pass to Michael Crabtree with one second remaining.

This, of course, is a circular argument that only causes more frustration. So, how will things play out this week?

The BCS does not consider margin of victory but it does factor in strength of schedule. Thus, the Sooners could supplant Texas in the BCS with a victory over the 9-2 Cowboys.

Texas would not get much a boost by beating the 4-7 Aggies.

However, the humans are often swayed by "style" wins, thus the Longhorns will be compelled to run up the score against the Aggies.

Texas could jump over Oklahoma in the human polls with an impressive win over Texas A&M - especially if the Sooners struggle in Stillwater.

And that would keep Texas No 2. in the BCS, and send the Longhorns to the Big 12 title game.

Perhaps it's fitting that the Big 12 South race could come down to the Bedlam game, because that is what the conference is bracing for - sheer bedlam.