cheezyq
11/24/2008, 03:24 PM
OU should be ranked #2...both this week and especially after next week (assuming OU beats OSU).
There is no reasonable argument against it. I'm going to debunk two of the major arguments out there for placing OU behind either Texas or Florida, as they are simply ludicrous.
OU, Texas, and Texas Tech are all 10-1. They each defeated each other. As a result, any "head-to-head" argument results in a circular debate that can't be resolved. If Texas should be ahead of OU because of head-to-head, then Texas Tech should be ahead of Texas because of head-to-head, but then OU should be ahead of Texas Tech because of head-to-head...etc. Thus, the head-to-head argument MUST be completely disregarded.
Or, even if you don't disregard head-to-head, then you have to go with the most impressive victory, or margin of victory, between the three games. And guess what, that edge goes to OU once again. You can't use the argument that OU's loss was on a neutral field, either...as playing at the Texas State Fair has NEVER been a completely neutral environment. The same amount of fans may be in the stadium, and the site may be 4-5 miles closer to Norman, but the playing field is in Texas, at a state fair no Oklahoman would ever attend (nor do they attend) if it weren't for the game itself. This is almost the same as saying that OU played on a neutral field in the Sugar Bowl versus LSU. Ludicrous.
What about overall resume between OU and Texas? OU has defeated TCU, Cincinnati, and Texas Tech as quality wins that Texas doesn't have. UT has defeated OU, OSU, and Missouri as quality wins that OU doesn't have. OU's quality wins are non-conference, which could be argued as greater. But regardless, if OU wins next week, it's game over for Texas. We rule on grounds of resume because OU will have 3 quality wins versus Texas 2 quality wins.
What about overall impressiveness of team performance? This is the one that certain experts claim gives Florida the edge over OU, also. Let's breakdown the games between the 2 teams:
OU v. Chattanooga - OU leads by 50 at the half and wins 57-2. Game over in 1st quarter.
OU v. Cincinnati - OU holds a reasonable lead at half before winning 52-26 (garbage TD in 4th quarter). Game over by mid-3rd quarter.
OU v. Washington - With 5 TDs in first half, OU rolls to 55-14 victory. Game over by mid-2nd quarter.
OU v. TCU - OU takes a 35-3 in the 3rd quarter, with TCU adding a garbage TD in the 4th to make it 35-10. Game over by 3rd quarter.
OU v. Baylor - OU races to 28-0 lead in the 1st quarter, winning 49-17. Game over by 3rd quarter.
OU v. Texas - OU leads by 11 twice, loses key defensive player, and loses 45-35.
OU v. Kansas - OU struggles on defense until 3rd quarter, wins 45-31 after late garbage TD by KU. Game over in early 4th quarter.
OU v. Kansas State - OU scores 55 in the first half, struggling for a bit on defense, winning 58-35. Game over by halftime.
OU v. Nebraska - 35 points in 5 minutes. OU wins 62-28. Game over in 1st quarter.
OU v. Texas A&M - OU rolls quickly again, leading 38-14 at the half and winning 66-28. Game over by halftime.
OU v. Texas Tech - OU demolishes #2 team in the country leading 49-7 at the half and 65-21 overall. Game over in 2nd quarter.
Other than the OU/Texas game, not a single game this season has been in doubt after the 3rd quarter. KU was the only one that was remotely close. Average score - 53 to 23. OU's strength of schedule according to Sagarin - 26th.
UT v. Fla. Atlantic - Beats Schnellenberger like a drum, 52-10. Game over by 2nd quarter.
UT v. UTEP - Game relatively close until UT pulls away in 4th quarter to make it 42-13. Game over by early 4th quarter.
UT v. Rice - UT wins 52-10. Game over by the half.
UT v. Arkansas - UT wins 52-10. Game over by the half.
UT v. Colorado - UT wins 38-14. Game over by the half.
UT v. Oklahoma - UT wins 45-35. Game decided late in the 4th quarter.
UT v. Missouri - UT wins 56-31. Game over by the half.
UT v. Oklahoma State - UT wins 28-24. Game in doubt until final drive in the 4th quarter.
UT v. Texas Tech - UT struggles early, falls behind by 19, comes back, but loses 39-33.
UT v. Baylor - UT goes up by 2 TDs early, Baylor ties it, UT eventually wins 45-21. Game over in 3rd quarter.
UT v. Kansas - UT goes up by 21 in 3rd quarter and wins 35-7. Game over in 3rd quarter.
Very impressive resume also. Most games over in 3rd quarter, some struggles with OSU and obvious loss to TT. Very similar to our resume. Average score - 43 to 19. Texas' strength of schedule according to Sagarin - 5th.
ESPN likes to use contradictory arguments all the time, just so they can get their favorite team an advantage. They use one argument for one team, and use a conflicting argument for another (see: Kirk Herbstreit). The simple fact is that if OU defeats OSU, and if Texas Tech defeats Baylor, OU should go to the Big 12 championship game.
OU destroyed the #2 team in the country by essentially 51 points (considering the garbage time TD with 14 seconds left). Texas barely beat OU, and benefited from a key injury to an OU middle linebacker in order to seal the comeback. OU was ahead nearly the entire game, also. No other OU game was in doubt, and OU never trailed in any other game. Texas, however, was down 19-0 to Texas Tech before making a run and eventually losing. Texas struggled against OSU AT HOME, a team that Texas Tech destroyed 59-20.
Texas is a very good team. But the fact is that OU is clearly better, now and after next week.
Florida? They don't even have a place in this argument. They lost at home to Ole Miss, and their key wins are against 2 overrated SEC teams. To anyone who thinks they're playing better, and are more impressive right now, this is all I have to say - Texas Tech v. Citadel - who would win that matchup?
There is no reasonable argument against it. I'm going to debunk two of the major arguments out there for placing OU behind either Texas or Florida, as they are simply ludicrous.
OU, Texas, and Texas Tech are all 10-1. They each defeated each other. As a result, any "head-to-head" argument results in a circular debate that can't be resolved. If Texas should be ahead of OU because of head-to-head, then Texas Tech should be ahead of Texas because of head-to-head, but then OU should be ahead of Texas Tech because of head-to-head...etc. Thus, the head-to-head argument MUST be completely disregarded.
Or, even if you don't disregard head-to-head, then you have to go with the most impressive victory, or margin of victory, between the three games. And guess what, that edge goes to OU once again. You can't use the argument that OU's loss was on a neutral field, either...as playing at the Texas State Fair has NEVER been a completely neutral environment. The same amount of fans may be in the stadium, and the site may be 4-5 miles closer to Norman, but the playing field is in Texas, at a state fair no Oklahoman would ever attend (nor do they attend) if it weren't for the game itself. This is almost the same as saying that OU played on a neutral field in the Sugar Bowl versus LSU. Ludicrous.
What about overall resume between OU and Texas? OU has defeated TCU, Cincinnati, and Texas Tech as quality wins that Texas doesn't have. UT has defeated OU, OSU, and Missouri as quality wins that OU doesn't have. OU's quality wins are non-conference, which could be argued as greater. But regardless, if OU wins next week, it's game over for Texas. We rule on grounds of resume because OU will have 3 quality wins versus Texas 2 quality wins.
What about overall impressiveness of team performance? This is the one that certain experts claim gives Florida the edge over OU, also. Let's breakdown the games between the 2 teams:
OU v. Chattanooga - OU leads by 50 at the half and wins 57-2. Game over in 1st quarter.
OU v. Cincinnati - OU holds a reasonable lead at half before winning 52-26 (garbage TD in 4th quarter). Game over by mid-3rd quarter.
OU v. Washington - With 5 TDs in first half, OU rolls to 55-14 victory. Game over by mid-2nd quarter.
OU v. TCU - OU takes a 35-3 in the 3rd quarter, with TCU adding a garbage TD in the 4th to make it 35-10. Game over by 3rd quarter.
OU v. Baylor - OU races to 28-0 lead in the 1st quarter, winning 49-17. Game over by 3rd quarter.
OU v. Texas - OU leads by 11 twice, loses key defensive player, and loses 45-35.
OU v. Kansas - OU struggles on defense until 3rd quarter, wins 45-31 after late garbage TD by KU. Game over in early 4th quarter.
OU v. Kansas State - OU scores 55 in the first half, struggling for a bit on defense, winning 58-35. Game over by halftime.
OU v. Nebraska - 35 points in 5 minutes. OU wins 62-28. Game over in 1st quarter.
OU v. Texas A&M - OU rolls quickly again, leading 38-14 at the half and winning 66-28. Game over by halftime.
OU v. Texas Tech - OU demolishes #2 team in the country leading 49-7 at the half and 65-21 overall. Game over in 2nd quarter.
Other than the OU/Texas game, not a single game this season has been in doubt after the 3rd quarter. KU was the only one that was remotely close. Average score - 53 to 23. OU's strength of schedule according to Sagarin - 26th.
UT v. Fla. Atlantic - Beats Schnellenberger like a drum, 52-10. Game over by 2nd quarter.
UT v. UTEP - Game relatively close until UT pulls away in 4th quarter to make it 42-13. Game over by early 4th quarter.
UT v. Rice - UT wins 52-10. Game over by the half.
UT v. Arkansas - UT wins 52-10. Game over by the half.
UT v. Colorado - UT wins 38-14. Game over by the half.
UT v. Oklahoma - UT wins 45-35. Game decided late in the 4th quarter.
UT v. Missouri - UT wins 56-31. Game over by the half.
UT v. Oklahoma State - UT wins 28-24. Game in doubt until final drive in the 4th quarter.
UT v. Texas Tech - UT struggles early, falls behind by 19, comes back, but loses 39-33.
UT v. Baylor - UT goes up by 2 TDs early, Baylor ties it, UT eventually wins 45-21. Game over in 3rd quarter.
UT v. Kansas - UT goes up by 21 in 3rd quarter and wins 35-7. Game over in 3rd quarter.
Very impressive resume also. Most games over in 3rd quarter, some struggles with OSU and obvious loss to TT. Very similar to our resume. Average score - 43 to 19. Texas' strength of schedule according to Sagarin - 5th.
ESPN likes to use contradictory arguments all the time, just so they can get their favorite team an advantage. They use one argument for one team, and use a conflicting argument for another (see: Kirk Herbstreit). The simple fact is that if OU defeats OSU, and if Texas Tech defeats Baylor, OU should go to the Big 12 championship game.
OU destroyed the #2 team in the country by essentially 51 points (considering the garbage time TD with 14 seconds left). Texas barely beat OU, and benefited from a key injury to an OU middle linebacker in order to seal the comeback. OU was ahead nearly the entire game, also. No other OU game was in doubt, and OU never trailed in any other game. Texas, however, was down 19-0 to Texas Tech before making a run and eventually losing. Texas struggled against OSU AT HOME, a team that Texas Tech destroyed 59-20.
Texas is a very good team. But the fact is that OU is clearly better, now and after next week.
Florida? They don't even have a place in this argument. They lost at home to Ole Miss, and their key wins are against 2 overrated SEC teams. To anyone who thinks they're playing better, and are more impressive right now, this is all I have to say - Texas Tech v. Citadel - who would win that matchup?