The "IF" factor for OU

[The Maestro]

The beauty of college football is always figuring out the "If's"...we can't hardly enjoy the here and now for fear of the future and how things will shake out. If the BCS has gotten one thing right, it is grabbing at the attention of fans with discussions all season long. This one is just the same way and there are many "if's" for OU.

--If Alabama wins out, they are in the title game. Not sure their schedule should be deemed so valuable this year, but the SEC has won the last four titles and until the champ gets beat, can't argue with it. Although I think this is the weakest the SEC has been from top to bottom in quite some time. Bama is good, Auburn is probably second best, Arky is up there...but LSU, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee...four mainstays in the conference...are all arguably down.

--If Oregon runs the table and dominates the way they have, it would be hard to argue against them in the title game. They even went on the road for a non-conference game at at SEC school, albeit Tennessee, and smashed them. I think the Pac 10 is surprisingly the deepest conference this year and if they stand 12-0 at the end, they will be hard to argue against....except...

--The Big 12 is coming on strong. Kudos to Nebraska for the way they have started. And OU's best shot at getting to the title game might be the first Saturday in December when Oregon's season is over and OU could very well be playing a fellow 12-0 team for all the marbles...and that win, coupled with what we hope is a win at a probable 10 win OSU team, could be the final push to get our BCS cranked up.

It is still way early, but IF the Big 12 teams keep impressing like Missouri, OSU, Baylor, etc....and IF OU finds a way to win on the road at all of those places, as well as Texas A&M and IF Boise and TCU remain unbeaten and keep losing BCS traction with their schedule and IF we find a way to beat a 12-0 team for our conference title, and IF Bama and Oregon are both also unbeaten, it will be an unholy mess of epic proportions. All I can say is, go Air Force and Florida State!!

[MichiganSooner]

And OU's best shot at getting to the title game might be the first Saturday in December when Oregon's season is over and OU could very well be playing a fellow 12-0 team for all the marbles...and that win could be the final push to get our BCS cranked up.

This part of your post is what I fear the most about a ten-team Big 12. There will be no conference championship game. OU will be sitting at home watching the other conference championship games on television instead of playing a big game against a division champ. Forgotten by the voters.

[Mike@DW]

I think we could jump a undefeated TCU and Boise just by going undefeated, regardless of our competition or how we do it. But to jump a undefeated Oregon and Ohio State (assuming Bama stays #1 till the end) we have to get help from the Big 12 and our previous competition. We have to beat a undefeated, top 5 Nebraska. beating a 1 loss 15th Nebraska won't do it.

[jumperstop]

IF we going undefeated...

[IowaSooner26]

How funny would it be if somehow someway that Oregon managed to go undefeated and OU and Nebraska played in the Big XII Title Game. Winner ends up jumping Oregon to play Bama and Oregon gets to go cry about being left out again ala 2001. HAHAHA

[KantoSooner]

How about if, all of a sudden, the state of oregon were to drop about 100 feet. Then we could use the pit as a place to move all the felons and psychos in the nation. Bulldoze in some broken glass, jagged metal and whatever meth had been seized nationally by the cops and let nature take its course.

[OUinFLA]

How about if, all of a sudden, the state of oregon were to drop about 100 feet. Then we could use the pit as a place to move all the felons and psychos in the nation. Bulldoze in some broken glass, jagged metal and whatever meth had been seized nationally by the cops and let nature take its course.

You're just dreaming, right?

oh, wait...............it's the "IF" thread.

proceed.

[KantoSooner]

Actually, I'm channeling an audio recording that dates back to the 1970's. I have no idea who did it, or why, or even if it was supposed to be humorous or serious.
The line 'One big area' was repeated endlessly in a sort of bigoted mantra. I can only take credit for positing Oregon as the 'one big area' into which the undesireables are exiled to do unto one another.

Still in all, the concept works for me.

[Crucifax Autumn]

I honestly believe that the Pac 10 will cannabalize themselves with the good overall play top to bottom, so either the conference winner loses strength of schedule from the other teams records plummeting with only 2-3 really strong teams or none of them emerge undefeated.

Boise and TCU will fall behind every BCS conference undefeated, assuming there are any left.

Bama will most likely come out undefeated and on top of the BCS, but in the SEC you never know.

Big televen will suffer a fate similar to what I described about the pac 10 and if they don't and either tOSU or meatchicken win out, it won't matter since we already hold a pretty decent lead on tOSU that won't change much if we both win out. Boise and TCU are slipping more every week in the projected BCS numbers and that will only continue.

Obviously we need FSU and Air Force to keep winning and it won't hurt one bit if the others can improve their record. Right now I think it's in our best interest for Baylor, little brother, and Nebraska to win everywhere but to us. At this point I don't think our win over texass will mean much when all is said and done, but some of the other teams that I think WILL be beating them may benefit enough to end the season ranked which will help us.

If we can get just a little bit better on style points against some of our weaker opponents that will help a lot with the Harris and Coaches poll which when combined with our really good computer love will push us up the measly ONE spot we have to go up based on all the preliminary numbers.

In other words, I think pretty much everything puts us in a solid second in the BCS behind Bama when the final numbers come in. As has been pointed out before the only ones we really have to worry about is Oregon and they usually blow at least one game they shouldn't.

[OK2U]

Jumping Oregon would begin to make up for you-know-what.
Hopefully the football Gods will continue to favor OU this season.

[BoonesFarmSooner]

If....

DishNetwork had Fox Sports

:pop:

[soonerboy_odanorth]

Don't worry about the "ifs" this year. Just enjoy the season. Because in no particular order:

* Landry still has the young QB yips. He loses his mind a little bit in pressure situations. Please refer to his two second half fumbles, only one of which was marginally "caused" by a Texas player.

* We have not yet developed a good run defense.

* We have not yet developed a good run offense.

We'll have to make very substantial improvement in all three of these areas to make it through unscathed ourselves, IMO.

I'll reserve further judgement until after the Mizzou game.

[jaux]

How about if, all of a sudden, the state of oregon were to drop about 100 feet....but after further review, rose up 100 feet...
:rolleyes:

[The Maestro]

If....

DishNetwork had Fox Sports

:pop:

Don't you have some dijon mayonnaise packets to fill?!?!?!?

[StoopTroup]

This part of your post is what I fear the most about a ten-team Big 12. There will be no conference championship game. OU will be sitting at home watching the other conference championship games on television instead of playing a big game against a division champ. Forgotten by the voters.

Do not fear....Super Bob is here!

http://images.chron.com/blogs/longhorns/stoops.jpg

[ouleaf]

If we go undefeated, would it be better in the eyes of human polls and the algorithms of the computers if:

1.) Texas beats Nebbish. Assuming both of them go on to win out. We then would have wins over a 2 loss Texas that has worked its way to somewhere in the top 25 by the end of the year, and a 2 loss Nebraska team (one loss to Texas, one to us in the B12 CG), who would also be a top 25 team.

or would it be better if

2.) Nebbish beats Texas. We have a win over undefeated top 10 Nebbish team in Big 12 CG, but then we also have a win over a 3 loss Texas team that may or may not get back into the top 25.

[jumperstop]

If we go undefeated, would it be better in the eyes of human polls and the algorithms of the computers if:

1.) Texas beats Nebbish. Assuming both of them go on to win out. We then would have wins over a 2 loss Texas that has worked its way to somewhere in the top 25 by the end of the year, and a 2 loss Nebraska team (one loss to Texas, one to us in the B12 CG), who would also be a top 25 team.

or would it be better if

2.) Nebbish beats Texas. We have a win over undefeated top 10 Nebbish team in Big 12 CG, but then we also have a win over a 3 loss Texas team that may or may not get back into the top 25.

I would say number 1 would be slightly more advantageous for us, but that is purely a guess. I think the what the computers are going to like about us over the other schools is our SoS in non-con games, and that either of these senarios would get us into the MNC over other undefeated teams.

[bikerdood]

...What we need is a win over a 10-2 osu ( Us & Neb) on T-Giving weekend and a win over an undefeated Neb the following weekend... That should solidify us in the top two...

[Scott D]

If....

DishNetwork had Fox Sports

:pop:

lol, Dish Network about to lose local Fox affiliates too. Hope you Dish people liked watching House, Fringe, Lie to Me, Family Guy, Simpsons, etc...

[Mike@DW]

If we go undefeated, would it be better in the eyes of human polls and the algorithms of the computers if:

1.) Texas beats Nebbish. Assuming both of them go on to win out. We then would have wins over a 2 loss Texas that has worked its way to somewhere in the top 25 by the end of the year, and a 2 loss Nebraska team (one loss to Texas, one to us in the B12 CG), who would also be a top 25 team.

or would it be better if

2.) Nebbish beats Texas. We have a win over undefeated top 10 Nebbish team in Big 12 CG, but then we also have a win over a 3 loss Texas team that may or may not get back into the top 25.


#2 IMO. I think we will be solid in the computers but will need a bump in the human poles to make leaps over other undefeated BCS teams. Voters are highly influenced by late season or CCC big wins. We need to beat a 0 loss Nebraska in the CCG.

[soonerboy_odanorth]

Don't worry about the "ifs" this year. Just enjoy the season. Because in no particular order:

* Landry still has the young QB yips. He loses his mind a little bit in pressure situations. Please refer to his two second half fumbles, only one of which was marginally "caused" by a Texas player.

* We have not yet developed a good run defense.

* We have not yet developed a good run offense.

We'll have to make very substantial improvement in all three of these areas to make it through unscathed ourselves, IMO.

I'll reserve further judgement until after the Mizzou game.

I am now further judging.

Above three points are officially still a problem.

We need someone to give oSu another loss, because that one is sittin' 50/50 right now, if not a little worse.

I don't think their defense can stop a car with no tires up on cinder blocks, so we will probably go up and down the field on them. But I don't trust Landry worth a dang there in the 4th q, and our defense might be in trouble with their attack (which should mimic very closely what Mizzou did).