Stoops Wanting To Throw Out Big 12 Format

[setxsports]

Stoops wanting to throw out the Big 12 division format

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

 

Bob Stoops thinks it might be a good idea to scrap the North-South divisional setup in the Big 12.

 

There's no way everybody could play everybody else every year, of course, but adding one conference game and doing away with the conference championship is an old debate Stoops and a few others would like to see rekindled.

 

"It would probably be great, throwing out the Big 12 championship game and play everybody like the Pac-10 does, or play an extra conference game and get away from the divisional mix," the Oklahoma coach said Monday.

 

One benefit would be to shed the rich-man, poor-man imbalance now so entrenched. South teams this year are 13-3 vs. their counterparts in the North. Three South teams are ranked: No. 4 Texas, No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 21 Texas A&M. After Nebraska and Missouri lost last weekend, both to South teams, nobody is ranked in the North.

 

Only three North teams have winning records. In the South, every team but one has more wins than losses.

[TJC_fan]

Well, adding another conference game in lieu of the championship game would cut back on non-conference "low D1 school" games, and reduce the possiblity of high ranked Big 12 teams getting beat in the "extra" game CHAMPIONSHIP.

 

But as long as the $$$$$$ roll in from the Championship game ........

[Guest CNOrtega]

It makes sense. This is how I would fix the Big XII in two easy steps.

 

1. Throw out Colorado (Are they competitive at anything anymore?), bring in TCU.

2a. Send Oklahoma State (seeing Stillwater is further north than Norman) to the Big XII North.

OR

2b. Scrap the North/South idea altogether and do as the Pac-10, Big 10, and Big East do, but keep the Rivalry games (OU vs. Texas, Texas vs. A&M, OU vs. OK State, etc.)

[SL1KK]

If Stoops made the Big 12 Championship game every year he wouldn't be crying....He wasn't crying when OU was pounding Texas....Now that he is on the outside looking in, he wants to complain...I think if he would have beaten TX this year none of this would be an issue...It would probably be Mack Brown doin' the cryin'........LOL

[Aggie2008]

The problem is with the current format ANYONE in the Big 12 South this year, including Baylor, could have won the north title. All of Baylor's wins in conference this year have come against north teams, and so has Oklahoma State's.

 

It is not fair that one division can go 3-13 against the other and still somehow send a team to the title game like they deserve to be there.

[CraigSmoak]

I don't think what Stoops is saying has anything to do with him "whining". Changing the format wouldn't make any difference to help Oklahoma. They would still play Texas every year and it would be the team with the best record winning the conference. So I don't know what you're trying to say there. If anything during his Monday interview, when all of this was brought up, he said he would like to add another conference game and that way play Nebraska every year to rekindle the rivalry. I like the idea but to each his own.

[CraigSmoak]

"There's no way everybody could play everybody else every year, of course, but adding one conference game and doing away with the conference championship is an old debate Stoops and a few others would like to see rekindled.

 

"It would probably be great, throwing out the Big 12 championship game and play everybody like the Pac-10 does, or play an extra conference game and get away from the divisional mix," the Oklahoma coach said Monday.

 

One benefit would be to shed the rich-man, poor-man imbalance now so entrenched. South teams this year are 13-3 vs. their counterparts in the North. Three South teams are ranked: No. 4 Texas, No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 21 Texas A&M. After Nebraska and Missouri lost last weekend, both to South teams, nobody is ranked in the North."

 

 

Keywords: Stoops and a few others. Show me where anything he said has to do with losing to Texas. Get over it.

[SL1KK]

So if OU was atop the Big 12, this interview would still have taken place, and I assume Stoops would have said the exact same statements...

[football4life]

Big 12 South teams should love the North/South Format. The winner of the South pretty much gets an automatic bid into a BCS bowl with the state the North is in right now.

[SL1KK]

Originally posted by football4life

Big 12 South teams should love the North/South Format. The winner of the South pretty much gets an automatic bid into a BCS bowl with the state the North is in right now.

 

EXACTLY !!!

 

Like I said, OU beats TX, no prob.....RIGHT !!!

[CraigSmoak]

Yes the interview still would have taken place because it was his weekly Monday teleconference with various regional members of the media. Most of the questions asked are not from local Oklahoma reporters. So yeah it would have. And again do you not understand the concept? OU would STILL play Texas every year so it has nothing to do with the fact Texas beat him this year. Absolutely NOTHING. It doesn't say Stoops was the only one that likes the idea. It says Stoops and a few others. I also believe that Mack Brown is one of those few others.

[SL1KK]

I believe ya CSmoak, I really do !!!

 

And being a Horns fan, I tend to relish in the victories over OU....IMO if OU was in the North and played that soft schedule year after year this is a non-topic...But my opinions tend to be biased, and I apologize !!!

 

I'm just a big ole HOMER, its all about Texas Teams (all of 'em) all the time

[CraigSmoak]

Why do you think South coaches especially would want a different format? Hmm, maybe because of championship games like OU/Kansas State in 2003 and UT/Colorado in 2001 that should have cost OU and did cost UT chances for the national championship. The problem is that if you win the South and are the best team in the conference then go play a sub-par North team and for some reason don't show up that night it kills the season. How about some North examples? Nebraska in 1996 is on a direct path to what they hope is a 3rd straight national championship but get upset by Texas. In 1998 K-State is #2 in the AP poll and get upset by #10 A&M losing their title hopes. It's an unnecessary risk for the teams involved and that's why some of the coaches (primarily the top ones) don't like it.

[SL1KK]

Well the championship game is no different that late season conference games, you lose - you're out of National Title implications...I don't think its fair either, The Big 10, Pac 10, Big East, none of them have to get ready for one last war to determine their bowl games...Thats where I think greed takes over, a championship game means money, and that supercedes everything....

[CraigSmoak]

I agree.

[UnknownLegend]

If they are so adamant about keeping a conference championship game, why not make it the actual top two schools in the entire conference?

 

Seeing a 10-0 South team play a 7-3 North team is getting kinda old - even when its an upset.

[hendersonlonghorn]

One of your examples proves the value of the North / South game. K State vs TAMU. Sure K lost out on a possible title run, but every college football fan benefitted by seeing a game between 2 top 10 teams that late in the year. Any system that sets up potential top 10 meetings every year has to be a good thing for the fan. Did I hate losing to Colorado a few years ago? Heck yes, but as a fan, I stilll want to see games that matter late in the year.

[Immortal13]

Of course Stoops wants to throw out the current Big12 format. With AD hitting the road and Texas racking up all the recruits, Stoops can see the writing on the wall. Texas may be at the start of a long win streak vs. the Sooners, which means no conf. championships or NC's for OU. Personally, I think either all of the BCS conferences should have a championship game or none should.

 

Stoops is also on record as NOT favoring a playoff system to replace the current BCS system. During this interview, his reasoning really didn't make a lot of sense.

[football4life]

Originally posted by Slikk1803

Well the championship game is no different that late season conference games, you lose - you're out of National Title implications...I don't think its fair either, The Big 10, Pac 10, Big East, none of them have to get ready for one last war to determine their bowl games...Thats where I think greed takes over, a championship game means money, and that supercedes everything....

 

I think all BCS conferences should have 12 teams so they all have to play a conference chapionship. I think the best thing the BCS has given us is a conference championship game. I want to see texas and mizzou play, without a championship game there is no chance of me seeing that.

[bordertown]

Originally posted by CNOrtega

It makes sense. This is how I would fix the Big XII in two easy steps.

 

1. Throw out Colorado (Are they competitive at anything anymore?), bring in TCU.

2a. Send Oklahoma State (seeing Stillwater is further north than Norman) to the Big XII North.

OR

2b. Scrap the North/South idea altogether and do as the Pac-10, Big 10, and Big East do, but keep the Rivalry games (OU vs. Texas, Texas vs. A&M, OU vs. OK State, etc.)

 

TCU does not have a large enough fan following to warrant consideration in the BIG XII. TCU is averaging 33,626 at home. As bad as Colorado is they are averaging 47,634.

[CraigSmoak]

Originally posted by Immortal13

Of course Stoops wants to throw out the current Big12 format. With AD hitting the road and Texas racking up all the recruits, Stoops can see the writing on the wall. Texas may be at the start of a long win streak vs. the Sooners, which means no conf. championships or NC's for OU. Personally, I think either all of the BCS conferences should have a championship game or none should.

 

Stoops is also on record as NOT favoring a playoff system to replace the current BCS system. During this interview, his reasoning really didn't make a lot of sense.

 

I haven't had very much sleep the last couple of nights so maybe I'm just not reading right but if Stoops is seeing the "writing on the wall" what does that have to do with what he is saying in regards to changing up the conference? It's not like he's still not going to play Texas every year. So I don't see where the Horns getting on a streak against OU affects this whatsoever. And like I said before he's not the only coach that has been thinking about doing this.

[CraigSmoak]

I'd rather have them just change the championship to the real top 2 teams but I also wouldn't mind seeing Nebraska/Oklahoma every year in the regular season. The last two years Colorado has been playing for the conference championship and have been unranked.

[Immortal13]

Because it might possibly give OU a second chance to beat UT in a conf. champ game......

[LJLPOP10]

Originally posted by Immortal13

Personally, I think either all of the BCS conferences should have a championship game or none should.

 

Stoops is also on record as NOT favoring a playoff system to replace the current BCS system. During this interview, his reasoning really didn't make a lot of sense.

 

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really agree with you on this. I've never understood why some BCS conferences don't have championship games.

[lobo4life]

I'm in the camp about the conference title games. Either everyone needs to have one or nobody.

 

How many times has the Big 12 lost a national title contender because of the championship game? Just off the top of my head I can think of Nebraska in '96 (who would have won it IMO), Kansas State the next year and Texas in '01 (even though Nebraska still represented the Big 12, but they didn't deserve it and NU fans will admit as much).

 

I'm sure that there have been more, but that's 3 opportunities that the Big 12 could have had to win or at least play for a national title that didn't happen because of the title game.

 

I don't really care what Stoops said. I kind of agree with what he's saying, but didn't really pay attention because there's no chance that this happens IMO.