Bob Stoops: We Don't Have To Play Texas

OU Sucks

Is Deloss going to call his bluff? The plot thickens…….

Trout, what he says is true, so why does DeLoss need to do anything and exactly what would you consider to be “calling his bluff”?

OU is on a public campaign to tell the world that they are their own master, which is both true and the smart thing to do in marketing themselves to the Pac 12. Do they (and OSU) have to have us to make that move? I don’t know; that will be up to Larry Scott and not OU. Would they rather make it with us and Tech? I strongly believe so, but I don’t blame them for the messaging that is going on. As I said, it’s the smart thing to do since, IMO, they are actively casting a net toward the Pac 12.

Can’t wait to hear Aggies make a mountain out of this mole hill.

What did he say that isn’t factual? When prompted, he stated the fact that it “isn’t necessary” for OU and UT to play each other. This is factual. He didn’t say it was preferable or desirable, he said it wasn’t “necessary”. Big fucking deal.

This 2008 article by TaylorTRoom bears reading again. Would be a shame to lose this.

http://barkingcarnival.fantake.com/2008/10/07/kind-of-a-big-deal/

Bad poker. It looks like they may have just tipped their hand. Don’t believe for one second OU wants to drop their biggest recruiting game of the year. And OU had played it so well to this point. Time to call their bluff. Your turn Deloss.

It’s not actually necessary to play football at all.

t1, all he said was that once someone isn’t in your conference anymore, it isn’t necessary to play them. Well, duh!

Easy to over react to this.

Stoops also has significant doubts about his need for oxygen.

The real question is this: Why is an aggie commenting on a thread that has less than zero to do with A&M on a Longhorn blog?

"Whatever (president David Boren) and (athletic director Joe Castiglione) say, I’m all in."

Guy talks in parentheses. ’Nuff said.

As cash strapped as the UT program is for donations and merchandise sales, it will certainly be worth it to lose A&M, OU and Nebraska off the schedule, if it means more TV revenue. Not to mention, how far recruiting has slipped lately.

Well, obviously it’s not meant to be taken literally; it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products.

Jackie ftw.

When Bob Stoops fibs does his chin shrink?

Not that I think he’s lying, I’m just asking.

Stoops also doubted the needs to avoid the risk of further injury to Bradford’s shoulder, to prepare for BCS games during much of the last 10 years, or for a chin generally. What’s the point?

"I don’t think it’s necessary," Stoops said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. "No one wants to hear that, but life changes. If it changes, you’ve got to change with it to whatever degree. If it works, great. I love the game. But if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. Sometimes that’s the way it goes."

Just another line in the sand in the war of words.

Notice we haven’t heard from the AD yet. Wonder if he really has been put out of the loop.

Settle down Jake. No one is overreacting, especially this kid. That’s why I spoke in the future conditional. I don’t seriously believe that OU will give up one of the 3 biggest rivalry games in all of college football and one of their best recruiting tools. I also linked that because I really like that artice. It details just how special the RRS really is.

*article

Stoops would say this. He has a huge ego and he loathes Texas (except our high school talent). He is simply trying to put The University down with a cheap shot but it came off obvious, and like a dollar pop gun.
Did I mention ou sucks?

I’m sure that Jack Crowe made a similar statement when he was head coach at Arkansas as the Razorbacks readied for the SEC. He probably dismissed any affect a conference change would have on the Hogs’ recruiting in the state of Texas. We all know how little recruiting has to do with winning and losing.

Bullshit

I hope Dodds and Powers have not shit in each other’s mess kits.

That’s just posturing. Relax

What is it about Stoops that makes it so easy to take one’s hatred of OU to another level

I can’t say I disagree with his statement.

But then, the state of Oklahoma isn’t necessary either.

I think we’re fine even in the “worst case” scenario wherein OU AND A$M leave for different conferences. Things change and they both suck, so I’m good with that possibility also.

 Our recruiting will be fine as long as we’re successful – and we WILL be successful.

59 out of 99 kids on Oklahoma’s 2011 roster are from the state of Texas:

http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/okla-m-footbl-mtt.html

I’m sure OU would do well picking up new recruits from California with a move to the PacX. And I’m sure they would still be able to pull a good amount of talent out of Texas each year.

But losing the visibility of playing Texas every year in Dallas would definitely hurt Oklahoma. Maybe they could “adjust” and schedule other games in the Dallas area, but I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say this is all posturing and OU would absolutely hate to lose this game.

If the Sooners want to push us into a corner, Texas has a lot of options that OU won’t like.

Nobody puts Texas in a corner.

He’s just staying on message with Boren. “We (and OSU) are attractive by ourselves”, if anyone’s linterested, which they (the Pac 12) are. Whether it’s exactly what Larry Scott needs to hear right now, we’ll know soon enough. But it can’t hurt them to take that public position.

They don’t want to give up the rivalry for reasons already mentioned. But they have recruited very heavily in the West of late and I think thcess in North Texas at least. So if not playing us is the only way to get the invite from the Pac 12, they’d reluctantly agree, IMO. Personally, I think we are headed West with them, OSU and Tech. Of course, they’ll be in a Conestoga Wagon and we’ll be in a charter jet. (Sorry, I couldn’t go any longer without denigrating them in some way.)

Also, Stoops seems oblivious to the fact that a ticket to the Texas-OU game in the Cotton Bowl is hard to come by without holding season tickets and making donations to the athletic department of one’s school. The scarcity of tickets (40k for each) for this great rivalry game helps ticket sales and donations, simply put. Stoops should know that the price on a ticket to the game does not reflect the actual price paid in most circumstances He is right in saying that everyone could eventually adjust to the end of the annual rivalry, but come on, who relies heavily on this game for help in recruiting? The game is a money machine and a recruiting tool.

This is our partner in crime? Great, I’m totally soothed.

Looks like we may find out as soon regardless…reports surfacing everywhere that SEC presidents are meeting tonight to unanimously vote atm in, and an announcement will be made tomorrow.

Stoops is one of those people that has convinced himself of his brilliance for so long that he doesn’t have the filter to realize when he’s being a moron. No one would ever believe such a statement except for Stoops himself.

Stoops has publicly admitted that they focus on Texas most of the year, so if they don’t play us what the hell are they going to do?
Same thing for Aggys. What the hell are they going to obsess with if they don’t play us?

OU could come to Texas and play UH or Baylor or TCU just to get recruiting exposure and Texas kids are always going to leave the state. All talk of Mack Brown closing the borders was a bunch of BS, but it sounded good to some.

This is a nothing story. Media was fishing for a quote and got it. Analysis complete.

Stoops is pissed because Mack through him out of the sand box and will not let him have most of the toys. Conference championships do not soothe the pain.

Dedfish, I saw what you did there. Posturing people, that’s all this is. Move along.

What Horn Brain said.

For posturing, it sure is a radical departure from any Stoops comment previously. I’m not trying to be a doomsayer here, but it was Dodds himself who said we needed to be on the same page with OU. It neither looks nor feels like we’re on the same page. OU and OSU see that PAC 12 is making more money than SEC, and WAY more than Big XII. Here’s hoping Larry Scott has our back, cause I’m pretty sure Sooner is gone, posturing or no.

Pac-12 tells everyone to slow their roll.

Basically it turns out that they would probably take the Oklahoma schools without Texas, but only if the SEC and Big 10 expand first.

This is just cocky stoops blowing hot air. Worthless as news.

“We don’t have to play Texas.”

I guess Bob didn’t check this idea with the OU fanbase.

Whatever. The RRR will be going on long after Bob Stoops has stopped coaching the Oklahoma Sooners. And whether or not Texas and OU wind up in the same conference.

The fanbase of both Texas and OU want this one to continue. Bob Stoops be damned. Idiot.

I am not sure why people think Texas players will necessarily continue to go to OU in great numbers if the only games they are playing in state are irregular affairs or even just the RRS. This isn’t the pre-Big 12 world.
Would Baylor really have any interest in playing the school that consigned them to a second tier conference? TCU probably would rather avoid them at this point in their ascendency, why share Metroplex recruits with OU? A&M might have given them a game, but with their SEC sched they will likely need a full patsy OOC slate to make sure they get a bowl game.
The state will never be completely closed, but I don’t see why OU’s continued success in recruiting Texas necessarily has to continue. Will top players from Kansas and Missouri and other old Big 12 states also have OU at the tops of their lists anymore? OU can’t go to the Pac 12 and play Texas, another game in the state, and play a game against Mizzou or KU or KSU to keep those players from just staying close to home and playing in the Big 10.
OU might reap some benefits in CA, but do you really think they will fill well over half of their roster with CA players like they do with Texas players? People act like they have a CA pipeline, but you do realize they currently have 4 players from CA on their roster…is that considered a pipeline?

A rumor floating around that Baylor has offered to take half the money of what Tech would get to take their place in the Pac 16.

The afford are giddy over tomorrow’s expected announcement. I heard some guy from Texags on Paul Finebaum (the douchieness almost killed me) who had the following thoughts:

Abhors are happier about moving to the SEC than they were about winning their one and only Big 12 championship

Everyone in the Big 12 hates Texas because of their greed and the LHN

Texas will have to swallow their ego and kill the LHN of anyone is going
To take them in a conference

I hope this shit ends soon

IPhone doesn’t know what Aggies are apparently

It’s b/c, unlike w/ Greg Davis, he won’t know the plays Texas will run beforehand, so Texas won’t be playing w/ 1 hand tied behind its back anymore.

ded, I assume you’re joking, If so, that’s funny as hell.

If not, Baylor is a non-starter out west because it is considered private and religion-based.

If Baylor takes half the money then at some point it will be Texas’ fault Baylor was mistreated by the money grubbing T-Sips.

Oklahoma doesn’t have enough tv sets to pull an invite from the PAC 12. They NEED the Texas brand and all the tv sets it pulls in.

It isn’t necessary for Patches O’Houlihan to drink his own urine, but he does it anyway.

It could be worse – it could be Swiitzer!

“What is it about Stoops that makes it so easy to take one’s hatred of OU to another level”

Blessed is just about anyone with a vested interest in the status quo

Rip Torn ftw.

However tiresome it is getting, I think the overlooked reason for the unrest in the Big 12 (particularly ou) is the LHN – again. The perception is (with no little justification) that the LHN will give UT a humongus advantage in recruiting. Quite simply, whether it is football or not, the UT brand will be on TV 24/7 and that is scary for schools like ou who depend heavily on Texas talent to compete ANYWHERE, in any sport!

I can’t say that I blame them.

Snide, I can’t blame them for not loving it, but where Big XII members are concerned, they had their chance. This conference voted down the idea of a conference network. Texas wasn’t hiding the ball with its intentions about forming their own. So not our fault anybody else woke up on Christmas Day and realized that THEIR 3rd tier rights weren’t as valuable without Texas. Boo frigging hoo, IMHO.

If Boren has sidelined Castiglione for the OU-to-PacXX move discussions, then it would behoove Bill Powers to have a one-on-one discussion with Boren to get the lay of the land and find out whether the funeral wreaths need to be ordered for the Big XII-2. The impacts of the conference realignment will impact both schools in academics and athletics for many years and probably decades to come, so hopefully no rash decisions are made. Maybe Powers/Dodds should coax ESPN to help OU get their own network set up sooner (no pun intended) rather than later.

If it turns out that UT and OU have to go their separate ways, hopefully the RRS can continue as it always has. That game is important to BOTH teams, whether anyone admits it or not.

Snide,

That might be the reason to go independent in that we can keep more of the high level recruits to ourselves. It would be funny if A&M going to SEC and OU going to PAC 12 actually made us stronger and them weaker.

I told a friend of mine years ago that I thought Nebraska was going to get a lot weaker after Osborne and he poo-pooed it saying that Nebraska will always be Nebraska.

That may be the same mindset that OU has. It took a great coach (and Stoops is great even though I am thoroughly convinced he knew about the cheating earlier) to have them where they are. Take away the RRS and they may fall a lot more than they think.

After all, how did little states like OU and Alabama become great national powers. It was through cheating which is much, much harder to do nowadays.

Stoops -

Always an enjoyable view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWFbGw-jZvc

Awesome, we get Tech and Baylor in a bidding war over who get’s to carry our water to the Pac 16.

"Convinced Of Own Self Importance Hatfields Declare McCoys No Longer Needed"

It is true that OU does not have to play UT. After all, OU and Nebraska no longer play each other.

It is NOT true that OU would not suffer without Texas on their schedule. Typically over half of the Oklahoma roster is from the state of Texas. OU NEEDS a big profile in the state of Texas to keep that going. That profile is maintained by games again Baylor, TT, A&M and most importantly UT in Dallas. Any move from the Big 12 hurts OU in terms of Texas exposure, but parting ways with Texas (or, to the point, the Red River Shootout) would be devastating.

There is a very good comp for just this scenario… Arkansas leaving the SWC. Arky’s ability to recruit the state of Texas has never been the same… which is why they were so eager to play Texas a couple times last decade and set up an annual Jerry World showdown with A&M.

As we contemplate keeping all of the Texas talent in Texas if OU and Texas no longer play each other, remeber to factor the scholly limits into your calculations.

This rain you all speak of sure smells like piss to me. If we lose the OU game, our annual slate of games takes a nosedive (future games against USC and ND notwithstanding). I hear you all telling yourselves that they’re just bluffing, they certainly wouldn’ t dare cancel their biggest rivalry, think of the recruiting, blah blah blah.

Just remember, the aggies are telling themselves the same things about us – and most of us don’t give a crap about continuing that series. I hope we’re not about to get a big ol’ serving of humble pie.

In line with Mark Cuban’s blog thoughts and with DeLoss’ earlier comments, Texas really doesn’t want to go indy and the Big XII does not have to die. Yes, the departured of NU, CU, A&M, and (presumably) OU/OSU has hollowed out the Big VII tremendously. But unless the B12’s tier1 and tier2 contracts have specified the actual schools, there’s no reason that adding SMU (who has already stated their desire to join), BYU, and Tulsa (or UTEP or whoever) couldn’t put the numbers back to double digits. Yes, the conference SOS would suck, but if the guaranteed BCS bowl and TV contracts are still there for at least a few more years, why wouldn’t DeLoss and Powers prefer that instead of pulling up roots to become a small fish in a big pond (e.g. Pac) elsewhere? This is an ugly scenario, of course, but the point is that Texas still has the option to stay put (if it wants to) and spend the next few years milking the B12 and LHN for revenues. Such a scenario would make the Big XII like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfes… wouldn’t this almost guarantee Texas the (now OU-less) B12 title and BCS bowl each year?

And OU can still be scheduled as an OOC game each year, like before during the Big 8 / SWC days.

I like PoofyBevo’s reasoning. The low-power Big XII only needs to stick around long enough for the LHN to build over the next four years in order to make it less negotiable with other conferences.

I doubt the BCS would take away the Big XII-lite’s automatic BCS birth, especially with the additional BCS game they added a few years back.

If we remain in a weakened Big XII, we WILL get passed over for MNC game at some point. Not if, but when. You guys WANT to be 2004 Auburn? Somebody needs to do some fence mending with Sooner STAT.

I think contractually the Big 12 can’t have its BCS birth removed so long as it is in existence according to the rules. I imagine there is a minimum number of teams that have to be in the conference, but I believe the Big 12 gets to keep its former member’s record when it comes time to re-up the contract but by then Texas will bail on the conference too.

I think even knowing that the deal is a short term one, teams like those mentioned by Poofy would probably jump at the chance for a shot at the big time, knowing that beating Texas is the only potential hurdle to getting a coveted BCS bid. Plus they would make a lot more money and might even score a handful of higher quality recruits. If one or two of them can make TCU-like strides they might even beat out teams like Baylor or ISU for a spot in a superconference.

I am not sure I like this play particularly, but its sort of like going independent without actually having to apply for a BCS exemption or trying to find a landing place for the other sports. The key is to keep the number of teams at whatever the allowable minimum is to schedule more quality OOC games. This is where Texas will get hurt as they will probably have to make any case for a spot in the MNC during the first half of the season when the team might not be at its most efficient.

TexanNick,
A weakened Big 12 with Texas at the helm would be dead by 2015. So long as we continue our place of prominence in the national picture we won’t get passed on an MNC bid unless our schedule has no quality teams, But looking at the games already on the schedule between now and 2015, I think there is enough meat there to make our case, especially if we can add one more quality game each season.

If UT remains in a hollowed out Big 12, then Texas would become a bit like Boise State in that it could be a Top 5 team only so long as it can schedule good OOC games and also remain undefeated. If Boise is ranked #4 from the Mountain West (which is not an AQ conference), then surely Texas could do the same even in a dumbed-down Big XII. And the “beauty” of such a scenario is that Texas could still be conference champions and get a BCS bowl bid (and BCS $) even if it lost an OOC game. I’m inclined to think DeLoss and Mack would like that.

And Texas will be silently chuckling while teams from A&M, OU and OSU are forced to fly a thousand miles every other weekend to play in murderer’s row conferences while Texas is sitting on its front porch eating cupcakes.

Ricky and Poofy, I hear what you guys are saying, and I don’t think you’re wrong. But let me point out that we could only schedule good OOC games if other programs have the freedom and desire to do so. If everybody else is playing in 14-16 team conferences, the freedom may not be there even if the desire is. So if a weakened Big XII is dead in 3 years anyway, why are we excited by the opportunity to be behind the curve?

I’m not content to be like Boise, and I’m having trouble figuring out why anyone else would be either. We’re Texas. Are we afraid to play in a real conference? Boise has had an absolute ceiling in the last 5 years, same as TCU. no higher than 4-5, with DAMN good OOC games on the schedule. That will be Texas in a weakened Big XII. and even those games already scheduled against BYU and ND won’t save us when the toughest conference game we play is Baylor or K State.

And by the way, you think Mizzou is going to hang around? Big East or SEC will take them from us in a heartbeat, and they’ll be happy to go. So unless you’re gonna get 3-4 new teams to sign up, the AQ won’t be there much longer anyway.

you know, i have to wonder if bryan harsin were still at boise if the sooners would be squealing like they are right now.

TexanNick, I get what you mean, but think it will take a few more years for the superconferences to fully form. Rearranging the entire national landscape of college football conferences will take time. If Texas can milk the existing Big 12 TV contracts and LHN and (increased probability of getting) Fiesta BCS bowl payouts for 3 more years, while collecting the exit fees from A&M, OU, OSU, and Mizzou, that’s a shipload of money that Texas can take to the bank while waiting to see what shakes out. Everyone is saying the Super-Pac is best for Texas, but what if the Big 10 modifies their rules to take in ND? And what schools are going to form the 4th superconference? Texas can keep cashing checks until it determines who is hosting the best BBQ. If it commits/jumps too early, perhaps Texas ends up being at a party with burnt briskets when it could have delayed its RSVP and gone to a different/better party instead.

Poofy, that makes absolute sense, thank you. If that’s the thinking, good. I’m just not convinced it is.

Not to mention what most of us typically ignore, the increased time and travel demands on UT student-athletes who make this whole money machine work in the first place. Even though we hope/expect the likes of Shipley and Malcolm to play on Sundays, if Texas can eliminate 5 hours of travel time every other week for these guys, then that should help them (and all of the football and non-revenue athletes) to study and earn their Texas degrees.

Staying put helps put the student back in student-athlete.

Poof, let me ask you, why do you assume our bargaining leverage increases later? I’m assuming you DON’T agree we take a prestige hit playing in a watered down conference? What if B1G or PAC 14 aren’t interested in expansion in 2-4 years?

Look, I’ve made the exact argument Ricky has made before about staying in a leftover conference.

Figure Mizzou is out the door in OU and OSU leave as well (14th SEC team with Aggy).

That leaves

Texas
Tech
Baylor
ISU
Kansas
Kansas State

Add Rice and SMU.

That makes 8. Minimum number to keep our AQ status. To keep AQ status a conference has to average something like 16 in the BCS for their champion- over a 3 year period.

That’s such a low hurdle that the dregs of the big east still have AQ status, even after Miami, Va Tech and BC jumped ship. There is no way that a Texas in that conference doesn’t keep us with the auto qualifier.

Supplement those weakish 7 games in football with this for an OOC schedule (first 3 play every year- last 2 switch it up)

OU- no way they lose this game willingly
ND- Independent need the help
BYU- Independent need the help
West Coast Power- USC/Oregon/Boise etc
East Coast Power- FSU, VA Tech, Penn State etc.

That is an automatic (8 or 9 out of 10 years) trip to the BCS as there’s no way we don’t dominate that conference. That is 6 really good games the fans would like out of 12 (5 OOC and Tech), and at least as good and strong a schedule as we play most years.

Recuits would like those big natonal games every year and always playing in the BCS. We could put 2 or 3 or 4 games on the LHN (what- SMU is going to say no to us if we offer them this AQ confernce?)

Do you really think that a Texas team that played and beat USC, ND, BYU, Penn State and OU is getting left out of the national title game? Absolutely not- it won’t matter that we are in a conference of lesser weights.

Boise plays 1 or 2 national games a year and a collection of lame, weak and halt and they’ve been knocking on the door. The year Utah went undefeated and got left out (08) they would have been in the game if they hadn’t dropped us at the last minute (presuming they won that game of course).

This conference also allows for reduced travel, stress and wear and tear on our players. If we got to layer our games where we have a Rice before an OU, and then an SMU and a Tech and then USC then we can prepare and game prep and don’t have to go through a muderers row of OU, OSU, TECH and Mizzou like we did in 08.

I’m not saying I’d love this situation, but we get to keep the LHN, win a boatload conference titles, automatic bid just about to a BCS game ever year and play interesting games.

Miami won a bunch of National titles as an independant with a schedule like this- along with a natty against a weak ACC field. 5 national games is enough, and layering in cupcakes allows for health and game planning as you only have to get up every other week.

It wouldn’t be the end of the world.

I am still with Poofy. I don’t understand why we should move into a position where Washington State gets to tell us what we can or cannot do. While the Baylors and Iowa States, and Arizona States and Colorados of the world have a place in the pecking order, I am tired of watching us spin our wheels catering to the needs of the lowest common denominator. Major college football needs to jettison at least half its teams and let those at the top compete not just on the field but for the hearts, minds, and dollars of the fans. I don’t see why we have to drop the LHN and combine it with Tech because the Pac 12 says so. I guess it makes sense to the Pac 10 to appease Washington State or Cal or any of the other teams with weak fan bases (though in reality the conference bureaucracy is just looking to flex its muscles), but I don’t understand the desire to give these teams an outsized seat at the table when they bring their ziploc baggy of vittles to the feast.

Ditto what Wulaw and Ricky are saying.

TexanNick, I don’t think it’s safe to assume anything these days, which is why staying put is best IMO. It basically boils down to holding onto 3 birds (an outsized share of Big 12 revenues, keeping the Longhorn Network and its revenues, and a clear path to the Fiesta/BCS bowl+payout if not the MNC game) versus chasing 4 birds in larger, far away bushes.

Popular scuttlebutt says superconferences (S/C) will have 16 teams each, but who knows? If all college football programs in America including ND and BYU are moving to 4 or 5 superconferences starting in 2012, then yes, Texas would be under the gun to decide right now. But the game of S/C musical chairs is still in the early stages, so there should be enough seats left. Good but not great teams like Mizzou and OSU are the ones that must scramble to secure their S/C seats now. While the Big 12 cruise ship slowly sinks over the next few years, Texas will (or at least can) make a small fortune claiming the jewelry and valuables abandoned by A&M, OU/OSU and Mizzou as they run for the nearest lifeboat. All this while Texas knows it has a swank LHN lifeboat available for its private and exclusive use in case the ship actually sinks before Texas can transfer its ticket onto another super cruise liner.

Come on folks, look at the facts:

• Oklahoma needs the Texas game to adequately recruit Texas
  *Stoops is being told what to say
  *DeLoss has been setting the players up for this moment (aggies. Leaving)
  *he and Scott have an “end game”
• pieces will start moving for real when SEC “accepts” Aggies (today or tomorrow )
  *Texas state legislature will finally stay outta this.
  *it will all become much clearer by Saturday

Great analogy Poofy!

Pooch, you’ve convinced me. I’m happy either way.

Also:
*Texas recruiting is to look west (talent with academics)(Westerman, Brewer, Peat)
*Deloss is playing “Texas hold’em” , excuse the pun & he’s got a “pat” hand.

So open up a cool one, kick back & enjoy the show…. admission is free.

It is also not NECESSARY for Bob Stoops to always suck d!ck…but it happens anyway.

If the Big 12 drops to 7 members, UT should approach Miami to join the conference. Miami would benefit from being in a smaller conference that allows them to schedule more out of conference games. If Miami only had 7 conference games, the U would have up to 6 ooc games free to schedule against the likes of Boston College, Syracuse, Penn State, and Notre Dame – basically the conference Miami wishes they had.

Miami would add lots of TV sets in Florida and the northeast where the U has a large alumni base. Miami and UT would dominate the conference every year. A Miami-Texas game played on championship Saturday would likely feature two top 10 teams almost every year. The biggest weakness of Texas-OU is that the game is so early in the season that the rest of conference play is anti-climactic.

The Texas-OU game will continue no matter what conference these teams call home, but there would be advantages for the conference if OU was replaced by Miami. Miami would add a Florida recruiting base to a Texas recruiting base for the benefit of the whole conference.

The Big 12 should not expand past 8 teams, but if The Big 12 is forced to invite schools from out of the region, they should invite schools that have airports close to campus and are nice travel destinations: Miami, Penn State, Central Florida, South Florida, San Diego State. If the Big 12 drops to 6 members, Miami and Penn State would be the two best candidates for reasons of fast air travel, TV markets, and recruiting bases. Penn State probably has the largest TV audience in the Big 10 and they need Texas and Florida recruits to stay competitive.

I want some of whatever Maroon Carrots is smoking.

I’m somewhat mollified about standing pat for now. But if we’re gonna stay, I’d like to see aggressive expansion. Big XII can either continue to be a shopping mall for other conferences or BE a conference. I don’t care as much about who, as I do about NOW.

JET:

• Oklahoma needs the Texas game to adequately recruit Texas
  —This is the most ignorant assertion made to date. Based on the old chestnut “correlation = causation”, UT fans think that Arky’s move to the SEC is a perfect comparator for OU’s future. Never mind that Arkansas went from the relatively manageable SWC to the brutal SEC. Or that OU would be going to a Pac 12 significantly bruised by NCAA sanctions (USC and coming soon Oregon) without a true top dog. Skip the fact that OU as a program is in a class (along with Texas, Ohio State, and the like) that Arkansas has never been anywhere close to approaching. Don’t worry about those little distinguishing factors. Correlation always equals causation.

*Stoops is being told what to say
—No shit. You think Stoops or Mack “piss teeth” Brown get to think for themselves in this matter? Not likely.

*DeLoss has been setting the players up for this moment
—No, he hasn’t. He was setting up A&M to find their way to the door, but what’s happened since then was not in the game plan.

*he and Scott have an "end game"
—That’s for damned sure, but where you miss the mark is that Scott’s end game and that of Dodds are not one and the same. What Scott wants is not at all what Dodds wants.

Agree across the board with Nate, except that I am not sure that Stoops is being told what to say. I agree that what Stoops or Mack think about that matter might be taken into consideration, but its not like their opinions mean a hill of beans. I think this was just as likely Stoops unplugged as it was any sort of orchestrated shot across anyone’s bow.

In the end, I am not sure why this is really that big of news. I have seen more than my share of Bob Stoops press conferences, and this seems perfectly in keeping with his attitude towards everything. I think he honestly feels that the game is good for both parties, but if it is no longer played, then OU will be fine.

Does the RRR help OU recruit Texas? Yes. Do they need it to successfully recruit kids out of Texas. I think not.

TexanNick,

Suppose you’re Penn State. You’re making great money off of the Big 10 network, but you look around the conference and see teams like Northwestern and Purdue are making the same amount of TV money as you are. You’re delivering most of the northeastern TV markets and you’re subsidizing the rest of the Big 10. Seem fair?

Then you look at Texas and see that UT is making twice what you are with a similar sized fan base. Penn State also looks around and realizes that the Big 10 recruiting base is in long-term decline. If Penn State doesn’t improve access to Texas and Florida recruits, Penn State will never win another championship.

Now, suppose I’m Texas and I offer you (Penn State) a deal that pays you twice the TV money you’re making now, are you really going to tell me to keep my money and my recruits?

Texas has the strongest hand of any team in college football. There is no need to push the panic button. We can join any conference we want or we can construct a conference that works for us. We should never join a conference that works against our best interest.

Any conference with Texas will be one of the four elite conferences in the league. If we are forced to share LHN with another school to maintain conference credibility, why not choose a school like Penn State instead of a school like Tech that offers nothing?

And enough with the Deloss is orchestrating all of this, and everything is going according to plan BS. Does Deloss probably know that at the end of the day, UT can approach Scott and land comfortably in the PAC? Probably.

I do not think UT wanted to see the Big 12 implode this soon or ever. I think Deloss (and Boren/JC) thought that the next time realignment scenarios popped up would be closer to the 2016 end date of the TV contracts, giving the LHN time to grow and mature. I am sure they were not unprepared for the possibility that things would fall apart more quickly, but I do not for a minute think that they are happy with how things are playing out.

OU’s Texas recruiting would drop off a cliff if they hit a rough patch and don’t play UT regularly. Heck during the McWilliams/Mackovic era we could even recruit the elite in our own state. Nothing is ever a certainty and OU stands to lose a lot more than we do if the game were to really stop being played. Its not going to happen, so we won’t ever get to test it.

-"Texas has the strongest hand of any team in college football. "

Not hardly. Not with the albatross around its collective neck that is the LHN.

I mentioned it before and I will stick to it. I believe Texas will be fine. But to say that their bargaining power isn’t impaired by the LHN is naive.

Texas had better think long and hard about trying to salvage this conference if OU/OSU and Mizzou end up leaving. Regardless of who you add (the talk of ND, Miami and some of these other pipe-dream schools is beyond my inclination to even address), the strength of the conference will be so impaired that the AQ will not be along for long. What bargaining power is UT going to have then compared to now?

I think UT has the fan base, money, clout and overall tv sets to go independent, but I just don’t think that is a wise move.

I agree that OU would love to keep Texas on the schedule. We would have loved to keep Nebraska on the schedule. Things change though. If we go to the PAC?, I don’t see us bending over backwards to ensure that we play a powerhouse program OOC if we have a decent conference slate to contend with already. Sure the fans like it (both sides) and sure it helps in recruiting. However, I don’t think OU absolutely has to have that game to recruit Texas.

Bravo,

I agree. Saying we have the strongest hand in college football right now is silly. If we want to keep the LHN intact, you are looking at either keeping the Big 12 intact or going to the SEC. Otherwise, every other move requires at least some level of accommodation by the conference.

I am not in the least panicked about this, I think UT will end up fine. But, I also do not see how everyone thinks we are holding all the cards here or have significant leverage. I am sure that every conference would like to add Texas, but I also think that the PAC and the Big X know they will be fine with or without us. And I am sure that some of the individual member schools would rather avoid the headache of adding a school with its own network.

Bravo,

If Texas doesn’t have the best hand of any team in college football, can you enlighten the rest of us and tell us which team does have the best hand?

Of course, Texas doesn’t hold all of the cards. When does that ever happen in life? But we have enough cards to stay out of a conference that wants to stick it in our butt (Pac 12).

As far as pipe dreams, that’s bullshit. Nobody has a crystal ball. The world is chaos. The only constant is change, and the so-called experts have frequently been proven wrong.

Is there not a loophole in TV contracts that says something along the lines of, “If this conference is dramatically changed or disappears, the contract is void?” Are you sure Big TV would be willing to shell out money for the Big 12 less NU, CU, OU, OSU, and A&M? If the Big 12 loses all 5 of those schools and does not add the glamour program(s) they’re drooling over, I’m pretty sure that TV money (not LHN money) goes away or is reduced considerably.

I don’t think there’s a chance Miami (FL) leaves the ACC voluntarily. The way I see it, the superconferences (if/when that happens) will be West (PAC), North (Big Ten), South (SEC), and East (some ACC/BE hybrid).

And I’m pretty sure the BE would be willing to bend over and let UT keep the LHN if UT were to join the conference. They don’t appear to be confronting Notre Dame about partial membership. Why would they say no to an 800-lb gorilla?

Bravo and Fevrier, I’m with you entirely. I don’t know why so many fans are on board with the “PAC wants to stick it in our butt” theory.

OU is doing what Aggy did… Figure out that they CAN survive without UT. everyone assumes that the BCS and other conferences will bend over for us, but big shock, its not happening. College Football is about politics, and politics is perception. The minute people perceive they don’t need you, your power is gone.

Fevrier,

Worst case scenario: Texas stays in the Big 12 plugging in teams like Central Florida to fill the gaps. We win the Big 12 and go to the BCS bowl seven or eight years out of ten. We continue to play OU ooc every year because it’s in the best interests of both schools to play that game. The conference TV contract goes down, but the BCS money remains and gets split among 8 teams instead of 12 teams. Texas shares money with conference members based upon what the market says they are worth.

I’m throwing out scenarios to illustrate Texas doesn’t have to join a Pac 12 or SEC that dictates terms. Money is driving conference realignment. If Miami or Penn State can make more money and increase recruiting exposure by leaving their conferences, why wouldn’t they do that?

I don’t know what’s going to happen, but Texas should be thinking outside of the box and exploring all its options. Too many people on this site are suffering from Pike Syndrome.

TexanNick,

College football is about money.

Texas has a TV contract that could be worth $1,000,000,000. The Pac 12 says we’d like to have Texas but we’re going to divide that contract among 16 teams.

Texas will get $62.5 million out of the $1 billion and the other 15 Pac teams that did nothing will get $937.5 million out of the $1 billion.

Is that a good deal for Texas?

What would happen if Dodds found another cash rich, high-profile program and sold them 49% of the LHN, with two stipulations, the 49% could not be resold without UT’s approval and UT would have first right of refusal at a stipulated price in the future?

An agreement like that would appear to give UT a true business partner for conference realignment, and the negotiating power that comes with numbers. Dodds is a businessman, and the LHN is a tool. Wouldn’t an arrangement like this alleviate some of the problems the LHN has caused?

Java,

I think Texas should explore that option. If OU leaves, Texas needs a marquee program that we could play every year on championship weekend. Partnering with a high-profile program that delivers a lot of TV sets seems like a win-win for both schools. Instead of sharing LHN, maybe get Penn State their own channel and sell both channels as a package throughout Texas and the northeast.

Maroon, I agree, it’s about money. But let’s quit throwing around that 1 Billion #, cause it won’t be soon, if ever. Meanwhile, PAC just signed MASSIVE deal that would only get better if you added the Big 4 to it. That’s guaranteed money. Chris Johnson LOVES the idea.

Sorry, Nick. I don’t know who Chris Johnson is. Can you tell us why his opinion is important?

maroon carrots—

In your worst-case scenario, you really believe that a Big 12 without Nebraska, Colorado, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State can only add Central Florida and expect to retain an automatic BCS bid? That’s still pretty optimistic. I don’t doubt UT’s ability to secure an at-large bid as the Big 12-lite champion (assuming it runs the table against quality competition), but as far as worst-case scenarios go, the Big 12-lite is basically the Mountain West East.

It’s not unprecedented for an 8-school league to have an automatic bid, but I’m interested in seeing if the Big East keeps its automatic bid the next time decisions are made.

Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor, Central Florida, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, and Iowa State

Pitt, West Virginia, Syracuse, South Florida, UConn, Louisville, Rutgers, Cincinnati

Fevrier,

Let me know when the Big East loses their AQ BCS. The Big East has kept the BCS AQ for 7 years and counting without a single elite football program.

Texas is an elite program. The Texas-OU game will continue, and Texas already has Notre Dame, BYU, and USC scheduled through 2020. Texas can survive and prosper in a weak conference.

By the way, aren’t you an LSU fan, Fevrier? Why do you want A&M to join your conference? A&M joining the SEC really isn’t in LSU’s best interests.

A&M joining the SEC gives them what they have always wanted, a stronger presence in the fertile Texas talent pool. LSU stands to gain just as much or more than the other SEC schools. The tv sets and the attributes of what A&M brings to the conference is negligible. The SEC wants a Texas school to get those recruits.

Since the Big 12 was formed, LSU has been the school of choice for Texas players who are academically ineligible to play in the Big 12. When A&M joins the SEC, the aggies will lower their academic standards to SEC levels. 4 star and 5 star recruits from the state of Texas that would be going to LSU will commit to A&M instead.

The SEC has been able to do most of their recruiting in the dark for the last 100 years. SEC schools have an incentive not to expose the recruiting practices of fellow conference members. Texas has no such concerns – even if half of the SEC winds up on probation or facing the death penalty. Once the SEC invades the state of Texas, Texas will have no choice but to spend whatever it takes to flush out cheating not just in Texas but in SEC territory as well. Many SEC schools could suffer from having a light shined on their recruiting practices and the like.

LSU has benefitted from the formation of the Big 12 more than any other school. In the last decade LSU has won two national championships. Before the formation of the Big 12, LSU had not been relevant in college football since the 1950s. Higher academic standards in the Big 12 has made it possible for LSU to win Texas recruits that they couldn’t get otherwise. LSU is foolish to want to change a status quo that has been so good to them.