America Just Punched Bob Stoops Square in the Face...Again

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The BCS has yet to levy its verdict as I write this, but the sportswriters have chosen.

It is my personal opinion that sportswriters around the country just punched Bob Stoops square in the face.

But first, let's talk hypothetically for a few minutes to eliminate any inherent bias that may arise from conference or team allegiances so as to have an intelligent, reasoned discussion.

Let's say a team from a prestigious American Midwestern conference goes in front of a national television audience and handily disposes of the previously second-ranked team, which was led by a Heisman front-runner quarterback and was hyped as being the best team in the country. Let's say that "handily" means somewhere in the ballpark of 44 points.

Now let's take another team, let's say from a respected American Southeastern conference, that played an opponent that is not awful in the major football division of college football but is awful in the minor football division. Let's just say the opponent was something like 4-7 before they played the previously third-ranked team. And, as they should, the previously team destroys the awful D-II opponent.

Finally, let's say that sportswriters in America vote who they think the top 25 teams in the country should be every week. Let's say those sportswriters decided to award the previously third-ranked team for destroying an opponent they should have destroyed and gave the other team a stupid consolation prize for beating the second-ranked team by a huge margin...


Enough ambiguity. Florida played THE CITADEL. I had to look them up to make sure they even existed—and they're certainly not good. They're worse than most of the cupcake teams that fill other schedules around the country.

Oklahoma beat TEXAS TECH. This Red Raiders team had been touted by ESPN and other various respected sports outlets as being better than Alabama and Florida ever since they knocked off top-ranked Texas and handed Oklahoma State a hard loss.

Let's put you in the coach's seat. You have to choose: a 70-19 victory over a 4-7, D-II school that a majority of the country hasn't even heard of...

OR a 65-21 victory over an undefeated, second-ranked team that is playing in (arguably) the most difficult conference division in the country and has knocked off consecutive top-10 opponents the weeks prior to your matchup.


By giving Florida the nod to be the nation's new No. 2, sportswriters told Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops that his team's decisive victory over previous No. 2 Texas Tech means little compared to Florida's fancy win over The Citadel.

Comparison time.

Both teams are 10-1. Florida was previously ranked No. 3 by the AP, while Oklahoma was previously ranked No. 5. Florida's only loss came to just-ranked-today Ole Miss, whereas Oklahoma's only loss came to fellow top-five team Texas.

Florida's marquee victories are over just-dropped-from-the-rankings LSU, current No. 13 Georgia, and, lest we forget, The Citadel.

Oklahoma's marquee victories are over current No. 16 Cincinnati, current No. 14 TCU, and, though it's apparently meaningless, current No. 7 Texas Tech.

I'm not an Oklahoma fan, per se. I'm a born and bred Nebraska fan who grew up in the heart of Sooner Country, so I feel for my fellow Big 12 brethren.

Oklahoma got robbed, and Bob Stoops got punched square in the face. America's sportswriters are embarking on a shameless attempt to set up a No. 1-No. 2 matchup in the SEC championship between Alabama and Florida because it would be fun to market

Good grief—like the Big 12 hasn't given you enough fun the last four weeks with top-10 matchups Texas-Texas Tech, Texas Tech-Oklahoma State, Texas Tech-Oklahoma, and the upcoming Oklahoma-Oklahoma State.

Well, I frankly would love to see No. 23 Florida State blaze over Florida this weekend. That would show America's sportswriters for cheating the system for their own selfish gains. That would show them for giving a Citadel-dispatching team the nod over a national-championship-dreams-killing team.


But if Florida State doesn't get it done, Alabama will, and we'll have ourselves a crimson championship between Oklahoma (if they beat Oklahoma State) and 'Bama. In my mind, that would be way more fun to market than some stupid ol' SEC championship.

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