Texas and Minnesota schedule home-and-home
by the other Andrew on May 1, 2009 9:35 AM CDT
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Printand yes, it is in football. Granted it probably wont be for another seven or eight years, but what the hell.
Gophers football coach Tim Brewster wasn't kidding when he said he wanted to play Texas. So Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi has scheduled Texas on a home-and-home series with the dates to be set.
The Gophers and Texas have met only once in football. In 1936, under coach Bernie Bierman, the Gophers defeated the Longhorns 47-19 in Minneapolis.
This is exactly what we wanted. Payback time. I still have trouble sleeping over that 1936 loss.
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Sweet Lord
47-19 in 1936? Are we SURE that the spread wasn’t around then?
Minnesota ran the single wing under Bierman
To be fair, the ’36 squad was part of their string of back-to-back-to-back national champions from 1934-36; they went 23-1 over that span, the ’36 team losing only to Northwestern.
Minnesota
Ha, that was pretty much the exact same post I was putting together. I mean EXACT.
I was in the middle of searching for those links when you beat me to it.
Anyway, you’re right that HC will always find a way to criticize; it’s in his DNA. But in this case, he will have a decent point that Mack likely won’t be the coach anymore and it won’t be the favor to Brewster that HC believes Mack owes him.
But that’s not really the point we should be thinking about. The program is bigger than those 2 men. Assuming the BCS stays in place, we’re taking a good strategy towards scheduling going forward regardless of who the coach is at Texas or Minnesota. Play a couple of mid-level BCS teams and a couple of patsies in recruiting-rich areas each year. It’s a solid strategy for going undefeated.
on the other hand...
how depressing is it to think that we’ll still need to plan around the BCS being in place in another 8 years…
Billy showing.....
……..some gray matter.
QUOTE: But in this case, he will have a decent point that Mack likely won’t be the coach anymore and it won’t be the favor to Brewster that HC believes Mack owes him.
Just last off season, Mack summarily dismissed Tim Brewster’s request for a H/H series to help build his Minnesota program. Now that Will Muschamp is the heir-in-waiting (a play anyone attitude), we step up to the plate.
This is great for Tim Brewster, the Minnesota program and their new on-campus stadium, but why do we continue to mess with the middle-of-the -conference Big-6 targets?? Why do we continue to avoid the marquee matchups? Mack’s past 20 years of cupcakes provides the answer.
It is a shame that Billy doesn’t understand the loyalty that is supposed to be associated with the leadership of a coaching tree.
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
Didn't Brewster help sign some people...
"From the waist down, Earl Campbell has the biggest legs I have ever seen on a running back." -John Madden
by run Bevo run on May 1, 2009 12:04 PM CDT up reply actions
Wish we could get either the Home or Away schedule for this upcoming season to replace La Monroe, Wyoming, or UTEP to help our schedule out.
Arkansas bailing really hurt our schedule....
Hopefully they will be decent and we can argue that they asked for a release. Texas should have done a better job last season of stating that Utah had a chance to play us, and bailed. That would have given us a slightly stronger argument when it came to considering OOC strength (Who the F would have thought that Cinci would win the Big East …. for crying out loud… OU lucked out there)….
It's simple: If you don't lose,
you don’t have to sweat out the BCS.
Unless you're Auburn...
or Utah or Boise State.
The reality is, were the whole Big 12 down for a couple of years, we could conceivably be undefeated and left out if USC and an SEC school both go undefeated. I think this year, even with our weak OOC schedule, the Big 12 South will be strong enough to push us past an undefeated USC, OSU, or Virginia Tech (well, it would probably push us past anyone but Florida, though LSU or Alabama could pass us up if they run the table) should there be more than two undefeated teams in the BCS conferences.
Do you remember the last BCS conference team to go undefeated for an entire year?
That’s right: Texas in 2005. People always worry about being left out of the national championship game as an undefeated team because of the Auburn thing. That happens once every 10 years or so, maybe even less often now with all the conference championship games.
The point is, it’s really freaking hard to go undefeated. And if you do it as a BCS conference team, at least 9 times out of 10, you will be in the national championship game. Hell, in the last 3 football seasons, only 1 BCS conference team has gone undefeated in the regular season: Ohio State in 2006. One team! We need to stop worrying about this 2004 Auburn nonsense. if it happens, it’ll suck, but you can’t gameplan for the thing that happens 5% of the time if doing so undermines your gameplan for the thing that happens 95% of the time.
by billyzane on May 1, 2009 12:43 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Philosophical Difference
You and I have certainly exhausted the OOC argument before, but given all the uncertainties from year to year and the fact that Texas has finished undefeated just once in the last 25 years (and the dearth of BCS teams who finish undefeated, period, in any year), wouldn’t it be better to try to protect ourselves with at least one, strong OOC opponent – that has a proven track record of being good most years – to boost our SOS and limit the likelihood that we’re the odd team out in the event of 3 teams or more teams finishing with one loss.
I’m not concerned with getting Auburned, I’m concerned with getting USC’d…like they were last year and in 2003. That scenario appears to happen with much greater frequency. I’d be more likely to side with your POV if I thought our chances of finishing undefeated were increased by scheduling cupcake OOC opponents. But history says that 9 times out of 10, we’re going to drop a game in conference play regardless and I don’t want to be automatically excluded from the running in those years because the one thing we have some control over, our OOC schedule, is always crappy.
Be nobody but yourself in a world that desperately wants you to be like everybody else.
by 54b on May 1, 2009 1:05 PM CDT up reply actions
Ah, there's the rub.
But history says that 9 times out of 10, we’re going to drop a game in conference play regardless and I don’t want to be automatically excluded from the running in those years because the one thing we have some control over, our OOC schedule, is always crappy.
I agree that it is very difficult to get through the conference schedule without a loss. And I think you’ll agree that over 95% of the time, a team with 2 losses is not winning the national championship in the BCS system. So do you want to (a) make it more likely you’ll lose an OOC game, with the hope that you win all of them and have a better SOS, or (b) make it less likely you’ll lose an OOC game, and will thus finish with 1 loss and hope that your conference schedule stacks up?
Because Texas plays in a strong conference and plays OU every year, I’m choosing (b). USC chooses (a) every year because they cannot rely on their conference being good every year. They must play strong OOC games every year or they won’t have an argument against other 1-loss teams. Texas, on the other hand, will have an argument every year regardless of who they play out of conference.
As a result, my philosophy has always been to play as difficult a non-conference schedule as you can while still being assured of going undefeated in those games almost every year. To me, this means 1 or 2 mid-level BCS conference teams, 1 or 2 CUSA-level teams and one complete patsy.
Arguing two sides of the same coin
Point well-made and I’m not an advocate of scheduling a world beater in the OOC…with OU already on the schedule, we don’t need to add any other opponents that are usually in the BCS bowls every year. Morever, I think when I say a “strong OOC opponent” and you say a “mid-level BCS conference opponent,” we’re saying prety much the same thing.
Regardless, I think we can both agree that UT’s 2009 Non-Con is ridiculous and if you’re not at least somewhat concerned about ending this season as the odd team out again, you’re being naive. We definitely have to hope to go undefeated this year. OU and OSU should be very tough and highly ranked, but other than maybe Colorado, I don’t see where the good SOS points are coming from on our schedule.
OU, OSU, and TX finishing 11-1 this season keeps me up nights.
Be nobody but yourself in a world that desperately wants you to be like everybody else.
by 54b on May 1, 2009 2:53 PM CDT up reply actions
I have sources inside the team
They say Wyoming as a whole have knee ligaments precisely lengthened and in line to out perform 42% of their opponents 100% of the time. That’s right 100%! If that doesn’t excite you, I’m not sure you’ll be enjoying your gaming experiences. Additionally, I have more sources that overheard someone during the UL-Monroe spring pep-rally ‘09 that said they are bringing in an additional 1000 seats so Arkansas fans can come in an bad mouth us. Talk about pressure. Let’s see the BCS stick that in their pipe and smoke it.
"From the waist down, Earl Campbell has the biggest legs I have ever seen on a running back." -John Madden
Don't worry
Shipley’s knee ligaments were replaced with a synthetic nylon-polypropoline blend…they use it on the Space Shuttle and to make Sham-Wows.
Plus, Colt and Jordan have been rubbing each others’ hamstrings with buttermilk every night so as not to get injured while fishing.
As for UL-Monroe, I’m pretty sure we gave them back to the French in a mortgage-backed security swap before defaulting on the Louisiana Purchase.
Be nobody but yourself in a world that desperately wants you to be like everybody else.
by 54b on May 1, 2009 4:45 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
OU
IF..Texas doesn’t beat ou this year , they wouldn’t have anything to fall back on like ou did last year (not really). If Texas loses this year to ou, they don’t have a chance at playing for the BS title like ou did ths year.
We lose to OU and the ballgame is over.
It would take a miraculous event to get us in (like OU losing to Tech and to OSU for starters). Our season will live or die with the RRS. That was guaranteed as soon as this schedule was finalize and had Wyoming, UTEP, La-Monroe, and Rice as our OOC opponents.
So Billy......
….if we take the path of a hypothetical, had Texas defeated an Ohio State team, rather than a 5-7 UTEP team, last season. In your truly objective opinion, would we have played in the Nat’l Championship game (if we had won the CCG??)
Rather than Ohio State, let’s say we plug in one of the following: VaTech, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Penn State, Oregon or USC. Wouldn’t your answer be the same, “yes.”??
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
BTW
I think I probably read too much into your previous post (and apologize if so), but I belive you are on record as favoring an OOC schedule without a tough opponent. Now what exactly constitutes a difficult opponent is up for debate and probably needs to be further clarified as well.
Be nobody but yourself in a world that desperately wants you to be like everybody else.
by 54b on May 1, 2009 1:17 PM CDT up reply actions
I guess I am not interested in playing the odds again...
After last year, I am bit inclined to think about the exceptions. The current reality is that an undefeated team is more likely to miss out on a chance to play for the championship than a two-loss team is to get into the championship game. To me that is just ridiculous, even if most of the undefeated teams come from non-BCS conferences.
I understand where you’re coming from in that you really can’t gameplan for things like that. I just think making any plans for what goes on the national stage with the current system (which unfortunately now also includes Big 12 title games) is just setting yourself up to get sh*t on. I hope Congress forces the NCAA to take over determining football’s champion with a mandate for making it a playoff…hell, I’ll take just 4 teams at this point.
Nat'l Champs
Recent Nat’l Champs have a history of playing a marquee opponents in their OOC. Only OU and the ’03 LSU team played an entire OOC calendar of cupcakes.
2000 – Oklahoma – cupcakes
2001 – Miami – Penn State, Florida State and Washington
2002 – Ohio State – Washington State
2003 – USC – Auburn, BYU and NotreDame
2003 – LSU – cupcakes
2004 – USC – VaTech, BYU and NotreDame
2005 – Texas – Ohio State
2006 – Florida – Florida State
2007 – LSU – VaTech
2008 – Florida – Miami & Florida State
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
The 2006 FSU team was 6-6 in the regular season...
…and was an unranked 6-5 by the time Florida got around to playing them, so even though it’s a “name” program, having that game on the schedule probably did nothing to help Florida get its boost into the Fiesta Bowl over Michigan.
Just a bit of a hint....
Florida didn’t play Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl. They defeated Ohio State 41-14.
As for Florida State. When you schedule a Florida State program, whether you get their best game or not, everyone knows your intention was to schedule a marquee opponent.
Same for La-Monroe. When you schedule them, everyone in the country knows you intended to sign a patsy with no ability to fight back.
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
A hint for you...
probably did nothing to help Florida get its boost into the Fiesta Bowl over Michigan.
(emphasis mine)
reread that..
by vy til i die on May 2, 2009 11:20 PM CDT up reply actions 3 recs
Thanks for the hint...
…but I think vy til i die and Wells seemed to understand what i was saying a bit more accurately.
Look at it this way. Even though FSU, year in and year out, has a better chance of having a strong season than ULM, they were about as mediocre as one could be in 2006. If that was Florida’s best OOC game that season, then Florida didn’t play anyone impressive. Despite that lack of an impressive OOC, Florida was still able to leapfrog over Michigan and into the Fiesta Bowl. And I seriously doubt that a consideration for voters giving Florida its last-week boost was awarding the Gators with feel-good bonus points for having intended to schedule a marquee opponent in an OOC game.
Would I like a more attractive OOC slate this season? As a fan, sure. But I’m beginning to think it matters less and less in terms of getting to the championship game.
by Hopkins Horn on May 3, 2009 10:54 AM CDT up reply actions
trust me
There’s no winning with HC, even when he gives ridiculously faulty information.
When you schedule a Florida State program, whether you get their best game or not, everyone knows your intention was to schedule a marquee opponent.
While the above quote may be true, it’s also irrelevant in this case, as Florida plays FSU every year to preserve the in-state rivalry. So if you’re gonna give Florida brownie points for “scheduling” them, perhaps you should also hand out the demerits that led to Florida also scheduling Southern Miss, UCF, and Western Carolina (goooo 1-AA!!) that year. It’s not like this is an aberration either; aside from the FSU game and the Miami one last year, Florida has filled up on a steady diet of non-BCS cupcakes and a 1-AA school every year since the expanded schedule. Next year’s tilt surely has Florida fans quaking in their boots: Charleston Southern (is there a Charleston Northern?), Troy (the patsy Trojans), Florida International (we’re worse than Florida Atlantic!), and Florida State (the “Marquee” opponent).
Yes, and....
…….every 6 years Florida or Florida State could choose to not renew the series. They don’t have to continue playing one another.
Just like Florida and Miami chose to discontinue their 49 consecutive year series against one another. After a 4-year sabatical, they played another 4 consecutive years. Then they took another 4-year sabatical.
The same could happen to the Florida/FSU series at any given time. Your pretzel logic fails again.
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
What if...
Florida and Florida St some how got into the same conference, and Florida continued to schedule its other non-conference games the way it does now. Then would you fault them for not playing marque opponents in their non-conference schedule?
Really?
2004..all cupcakes for USC
2006..FSU has been a cupcake for a decade
2007..CUPCAKE
2008..its not the 90’s! Miami and FSU are cupcakes
Va Tech won their conference in 2007
yes, the ACC sucked, and yes, Va Tech lost to Kansas in a BCS bowl game that neither team deserved to be in, but scheduling Va Tech is not going for a cupcake.
These schedules are made years in advance, and when you schedule a Florida State or a Miami or a Va Tech, you expect them to be good.
but is it better to be lucky than good?
When OU scheduled its season last year, I imagine it was done with the expectation that Washington would be a good “mid-tier” BCS school (a la, say, Arkansas), TCU would provide a non-BCS illusory fight (like when we played them in ‘07), Cincinnati would be cannon fodder (not unlike our Sun Belt friends), and Chattanooga would be a 1-AA “patsy” (hey, at least we don’t do that anymore!). It just so happened that TCU and Cincy would turn out to be superawesometime last year; I’m sure Stoops knew that was going to happen.
Likewise, when Mack scheduled UCLA and Ole Miss, they were both middle of the road patsies, but by the time we play them, they could be top 25 staples. Meanwhile, for all the hype big names like FSU and Miami bring to the schedule, those scheduling them could be looking at just playing a middle of the pack 7-5/8-4 ACC team, not unlike a Virginia or UNC.
Oh bust a rib!
Like we should talk. In 11 years at Texas, Mack Brown has scheduled only ONE ranked opponent for the OOC. That was the shot in the dark TCU game in 2007. Of course TCU wasn’t worthy of that fluke #19 spot and finished the season 8-5.
The only other ranked opponents we’ve played in our OOC – #6 UCLA, #4 Ohio State and #1 Ohio State – were all scheduled by John Mackovic.
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
undefeated is the best chance
if you lose a game, it becaomes a lottery like the past year.
in response to Rickyspub
the Big 12 South will be strong enough to push us past an undefeated USC,
NO WAY.
An undefeated USC won’t just be #1 in a landslide, they will be the greatest team of all time even if they don’t play any other ranked opponents that year.
An undefeated USC gets in over everybody else. Everybody, at that point, play’s for second.
I don't know it seems like the lustre has come off of USC some...
The Pac-10 gets slammed almost as much as the Big 10 for being a weak conference these days. I know the media loves them some USC, but they don’t have the star power they did in 2005.
I think USC’s position in the pecking order probably is determined by how good Notre Dame seems this year. I know ND has a pretty weak slate compared to years past which could inflate their profile, but if they look horrible again I think an undefeated UT and USC will probably come down to the appearance of quality in the Pac 10 vs. the Big 12 South. If OU and OSU end up in the top-10 after we have beaten them that will be too much to overcome for USC unless Notre Dame ends up 11-1 or 10-2.
I see your point, but imagine if USC hadn't lost to Oregon State.
And Florida and Texas or OU had finished undefeated. Do you really think Florida and Texas would have matched up in the Title Game? USC would have been a consensus #1 in the human polls based solely on the fact that they’re USC. An undefeated USC gets in, no matter what. The fact that USC just had 11 or whatever guys drafted fully restores the luster. The ESPN media machine puts USC in if they are undefeated, there’s no way around it.
As I posted many times last fall, there is no more media-driven USC hype machine
To answer your question, of course USC would have been in a title game against Florida or Texas if those three teams had gone wire-to-wire undefeated. But that solely would have been a function of pre-season rank, just like Auburn was the odd team out in 2003.
Just because USC began #2 doesn’t mean they were ranked #2 because of the “ESPN Hype Machine.” Most observers, whether hypnotized by ESPN or not, thought USC was legitimately that good. And given their end-of-season ranking, they weren’t really that far off in their pre-season assessment.
If the USC hype machine really existed, there is no way in hell the AP poll would have looked like this in mid-November, with a one-loss USC team behind three other one-loss teams, all of who had lost more recently than the Trojans.
This season, assuming we start the season #2 (or #3 behind OU — doubtful, but possible) and we run the table, we will be in Pasadena, regardless of what USC does. And if preseason #1 Florida runs the table, they go as well. Period.
Only start sweating if we lose a game!
by Hopkins Horn on May 1, 2009 5:00 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I'm gonna have to respectfully disagree...
Even if USC starts out as say, number 5, and Florida and Texas are 1-2. The moment we struggle in a close game, and USC blows out Oregon State by 68, the murmurs will start. USC v. Tebow? That would be the dream matchup for any network. I get your point, but USC"s inability to move up was more closely related to the fact that they couldn’t get their offense on track. Obviously, close games against Arizona will hurt them too, but if USC is dominant and undefeated they leapfrog us in every scenario I can configure in my head. You guys can think I’m an idiot, but I know that there is no way the media will let an unbeaten USC get passed over for a Big 12 team. It is not going to happen. Every year, IMO, USC is in the TItle game until they lose.
Concerning USC this fall, it's a moot point
They travel to Eugene, Berkeley, South Bend, Columbus and Tempe . . . they won’t win all five. And if they do, they deserved to be regarded among the best of all time.
USC
won’t great this year….not even ESPN will think so
we'll see.
If they beat Ohio State (and that’s a big if) something tells me USC will crack the top 2.
Something doesn't make sense
Why would the USC media conspiracy exist when the team is undefeated (automatically elevating them over all other undefeated teams) but not when they have one loss, as was the cas elast season, when several other one-loss teams remained ranked ahead of them?
We can agree to disagree.
The OP said
Big 12 South will be strong enough to push us past an undefeated USC. I do not believe that beating Tech, OSU, and OU will launch us ahead of a USC team that plays in the premier non-conference game this season. Someone pointed out that they have a tough schedule, and I realize they are breaking in a new QB, so I don’t see it happening. But, if USC goes undefeated, they absolutely will be in the Top 2 (and IMO they will be a consensus #1. You think us beating LA-Monroe and UTEP, along with OSU and OU, will be enough to stay ahead of them regardless because the media is no longer in love with them. I get your point, but I don’t agree. If USC beats Ohio State, you will see a love fest like no other.
"Beating Ohio State" = "Media Love Fest"?!?
No so sure about this. OSU was drubbed in the media all of last season. And given OSU’s performances in the 2006 and 2007 championship games, as well as their being destroyed in the Coliseum last season, I don’t think the media will see a victory over the Buckeyes as an excuse to worship USC above all others.
by Hopkins Horn on May 3, 2009 10:58 AM CDT up reply actions
This is getting repetitive...
The media/ESPN will hype up the OSU-USC game for weeks. It is by far the biggest OOC game in the country. It will be early, on nationally, and with Gameday in Columbus., If USC goes to Ohio State and beats them, by any margin, with Terrel Pryor who is considered an elite QB, then USC will launch up the polls. I doubt Herbstret will be like “well this OSU team isn’t that good, I think USC should stay at about #5.” It will be the story of the early part of the season.
I forgot USC still had OSU on their schedule...
This makes the ND game less important, though if USC managed to win both of these OOC games and both competitors end up with 10 or more wins USC could indeed pass us. Probably less likely if we are both undefeated since we will have the advantage of starting out ranked higher. In a 1-loss scenario we are pretty much screwed and would likely end up in the lower half of the Top 10 due to our weak OOC schedule.
Yeah, yeah, “don’t lose”
Considering that only one team has done that in the past 3 years, the reason for needing to schedule a DECENT matchup is so that you don’t get screwed over as the #3 team out of several teams with one loss because of the voters. And that happens almost EVERY year. Like it did to us. This year.
I’m fine with last year’s schedule. We had no clue Arkansas was going to suck so much. If I were doing things though, I might schedule two BCS-Arkansas/Minn/UCLA level schools like OU did last year so that it’s more likely that at least one won’t be so bad. As long as we don’t have any D2 schools and at least one BCS opponent, I’ll be happy and think we are safe. We don’t have that next year… Other than just being excited about UT football in general, I’m not otherwise excited about our non cons. That’s a first in years. At least we had TCU in 07.
Yeah, you betcha
Fargo was on some obscure movie channel last night…so of course I was glued to the TV because that movie always hypnotizes me into putting down the remote a la Shawshank.
Why am I telling you this? I want to selfishly waste your time by forcing you into my little world of odd coincidencs given that much of the movie takes place in the Twin Cities. It’s also a nice way to frame my lament for schedulling what may be our latest, seemingly benign non-con opponent.
True, Minnesota is probably a more exiting match-up than UTEP and a tougher test than Cowpoke Lite, but if schedulling the Gopher was in some way a result of Mack’s come to Jesus meeting with the BCS experts, I’d argue that the number crunching computer nerds put the decimal point in the wrong place.
We’re getting way too fat off non-con cupcakes…I need some protein. If we want to scratch the Big 10 itch but don’t want to get a rash from the likes of Ohio State, Penn State or Michigan, how about a home and home with Iowa or Michigan State. At least I know we’re not going to get turf burned by those two opponents.
I’ll conceded that there’s no need to schedule muderers row out of conference given the perennial prowess of the Big XII, but I will always contend that there should be at least one marqee match-up that excites the fans, gets the press talking, and impresses the voters.
Be nobody but yourself in a world that desperately wants you to be like everybody else.
You never know where a team will be in a few years
Presumably the earliest we’d be playing Minnesota is 2014-2015, if we’re assuming that the Gophers will be filling the “marquee” role played by UCLA and Ole Miss in future schedules. That’s a loooong way down the road to extrapolate exactly how good the Gophers will be.
Given that, I like the move. It’s a home-and-home with a team from a major conference that will be certain to get some national TV exposure. Plus, I’ve always felt that Minnesota has been handicapped for years by playing in the antiseptic Metrodome. Moving to a new, on-campus outdoor (don’t worry, we’d visit in September) stadium will, I think, help put that team on the upward track. There’s no reason why Minnesota can’t be as consistently solid, if not spectacular, much like Wisconsin. So I wouldn’t be so quick to judge the quality of the matchup based on how good UM is today. (Or Texas, for that matter!)
Look at the series with Ole Miss, for example. When scheduled a few years back, we were excited about a road trip to Oxford and the, um, “scenery,” but I don’t think anyone took them seriously at the time of scheduling as a quality opponent. But as that series nears, it looks like Houston Nutt is building a pretty good program, and the games might be much more competitive than originally forecast. Of course, Nutt might text-message his way out of another job before then, but that’s a whole other story…
And if we had scheduled a home-and-home with Miami six years ago for this season, everyone would have been talking about how great it was that we had scheduled the toughest possible OOC game. But that game wouldn’t look nearly as imposing now if we had scheduled such a series when Miami was at its peak.
True
But let’s just say if we’re playing the odds, teams like Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan State probably have a better chance of fitting that “mid-level toughness” criteria mentioned above…historically speaking anyway.
This will come way out of left field…but I’d also rather play a team in the OOC that has a history of being ranked in the Preseason Top 25 (largely because of reputation) and have our players focused entering the game than play a team like Minnesota, that usually isn’t in the Pre-Season Top 25, have our players take them lightly and catch them in one of those years where they are putting it all together like you mentioned above.
Regardless, who knows, Minnesota may very well be the scourge of the Big 10 by 2014, but history says not likely.
Be nobody but yourself in a world that desperately wants you to be like everybody else.
by 54b on May 1, 2009 3:09 PM CDT up reply actions
We have a history...
…of scheduling teams for OOC games who wind up being way better than anticipated when scheduled.
Who knew that a historically-awful Colorado team would win a championship a year we met when the 1990-91 series was scheduled?
What were the odds that we’d get UCLA during their best two-year stretch in, well, at least my lifetime, in 1996-97, with a 20-game win streak jump-started by (OW! Smacking my own hand there for even contemplating typing that.)
Stanford won its only Pac-10 championship in my lifetime the year we played them. (Has any other BCS team suffered a 62-point loss during the regular season?)
Even OSU, though a traditional power, wasn’t a top-five program year-in and year-out when we scheduled them.
So like the odds of Minnesota being the preseason favorite to get to the Rose Bowl in 2014. :)
Nice
Too bad we weren’t the powerhouse we are now when we played UCLA and CU back then…I also remember beating Bo Jackson and Auburn and some pretty decent Penn State teams back in the early 80’s too.
I wonder how Mack would view OU if we were still in the SWC and they were on our OOC schedule every year.
Be nobody but yourself in a world that desperately wants you to be like everybody else.
by 54b on May 1, 2009 3:25 PM CDT up reply actions
Or our ND series...
If we scheduled that for just a few years later it would have been two guaranteed wins!
Hell, even Syracuse was #5 when we played them in 1993
I remember that distinctly because I thought it had one of the most embarrassing thing I ever remembered witnessing at a home game — students (not all, but a fair number) charging the field AFTER A TIE! And not even a good tie, either, but one in which the Syracuse kicker missed a couple of chip shots and an extra point.
I mean, really — storming the field after a TIE against SYRACUSE?!? Were we really that desperate a fan base?!?
Interesting...
I’d never noticed that trend. I wonder if similar cases could be selectively compiled for all major programs, or if we really have been that unlucky.
Probably just selective compilation
For example, the flip side of the OSU series is that I doubt anyone in Columbus would have guess that we’d be #2 both seasons we met.
Not true of Ohio State
QUOTE: Even OSU, though a traditional power, wasn’t a top-five program year-in and year-out when we scheduled them.
That H/H series with Ohio State was scheduled in 1997 by John Mackovic.
1995: 11-2
1996: 11-1 Big-Ten Co-Champs
1997: 10-3
1998: 11-1 Big-Ten Co-Champs
-———————————-
Tot: 43 -7 and 2 Big-Ten Co-Championships
The most-recent Arkansas H/H series was scheduled when Arkansas was much better than they showed with their 10-52 loss. They finished 2008 at 5-7.
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
Arkansas
Any rumors on when we’ll reschedule the trip to Fayetteville which was supposed to happen this fall? Or any chance that Arkansas will look to cancel altogether, given their new series with A&M?
Last I heard
Arkansas game was on hold but not cancelled. Presumably, Horns owe them a visit, probably when the Hogs get done with their A&M in JerryLand series. Mack’ll be lone gone. Petrino too.
Never understood this
If Mack is on record as saying that he’s not a big proponent of a tough OOC, why schedule Arkansas…it’s like putting another A&M on the schedule. Even if they’re not good (like last year), they’re still going play out of their minds, especially at home. Why take that chance?
Be nobody but yourself in a world that desperately wants you to be like everybody else.
by 54b on May 1, 2009 3:11 PM CDT up reply actions
The only explanation I can come up with...
…is that a certain segment of the alumni base, older on average than the average BON poster, has fond memories of playing Arkansas annually in the SWC and has clamored with Deloss and Mack to schedule the two separate series this decade. Makes no sense otherwise.
Well
I hope those old farts have iron-clad constitutions the next time we go to Fayetteville, because if they don’t, I promise you they’ll shit their pants long before they make it into the stadium…I was there in 04 and had my head on a swivel the entire day. It was ridiculous how many times my friends and I got threatened and our only sin was wearing orange. People always talk about the Ohio State fans in 05, but I promise you Columbus was a cakewalk compared to Fayetteville.
Be nobody but yourself in a world that desperately wants you to be like everybody else.
by 54b on May 1, 2009 3:34 PM CDT up reply actions
And wasn't that the game
in which an Arkansas defender tried, intentionally, to roll Vince Young’s knee? If I remember correctly, there was some controversy the next week, as Houston Nutt decided not to punish the kid (who, presumably, had become a local hero to alumni). I remember thinking that Deloss should reconsider any future series’ with the Razorbacks, as we have nothing really to gain from it.
And there's no benefit even if we win close...
Because they are guaranteed to finish 7-5 but they will be the only SEC team we played and it will be a close, hard fought game. Then, we look like the 5th best team in the SEC.
Arkansas
will be pretty good this year. ARK started to come around last year, and now they have a better QB.
As my old RA at Moore-Hill would have said...
G*d damned pig f*ckers!!!
I truly learned how to properly hate the Razorbacks from him!
I lived at Moore-Hill
Apparently before they build a GD ridiculous pool right behind it where I would have had the greatest view an 18 year old could ask for.
argh, don't get me started on that.
They put that in the year after I left. And it’s also co-ed now. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over that…
by Wescott Eberts (GoBR) on May 1, 2009 8:38 PM CDT up reply actions
As for Minnesota...
Aren’t they building a new stadium? I just want to make sure we aren’t going to open their new facility. I hope we learned that lesson after UCF played out of their minds two years back.
I believe it opens next year.
"From the waist down, Earl Campbell has the biggest legs I have ever seen on a running back." -John Madden
A Texas team.....
…….running fearful of playing UCF or Minnesota? Good gosh, you spook easily.
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
Did you not see the UCF game? Do you remember that we needed a miracle
Jamaal Charles run to escape that day? On any other day, we beat UCF by 21-28 (they were no La-Monroe). But, when a team opens up a new stadium, and has a team like UT coming to open it up, the stage is set for them to play out of their minds. We were damn lucky to not lose to UCF. There’s a difference between being spooked and being objective.
Wish I would have posted this thought sooner...
So what exactly goes into the calculations of scheduling? I am sure all the big time teams line up to try to get a Vanderbilt, or Duke on their schedule, but its pretty obvious these teams don’t need the money and they too want to win a game or three. In fact, since 2003 neither team has regularly scheduled what one would consider a consistent Top 20 team. All the BCS teams seem to want to schedule weaker opponents and would prefer to avoid a game they felt was completely unwinnable, which is where it makes it hard to find a BCS-level patsy. I wonder if it isn’t actually easier for a team like Texas to get USC or OSU on their schedule than it is to get a Minnesota or Stanford.
I also wonder if there is any rule to stop a team from scheduling a non-conference game against a conference opponent like in baseball? For example, could we schedule Iowa State for a home-and-home during the off period when they aren’t on our schedule?
Update?
Contrary to a report in Minneapolis, the Gophers and Texas have not committed to play a football game against each other. Minnesota continues, as it has for nearly two years, to try to schedule the Longhorns.
"From the waist down, Earl Campbell has the biggest legs I have ever seen on a running back." -John Madden
Looks like....
……Will Muschamp wants to play a tougher OOC schedule.
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
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