Ownage, Part 2. Though it's doubtful to be much consolation to the 'Horns, at least yesterday's setback on the diamond to Missouri was a respectable one. Six weeks after Missouri handed Texas a 44-14 drubbing over two games, the Tigers this time all but ended the Longhorns' Big 12 tournament hopes with a 3-2 win in 10 innings yesterday. Texas had its chances, but couldn't get a clutch hit or, in the 10th inning, get down a sacrifice bunt that probably would have led to a run on an ensuing single. Texas now faces A&M today at 4 p.m., but to advance, the 'Horns must win two in a row and have Missouri drop two in a row. Not likely.
Look up! Seriously, look up - to the header at the top of this page, where I've been counting down to football season. Today we hit the 99 days marker! No more triple digits!
Now this is a playoff I'd sell my soul to see. As ESPN.com works through a series of articles at the 10-year mark of the BCS, today we get the ultimate bar stool argument: Ranking the 10 BCS champions. Mark Schlabach's list:
- Miami 2001
- USC 2004
- Florida State 1999
- Texas 2005
- Oklahoma 2000
- Tennessee 1998
- LSU 2003
- Florida 2006
- Ohio State 2002
- LSU 2007
Though there's obviously room to disagree, Schlabach does a good job of explaining why he made the picks as he did. Why Miami '01 in the top spot?
Perhaps no team in college football history had as much talent as the 2001 Hurricanes. Ten players who started for Miami during the 2001 season were first-round selections in the next three NFL drafts. In fact, Miami had 16 NFL first-rounders from 2002 to 2005.
Fair enough, but at least to those of us in Austin, we need an answer to: "Who stops Vince Young?" There's no question that Miami's 2001 roster was top-to-bottom superior to Texas' in 2005, but, seriously: can they stop VY?
I say no. Though the Hurricanes' pass defense was phenomenal, they finished 40th in the country in rushing yards per game (133 YPG), at just over 3.1 yards per carry. (For context: USC '05 finished the season - VY's damage included - at 130 yards per game on 3.8 per carry.) The way this plays out in my head, USC '05 had the better offense than Miami '01, while the 'Canes had the better defense overall. Just not enough to deal with the Vince Young ridiculousness on the ground.
I actually think I'd give the USC '04 team the best shot to contain VY. In my head, though, Texas '05 tops the list. Shocking, I know.
As long as we're here... Sticking with ESPN.com, Ivan Maisel has a nice column trying to make the case for the BCS. Though I obviously disagree with the conclusion, he does bring up a point that has been around so long that we really don't make it enough these days: so long as we're in a voting system, can we please fix the damn thing? Give us a committee like the NCAA Basketball Tournament uses. Anything other than the joke of coaches-with-stakes + Harris Poll (who?).