It was the talk of the late half of the summer and will continue to be the talk of the sports world when the deal is confirmed. Texas and Oklahoma are officially moving into the SEC and are going to make the first super-conference we have seen so far. What seems to be a shock to most was not a surprise to many Oklahoma and Texas fans claiming that they knew the move was inevitable. Are they shifting the power of the College Football world was a question that was asked by many? There were also so much confusion on why Texas A&M were so upset about the move into the SEC. The Aggies went as far as the Texas Legislature in order to try to prevent the move of the Longhorns into the SEC. Why was this move even being considered in the first place by Texas and OU. Let’s Rewind That Tape.
It all starts with Oklahoma who was likely the group that initiated contact with the SEC in the first place. They have had multiple great seasons that have been shadowed by SEC success and even kept them out of contention due to lack of higher seeds. The Sooners continue to grab a bunch of then 4th spots in the College Football Playoff which does not give them much of a chance in the games they have to play. They have to go up with their team and play the team that like has a few draft picks starting on either side of the ball. That just doesn’t seem completely fair from an initial stand point, but it starts to make more sense when you look at how the playoff is made. The teams with the best wins and best loses get into the playoff. The resume that you put together is going to be very important for you to win the tie breakers against other teams with the same record as you. OU has been in the position multiple times and gotten the nod a few times only due to the fact that they won their conference championship. They know the Big 12 has a lack of competition and without divisions the conference is destroying itself.
In the Big 12 every team plays each other which happens to make the conference look worse and worse every year. The teams that should be in the bottom of the top 25 end up being unranked because they lose to the other three teams that are ranked. It doesn’t work the same in the SEC because both sides have talented teams that don’t have to play the other side of the conference. This helps keep unnecessary loses out of the picture and make sure that the conference is at a healthy standard.
Lack of completion may have been one of the more important ones, but many say the real reason comes down to the scheduling. The Big 12 deals with Fox have the Sooners and Longhorns playing at noon in their biggest games. We all know that OU vs Texas will always be a noon game unless something changes in the future. The rest of the games however don’t get the same sympathy from both sides when playing at noon every single week. Prime time games are a big deal for not only the colleges revenue, it also helps them gain a recruiting advantage compared to everyone else. This makes it tougher when they play the early games a lot. Both teams understand that they will have to play a few 11 AM games every year. The. TV scheduling just happens to put them in that slot almost every week in the Big 12 which was a key point in the Big 12 departure.
My thoughts on the matter are pretty simple. You have to keep the big dogs happy in college football or you are going to lose. When the Sooners and Longhorns want a night game, you give it to them. When they say we should expand, you need to start researching ways to expand. The Big 12 have gotten away with ignoring some of the things that were said from OU and Texas for a while now. I am not saying they ignored everything, but I know some of the things I have said have been brought up before. The Big 12 just had a big head and are going to lose big.
What is next for the rest of College Football? It is just a process of wait and see. The other conferences alliance will definitely help them stay with the SEC, but it won’t change the fact that this will change everything. Every year the 2 loss SEC runner up will deserve to be in the playoffs rather than a one loss ACC champion. It will definitely expand the playoffs and who knows what could be in the future of College Football. I know one thing for sure, OU and Texas joining the SEC is going to led to some great football.
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I would like to see the old SW Conference re-instated. I’m 88 yrs old and I don’t give a rip about a Texas v Tennessee, Kentucky, Vanderbuilt, Florida, Georgia or any other team in the SEC. The Big 12 should have put Houston and SMU in the Conference. I would much rather see a Texas or A&M game with SMU than an A&M or Texas v. Alabama game except in the play offs. I don’t know why I wrote this. I don’t watch football anymore except the Texas High School play offs. Student athletes my derriere. College athletes are in the minor leagues for professional teams. At least half of them could not pass 8th grade English.