Blog Speculation: "Texas to the ACC?"

[brasssbonanzaa]

He's joking right? Texas is on a slippery slope to irrelevance? Texas football can turn football ineptitude around every bit as quickly as UNC was able to turn basketball around when they canned Doherty.

The blogger also is taking a huge leap of faith in believing that Oklahoma and Kansas can free themselves from their in state counterparts (who happen to have state in their name). IIRC, this was an issue three years ago and played a large role in the salvation of the B-12.

These are the same morons who said ND football was irrelevant. All it took was one season to turn them into a TV/attendance powerhouse, outselling Bama at the title game, driving up the TV ratings of the SEC title game and the BCS title game, being talked about nonstop on every sports show, every national radio station, etc. Texas is in the same hat. Sure, they're down now, and Brown is on his way out, and possibly the AD. But they're only one successful season away from being a TV ratings powerhouse once again.

I don't necessarily believe the predictions of the article, but a wholesale change of the football staff and AD would make the climate more apt for change in the conference. Everyone knows Texas still calls the shots in the conference, if they left, it'd be dead in the water, and everyone knows it. They could probably single-handedly kill that GoR in about 30 seconds.

I also agree on the state counterpart problem, and Texas has it as well, to a lesser extent, in Tech. I can't see the B1G wanting both OU and OKST, or KU and K-State. This would be a feather in our cap if the door opened. My guess is Texas could shake Tech, but I'm not sure OU could shake OKSt and their rich oil donor Pickens. I have no guess on KU and K-State, other than K-State is actually good at football, whereas KU is a joke like us.

 

[upstater]

No, it's not. Florida, Georgia, and Vandy are all ingrained in the culture of not only the SEC, but the Deep South. They were SEC teams when the SEC was just another conference and not dominating the world. Florida is most definitely an SEC style school in that they stretch the boundaries of what is acceptable. The antics of Urban Meyer at Florida was celebrated while they were winning (covering up legal issues, ect). While Georgia may not participate in the fun (nor Florida has been under Muschamp), they still put football up on a pedestal above everything else. If UF, UGA, or Vandy ever left the SEC, there would be a revolt amongst their fans (and more importantly, their donators) to end all revolts.

Missouri? We really don't know what went down with the Big 10, but they sure seemed to be clamoring for one when Nebraska was admitted to the Big10. They thought they were to be left be behind if the Texhoma 6 went to form the Pac 16 (the reason why Nebraska bolted the Big12) and took what they thought was a lifeline with TAMU in the SEC. I wonder what would have happened if they had a choice.

Again, Oklahoma not wanting to associate with the SEC is not my idea. I thought they were SEC bound too. Many posters over at Land Thieves believe they are as well. There is a core group that believes, for whatever reason, that the administration will not go to the SEC unless it's a last resort. Who to believe? I don't know.

Wait a second. You're talking about the football program at OU and academics, scandal etc? I thought you were talking about the school raising its academic profile. It's well know that the football program and the people around it will do anything to win. It is Barry Switzer's school.

 

[whaler11]

There is nothing more tiring than people combining football and academics. There is one school that does both. The rest do one or the other.

 

[dayooper]

Wait a second. You're talking about the football program at OU and academics, scandal etc? I thought you were talking about the school raising its academic profile. It's well know that the football program and the people around it will do anything to win. It is Barry Switzer's school.

Again, I'm not an OU guy. I really don't know what to think about OU and what they will do. I originally was responding to someone who said OU would jump at the SEC without thinking twice. I thought that was a rather simplistic approach to what they will do and made my point on why. You said that that the SEC was just fine for UF, UGA, Vandy, and Mizzou. I gave my reasons why it's different for school that is culturally and institutionally different than those they are joining.

Lastly, about OU - Since the Switzer days, either they have somewhat cleaned it up or they have got really good at cheating beyond what happens at most schools.

 

[Gfunk]

These are the same morons who said ND football was irrelevant. All it took was one season to turn them into a TV/attendance powerhouse, outselling Bama at the title game, driving up the TV ratings of the SEC title game and the BCS title game, being talked about nonstop on every sports show, every national radio station, etc. Texas is in the same hat. Sure, they're down now, and Brown is on his way out, and possibly the AD. But they're only one successful season away from being a TV ratings powerhouse once again.

I don't necessarily believe the predictions of the article, but a wholesale change of the football staff and AD would make the climate more apt for change in the conference. Everyone knows Texas still calls the shots in the conference, if they left, it'd be dead in the water, and everyone knows it. They could probably single-handedly kill that GoR in about 30 seconds.

I also agree on the state counterpart problem, and Texas has it as well, to a lesser extent, in Tech. I can't see the B1G wanting both OU and OKST, or KU and K-State. This would be a feather in our cap if the door opened. My guess is Texas could shake Tech, but I'm not sure OU could shake OKSt and their rich oil donor Pickens. I have no guess on KU and K-State, other than K-State is actually good at football, whereas KU is a joke like us.

And as any rational football fan knew beforehand, they got their asses kicked and only played Bama due to a flawed system. 8 team playoff - ND likely loses in the first round.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

And as any rational football fan knew beforehand, they got their asses kicked and only played Bama due to a flawed system. 8 team playoff - ND likely loses in the first round.

I wasn't commenting at all on the team's ability, I was commenting on the fan and media reaction to the team's undefeated regular season and championship game berth.

 

[Gfunk]

Baylor, until a couple years ago, was one of the worst football schools out there. The old Texas Gov. Anne Richards had to threaten U. Texas just to shoehorn Baylor into the B12. No one wanted them. They were one of the excluded when all the talk was of the Pac10 picking up 4 B12 schools. Plus, they are a smaller private religious school, non-AAU. Chances of landing in the B1G are practically nil.

Oklahoma is interesting because it has the football credentials that Nebraska has. Nebraska and Oklahoma are quite similar in so many ways, so that's very understandable. Oklahoma however would be hurt pretty badly by not playing Texas schools, so I don't see them moving out of the south because of what it would imply about their recruiting.

Kansas does not have a partner for landing in the B1G.

I've seen this issue come up on Landthieves. I'm not sure how I think about it. A lot of OU fans aren't worried about their Tx pipeline in a BIG without UT & also think the relationship between the two schools is too strong to ever sacrifice the Red River Rivalry, which pre-dates the Big8. Some OU fans think it's better to play UT in a manner which doesn't sacrifice their conference standing, thus, like the days before the Big12 - Big8 and SWC.

Also, Ok borders Tx, it's simply a very convenient out of state option for Tx recruits. Nebraksa is a lot further north : ).

 

[Gfunk]

I wasn't commenting at all on the team's ability, I was commenting on the fan and media reaction to the team's undefeated regular season and championship game berth.

I hear you. My point is that too much hype goes into certain programs, esp ND. My ultimate argument is of course a play off.

There are certain programs that can turn around on a dime, but I no longer think ND is one of them. They struggled for decades until last year, and now they are back to being an after thought because this year they won't even come close to a NCG. They aren't like a Tx or Bama, hell many schools in the Southeast or Southwest, because they don't have the backyard to pluck from, esp since ND is ultimately second fiddle in all but football in Indiana. But if IU, for example, miraculously had a Rose Bowl type season, the state support would eclipse any hype ND has ever gotten in the Hoosier State. IU is ultimately the pride and joy of Indiana, Purdue next - ND is that national school for elites with a proven, proud football history, no more, no less.

 

[Fishy]

Notre Dame's position in Indiana is completely irrelevant - for God's sake, Indiana football is irrelevant in Indiana.

Notre Dame is probably the one true national program. Every one of their remaining games will be played on ABC, NBC, CBS or Fox.

That's muscle - they'll be just fine.

(Not surprising that their deal with NBC alone is worth more than the AAC's yearly 'haul' with ESPN.)

 

[Gfunk]

Notre Dame's position in Indiana is completely irrelevant - for God's sake, Indiana football is irrelevant in Indiana.

Notre Dame is probably the one true national program. Every one of their remaining games will be played on ABC, NBC, CBS or Fox.

That's muscle - they'll be just fine.

(Not surprising that their deal with NBC alone is worth more than the AAC's yearly 'haul' with ESPN.)

ND's BCS record speaks for itself. You're a UConn fan right? Would you trade those 3 NCs under Calhoun for say any number of BIG schools that make more basketball money on an annual basis? I wouldn't. My point is ND's chances of winning it all are slim for now and the foreseeable future. At the end of the day, most of those SEC schools have major built in advantages: most have plenty of money, better recruits, better conference, etc. I wish I could say otherwise. Schools like Michigan and OSU are on the same boat as ND when put up against most of the SEC. Both have plenty of money as well. The muscle that matters is the talent on the football field. ND has simply been floored on the BCS stage, badly. I'm sure they'd trade the money for NC muscle.

 

[upstater]

I've seen this issue come up on Landthieves. I'm not sure how I think about it. A lot of OU fans aren't worried about their Tx pipeline in a BIG without UT & also think the relationship between the two schools is too strong to ever sacrifice the Red River Rivalry, which pre-dates the Big8. Some OU fans think it's better to play UT in a manner which doesn't sacrifice their conference standing, thus, like the days before the Big12 - Big8 and SWC.

Also, Ok borders Tx, it's simply a very convenient out of state option for Tx recruits. Nebraksa is a lot further north : ).

I get this, but if all your games are in Great Lakes territory, that changes the equation.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I get this, but if all your games are in Great Lakes territory, that changes the equation.

That's my argument. OK borders Mizzouri, Arkansas and TX. Nebraska is the only B1G school within shouting distance, although in the proposed scenario, KU would be. Even Iowa, the next closest school in the B1G, is about as far as LSU, or the Mississippi schools. Oklahoma is pretty far south. I think they prefer the B12 stay intact, but the SEC is academically superior to the B12 in most respects, so I don't think that's a negative influence.

 

[upstater]

That's my argument. OK borders Mizzouri, Arkansas and TX. Nebraska is the only B1G school within shouting distance, although in the proposed scenario, KU would be. Even Iowa, the next closest school in the B1G, is about as far as LSU, or the Mississippi schools. Oklahoma is pretty far south. I think they prefer the B12 stay intact, but the SEC is academically superior to the B12 in most respects, so I don't think that's a negative influence.

Having been to OK, the state really does have about 1/3rd of it that would fit in well with the B1G. Tulsa and the prairie around it have a very midwest feel to it. But the important part of the state where all the decisions are made (ie. oil) is the other 2/3rds, the part of the state that is all red clay, like western Texas.

 

[Vowelguy]

Baylor could be possible for either league.

There is NOOO way that the B10 is bringing on a Baptist school.

 

[UConnJim]

I am sure that everyone in the Big 12 is wary of what Texas may do in the future. BUT, Texas football is in a great position within the Big 12 to dominate and easily make the college football playoffs. Think about it. The only real traditional football power in the Big 12 outside of Texas is Oklahoma. (Yes, the OSUs, WVUs, KSU's can have good seasons, but they can't be dominant in the Big 12. over the long haul.) It's like the ACC with Florida St the only traditional power which means FSU should have an easy path to the playoffs most years.

Realistically, I think the most likely landing spot for Texas is the Pac 12. Think about it:

Pac East: Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma St., Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Arizona St.

Pac West: USC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Oregon, Oregon St., Washington, Washington St.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

There is NOOO way that the B10 is bringing on a Baptist school.

Yes, the B1g is vehemently against heavily religious schools. The obvious exception being ND, because it's ND. Even BC is a very, very liberal and non-religious religious school. But I could not in a million years see the B1G taking a Baptist school from Texas, much less one who has a marginal football program.

 

[Fishy]

I don't think Baylor has much appeal to anyone outside of the Big 12.

Even the Big 12 is ambivalent about Baylor - they essentially benefited from friends in politically-high places when the SWC broke up. Friendly politicians pushed Texas Tech and Baylor in over Texas Christian.

There's a reason Baylor threatened legal action when Texas A&M was looking to leave for the SEC - without the Big 12, Baylor is homeless.

 

[whaler11]

Baylor. Hilarious. #TARP

 

[upstater]

Yes, the B1g is vehemently against heavily religious schools. The obvious exception being ND, because it's ND. Even BC is a very, very liberal and non-religious religious school. But I could not in a million years see the B1G taking a Baptist school from Texas, much less one who has a marginal football program.

Notre Dame is a lot more liberal than BC in terms of the administration. It has everything to do with who is running the school. ND has a lot of diversity and rarely interferes with academics, whereas BC has been very heavy-handed with this kind of thing through the decades. From shutting down women's studies to trampling on academic freedom for an English prof. in the 1980s to refusing to hire a prominent professor in the 2000s because he happened to be gay. ND is run by the Brothers of Holy Cross, one of the outfits that is left of the Catholic mainstream. On the other hand, judging by the reaction of alumni to Obama's visit, it may be that those who attend ND are more conservative.

Let's face it, this is all about football.

 

[larryredbull]

I don't think Baylor has much appeal to anyone outside of the Big 12.

Even the Big 12 is ambivalent about Baylor - they essentially benefited from friends in politically-high places when the SWC broke up. Friendly politicians pushed Texas Tech and Baylor in over Texas Christian.

There's a reason Baylor threatened legal action when Texas A&M was looking to leave for the SEC - without the Big 12, Baylor is homeless.

Baylor who's current stadium is tarped to reduce available seats (they are building a new stadium that will actually seat less, 45,000) wouldn't be a target for any other conference. They are the Wake Forest of the B12. Their recent sucess is mainly due to a good coaching hire and a good luck. Those 2 things will run out and Baylor will go back to mediocrity in FB.

 

[NEforceUConn]

I don't think Baylor has much appeal to anyone outside of the Big 12.

I don't think UConn has much appeal to anyone outside of the AAC.

wish i didn't have to write it, but its depressing.

 

[upstater]

I don't think UConn has much appeal to anyone outside of the AAC.

wish i didn't have to write it, but its depressing.

UConn at least had a majority of schools in the ACC looking to include it. It lost out to Pitt and Louisville for various reasons. Baylor, to the best of my knowledge, has never been a candidate for one of these conferences.

 

[billybud]

Baylor, to its disadavantage is outside of the footprint, by quite a a bit, of these conferences...UConn is not.

 

[SouthronCross]

Baylor has A LOT of political pull in Texas. Thats how they got into the Big 12 over TCU. And, their backers will fight to the very end to keep them tied to wherever UT goes.

But, if the 16-team superconferences come to pass, they will be on the outside looking in, IMHO. The Texas GA's reach only goes so far.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Unfortunately for Baylor Ann Richards has passed away.