The Texas Tech Red Raiders came out this weekend and kicked the asses of the Kansas Jayhawks 63-21. The ass-kicking allowed Texas Tech to go 8-0 on the season. Yet, despite the impressive victory, the Red Raiders still find themselves looking in from the outside when it comes to the Bowl Championship Series title.
I guess the geniuses behind the BCS really aren’t paying any attention to what’s going on in college football. That’s all that I can think of to explain Tech’s number seven ranking.
Texas is 8-0 after defeating the previously undefeated Oklahoma State 28-24 on Saturday. So while I don’t like the Horns, I can’t argue with their number one ranking. And while I’m not the world’s biggest fan of Nick Saban, I think that the 8-0 Alabama Crimson Tide deserves the number two ranking.
But Penn State at number three? No school that struggles against Ohio State and plays that perennial power that is Coastal Carolina deserves to be ranked as high as number three. I don’t care if they are undefeated. The Red Raiders are undefeated and they haven’t played any weaklings like Ohio State or Coastal Carolina, yet they’re ranked number seven.
And then comes the real travesty. Teams like Oklahoma, USC, and Georgia are all ranked higher than Texas Tech, and they’ve all lost games. It’s like no one is actually paying any attention to what is actually happening this season.
Things are going to change for Texas Tech, though. They face the Horns in Lubbock this weekend. Next weekend, they have Oklahoma State. Then they do battle against Oklahoma. Maybe, just maybe, if Texas Tech can beat those teams, they’ll get a little respect in the BCS.
But I doubt it. I just have this feeling that Tech could go 12-0 on the season, then Tech could win the Big 12 title game and be undefeated, yet they would still not get to play in the BCS title game because the BCS would find another way to shove Ohio State down our throat.
SOME MISCELLAENOUS COLLEGE FOOTBALL NOTES:
Texas Tech being ranked seventh in the BCS isn’t the only travesty. Despite being undefeated, Utah and Boise State find themselves stuck behind. These two teams are undefeated. Yet they’re ranked behind a team that lost a game to Mississippi.
But worse, even though they have lost only one game – and that loss was to Oklahoma which was then ranked at number one – TCU is still only ranked at number 13 in the BCS, and they find themselves sitting behind two-loss Ohio State, one of the most overrated schools from the most overrated conference in the nation.
TCU dominated the game against Wyoming, winning 54-7. Yet, like Texas Tech, the Horned Frogs get no respect. You kind of have to wonder about the people and calculations behind the BCS. It kind of makes you think they’re the same people who told John McCain that choosing Sarah Palin as his VP choice was a great idea.
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Let’s hear it for the Horns. This weekend’s game with Oklahoma State was probably the toughest game they’ve played this year – the Cowboys sure gave Texas a better contest than the Oklahoma Sooners did. And Texas wasn’t secure in the victory until the clock actually hit zero as Oklahoma State was still in a position to win the game – a bad position to win the game, but the chance was there.
Still, despite Colt McCoy having a bad day – for Colt McCoy – the Horns got the 28-24 victory. If they can make it past Texas Tech on Saturday, they should be in a great position to make the BCS title game.
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Rice pulled off an impressive victory, going to New Orleans and defeating Tulane 42-17. At 4-3 on the season, the Owls are getting ever closer to another bowl game, which would be their second in three seasons. Owls QB Chase Clement was 20 for 25, while throwing two TDs to James Casey. Clement also ran for two touchdowns.
And even though the Aggies managed to pull out the 49-35 victory over Iowa State this weekend, I don’t think that even the most delusional of Aggies think that they’re anywhere near close to getting to a bowl game again in this decade. – John Royal
This article appears in Oct 23-29, 2008.
