Last year's example is just a small piece/later of the overall point.That point is valid for 2023 because we ran the table for the rest of Big 12 play and had a chance to win against UW in the playoff. Had the remainder of the regular season played out differently, the narrative about a diminished ou game wouldn’t be a topic right now. @Ketchum seems to forget that Texas was sitting 6th or 7th in the CFP rankings heading into CCG precisely because of the ou loss. The team took care of business and the loss didn’t keep us out of the CFP, but that was hardly assured right up until the time the final rankings were announced.
This has been an interesting thread, and ultimately I look at it this way. Last year was so much fun and the team met if not exceeded expectations. Because of that, the loss to ou was somewhat discounted in the final analysis. I’m not willing to go out on a limb and conclude that means Red River won’t be as important going forward. Nor am I willing to project the type of improvement for Aggy that is implicit in Ketch’s original post. Elko may be the guy to harness their talent and get them going in the right direction, but that’s nothing more than speculation right now. But it makes for excellent offseason debate and a 12-page thread and counting. Cheers. 😎
Look at the Ohio State/Michigan game. In the last few years, that hame has sent the winner into the playoff and the loser into a place where the season feels a little like a failure.
Moving forward, the winner and the loser of a game between 1-loss or undefeated teams won't result in the same situation because both teams will/would make the playoff.
It makes the stakes of that game lower. It doesn't quite mean as much as it meant as recent as the last two years.
It doesn't mean that the two teams hate each other less. It doesn't make the game meaningless. Iy just means that it means less.
This is a situation true across college football.