Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (The Big 12 is soooooooo weak)
- Thread starter Ketchum
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I whole heartedly believe the Big 12 is a crap football conference and Texas misstepped and left themselves on the sinking ship.
But isn't it funny that not too long ago, we could make the case that not 1 but 2 Big 12 teams could get into the college football playoff. Unfortunately Baylor and TCU finished 5th and 6th and ended up being odd men out. But Baylor went nuclear, TCU went from being a darling to an afterthought, and OU started getting beaten by Houston. Meanwhile Texas is stuck in Charlie Strong Purgatory and we're left with two coaches who probably have the worst haircuts in the country (Dana and Mr. Mullet) to try and salvage our reputation?
Crazy how quickly things can get turned around.
But isn't it funny that not too long ago, we could make the case that not 1 but 2 Big 12 teams could get into the college football playoff. Unfortunately Baylor and TCU finished 5th and 6th and ended up being odd men out. But Baylor went nuclear, TCU went from being a darling to an afterthought, and OU started getting beaten by Houston. Meanwhile Texas is stuck in Charlie Strong Purgatory and we're left with two coaches who probably have the worst haircuts in the country (Dana and Mr. Mullet) to try and salvage our reputation?
Crazy how quickly things can get turned around.
Nobody would GAF about a "dogsh*t" conference if we were winning conference titles and contending for the CFP. I mean, does anyone on here even remember how cr*ppy the Big 12 was in football in the '05 season? No. Thus my point. People are only bitching about it because we have sucked in it for 7 seasons now.
My point was that the SEC manages its press well, which means it gets a lot more credit than it deserves. The Big 12, OTOH, has poor PR and is thus perceived as equivalent to a peewee league. Media coverage can affect perception dramatically.
D'onta was the best RB in the nation last year stat-wise. The take from the press is "Well, he did it against weak competition," diminishing his accomplishments. Had a Bama RB put up anything close to the numbers D'onta did, he'd be hailed as the second coming of Earl Campbell.
One of the reasons the Big 12 is dog shit of late is because Texas has been dog shit. Just look at the Big 10. It was just a few years ago when everyone was saying the Big 10 sucked and it was not going to be able to compete. In comes Urban Meyer and then Michigan gets Harbaugh and now the whole league is respected. It's crazy just how much coaching does. Just watch how much Herman will change the whole league not just Texas.
I think that is to be determined.
Some bring up FSU and their domination of the weak ACC in the 90's but a lot has changed since then.
It's even changed a lot since 2005 and UT had a signature win on the road against a top 10 team as well as being undefeated.
I think if there are multiple one loss teams it can become a factor moving forward.
Not saying it will just that it possibly can.
But again, my main point is nobody complains about the conference when you were winning a LOT in it. It's easy to complain about it and blame it even, when you are sucking.
The league is in a decline. It's picking up steam. Perhaps your theories will soon be tested.
Put me in the the theory will be tested camp.
Just different out there now a days.
Bottom line: Recruits want to go to colleges that prepare them for the NFL.
No matter how much any UT alum likes the Big 12, if the NFL ain't buying, then the recruits ain't buying. After the old Big 12 fell apart, the NFL draft has been ugly and recruiting has been poor conference wide.
Only UT and OU recruit consistently well in the Big 12, and that's in spite of the never ending criticism of the Big 12 by the media and opposing conference fanbases. We're swimming upstream instead of paddling with the current. We eliminate this hurdle by joining a stronger conference.
No matter how much any UT alum likes the Big 12, if the NFL ain't buying, then the recruits ain't buying. After the old Big 12 fell apart, the NFL draft has been ugly and recruiting has been poor conference wide.
Only UT and OU recruit consistently well in the Big 12, and that's in spite of the never ending criticism of the Big 12 by the media and opposing conference fanbases. We're swimming upstream instead of paddling with the current. We eliminate this hurdle by joining a stronger conference.
The conference is perceived as weaker because one of its premier teams (Texas) sucks. When Texas and OU are top 10 teams wining 10 games a year, it is perceived as a good conference. No one thought the conference was weak in 2000-2005, even though the North division was extremely weak. The SEC east is also very weak, as its "powerhouse" teams are pretty average (Tennessee and Florida have been very average in recent years). When one or both of Texas/OU are bad, it affects the perception of the conference as a whole. The fact that a school like Tech or Baylor may become very good does not replace the tarnish created when a signature brand like Texas becomes ordinary. The same would happen to the SEC if Alabama became an average team for an extended period, except the SEC's PR flacks would find a way to protect et conference brand if that happened.
Yep. And it's always been that way. Not sure why it's so hard for some to understand.
I think there's room for both of us to be right here. I agree with most of what you wrote above, and I've always maintained that Texas is far better positioned than anyone else in the B12 to overcome the obstacles this conference presents. But no matter how successful we become, we'll still be playing the Iowa States and Texas Techs most of the time, and that will remain a turn-off to the kinds of recruits the SEC & the B1G have become quite successful at poaching.
In any case, it'll be a moot point soon. The next round of realignment will likely force our hand within the next few years anyway.
Perhaps. But history has shown us that when WE are winning big and recruiting is rolling then there is little poaching that is going to get done amongst our top targets. And college football is highly cyclical. 5 years ago the Big 10 was a joke and dying conference. 10 years ago the Big 12 was the best in college football.
NFL judge is only one that matters and they have voted against the Big 12 in a big way. Will continue to crest huge problems for recruiting in big 12. SWC2.
