The Big 12's Big Mistakes

I know I'm biased, but I say it's the best game in college sports.

Every year the seldom-used Cotton Bowl on the Texas state fairgrounds comes alive. Divided at the 50 yard line. A sea of burnt orange on one side, a wash of crimson on the other. It's Texas/OU - and it's glorious.

On every play, 50,000 people go crazy. Then on the next snap, the other 50,000 get their turn.

It happens in the first half of October, when seasons still feel new, but where this afternoon will help determine where these teams are headed. It's stressful, it's blissful, it's unbearable... and the winner gets to hold onto that feeling (and those bragging rights) for 12 months. To the victor go the spoils. And for the loser... that sting is deep and it lasts all year.

Well... until now.

This Saturday the Longhorns and Sooners will play again, this time in the sterile vastness of the Cowboys "Death Star" in Arlington. For the first time since 1903, the game in October isn't the last word on a season's best rivalry game.

This is a shame. The winner in October shouldn't have to prove it again 8 weeks later. I've attended every Texas/OU game in the Cotton Bowl (except for one) since 1990. I'm not going to this sham on Saturday. That's how I feel about this re-tread.

And this isn't sour grapes from a Longhorn because we won in October. I'll go on record right now and say this: Oklahoma should be the conference champ. They were the best team in the conference for the entirety of the season. They're the only team that only has 1 conference loss. But the Big 12 can't leave well enough alone.

This all started when we moved to a 4-team playoff. Remember 2014? In the very first 4-team year, TCU lost an epic mid-season game to Baylor. The Bears finished the season #7. TCU was #3 headed into the final week. The Frogs destroyed Iowa State 55-3 and dropped out of the playoff. The Big 12, the kings of the overreaction, began to plot.

First it was, "we need to add two more teams." But lukewarm recruiting and the realization that they'd have to share some of their money kicked that can on down the road. Then in 2016 it happened again. Oklahoma was 11-2 and conference champs, but of the 5 major conferences, the Big 12 was the one left out. It was too late to add a conference title game for 2017... but they added one as fast as they could... and here we are.

Oklahoma only has 1 loss. They deserve to be the conference champs. But the new "extra" game they've added has the potential to ENSURE that no Big 12 team gets into the playoff. Not to mention that it's absurd. Pick any two teams you want from the Big 12 and announce the game. We've already seen it. The other conferences have championship games because they don't all play each other every year. That was the whole point behind the Big 12's "one true champion" campaign that you may have missed if you blinked while they were declaring TCU and Baylor co-champions in the first season of "one true champion." Yeah, that's a thing that really happened.

So now we get Texas/OU for the 2nd time this year. I told you why I hate it. Some people love it. Ok, cool - Hook 'em. But at least the game will be rich with the feisty traditions and prodding that goes with this salty rivalry.

Texas DE Breckyn Hager Forced to Apologize by Big 12 After Saying "OU Sucks"

Oh come on! Texas all-hair candidate Hager is asked about facing OU while leaving the Texas practice facility and says, "It's 11:12 and OU still sucks!" But the Big 12 Fun Police won't have it. This wasn't the game. We're talking about practice. Not the game. Not the game. We're talking about practice. The conference forced Hager to apologize publicly. Which he did. Insert dumbfounded emoji here.

I made a joke on social media when I saw this and said, "well, I guess they'll reprimand every Oklahoma player who does the 'horns down' sign from now on then. Ha-ha-ha!"

Ha-ha-what?

Horns only go up as Big 12 says Sooners can't throw them down

I wish I was making this up. They're going to penalize Oklahoma players if they do the "horns down" sign during the game? Are you kidding?

"After further review, #5 put the 1st and 3rd fingers down, not the first and 4th. There is no penalty on this play."

So to recap, the Big 12 took the best rivalry in the conference and cheapened it with an extra game... an extra game that has potential to do more harm than good to the conference's playoff chances. Then they sucked the fun out of the only part of it that is any good?

If you want to play with the big kids in the deep end of the conference championship pool, it's time to do the right thing and cozy up to BYU and Central Florida. It's going to cost you a few bucks, but right now you look ridiculous.

And as for Texas/OU part deux - the conference is lucky. Because it really is the best game in college sports. I'll be rooting for my guys... but I'll be dreaming of October.