2010 College Football Thread...

[Haruo]

Did I hear the UW Huskies beat the Cornhuskers??? In a bowl game??? What?!

[David Flick]

Did I hear the UW Huskies beat the Cornhuskers??? In a bowl game??? What?!

You heard correctly, Haruo. Here's the story. Not gonna miss Nebraska in the Big XII...
.
.
.
.
.

[T. D. Webb]

This Okie finds himself in agreement with David: Nebraska will not be missed as they flee to the big ten conference (which went 0 for 5 in bowl games today).

That said:
BOOMER SOONER ! ! ! Oklahoma 48 - Connecticut 20

[David Flick]

1This Okie finds himself in agreement with David: Nebraska will not be missed as they flee to the big ten conference (which went 0 for 5 in bowl games today).

That said:
2BOOMER SOONER ! ! ! Oklahoma 48 - Connecticut 20

1) If you were to count Nebraska as a Big Ten team, they're 0 for 6 in this bowl season. And Nebraska thinks the move is a step up...

2) Congratulations to that other Okie on the sooner win. Nice win over a team that couldn't even score a touchdown on offense. Sorry, Tom, but UConn isn't half the team that Arizona was. The monkey still isn't off Stoops' back with the win. The Pokes clearly came out the winner (over the sooners) so far as bowl opponents are concerned...

[T. D. Webb]

Congratulations to that other Okie on the sooner win. Nice win over a team that couldn't even score a touchdown on offense. Sorry, Tom, but UConn isn't half the team that Arizona was. The monkey still isn't off Stoops' back with the win. The Pokes clearly came out the winner (over the sooners) so far as bowl opponents are concerned...

". . .monkey still isn't off Stoops' back with the win" David, you sound like other depressed cowpoke fans who haven't seen their aggie team defeat OU since. . .can you count to 9 games ago Stoops has coached the SOONERS to 3 BCS National Championship Bowl games, winning one of them, and has been the Big XII Champion for the last three years! The Sooners had no control over choosing their opponent for this year's Fiesta Bowl. Still, they were set up in the media by the darlings of bi-coastal sportscasters to be upset by a clearly out-manned Connecticut team. So much for the pundits. . .so much for frustrated cowpoke fans whose team has had, historically, such a pitiful record against the Sooners. . .I suppose the next best thing in their minds is to simply detest the Sooners. David, sour grapes seem to be always on the menu in Oklahoma's "bitter orange aggieland". They have a good coach, a good team, and a great patron in T. Boone. Too bad so many of their fans are such bad sports. . . . The bottom line is that those of us in Soonerland don't have to worry about any fantasized "monkey" on Bob Stoops' back. . .when there is the major distraction of a GORILLA on the back of cowpoke fans.

[Stephen Fox]

Could beat either Stanford or Alabama. Woulda been much better bowl season had Bama played Oklahoma or Stanford

I hope Flick in particular, and all of you in general see ESPN 2 this afternoon at 2pm EST; ESPN 30/30 The Best that Never Was and raise your Sports metaphysic a little.

And here is hoping David Flick reads The Last Boy early this year, the definitive work on the Life and Legacy of Mickey Mantle, who was from Oklahoma if I am not mistaken.

[T. D. Webb]

Could beat either Stanford or Alabama. Woulda been much better bowl season had Bama played Oklahoma or Stanford

I hope Flick in particular, and all of you in general see ESPN 2 this afternoon at 2pm EST; ESPN 30/30 The Best that Never Was and raise your Sports metaphysic a little.

And here is hoping David Flick reads The Last Boy early this year, the definitive work on the Life and Legacy of Mickey Mantle, who was from Oklahoma if I am not mistaken.

Stephen, Mickey Mantle was, indeed, a native son of Oklahoma (born in the now small ghost town of Commerce, condemned by pollution from lead mines in the area, in northeastern Oklahoma just south of the Kansas border). Yesterday, Alabama played like a national champion (in my Constitutionally protected opinion) in overwhelmingly defeating Michigan State. Suffice it to say that most Big Ten fans will do their best to forget yesterday's shutout of their bowl representatives.

[KeithE]

Could beat either Stanford or Alabama. Woulda been much better bowl season had Bama played Oklahoma or Stanford

I hope Flick in particular, and all of you in general see ESPN 2 this afternoon at 2pm EST; ESPN 30/30 The Best that Never Was and raise your Sports metaphysic a little.

And here is hoping David Flick reads The Last Boy early this year, the definitive work on the Life and Legacy of Mickey Mantle, who was from Oklahoma if I am not mistaken.

Stephen, Mickey Mantle was, indeed, a native son of Oklahoma (born in the now small ghost town of Commerce, condemned by pollution from lead mines in the area, in northeastern Oklahoma just south of the Kansas border). Yesterday, Alabama played like a national champion (in my Constitutionally protected opinion) in overwhelmingly defeating Michigan State. Suffice it to say that most Big Ten fans will do their best to forget yesterday's shutout of their bowl representatives.

Agreed TD. Too bad Bama had a few off games this year - they were awesome at times. Their offensive line was not as good as last years and the defense lost 9 starters.

Now Stanford vs OU or OSU, that would be a good game and no telling which team would be "on" at game time. That is the nature of passing teams.

My prediction is that all SEC West Division teams will win, including Auburn. Best divsion in the country.

[David Flick]

Congratulations to that other Okie on the sooner win. Nice win over a team that couldn't even score a touchdown on offense. Sorry, Tom, but UConn isn't half the team that Arizona was. The monkey still isn't off Stoops' back with the win. The Pokes clearly came out the winner (over the sooners) so far as bowl opponents are concerned...

". . .monkey still isn't off Stoops' back with the win" David, you sound like other depressed cowpoke fans who haven't seen their aggie team defeat OU since. . .can you count to 9 games ago Stoops has coached the SOONERS to 3 BCS National Championship Bowl games, winning one of them, and has been the Big XII Champion for the last three years! The Sooners had no control over choosing their opponent for this year's Fiesta Bowl. Still, they were set up in the media by the darlings of bi-coastal sportscasters to be upset by a clearly out-manned Connecticut team. So much for the pundits. . .so much for frustrated cowpoke fans whose team has had, historically, such a pitiful record against the Sooners. . .I suppose the next best thing in their minds is to simply detest the Sooners. 1David, sour grapes seem to be always on the menu in Oklahoma's "bitter orange aggieland". They have a good coach, a good team, and a great patron in T. Boone. 2Too bad so many of their fans are such bad sports. . . . 3The bottom line is that those of us in Soonerland don't have to worry about any fantasized "monkey" on Bob Stoops' back. . .when there is the major distraction of a GORILLA on the back of cowpoke fans.

1) Sour grapes seem to be always on the menu in Oklahoma's "bitter orange aggieland?" Hardly, Tom. Simply stating the facts. I said nothing about the Sooners having control over choosing their opponents in their bowl game. Shucks, the Pokes had no control over opponents they played in their bowl game. The simple fact is that the Cowboys had a superior opponent this year.

2) Spoken like a true sooner fan. If the facts are uncomfortable for them, they'll accuse Poke fans of being bitter Aggies and bad sports. So what else is new?

3) True, sooner fans probably don't fantasize too much about the monkey on Stoops' back. But they do have to live with the 800 pound gorilla in the room over losing 5 of their last 7 most bowl games, 3 of which would have been national championships.

[T. D. Webb]

Hardly, Tom. Simply stating the facts. I said nothing about the Sooners having control over choosing their opponents in their bowl game. Shucks, the Pokes had no control over opponents they played in their bowl game. The simple fact is that the Cowboys had a superior opponent this year.

The only fact is that your assertion is simply an opinion. Just saying so doesn't make it so. . .and that's a fact, my friend.

3) True, sooner fans probably don't fantasize too much about the monkey on Stoops' back. But they do have to live with the 800 pound gorilla in the room over losing 5 of their last 7 most bowl games, 3 of which would have been national championships.

And in that same time period, how many BCS Bowls have the cowpokes even played, much less won? How about . . . NONE! How's that for a FACT, David

[T. D. Webb]

My prediction is that all SEC West Division teams will win, including Auburn. Best divsion in the country.

You are most likely correct, Keith. Auburn should beat a good Oregon team. LSU will likely defeat a Texas A&M team that is a much better team than it was at the beginning of the season. I will be "rooting" (pun intended ) for the Razorbacks to beat a good Buckeye team. Now, a Kentucky win over Pittsburg may be more problematic, though all the chaos over the firing of Pittsburg's coach can't help the Panthers' chances. In any case, in spite of TCU's great victory over Wisconsin, Alabama very likely has the two best college football teams in the country!

[Sandy]

In any case, in spite of TCU's great victory over Wisconsin, Alabama very likely has the two best college football teams in the country!

But we'll never know. We have a BCS championship set up, and one of those teams will win the trophy, but there will be one other unbeaten team out there whose bowl win over an impressive Wisconsin team makes a loud argument for the need to trash the BCS and have a real playoff.

Sorry, but there's no way 'Bama is a top ten team. Luck of the draw, they get Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl, close enough to Tuscaloosa to get there in less than a day, basically a home game for them given the fan support and the climate, and the fact that their last game of the season came two weeks after MSU had finished. I'd put Alabama somewhere between 10 and 15. The Sooners are a better team, so is Wisconsin, Oregon would roll over the Tide and they had their chance against Auburn.

I'll go out on a limb and say Oregon beats Auburn 48-24. Auburn doesn't have the defense to stop the Ducks offense, plain and simple, and the Ducks have proven they can neutralize a run and gun QB.

I'm baffled, after watching both OSU and Oklahoma, as to why the Cowboys can't beat the Sooners. Nerves? Cheating officiating? Coaching? Lack of consistency? The OSU team that beat Arizona last week was a much better team on the field than the Sooner team that beat UConn last night. Maybe it was rising to the level of an opponent, but I wasn't all that impressed with OU.

[Blake]

1) If you were to count Nebraska as a Big Ten team, they're 0 for 6 in this bowl season. And Nebraska thinks the move is a step up...

Actually, we're 2-6 (counting Nebraska). Iowa beat Missouri and Illinois beat Baylor. In my book the Northwestern-Texas Tech game is a win for the Big Ten considering how impotent Northwestern is without Persa. The fact the game was as close as it was proves that Northwestern would have slaughtered Tech had Persa been behind center.

I'd like to kick a few of our Big Ten coaches in the face. I'm not sure there has ever been a more embarrassing day of football for the Big Ten. An OSU win now isn't much of a consolation prize. On the upside, RichRod is as good as gone. Everyone wants them to get Harbaugh, but I think Gary Patterson would be far more successful at Michigan. Michigan is going to miss out big time if they don't do everything they can to get him away from TCU. Only other positive note this post season for me is that Notre Dame may very well be on the verge of a new era of glory years.

[David Flick]

In any case, in spite of TCU's great victory over Wisconsin, Alabama very likely has the two best college football teams in the country!

But we'll never know. We have a BCS championship set up, and one of those teams will win the trophy, but there will be one other unbeaten team out there whose bowl win over an impressive Wisconsin team makes a loud argument for the need to trash the BCS and have a real playoff.

I agree completely...

1Sorry, but there's no way 'Bama is a top ten team. 2Luck of the draw, they get Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl, close enough to Tuscaloosa to get there in less than a day, basically a home game for them given the fan support and the climate, and the fact that their last game of the season came two weeks after MSU had finished. 3I'd put Alabama somewhere between 10 and 15. 4The Sooners are a better team, 5so is Wisconsin, 6Oregon would roll over the Tide and they had their chance against Auburn.

I agree on all six points...

I'll go out on a limb and say Oregon beats Auburn 48-24. Auburn doesn't have the defense to stop the Ducks offense, plain and simple, and the Ducks have proven they can neutralize a run and gun QB.

I agree...

1I'm baffled, after watching both OSU and Oklahoma, as to why the Cowboys can't beat the Sooners. 2Nerves? 3Cheating officiating? 4Coaching? 5Lack of consistency? 6The OSU team that beat Arizona last week was a much better team on the field than the Sooner team that beat UConn last night. 7Maybe it was rising to the level of an opponent, but I wasn't all that impressed with OU.

1) Chalk it up to Bedlam...

2) Bedlam

3) There were some weird calls that went in favor of the Sooners, but I doubt it was that..

4) The Pokes did get out coached on those last two touchdowns (the ones where the OU receivers got behind the OSU coverage)

5) Bedlam...

6) I completely agree...

7) I'm never impressed with the sooners...

[KeithE]

I'm 3 for 3 with my favorite teams: UW, BAMA, Stanford. Hopefully Auburn will make it 4 for 4 and do so as convincely as BAMA and Stanford did.

I know Sandy believes Bama is not one of the top ten teams, but methinks the best 5 teams in order are:

Oregon or Auburn (whoever wins)
Oregon or Auburn (whoever loses)
Bama
Stanford
TCU

I know Bama will not be ranked that high with 3 loses but still, they can be dominant.

[Sandy]

Did you see Stanford take apart Virginia Tech last night? And that's a team that Oregon neutralized and beat when they had everyone healthy. Sorry, but 'Bama's not in that class this year. They're good, but not all that and a bag of chips, so to speak. Won-loss records aside, I wouldn't have put Auburn in the national title game over TCU. I'd like to see Auburn go up against TCU, and see what Tank Carder would have done to make Cam Newton have a bad day.

Everyone is impressed by the SEC, which led to Auburn's placement over TCU in the national title. The SEC west team that impressed me the most was Mississippi State. I don't think anyone in the conference, especially Auburn and Alabama, would want to face the 'Dawgs again, after the way they've played recently, especially in their bowl game. Put the SEC teams in a conference where they have to play nine conference games instead of seven, increase the pressure, and Auburn doesn't go unbeaten. I think they'd have trouble beating Boise State, a team that got rooked in spite of a 12-1 record, I don't think they could beat Stanford, and I think Oregon will double their score.

'Bama lost three times and got a lucky draw in their bowl game, playing just a few hours from home, essentially able to buy up two thirds of the tickets and have a home game advantage. They're lucky that Wisconsin and Ohio State got BCS bids, because I don't think they'd match up well against either of those teams. I think it is a little bit interesting, too, that Oklahoma wound up against the Big East BCS pick again. Maybe that was the rotation, I don't know, but it seems to me they got the lucky pick there, too.

[David Flick]

Hardly, Tom. Simply stating the facts. I said nothing about the Sooners having control over choosing their opponents in their bowl game. Shucks, the Pokes had no control over opponents they played in their bowl game. The simple fact is that the Cowboys had a superior opponent this year.

The only fact is that your assertion is simply an opinion. Just saying so doesn't make it so. . .and that's a fact, my friend.


More than an opinion, Tom. Let's review the facts again.
1. Fact: At no point (not even once) during the 2010 season was UConn ranked in the BCS Top 25. (Source...)
   
2. Fact: Arizona was ranked in the BCS Top 25 no less than 12 out of the 15 weeks during the 2010 season. (Source...)
3. Fact: Arizona was ranked above OSU in the BCS Top 25 no less than 9 of the 15 weeks during the 2010 season. (Source...)
4. Fact: UConn scored exactly zero, nada, zilch touchdowns on offense against Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. (Source...)
5. Fact: Arizona scored one touchdown against Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl. (Source...)
6. Fact: The Arizona Wildcats, based on the five previously documented facts, were superior to UConn Huskies during the 2010 season.
So you see, Tom, my facts more than simple opinion. Put'em all in your sooner pipe and smoke'em...

3) True, sooner fans probably don't fantasize too much about the monkey on Stoops' back. But they do have to live with the 800 pound gorilla in the room over losing 5 of their last 7 most bowl games, 3 of which would have been national championships.

And in that same time period, how many BCS Bowls have the cowpokes even played, much less won? How about . . . NONE! How's that for a FACT, David


Okay, I'll accept your fact as true. Now I'll ask you a question: How many BCS Bowl games have the sooners won prior to whipping up on the hapless UConn Cupcakes, er I mean Huskies? How about . . . NONE! How's that for a FACT, Tom

[Sandy]

# Fact: The Arizona Wildcats, based on the five previously documented facts, were superior to UConn Huskies during the 2010 season.

I don't want to downplay the OSU win in the Alamo Bowl, especially being a big time Arizona Wildcat fan, but it's not hard to compare and see that if UConn had played Arizona in a bowl game, the Wildcats would have won, perhaps as handily as OU did. Mike Stoops had a breakout season going at Arizona this year, until a string of unfortunate injuries took its toll on their offense. They lost both of their star running backs and both of their star pass receivers within a three week span, between their game with Oregon State and Stanford, and then the injuries hit their defense as well. At one point, Stoops was down to half of the starters he had at the beginning of the season, some of the injuries were season ending. Yet, they were in every game they played right up to the last minute, except Stanford and Oklahoma State. Even at Oregon, they were within one score of the Ducks until midway through the fourth quarter. I noticed they had Criner, Grigsby and Foles back for the bowl game, so they were probably better than they were during the last three weeks of the regular season. Even at reduced strength, Arizona wouldn't have had a lot of trouble with UConn on the field.

[T. D. Webb]

How many BCS Bowl games have the sooners won prior to whipping up on the hapless UConn Cupcakes, er I mean Huskies? How about . . . NONE! How's that for a FACT, Tom [/list]

If imitation of word phrasing is an example of the sincerest form of flattery, then David, consider me flattered. . . Now, to answer the question that you were badly mistaken in trying to answer yourself. . . The Oklahoma Sooners won 2 (Count'em, David ) BCS Bowls prior to their victory over Connecticut in this year's Fiesta Bowl. First, they won the Orange Bowl and the National Championship against Florida State in 2001. Secondly, they won the 2003 BCS Rose Bowl against Washington St.

That said, your other "facts" do little or nothing to specifically support your assertions and opinions, David. Whether or not a team is "ranked" earlier in the year does not automatically translate into who has the current better team. Arizona has now lost 6 games in a row (almost as many consecutive losses as have the cowpokes (8) against the SOONERS ). The fact is that in the final analysis, neither Arizona or Connecticut were particularly competitive in their games with the two Oklahoma teams. So, rather than engage you further in your seemingly endless litany of unfounded assertions, this Okie will just relish the fact that our SOONERS were victorious once again this past year against the "poor pokes", causing some of their hapless supporters scrambling in desperation to change the subject to meaningless and unprovable speculations. "'Nuff Sed"

[Tim Dahl]

I wonder which State will come out with the most Bowl wins this year. I think that Texas has four universities playing in various bowls. My beloved Bears lost. I'm still crying inside. TCU won the Rose Bowl. Ok, even though I'm a BU fan, it is cool that TCU won. TX Tech won against Northwestern in the Ticketcity Bowl. (Really? Seriously? There is a bowl named Ticketcity? Only in Dallas, TX.) And we have the Aggies facing LSU at the Cotton Bowl on January 7, 2011. It's hard for me to root for the Aggies, but I just may have to.

Per the conversation in this thread we know that OU won against UConn, and OSU beat Arizona. So, TX and OK seem to be tied with two wins a piece. Any other geographic regions with multiple universities in bowl games?

Tim

[T. D. Webb]

I wonder which State will come out with the most Bowl wins this year. I think that Texas has four universities playing in various bowls. My beloved Bears lost. I'm still crying inside. TCU won the Rose Bowl. Ok, even though I'm a BU fan, it is cool that TCU won. TX Tech won against Northwestern in the Ticketcity Bowl. (Really? Seriously? There is a bowl named Ticketcity? Only in Dallas, TX.) And we have the Aggies facing LSU at the Cotton Bowl on January 7, 2011. It's hard for me to root for the Aggies, but I just may have to.

Per the conversation in this thread we know that OU won against UConn, and OSU beat Arizona. So, TX and OK seem to be tied with two wins a piece. Any other geographic regions with multiple universities in bowl games?

Tim

Tim, like you, I sometimes have to shake off intra-conference attitudes when it comes to Big XII representatives playing in bowl games. I really don't have much trouble supporting Big XII South teams, four of which are in your great state. I will be pulling for Texas A&M as I had also hoped for Baylor and Texas Tech wins. The TCU victory was great fun and it would be more than interesting if they were somehow able to match up with the Auburn - Oregon winner for the National Championship. Sandy is on spot in his contention that a playoff system is the only solution to all of this conjecture about who is the real #1.

If we include all of the bowls played this season, it looks like the State of Florida came out with 5 victorious teams. Florida, Florida St., U. of South Florida, U. of Central Florida, and Florida International all won their respective bowls. As you have already noted, if the Aggies win against LSU, Texas will have 3 winners. Oklahoma had 3 winning teams: OU, OSU, and Tulsa University. If Auburn defeats Oregon (as I believe they will), Alabama will have three winners, as well: Auburn, Alabama, and Troy. I don't follow the California schools that carefully. However, they have at least two winning teams: Stanford and San Diego St.

[Sandy]

I wonder which State will come out with the most Bowl wins this year. I think that Texas has four universities playing in various bowls. My beloved Bears lost. I'm still crying inside. TCU won the Rose Bowl. Ok, even though I'm a BU fan, it is cool that TCU won. TX Tech won against Northwestern in the Ticketcity Bowl. (Really? Seriously? There is a bowl named Ticketcity? Only in Dallas, TX.) And we have the Aggies facing LSU at the Cotton Bowl on January 7, 2011. It's hard for me to root for the Aggies, but I just may have to.

Per the conversation in this thread we know that OU won against UConn, and OSU beat Arizona. So, TX and OK seem to be tied with two wins a piece. Any other geographic regions with multiple universities in bowl games?

Tim

Yeah, the Ticket City Bowl, which is actually played in the old Cotton Bowl stadium, because the Cotton Bowl is no longer played in the Cotton Bowl, but in the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. It's hard for me to root for the Aggies, too, but I think they're ready for this challenge against an old rival over whom they've had frequent success. The SEC west is over-rated and overblown because of Auburn's special place in the hearts of the Eastern sports press, and I think the Aggies are ready to take out the Tigers.

The smaller Florida schools are scattered out among minor conferences with minor bowl tie ins, and I believe they have at least as many schools playing in the Bowl subdivision as Texas or California. Weather dictates the location of bowl games, with so many being in the southeast, the minor games want schools that will draw a decent crowd from close by, so the Florida schools get the nod in Florida bowl games. I think there are six bowl games played in the state, including the Orange which is BCS, the St. Petersburg, the Outback, the Gator, the Capital One and the Champs Sports.

In light of recent games, and comparable opponents, I'm sticking with my prediction that Oregon will roll over Auburn something like 48-24. It might be worse than that, though 24 points is quite a limb. I'll take the Aggies by a touchdown.

[Ed Pettibone]

I wonder which State will come out with the most Bowl wins this year. I think that Texas has four universities playing in various bowls. My beloved Bears lost. I'm still crying inside. TCU won the Rose Bowl. Ok, even though I'm a BU fan, it is cool that TCU won. TX Tech won against Northwestern in the Ticketcity Bowl. (Really? Seriously? There is a bowl named Ticketcity? Only in Dallas, TX.) And we have the Aggies facing LSU at the Cotton Bowl on January 7, 2011. It's hard for me to root for the Aggies, but I just may have to.

Per the conversation in this thread we know that OU won against UConn, and OSU beat Arizona. So, TX and OK seem to be tied with two wins a piece. Any other geographic regions with multiple universities in bowl games?

Tim

Tim, like you, I sometimes have to shake off intra-conference attitudes when it comes to Big XII representatives playing in bowl games. I really don't have much trouble supporting Big XII South teams, four of which are in your great state. I will be pulling for Texas A&M as I had also hoped for Baylor and Texas Tech wins. The TCU victory was great fun and it would be more than interesting if they were somehow able to match up with the Auburn - Oregon winner for the National Championship. Sandy is on spot in his contention that a playoff system is the only solution to all of this conjecture about who is the real #1.

If we include all of the bowls played this season, it looks like the State of Florida came out with 5 victorious teams. Florida, Florida St., U. of South Florida, U. of Central Florida, and Florida International all won their respective bowls. As you have already noted, if the Aggies win against LSU, Texas will have 3 winners. Oklahoma had 3 winning teams: OU, OSU, and Tulsa University. If Auburn defeats Oregon (as I believe they will), Alabama will have three winners, as well: Auburn, Alabama, and Troy. I don't follow the California schools that carefully. However, they have at least two winning teams: Stanford and San Diego St.

Ed, I think It should be mentioned that OK and Al have by far the smallest populations of the states mentioned. And Florida is only around 2/3 that of Texas.

[Ed Pettibone]

Pitt sealed it Big East 4 for 6 in bowl games. Pitt, So Fla., Louisville, Syracuse .

[T. D. Webb]

Pitt sealed it Big East 4 for 6 in bowl games. Pitt, So Fla., Louisville, Syracuse .

Congrats, Ed! With TCU going to the Big East in a year, it looks to be an up and coming conference. Too bad the Big XII took a pass on TCU. . .