Because the Gators are on a bye this week, I have decided to use my column to talk about something that has been on my mind for a few weeks now.
The Big 12 is winning its breakup with Texas and Oklahoma.
In the final season where the Big 12 will implement its round-robin schedule, the “Husk of Eight” has gone out and proved that the two powerhouse programs are not bigger than the conference as a whole.
Let me explain. Expectations started out strong for the Longhorns and Sooners. Then, Texas took the attention of the college football world by the horns (get it?) this summer when Steve Sarkesian received a commitment from Arch Manning, the most coveted quarterback recruit since Andrew Luck. Then, the preseason conversation was centered around the Evil Empire Crimson Tide coming to town early in the season. To the Longhorns’ credit, they held up their end of the bargain, giving us a fascinating game and racking up the best loss of the season.
Unfortunately for them, Quinn Ewers hurt his shoulder and the Longhorns lost to Texas Tech, giving us the greatest horns down of all time and making their Big 12 championship hopes more difficult.
Oklahoma came out with a chip on its shoulder. Their head coach left in the middle of the night for California sunshine. The fact that he took their star quarterback plus a plethora of other players and staff with him made the Sooners look like the emperor with no clothes on. They hired an “Oklahoma Guy” in Brett Venables, whose defensive knowledge was supposed to turn the Sooners into Clemson 2.0. Paired with the biggest-name offensive coordinator in the country Jeff Lebby, OU was supposed to not skip a beat.
Once the season started, however, things didn’t go as planned. They started out 3-0 powered behind transfer quarterback Dillion Gabriel’s cannon of an arm but eventually ran into two teams that wear purple and the aforementioned Longhorns. The 49-0 thrashing at the hands of Texas, in Quinn Ewers’ first game back from injury, was the exclamation point on a three-game stretch that exposed the Sooners for what they are: a team that is rebuilding its roster and forming a new identity after their coach abandoned them in the middle of the night.
Let’s go back to those two teams in purple. TCU and Kansas State both went up against the crown jewel of the conference and got decisive victories. Even with the understanding that Oklahoma is in a transition period, that’s a massive achievement. Two years ago, speculation that the Pac 12 and Big 12 should merge together was thought to be the best course of action for the health of the conference.
Today, the Big 12 is arguably the most exciting conference from top to bottom. You have TCU undefeated and holding wins over Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State. Kansas State is in a position to play in the conference championship and is getting the most out of Adrian Martinez at quarterback, a player thought to be damaged goods after his unceremonious exit from Nebraska.
Kansas — yes KANSAS — hosted College GameDay this season for the first time in school history. If their quarterback doesn’t get hurt, they could realistically be 7-0 two weeks out from a massive game against Oklahoma State. Even West Virginia and Baylor gave us an incredible game on a Thursday night that saw two NFL teams look like FCS programs.
The Big 12 is doing just fine without the success of its two blockbuster programs. They’re in great shape and are bringing in the best available reinforcement in the realignment game. UCF is in the driver’s seat in the American Athletic Conference. Cincinnati has Luke Fickell, a head coach that almost every program outside Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State would love to call its own. Houston replaces the Power Five presence the Texas Longhorns have held for over two decades. BYU brings a window out to the west coast.
The Big 12 is going to be just fine in its post-Oklahoma & Texas era.
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