Who Will Play For The Big 12 Championship? An argument for Oklahoma

Before I start, I must give you all a disclaimer that I am an OU Sooners' fan. Not just a casual fan but a big-time, wear the gear, keep up on stats, borderline obnoxious type fan.

That being said, three teams from the BIG 12's South division are all ranked in the top eight of the country. I believe there are strong cases that can be made for all three teams who have now tied for the Big 12 South division title. All three have finished with identical 11-1 records. Their only losses have come against each other. A head-to-head argument does not hold water in this situation.

If Oklahoma plays for the title, Texas could say "We beat them on a neutral field and the team they are playing for the championship (Missouri)!"

If Texas plays for the title, Texas Tech can say "We beat them in a game we should have probably won without a last minute TD and we finished with the same record!"

If Texas Tech somehow moves to the front and plays for the title, Oklahoma can argue "We beat them by 44 points in game that wasn't as close as the final score!"

First, Texas defeated Oklahoma in Dallas, 45-35. Next, Texas Tech defeated Texas with a last minute TD in Lubbock, 39-33. After that, Oklahoma defeated Texas Tech in Norman, 65-21.

As we all know by now, this is going to come down to the fifth tiebreaker in the BIG 12, BCS ranking. It is basically left to the whims of the votes from the Coaches Poll, the Harris Poll, and the computer polls.

This is where the fun really starts.

Take the Coaches Poll. Most of these coaches have much more important things to do than pay attention to what other teams may be doing, other than glancing at final scores. Many have clauses in their contracts about bonuses for conference championships, final rankings and bowl berths. This situation leads to not only possibilities of conflicts of interest, but also the majority of these votes being cast by graduate assistant's.

The computer polls? Some computer rankings have a two-oss Ohio State team ranked ahead of a one-loss Penn State team that beat them in Columbus. Texas Tech is ranked higher than an Oklahoma squad that beat them by 44 points.

How is any of this fair? All three teams deserve a chance to play for a championship.

However, since this is the system we have, for better or worse, one of these teams must receive the OK to head to Kansas City to play Big 12 North division winner Missouri for the championship.

Who do you think deserves the nod over the others? No matter who you choose, there will be a lot of people who feel their team is getting the short straw.

I believe it should and will be the Oklahoma Sooners. Out of the three teams vying for the division title, they are the only one to have a quality road victory (over 9-3 OSU in a rivalry game) plus two quality out-of conference victories.

Cincinnatti won the Big East conference and TCU finished 10-2 with one of the top defenses in the country. Both should end the regular season in the top 15. This gives the Sooners four top 20 victories along with wins over 8-4 Nebraska and 7-5 Kansas.

Their only loss was to Texas by 10 points in Dallas in a game they lead by 11 points twice and appeared ready to take over in the second half until middle linebacker and defensive leader Ryan Reynolds left with a season-ending knee injury.

The Sooners boast a QB with 46 TD passes, 51 total and only six INT's. They have two running backs within 50 yards of each going over 1,000 rushing yards for the season to date.

They have scored on 60 out of 64 trips inside the red zone. 56 of these are touchdowns.

They are No. 1 in the nation in scoring at almost 53 points a game. 

They have not scored less than 35 points all season and have averaged almost 60 points a game since the Red River Rivalry and have scored over 60 in four straight games.

Their defense is tops in sacks and turnover margin. They rank in the top ten in tackles for loss, third down defense, turnovers gained and turnovers lost.

If they are not the hottest team in college football right now, they are in the top two.

I am not trying to take anything away from either the Longhorns or Red Raiders. They have both had phenomenal seasons. Neither have any reason to hang their heads.

In fact, if we actually had a basketball type playoff post season, it would not surprise me to see all three in the final four.

It is a shame we do not have a playoff. This is the way it is done in most sports and truly the only way to prove who deserves the National Championship the most.

I don't buy the "regular season is the playoffs" argument. A team can mature over the course of the season and actually be the best team without a chance to prove it at the end.

And that is the way I am looking at the whole debate. I believe Oklahoma is the hottest team in the conference and has done enough to claim the spot in the BIG 12 championship game against Missouri.

However, if they do not make it, I realize they should have not taken any chances and just won all their games.

Just like the other two teams should remember in case they are left out in the cold saying "Hey, what about us!".