George O'Leary knows all about karma biting you in the ass. How long was he head coach of Notre Dame? Five whole days?
George O'Leary knows all about karma biting you in the ass. How long was he head coach of Notre Dame? Five whole days?
In terms of rep, yes. In terms of actual performance this decade, it’s not as far a step down as you think.
To that point, here are the Top 12 finishes of the old Big XII teams vs. the new Big XII teams from 2011-2020. Nine each.
A&M - 2012, 2020
Missouri - 2013
Oklahoma - 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Texas - 2018
Colorado - none
Nebraska - none
UCF - 2013, 2017, 2018
TCU - 2014, 2015, 2017
Houston - 2015
Cincinnati - 2020
BYU - 2020
WVU - none
To that point, here are the Top 12 finishes of the old Big XII teams vs. the new Big XII teams from 2011-2020. Nine each.
A&M - 2012, 2020
Missouri - 2013
Oklahoma - 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Texas - 2018
UCF - 2013, 2017, 2018
TCU - 2014, 2015, 2017
Houston - 2015
Cincinnati - 2020
BYU - 2020
Oklahoma made the 4-team playoff in 2019 (lost to LSU), so I'm pretty sure they were top-12 that year.
It would be great if football reps were based upon merit. They should be.
Even though Texas football has been a non-factor for a decade, and A&M has been less of a factor than TCU or even UCF, in recent years, merit and performance alone don't build reps in college football. Texas and Texas A&M will always be the big swinging dicks among the schools in that state, and nationally, even if TCU or Houston perform better on the field. There is a reason that the vaunted SEC worked back channels to bring in Texas and OU, and would laugh at an application from any of the schools that just applied to the Big 12. More than any other sport, in college football, actual performance on the field means the least in building a national brand.
George O'Leary knows all about karma biting you in the ass. How long was he head coach of Notre Dame? Five whole days?
Yeah, why have the best teams in a playoff for the championship anyway ?
The move guts the AAC, in both football and basketball, they are left with:
Memphis
SMU
ECU
USF
Temple
Tulane
Tulsa
Navy (football only)
Guessing the AAC will try to raid the Sun Belt and take Coastal and App
The move guts the AAC, in both football and basketball, they are left with:
Memphis
SMU
ECU
USF
Temple
Tulane
Tulsa
Navy (football only)
Guessing the AAC will try to raid the Sun Belt and take Coastal and App
I'm not sure how close, if at all, ECU was to joining the ACC during expansion, but boy, had they gotten on that train, their fortunes would be totally different.