Week two of the season came and went this past Saturday and while it certainly didn’t offer the same drama on the field within the Big 12 Conference, the Topsy-turvy on goings of the conference’s realignment only continued to boil.

The domino effect related to what will eventually be decided by suits in Norman, Oklahoma has everyone related to the current Big 12 Conference on pins and needles. Message boards are busier than ever and conspirators have plenty of opinions to share as this drama continues to unfold. The internet era, more influential than ever, has influenced the spread of bad feelings, jealousy and uncertainty that envelopes fans everywhere.

And all the while, I still wonder, why can’t we just make the most sensible thing work?

I speak, like many of you, to the notion of maintaining the Big 12 Conference. Of all the options present to each and every of the conference’s members, mending our differences seems like a no-brainer.

Let’s stay together and make this work. Is that really too much to ask?

Is keeping a conference housed of several Texas schools, headquartered in the Lone Star State, that utilizes and capitalizes on a hotbed of homegrown talent worthy of being ripped at its seems?

Last I checked, exactly half of the conference (five teams) is ranked in the AP top 25. If Nebraska was still welcome at the dinner table there would have six. If Missouri had won Friday night in Tempe, there would be seven. Can any other league say that?

Still, it’s the Big 12 Conference that has slowly become little brother to ‘better cultural fits’ in the SEC, a more suitable ‘match’ for the Pac 12 and an ‘upgrade to the academic best interests’ that the Big 10 offers.

Excuse me?

Do we need to be reminded of just how powerful, influential and trend-setting this conference was, still is and should continue to be? Until this season, the Big 12 was the only league that originally formed with 12 members in two different six team divisions. Remember when that was seen as forward-thinking, smart and innovative?

This was the only league that, from its inception, included a ‘post season’ league championship game. While other leagues decided their conference champ via mind-bending tiebreakers, the Associated Press or even worse, a vote amongst conference presidents (yep, this is how the Big Ten chose it’s conference representative for the Rose Bowl for an eternity), the Big 12 staged a title game.

Decided between white lines. Played in a city and stadium that an NFL franchise called home.

 

Yet, just 16 years after this ‘game changing’ league formed, it appears this conference is the one truly in jeopardy of falling completely apart.

I suppose something could be said for the advent of the 16 team ‘super conference.’

There isn’t an Aggie I know who isn’t thrilled for weekend road trips to achievable-in-one-day driving distances being replaced with airfare to college towns four and five states away.

The notion of playing in the Pac 16 is more than logical for Oklahoma. After all, they have a legion of alumni in Oregon, California and Washington.

We all know it’s best to throw out the records when Nebraska and Purdue face off this time of year.

For those schools likely to be left in the dark, their inevitable move, whether it be to the Big East, Mountain West or Conference USA, would have our fans foaming at the mouth to welcome new rivals Air Force, Boston College and Memphis to town.

Give me a break.

The Big 12 Conference, it’s schools and its fans deserve better. The direction of college athletics (football in particular) is the problem.

The temptation of bigger TV contracts, heightened exposure in new markets and stability in an unstable college football landscape has certainly caught the dollar-filled pupils of many.

If and when, those same people realize these factors have had absolutely nothing to do with what makes college athletics so unique so celebrated ever comes into play, we’ll all be okay.

Until then, the Big 12 Conference has some new invitations to the dinner table that need to be mailed out.

[caption id="attachment_2659" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Courtesy of Nppa.org"][/caption]

As much as I love my BYU sports and stand behind my teams, this senior bickering thing is simply embarrassing.

Saturday BYU lost another heartbreak (didn’t I just write an article about this team?) to New Mexico. This time at home. The game was the Cougars to lose. Even with a sidelined flu-smitten Fredette BYU’s missed free throws and a slow perimeter zone defense gave the Lobos all the opportunity they needed to win.

But it was what happened after the game that got all the attention. Hot head Jonathan Tavernari when out with style as he whined at a call made late in the game. He got into an arguement with head coach Steve Alford during handshakes after the game.

Great job JT. Your parents right there, and also one of the leaders of the LDS Church sitting front and center to your antics. I hope you feel like a fool, and I am glad to have you gone at the end of this year. You may hold a lot of records, but let’s not forget that you got benched your senior year because of your selfish play and lazy attitude. You were face of the team for perhaps a few games until we caught drift of Jimmer Fredette who quickly overshadowed you in his freshman year.

At least you will have Max Hall to talk to. You have an awful lot in common. You both made fools of yourself in your final home game at BYU, (in which neither of you played all that well), you both hold records that most fans hope get broken quickly, and next season– we won’t miss you a bit.

I know what it’s like being caught up in the moment, or intensity of the game. But for my sake as a fan, your stupidity overshadows what I really care about. The game. Both yours and Max Hall’s remarks overshadowed the game, stealing glory from Loyd Jr. who played an excellent game for the unable Jimmer, and the overtime victory. Everyone will now recall the last game of the season for your inability to be the captain you wish you were.

Any other conference than the Mountain West would be great for teams like BYU, TCU, and Utah. As I was on my way home today listening to KALL 700 sports radio I overheard Bill and Spence commenting on the possible expansion of the Pac-10.

Now as far as sources go, it seems this is simply all rumor, yet they lead quite the interesting discussion on which team it would be. Utah, BYU, TCU and Colorado all came up in the mix.

Utah and Colorado came out the favorites, but I would wish to make a case for BYU. BYU has won 3 of their last 4 bowl games, many of them against Pac-10 teams. Until the home opener against Florida State this past year, we held the longest home streak in the nation. Not to mention the most Mountain West Conference championships in the last 8 years. Yet there still seems to be some scrutiny with BYU.

The obvious would be that in all those years they have not had a BCS birth, yet Bill and Spence spoke about some other things. The aspect that BYU does not participate in athletics on Sunday was the number topic that arose. Then the fact that many of the players leave for two- year church missions was another tally in the “no” section.

So I call to you fellow fans and bloggers. If the Pac-10 were extending, which Mountain West team do you think deserves the birth? And why would BYU not be in the front-runners for consideration?

With the big win last night against TCU, Boise State completed the perfect season. The only other perfect season will come from the winner of the National Championship. The question now becomes, who should be #2, Boise State, Florida or the looser of the National Championship? Florida Showed a dominating performance against an undefeated Cincinnati team in the Sugar bowl. Also either Texas or Alabama will have had strong seasons with one loss coming in a National Championship game. So the question becomes, who should be #2 in the end of season rankings? Let me know what you think!

The Mountain West conference has been considered worthy as a potential conference to enter the BCS. This ongoing discussion has been around since the conception of the Mountain West itself. The question that still remains is their overall strength of the Mountain West to contend on a national stage. The Mountain west has three schools that have consistently shown promise to be contenders, but still don’t make a strong conference. Dominance really can’t be proven, when inner conference play is measured off of just three teams. On the other hand, if the Mountain West could attract schools such as Boise State and University of Houston they might have a stronger argument.