Big 12: Weekends biggest loser

According to ESPN, the Big 12 was the biggest loser over the weekend "Thanks mostly to an 0-4 record against the Pac-10 on Saturday." Brad Edwards has a point, it wasn't a good weekend for Big 12 teams. And, I'm not going to carry the flag for the Big 12 as the nation's elite conference. However, a closer analysis of results shows that the weekend shouldn't have been unexpected.

The four Big 12 v. Pac-10 matchups were:
#19 Nebraska v. #4 USC
#15 Oklahoma v. #18 Oregon
#22 Arizona State v. Colorado
Baylor v. Washington State

The results aren't unexpected. The Big 12 (left) and Pac-10 hierarchies are as follows (based on rankings for top 25 teams going into the weekend):
Texas/USC
Oklahoma/Oregon
Nebraska/California
Texas Tech/Arizona State
It looks like Colorado is near the bottom of the lowly Big 12 North, and Baylor probably won't be favored in any Big 12 South game this year. So, Arizona State taking care of Colorado, big deal. If WSU went into Boulder and beat the Bufs, I'd give the Pac-10 a little credit for that one. Baylor v. Washington State was a close game in Pullman. If it was played in Waco, the outcome quite possibly would have been reversed. But, do people really care how the 9th or 10th placed team in a conference does? That leaves the marqee matchups, the best Pac-10 team at home against the 3rd or 4th best team in the Big 12. If Nebraska had pulled it out, it might have been the big-time shocker of the year. If the 'Horns had visited USC and been beat, that would have been a bigger knock against the Big 12. If you don't know how I feel about the OU v. UO game, read the previous posts. Officiating like that makes me sick. Oklahoma went into Eugene, where visitors aren't supposed to win, and had the game won until the officials decided Oregon should get the ball on the onsides kick even though they touched it illegally and didn't end up with it at the end of the play. The ball wasn't wrestled away from the Duck, he lost it and it squirted out of the pile where it was picked up by OU reserve RB Allen Patrick. So, overall, the Big 12 v. Pac-10 weekend went much as people would have predicted. How does that make the Big 12 a big loser, exactly?

In other Big 12 action, Big 12 North middleweight KU lost to Toledo on Friday in overtime. I think Toledo was favored in that game. The Jayhawks fought into OT on the road and eventually lost. Again, not a great result, but not a disaster either. Iowa State traveled to Iowa City to take on the #16 Iowa Hawkeyes. I watched that game. It was a close game. Iowa State led at half, the game was tied after three quarters, and the margin was only one TD until late. The result, again, was probably what most people would have picked. The other top 25 battle involving a Big 12 team was #24 Texas Tech losing at #20 TCU 12-3 in a battle of field goals. All I know about this game is the final score. I was surprised TTU only managed 3 points, but the Red Raiders were on the road against a higher, albeit just slightly, ranked opponent. It would have been nice for the Big 12 if TTU won, but they didn't.

On the other side of the ledger, Kansas State handled Marshall 23-7 in Manhattan. #8 UT dismantled Rice, 52-7. Oklahoma State drubbed an undermanned FAU 48-8. Texas A&M survived a late goal-line situation against Army to win 28-24 and Missouri went to Albuquerque and took care of New Mexico 27-17.

So, in review, the BIg 12 went 5-7. Texas, Texas A&M, Missouri, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State all won games that they probably should have won. The Big 12 was a big loser in the OU v. UO game because the Pac-10 officials screwed up the game. So, if we give that win to the Big 12 (which should happen ... the Pac-10 commish should find egregious error by the officials and nullify everything that happened after the onsides kick, giving Oklahoma a much-deserved 33-27 win ... I'm not holding my breath though). So, the Big 12 should have been .500 for the weekend. Texas Tech, Kansas, and Baylor lost games that were probably predicted to be pretty close. CU did better than expected against ASU. Iowa State played ok in a rivalry game on the road against a higher-ranked opponent. And, the Cornhuskers were the Trojans sacrifice to the football gods this weekend, not unexpected at all. It was a mediocre weekend for the Big 12 if you analyze the matchups and results.