After falling down laughing at the headline, I also had plenty of laughs at this article.
It's not just a little strange that since Nebraska joined the Big 12 they haven't been the football powerhouse they used to be. Mack Brown: "You can loose to anybody in this league?" Is he kidding? Does he ever see what happens in the SEC? Let's see, who won the NC last year, and who did we beat? Cotton Bowl? Keep in mind the Big 12 took the cream of the old SWC and the Old Big 8 and let the wannabes go to the Mountain West. Even with that they're a distant second to the SEC. They may "appear ready" from the perspective of Dallas, but, in the words of Tony Barnhart, "Texas A&M ain't Texas A&M and Nebraska ain't Nebraska".and the Big 12 ain't ready to beat the SEC ! Oliver Barry CRS,GRI Real Estate Broker Bob Parks Realty 1517 Hunt Club Blvd Gallatin TN 37066 Phone: 615-826-4040 Fax: 615-822-2027 Mobile: 615-972-4239 Big 12 appears ready to surpass SEC in football 02:35 PM CDT on Monday, June 29, 2009 Column by CHUCK CARLTON / The Dallas Morning News | [email protected] <http://www.dallasnews.com/images/pixel.gif> Fifteen years after its creation, the Big 12 stands on the brink of fulfilling all the great expectations predicted at its birth. Back in February 1994, the combination of the Big Eight and many of the top programs from the Southwest Conference seemed like solid football synergy. Texas. Oklahoma. Nebraska. Texas A&M. Colorado. While the conference has been more than competitive since its inception - producing three outright or shared national champions since it began play in 1996 - its best may be directly ahead. There's just one obstacle: the Southeastern Conference. Florida's 24-14 win gave a factual basis to the perception that the Big 12 wasn't ready to leapfrog the SEC. Ole Miss' 47-34 win over Texas Tech in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic also didn't help the Big 12's case. That said, Texas coach Mack Brown believes the Big 12 has never been more competitive. "The difference is that the entire league is better," Brown said. "Everybody talks about the SEC. You can actually lose to anybody in this league. That wasn't the case 12 years or probably not even four years ago." So 2009 might be the year when the Big 12 takes the final step in performance and perception. "We could be there," said Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne, who went 255-49-3 and won three national titles as a coach. He understands the conventional wisdom about the SEC. "But I tell you it [Big 12] is going to be comparable this year," he said. Working in the Big 12's favor: . Three teams - Oklahoma, Texas and Oklahoma State - will probably open next season in the top 10. And excellence hasn't been limited to a few. Since the conference's formation, eight of the 12 teams have been ranked in the Associated Press poll's top five during November. . The conference featured four of the five vote-getters for the 2008 Heisman Trophy, including winner Sam Bradford of Oklahoma and runner-up Colt McCoy. Both return this season. "The offensive firepower and the quarterback capability in the last three years have been tremendous," Osborne said. "It seemed like every team had a great quarterback and really moved the ball." . Seven Big 12 players were selected in the first round of this year's NFL draft, a high-water mark. That total might just be the beginning. Todd McShay's 2010 mock draft for ESPN, released in late April, suggested the waiting area in New York could resemble a Big 12 media day. His projection: a jaw-dropping nine of the first 10 picks coming from the conference. Steve Hatchell, the first Big 12 commissioner, remembers the early optimism in the mid-'90s. "I don't think there was one doubting voice for the present and future strength of the conference," Hatchell said. For now, the SEC holds the bragging rights with wins in the last three BCS title games and unmatched fan fervor. Even Osborne acknowledged that he had never seen anything as intense as an in-state recruiting battle between Auburn and Alabama. "The Big 12 has done great things," said Tony Barnhart of CBS and the respected Mr. College Football blog. "But they aren't there yet. The top of the league - Texas and Oklahoma - is very competitive." But the conference has a couple of problems in Barnhart's opinion. One involves the struggles of some traditional powers. "Texas A&M ain't Texas A&M, and Nebraska ain't Nebraska," he said. The bottom of the conference could be stronger, Barnhart said, although he noted Baylor's recent improvement. Echoing a complaint frequently heard in SEC country, he thinks the defenses need to improve. Texas, at 51st nationally, possessed the Big 12's best defense. The conference will get a chance for an early on-the-field statement this season. Oklahoma State hosts traditional SEC power Georgia in its season opener. It will give a glimpse at how much the conference has evolved since 1996. Back then, Nebraska and Texas A&M were dominant. Then Texas hired Brown away from North Carolina in 1998 after a 10-1 regular season by the Tar Heels. A year later, Florida defensive coordinator Bob Stoops replaced John Blake at Oklahoma. And two historic programs began resurgences that would lead to national titles. Stoops' first offensive coordinator in Norman, an untraditional coach named Mike Leach with an untraditional offense, became the godfather of the passing game that has transformed the conference. The success of Oklahoma and Texas has caused other teams to increase their resources for football. Texas high school recruits who had bypassed the old Southwest Conference because of its NCAA issues began returning to state schools. If they left Texas, the primary destinations became other Big 12 schools. Case in point: The recent revivals at Missouri and Kansas have been fueled by Lone Star recruits. Then, as now, the ingredients were in place. "We had a lot of like-minded institutions making the heavy commitment to football," Hatchell said. "No one is surprised given how good the athletic directors are, how good the coaches, how good the facilities are." MEASURING FAVORABLY BCS TITLE GAME (SINCE 1998 SEASON) A look at how the Big 12 compares to its fellow BCS power conferences since it began play in 1996: Conference Apps. Won Lost SEC 5 5 0 Big 12 6 2 4 ACC 3 1 2 Big East 3 1 2 Big Ten 3 1 2 Pac-10 2 1 1 HEISMAN WINNERS (SINCE 1996 SEASON) Conference Winners Big 12 4* Big Ten 3 Pac-10 3 SEC 2 ACC 1 *Sam Bradford in 2008, Jason White 2003, Eric Crouch 2001, Ricky Williams 1998. ATTENTION GETTERS Since the Big 12 began play, eight member schools have been ranked among the nation's top five football teams in November or later by The Associated Press. Here's how the Big 12 compares with other BCS power conferences since 1996, with numbers based on current membership since joining the conference: Conference Members Top 5 Pac-10 10 9 Big 12 12 8 Southeastern 12 7 Big Ten 11 5 ACC 12 4 Big East 8 2 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
