The Sports Corner

Big 12 Football three-way

Texas beat Oklahoma who beat Texas Tech who beat Texas who beat Oklahoma who beat Texas Tech…

Dammit. There’s just no easy way to settle this. 

If Texas beats Texas A&M on Thursday night, then Oklahoma beats Oklahoma State and Texas Tech beats Baylor on Saturday, there will be a three-way tie in the Big 12 south. The voters will then decide who plays Missouri for the Big 12 championship as the tie-breaker calls for the BCS rankings to determine the division winner. Currently that team is Texas, #2 in the BCS.

But Oklahoma will play a far better opponent this week than Texas will. A dominant win over Oklahoma State could give them the bump they need in the computer rankings to pass Texas in the BCS.

Oklahoma has the edge in the Harris Poll and the USA Today poll, the other 2/3 of the BCS equation. Overall the Sooners are less than 0.01 behind the Longhorns so a bump in the computer rankings would all but seal their fate if the human voters continue to vote the way they have. That said, some human voters may revert back to Texas’ 10-point victory over Oklahoma on a neutral site and give UT the nod in the final rankings. 

If one of the three were to slip up this weekend and the three-way tie is broken, the tie-breaker is a simple one. If Texas Tech loses, while both Texas and Oklahoma win, then Texas will win the division. If Texas loses, while both Tech and Oklahoma win, Oklahoma wins the division. If Oklahoma loses, while both Texas and Tech win, Tech wins the division.

The doomsday scenario is if all three teams lose. It’s just going to be a really awkward, meaningless, female-less three-way in the Big 12 south.

Actually it’s even worse. If all three teams lose, there is a four-way tie atop the Big 12 south (Oklahoma State would join the three teams at 6-2 in conference play). Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe that would mean Texas Tech goes to the conference title game. Since Texas and Texas Tech would be 2-1 against the tied teams, while Oklahoma and Oklahoma State would be 1-2. That breaks the four-way tie into a two-way tie and by virtue of Texas Tech’s head-to-head win, they go to the conference title game. 

Oklahoma State may be the most important team during the final week of the regular-season. If the Cowboys can make Oklahoma look average, even in a loss, that may be enough to keep them out of the conference title game. 

You can make a solid case for each team.

The case for Texas.

The case for Oklahoma.

The case for Texas Tech.