The Lions' Pride

I think the OOC scheduling goes with the toughness of the conference...when the conference overall is down, you see AD's schedule better OOC games...

But, with that said, tOSU has played home and home with Texas, USC, MIami, just in last 10 years, when Cal was scheduled (8 years ago) they weren't bad.....Who knows how good someone is going to be when the game actually comes around...hell, we just scheduled OOC games for 2020-2023....the kids playing in those games are 7-10 years old right now....

One good thing Gene Smith is doing right now is trying to get away from playing the MAC schools as it will be detrimental when the 4 teams are chosed for playoffs....Not that he's going to replace them with Alabama, but at least schedule a BCS school....it does show better in SOS at end of the year...might be the difference in getting that 4th spot in playoff with a 1 loss team.....

No I get it.

OU had to bump up their SOS the past few seasons as the Big 12 got weaker. Its natural for every program, but I hate it when teams use that excuse. Florida fans always say the reason they never leave Florida for OOC games is that the "SEC is so tough," and every SEC team seems to have that mantra outside of Alabama and LSU. IMO the reason they do this is because they don't want an OOC loss that would make the conference look bad. JMO, and honestly probably a conspiracy theory. I hate not seeing an SEC mid-level team play another BCS school, so we could actually see if the SEC really is tougher top to bottom than other conferences.

You have no idea how much I enjoyed that. I can't stand aTm or their fans, but I was rooting for them today. I also like seeing Mizzou succeed, although they're not doing too well so far. In case you can't tell, I still root for the Big 12 and against the SEC, and it makes me so happy that OU and Texas' little is doing very well there. Proves that the crap about the SEC being the best because their mid-level teams are so much better than everybody else's is a load of bull.

Alabama took a step back from last season, whether people admit it or not. Still a darn good team, but not quite what they were last season. They got exposed by the first really good QB they've faced this season. Thank god it knocked the SEC out of the mNC race.

Go home Robo...

Before today, I was a believer that Oregon could put up 35-40 easily on Bama.

Bama was on borrowed time IMO for a loss. This was the last chance though in the regular season for a loss since directional Carolina (not North or South or East) is on tap next then that abortion from The Plains, who looked awful against Georgia.

A&M could be ready to make a nice jump nationally after that victory. I'm starting to believe they can steal some studs that normally would go to Austin.

The most egregious offense and example of this was Tennessee, who went something like 5-7 last season and came into this season as a top 25 team. No. They are not a good football team, and are showing it again this season. South Carolina isn't a top 10 team without Lattimore, and with the way they were using him this season there is an argument for them not being a top 10 team with him.

Their best teams have been better than other conferences' best teams the past five or six years, so they get the crown. As a whole though, I don't see what differentiates a school like Ole Miss and one like Cal. Or Tennessee and a school like Baylor. Kentucky and Indiana, etc. etc..

They don't play OOC games on the road because they have found out they don't have to. They can play Towson in Tuscaloosa or Gainesville or Athens, or play a decent but not good BCS school in Atlanta or Dallas, and the media will still harp on their "incredible strength of schedule."

I did too. Always nice to see the SEC get exposed. 8 times out of 10 Bama beats aTm, and is clearly the better football team as a whole, but it was fun to see them lose the way they did.

I think Texas is about to start a downward trend in recruiting and on the field...The longer they keep Mack Brown the deeper that trend will dip...I think his passion is gone, he's aging out, maybe not as relentless on the recruiting trail(?)..

Mack strikes me as someone like Paterno when he was having his struggles. He thinks he is still the answer and can fix it. For a long time, Mack was all about loyalty and kept under performing assistants. Now that Texas isn't the dominant force, he is using two of his assistants as scape goats per year. I'm glad he used our OL coach as a scape goat - other wise he'd still be in Austin.

Mack is also a guy that strike me as he doesn't have to work hard in recruiting. He knows these kids all want to play for UT, thus they come to him, or his assistants do the work.

Mack's prowess as a recruiter is unbelievable, and he does a hell of a job of selling himself as a great guy to recruits and their families. I'm an OU fan and I like him a whole hell of a lot, which is a tremendous accomplishment. He sells himself well, but there is no doubt he uses that to his advantage. He and his staff have an advantage over any Texas HS recruit. They're not all locks, but there is a definite advantage. IMO what is lacking from the players side of things is leadership and a killer instinct. What happened in Dallas the past two years wouldn't have ever happened under Colt McCoy's or Vince Young's watch. Not because they were great players, which they were, but because they were great leaders. They wouldn't have allowed their team to quit the way Texas has the past two seasons when things get tough.

As to Mack's ability as a coach, I've always been a believer that he an elite recruiter but not a good coach from a developmental standpoint or game management standpoint. He has always had great players and staffs to bail him out of the bonehead decisions he makes. What makes me think he is losing it is that last season, when Urbz was doing that stupid ESPN all access stuff with the coaches, Mack said "I'm not sure what changed, but I know we lost our edge. I couldn't tell any difference between our practices last year and the practices during our mNC run." They lost their edge obviously, but the fact he didn't know how to fix it was enlightening to me. He went out and hired the best staff in the country, got one of the best strength coaches in the country, and cleaned house with everybody else. Nothing has changed. I think what he doesn't see is that the old Texas teams were tough SOBs to line up against. They'd knock you in the mouth and keep on coming all game long. That's what made them so much fun to play against, because OU typically does the same thing in terms of physicality. Until Texas gets that killer attitude back, they'll struggle as a program.

IMO, too many guys that are content to wear the jersey because its been their dream. Not enough guys who are willing to spit, kick, and be nasty during games, and not enough guys busting their asses off in the offseason. The fact that Mack hasn't fixed it gives me doubts that he can do his job anymore, but because he's done it before I'm not willing to write him off just yet. JMO for all of this obviously.

I don't think the dip will be extreme. They have always recruited well, the issue has been development of those players. They have been the number one school in Texas since forever. I hate them, but its the truth.

aTm has a chance to create a bigger niche, but they will never unseat Texas IMO.

Agree. They were terrible last season, and only improved to subpar this season. Blows my mind people bought into them.

Cal has struggled recruiting wise because of their terrible situation with practice facilities. Apparently they've been using HS fields the past several years and play in a dumpy stadium because the school hadn't held up their end of the bargain in terms of facilities. I think they'll rebound under Tedford once they get those things in place. JMO.

The point that I was making is that those programs, as of right now, are on a similar level.

Ole Miss has fans, and locals don't even know Berkeley has a football team. That's the difference.

Ah, well in that regard I agree.