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http://www.foxsportssouthwest.com/07/20/10/Top-5-New-Rivalries-in-the-Big-12-in-201/landing.html?blockID=274137&feedID=3585
Has this already been posted? This is ridiculous.
Top 5 New Rivalries in the Big 12 in 2010
Hunter Ansley - FOXSportsSouthwest.com and DraftZoo.com
After an offseason wrought with deception and defection, there’s enough bad blood in the Big XII to film a cheap horror movie. But this one isn’t over, and for now it looks like a happy ending is still plausible. Texas and their in-state lemmings stayed home after flirting with every high-heeled, eye-batting conference around. Nebraska left for the Big Ten, but as the first move it’s been digested and no longer feels as much like betrayal. No one really seemed to care that Colorado took off for the Pacific Ocean when it happened, and that hasn’t changed with time.
But before the credits roll on conference title games in Dallas and divisional play in the southwest, bones must be picked, many for the final time. Here are five games that contain enough ire to hold you over until the Big XII is raided again. Don’t worry, it won’t be long.
5.) Colorado vs. Big XII North
The Buffs big move isn’t quite as angering as the Nebraska defection or Texas dangling the conference from their fingertips. It’s more on the level of getting an easy substitute teacher in fifth grade. You know she’ll be leaving soon, and even though you’re going to miss all the simple assignments and guaranteed A’s, you don’t lose your mind, wet your pants and free the class hamster when she’s gone. You take the increased difficulty in stride, and you squeeze as much credit into her last day as possible.
That’s what Colorado will see this year. For the teams in the Big XII North, this is the last time they’ll get an open-book test against this division foe. The Buffs have been a buffer from a winless conference season for Iowa State, Kansas State and even Kansas, while teams like Nebraska and Missouri have used it as a tune-up game. Nebraska knew this day was coming no matter which way CU ran, and with their rivalry they’ll get to play Colorado again and again, but they’ll want to rub it in one last time as Big XII brothers. The rest of the former North will suck the marrow out of their last opportunity to move up the standings with a win over an overmatched squad.
Dan Hawkins’s bunch should be better in 2010, but they’ll be getting desperation-fueled tenacity from every little guy in the conference. The Cyclones and the Jayhawks and the Wildcats know that their schedule just got tougher by losing a coach and a team that haven’t yet combined forces for a winning season, and they won’t overlook one last opportunity.
4.) Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma
When Texas was considering joining the Pac 10, Oklahoma was prepared to follow. When Texas looked like a lock to head north to the Big Ten, Oklahoma was prepared to follow. And when Texas flirted with the SEC, Oklahoma smiled toward the Southeast and prepared to follow. Where does that leave A&M? They’re the Longhorns’ in-state rival, not the Sooners. They’re the ones that have to compete with Mack Brown for in-state recruits. The Aggies had to wonder why they weren’t considered an ironclad lock to flee with the Big XII big boys. After all, their game with Texas is a Thanksgiving weekend tradition played at the end of the season, not some sideshow at a carnival in Dallas, right?
But Oklahoma’s success sacked A&M’s history with the Longhorns in the eyes of Texas and their suitors, and now that the dust has settled the Sooners are stuck. That’s good news for the Aggies. Sure, they might have ended up included in any deal that UT and OU struck with another conference, and they did some flirting with the SEC on their own, but watching Texas casually toss them aside had to feel a little like being cheated on. And while their season finale in Austin will be as heated as ever, the November 6 date with “the other guy” should be a rare chance to avenge jilted love and hate. The Aggies know that this won’t be the last time the Big XII is raided, and the opportunity to alter their national image starts now. It starts with showing the country that they’re better than OU.
3.) Texas Tech vs. Texas
Mike Leach may have been a hated coach in the eyes of everyone outside Lubbock, but he’s being replaced by the SEC’s old version of conference enemy No. 1. Tommy Tuberville smoked cigars on the field in Tiger Stadium after a win over LSU, and he broke Ole Miss’s heart when he left for Auburn. That riverboat gambler persona is still there with all the bright and dark that comes along with it. Plus, he’s a damn good football coach. Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp once coached under him, but only for a season before bolting for Austin. He also coached against Tuberville at LSU. Feel the bad blood boiling?
Of course, this game isn’t gaining ground just because of a new head man. There’s the matter of that Crabtree catch that kept Texas out of the 2009 BCS Title Game. There’s the added hatred of the way the bigger Texas schools treated Tech and everyone else while the conference looked to be crumbling. But the Red Raiders have an extra incentive to hate Austin. Texas president William Powers apparently emailed Ohio State’s president about a “Tech problem,” and let’s be honest, there’s no way he meant a computer malfunction.
Tuberville was always a master motivator, and he’s been handed a decade’s worth of bulletin board material by the perceived snobs in Austin. The Longhorns wanted Tech left to lie in the wasted Big XII? Fine, they got it, and they’ll get to see an upset-minded and revamped Red Raiders squad in Lubbock on September 18 to open the conference schedule they had hoped to leave behind.
2.) Oklahoma State vs. Nebraska
It’s not a big rivalry. Nebraska has never really seemed to care about Oklahoma State and the Cowboys used to feel the same way. They’re not in the same division, so they don’t play every season. And there’s not much history between the two schools. But there will be bedlam in Stillwater before the season finale this year. This game grew some serious teeth when Nebraska jumped ship to the Big Ten and Oklahoma State benefactor T. Boone Pickens got chatty.
“Nebraska has wanted to leave since the Big Six, and that’s 1940,” Pickens said. “That’s 70 years ago. What’s Nebraska got to offer? They’ve got (only) 700,000 households.”
Be careful with that verbal Folgers around a rousing giant, T. Boone. Nebraska may not have the population of your bank vault, but they’ve been playing some pretty tough football lately, and they’re only getting better. That’s not the case in Stillwater, a city that Dez Bryant, Russell Okung and Zac Robinson no longer call home. The only good news? Pickens and the Cowboys will host the Huskers in a stadium named for him. Unfortunately, he seems to have waited about two seasons too late to start poking Bo Pelini and the Blackshirts. There’s a good chance that October 23 could be the day that the Cowboys give Nebraska a very unintentional parting gift.
1.) Nebraska vs. Texas
This is the big one. It’s got all the makings of a tooth and nail, bad-blood curdling clash of the old Big Eight and Southwest Conferences. A final shot at each other after the Big XII had diluted their rivalry to the point of obscurity until now. Of course, the conference that had watered down all the Big Red/burnt orange hate has made amends by setting up the biggest showdown of the season in its swansong year.
This would have been a date worth circling without all of the expansion talk. Nebraska and Texas added a large footnote to their rivalry in the conference title game last season. A controversial final second was put back on the clock. Then Texas sunk the Huskers’ BCS hopes with a field goal as time expired even though the Blackshirt defense had clearly outplayed any unit on the field. And now Nebraska gets the ‘Horns at home in front of nearly 85,000 screaming maniacs in red. Bo Pelini has aspirations of national titles in Lincoln, and the October 16 meeting could provide quite the springboard for redemption and elevation.
Then there’s the comment Tom Osborne made about Texas and their plans to take five other schools to the Pac 10 when Nebraska announced their decision to leave.
“One school leaving does not break up a conference. Two schools leaving does not break up a conference. Six schools leaving breaks up a conference.”
Those words seem strange now with the Longhorns standing pat and Nebraska heading off to supposedly greener Big Ten pastures, but that only sweetens the pot. Now it’s the flaky savior of the Big XII taking on the former giant that thought itself too good for a weak and cheap North division.
Both teams should be strong, as well. Preseason polls have planted Texas somewhere in the 4-6 range, while Nebraska looks like a solid top 10 team. Longhorns quarterback Garrett Gilbert stepped into a nightmare situation in the BCS Title Game, but his play has Texas thinking about another shot at the trophy. Nebraska returns nine starters on offense and wants to take the next step even without Ndamukong Suh. There will be no shortage of talent on the field at Memorial Stadium. And certainly no shortage of ill will. This dormant rivalry reignited as the final Big XII game between two top 10 teams could be the best contest all year, in any conference.
:facepalm: Really?
Has this already been posted? This is ridiculous.
Top 5 New Rivalries in the Big 12 in 2010
Hunter Ansley - FOXSportsSouthwest.com and DraftZoo.com
After an offseason wrought with deception and defection, there’s enough bad blood in the Big XII to film a cheap horror movie. But this one isn’t over, and for now it looks like a happy ending is still plausible. Texas and their in-state lemmings stayed home after flirting with every high-heeled, eye-batting conference around. Nebraska left for the Big Ten, but as the first move it’s been digested and no longer feels as much like betrayal. No one really seemed to care that Colorado took off for the Pacific Ocean when it happened, and that hasn’t changed with time.
But before the credits roll on conference title games in Dallas and divisional play in the southwest, bones must be picked, many for the final time. Here are five games that contain enough ire to hold you over until the Big XII is raided again. Don’t worry, it won’t be long.
5.) Colorado vs. Big XII North
The Buffs big move isn’t quite as angering as the Nebraska defection or Texas dangling the conference from their fingertips. It’s more on the level of getting an easy substitute teacher in fifth grade. You know she’ll be leaving soon, and even though you’re going to miss all the simple assignments and guaranteed A’s, you don’t lose your mind, wet your pants and free the class hamster when she’s gone. You take the increased difficulty in stride, and you squeeze as much credit into her last day as possible.
That’s what Colorado will see this year. For the teams in the Big XII North, this is the last time they’ll get an open-book test against this division foe. The Buffs have been a buffer from a winless conference season for Iowa State, Kansas State and even Kansas, while teams like Nebraska and Missouri have used it as a tune-up game. Nebraska knew this day was coming no matter which way CU ran, and with their rivalry they’ll get to play Colorado again and again, but they’ll want to rub it in one last time as Big XII brothers. The rest of the former North will suck the marrow out of their last opportunity to move up the standings with a win over an overmatched squad.
Dan Hawkins’s bunch should be better in 2010, but they’ll be getting desperation-fueled tenacity from every little guy in the conference. The Cyclones and the Jayhawks and the Wildcats know that their schedule just got tougher by losing a coach and a team that haven’t yet combined forces for a winning season, and they won’t overlook one last opportunity.
4.) Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma
When Texas was considering joining the Pac 10, Oklahoma was prepared to follow. When Texas looked like a lock to head north to the Big Ten, Oklahoma was prepared to follow. And when Texas flirted with the SEC, Oklahoma smiled toward the Southeast and prepared to follow. Where does that leave A&M? They’re the Longhorns’ in-state rival, not the Sooners. They’re the ones that have to compete with Mack Brown for in-state recruits. The Aggies had to wonder why they weren’t considered an ironclad lock to flee with the Big XII big boys. After all, their game with Texas is a Thanksgiving weekend tradition played at the end of the season, not some sideshow at a carnival in Dallas, right?
But Oklahoma’s success sacked A&M’s history with the Longhorns in the eyes of Texas and their suitors, and now that the dust has settled the Sooners are stuck. That’s good news for the Aggies. Sure, they might have ended up included in any deal that UT and OU struck with another conference, and they did some flirting with the SEC on their own, but watching Texas casually toss them aside had to feel a little like being cheated on. And while their season finale in Austin will be as heated as ever, the November 6 date with “the other guy” should be a rare chance to avenge jilted love and hate. The Aggies know that this won’t be the last time the Big XII is raided, and the opportunity to alter their national image starts now. It starts with showing the country that they’re better than OU.
3.) Texas Tech vs. Texas
Mike Leach may have been a hated coach in the eyes of everyone outside Lubbock, but he’s being replaced by the SEC’s old version of conference enemy No. 1. Tommy Tuberville smoked cigars on the field in Tiger Stadium after a win over LSU, and he broke Ole Miss’s heart when he left for Auburn. That riverboat gambler persona is still there with all the bright and dark that comes along with it. Plus, he’s a damn good football coach. Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp once coached under him, but only for a season before bolting for Austin. He also coached against Tuberville at LSU. Feel the bad blood boiling?
Of course, this game isn’t gaining ground just because of a new head man. There’s the matter of that Crabtree catch that kept Texas out of the 2009 BCS Title Game. There’s the added hatred of the way the bigger Texas schools treated Tech and everyone else while the conference looked to be crumbling. But the Red Raiders have an extra incentive to hate Austin. Texas president William Powers apparently emailed Ohio State’s president about a “Tech problem,” and let’s be honest, there’s no way he meant a computer malfunction.
Tuberville was always a master motivator, and he’s been handed a decade’s worth of bulletin board material by the perceived snobs in Austin. The Longhorns wanted Tech left to lie in the wasted Big XII? Fine, they got it, and they’ll get to see an upset-minded and revamped Red Raiders squad in Lubbock on September 18 to open the conference schedule they had hoped to leave behind.
2.) Oklahoma State vs. Nebraska
It’s not a big rivalry. Nebraska has never really seemed to care about Oklahoma State and the Cowboys used to feel the same way. They’re not in the same division, so they don’t play every season. And there’s not much history between the two schools. But there will be bedlam in Stillwater before the season finale this year. This game grew some serious teeth when Nebraska jumped ship to the Big Ten and Oklahoma State benefactor T. Boone Pickens got chatty.
“Nebraska has wanted to leave since the Big Six, and that’s 1940,” Pickens said. “That’s 70 years ago. What’s Nebraska got to offer? They’ve got (only) 700,000 households.”
Be careful with that verbal Folgers around a rousing giant, T. Boone. Nebraska may not have the population of your bank vault, but they’ve been playing some pretty tough football lately, and they’re only getting better. That’s not the case in Stillwater, a city that Dez Bryant, Russell Okung and Zac Robinson no longer call home. The only good news? Pickens and the Cowboys will host the Huskers in a stadium named for him. Unfortunately, he seems to have waited about two seasons too late to start poking Bo Pelini and the Blackshirts. There’s a good chance that October 23 could be the day that the Cowboys give Nebraska a very unintentional parting gift.
1.) Nebraska vs. Texas
This is the big one. It’s got all the makings of a tooth and nail, bad-blood curdling clash of the old Big Eight and Southwest Conferences. A final shot at each other after the Big XII had diluted their rivalry to the point of obscurity until now. Of course, the conference that had watered down all the Big Red/burnt orange hate has made amends by setting up the biggest showdown of the season in its swansong year.
This would have been a date worth circling without all of the expansion talk. Nebraska and Texas added a large footnote to their rivalry in the conference title game last season. A controversial final second was put back on the clock. Then Texas sunk the Huskers’ BCS hopes with a field goal as time expired even though the Blackshirt defense had clearly outplayed any unit on the field. And now Nebraska gets the ‘Horns at home in front of nearly 85,000 screaming maniacs in red. Bo Pelini has aspirations of national titles in Lincoln, and the October 16 meeting could provide quite the springboard for redemption and elevation.
Then there’s the comment Tom Osborne made about Texas and their plans to take five other schools to the Pac 10 when Nebraska announced their decision to leave.
“One school leaving does not break up a conference. Two schools leaving does not break up a conference. Six schools leaving breaks up a conference.”
Those words seem strange now with the Longhorns standing pat and Nebraska heading off to supposedly greener Big Ten pastures, but that only sweetens the pot. Now it’s the flaky savior of the Big XII taking on the former giant that thought itself too good for a weak and cheap North division.
Both teams should be strong, as well. Preseason polls have planted Texas somewhere in the 4-6 range, while Nebraska looks like a solid top 10 team. Longhorns quarterback Garrett Gilbert stepped into a nightmare situation in the BCS Title Game, but his play has Texas thinking about another shot at the trophy. Nebraska returns nine starters on offense and wants to take the next step even without Ndamukong Suh. There will be no shortage of talent on the field at Memorial Stadium. And certainly no shortage of ill will. This dormant rivalry reignited as the final Big XII game between two top 10 teams could be the best contest all year, in any conference.
:facepalm: Really?
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