USA! USA! USA!

Jaybro Must Answer for This

Dude is 6 foot

But he can ball.

The BCS As Bureaucracy

Note--This piece, recreated from BON because JBrater doesn't read anything on the non-anarchist side of the internet beyond this site, is the opinion of Jeff. Spell checking and grammar were Abram's department, so any mistakes in that category are his alon.e

This post is not a defense of the BCS. It is not an argument with any depth for or against any form of playoff. It is simply a defense of the complexity of the current BCS situation. Because it is a complex situation as I see it, solutions will not be easy, and change will likely be incremental. Fans are as pissed off as I can remember, hell even the President-elect is clamoring for change.

To begin, when PB writes "Why can't we have a college football playoff?Because at least by one measure -- dollars, the only one that counts to those who make the decisions -- the system ain't yet broke" I assume that he is assessing the primary reason the BCS still exists in its current form is because the NCAA only cares about the amount of money it makes? I disagree with this assertion but I should caveat my earlier comment. "It's complex" is no better of an argument than "it's all about the money". The question on everybody's mind is why has the decision not been made by the powers that be to change the current structure to a more encompassing playoff? More precisely, why hasn't the BCS changed the 2-team playoff yet?

To get to the answer as I see it, one must first think about 'what is the BCS'? Because, in reality, the BCS ain't much. Its power and its existence is tied to the conferences, and in that way (to me) it's kind of like the United Nations. The way I see it, the BCS only exists and does stuff because it's in the interest of the conferences and individual schools. Much like individual countries in the UN each team and conference has its own unique set of interests and biases concerning what is best for it in the long run. I see the BCS as a large bureaucracy. Bureaucracies are slow, inefficient and hard to maneuver in any direction because so many interests come into play on every decision. That's the way our government works and, to a much smaller degree, that's how I think the BCS works. 

I think, I suspect, but I do not know, and I'm willing to bet that you don't have any greater insight into the BCS decision making procedures and process than I do (no offense). I doubt that any fan and few insiders really truly knows how the BCS works or takes the time to think about how that might effect whether a playoff can or will be pushed through. How many times have college football analysts gotten into the weeds and focused on the 'why' of BCS big picture decisions rather than the 'what'? The answer, I suspect, is not very often.

Getting to the money, it's not about the money in my opinion so much as it's about the guaranteed money. TV and advertising money on highly-rated BCS games is all well and good, and would certainly only be increased by a playoff. But wouldn't the conference guaranteed money probably decline significantly for several of the conferences? The SEC and Big XII have much to gain by a playoff, they're pulling two BCS teams a year, but the ACC and Big East are lucky to get even one, not to even mention the non-BCS conferences. The ACC and Big East make the same amount of guaranteed money on the Orange Bowl whether it's the greatest game ever played or the 2009 Orange Bowl. 

Through this lens, I suspect this is why only two teams per conference are allowed, having more might create competitive disadvantages for the better conferences. The Big East makes a boatload off of its Orange Bowl appearance that it wouldn't get if the selection were done purely on ranking. You could have a playoff, but it would have to be expanded so far (16 teams at least, right? Maybe 8, but you're still leaving teams out because you'd have to be doing it based on a guaranteed conference slot, therefore it'd be six BCS conferences and 2 wild cards -- Texas and Bama. USC and Utah are still left out this year).

Once you get to 16 teams you are in fact degrading the regular season in my opinion. 3 and 4 loss teams should not be given a chance to win a title. Additionally, it is a valid point that many of the younger players are not built for a 17-game season at this high level of college football. It is done at lower levels, but the difference in physical intensity between D-I and D-II is pretty high. Finally, the conferences are hesitant because of the well documented traditions, and they would be forced to give those up. Big Ten and Pac Ten resistance to losing the Rose Bowl alone likely makes up a large part of the reason there is no playoff.

Getting back to the bureaucracy, each potential playoff scenario creates opportunities for resistance amongst the members of the bureaucracy. The further you expand it, the more resistance you are likely to create. There is no consensus among college football pundits for which playoff road to take, and given the assessed need for general consensus around a move to a playoff, it's not surprising we're stuck where we are.

A flex system is a beautiful solution, but given the constraints involved it just seems like a fantasy. Getting the players and coaches and stadium ready would be the easy part. There's a lot of money to be lost in a 2-team playoff under the flex system, from sponsorships and advertising to the guaranteed payoffs the teams and conferences get. Considering the bureaucratic resistance to expanding by just one game, adding potential chaos to the situation by adding in an undetermined (preseason) number of playoff games seems impossible. Uncertainty and bureaucracy don't mix very well.

A Plus One isn't perfect. This year would have been Texas vs. OU and Alabama vs. Florida with the winners playing. Under a Plus One, however, USC in '03 wouldn't have been left out, nor Auburn in '04, or Texas in '08. But with the constraints already faced in changing the BCS, I think it fits the round peg into the square hole a lot better than what we've got now. 

He Was NOT Already Down, And There Is NO Santa Claus

Pat Swilling Wishes You A Happy New Year!

It's been slow, so we figured we would post one of our favorite Onion articles to celebrate 2009.

Who Do You Think You Are -- Former New Orleans Saints Linebacker Pat Swilling? 

Do you think posting above-average sales numbers for two months means you are a versatile, savvy defensive player with excellent lateral motion? It's a rhetorical question, Swilling—you don't need to answer it. I feel like I'm talking to someone whose football instincts let him perform effectively as both a linebacker and a defensive end, here. Jesus. You are not former New Orleans Saints linebacker Pat Swilling, and it's high time you stopped leaning back in your chair and twirling your pen around during the Friday wrap-up meeting.

Mythbusters

We've had a few myths broken this week:

1. Jeff does not suck at softball, evidenced by his clutch hitting and solid defense including the speediest 14 second inside-the-park home run in Jacobs Camp history.
   
2. The Saints are not doomed to lose to the Lions. Moreover, the Lions probably will go 0-16 unless they beat the Packers in what would go down as one of the worst losses in that franchise's storied history. 
3. The Red Sox are not the Yankees. $400+ million on 3 players? That's insane. The top 4 highest paid players in the Majors including an incredible $275 million to Alex Rodriguez, a guy whose most memorable hit in the postseason remains his futile slap at Bronson Arroyo in the 2004 ALCS? This should put to rest that the Red Sox (or anybody else for that matter) are anything like the Yankees. 
4. Camp is a sacred place. That one's only partially true after this weekend.

A Missed Fortune

Apparently we choose our name smartly as there is now a 40AcresSports.com. A real site legitimately dedicated to Texas sports, by 2 friends who are apparently smart about the intraweb. 

Our name was originally going to be that, but a typo in the creation stage, combined with our laziness and the fact that we kinda liked the name to produce 40 Acre Sports. Not to mention the fact that we wanted to do with the concept of 80 acres and a mule that 40 Acres Sports brings up. 

Anyhow, one of our lawyer friends suggested that without our little typo we'd be on easy street, most likely with "a few rolls of quarters" in our possession. 

Damn. That could've gone to parking.

Lions Over Saints -- Bet On It

We're calling it, the 7-7 Saints are going to spoil history by losing to the 0-14 Lions. The reasoning is as follows:

• The Lions at 0-14 have nothing to lose
• The Saints at 7-7 and out of the playoff hunt have nothing to gain
• The Lions have played opponents closer in recent weeks including Indy last week and the Vikings the week before
• The Saints have been awful on the road, holding an appalling 1-6 record. 
• Traveling to Green Bay in week 17 it seems inevitable that the Lions must beat the Saints if they're going to win at all this season. 

With those facts in mind, if you've got some disposable cash sitting around (and in this economy who doesn't?) put it on Detroit. And when you speak of us, speak of us fondly. 

11:30 AM, The Day Texas Gets Screwed

Reading a fantastic biography of Robert E. Lee by Douglas Freeman, I (the one of us reading the biography) came to the section about the end of the Army of Northern Virginia. As Lee was surrounded near Appomattax (in Virginia) he knew there were two options: fight his way through the vastly superior Federal forces, or surrender. Around 1 AM on the day of surrender one of General Gordon's staff officers came to Lee asking where General Gordon should halt his movement the next night. Lee's response was to "tell General Gordon I should be glad for him to halt just beyond the Tennessee line," about 175 miles away.

Well, here we are. Tonight the Longhorns will have to surrender to the fate of being screwed by the BCS arguably worse than any team in the history of the system. One of us hates the system in favor of a playoff, one of us is a general proponent of the system but is of the belief that a "plus-one" is needed for flexibility in times like these. Beyond that, Colt will be screwed out of the Heisman that should be his because Sam Bradford gets all the publicity (he completed 77% of his passes and had 4,000 yards passing/rushing, seriously! Again! The Heisman is such crap).

Texas will likely be relegated to the Fiesta Bowl to play Ohio State, a seemingly amazing fate to begin the season will be relegated to one of two story lines: Texas will beat OSU because we're better than them, or Texas will come out flat and lose (a la Texas 2003, Cal 2004) because they're pissed of about losing their chance for glory. Until our destination is decided this afternoon, however, we are very much looking forward to booking our hotel room in Miami. And if not, we will take great pleasure in Florida whipping the crap out of OU.

The Associated Press: Bringer of Justice?

We all know how the final regular-season BCS standings came out. We all saw Barry Switzer's stupid smiling face on Fox declaring how "Bob took the high road," insinuating that somehow Mack Brown's lobbying on Texas's behalf was more whiny than Bob Stoops's exact same lobbying on OU's behalf. Not that Switzer would know the "high road" if he got run over by a truck on it (and then backed over, and then run over again...).

At any rate, there remains a glimmer of hope for the Longhorns that has nothing to do with Missouri (who, for the record, have no shot of beating Oklahoma unless it's snowing). LSU fans (like this guy) will recall the 2003 season, in which there was much hand-wringing and shouting about who should play in the Sugar Bowl for the national championship. Oklahoma had just gotten waxed in the Big 12 Championship Game by Kansas State. USC played a weak conference schedule. LSU seemed to be the only team that everyone tacitly agreed belonged in the game. In the end, of course, LSU and USC shared the national title, with AP voters placing Southern Cal at the top and LSU claiming the crystal football.

Yes, LSU fans in some corners are still bitter about sharing the title, sure that Southern Cal couldn't have scored on that mighty Tiger D. And some (but probably fewer) SC fans are still upset about being left out of the official title game. But in the end, it was the best possible solution in a broken system: both deserving schools get to claim a national championship. Undefeated Auburn would not be so lucky the following season.

So the question now is whether the 2008 Texas Longhorns, should they win their bowl game, will get the SC treatment or the Auburn treatment. Should Alabama win two more games, they obviously deserve the title of undisputed national champion. But we don't think they can beat Florida. And if they don't, two of the following roughly equally deserving teams will play for the national title: Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Penn State, USC, Texas Tech. The teams on the second half of that list all have a major chink on their resumes that will keep them out of title contention. Texas is likely to be the most qualified team left out of the championship game. Should the Longhorns beat Ohio State or whomever they play in the Fiesta Bowl, here's hoping that the AP voters award this amazing Longhorn football team a share of the national championship. Lord knows they deserve it.

How It Feels To Be A Longhorn Today

Words can't sum it up, but this video does nicely.

A Brand New Sister Blog

Brought to you by the people who decided Abram should get married, we are happy to present:

Hannah and Abram's Wedding Blog!

Enjoy!

THESE are the times that try men's souls.

THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.

Melodramatic? Absolutely.
Overreaction? Yes.
No real connection to present events? Probably.

But, damnit, last night hurt. Add 2008 to 1987, 2001 and 2002 as times that the Vikings have devastated Saints fans.

The good news is that Drew Brees is the best QB in the NFL, Reggie Bush is coming into his own as a true superstar, allegedly the team is going to get healthier over time, and the Oakland Raiders are next up on the schedule. At 2-3 the Saints aren't done by a long shot, and the Saints had legitimate chances to win all three games they lost.

Our sporting world is relatively positive at the moment. Texas could be challenged this week against Oklahoma, ditto LSU with Florida, the Red Sox beat the Angels despite John Lackey's best effort to be Matt Leinart ("We are a better team than they are. The last two days, we shouldn't have given up anything") and the Hornets are starting soon.

Still, that one hurt.

It's OU Game Week!

Just thought you'd like to know.

It's 8:48 PM and Kevin Durant Still Rules

It's been a month. We know we've said it before, but...our bad. To make up for it, here's an awesome story about how Kevin Durant is handling being in **shudder** Oklahoma. According to the article (really the only part you care about):

Kevin Durant, the reigning Rookie of the Year took in Oklahoma's football game against TCU on Saturday, and the former Texas start said he wrote "Hook 'Em Horns" on every autograph he signed and flashed the Longhorns' hand signal when fans wanted to take a picture with him. He didn't shy away from predicting a win for his alma mater against the top-ranked Sooners in two weeks either.

Way to go, KD!

Oklahoma still sucks!

Did People Play Football Last Weekend?

We were pretty excited about the beginning of college football last week. The problem was that we didn't really get much chance to enjoy it. Hurricane Gustav ended up occupying most of our limited TV time through the weekend, but one of us did make it to Austin for the Texas game (hint: it was Jeff) where the most entertaining moment appears to have been the Vince Young jersey retirement. Have we mentioned that we like Vince Young?

LSU also put on quite a show against a lesser opponent, easily handling last year's Cinderella Appalachian State in Baton Rouge. Herr Gustav then responded with a pounding of Baton Rouge that will suspend the LSU-Troy game until November.

And that's about all we knew before finally having a little bit of time to get online and read some information about opening weekend. And, as always, Pat Forde of ESPN.com proved to be the pick of the mainstream media litter. We particularly enjoyed this seemingly random tidbit:

One Of Them Academic Schools?
The Dash doesn't want to accuse LSU of putting on airs, but what exactly is going on in Baton Rouge when the starting quarterback is Harvard transfer Andrew Hatch (27), new athletic director Joe Alleva (28) came from Duke and new basketball coach Trent Johnson (29) was imported from Stanford?

If Les Miles (30) starts quoting Shakespeare, it will officially be getting weird on the bayou.

That's somewhat amusing.

As for this weekend, UTEP is a potential trap game for the Longhorns. It's on the road and it will be the biggest game in El Paso since they started playing football in El Paso. That means that all 54 UTEP fans will be out in force to try and yell Texas into submission. If the 'Horns come out fired up and bury the Miners it will be an excellent sign for a tough season ahead. Our biggest hope coming into this season, at least in terms of intangibles, was that the team would begin to reflect Will Muschamp's attitude and intensity on the field. It will be absolutely necessary against a slate that could banish even a good team into the Land of Eight and Four.

On the other hand, UTEP lost to Buffalo and therefore probably isn't good enough to give Texas a game even without a high level of intensity from the Longhorns.

We are, however, particularly excited about the fact that the game doesn't start until 9:15, which means we should still be watching Texas football past midnight. That's pretty sweet.

It's Game Day!!!

Today, we will both put on our Burnt Orange #32 Ced B jersey. One of us will watch on PPV while the other heads to beautiful Austin, Texas to watch Vince Young's jersey be retired. Word has it that a football game will be played afterwards.

It is football season.

Ich bin ein Longhorn.

It's Game Week!!

Who Will Be #50,000?

Check out our counter (go ahead, scroll down, we'll wait)...

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By now you've noticed that we're within 500 hits of the big 50,000 on our little blog. We're honored after just under 18 months to be hitting 50,000, especially considering our blogging peer and mentor over at ZiggyBackRide is yet to hit 20,000. Through our first 49,500 hits, we've had the following people visiting our site:

• 48,000 -- Jeff and Abram reloading
• 1,000 -- Random Deadspin jerks
• 500 -- JBrater
• 300 -- Various members of the Orlansky family
• 199 -- Various friends (A couple Bens, a Laz, Scottie, Greg, Barry, etc.)
• 1 -- Sam Lee
• 0 -- Various members of the Asher family

The only question remaining is -- who will be the 50,000th visitor? Will it be you? The winner will receive a free autograph from both authors on your 2008 The Eyes of Texas preview book (you buy the book, we'll sign it for free). So subscribe to the site or keep checking back regularly, because anyone can win.