What red-blooded local sports fan wasn’t drawn into some of last year’s huge sports shockers involving Big 12 heavyweights Texas and Oklahoma?
Including the exclamation point at the end of the conference season when OU coach Lincoln Riley dramatically bailed on the Sooners for a cushy job and way beyond big bucks at Southern Cal.
To that end, I give you – belatedly – the…
Top Reasons USC Coach Lincoln Riley Worse Than Satan
- Satan doesn’t hide who he is, so you know what you’re getting.
- Satan isn’t afraid of the competition.
- Even though they’re both damned to hell, at this point Satan’ s less whiney.
The $64 million question:
Will OU lose to lowly KU (who nearly beat them last year) this season?
A tad early for Big12 football, ya think.
OU is not going to lose to KU this year. Then after that game, these two teams will not play each other forever, or at least 20 years.
Instead of inking a story on the fall of the KC Star and the Plaza, how about some words on paper on what the future of the Big12 looks like.
Hint: it’s bleak, very bleak.
You sure about this year’s OU-KU being the last?
Yeah, it’s obviously very early, but as little interest as I have in MLB these days and as many uncertainties as there are in college football going forward, why not?
You might be a tad behind on your Big 12 demise thinking.
They added some killer teams and getting rid of Texas finally is a long awaited triumph, and what seemed to be in no small part the reason Mizzou and other teams wanted out.
OU has been crippled and apart from the ridiculous money, one big reason Lincoln Riley wanted out was he was not looking forward to being an also-ran in the SEC…kinda like Missouri and Nebraska is in the Big 10.
Now Lincoln can lord over a comparatively weak Pac 12 with another all-but-forgotten Big 12 team, Colorado. Maybe he can help bring the Pac back; time will tell.
Meanwhile, even with Texas and OU having “off” years, the Big 12 far outperformed the PAC and Big 10, and with the addition of four teams and maybe a couple more, is in a position to mount a pretty good challenge going forward.
Don’t forget, even if the Pac 12 can mount something approaching a major comeback, they still have the worst possible hours for eastern and central time viewing and some of the least interested football and basketball fans, given all of the killer good weather and other distractions like beaches, hiking, mountains, etc.
None of which – arguably sadly – we midwestern losers have to contend with.
All we have is World’s of Fun, the Chiefs, college football and basketball and boring blogs to entertain us!
Let’s see……..
$100+ million contract.
USC buying his two homes in Oklahoma for $1MM over asking price
$5MM or $6MM home purchased for him in CA
Private jet available 24/7
Norman Oklahoma vs Southern California
Sounds like Satan made a pretty good deal for himself.
I’d say you are correct…
And given that he is in fact Satan, naturally he had to agree to rob OU of all of it’s top talent, starting with the quarterback who saved the sooners from a loss AT KU!
Jim’s dead on. That being said, $100 million in California is ALOT different than $100 million in Oklahoma. From Lincoln Riley’s standpoint, it makes a hell of a lot of sense, both personally and professionally. Not to mention he’s sitting smack dab in the middle of a TON of high level high school football talent that he can almost walk to their houses to recruit them. He’s not fighting Texas and aTm for the top Texas recruits anymore. At least, not as much. As much as I’d like to do an “SEC flex” about Riley being scared of the conference, I think it has more to do with money and recruiting. But it WILL be easier for him to win the PAC12, cause the conference overall isn’t as strong or deep as the SEC. But I don’t think he ran scared from it.
I see it both ways, but to the extent he may have been running scared, I think he knew it would be a super steep uphill climb and chances are – other than the SEC money – it would not help (and a good chance hurt) OU’s football program.
So the school would benefit far more than he. And not being able to ride herd over the Big 12 – which frankly he likely would no longer to be able to do anyway – would make his program less glamorous.
To that end, the time to jump ship for the big bucks while his cache was still at its zenith was perfect
Look Hearne, the B12 for all intents and purposes is DEAD as a major conference once OU and Texas leave for the SEC. Right now, it’s flopping around like a chicken with it’s head cut off. And like the chicken, it’s dead but just doesn’t know it yet. Once the two big boys leave, what little panache’ the conference had will be gone. There will only be TWO state flagship schools in the entire conference. Kansas and West Virginia. That’s it. Only two AAU schools left. (KU, & ISU) As far academics, the SEC will have surpassed the Big 12. Athletically, the SEC dominates as well. Even basketball, which for a long time was merely an afterthought in the SEC, is no longer. Bruce Pearl at Auburn, Eric Musselman at Arkansas, Rick Barnes at Tennessee, etc have all brought a new level of play to the conference. The Big 12 will pretty much be a midwestern version of the Mountain West. A bunch of state farm schools, (KSU, ISU, etc), some city schools, and a few private schools no one else wants. (Baylor, TCU, BYU). The Big 12 will NEVER be able to compete long term with the other conferences. For one, the tv money won’t be there to keep up with the ever rising salaries for the top coaches. By 2028, the SEC is projected to distribute over $100 million per school from it’s tv deal. The Big 12 will be lucky to get half that in their deal. And please don’t crow about how nationally relevant Cincinatti’s football program is. They are nothing but a nouveau riche program that will fade into the background as soon as their coach takes a higher paying job. And he WILL. Everyone thought Cinci was something special..until they ran into the SEC champions. Same for Michigan. Some folks thought they had a shot against Georgia. LOL! This year’s football playoff showed the entire nation how far back the rest of the conferences are compared to the SEC. The gap is only going to widen. The B1G may be able to keep up monetarily, but the heaviest concentration of athletic talent in this nation is down south. And the SEC will own that territory from west texas all the way east to the coast of Florida.
Hey, history lasts a long time and Texas hasn’t much mattered for several years…
Who’s to say how the Big 12 may evolve and over what period of time.
Fact is, they cover a large part of the United States that has somehow survived – thrived even – in the absence of Mountains, beaches, oceans and sprawling urban centers.
And people who live or choose to live in these parts have interests that transcend some of those natural wonders. If college sports are to matter much, they are going to need to figure a way to restore a competitive balance.
Need I remind you that at this point, Texas, OU, Miami, Nebraska and Colorado are far less interesting in terms of football than Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma State.
Personally, watching Alabama, LSU, George and maybe Clemson dude it out is boringly repetitious.\
You may love it and more power to you.
Chances are you didn’t love getting clocked by UMKC though, I suspect?
Of course not, but once again you miss the mark. That had zero to do with being in the SEC. It was a terrible coaching hire…and he was subsequently fired. Mizzou has lost to embarrassing teams while in the Big 12. (Belmont, for example). And the only evolving the Big 12 will do is towards complete and total irrelevance. Basketball is nice, but that doesn’t keep a conference relevant for the rest of the year. It’s football that pays the bills for the entire athletic department. I would suggest that kansas gets out of the “Big” 12 as soon as possible if they have the chance. Will the B1G come calling? So far, it doesn’t look like they find ku that attractive overall.
Look, lots of people chase the almighty dollar, so you and Mizzou are far from alone…
Rationalizing the fact that Missouri football and basketball have grown “sleepy” – to be kind – is up to you. Cherry picking reasons as to why, overlook the fact that they seldom-to-never were this somnambulant in my years of halfway following the school…until they bailed for the SEC.
I could care less where KU decides to go (or not). Living in Lawrence for several years pretty much cured me of those particular self indulgences.
Personally, I went to school in Tucson and I’m fine with their ups and downs as well.
I find more pleasure in observing, reporting and commenting on these teams and their fans who worship them so devotedly (might you be one of them?)
Predicting what may happen to the Big 12 is kind of boring at this point in time…and dated.
Your hey day for that was early last summer when Texas and Oklahoma made their announcements.
If it helps get you through the night to think that Missouri left a house of cards that is bound to collapse and they are on the one or two conferences that will survive and thrive, more power to you.
You can wait around like the Kansas City Royals did for that rare, brief moment when your teams matters again and take comfort in the fact that you will not be circling the drain like you imagine the other Big 12 teams are.
Me, I think there are any number of likely outcomes that may unfold…including that there will only be four or six teams in college football that matter. And while chances are MU will never count among those ranks, if you find that compelling, enjoy watching those teams fight it out after every season from now to eternity.
And who’s to say UMKC didn’t earn those victories and won’t continue to?