During the 2008 college football season, the Big 12 south was nothing short of a blood bath. Four of the six teams in the division finished the season ranked within the the top 16. But what was really interesting was the three-way race at the top. Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma all had high-powered offenses led by elite QBs. Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, and Graham Harrell were amongst the best QBs in the nation. All three QBs had record-setting seasons for their respective schools.
But none of the three QBs seemed to stand out from amongst each other. That’s because of the convoluted three-way tie their respective teams got tangled in.
Three-Way Big 12 South Tie:
First, Bradford and McCoy faced off against each other in the Red River Rivalry in Dallas, TX. With 8 minutes remaining in the game, Texas was down 35-30. But, the Longhorns were able to drive the ball 60+ yards two times to secure a 45-35 win.
Texas seemed to be in the driver’s seat of the conference after that game. However, the Longhorns would have to go into Lubbock and defeat an undefeated Texas Tech team. This was perhaps the most important game in the history of Texas Tech football. And Jones AT&T Stadium was as packed and loud as it ever was.
After going down 19-0 in the first half, McCoy and the Longhorns battled back and took a 33-32 lead with 1:29 remaining in the game. With the ball at the 39-yard line, Harrell drove the Red Raiders to the 28 yard-line with 21 second left. Then, Harrell threw a pass to WR Edward Britton, who then deflected it in the air. Texas safety Blake Gideon had a chance to catch the ball and secure the win for Texas. Instead, he dropped it, which gave the Red Raiders another life.
Many college football fans know what happens next. Harrell threw a ball to Michael Crabtree on the field side. Crabtree made a tough catch with a defender draped over him and muscled his way into the end zone for a TD. This gave Texas Tech the win 38-33.
https://twitter.com/espncfb/status/1058007947719127040?lang=en
Now Texas Tech looked like they were in control of their own destiny. However, the Red Raiders didn’t have many cupcakes remaining. They had to play an Oklahoma State team ranked in the top ten, and then go on the road to Norman.
After handily defeating OSU at home, the Red Raiders were confident going into Norman. However those feelings wouldn’t last long. After a low-scoring first quarter by both teams, the Sooners outscored the Red Raiders 35-7 in the 2nd quarter. This deficit was too much for TTU to overcome, as the Sooners won 65-21.
Resolution:
In 2006, the Big 12 conference put regulations to determine the representative in the Big 12 championship if a three-way tie exists. First, the Big 12 must look at the records of the teams against each other. Since all teams were 1-1 against each other, this didn’t resolve the tie break.
Then, they must compare the records of each team in their division. Each team was 4-1 against the Big 12 south.
After that, the conference has to look at the record of all three teams against the lower ranked teams in their division. All three teams beat OSU, Baylor, and Texas A&M.
Even after all this, the Big 12 had to compare the records of the three teams between all common conference opponents. In this, all three teams had a 4-0 record.
Finally, in its fifth-tiebreaker, the Big 12 would have to select based on the BCS ranking of each team. Since Oklahoma ranked the was the highest ranked in the BCS, they got to play in the Big 12 championship. They demolished Missouri en route to a National Championship appearance.
The BCS standings are calculated by a mix of the USA Today Coaches Poll, the Harris Interactive Poll, and Computer ratings. The Coaches Poll favored Oklahoma, while the Harris Interactive Poll favored Texas. However, the Computer ratings favored Oklahoma by quite a bit, which put them over the top in the BCS rankings.
This controversy was perhaps one of many that did away with the computer ratings in the college playoff committee.
For more Big 12 news, make sure to read our article about Big 12 expansion.
