Update: 12/3/2011 at 12:42am MT
Final Score: Oklahoma State 44, Oklahoma 10
Oklahoma State is very deserving of the win. My argument is that the media's love fest with Alabama and LSU had more to do with this completely uneven, blowout game than did Oklahoma State's superiority or Oklahoma's inferiority.
I have received a few questions so I will clarify my position.
Q1: Why would OU lose out on BCS bowl money, on purpose, for the sake of a conference that hasn’t done them any favors this season?
A1: It was my understanding that the remaining members of the Big 12 recently agreed to sign over their individual Tier 1 and Tier 2 television revenue to trust, allowing greater profit sharing across the board. Bowl Game Revenue and Football Championship Event Revenue are already divided equally among the members (after the team who plays in the bowl is allowed reimbursement for expenses). The following are the relevant sections from the Big 12 Conference Handbook:
§ 2.3 Revenue Distribution. [T]he revenue distribution policy for the Conference shall be as provided in this Section 2.
§ 2.4 Bowl Game Revenue. All revenue from Member Institutions participating in football bowl games shall be divided equally among all Member Institutions, after predetermined expense allowances have been deducted. The formula set forth as Appendix [IV] shall be used to calculate the predetermined expense allowances and is incorporated herein by reference as through fully set forth.
§ 2.5 Football Championship Event Revenue. All net revenue pursuant to the Conference football championship game and related activities will be divided equally among the Member Institutions.
Appendix IV
Bowl Game Policies
Expense Formula:
The following institutional expense allowances will be provided for bowl participants:
Tier I: Bowl Championship Series
National Championship Game
Expenses .................................................. $1,630,000
Travel .............................................$300/one-way mi
All other Bowl Championship Series Games
Expenses .................................................. $1,610,000
Travel .............................................$300/one-way mi
Tier II: Cotton, Alamo, Insight, Holiday, Pinstripe
Expenses .................................................... 1,000,000
Travel .............................................$300/one-way mi
Tier III: Texas, TicketCity, Military (or substitute bowl)
Expenses ..................................................... $680,000
Travel .............................................$300/one-way mi
Participating Member Institutions retain any “incidental” revenue provided by a bowl, including the value of complimentary sleeping rooms (e.g., transportation, meals, etc.) on top of the expense allowance for such bowl. Member Institutions participating in a bowl game are not responsible for the Conference’s guaranteed purchase of tickets to the bowl; however, they will be permitted to retain one-half (1/2) of the revenue from the sale of tickets in excess of one-half (1/2) of the Conference guarantee.
Q2: So you think that OU threw the game?
A2: I am not saying that OU went into the game with the express purpose of playing poorly and letting OSU win (i.e., “throwing the game”). I’m saying that the Sports Media created a self-fulfilling prophesy (explained satisfactorily on Wikipedia), which was the main reason that this game was not a closely competitive matchup like it should have been. Both teams were extremely influenced by the psychological ramifications of the event, which significantly changed their behavior (compared to all other games they have played this season). OSU got a huge psychological boost from the media effectively saying that the whole nation would be forced to watch a rematch if OSU did not win big. And Oklahoma took a major psychological hit by knowing that beating OSU would mean an SEC rematch for the National Championship.
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