Mr. Picker, in the National Championship USC easily defeats the SEC representative. OU has the stigma of its last five bowl appearances.

Also, I'm surprised Nitpicker hasn't already commented. Isn't this his life? Regardless of whether or not I disagree with him, how does someone post that much every day?

Have to agree with Gene on the two teams, but not the outcome. PAC10 teams overall can't compare to the strength and speed of the SEC.

OU's post season showings since winning the big one have made them a target of negative voting. They could go undefeated and still not be in the top three BCS teams.

If you don't play a conference championship game, you shouldn't be considered a BCS conference!

Arthur, the only argument I have is that strength of schedule often means nothing. Look at Hawaii last year...and Ohio State for that matter. Ohio State backed into the national championship merely because they are Ohio State and teams lost around them.

OU can get in with one loss, I believe. It just can't be against OSU because the game is so late in the season.

No way OU gets in with 1 loss, and they shouldn't. Everything is laid out for the Sooners this year. The schedule is set up perfectly for a run at the title..... 13-0 and they are in, no question.

I would have to heavily disagree with the SOS argument. Look at LSU being a two loss team and Hawaii being undefeated last year. LSU went to the NC and Hawaii went to a BCS bowl. Hawaii still was overrated but SOS still played a factor, even if it wasn't as big of a factor. Honestly PERCEIVED strength of schedule could be a determining factor if USC and OU are undefeated. OU's Mizzou game would likely be played to late to have consideration as usual and other than that Texas looks like the only legitimate top-15 team on OU's schedule. Tech, Mizzou and KU are all overrated and to what extent has yet to be seen and the perception of the losses to come for each of those teams will be the deciding factor for an undefeated OU team. Especially since Mizzou is going to have a much tougher time with the north this year. Nebraska is much better. K-State should be better. Kansas is still at least decent and Colorado could be vying for that #2 spot as well.

Anyways, SOS may not be as important as it should, but it still is a large factor. Otherwise, LSU would have never gone to the title game. With that said it seems to me, maybe because of my bias because of where I live, that Pac-10 schools get more respect than Big-12. So, I think in THAT scenario it is USC vs LSU with OU playing in another BCS and probably losing(not because of skill necessarily but just their track record in those games).

JDG: It probably seems this simple to all the players who WEREN'T at a riot site at 3 a.m.: At 3 a.m., out of respect for your coaches, parents and friends, and yourself as well, don't put yourself at risk.

Gene: The Pac Ten is pretty average. We'll find out everything we need to know about USC next week versus Ohio State. Winner to the title game, what a system, decided in early September!

The crazy game of the weak week is Tech only favored ten at Nevada! Vegas should know Nevada!

OU 45-Cincy-13 BOOOOMERR!!!!!

Picker,
I agree it was poor judgement on the players part. However, you are ignoring the fact this seems to be a simple random act of violence.

Couple of things:

1) It was a PRIVATE party - that began much earlier in the evening
2) It only became a riot after thugs who were denied entry (private party=invite only) decided to take it out on the guests.
3) It was clear that these guys were targeting athletes.
4) Chris Brown was the main target but was spared after the vehicle hit the girl he was with (my friend)
5) What the heck are guys over 25 and who don't live in the area coming to a private party for? You think to cause a fight with some athletes?

Get your facts straight and stop making it sound like the players intentially put themselves in a bad situation.

It appears this event was a sponsored function by an on campus organization, not some random riot at a bar.

I'm not going to say that nobody at college should ever be out past midnight, because I know I was, but how can you honestly have time to take classes in any serious manner, do the practices and workouts that OU requires and still be partying that late? They are victims in this one, undoubtedly. In hindsight, staying out that late was a very bad idea. This is a hard lesson learned. It is a lot like rape. A woman probably won't get raped just by being outside late at night/early in the morning, but if she's smart she knows that being alone outside that late increasing her risk from 1% chance to 10% chance. These players should have been smarter but that doesn't make it their fault(assuming there was no provocation). To quote Oklahoma's supposed most beloved book "be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves". This just sucks that it comes right after the Jarboe controversy and this comes from an OSU alum that thinks very little of Bob Stoops.

Mr. JDG,

As a former college athlete, I can share a few things with you. At the beginning of the year, after the last cut is made and the team is set, you are given rules for behavior and most, if not all, situations are usually covered.

Each athlete knows they are at risk while attending a party during season. They are asked not to go, but if you do go. You should come home at a decent hour; after all it’s during football season!

Each athlete also knows because they are an athlete, if they do anything bad, it will most certainly make headlines and put the program in a negative light.

Each athlete knows they will be treated different than regular students because they are an official rep of the university, no different than other students associated with groups sponsored by the university. An often used example for this is you (the player) are no different than someone on an academic scholarship. A student on an academic scholarship must perform in the classroom daily to meet the guidelines of the scholarship they were awarded and such behavior will have an adverse affect on that performance. A student on an athletic scholarship must perform in the sport they are in and such behavior will have an adverse affect on that performance. Not meeting these standards can cause you to lose the scholarship.

The picker has a point, the student athlete shouldn't have been there, shouldn't have put himself or his team in that position. He didn't have respect for his team, himself, nor the program that gave him the scholarship.

And yes, I was, as well as everyone else that was 18 and a college student, didn't think of the bigger picture and I didn't always make the smart decision, but that doesn't mean it's excusable. I was just lucky enough not to be involved in any incidents.

Arthur, I think that LSU getting in last year was a rare occasion based on the number of teams with 1 or 2 losses. Obviously either USC or Ohio State will have to have a loss seeing as they play each other next week. With that being said, nobody is coming out of the SEC undefeated. I think that does put OU right in the mix with a one loss record (assuming they don't lose to OSU AND do win the Big 12 title game). I could be wrong. It's just my prediction.

JDG, last I checked there aren't any on-campus night clubs in Norman. Or are the police reports lying about the whereabouts of this incident? By the way, what type of school organization arranges a private party at a night club? Also, I hate to break it to you, but these athletes were not totally innocent in this. They shouldn't have been stabbed or attacked with other weapons but if you think they were just sitting there and some random guys just came up and started attacking them you need to take off the blinders.

We hear all this talk about late season losses being a factor in NOT getting to the BCS national championship game. Both OU, with a loss to K-State in the Big XII title game, and LSU with an overtime loss at the end of their respective seasons, were still able to play for the national title. I don't think we can ever make a blanket statement that a late season loss automatically ends your chances.