Tulsa World: Hard spot means soft OU opener

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Hard spot means soft OU opener

By DAVE SITTLER World Sports Columnist
Published: 6/8/2008 2:52 AM
Last Modified: 6/8/2008 3:09 AM

It's not always fun being No. 1.

For example, Rivals.com recently ranked the Tennessee-Chattanooga at Oklahoma contest as No. 1 on its list of "the 12 most embarrassing games," during the 2008 football season involving teams from BCS conferences.

"I wish they'd do their homework," said OU athletic director Joe Castiglione when informed of the Sooners' unwanted top billing.

Castiglione knows the matchup looks like a mismatch on paper and could turn out that way on Owen Field when the Sooners and Mocs meet in the Aug. 30 season opener.

But he takes issue with this Rivals.com question: "What in the world is Oklahoma doing playing Chattanooga, which has had just four winning seasons since 1988?"

Had they done their homework, the Rivals.com folks could have answered their own question: Chattanooga was a late addition when Division I-A Middle Tennessee State dropped the Sooners in favor of a home-and-home deal with Mississippi State.

Welcome to the wonderful world of scheduling, which can drive even the most sane athletic director bonkers. Getting dropped without warning and being forced to pay a king's ransom to visiting teams are just a few of an AD's headaches.

Castiglione didn't find out until last November that Middle Tennessee State had decided not to sign off on a written agreement it had with OU. And it wasn't anyone in the Blue Raiders' athletic department that broke the news.

"They didn't even have the courtesy to call us back," Castiglione said. "We had to find out about it in a third-party way.

"They apparently were using our agreement to leverage something else, which they were able to do when Mississippi State committed to play on (Middle Tennessee State's) home field."

Castiglione said he doesn't begrudge any school for seeking the best deal for its program. He didn't, however, appreciate the run-around from Middle Tennessee State officials.

"We had an agreement for a long period of time, and there was a contract that was written," he said. "What happens is they play games with it and won't sign it.

"You get one excuse after the other. And then they just flat out refuse to even answer your call, or return your call. So you know something is up."

Left holding an open date on the first weekend of the season, Castiglione scrambled to find a replacement. In 10 years at OU, Castiglione had signed only one contract with a I-AA school as he attempted to ensure OU's strength of schedule worked as a positive in the complicated BCS poll.

"We have purposely tried to avoid playing I-AA teams, but not because we don't respect I-AA football," Castiglione said. "Believe me, we tried every I-A option we could."

Several factors go into making a schedule work, including corresponding dates, availability and the exorbitant amount of money BCS powers like OU are forced to pay I-A teams to play in Norman.

"Let's face it," Castiglione said. "There are some (I-A) schools that just don't want to play you regardless of the opportunity or the offer."

When he ran out of I-A options, Castiglione turned to I-AA schools.

The other time he signed a I-AA school was Indiana State in 1999 (coach Bob Stoops' first game), when Arkansas State "discovered" at the last minute that it had also signed to play Mississippi on the same date.

"They (Arkansas State officials) learned so much from that experience," Castiglione said, "that they did it to us again in 2003."

While some Web site might find OU's season-opening game "embarrassing," Castiglione considers the Sooners' first opponent a schedule-saver.

Chattanooga AD Rick Hart, who worked seven years for Castiglione at OU, came to his former boss's rescue.

Chattanooga had an Aug. 30 open date when Alabama dropped the Mocs after the Crimson Tide was offered a chance to open the season on national television against Clemson at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

"There were several I-AA schools that told us no in more than emphatic terms," Castiglione said of the schools in the division that offer 63 scholarships, versus the 85 Division I-A teams are allowed. "So you have to give (the Mocs) a lot of credit; they didn't have to play us."

OU isn't the only Big 12 Conference team with a I-AA opponent on its 2008 schedule. Nebraska, Texas and Texas A&M are the only league schools playing 12 I-A teams. Texas Tech has two I-AA foes, as do several national powerhouse programs like Florida State, Clemson and Georgia Tech.

Even with the addition of a I-AA team, OU's schedule is ranked the nation's 30th toughest by Phil Steele's preseason magazine.

Seven of the 11 I-A teams the Sooners will play in 2008 played in bowl games last season, and three won at least 10 games.

"We have taken major steps to ensure we have one blockbuster matchup each season, which is unique these days in college football," Castiglione said of future OU schedules. "There are not many schools playing teams like Florida State, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Ohio State and LSU.

"A lot of schools are going the other direction."

It's the easier path to the only No. 1 that matters in the end. By DAVE SITTLER World Sports Columnist

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LeftieTulsan, (6/9/2008 1:04:12 PM)

The underlying issue for this OU grad is that Chattanooga replaced Middle Tennessee State on the schedule. Come on guys, Popcorn State for Bubble Gum U isn't any different.

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