The Universe Stays in Alignment

The world was coming to an end. The Pac 10 and the Big 10 were going to raid the Big 12 and the Big East. This was a consolidation of power unseen since the alignment of the Allies in World War II. There were going to be three mega-conferences that were going to run the NCAA and the rest of the leftovers would be left out of the BCS all together and have no shot at legitimacy. Kansas' basketball coach Bill Self and UofL's athletic director Tom Jurich were both whining like little girls because their schools were being left out of the Big Boy's Club. Colorado had already bolted for the Pac 10 and Nebraska already bolted for the Big 10. Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State were soon to follow.

That is until Texas swooped in and saved the day. Texas held the power all of the time. The Big 10 wanted Texas, the Pac 10 wanted Texas, and, to a lesser extent, the SEC kind of wanted Texas. But the Longhorns gave the middle finger to the other conferences and decided to save the Big 12 and stay. The rest of the conference was set to do whatever Texas did, so the Big 12 is mostly intact.

So what about Nebraska and Colorado? It seems that the Big 10 came out the winner over the Pac 10. Nebraska has an avid fan base and they play a similar style of football that is seen in the Big 10. Nebraska's offense, which has gone back to the ruin first/pass second roots ever since the end of the fateful Bill Callahan era, is more akin to the running games of the Big 10. Nebraska seemed to have gotten lost in the Quarterback Kingdom that the Big 12 had become. The Huskers now have a more legit shot at winning their conference and will be able to play in the Rose Bowl.

I think the Pac 10 might want to give Colorado back to the Big 12. The Buffaloes have been absent from the college football landscape for about a decade (besides some scandals involving rape ) and has never been on the map in basketball. The last time the Buff's did anything memonrable on the field was when Kordell Stewart was throwing a Hail Mary touchdown pass to win the game. Colorado really adds nothing to the Pac 10 and was viewed as a bargaining tool to get other teams from their conference to join. Well, it didn't work.

What should we all expect next season? Expect Nebraska and Colorado to be mercilessly booed at every away game in the Big 12 next season. They were the two schools that broke away and basically told the conference that it wasn't good enough for them.

What about beyond next season, when the two teams are officially member of their new leagues? Will the Big 12 now be called the Big 10 and vice versa? Will the Pac 10 become the Pac 11? Will the Big East continue to suck at football and be the laughing stock of all of the other major BCS conferences? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure: Texas can do whatever the hell it wants whenever the hell it wants to. After all, the old saying is "Don't Mess With Texas."