Guns Up vs. Hook Em Horns and the Beauty of the BCS

Last year Texas Tech broke on to the national scene by taking out the hated Texas Longhorns on a last second touchdown pass from Graham Harrell to Michael Crabtree. The Lubbock fans stormed the field in the most memorable moment of the 2008 college football season, a moment that will be etched in the minds of college football fans for years to come. This Saturday, ABC brings to you a re-match between the Big 12 rivals in a match-up featuring the hottest quarterback in college football Taylor Potts and last years Heisman runner up Colt McCoy aka Cindy Lou Who. What some short sighted college football fans fail to realize that if there was a college football playoff system last years game of the year between Tech and the Horns would’ve meant nothing-absolutely nothing. In case you forgot last years game-see the video above.

The majority of college football fans seem to think that a playoff would crown a true champion and would create viewer excitement that rivals the NCAA March Madness tournament. However, there are some aspects to college football that would be truly missed by college football fans if the NCAA were to shift away from the current bowl system to a playoff system. Here are two major reasons that the NCAA needs to fight the public sentiment of shifting to a playoff:

1.Under the current system every game matters, every game. Last weeks premier game between Ohio State and USC was so entertaining because it had national title implications. Under a playoff system, which presumably would grant automatic births to conference champions, that game would’ve meant nothing because Ohio State and USC could go on to win there conferences and make the tournament without regard to the outcome of last Saturdays game. Would I have watched Ohio State-USC last week if it meant nothing? Would Ohio State have packed 100-plus thousand fans into the stands if that game meant nothing? Cal travels to Minnesota this week, it is a must win game for Cal if they want to play for a national title (Chad Z). If we had a playoff Minnesota could plaster Cal by 50 and it wouldn’t matter to Cal one bit. Every game matters!!

2. The BCS almost always matches up the best 2 teams in the championship game, whereas rarely do the top 2 teams in college basketball end up meeting in the finals. The real passion for the NCAA March Madness tournament isn’t the championship game or even the final four, it’s the round of 64 and 32. My guess is most people rarely even remember who played in the basketball championship game because the thrill of the tournament is lost by the time we reach the finals. Only 6 times in the last 30 years have two number one seeds met in the final game of the NCAA basketball tournament. That means less than 20% of the time do we get a match-up between two of the elite teams in the country. The few times there have been 1 vs 1 seeds in college basketball we’ve gotten memorable finishes: 2008 Kansas vs Memphis-the KU comeback; 2007 Florida vs Ohio State- Florida going for a back to back title against future #1 pick Greg Oden; 1999 UConn vs. Duke-UConn preserves a great victory with a steal on the final possession; and of course 1994 UNC vs Michigan-the Chris Webber Timeout game. These are the games we remember, not Jared Jeffries and Tom Coverdale pissing down their legs against Maryland, and if you don’t know who Jared Jeffries or Tom Coverdale are that is my exact point. America wants to see the clash of the titans, the irresistible force meets the immovable object, Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior. We want Texas vs USC in the Rose Bowl, with Vince Young carrying the Horns on his back against Heisman Trophy Winners Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush. If we had a playoff during the 2005 season we likely never would’ve seen Texas vs USC in the greatest national championship game in the history of college football. We probably would’ve gotten to see USC beat Utah by 28.5 points. It’s kind of cool to see Utah play an Alabama in a bowl game or Cincinnati play Virginia Tech. But does anyone want to see Cincinnati and Utah pull of a few upsets to play for the national title-Not So Fast My Friend

The Masked Rider-College Football Tradition at its Best

On September 5th, college football returns to Lubbock when the Red Raiders host the North Dakota Fighting Sioux at the Jones. For years North Dakota has faced widespread criticism because of the manner in which the Fighting Sioux nickname and mascot demean American Indians. If North Dakota does not receive tribal approval the Fighting Sioux nickname will be officially retired in August of 2010. In 2001 concerns were raised that the Red Raider name also implied a Native American mascot; however, in 2005 the NCAA did not include the Red Raiders in its list of hostile and abusive nicknames. Texas Tech’s tradition is represented by nicknames, symbols and mascots, but the mascot that will lead the team onto the turf at the Jones in a couple weeks is none other than the Masked Rider.

The Masked Rider originated in Lubbock in 1936, when an unknown horse rider, wearing a scarlet cape, would circle the football field at high speeds and then disappear for the rest of the game. In 1954 a student, wearing a red and black cape and a black cowboy hat, led the Red Raiders onto the field on horseback at the Gator Bowl against Auburn. The entrance captivated the team and the crowd as the Red Raiders claimed victory. The Atlanta Constitution described the entrance noting that “No team in any bowl game ever made a more sensational entrance.” Today the Masked Raider leads the team onto the field and rides up and down the sidelines with the reins of High Red in his teeth and both “Guns Up”

The media promotes traditions such as Chief Osceola and Renegade at Florida State and USC’s Traveler as being cornerstone traditions of college football, but what they fail to tell you is that Texas Tech was the first school to use a live horse as a Mascot at football games. Screw Bobby Bowden’s cheating and his forfeited wins, and screw Pete Carroll the most selfish coach in the history of college sports.

Furthermore, we should all recognize that the 1954 Masked Raider entrance laid the groundwork for current college football entrances that we all know and love, including the Miami Smoke Entrance, Ralphie the Colorado Buffalo, and the Nebraska Tunnel Walk. Less than 2 weeks till kick off Red Raider fans-Guns UP!!

Sheryl? Shery? and Academic Success

Where have you gone Sheryl Swoopes, Raider Nation turns its lonely eyes to you. College Basketball March Madness started this week and neither the Tech Men’s basketball team nor the Lady-Raiders are participating in any post season play. I was initially disappointed that neither team had performed well enough during the regular season to warrant a bid to any tournament. However, a smart kid in my 7th grade class once said, “If everything in life were great, those things that were once great would only be good.” So while this season was not as successful as we had all hoped, our inevitable return to greatness under the strong leadership of Pat Knight and Kristy Curry will be valued to a greater extent because of the effort that will be required to build our programs back to the championship level that Lubbock was blessed with in 1993 when Sheryl Swoopes led the Lady Raiders to the National Championship.

With that said, I would like to point out that success at Tech is not measured simply on the court or field, but also in the classroom. A study last October examined the 4 year graduation rates of the Top 25 ranked schools in college football, and Texas Tech ranked third at 79%, behind only Vanderbilt (91%) and Wake Forest (83%). The average FBS 4-year graduation rate was 67%. Ironically, two schools rounding out two of the last three spots in the top 25 rankings were Texas and Oklahoma at an appalling 50% and 48% graduation rate. So while these teams may have enjoyed participating in BCS bowl games last year, its clear they can’t carry Red Raider jocks when it comes to producing well rounded athletes that will contribute to society not only through sports, but also through education. NCAA statistics also revealed that the worst 4-year graduation rate of any FBS football team was San Jose St (52%) and the 4th lowest rate was Louisiana Monroe at (61%). I think Joe and Dave, Fans 4 Life of these two teams, should start academic scholarship programs at these schools in an effort to reach the greatness that is Texas Tech. Guns Up!!

Biggest comeback in Big 12 Tournament History!!!

I’ve always wondered what its like to have the same name as somebody famous? How do you create your own identity and jump out of the shadow that has been cast over you your whole life? I’ll tell you how-you score 43 points in the Big 12 Tournament against your arch rival in route to the biggest comeback victory in Big 12 Tournament history. Tonight, Tech was down 19 to Texas A&M at the half in the first round of the Phillips 66 Big Twelve 12 Tournament and sophomore forward, Mike Singletary, proceeded to score 29 points in a row for the Red Raiders in the second half to lead Tech to a huge comeback victory, 88-83. TWENTY NINE STRAIGHT POINTS!! Singletary has averaged 11.1 points per game this year and has only scored more than 20 in a game twice this year, but tonight the March Madness has begun. Singletary’s 43 was the best scoring effort in Big 12 Conference Tournament history, eclipsing memorable efforts by Big 12 greats Marcus Fizer and Kevin Dura….WHO?

Tomorrow night Singletary, who came of the bench by the way, will lead the Red Raiders against the third seeded Missouri Tigers. The conference tournaments have already produced a few upset automatic births, including Robert Morris College?? I see no reason why this performance wont lead the Red Raiders to a deep Big 12 Tournament run, and dare I say Pat Knight and crew may have to try on the glass slipper as I serenade the city of Lubbock with my best rendition of, “you always did your best, because inside you knewwwwwww…and one shining moment you reach for the stars…One Shining Moment!!!” I love college basketball-I can’t imagine how incomplete the world would be without March Madness. Tonight the sports world forgets all about the hall of fame linebacker, and says Guns Up.

Tonight, I will also start the Guns Up Big Iron Point System, where I will award 1-10 Guns Up Big Iron points for athletic efforts by Red Raider athletes and teams to memorialize great moments in Tech history. Tonight I award Mike Singletary and the Red Raiders 9 Guns Up Big Iron Points, marking this the greatest moment in Tech History AR (After Russ).

A Rivalry is Born

The Texas Tech women’s golf squad heads to Sin City today to play in the UNLV Spring Invitational, and so begins the Team 4 Life created rivalry between my beloved Texas Tech Red Raiders and Cox’s UNLV Runnin’ “the other way with their tail between their legs” Rebels. Most Tech fans focus on natural rivalries with Texas and Texas A&M. In fact the disgust towards A&M is evidenced by a Will Rogers statue on Tech’s campus that is appropriately placed with the horse’s ass facing directly towards A&M’s campus. While these rivalries are very important to Tech fans, today no sense of animosity could burn greater than that which women’s golf brings to the table. So when Megan Dowdy and Rosalyn Kim are walking up to the 18th green with victory in hand, Tech fans throughout the world will all stand and yell “Wreck Em Tech.” On the other hand this inevitable Rebel defeat will likely cause the entire UNLV athletic program to descend into the bleak world of dismal college athletics. Hopefully life at the bottom won’t be too bad, I’m sure San Jose State and Louisiana Monroe fans can tell you Rebel fans all about it.

Rock Chalk??

Last night I experienced my first game as a Texas Tech fan-and what do you know it was against the “Reigning...and Defending” National Champion Kansas Jayhawks. At first when I saw that the game was going to be on I was pumped because I’ve always liked Kansas, but the moment I turned on ESPN2 my allegiances were put to the test. So am I allowed to cheer for Kansas at all for the rest of my life? What if Texas Tech doesn’t go to the Big Dance-do I support other Big 12 teams because of my Tech loyalty? Who are my hated rivals? How far does this team for life thing extend? Only time will tell.

With that said what a great night to start bleeding Raider Red. Alan Voskuil dropped a dirty 35 on the Jayhawks in route to a blowout win on senior night. Surely, this was the spark Tech is going to need heading into next weeks Big 12 Tournament. To all those Jayhawk fans out there; if you think Danny Manning, Jacque Vaughn, and Greg Ostertag are going to walk through that door next week in Oklahoma City you better think again. Rock Chalk Jayhawk my ass.

The Draft

Tonight I was part of a college team for life draft. The idea originated with a group of students at the University of Minnesota. While attending school, the group of students became fed up with the fact that all of their college sports teams were perennial losers. So the students remedied their problem by drafting a new team for life. My friends and I thought drafting a team for life would be a great idea. So tonight 13 of us blindly drafted 2 colleges out of a hat and each of us chose which team out of the two would be our team for life. Going into the draft my main fear was picking two teams that I despised, for example Florida and Duke. As luck would have it the two random teams I got to choose from were Texas Tech and Florida-Ironic. So without thinking twice I dedicated my college sports allegiance to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The other teams that were drafted included: Wake Forest, Ohio, Ole Miss, UTEP, San Jose State, Texas A&M, TCU, "The U", Louisiana Monroe, Louisiana Tech, Boise State, and Syracuse. This Blog will be dedicated to the support of Texas Tech athletics and to the endless mocking and ridiculing of the University of Florida, my implied hated team for life, and all of my buddies teams listed above. Guns Up!!!