Everyone Loses With Super Conferences

We keep hearing that Texas A&M's impending departure to the SEC will start a chain reaction that will result in four 16-team super conferences. If that's true, it will be a losing situation for many college football teams and fans. There is nothing positive to gain from the existence of super conferences.

Scheduling will quality opponents will be a nightmare for teams left outside the conferences. With so many tough conference opponents on the slate, playing tough non-BCS teams will no longer be an option for BCS teams. (Honestly, it quit being an option some time ago for many of them.)

The disparity between the BCS schools and non-BCS schools in terms of facilities, talent and revenue will grow even larger. It is much easier to line up donors if your school is playing big-time opponents and in big-time bowl games in a BCS conference than if your school is on the outside looking in.

Eventually many non-BCS schools will be forced into an intermediate division between the FBS and FCS because they no longer can compete on an even playing field. When that happens, the appeal of college football is going to take a huge hit and some smaller schools may drop the sport altogether.

When A&M finally leaves, it will be the first domino of many to fall. Expect Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech, Missouri, Kansas and Kansas State all to find new landing spots in some combination of the Pac-12, Big 10 and Big East.

It will signal a bad new era in the sport. If you hated the formation of the BCS, you will really loathe the advent of the super conference.

Five Greatest Bowl Game Comebacks

Postseason bowl games in college football have a reputation for being meaningless outside of the BCS National Championship Game. Good thing many of the coaches and players do not see them that way. Bowl games have provided some of the most incredible comebacks the sport has ever seen. These five rank as the most dramatic bowl game comebacks and would be more than enough to spark a goalpost tear down frenzy.

#5: 2001 GMAC Bowl -- For one half, Marshall looked to be thoroughly outclassed by future Conference USA rival East Carolina. The Thundering Herd trailed 38-8 and appeared headed for an ugly loss. The second half felt like a different game altogether. Momentum shifted in the third quarter when Ralph Street and Terence Tarpley each returned interceptions for touchdowns. Those defensive scores helped Marshall trim the Pirate lead to 41-36. The Thundering Herd still trailed by six, 51-45, with 50 seconds left when Byron Leftwich moved the Marshall offense 80 yards in 43 seconds for the tying touchdown to force overtime. Marshall finally prevailed in the second overtime, winning 64-61. It remains the highest scoring bowl game in NCAA history.

#4: 2006 Insight Bowl -- Texas Tech mounted the greatest bowl game comeback in college football history to defeat Minnesota 44-41 in overtime. The Red Raiders trailed the Golden Gophers 38-7 with 7:47 remaining in the third quarter when they ripped off 31 unanswered points to force overtime. Starting with Graham Harrell's 8 yard TD pass to Robert Johnson to open the fourth quarter and ending with Alex Trlica's 52 yard field goal as time expired, Texas Tech owned the final 15 minutes. The Red Raiders outscored Minnesota 24-0 in that stretch. The loss was the final straw for Golden Gophers' coach Glen Mason. He was fired two days later.

#3 2006 Rose Bowl: Vince Young ended the USC dynasty in epic fashion. The Trojans appeared well on their way to winning another national title when they took a 38-26 lead over Texas on a 22 yard pass from Matt Leinhart to Dwayne Jarrett. The Longhorns got the ball back with 6:42 remaining and Young went to work. He accounted for all 69 yards on a scoring drive that brought Texas within five. A failed fourth down conversion by USC with 2:09 left gave the Longhorns the ball at their own 44 yard line. It set up Young's nine yard TD run on 4th-and-5 with 19 seconds left and lifted Texas to a 41-38 victory and a national title.

#2: 1980 Holiday Bowl -- For most of four quarters, BYU looked completely outmatched against an SMU team that was the best team money could buy as it later turned out. Eric Dickerson and Craig James ran roughshod over the Cougar defense. Trailing 45-25 with 3:32 remaining, BYU came to life. Jim McMahon threw a long touchdown pass to Matt Braga to spark the comeback. The Cougars then recovered an onside kick and scored two plays later to cut it to six. Then Bill Schoepflin blocked an SMU punt with 13 seconds left. That set the stage for a 41 yard touchdown pass from McMahon to Clay Brown on the game's final play and BYU stunned the Mustangs 46-45. It was the first of many wild finishes for the Holiday Bowl.

#1: 1979 Cotton Bowl -- Joe Montana carved out his legend as one of the greatest quarterbacks ever starting with leading Notre Dame to incredible rally over Houston. The Fighting Irish trailed 34-12 with just 7:37 to play when Montana went to work. He helped Notre Dame score 23 unanswered points, capped off by a rollout touchdown pass to Kris Haines on the game's final play to give the Irish a 35-34 victory over the Cougars. Montana battled hypothermia in the chilly Dallas weather and ate chicken soup at halftime to keep his body temperature up. It ended up being a secret ingredient to a memorable rally.

Big 12 Chaos

One year later, it appears Texas may finally succeed in destroying the Big 12 Conference after all.

The advent of the Longhorn Network – and the financial and recruiting advantages it seemingly offers to Texas over the rest of its conference mates – is the proverbial last straw for Texas A&M. The Aggies have always been overshadowed by the Longhorns in winning tradition, talented players, facilities and deep pocketed alumni.

Texas A&M has had enough. The Aggies are making a bid to join the SEC. If they are accepted into the nation's toughest football conference this week, expansion chaos is about to break loose.

The SEC will likely go to 14 teams or 16 teams. Rumored leading candidates to join A&M are Missouri, Clemson and Florida State. If the ACC loses a pair of teams, they will likely raid the Big East for some combination of Rutgers, Syracuse, West Virginia and Pittsburgh to get back to 12 teams.

You can bet if the SEC moves to 16, the Big 10 and the Pac-12 will not be far behind. The Pac-12 could go after Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. The Big 10 could set its sights on Maryland, Notre Dame, Missouri and Pittsburgh. The ACC could respond by absorbing the last of the Big East to move to 16.

Four super conferences and the end of the Big 12 and Big East as we know it. The gap between the BCS and non-BCS schools will widen and college football will enter a new era. It will not be a good era. A select few teams having a stranglehold over money, the best coaches and the best athletes is not good for the long term health of the sport.

College football needs teams like Utah, Boise State and TCU to break through the barrier erected by the sport's traditional powers. It needs a more level playing field that college basketball provides. No one can deny the excitement generated by March Madness.

Think of the possibilities for a “December Delirium” with college football playoffs at the FBS level. Fans and players would embrace it in an instant and these playoffs would instantly become one of the nation's most popular and most anticipated sporting events.

All of this started because of Texas-sized greed from the Lone Star State's flagship school. It was given new life because of a Texas-sized temper tantrum from their rival with an inferiority complex.

Everything hinges on what Texas does next. If the Longhorns are committed to saving the Big 12 and can keep the other seven schools from jumping ship, it can prevent the six BCS conferences from consolidating into four 16-team super conferences for at least a few more years.

If Texas and Oklahoma decide to cast their wandering eyes elsewhere, the end is already here.

NCAA Basketball: West Region Breakdown

March Madness is here and it really is the most exciting time of the year. Nothing rivals seeing an underdog make a run through the NCAA Tournament or seeing a team win in dramatic fashion on an incredible buzzer-beater. 

Here is my take on the West Region:

West Region –

Overseeded: Cincinnati

It is astounding that the Bearcats can go from being on the bubble nearly all season, net a couple of “big” victories in the Big East over a fading Georgetown squad and suddenly be good enough to snare a 6 seed. Cincinnati's inflated record will be exposed soon enough. The Bearcats are a pedestrian 6-8 against teams in the 68-team field.

Underseeded: Temple

Few teams are hotter than the Owls coming into the tournament. They may be the most dangerous 7 seeds in the bracket. If Fran Dunphy can finally snap his first round jinx, Temple has the tools to make a run to the Elite Eight. The Owls enjoy strong backcourt play from Juan Fernandez and Ramone Moore and have shown an ability to compete with Big Six teams all season.

Darkhorse: Oakland

The Grizzlies have a tough first round draw in Texas. But Oakland has a legitimate NBA prospect in center Keith Benson. And the Grizzlies won't be intimidated by the Longhorns. If it can pull off the first-round shocker, don't be surprised if Oakland makes a Sweet 16 run.

Region winner: San Diego State

Can a team go from zero NCAA wins to a Final Four berth? The odds are in the Aztecs' favor to pull off such a feat. With Kawahi Leonard, Malcolm Thomas and Billy White, San Diego State has one of the most physical and athletic frontcourts in the country. They can wear teams down and that will prove valuable in making a deep postseason run.