Double-T Nation News:
I'm not politicking.
I'll be completely honest, the BCS mess just gives me tired-head and honestly, if you asked me to explain the mechanics of the BCS, the computers, the weight that all of it has, I'd tell you that I've got no f'ing clue.
Here's what I do know, Texas Tech needs to win on Saturday.
I've given this quite a bit of thought and I have no clue as to whether my voice here on DTN would actually persuade any writer in believe that Texas Tech is better than A, B or C. Perhaps that's just me knowing that as much as I love DTN, writers and broadcasters probably don't need me to tell them who should be voting for and why. I just don't believe I carry that kind of clout.
If the Red Raiders take care of business on Saturday, the let the chips fall where they may. The best case scenario would be if Oklahoma and Texas both lost. That's simple math and I can handle that. If either OU or Texas win and the other loses, then the winner goes to the BCS, Texas Tech goes to the Big 12 Championship, and we move on from there.
I hate that politicking is part of the process, rather than playing on the field and I know that this is the process that's here for a while, so I had better get used to it, but I don't necessarily want to endorse it. For good discussion, head on over to Crimson and Cream Machine, who doesn't believe that Texas Tech should be dismissed quite yet, as well as Burnt Orange Nation who feels that Texas Tech is out of the picture entirely. Be respectful and be nice.
One of my weekly favorites, Rock M Nation's The Boy's Beyond The Boxscore's Rankings and Projections. One thing to note, is that The Boy's computer projections are currently 19-0, which means that the computers are predicting Oklahoma State to upset Oklahoma. I'm just sayin'.
EDSBS with Captain Leach's inner monologue during the Oklahoma game.
Texas Tech Football:
However, that doesn't stop Captain Leach from voicing his opinion, per the LAJ's Don Williams (emphasis mine):
"Probably, we shouldn’t be dropped behind them," Leach said Monday during his weekly news conference. "As far as I’m concerned, we shouldn’t."Snip
When asked if he thought Tech should remain above Texas, Florida, Southern Cal and Penn State, he said, "Throw them all in there. We should be the top-rated one-loss team."
Leach does go on to say that he knows that he can't control the process and is a strident believer in the 64 team playoff:
"I’ve got my hands full with things I can control," he said, "so I’m not going to worry about things that I can’t. I’ve said from the beginning they ought to have a playoff. I’m pretty well on the record as to how I’d solve this thing."
So wait a second . . . Texas Tech beat a Top 25 team in Kansas and then went on to beat two Top 10 teams in Texas and Oklahoma State in two connsecutive weeks and we should be completely out of the picture? Huh.
FWST's Dwain Price has a Texas Tech football notebook of sorts, with the headline being that Texas Tech is getting back to work, per senior defensive end Jake Ratliff:
"It’s over and there is nothing we can do about it, so there is really no need to get down about it," defensive end Jake Ratliff said. "You’ve just got to bounce back from it. We have been through some tough times before with this team. We’re a family, we will stick together and pull through it."
And Ratliff has high praise for Baylor QB Robert Griffin:
"He’s the most talented running quarterback we will face this year," Jake Ratliff said. "Everyone’s seen what he can do with the ball."If he scrambles, he is going to make a play. If you leave him in the pocket, he is going to throw. He can do pretty much whatever he wants with the ball."
Lots of other notes as well, check it out.
ESPN Big 12 blogger Tim Griffin writes that both Nebraska's Bo Pelini and Captain Leach let everyone know who they believe to be the best team, Oklahoma. Tim also breaks-down and predicts the bowls for the Big 12 teams.
Texas Tech Basketball:
Don't forget that we've got a game tonight, 7:00 p.m. and it will be on TTN for those of us not in Lubbock.
LAJ's Jeff Walker profiles one of my favorite players, sophomore forward D'walyn Roberts, who has improved mightily from last year. Here's Junior Knight on Roberts and forward Michael Prince:
"He and Mike Prince, to be honest just from last year - we went in here with about seven or eight guys and they really weren’t (considered to be) in the rotation," Tech head coach Pat Knight said. "I couldn’t watch them all summer, but when practice started - individual workouts in the fall - they started showing us some stuff. After the first week of practice, we started looking at the stats and every team they played on they were winning. They were doing the little things, so I said, Hey, we’ve got two new guys that we didn’t have last year who are going to play for us.’"
Roberts says that one of his biggest problems last year was that he wasn't just playing the game:
"My focus during the offseason was to try and not think too much when I was playing. I think that hurt me last year," Roberts said. "I also worked a lot on my shooting and dribbling, and I’m still trying to get stronger."
RRS.com's Tech's Top Three is also free this week, which reminds me that after this week I have plans to do a weekly basketball report, it's just that until football season ends, I need to prioritize.
Rush the Court, an excellent college basketball blog, looks at the Big 12 this week.