Lets see....its now 2016 and in early October, 2-2 Texas and 2-2 Oklahoma are playing at the Texas State Fair in Dallas. On FS1. At 11 o'clock in the morning. In Lubbock, Texas Tech will attempt to improve on its NCAA worst defense by holding an opponent below 45 points.Jon Mark Beilue: Texas A&M's SEC-ession stems from emotions
Posted: August 20, 2011 - 9:17pm
Jon Mark Beilue
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It’s mid-October in 2014. Undefeated Texas and Oklahoma are playing at the Texas State Fair in Dallas. In Lubbock, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State — two teams with 4-1 records — meet that night.
Meanwhile, that afternoon, Vanderbilt, 1-4, limps into College Station to face 2-3 Texas A&M. If the Aggies can even their record against the lowly Commodores, their reward is a trip to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama and then a game with Auburn.
Hypothetical situation, to be sure. But not that out of the realm. And two or three years in the future is a better indicator if the events of the past 10 days will be a blessing for A&M or a regrettable decision.
That 10-year honor and commitment the remaining 10 teams made last summer to the Big 12 in the wake of Nebraska’s and Colorado’s departure was dutifully honored by A&M for every year but nine. The Aggies are soon heading for the nation’s No. 1 football conference, the Southeastern Conference.
A&M is giddy about the prospect of a place alongside Mississippi State at the SEC table. The Aggies are even more stoked of sticking it to Big Brother Bevo, the big bully in Austin, and that evil Longhorn Network.
No more toiling in the shadow of Texas for the last 70-plus years. Never mind that new shadow cast by Louisiana State, Auburn, Florida and Alabama, owners of the last five national titles with Florida twice winning it all. But it’s not Texas any more, and we’re in the SEC, dude!
Protocol and procedure are being carefully followed by SEC presidents and A&M officials over the next few weeks to ensure the SEC won’t be sued and a 14th conference team will be added. But there will be rioting in College Station streets and gnashing of teeth if A&M doesn’t get or turns down an SEC offer.
Imagine the Aggie reaction if some bare-chested clown from Tech ran down on Kyle Field’s hallowed turf and did the side-straddle-hop during the second quarter. Now multiply it by five if A&M lowers itself to remain in the shaky Big 12.
But once emotion subsides — if it ever does — the central questions are these: What are the Aggies running from, and what are they running to?
The Aggies say they are heading to the best football conference in the land, to reap the financial windfall from a lucrative TV contract, and to a recruiting boost from belonging to the SEC that will put them on even footing with Texas.
Ohhh-kay.
Aside from the last six games of last year, A&M, with all its facilities and support, has been the biggest underachiever in college football over the last decade. One Top 25 finish in the last 11 years? Granted, hopes are high in 2011, but is it temporary or a harbinger?
The Aggies are 1-9 in bowl games since the Big 12 was formed in 1996, an era in which they own a so-so 66-56 conference record. They are 0-6 in their last six games with SEC teams. No one is hiding the women and children in Tuscaloosa.
The financial windfall better be a good chunk, because it’s being reported A&M could be hit with as much as $30 million in exit fees by the Big 12. As for the recruiting boost, national recruiting analysts told the Dallas Morning News it would be “negligible.” SEC ties might increase A&M’s presence in Louisiana, and allow it to cherry-pick Florida, but would make little difference in their home state.
But Aggies can brag at the office that they’re the ninth best football program in the SEC.
So, what are they running from? A dying conference perhaps, which may be the most sensible reason in this whole scenario. The Big 12, with Barney Fife, er, Dan Beebe as commissioner, still seems vulnerable. If one more member leaves, the Big 12 can fold up shop like it almost did last year. Maybe A&M is just being proactive.
But the biggest reason is they are running from rival Texas and this Longhorn Network. They are moving because they can. For an outstanding university that still has an overblown inferiority complex to everything Burnt Orange, it feels good to take their ball and leave.
The Aggies say the catalyst for the move is this new 20-year, $300-million Longhorn Network that Texas created in partnership with ESPN. The network right now seems like a house of cards, though that could change.
Only one live football game — Rice at Texas — is secured. The rest of the Big 12 has resisted ESPN incentives to play on it to aid UT coffers. The NCAA ruled no high school games can be carried so the Horns can’t spotlight potential recruits.
And right now, no statewide carriers have signed on. One inevitably will, but who’s going to subscribe and watch besides UT fans anyway? In other words, what more advantage will UT gain among the considerable ones the ‘Horns already enjoy? Mack Brown has selected, not recruited, for 13 years in Austin.
Too bad A&M can’t be like Auburn, which will always live in Alabama’s shadow. Auburn just won a national title, went undefeated in 2004 and has had three Heisman Trophy winners. They seem to be doing all right.
A&M has let ego, pride and mob mentality cloud better judgment and kick tradition, rivalries and in-state heritage to the curb. When the giddiness subsides, and a few autumns pass, take heart: There’s always that game with Kentucky with the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl riding on the outcome.
Jon Mark Beilue is a columnist for the Globe-News. He can be reached at jon.beilue@amarillo.com or 806-345-3318. His blog appears on amarillo.com.
Meanwhile, that morning, ESPN College Gameday arrives in College Station to cover the 8th ranked undefeated Texas A&M Aggies against the undefeated 9th ranked Vols.. If the Aggies improve to 6-0 their reward is a trip to Tuscaloosa to face #1 Alabama and a chance to make the College Football Playoffs. Crystal ball must have been cloudy when he wrote that article, the rest of the article is as big of a joke.
