Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda

A few weeks ago, it was Halloween weekend. That weekend, the Texas Longhorns took on the Baylor Bears in a night game. Here in Big 12 country, it was one of the key matchups of the day. As you probably know, this has not been an outstanding season in Austin. But still, even during a down year, one would expect Texas to show up for their games. I didn’t tune into the game until kickoff had already commenced. It took me a minute to realize that yes, the scorebox was accurate, and it was the Bears who were ranked, not the Longhorns. And I couldn’t help but wonder…

Are we living in Bizarro World??

With the Buckeyes coming off a Bye week, it gives Buckeye Nation a minute to sit back and reflect on what is really happening to the football landscape around the country. And I’m not talking about certain NFL QBs sending pictures a la Greg Oden, or NFL WR’s acting like little crybabies and getting traded only to act like an even bigger crybaby and get placed on waivers. Have fun with that one, Jeff Fisher. I’m talking about the current BCS polls. Let’s take a closer look, shall we?

Oregon, fine. Auburn, okay (though their current turmoil may prove to be too much). But… TCU?? Boise State?? Even bigger question marks come into play with #6 Stanford and #21 Nevada. And you can’t help but notice some major absences. Where is Texas? USC? Even the Big Ten’s own Penn State doesn’t make the cut this year. What if we end up with a National Championship Game that features TCU playing Boise St.? Really?? Is that the best anyone can do this year? I’m not sure I would even watch that game. Okay, I would, but the outcome wouldn’t really matter to me. And what fun is watching a game in which you have no vested interest?

All of this leads me to one major point, in my opinion. And I’m sure other fans share this sentiment- it could have been the perfect year for the Buckeyes to head to Glendale. All of the cards were falling in our favor. But alas, we played a part in opening the door to the potential TCU – Boise St. game. We could have beat Wisconsin. We would have beat Wisconsin had we actually shown up for the game. And really, we should have beat Wisconsin. But, as they say, Coulda Woulda Shoulda (See how I did that? Used an actual Sex and the City episode title? Well, in case you didn’t pick up on it, that’s a title from an episode of Sex and the City, on which my column is structured. Now if I could just afford a nice Chanel handbag and a pair of Manolo Blahniks I could be the next Carrie Bradshaw!).