2008 Big 12 Conference South Division 3-way tie controversy
Encyclopedia
The final standings of the 2008 Big 12 Conference
's South Division football regular season resulted in the first 3-way division tie in the Big 12. The decision of which team would be selected to represent the division in the 2008 Big 12 Championship Game
was controversial. Ultimately, the Oklahoma Sooners
were chosen by polls, not on the field results, over the Texas Longhorns and Texas Tech Red Raiders
.
The game against the 2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team
marked the 103rd meeting of the Red River Shootout, which has been called one of the greatest sports rivalries. It is the second longest running rivalry for the Longhorns, behind the one with Texas A&M. Since 1929 the game has been held at the Cotton Bowl
in Dallas, Texas
typically in mid-October with the State Fair of Texas
occurring adjacent to the stadium. Prior to 2007, Texas led the series 57–39–5, including the two consecutive wins. The 2006 match-up was a 28–10 Longhorn victory.
In the week prior to facing the Oklahoma Sooners
, Longhorn fans conduct their traditional Torchlight Parade and Rally. The rally first took place in 1916 prior to a game versus Texas A&M, but since 1986 it has been an annual event held exclusively during the week prior to the Texas–OU game. Another annual tradition is the running of game balls by the schools' Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs. Each school's ROTC program uses a relay running system to run one game ball all the way from their respective campus to Dallas. Once there, they participate against each other in a football scrimmage, with the winner taking home a rivalry trophy and bragging rights.
Texas won this 103rd meeting of the Red River Shootout
, 45–35. It was the highest scoring event in the history of rivalry, and it was seen by the most fans ever to attend the Red River Shootout - a record 92,182.
began in 1928 and the Longhorns' record through 2007 was 43–14–0. In the 2006 contest, #5 ranked Texas barely came away with a 35–31 win over an unranked Texas Tech team. In the 2007 game #14 Texas won 59–43. During his post-game press conference, Texas Tech's Mike Leach used most of his time to rail against the officiating crew for incompetence and bias. He speculated that the officials may have favored Texas because the head official lives in Austin, because they are incompetent, or possibly because the conference wants Texas to appear in a BCS bowl because of the increased appearance fees that such a bowl generates for the conference. Jim Vertuno of the Associated Press wrote "Leach was upset officials disallowed two Tech touchdowns in the third quarter. The first was overruled when video replay clearly showed the receiver let the ball hit the ground. On the next play, a touchdown pass was negated by a holding penalty. Leach also wanted, but didn't get, a flag for roughing the quarterback." The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
reported, "Big 12 policy prohibits coaches from commenting publicly about game officials, so Leach’s actions leave him open to reprimand, fine or worse." ESPN reported, "Leach's rant will likely draw a fine from the league and possibly a suspension." The Big12 fined Leach $10,000, the largest fine in conference history.
The morning of the game, Las Vegas casinos favored Texas by 3½ points. The weather forecast called for a temperature of 72 °F (22.2 °C) and clear skies at kick-off. Students camped for a week to secure seating, and ESPN's College GameDay broadcast from Lubbock, Texas
for the first time in the program's history.
Texas Tech won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball. The Longhorns forced a stop and the ensuing punt rolled inside the Texas 2-yard line. Offensive coordinator Greg Davis opted to line up in the I formation, an unusual formation for a team having trouble establishing a strong running game. The Texas running back was stopped in the end-zone for a two-point safety. Tech led the Horns for most of the game, by as much as nineteen points. Texas rallied to take a one-point lead with less than 1½ minutes remaining in the game. On the Red Raiders drive, a Texas defensive back missed an interception that would have sealed a Texas victory, letting the ball slide through his hands. In the final minute, down 33–32 with one timeout remaining, Texas Tech Heisman Trophy Candidate QB Graham Harrell
engineered a drive down the field by throwing for first downs which repeatedly stopped the clock in order to move the chains, and almost threw an interception that fell through the hands of Texas defensive back
Blake Gideon that almost certainly would have ended the comeback attempt. Harrell's final play was a pass to Heisman Trophy Candidate wide receiver Michael Crabtree
who caught the ball near the sideline and somehow miraculously broke away from two Longhorn defenders to scamper in for the winning score with a second left to play. The extra point game them a 39–33 lead with one second remaining. The Tech fans had rushed the field after the touchdown, and again after the extra point. Tech was penalized accordingly and had to kick off from the 7½-yard line. Texas took the squib kick and lateraled twice in an attempt to score on the kickoff, but Tech caught one of the laterals to end the game. Subsequent to the loss, Texas fell from #1 to #4 in the BCS Poll, and Texas Tech rose to #2, behind Alabama
.
in 2006
. The only road game Tech had won in the series was during the inaugural season of the Big 12
in 1996. Under head coach Bob Stoops
, the Sooners had lost only two games at home. The Sooners are 7-point favorites.
The Red Raiders opened the game with a kickoff return to their 32-yard line. The Sooners forced a punt, and fielded their offense at their 27. The Sooners scored a touchdown with 8:59 left in the first. DeMarco Murray
contributed 48 rushing yards in the drive. Tech returned the ensuing kickoff to their 22, and a Sooner personal foul after the return gave the Red Raiders 15 yards. Texas Tech lost 10 of those yards due to a delay of game and a false start. Starting at their 27, the Red Raiders were stopped at the Oklahoma 48, where they punted again. The Sooners got the ball on their 20. On the second play of the drive, Oklahoma was punished again with a 15-yard penalty. After three failed attempts to pass the ball for a first down, the Sooners elected to make their first punt. On the next Tech possession, Graham Harrell was sacked on two consecutive plays, once by Adrian Taylor and the other by Gerald McCoy. Coming into the game, the Red Raiders ranked second in the nation in sacks allowed, with only 5. The Sooners ended the first quarter with a 42-yard reception by tight end Jermaine Gresham and two rushes by Chris Brown for a combined 12 yards.
Once the second quarter commenced, both Brown and Gresham moved the ball for a touchdown on three different plays. Tech started their next drive at their own 38 and advanced the ball through the air to eventually get to the Oklahoma 15. Two incompletions caused the Red Raiders to face a 4th-and-3. Tech decided to go for it. Woods was unable to catch a pass by Harrell to convert and Tech turned the ball over on downs. Murray rushed the ball for 23 yards on Oklahoma's first play of the drive. Murray followed with a 31-yard reception, which put the ball on the Tech 30. After two rushes by Brown, Gresham scored a touchdown on a 19-yard catch, and the subsequent extra point extended the Sooners lead to 21–0. Oklahoma's defense forced Tech to four plays on the next drive, with the fourth play being a 4th-and-4, Tech's second 4th down conversion attempt. With 9:31 remaining, Oklahoma completed a 1:44 scoring drive, which was capped by Juaquin Iglesias
' 28-yard scoring reception. On the following possession, the Red Raiders reached the end zone, thanks to Harrell's 25-yard throw to Tramain Swindall. Matt Williams
' extra point brought the score to 28–7. With 6:28 left in the half, Oklahoma began to drain the clock using their running game. The Sooners eventually scored on the 12th play of the drive. Once Tech got the ball, about a minute was left on the clock. On the second play, Harrell threw an interception to Travis Lewis, who returned the ball 47 yards. Tech offensive guard Brandon Carter, who stopped Lewis at the Tech 1, received a personal foul. Murray scored on a 1-yard rush to increase the Sooners' lead to 42–7. Tech got the ball again after the Sooner touchdown with 18 seconds remaining in the game. Harrell threw a shovel pass to Baron Batch, who ran 21 yards to the Tech 28. The half ended with Tech receiving a 16-yard personal foul. The Red Raiders left the field facing their biggest deficit of the season (35 points).
Tech attempted an onside kick to start off the second half, though the Sooners grabbed the ball at the Tech 34. OU ended the drive on a 33-yard field goal. Tech fumbled on their next possession, Oklahoma's Keenan Clayton recovered the fumble and return it 53 yards to the Tech 3. The Sooners added another 7 points to extend their lead to 52–7. Tech cranked up its passing game on its next possession, eventually scoring a touchdown and extra point with 5:39 remaining in the third quarter. On the subsequent drive, the Red Raider defense forced their first sack on Bradford, and also forced the Sooners to punt. The Sooner defense countered in the next drive by forcing a three-and-out. The Sooner offense then added another score on a 66-yard reception by Manuel Johnson. The Tech defense blocked the extra point, and the score remained at 58–14.
In the fourth quarter, Tech failed to convert another fourth down, producing another turnover. Oklahoma scored immediately afterwards, improving their lead to 65–14. On the next possession, Tech was able to make three pass completions of at least 12 yards, though on the final play of the drive, Harrell lost the ball to the Sooners on a sack. With 10:50 left in the game, the Sooners started to run out the clock. The Red Raiders stopped them from scoring on a 4th down from the 1. Tech got the ball back with 4:48 on the clock. After a few plays, Tech faced another 4th down, and this time was able to convert it with a 13-yard throw to Crabtree. Tech later score their third touchdown with 11 seconds left, and Williams tacked on the extra point to change the score to 65–21. Tech attempted an onside kick and recovered the ball. The final play was a short-yard catch by Woods.
Since the Sooners won, Tech, Texas, and OU all tied for first in the division at 6–1. If all three teams win their regular season finales to tie again at 7–1, the highest ranked team in the BCS standings will earn a spot in the Big 12 Championship game. Sports columnists have also stated that the quarterback of the winning team would be the front runner for the Heisman Trophy.
which made breaking the three-way tie impossible using head-to-head games. Because the first four tie-breakers did not dictate a winner, Big 12 rules dictate that the fifth tie-breaker is the team with the highest BCS Ranking
, based on the standings released on November 30 of that year, would represent the South Division. This rule meant that coaches, journalists, and computer rankings effectively determined the Big 12 South division representative, because they are the major components of the BCS ranking formula. Texas Tech, Texas, and Oklahoma were all presented Big 12 South Champion trophies from the Big 12. During the final week of the Big 12 regular season, Oklahoma defeated a tough Oklahoma State and Texas defeated a much softer Texas A&M delivering a sufficiently higher computer rating to Oklahoma.
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
's South Division football regular season resulted in the first 3-way division tie in the Big 12. The decision of which team would be selected to represent the division in the 2008 Big 12 Championship Game
2008 Big 12 Championship Game
The 2008 Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship Game was held on December 6, 2008 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, and pitted two of the divisional winners from the Big 12 Conference: the Missouri Tigers, winner of the North division against the Oklahoma Sooners, co-champion of the South...
was controversial. Ultimately, the Oklahoma Sooners
2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team
The 2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football season of 2008-2009. It was the 114th year of season play for the Sooners. The team was led by head coach Bob Stoops, a two-time Walter Camp Coach of the Year award winner, who has a contract...
were chosen by polls, not on the field results, over the Texas Longhorns and Texas Tech Red Raiders
2008 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team
The 2008 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University in the college football season of 2008/09. The team was coached by Mike Leach. The Red Raiders played their home games at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. The football team competed in the Division I Football Bowl...
.
Texas-Oklahoma
2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team
The 2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football season of 2008-2009. It was the 114th year of season play for the Sooners. The team was led by head coach Bob Stoops, a two-time Walter Camp Coach of the Year award winner, who has a contract...
marked the 103rd meeting of the Red River Shootout, which has been called one of the greatest sports rivalries. It is the second longest running rivalry for the Longhorns, behind the one with Texas A&M. Since 1929 the game has been held at the Cotton Bowl
Cotton Bowl (stadium)
The Cotton Bowl is a stadium which opened in 1929 and became known as "The House That Doak Built" due to the immense crowds that former SMU running back Doak Walker drew to the stadium during his college career in the late 1940s. Originally known as Fair Park Stadium, it is located in Fair Park,...
in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
typically in mid-October with the State Fair of Texas
State Fair of Texas
The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas, Texas . The fair season usually begins the last Friday in September and ends 24 days later. The fair is held at the historic Fair Park where it has been held since 1886. The 2012 State Fair of Texas will run from September 28th...
occurring adjacent to the stadium. Prior to 2007, Texas led the series 57–39–5, including the two consecutive wins. The 2006 match-up was a 28–10 Longhorn victory.
In the week prior to facing the Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma Sooners
The University of Oklahoma features 19 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to the early participants in the land rushes which initially opened the Oklahoma Indian Territory to non-native settlement. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A,...
, Longhorn fans conduct their traditional Torchlight Parade and Rally. The rally first took place in 1916 prior to a game versus Texas A&M, but since 1986 it has been an annual event held exclusively during the week prior to the Texas–OU game. Another annual tradition is the running of game balls by the schools' Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs. Each school's ROTC program uses a relay running system to run one game ball all the way from their respective campus to Dallas. Once there, they participate against each other in a football scrimmage, with the winner taking home a rivalry trophy and bragging rights.
Texas won this 103rd meeting of the Red River Shootout
2008 Texas vs. Oklahoma football game
The 2008 Oklahoma vs. Texas football game, played October 11, 2008, was the 103rd meeting between the University of Oklahoma and The University of Texas at Austin in a college football game. The annual game between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners is called the Red River Shootout...
, 45–35. It was the highest scoring event in the history of rivalry, and it was seen by the most fans ever to attend the Red River Shootout - a record 92,182.
Texas-Texas Tech
The series with the Texas Tech Red RaidersTexas Tech Red Raiders
The Texas Tech Red Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University . The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders; however, the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raiders" name. The university's athletic program fields teams in 15 varsity sports and 30 club sports...
began in 1928 and the Longhorns' record through 2007 was 43–14–0. In the 2006 contest, #5 ranked Texas barely came away with a 35–31 win over an unranked Texas Tech team. In the 2007 game #14 Texas won 59–43. During his post-game press conference, Texas Tech's Mike Leach used most of his time to rail against the officiating crew for incompetence and bias. He speculated that the officials may have favored Texas because the head official lives in Austin, because they are incompetent, or possibly because the conference wants Texas to appear in a BCS bowl because of the increased appearance fees that such a bowl generates for the conference. Jim Vertuno of the Associated Press wrote "Leach was upset officials disallowed two Tech touchdowns in the third quarter. The first was overruled when video replay clearly showed the receiver let the ball hit the ground. On the next play, a touchdown pass was negated by a holding penalty. Leach also wanted, but didn't get, a flag for roughing the quarterback." The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal is a newspaper based in Lubbock, Texas, U.S. It is owned by the Morris Communications Company.-History:The Lubbock Avalanche was founded in 1900 by John James Dillard and Thad Tubbs. According to Dillard, the name "Avalanche" was chosen due to his desire that the...
reported, "Big 12 policy prohibits coaches from commenting publicly about game officials, so Leach’s actions leave him open to reprimand, fine or worse." ESPN reported, "Leach's rant will likely draw a fine from the league and possibly a suspension." The Big12 fined Leach $10,000, the largest fine in conference history.
The morning of the game, Las Vegas casinos favored Texas by 3½ points. The weather forecast called for a temperature of 72 °F (22.2 °C) and clear skies at kick-off. Students camped for a week to secure seating, and ESPN's College GameDay broadcast from Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
for the first time in the program's history.
Graham Harrell
Graham Harrell is an American football quarterback. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers and is currently on their scout team. He played college football at Texas Tech.-Early years:...
engineered a drive down the field by throwing for first downs which repeatedly stopped the clock in order to move the chains, and almost threw an interception that fell through the hands of Texas defensive back
Defensive back
In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
Blake Gideon that almost certainly would have ended the comeback attempt. Harrell's final play was a pass to Heisman Trophy Candidate wide receiver Michael Crabtree
Michael Crabtree
Michael Alex Crabtree is an American football wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the 49ers with the 10th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football for Texas Tech, where he received recognition as one of the nation's...
who caught the ball near the sideline and somehow miraculously broke away from two Longhorn defenders to scamper in for the winning score with a second left to play. The extra point game them a 39–33 lead with one second remaining. The Tech fans had rushed the field after the touchdown, and again after the extra point. Tech was penalized accordingly and had to kick off from the 7½-yard line. Texas took the squib kick and lateraled twice in an attempt to score on the kickoff, but Tech caught one of the laterals to end the game. Subsequent to the loss, Texas fell from #1 to #4 in the BCS Poll, and Texas Tech rose to #2, behind Alabama
2008 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
The 2008 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 76th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference and its 17th within the SEC Western Division...
.
Oklahoma-Texas Tech
Texas Tech and Oklahoma first played in 1992. Coming into the game, the Sooners led the series 11–4–0 though the Red Raiders had won 2 of the last 3 with the last loss coming in NormanNorman, Oklahoma
Norman is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is located south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, Norman was to have 110,925 full-time residents, making it the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the...
in 2006
2006 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team
The 2006 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University in the college football season of 2006–2007. The team was coached by Mike Leach. The Red Raiders played their home games at Jones SBC Stadium in Lubbock, Texas....
. The only road game Tech had won in the series was during the inaugural season of the Big 12
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
in 1996. Under head coach Bob Stoops
Bob Stoops
Robert Anthony "Bob" Stoops is the head coach of the University of Oklahoma football team. During the 2000 season, Stoops led the Sooners to an Orange Bowl victory and a national championship....
, the Sooners had lost only two games at home. The Sooners are 7-point favorites.
The Red Raiders opened the game with a kickoff return to their 32-yard line. The Sooners forced a punt, and fielded their offense at their 27. The Sooners scored a touchdown with 8:59 left in the first. DeMarco Murray
DeMarco Murray
DeMarco Murray is an American football running back for the Dallas Cowboys who played high school football for Bishop Gorman and college football for the Oklahoma Sooners.-High school career:...
contributed 48 rushing yards in the drive. Tech returned the ensuing kickoff to their 22, and a Sooner personal foul after the return gave the Red Raiders 15 yards. Texas Tech lost 10 of those yards due to a delay of game and a false start. Starting at their 27, the Red Raiders were stopped at the Oklahoma 48, where they punted again. The Sooners got the ball on their 20. On the second play of the drive, Oklahoma was punished again with a 15-yard penalty. After three failed attempts to pass the ball for a first down, the Sooners elected to make their first punt. On the next Tech possession, Graham Harrell was sacked on two consecutive plays, once by Adrian Taylor and the other by Gerald McCoy. Coming into the game, the Red Raiders ranked second in the nation in sacks allowed, with only 5. The Sooners ended the first quarter with a 42-yard reception by tight end Jermaine Gresham and two rushes by Chris Brown for a combined 12 yards.
Once the second quarter commenced, both Brown and Gresham moved the ball for a touchdown on three different plays. Tech started their next drive at their own 38 and advanced the ball through the air to eventually get to the Oklahoma 15. Two incompletions caused the Red Raiders to face a 4th-and-3. Tech decided to go for it. Woods was unable to catch a pass by Harrell to convert and Tech turned the ball over on downs. Murray rushed the ball for 23 yards on Oklahoma's first play of the drive. Murray followed with a 31-yard reception, which put the ball on the Tech 30. After two rushes by Brown, Gresham scored a touchdown on a 19-yard catch, and the subsequent extra point extended the Sooners lead to 21–0. Oklahoma's defense forced Tech to four plays on the next drive, with the fourth play being a 4th-and-4, Tech's second 4th down conversion attempt. With 9:31 remaining, Oklahoma completed a 1:44 scoring drive, which was capped by Juaquin Iglesias
Juaquin Iglesias
Juaquin Iglesias is an American football wide receiver for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Bears in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oklahoma. He is currently on the Texans practice squad.-Early years:Born to Bobby and...
' 28-yard scoring reception. On the following possession, the Red Raiders reached the end zone, thanks to Harrell's 25-yard throw to Tramain Swindall. Matt Williams
Matt Williams (American football)
Matt Williams is a former walk on place kicker for the Texas Tech Red Raiders football team. Williams was offered the position, two others having failed to succeed for the team at that point, after winning a year's worth of free rent in a place kicking contest at one of the Red Raiders...
' extra point brought the score to 28–7. With 6:28 left in the half, Oklahoma began to drain the clock using their running game. The Sooners eventually scored on the 12th play of the drive. Once Tech got the ball, about a minute was left on the clock. On the second play, Harrell threw an interception to Travis Lewis, who returned the ball 47 yards. Tech offensive guard Brandon Carter, who stopped Lewis at the Tech 1, received a personal foul. Murray scored on a 1-yard rush to increase the Sooners' lead to 42–7. Tech got the ball again after the Sooner touchdown with 18 seconds remaining in the game. Harrell threw a shovel pass to Baron Batch, who ran 21 yards to the Tech 28. The half ended with Tech receiving a 16-yard personal foul. The Red Raiders left the field facing their biggest deficit of the season (35 points).
Tech attempted an onside kick to start off the second half, though the Sooners grabbed the ball at the Tech 34. OU ended the drive on a 33-yard field goal. Tech fumbled on their next possession, Oklahoma's Keenan Clayton recovered the fumble and return it 53 yards to the Tech 3. The Sooners added another 7 points to extend their lead to 52–7. Tech cranked up its passing game on its next possession, eventually scoring a touchdown and extra point with 5:39 remaining in the third quarter. On the subsequent drive, the Red Raider defense forced their first sack on Bradford, and also forced the Sooners to punt. The Sooner defense countered in the next drive by forcing a three-and-out. The Sooner offense then added another score on a 66-yard reception by Manuel Johnson. The Tech defense blocked the extra point, and the score remained at 58–14.
In the fourth quarter, Tech failed to convert another fourth down, producing another turnover. Oklahoma scored immediately afterwards, improving their lead to 65–14. On the next possession, Tech was able to make three pass completions of at least 12 yards, though on the final play of the drive, Harrell lost the ball to the Sooners on a sack. With 10:50 left in the game, the Sooners started to run out the clock. The Red Raiders stopped them from scoring on a 4th down from the 1. Tech got the ball back with 4:48 on the clock. After a few plays, Tech faced another 4th down, and this time was able to convert it with a 13-yard throw to Crabtree. Tech later score their third touchdown with 11 seconds left, and Williams tacked on the extra point to change the score to 65–21. Tech attempted an onside kick and recovered the ball. The final play was a short-yard catch by Woods.
Since the Sooners won, Tech, Texas, and OU all tied for first in the division at 6–1. If all three teams win their regular season finales to tie again at 7–1, the highest ranked team in the BCS standings will earn a spot in the Big 12 Championship game. Sports columnists have also stated that the quarterback of the winning team would be the front runner for the Heisman Trophy.
Controversy
Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech all finished the season with identical 7–1 conference records, creating a three-way tie for the South division championship. Under Big 12 tiebreaker rules, ties are normally broken by head-to-head matchups but this case was unique as Texas beat Oklahoma 45–35, Oklahoma beat Texas Tech 65–21, and Texas Tech beat Texas 39–332008 Texas vs. Texas Tech football game
The 2008 Texas vs. Texas Tech football game was a Big 12 Conference game played between the Texas Longhorns and Texas Tech Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas, United States.-Pregame:...
which made breaking the three-way tie impossible using head-to-head games. Because the first four tie-breakers did not dictate a winner, Big 12 rules dictate that the fifth tie-breaker is the team with the highest BCS Ranking
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
, based on the standings released on November 30 of that year, would represent the South Division. This rule meant that coaches, journalists, and computer rankings effectively determined the Big 12 South division representative, because they are the major components of the BCS ranking formula. Texas Tech, Texas, and Oklahoma were all presented Big 12 South Champion trophies from the Big 12. During the final week of the Big 12 regular season, Oklahoma defeated a tough Oklahoma State and Texas defeated a much softer Texas A&M delivering a sufficiently higher computer rating to Oklahoma.