Brandon-72

The AP and Coaches have voted and the outcome is 'Bama #2 by "a hair" in their rankings. AP's rankings will not effect the BSC standings. The Coaches rankings will. It is now is up to the Harris Poll voters and the BCS computers...which come out at 8:15 PM Eastern / 7:15 PM Central tonight.

According to Jerry Palm, Bracketeer and CSB College Football "Expert":

"The media (in general, not everyone) seems to be throwing its weight behind the notion of moving Oklahoma State up to No. 2 and giving the Cowboys a shot at LSU instead of having a rematch Alabama."

According to Brett McMurphy, CBS College Football "Expert" and "McMurphy's Law" author:

"With Oklahoma State’s dominating victory against Oklahoma, earning the Cowboys their first Big 12 championship, I moved OSU up to No. 2 on my final regular season Associated Press ballot."

These gentlemen might be able to influence some of their media comrads to agree - particularly the Harris Poll voters.

As an avid OU fan, losing to OK State was tough, but so was their team. It is my opinion that Oklahoma State's "body of work" on the field edges out 'Bama's. Some will disagree, but many more will agree that OKlahoma St has more impressive win record, i.e. their "resume", versus 'Bama.

Now - about the Iowa State loss that some are arguing about:

Iowa State came on rather strong early on in the season, defeating the in-state rivals, iowa and Northern Iowa - which means nothing to anyone but the Cyclones. They played 7 ranked teams, beating two of them - # 2 Ok State and #20 Texas Tech...losing to #17 Texas, # 25 Baylor, Unrakned Missouri, #17 Texas A&M, #9 OU and #11 Kansas State - all Big 12 teams. It's tough in the Big 12. Period. Iowa State is not quite as bad as some may think, but they are not stellar either - they are upset minded, "spoliers" if you know what I mean.

Having said that, I offer the following:

While no one gets a "free pass" in sports, be it football, baseball, basketball, etcetera - there is a place for consideration in Oklahoma State's case: mitagating circumstances - a legal term in courts, but also used in academia (schools). It is NOT a common practice or even is there an expectation or requirement that it will be used to argue in any case. However, some of the exceptions are noted as: Illness, Family emergency, bereavement, etcetera. The thing about mitigating circumstances is that it is about reason and emotion - human feelings and thoughts. People might apply it subconsciously. Some of the voters may pick OSU over 'Bama using this consideration. Then again, maybe they won't. We'll see...

We will all find out tonight at 8:15 PM Eastern time / 7:15 Central time.

Good luck to all.