Barry Switzer, OU and the Kickoff Classic
Roger D. Pannell LTN1-1/D03 226-6893
invitations to play in the Kickoff Classic? At the end of the '84 season
Barry kept saying that BYU should not be the national champ because of a weak
schedule, but then he declined to play BYU in the '85 Kickoff Classic. In '85
they were the "best" team in the country, the national champ and they promise
to be good again in '86, but still Barry Switzer turned down an invitation to
play Michigan in the '86 Kickoff Classic (Bo also turned down the invite). My
question is why? I don't think the players would decline the invitation.
Does he feel the extra game wouldn't prove anything or is he afraid of what it
might prove?
-- Roger Pannell
ARPA: pannell%dosad...@DECWRL.ARPA, pannell%dosad...@Purdue-Merlin.ARPA
UUCP: {allegra, decvax, ucbvax}!decwrl!rhea!dosadi!pannell
Dennis Doubleday
>I have a question for you Sooner fans. Why does Barry Switzer turn down
>invitations to play in the Kickoff Classic? At the end of the '84 season
>Barry kept saying that BYU should not be the national champ because of a weak
>schedule, but then he declined to play BYU in the '85 Kickoff Classic. In '85
>they were the "best" team in the country, the national champ and they promise
>to be good again in '86, but still Barry Switzer turned down an invitation to
>play Michigan in the '86 Kickoff Classic (Bo also turned down the invite). My
>question is why? I don't think the players would decline the invitation.
>Does he feel the extra game wouldn't prove anything or is he afraid of what it
>might prove?
Why is everyone so anxious to malign Barry Switzer? Why doesn't anyone
question Bo Schembechler's turning down the offer? Oh, well, he's used to
it, I guess. To answer your question, I think he's simply being a realist.
He knows that with a non-conference schedule of UCLA, Minnesota, Miami, and
Texas he's already got his work cut out for him. He knows that if he can
go undefeated against that schedule that he'll probably win another title.
So why take the chance of adding another tough team to his schedule?
He's got everything to lose and only a marginal amount of prestige to gain.
Apparently some other coaches felt the same way, since the matchup worked
its way down the Top 10 to Ohio State - Alabama. By the way, I don't think
Oklahoma was actually asked to play in the '85 Kickoff Classic; Switzer had
said before the '85 Orange Bowl that he would turn down an invitation, but
then his team got beat by Washington to make the point moot anyway.
--
UUCP: seismo!umcp-cs!dday Dennis Doubleday
CSNet: dday@umcp-cs University of Maryland
ARPA: dd...@gymble.umd.edu College Park, MD 20742
Fan of: Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears, OU Sooners (301) 454-6154
l...@ucla-cs.uucp
>In article <8...@decwrl.DEC.COM> pan...@dec-dosadi.UUCP writes:
>>I have a question for you Sooner fans. Why does Barry Switzer turn down
>>invitations to play in the Kickoff Classic?
>
>I guess. To answer your question, I think he's simply being a realist.
>He knows that with a non-conference schedule of UCLA, Minnesota, Miami, and
>Texas he's already got his work cut out for him. He knows that if he can
>go undefeated against that schedule that he'll probably win another title.
>So why take the chance of adding another tough team to his schedule?
As a matter of fact, why take any chances at all?
If Oklahoma drops Miami (say, for Jimmy Johnson's unsportsmanlike
conduct of rubbing it in against Gerry Faust)
and UCLA (for whatever reason, well, make up one)
from the schedule, and puts in traditional powerhouses Notre
Dame and Pittsburgh, they have a SURE 50% chance to
play in the national championship game again
(as you know, Nebraska has the other 50%.)
With a lot of games on TV and a 11-0 record,
no pollster will ever doubt their merits.
In other words, they have a strong
25% chance to win the national title again!
And you all sooner doomers can post on the net again
claiming their championship-calibre schedule:
Nebraska, Oklahoma St., Colorado, Texas,
Minnesota, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and others.
Wow! what more can you ask for?
--
Eddy Lor
...!(ihnp4,ucbvax)!ucla-cs!lor
l...@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
Computer Science Department, UCLA
ron vaughn
> As a matter of fact, why take any chances at all?
>If Oklahoma drops Miami (say, for Jimmy Johnson's unsportsmanlike
>conduct of rubbing it in against Gerry Faust)
>and UCLA (for whatever reason, well, make up one)
>from the schedule, and puts in traditional powerhouses Notre
>Dame and Pittsburgh, they have a SURE 50% chance to
>play in the national championship game again
> Wow! what more can you ask for?
> Eddy Lor
now, now. let's not jump to extremes. oklahoma is smart enough to
know you have to play some big ones if you want a shot at the title.
(let's consider BYU a fluke and hope pollsters learned their lesson)
switzer always said he loved the big games -- nebraska, texas etc. those
are what he lives for.
ron vaughn