MoMan wrote:I don't have the strength of schedule stats handy, but I do remember that Mizzou played three BCS bowl teams that year and defeated two of them. Kansas State played two BCS bowl teams this year and lost to both.
So, does that mean you are legitimizing KU as a BCS-worthy team, or will you admit that the "how many BCS teams you played" stat is misleading? Illinois finished #30 in the Sagarin rankings that year, however Kansas did finish #2. You were 2-4 against "BCS" teams. So, yes, 3 teams, but 4 games. You were 3-2 against Sagarin Top 25. As things stand now, KSU is 4-2 vs. Sagarin Top 25 with a chance to be 5-2. So, yeah, BCS teams and such. The "BCS" label is certainly an honor, but this year more than any other, the BCS has proven it is only a label. The Cotton Bowl can be a great matchup, and this year it is certainly better than two of the BCS games, but that Arkansas/MU matchup was just ugly.
MoMan wrote:And what on earth makes you claim that Arkansas (which defeated eventual national champion LSU in Baton Rouge in 2007) was a top 25 team by reputation alone that year, and that they had "zero interest" in playing in one of the most prestiigous non-BCS bowls? That makes absolutely no sense at all.
Arkansas was 1-4 vs. Sagarin Top 25 opponents that year. As for interest, they had no head coach and McFadden and Jones were both already focused on the NFL draft. I spent a lot of time working in Arkansas that Fall and Winter, and I listened to sports radio during commutes, so that's what made me think that people were not excited about the Cotton Bowl... actual people in Arkansas. They were already talking about next season and who their coach would be (Petrino was hired in the middle there but didn't coach the game) from late November through the bowl game with very little of the conversation, if any, focused on MU. There were so many distractions for the players, it was rumored that some of the NFL talent essentially did not play 100% in the bowl game for fear of injury. Arkansas was #25 in the Sagarin, so they were on the border legitimately, but they were in total disarray by the bowl game.