Matchmaker, matchmaker ...

Bowl season has started and I'm sure we'll be bombarded in the near future with stats about how different conferences do in the bowls. I'd just as soon not see another such stat because they are, for the most part, meaningless in comparing conferences. If you want to know how many wins and losses teams in a given conference had in the bowls, it's a great source of info ... but who really wants to know those facts?

As a student at a Big 12 institution, I'll look at the Big 12 matchups. But, first, I'll rank the Big 12 schools as I see them. OU is #1, having won the Big 12. Texas is #2. Nebraska and A&M are 3a and 3b. Texas Tech and Missouri are 5th and 6th, followed by bowl eligible OSU, KSU and KU.

What are the matchups?

1. Oklahoma v. Boise State
2. Nebraska v. Auburn
3. Texas A&M v. California
4. Texas v. Iowa
5. Missouri v. Oregon State
6. Texas Tech v. Minnesota
7. Oklahoma State v. Alabama
8. Kansas State v. Rutgers
9. Kansas ... snubbed.

I don't have any problem with the OU v. Boise State BCS matchup ... that's what those people decided to do with the Big 12 champ. However, some of the other bowl games are going to be a problem for the Big 12 and part of the problem is that Texas is matched up not with Auburn in the Cotton Bowl or Cal in the Holiday Bowl, but with Iowa in the Alamo Bowl. Iowa is 6-6, 2-6 in conference. Texas would probably only have 1 loss (to Ohio State no less) if Colt McCoy didn't hurt his shoulder against Kansas State. Texas, not Nebraska, should be playing Auburn in Dallas. Iowa does not deserve a game against the Longhorns.

And, why is K-State playing Rutgers? Slide Texas in against Auburn and put Nebraska up against Rutgers. That makes a lot more sense to me. Or, at least put the TTU Red Raiders up against the Scarlet Knights. That's a good matchup.

You may or may not be following me at this point, so I'll summarize. Conference bowl records aren't very meaningful in determining strength of conferences because the matchmaking process is so flawed. OU should beat Boise State, I think, but it seems like a reasonable matchup. Auburn should beat the 'Huskers. A&M v. Cal is equitable on paper. UT should rout the Hawkeyes in San Antonio. Missouri will probably be an underdog against the Beavers. I haven't seen much of Minnesota or Alabama, but the Big 12 should get a win out of those two. Finally, K-State should probably lose to Rutgers. I'll give OU, A&M, TTU and Oklahoma State half a win each and UT a win. I'll also give Missouri some credit with 1/3 of a win. That would make 3 1/3 out of 8. So, 3-5 is reasonable given the matchups. Or, 4-4 would also be reasonable.

What if we rearrange?

1. OU v. Boise State
2. UT v. Auburn
3. A&M v. Cal
4. Nebraska v. Rutgers
5. Missouri v. Oregon State
6. Texas Tech v. Iowa
7. Oklahoma State v. Alabama
8. Kansas State v. Minnesota

I could see any of those games going either way ... the Big 12 might end up 8-0 or they might go 0-8. But, if they go 4-4, or even 6-2, you still have to look at the individual results to see which conference is the best. If they go 6-2 but OU and UT get blown out, that's not a good sign for the conference because the elite teams lost. But, if OU, UT, and A&M beat BSU, Auburn and Cal but the other 5 lost, would that be so bad? Unfortunately, the Big 12 is wasting its most talented team on an underachieving Iowa squad while they are overmatched in more high-profile matchups. Oh well ... so goes college football.