OU and Texas appear destined for the SEC. Texas A&M apparently wasn’t involved in the discussions.

Happy Friday, friends and fans!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you likely have heard all about how the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns are currently at the forefront of the college sports world. On Wednesday, it was revealed that both programs have been in talks with the SEC for quite some time, and apparently those talks involve leaving the Big 12 for greener pastures in the near future.

It’s honestly pretty hilarious how Texas A&M Aggies was left out of these discussions that reportedly began more than six months ago. For all the chest-thumping, S-E-C-chanting and coattail-riding they do on an annual basis, apparently their input wasn’t deemed valuable nor necessary for the rest of the league to consider while deliberating on such a seismic decision. Sorry not sorry, Jimbo.

On Thursday, it was reported by CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd and others that athletic directors and university presidents across the Big 12 Conference were scheduled to meet in the afternoon to discuss this rapidly developing situation. Once the call was underway, it was discovered that administrative representatives for both OU and Texas were not present. How telling is that bit of news? At this stage, I’d say quite.

Obviously there will be a lot more to come from this story in the coming hours, days and weeks. The possible ramifications on a move this major are virtually boundless. From the sound of things, folks at Oklahoma are fed up and have been fed up with the way things are going in the Big 12 for quite some time, and they can see the potential merits of joining the deep and powerful SEC. Time will tell all, so for now, we wait.

Now onto this week’s Friday edition of Hot Links! Watch list season continues, Ronnie P. signs the dotted line, game forfeitures are on the table in the NFL this season and more!

OU Links

• Amid all the commotion between Oklahoma, Texas and the SEC on Wednesday, Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel analyzed what could become the biggest conference shift in the history of college football. So far, there doesn’t appear to be much resistance in the way if all parties involved are truly on board, especially considering the amount of money that can be made for everyone in the long run.

• In case you missed it, C&C Machine’s own Allen Kenney wrote about many of the potential implications that could come with OU making a move to the Southeastern Conference, including the possible pitfalls.
• On Thursday, sophomore WR Marvin Mims and Arkansas transfer Mike Woods were each named to the 2021 Biletnikoff Award Watch List.

• In related news, redshirt junior RB Kennedy Brooks and Tennessee transfer Eric Gray were each recently named to the 2021 Doak Walker Award Watch List.

• On Wednesday, redshirt senior H-back Jeremiah Hall was announced as a nominee for the AFCA Good Works Team.

• Earlier this week, former OU DE Ronnie Perkins officially put pen to paper with the New England Patriots. After being selected in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the talented defensive end has now signed a four-year rookie contract with the Pats.

Around the Sports World

• Cleveland’s pro baseball team has officially changed its name from the ‘Indians’ to the Cleveland Guardians. Well done, y’all.

• I can already envision some salty fans after their team takes an official loss this season all because their favorite NFL team couldn’t reschedule a game after a COVID-19 outbreak. This could cause quite the shake up indeed.

• In other COVID-related news, Washington State Cougars head coach Nick Rolovich has elected to not receive the vaccination and as a result is attending Pac-12 Media Days remotely.
• The San Francisco 49ers have signed LB Fred Warner to five-year, $95 million contract extension, officially making him the highest paid linebacker in the league.
• After eight seasons in the league, Pittsburgh Steelers LB Vince Williams announced his retirement from playing pro football on Wednesday.
• The Iowa Hawkeyes are naming the team’s football field after former All-American Duke Slater, who later became one of the first African Americans to play in the NFL.

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ESPN’s role, possible leverage plays, the downsides and more.

Believe it when the ink is on the contract.

If you took anything away from the conference realignment hijinks of the early 2010s, that should be it. It certainly applies to Wednesday’s earth-shaking report from Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle that Oklahoma and Texas have been talking with the SEC about defecting from the Big 12 ($).

With that in mind:

1. The number of other well-connected reporters like Stadium’s Brett McMurphy who are backing Zwerneman’s reporting indicate the idea has serious traction; and
2. Don’t take that as a prediction this will happen.

So who’s up for some scattershot reactions?

Cue the music…

I didn’t have any inside information when I wrote last month about the fault lines developing around the Big 12. Frankly, it didn’t take a genius to suss out OU’s dissatisfaction with its conference situation. I couldn’t have imagined we’d be talking about this just a few weeks later, though.

Many Sooner fans are surely rejoicing at the prospect of OU taking off for the SEC. I’m not really one of them. The Big 12 may fall short in the demographics department, but the league has had a place in the vanguard of the sport thanks to its innovative coaches and the desire of its members to play quality football. The Sooners had a big hand in building that along with decades-old partners; bouncing for another conference would feel like squatting in someone else’s house.

OU isn’t Texas A&M of 10 years ago. It doesn’t need to draft off the SEC brand to thrive. And seeing as I won’t get a dime from this potential move, I don’t give a damn about how much money it would generate for OU’s program.

On the other hand…

I get it.

There are the benefits of adding the SEC allure to OU’s brand on the recruiting trail. Moreover, there is the money – I may not receive any of it, but I realize it takes lots of it to compete at the highest levels of the sport. Then there’s the opportunity to beef up the home schedule, which seems to be the source of most complaining I hear from dedicated fans.

Most importantly, though, you can’t deny that the structural changes that have taken place over time in college football. It has become a national product, and the Big 12 is a distinctly regional conference. That disconnect makes life hard for a program intent on competing for national titles.

Check with the boss

Max Gersh / The Commercial Appeal via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Hopefully you gave up long ago on the illusion that anyone besides ESPN runs college football. If the Worldwide Leader wants this, it will probably happen.

And how could Mickey not want this? Taking OU and Texas out of the Big 12 strikes a serious blow to the competition, as FOX relies on Big 12 matchups featuring those two marquee brands to provide some of its most marketable programming every season. Meanwhile, the network would add two fan-crazy programs exclusively to its already lucrative SEC inventory. It would create the closest thing we’ll get to pro football on Saturdays.

In summary, look for ESPN to work hard make this a reality – and throw mountains of cash at the SEC in the process.

Who’s the rat?

An intriguing question: Why did this story leak?

The most likely answer: A&M wanted to throw a wrench in the plans.

An A&M beat reporter broke the news. A&M athletic director Ross Bjork just so happened to be at SEC Media Days on Wednesday. The story dropped right as head coach Jimbo Fisher was taking the podium for his opening statement.

All kinds of coincidental.

Bjork made it abundantly clear the Aggies want to keep OU and Texas out of the club. Leaking the story sets the stage for the political wrangling that helped spike the formation of the Pac-16 back in the day. At the very least, A&M brass can tell boosters they tried.

I’m all ears for a better explanation.

Alternative worlds

Getting back to the stuff about ink on contracts…

Making eyes at the SEC could theoretically open up other avenues for the Sooners and Longhorns. For example, perhaps FOX would throw more money at the Big 12 to keep the two heavyweights in place? Good idea, but it wouldn’t solve the larger structural issues with the league.

Try to pick off teams from the Pac-12? For all the unrest out west, few Pac-12 programs could add the needed heft to the Big 12.

The biggest variable is in Chicago, though. If the Big Ten decided to get involved, OU would have to listen at minimum. But bear in mind that UT’s contract with ESPN could preclude Texas from moving to the FOX-affiliated B1G. (N.B., I’m not a lawyer.) In that case, the Sooners may not like the prospect of Horns in the SEC without them.

Most likely, however, this is exactly what it seems. The smart money says we’ll see OU and Texas in the SEC in a few years, but wait until the ink is dry.