Bordow: Texas got robbed of spot in title game

 University of Texas wide receiver Quan Cosby plans to watch the BCS national championship game between Oklahoma and Florida. And get this: He’ll root for the Sooners.

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“I always pull for the Big 12 teams,” Cosby said.

Frankly, if I were Cosby, not only couldn’t I bear to watch the game, but I’d be openly pulling for the Gators to win by 50.

Let’s not mince words here. The Longhorns were jobbed by the Big 12 and the BCS. They should be in Miami, getting ready to face Florida in the national title game.

Instead, a date with Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl awaits them.

It’s a nice consolation prize — Texas hasn’t been here since 1997 — but I wouldn’t blame Bevo if he left a pile of you-know-what on the field Monday night.

This should have been so simple. Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech finished tied for first place in the Big 12 South. Texas beat Oklahoma, 45-35, on Oct. 11 on a neutral field.

(Sorry, Texas Tech, but you were eliminated when you were crushed by Oklahoma, 65-21.)

Therefore, the Longhorns should have gone on to play in the Big 12 title game against Missouri, where a victory would have propelled them into the BCS championship game.

But college football is never that simple, is it? The three-way tiebreaker in the Big 12 left the Longhorns’ fate in the hands of BCS voters and computers. And when the computers ranked Oklahoma No. 1, Texas was sunk.

Should the Longhorns be mad? You bet.

Nobody would blame them if they lashed out at the system and texted Florida quarterback Tim Tebow with tips about Oklahoma’s defense.

But Texas is taking the high road. From coach Mack Brown to the players, there isn’t one angry word heard.

“Once it turned out that way, you can’t think about it, because you can’t control it,” quarterback Colt McCoy said. “You want to question why, but it doesn’t do you any good.”

Brown did his best to try to help the players get over their anger and frustration. He called a team meeting the Sunday the BCS rankings were announced, then held a second meeting the day after the players returned from their break.

His message: The time for crying is over. Let’s focus on the Buckeyes.

“Obviously, we wanted to play for the national championship in Miami, and that didn’t happen,” he said. “We all discussed it. We thought about it and moved forward. The only thing we can do is come out here and try to represent the University of Texas and the Fiesta Bowl. Play a great team and have a lot of fun doing it.

“Anybody who is pouting about this weather, this place and a great bowl and two top-10 teams probably needs to mature a little bit.”

Tell that to Cosby and the other 16 seniors on Texas’ roster. They were freshmen when Vince Young brought home a national title in 2006. They waited for their turn, and it was snatched from them.

“We weren’t really part of that team in any way,” running back Chris Ogbonnaya said. “As seniors, that’s something we strove for. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.”

There’s still an outside chance the Longhorns could claim a piece of the national title.

If they win impressively and Florida squeaks by Oklahoma in ugly fashion, Texas could wind up No. 1 in The Associated Press poll.

Not that it will be cause for celebration in 20 years.

“It’s hard to pick the best team in our country with our current system,” Brown said.

We all agree. The system isn’t infallible. But Texas instead of Oklahoma?

That shouldn’t have been hard.

That shouldn’t have been hard at all.