Was the BYU win over OU the greatest win in MWC history?

[MikeWaters]

I'm trying to think of what the greatest wins in MWC history might be.

Utah vs. Pitt -- nobody cared, Pitt sucked.

Utah vs. Alabama -- throwaway BCS game, got Utah/MWC some respect, but it didn't rock the football world. It had to compete with all the other football headlines/bowl games.

BYU vs. OU -- beating the #3 team, knocking out the Heisman winner. Dominated all the headlines. I think there is a strong case, that this was the MWC game, above all others, that most shook the foundations of the football world, in the moment that it occurred.

[SeattleUte]

LOL. Are you trying to drum up business for this moribund site? Set up an idiot test? BYU's win over 0-0 and magazine ranked no. 3 Oklahoma the greatest MWC win ever? Pathetic. This is why the world hates all you BYU fans. Guess what. You've got 12 games yet. It's too early for a court injunction; too early to proclaim this the greatest BYU win ever. Unless you beat a top five team in a big bowl for your 13th straight win in January 2010 this won't even be as big a win as Utah's over Michigan in the Big House. I bet Oklahom loses minimum four games this year. Then how big will this "Cowboys Classic" (barf!) win look?

Alabama was no. 1 for seven weeks and finished no. 6 even after Utah beat it. How long did Oklahoma justify its no. 3 ranking. Should preseeason ranks count?

[MikeWaters]

BYU vs. OU was the number one sports story over the weekend.

You can't say that for any Utah win.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

BYU vs. OU was the number one sports story over the weekend.

You can't say that for any Utah win.

You're a typical American. Short attention span; living in the moment. In any event, you're wrong. Utah's win over Alabama was the biggest story of that week by far. ESPN ran a full page cover story in which Jay Bilas proclaimed Utah the no. 1 team in the nation. Utah's win over Alabama generated a firestorm of controversy. Unless BYU wins out, and Oklahoma turns its season around this will have been a one week story.

[MikeWaters]

Firestorm?

There was no heat, no light, and no smoke. But besides that, it was quite a fire!

I will grant you that the Utah vs. Bama game is part of what makes the BYU vs. OU game the greatest. It provided the context, and thereby increased the media value.

This BYU game has altered the landscape for the entire season. It has likely prevented Bradford from repeating as Heisman winner. It has put the relative value of the UT vs. OU game in doubt. It has utterly changed the landscape.

Thus the greatest win, on the greatest stage....EVER....For the MWC.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Firestorm?

There was no heat, no light, and no smoke. But besides that, it was quite a fire!

I will grant you that the Utah vs. Bama game is part of what makes the BYU vs. OU game the greatest. It provided the context, and thereby increased the media value.

This BYU game has altered the landscape for the entire season. It has likely prevented Bradford from repeating as Heisman winner. It has put the relative value of the UT vs. OU game in doubt. It has utterly changed the landscape.

Thus the greatest win, on the greatest stage....EVER....For the MWC.

You have a very warped perception of the meaning of achievement. This game will be next to meaningless unless BYU goes to a BCS bowl. The biggest wins ever are the ones that came in BCS bowls and put an MWC team in the top 2 and top 5 in the nation, at season's end, with a legitimate claim to the national title (including, in 2009, a no. 1 ranking in a majority of computer polls, including the BCS computer). I suggest that we defer this discussion until January 4, 010. By the way, we've had this discussion on another board and all the BYU fans ultimately agreed with me. College football success is about undefeated seasons and bowl championsips, not flashes in the pan.

[SeattleUte]

Waters, remember after last year's BYU-UCLA win, that MWC mountain you used as your avatar?

[MikeWaters]

I didn't say BYU has had the greatest season.

I said this is possibly the greatest game.

There was nothing at stake in the Utah vs. Bama game. Bragging rights. What was Bama playing for?

BYU was David with a sling and stone, and literally rocked the college football world. OU had great players forego millions of dollars in the NFL, to return for a national championship, only to fall to BYU. Sorry, much more at stake in this game, and that's why it dominated the headlines. That's why the ESPN lead today on the AP poll is that BYU jumps to #9.

[MikeWaters]

I will say that this game is not nearly as important as the BSU vs. OU game.

In my mind, that was one of the greatest games ever in college football.

1) It was one of the most stunningly entertaining games I have seen
2) It created huge buzz and conversation in the sports world
3) It provided impetus for non-BCS that frankly the Utah vs. Pitt game did not
4) Yes, I will agree that OU in that game was not the matchup that Bama was for Utah. But that game was not nearly as entertaining, nor was it all that shocking that Utah won.
5) Yes, less was at stake in this game, in terms of changing the landscape of a season. But because of the buzz and the entertainment, this BSU win surpasses the BYU vs. OU win. And again, the BSU win is part of the context of the BYU win. It adds to the storyline.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I will say that this game is not nearly as important as the BSU vs. OU game.

In my mind, that was one of the greatest games ever in college football.

1) It was one of the most stunningly entertaining games I have seen
2) It created huge buzz and conversation in the sports world
3) It provided impetus for non-BCS that frankly the Utah vs. Pitt game did not
4) Yes, I will agree that OU in that game was not the matchup that Bama was for Utah. But that game was not nearly as entertaining, nor was it all that shocking that Utah won.
5) Yes, less was at stake in this game, in terms of changing the landscape of a season. But because of the buzz and the entertainment, this BSU win surpasses the BYU vs. OU win. And again, the BSU win is part of the context of the BYU win. It adds to the storyline.

Fascinating argument and contexts.

It turns on the definition of "important" and how the remainder of the season plays out.

Just as the Detmer Miami win was important to the program at the time, but was tarnished with the loss to Oregon and the blowout losses to Hawaii and aTm.

It is analogous to the 1984 win over Pitt which came in with a lot of hype only to suffer a dismal season. But you make an excellent point in that the OU/UT game importance has diminished and the Heisman race is altered signficantly.

OU can't tank, and BYU can't tank for the continued importance of the game to survive and thrive.