[1L]

There's no question the Big 12 South was a monster of a division (5 teams ranked in top 25 for a good part of the year -- I think all 5 are in the top 35 of at least some computers), but Cal struggled in only 2 games: a loss to the number one team in the country that they were competitive in, and another game to a 5-6 Oregon team.

t.u. on the other hand wasn't competitive with OU in the least, should have lost to KU, struggled against Mizzou, and was down at halftime to OkSU (big) and A&M. They won both games with great second half performances, but both teams completely collapsed and didn't even put up a fight.

I can't understand how a ten point win on the road against a 6-5 team can cause anyone to drop.

[SevenMinusOne]

There's no question the Big 12 South was a monster of a division (5 teams ranked in top 25 for a good part of the year

Agree with about everything you said in your post but the above statement - I simply think the Big 12 teams were over-ranked from the begining....thus continually helping them in the polls as the season went -

But completely agree - how you win by 10 on the road and drop is crazy (CAL) -

[Paleo Conservative]

but Cal struggled in only 2 games: a loss to the number one team in the country that they were competitive in, and another game to a 5-6 Oregon team.

Did you see the game last night against Southern Miss? They struggled all night to break away. Southern Miss was just one extra point away from tieing the game with just over five minutes left.