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SI.com college football writer Stewart Mandel shares his commentary, analysis and random tidbits on the latest developments around the country.12/01/2007 09:30:00 PM Champ. Saturday Observations, Part III
Last week, West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, referring to the implications of Saturday’s Pittsburgh game, remarked, “we’re in the semifinals.”
He wasn’t kidding.
As I write this, it’s halftime of the Mountaineers-Panthers game, middle-second quarter of the Oklahoma-Missouri Big 12 title game -- and it feels like I’m watching two Final Four games at once. I’ve got no vested interest, and even I’m a little nervous, especially now that it’s looking like both games are going to provide us with suspense.
Over the last two-and-a-half years, West Virginia has developed a pretty predictable pattern: Either they come out and torch you right off the bat … or they look completely flat. Tonight, it was the latter, with 4-7 Pittsburgh’s defense holding Pat White and Co. largely in check the first 30 minutes. Making matters even more difficult for the Mountaineers, White went out with a thumb injury late in the second quarter.
Credit backup Jarrett Brown for leading West Virginia to its lone touchdown so far shortly thereafter, and in particular the Mountaineers’ defense for holding down the Panthers so far, but certainly most of us were anticipating the margin would be a lot larger than 7-3 at halftime.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma’s defense has done a tremendous job against Chase Daniel and the Missouri offense so far, holding the Tigers to a pair of field goals. Daniel had a nice 19-yard run on a third-and-1 draw play, and it looked like Missouri would jump ahead when it got down to the 1-yard line on second down, but the Sooners’ defense stood tall on two straight plays and maintained a 7-6 lead.
So, as of this writing (at 9:30 p.m. EST), both national-title spots are still very much up for grabs. There must be a whole lot of nervous viewers right now in Columbus, Ohio, and Athens, Ga.posted by Stewart Mandel | View comments |Comments:
Again, voters can't/won't/shouldn't keep GA ahead of LSU. Winning the SEC has to be the difference, not just a winning streak. If both Missouri and WVa lose, the title bout should be LSU-Ohio St.LSU? Come on, they barely slipped by half their games this yr. If anyone has a right to be there (or complain) its Hawaii (if they win tonight). Yes OSU probably doesn't have the team but they won the games they were supposed to. Not many SEC teams can say that.Given how both teams played today, Georgia likely would have beaten either of them. If there were a more reasonable tiebreaker like highest BCS ranking, they would have had the chance. It took chokes by Vandy and Kentucky for Tennessee to even get to the game.Voters need to balance who deserves to be there with who is the best team. LSU might be slightly more deserving but seriously, who do you think would win between the two teams. Georgia should play for the NC if WV and Mizz. both lose.The national nightmare is returning. Missouri and West Virginia need to get their acts together. Keep Ohio State out of the title game!why dont you want OSU in the NC game wolverine? its not our fault scUM did not have the 'hart' to make itGO BUX!!Pat White is not a tough kid. Sure a dislocated finger hurts but it's on his non-passing hand. I think he should be out there leading his team to a comeback...If both teams lose, it should be OSU-Virginia Tech.
Georgia and Kansas both didn't win their conference (or their division, for that matter), so they should not be there.
LSU looked pretty flat today (it's ok to blame Flynn's injury, but still, this team has definitely underachieved this season) so I don't expect them to move up from 7 to 2.
VT, on the other hand, looked good and played a higher ranked team. Yes, LSU beat VT several months ago, but then again Cal absolutely destroyed Tennessee several months, and Cal just lost to Stanford, so how much weight should we really put into performances from September (obviously the fact that a team won or loss should count, I'm just talking about the margin)?
As we stand right now, though, I don't think both teams lose. Missouri is playing better than I expected, and WVU just got a good stop at the goal line and a tremendous runback. 13-7 Pitt with 6 minutes to go.Wasn't Pat White also injured in the South Florida game? Kid seems fragile to me.Dave W. is going to have a heart attack or burst a vessel or something. He needs some Valium, stat.Are the big east officials trying to make sure WVU plays for the national championship. Two very questionable holding calls on Pitt, and one no call holding on WVU would have put this game ahead. It looks very shady.It doesn't matter; Pitt smartly takes the safety to run out the clock, and WVU will be in the Orange Bowl -- and Ohio State will be playing for the National Championship. Over to the Okla-Mizzou game.Title game should be Ohio State-HawaiiI agree MatthewThere's no chance for Hawaii (IF they get by Washington). The hu-mans could try to push them to 2, but the computers never will.Sorry Wolverine 2000, you can't get rid of us so easily, I'm afraid. But do say hi to all our old friends in Orlando. The Buckeyes used to go there a lot, but no longer.
My own two cents about who should be the Buckeyes' opponents? Assuming Oklahoma wins, they will have the same record as Va. Tech, LSU, and USC, PLUS having beaten the #1 team for their most recent win. I think the Sooners would deserve it.OSU should play KANSAS...... Georgia lost 2 games anyways... Kansas has the 2nd best record of the major conferences and should get the opportunity to go.it says here, HA will lose to WA.Man WV...all you had to do was beat Pitt...PITT! And you blew it. Remember all that smack you were talking last week???people shouldn't be jumped in the polls because this is the last week of the season (like michigan was jobbed last year because people didn't want a rematch).
If both teams lose, everyone should just move up. Therefore, it should be OSU and Georgia. And that will only underscore how poor the BCS is.What do you think are the chances of VT hopping UGA and going to the NC?
Georiga and VT are in simmilar situations. They both lost twice, one close and one blowout, and have been playing well lately. VT's blowout was by more, but UGA's close loss was to an inferior team, and their blowout was more recent. Plus VT's offense has been revamped since the Week 2 loss. Coulpe that with the fact that Tech just beat the team that beat them close, BC, and you could make an argument for sending Tech to the Championship. And if they get there freshman sensation Tyrod Taylor could give OSU's D fits, as he is even faster than any of the mobile QB's that have torched OSU recently.Looking at the current BCS standings, I don't see how LSU could jump Va Tech, who just beat a higher ranked opponent in BC than LSU did in Tennessee. Kansas and Georgia should not play for the title, since they didn't play in their conference championship. I have a feeling that we'll be seeing an OSU- Va Tech NC game, and we will be hearing excessive groans from NASCAR country."we will be hearing excessive groans from NASCAR country."
Virginia Tech is NASCAR country; I assure you NASCAR country will be very happy with VT in the NC.
...well, except maybe the wannabes in Florida and Alabama. But the heart of NASCAR country is ACC territory, baby!I dont think VT will get to go because of their conference is considered weak.. just like OSU b4 they are almost labeled lower than the other 2 loss teams... I think they will either vote in LSU or USC... even though it would be nice to see Kansas go.....@hyde,
The problem is that the computers hate Oklahoma (prior to the game they had a worse SOS than OSU, and even beating Mizzou might not raise their SOS over OSU's). There's no real chance for OU to make it.OKLAHOMA DESERVES A SHOT AT THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
If OU secures a win over Mizzou they should jump over Georgia and Kansas, which didn't win a conference championship, and LSU and Va Tech, which did but over lesser opponents than OU.There is no reason LSU shouldn't be in the NC game.
Georgia and Kansas, did even play in their conference championship game, let alone win it. LSU destroyed VT early in the season. Head to Head has to put them ahead. Ohio State v. LSUEveryone should remember that the BCS system, as it is, is all about the rankings. If it were so important to have won your conference championship to play for the NC, then it would have added that requirement. Nobody disputes UGA's high ranking except when it comes qualifying for the NC. That doesn't seem to follow any logical pattern I've ever seen.Ohio State vs. Oklahoma...why not? GA has no chance to make it, and LSU is clearly overrated, along with the SEC for that matter...It's not going to be Georgia or Kansas, people. The BCS learned their lesson about sending teams that didn't win their conference.
I don't have any problem with teams jumping in the polls over other teams that didn't lose. People are allowed to change their minds.The fact of the matter is LSU WON the SEC period! A win is a win weather it's by 1 or 20 points. LSU has played more ranked teams than any and that alone should count for something. It should be LSU-Ohio St in the NC game!WV...i know you're not reading this becausing you're crying and wasted but you just lost to PITT and now you're not going to the NC...that HAS to hurt!!!
Oklahoma fans shut up. You lost to Colorado and one of those Texas teams Vince Young didin't play for. Just be happy you helped a good team make it to the NC tonight and be thankful you will get to play in a BCS bowl.I still don't know if I hate this college football season or love it.
But, I'd love to watch tOSU get whalloped by another SEC team in the NC.Has a team ever been ranked #1 3 separate times during a season... That would happen if LSU won it all?Buckeyes are in with a shot at redemption...bring on the SEC...let's see if they really have the superior speed. You can only rest on your laurels from UF last year for so long. I guarantee the OSU tackles won't be blocking down all game long and ignoring the DEs like they did in the previous Natl Championship. (BTW, if the officials had correctly called the fumble on Illinois' first TD drive, do you think the game may have gone a little differently?)I don't know who the heck deserves to play in the title game. This is the first season I've truly thought we needed a playoff, just because NO TEAM has screamed "WE'RE THE BEST" all year, even my darling Tigers.
I think the conversation has to come down to Va. Tech, LSU, and OU. I can't include USC in this, I just can't. They lost to Stanford, and I'm sorry, that should be enough to disqualify you right there. Same thing about Hawaii. Thinking about them in the title game makes me a little sick.
I'm with people on how long ago LSU beat VT, and had it been a closer game I would be as much on board with that reasoning as an LSU fan can be. That said, LSU killed them in that game. You can't elevate a team over one that beat it by 40+ points.
So for me, it comes down to OU/LSU. I'm admittedly biased, and I think LSU probably played the tougher schedule, but OU has an argument if they hold on to their lead over Mizzou.
This is just a beautiful disaster. Nothing like a little drama to spice up the bowl games.phila dawg,
The question is what the human voters do. Georgia will move to either 2 or 3 in the computer rankings (depends on how much a Missouri loss hurts Kansas). So will the human voters, with an opportunity to recast their ballot however they feel, put Georgia in 2nd, or do they try to force a different team in there?
But here's the fun thing: if Georgia is 2nd in the computers, and the voters split the difference and put Georgia barely behind #2 (so that there's a small difference in the votes) ... Georgia might go anyway.
And since Mizzou is now down by 18 in the 4th quarter, I'm of the suspicion that the discussion is about to get VERY serious.Love the chaos. Why wouldn't Georgia go? If Georgia was going to be out because they didn't go to their league'd title game, why weren't they just ranked behind all of the today's title game participants. Perhaps because no one thought it could happen? LMAOLove the chaos. Why wouldn't Georgia go? If Georgia was going to be out because they didn't go to their league'd title game, why weren't they just ranked behind all of the today's title game participants. Perhaps because no one thought it could happen? LMAOHow about LSU vs. Georgia? Last time I checked, they didn't play this year. Let's settle the SEC champion and National champion in one game.Conference Championships are the choice of the Conference presidents. Conferences w/o championship games or teams who do not play in championship games are not/should not be penalized. In another scenario, one in which the team with the best overall record wins the tiebreak, UGA would have been the SEC East championship and would have, no doubt, beaten LSU tonight. In the Kansas scenario, they should not be penalized for not playing in the Big 12. However, they SHOULD be penalized for not playing a strong schedule. UGA has wins over four ranked opponents (two of those by margins of 20+ points) and they are currently #4. You cannot penalize a team for not playing in a championship game that is not an across-the-board element in each BCS conference. The conference championships are money-makers for the conference and should have no bearing on the BCS.QUESTION: Last year, Jim Tressel refused to vote for the 2nd place team, his opponent, refusing the choice between Florida and Michigan. So what does he do this year? Does he stick by that principle? He will take a lot of heatI really feel sorry for Mizzou and WV, but what the heck. You got to win the big ones.
Who knows who should be in the title game? Arguments could be made for all the two loss teams. Personally I think it is OK and OSU. LSU had too many close calls in addition to the two losses. Maybe the best team, but not the best coach. USC is second choice.Whatever happens, the 2-loss teams that don't go will all have plausible arguments, though some more plausible than others (West Virginia won't have a leg to stand on, and after how obnoxious their fans were all week, I can't say I'm very sympathetic). If this season doesn't provoke a playoff, nothing will.
LSU's punishment for losing their last game of the regular season? A virtual home game for a national championship. Lovely system we have.The most unpredictable year in NCAA football gets more unpredictable??? Wow. LSU has hit the jackpot with Miles and the national championship if OU wins. Life couldn't get much sweeter.
Bear in mind the only two games that LSU lost were in triple overtime. It was 11-0 in regulation play. The SEC is the toughest conference out there. Of the inconsistent teams out there---and they all have been this year--LSU has been steady.
Geaux Tigers!Q: What do the Patriots, the Red Sox, and the Ohio State Buckeyes all have in common?
A: None of them belong in BCS national championship game.Netizen, applying your logic, didn't Oklahoma go in 2003 despite being blasted Kansas State? Maybe they owe one back?How about OSU and KU for the title game? We all realize they are the only 1 loss teams(sorry Hawaii, your 12-0 doesn't matter), and outside of the the buckeye state and Oz, we all realize these aren't the best teams. That way we can stack the other bowl games with the real contenders, and see how they stack up. USC-Georgia for Rose, LSU-? for Sugar and Oklahoma-? for Fiesta. WVU-Vtech for the Orange.I'm going to predict Georgia. That leaves a bowl lineup of:
NC: OSU vs Georgia
Orange: WVU vs VT
Rose: USC vs Illinois
Fiesta: Oklahoma vs Arizona State (if they hold on)
Sugar: LSU vs Hawaii (if they win)
Kansas would be the first alternate if ASU or Hawaii lose tonight.Let the debate begin. This is actually kind of funny to me - Stewart, what did you call this...your "nightmare" scenario?
And, to all you Mizzou fans out there crying about "how could OU be favored over us - boo hoo" ... remember this ... if there's money in it, Vegas and the oddsmakers are pretty darn accurate.
I really hope it's OSU/VT. If LSU leapfrogs that many teams (especially with VT winning today and Tennessee giftwrapping that game), it will be the biggest travesty since ... well, 2003. Let's face it - the BCS sucks. BRING BACK THE OLD BOWLS! (AND THAT'S ONLY BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW THERE WILL NEVER BE A PLAYOFF)KU had too weak of a schedule to jump Georgia, methinks. They didn't beat a single team in Sagarin's Top 30 (rankings from before today's games, obviously). If the 'didn't play for the conference championship' exception isn't invoked, Georgia benefits over Kansas.OKLAHOMA IN THE BCS TITLE GAME. Does anyone think they wouldn't be favored? If not, why not? They beat Missouri TWICE!!. One of their losses was during the injury to their starting QB. Keep him in, and they win that game. OKLAHOMA in the BCS NCS. Who could argue? Georgia didn't win their freakin SEC division!!Georgia won neither their division, nor their conference. The voters are crazy but they're not THAT crazy.one word for all this guys: implosion (mizzou looks like they're gonna lose)...all I've gt to say is good luck BCS for picking an opponent to face a team who hasn't played for the past 2 weeks (I have nothing against OSU but last time I check, we don't get raise at work by lazying all day) and every team has a good argument: V-Tech lost to 2 number2 teams, LSU lost in 2 triple OT, USC won its conference by beating ranked teams, Oklahoma looks like they'll win the big 12...sould be Ohio Stat against Kansas, afterwards Oklahma did go to the BCS title game wih no confrence title in 03LSU vs OHIO St NEW ORLEANS JAN 7th
TILTE GAME ......So far, every argument I have seen indicates Team A should get into the National Championship game because their loss to Team Blah isn't as bad as Team B's loss to Team Bleh. Or, the argument centers around Team C not winning their Conference Championship. Or Team D not even getting to the game.
Only one team can claim a victory in every one of these arguments... Hawaii. Providing they beat Washington, they'll be the ONLY undefeated conference champion in Division I. So, let's review, in order of BCS ranking...
...Missouri... will have lost the Big 12 title game / will have two losses
...West Virginia... has two losses
...Ohio State... ok, only one loss, and they are the Big 10 champs, so that's fine with me
...Georgia... did not win their division / has two losses
...LSU... won SEC, but has two losses
...Virginia Tech... won ACC, but has two losses
...Kansas... did not make it to the Big 12 title game / lost to Missouri, who lost to Oklahoma (twice!)
...USC... won the Pac 10, but has two losses
...Oklahoma... will have won the Big 12, but still will have two losses
All of these teams (except Ohio State, I guess) gave up their right to claim a spot in the National Championship game at some point in the season. If anyone is going to leap up the standings... if anyone is going to win the "but you're not a conference champion argument"... if anyone is going to win the "but you have two losses to crappy teams" discussion...
...it should be Hawaii.This post has been removed by the author.Let's hope its LSU and Ohio State. If OSU bombs, the SEC mouths keep going. If they beat LSU, everyone will finally shut up.
Keep in mind Pitt had no chance against WV and no way USC would beat Duke err Stanford.
Ohio State will put a lot of its starters on NFL teams in then next few years. Strength of schedule is one thing, strength of players is another.Let me first say that I don't think UGA should be in the title game. But I just want everyone to admit that it was hypocritical then for these same poll voters to vote for Nebraska in 2002 and Oklahoma in 2003, and then almost vote for Michigan last year. None of those teams won their conference but Nebraska and Oklahoma both got in anyway, and there were a lot of people last year who said that Michigan got robbed by Florida. I'd like for people to at least admit to the hypocrisy of it.OKLAHOMA IN THE BCS TITLE GAME. Does anyone think they wouldn't be favored? If not, why not? They beat Missouri TWICE!!. One of their losses was during the injury to their starting QB. Keep him in, and they win that game. OKLAHOMA in the BCS NCS. Who could argue? Georgia didn't win their freakin SEC division!!Well Stewart.....
What do you have to say for yourself now???????? Hmmmmmmmm???? Not too long ago you were ever so mean and arrogant after the Buckeyes lost to Illinois to say the "national nightmare" is over. How is it that so called professionals such as yourself can be so presumptuous to think that not only do you know it all but also say such a thing about a group of hardworking student athletes. Yes, I called you down on two counts immediately when this happened: #1. That was an exceptionally nasty thing to say and you and your editor should be lucky to keep your job. #2. You were counting your chickens before they hatched.
Well, you should publicly apologize to to the whole Buckeye football program and sit down and think about if you really are cut out to be a national sportswriter. Not only is The Ohio State University going to be playing in a second straight national championship game but they will go into the game ranked number 1, unless of course collusion and corruption within the voting ranks manipulates the system. And to the rest of the CFB world, even if the Buckeyes lose again you have no right to claim anyother team was more deserving. Your teams had every opportunity to advance to the game and didn't take care of business. You have to win to get into the big show and it isn't about who you want in the big show it is who wins their way into the big show. Win or lose, the Buckeye nation is proud of going to another NC game, especially during a supposed rebuilding year.
Good luck in the bowls and lets hope that SI has the intelligence and guts to get a real sportswriter to cover college football, their reputation is on the line!Can someone tell me why #9 Oklahoma defeating #1 Missouri is not considered an UPSET? It's easy. EVERYONE KNOWS THEY WERE BETTER!!!! Oklahoma in the National Championship!!This post has been removed by the author.To all the people who are Oklahoma fans and say that UGA shouldn't get a shot at the title. What hypocrits you are. You didn't win your conference in 2003 and yet you played for the national title. Were you saying you didn't deserve it back then? I bet not. I however am a dawg fan and I'll admit that I don't think UGA deserves the shot. You guys are hypocrits.I think LSU and Oklahoma should be in the title game if only LSU didn't lose to Kentucky State and Arkansas and if Oklahoma didn't lose to SMU and Colorado St. THAT would have been a great title game.This is why there needs to be either 8 or 12 conferences with a conference champ game, then following, a tournament stlye play (for the con champs) to the NCG. And who says you cant have bowl games. All the conference champs play for the title and then the rest play for bowl games. And then hopefully teams with 6-6 records wont be allowed to play bowl games.Everyone is forgetting how the BCS works.
The computers are 33% of the total. What that means:
USC and Oklahoma will not be in the NC game. They're too far back in the computer rankings. It doesn't matter what logic you apply to the situation as to why they 'deserve' to be in the title game, THEY WILL NOT BE IN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.
LSU is hurt by the fact that they played Tennessee while VT played BC. The computers respect BC more. Since Tech was already head of LSU in the computer rankings, I imagine they'll open the gap a little more.
Kansas is barely ahead of Georgia in the computers (.840 vs .830) and I imagine the Missouri loss will cause them to swap positions. So I'm pretty sure Georgia will be #2 in the computer rankings, and Virginia Tech very well may be #3.
If Georgia is 2 and VT is 3, it's going to depend on how concerted the human voters are. If half the voters put Georgia at 2, they're in the NC game. But let's say the humans put LSU at 2 and Georgia at 3.
LSU would have still probably need to be at least 3 in the computer rankings to get in the NC game. And I don't think they'll leapfrog Kansas or VT, putting them 5TH in the computer rankings. 2+2+5=3rd place. 3+3+2=2nd place.
And that assumes all the voters put LSU in 2nd place. I'm sure there will be plenty that have Georgia in 2. The more I look at it, the more I think it's Georgia.QUESTION: Last year, Jim Tressel refused to vote for the 2nd place team, his opponent, refusing the choice between Florida and Michigan. So what does he do this year? Does he stick by that principle? He will take a lot of heatj david, as an Ohio State alumnus I agree with you that Oklahoma would probably be favored over the Buckeyes in the national championship game.
But keep in mind that the Sooners have lost their TWO most recent appearances in the BCS title game. Why they haven't gotten 1/100th of the heat for losing twice in that game that the Bucks have gotten the last 11 months for losing once is a big mystery.To those who decry the perceived unfairness visited upon Georgia for not deriving the "benefit" of playing in their conference championship game, let me point out to you why that reasoning is bunk. The "privilege" to play in a conference championship game is equal parts risk and reward. If LSU lost, then they would have 3 losses and would unquestionably be out of the title picture. Then, Georgia, who didn't play in the title game, would have a solid case to move up. But LSU didn't lose. They won. Which means they have one more win than Georgia and just as many losses. It ain't that difficult to understand why 11-2 is better than 10-2. At the end of a long regular season, you have to go up against the winner of the other division and win AGAIN, at a neutral site. The notion that Georgia would absolutely have beaten LSU is speculative at best.No way OU gets in. LSU and Va tech would get in before them. Probably LSU. Also, people do not forget OU getting blasted by USC, losing to LSU, Boise St, etc. OU losing in big games is how it usually happens.Nightmares of putting non conference champions in the NC game considered, I can't see how the BCS will punish teams that did not play this week. That would be political suicide for the BCS. Expect OSU vs Georgia.
What I'm now wondering is, assuming Illinois doesn't make the ranking cutoff, who the heck is going to play USC in the Rose Bowl? OSU and GA were the top 2 likely teams. I was really looking forward to a USC vs OSU matchup, and I think most of the country was also. Not because I like OSU, but I would have liked to see USC play the highest ranked team possible. Tonight's results have ruined not only the NC game, but the Rose Bowl as well. (and as an aside, really folks, enough of the irrational fixation with the Stanford game. It's just stupid)This Saturday night West Virginia brought a 'powerhouse' to Mountaineer Field. Maybe they should have brought their football team, instead. Congrats to Coach Wannstedt and the Pitt Panthers! It was a win to remember and a win on which they can continue to build.I think voters are smart enough to consider:
1) consistency of ranking throughout the season
2) strength of schedule
3) analysis of the losses
4) and consider a win a win--even by 1 point.
5) conference titleholders
the national championship is/should be reflective of the aggregate season.
I just have to think it's going to be Ohio and LSUTHIS is why we need an eight team playoff..... For those people who say "Well, it isn't fair to the student players...." So the extra eight games needed for March Madness is okay? The extra games needed for College World Series of Frozen Four, those are okay?? You mean to tell me that the top 8 teams would not like to play for an additional 2 weeks to settle this??? You anti-playoff people want a fairer schedule? Eliminate the idiotic Div II games each team has to play. Rather than wasting blog space griping about which conf is superior, we should be uniting as fans and demanding a play off system. Remember, with the exception of perhaps one or two years, the BCS has "screwed" some team out of the game. Michigan last year, Auburn before that, LSU a few years earlier... I mean the friggin list goes on forever.CHRTH: You're on to something. Imagine the chaos if the human voters overthrow the computers in the BCS. Imagine if the actual best teams meet this year ... USC, LSU, Oklahoma, Ohio State ... D*** we need a playoff. My vote: Oklahoma on any given Saturday. Or Oregon with Dennis Dixon.My guess is that voters are going to try to rank the teams based on the national title game they want, taking into account what the computers are going to say.
Oklahoma definitely deserves more consideration for that game than I suspect they're going to get. This has been probably the most impressive performance by a college team since LSU dismantled VT in September.Illinois almost definitely will be in the top 14 by virtue of Tennessee (ahead of them) and Oregon (behind them, could've leapfrogged with a win) losing. Illinois will be in the Rose Bowl.Youngstown State, Akron, Kent State. Punish the weak schedule and the conference without a championship game. Oklahoma v LSU."This has been probably the most impressive performance by a college team since LSU dismantled VT in September."
Cal whooping Tennessee is a lot more impressive in retrospect.It should be VT vs LSU - no backin' into the title game. Say no to the Buckeyes (we suffered watching them last year) and they won't be playin Akron or Youngstown State - which means they lose and no to GeorgiaI think you have to disregard teams that didnt win their conference (even division) championship. Then you look at the other two-loss teams. Look at their losses from the bottom up: OU lost to Colorado (by 3) and Texas Tech (Bradford out); USC lost to Stanford (last play) and Oregon (pre-Dixon injury); LSU lost to Kentucky (3OT) and Arkansas (3OT); and VT lost to LSU (by 41 points) and BC (last minute Ryan comeback). With all that said... I think LSU has the more "impressive" losses. No one has beat them in regulationAs far as the rankings go. Has anyone pointed out that LSU would have to jump 6 spots top get to #2? Right or wrong it seems like a long way to jump.I don't think Georgia is going to go to the title game but it makes you wonder what value last weeks BCS Standings mean if OSU and Georgia don't go. OSU is obvious, but if OSU didn't play a championship game and can't be passed, why was Georgia right behing them? The fallacy of the human voter will be in full view as they run down "Woods'" scenarios. Basically they verify what we already know. They really have no idea.Anyone who has Virginia Tech over LSU is a freakin' idiot. 48-7. 48 to 7. Virginia Tech sucks compared to LSU! Let's hear something refute 48-7. Do you really want to see a champion who lost 48-7 in one of their games?Jimmy T. is taking his team to the NC game!! Thanks for bringing up his non-vote last year Matthew...Jimmy T is so hot right now he can't be bothered with voting for number 2. Jimmy T can't pick who he will play against because LSU lost to Kentucky State, USC lost to the girls at Stanford, Oklahoma lost to SMU and Houston, you could MAYBE make an argument for Boston College since they have Heisman candidate Matt Ryan or maybe VA Tech but Jimmy T will just sit back with his basketball sized testies and take all comers.Youngstown State, Akron, Kent State. Punish the team with the weak schedule from the conference that doesn't have a championship game.
LSU v Oklahoma.THIS IS WHY WE NEED A PLAYOFF SYSTEM!!!!!!Ok, ASU wins, I expect to see them in the Fiesta Bowl. Kansas is now rooting like heck for Washington.
...although now that I think about it, Kansas might finish top 4, which would guarantee them a slot (it used to, not sure if it still does). Kansas-OU in the Fiesta?I think they will go with the hot team that is Georgia over the team who has struggled and done less with more talent. Georgia over LSU. Ohio State should want LSU as they are not as fast and are more of a power team than Georgia so it would be an easier matchup for them.Why is it that no one remembers that the BCS has been here before with regards to UGA? They put Nebraska into the title game in 2002 despite Nebraska not even playing for their conference title. They did it again the very next year with Oklahoma. Why is it that no one seems to remember this?I seem to remember a team giving up 62 points in the NC game in 1995, then coming back to win it next year. So please, all you people crapping on OSU remember that teams change from year to year and I highly doubt you'll see a repeat of the title game from last year. No matter who the Bucks play.RightTard,
OK SOS was lower than OSU.riffraffdawg:
Slight correction: in 2003, Oklahoma lost its conference championship but still went to the NC.I should remind everyone that Georgia got completely slaughtered in their losses. At least LSU's losses were both triple over time. This is going to be a crazy vote!Disgusting, just when we thought the BCS was going to provide a great title game Pat White gets hurt and Missouri decides not to show up. Having a pathetically boring OSU team play in the title game is terrible. At least we know have a real chance of watching Tim Tebo take apart Michigan. Watching Little Blue lose by thirty is better than watching the Irish get blown out. At least we have something to look forward to.I think money is the winner with the BCS, that is why it is so messed up.
Just remember this fact, in 2001 Nebraska played for the national championship without winning their division.
When money is involved, nothing will be justified with the BCS.
Also, remember when Auburn went undefeated in 2004 and did not get a chance to play for the national championship.
Welcome to the BCSBCS teams are Kansas and OU from Big 12. Sorry Mizz, but BCS does not like teams who lose conference championship games with only OU and Neb as exceptions and they both lost.
WVU from the big east
Georgia and LSU from sec
usc and a st. from pac ten
ohio st and ill from big ten if hawaii loses
va tech from acc
if hawaii wins then no ill.BTW, Stewart has a new post up. Discussion moves over there in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...So what happens if Missouri, West Virginia, AND Hawaii lose the same day?UGA did not get slaughtered by South Carolina. And if you look at all common opponents, then UGA actually performed better than LSU. Common opponents were Ole Miss, Florida, Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee, and South Carolina. Total points, yards, etc. goes to UGA versus those common opponents.So let me understand this.....
The #7 team in the country plays the #14 team and squeaks by by 7 points on an interception return for a touchdown.
The #9 team dominates the #1 team in the country by three touchdowns.
Does the #7 team go to the big game.
I love CHAOS!!!Youngstown State, Akron, Kent State. Punish the weak schedule and the conference without a championship game. Oklahoma v LSU.For all of you "OSU backed into the NC game" posters...can't you accept the fact that what actually happened was that all of your favorite teams "backed out of the NC game" by not taking care of business and controlling their own destiny?
Quit whining and stop putting down other people's favorite football teams and programs because yours floundered...you're being stupid.
As a Buckeye fan, I would have been just as happy and proud of a Rose bowl appearance but your favorite teams were too weak to keep the Buckeyes down.....live with it.ChrTh:
That's even worse. Oklahoma lost its previous game, yet still went to the title game. I'm sorry but that makes even less sense than UGA going this year. At least UGA has been on a winning streak.THE more I watch the OU game, the more I wonder if they do deserve to go. They had the only truly dominate performance of the day.mocephus: you're onto something. At the end of the day, the top 3 teams in the country are LSU, Oklahoma, USC. Pick-em. And some of you others, neither SMU or Houston played Oklahoma. Oklahoma lost to Colorado (4th Qtr meltdown), and Texas Tech (Sam Bradford concussion).
National Championship? USC or LSU against Oklahoma would be amazing.rightexan criticized OSUs schedule...just look at LSU playing Tulane, Middle Tennesse, LA Tech...like that's a stronger schedule? No team with two losses deserves to go...period. That leaves only Kansas or Hawaii.SEC fans - *yawn*
Yes, I know UGA is ranked fourth right now. And yes, I know LSU just won the SEC Championship. But...
I really don't see LSU leapfrogging VT (who won their division today by beating BC again, and who are ranked higher than the Tigers). And, for some mysterious reason voters have a real problem with teams who don't win their conference - so I really thing UGA is out.Knee-jerk logic and poorly applied. Georgia had the same conference records as both LSU and Tennessee (6-2) and didn't make it to the SEC championship because of a head-to-head tiebreaker. If Vandy or Kentucky had nailed a field goal, Georgia would have been in Atlanta. Add to that, LSU has lost twice since Georgia last did. Is there precedent for this? When Georgia beat LSU for the 2005 SEC championship, Auburn (7-1) finished with a better conference record than either LSU (7-2) or Georgia (7-2). Not only that -- they beat Georgia. Yet Georgia was able to get into the SEC championship game because they had the best record in their division, and Auburn lost their head-to-head to LSU. It's been a crazy, crazy year in this sport. If the SEC didn't have a championship game, there would be no tie-breakers and Georgia, Tennesse and LSU would be co-champions. Ideally, a two-loss team shouldn't play in this game, but Georgia is the best two-loss team in the country.I think losing at all to South Carolina is like getting slaughtered.IF and I mean IF the National Championship Game should be between the two BEST teams in college football, then it should be between UGA and Ohio State, though I wish UGA and USC. Conference Championship or not, UGA is playing the BEST football of anyone right now and cannot be denied a chance to play in the best bowl game.Keep hating on the Bucks SEC fans...they admittedly had a weak schedule, but they did did to them what you're supposed to do to weaker opponents - and typically with their second and third stringers in by half. (Oh, what's that? You never watched those games, huh?) OSU beat a "superior" Hurricanes team five years ago, was embarrassed by UF last year...we'll take the opportunity for the National Championship rubber game before we start listening to your crying.Mizzo overratted! Sooners Big 12 Champs again!!! Boomer Sooner!!!Go Dawgs!!!!!Here's something that a lot of people who obviously want a playoff aren't thinking of: wouldn't UGA in the title game actually be good for our chances of finally getting a playoff system?we need a better system than this. Not one of the possible teams deserves to be called champions. They all lost games they shouldn't have. We need a playoff!!!FINAL BCS PREDICTIONS:
1-Ohio State (11-1) Big Ten Champs
2-Oklahoma (11-2) Big 12 Champs
3-LSU (11-2) SEC Champs
4-USC (10-2) Pac-10 Champs
5-Va. Tech (11-2) ACC Champs
6-Georgia (10-2)
7-Kansas (11-1)
8-Missouri (11-2)
9-West Virginia (10-2) Big East Champs
10-Arizona St. (10-2)
Va. Tech, LSU, USC and Oklahoma all deserve to overtake Georgia and Kansas because they won conference championships. But of those 4, Oklahoma deserves the #2 spot.
* Oklahoma defeated the #1 team by 21.
* LSU defeated the #14 team by only 7, but has an early season win over Va. Tech.
* Va. Tech defeated the #11 team by 14.
* USC defeated 5-6 UCLA.This comes from a big Dawg alum and fan...I have no problem with LSU jumping us in the polls and making the NC game. We failed to take care of business earlier this year and wound up having to depend on basketball schools to take care of our dirty work for us. If you don't earn it, you don't deserve it. It would make me a hypocrite of the worst sort to think we deserve a shot ahead of SEC champ LSU, regardless of how hot we are. I am praying for a Rose Bowl bid vs. USC, which would be the best game of the entire bowl season hands down. Ohio St. is no different from last year's fraud that lost to Fla. and LSU is simply banged up and not exactly wowing folks. Of course, if we get in, it would suck to have a "tainted" NC due to the non-conf champ thing, but if the stars align, then go Dawgs. If LSU gets in, I hope they heal up and beat the crap out of sad-sack Slow Ten OSU.OSU vs. Georgia (possibly LSU) in the Championship game.One more time, One more question: who would be favored over Oklahoma in a National Championship game? They just dominated #1! AGAIN! I just want the name of the school. Who would be favored over Oklahoma?If you could pick the two teams playing the best football and create the best NC game it would not include OSU.
Does GA deserve a spot? Probably not. Could they match up with anyone today? Probably so.@riffraffdawg:
The OU in 2003 situation is worse because OU got slaughtered in the National Championship game. A Conference Championship loser will never reach the NC again (and is probably why Michigan didn't get it last year).Can't be Kansas, didn't win its conference. Look what happened when Oklahoma went and didn't win its conference.
Can't be Virginia Tech, lost big to LSU and Boston College.
Can't be Georgia, not only did not win SEC, but didn't even win their division in the SEC.
Can't be USC, not after losing to Stanford.
Certainly not West Virginia and Missouri - who lost to a terrible Pitt team and got smoked by Oklahoma.
That leaves Oklahoma and LSU.
Oklahoma blows a game against Colorado (NR) that they lost on a fluke. The other game they lost was without their quarterback Texas Tech (27).
LSU losses to Kentucky (31) and Arkansas (26). Both in overtime.
In 30 days, when we have he NC game, LSU will be healthy. Its got to be LSU.....
OSU vs. LSU. I don't know if OSU wins, but it won't be last year.
Go Bucks! Bring it on...I'm sorry but I just can't believe all the hypocrits out there that voted for Nebraska in 2002, voted for Oklahoma in 2003, voted for Michigan last year (in a losing effort but they still voted for them) but now it all of a sudden totally unacceptable for a team who didn't win their conference to play for the national title? Hypocrits.netizen and j. david:
Oklahoma is TWELFTH in the computer rankings. They are NOT going up past 6th. There is no scenario in which Oklahoma makes the national championship short of other teams' buses blowing up. Not opinion, fact.Well, here we go again. OSU playing for the national championship and likely to be crushed by whom ever they play. And we will likely costantly hear how having ~2 months between games will affect them. LSU should be in the title game playing a team that does not back their way into the game with a laughable schedule. OSU is the team that voters should manipulate the BCS and prevent from reaching the title game.People keep saying that it "can't be Georgia" but the BCS sure didn't feel that way back in 2002. Nebraska didn't win their division either but they still went the national title game.In College - the playoffs start week #1. This makes every game important. If you had a 8 team playoff - the games today would not of had as much meaning. The games the previous weeks wouldn't have meant as much. I just don't like the idea of backing into the title game.
If you want to clean it up - either all conferences have title games or none. Cuse the more you play - the bigger chance you have to lose.
That said - how about VT vs GAPlease stop pretending Hawaii deserves their shot. If SOS does not matter, it would behoove every team to pull a notre dame and go independent. That way they can schedule the service academies and I-AA teams all year and claim they beat who they were supposed to and demand they play for the BCS championship.So ... last year #2 drops despite not losing because the ESPN/ABC folk pucker up to Urban Meyer's whining ... now a sluggish 21-14 win over a mediocre Tennessee team means you jump from #7 to #2 even though three teams ahead of you did NOT lose? The B(C)S standings are a joke and ESPN/ABC have to stop buying into the SEC hype.So LAU fans claim that VT going to the game before the would be "elevating VT over LSU" but fail entirely to see that (a) LSU is already ranked below VT in the BCS standings and to sen LSU would actually be the "jumping" scenario and (b) that VT lost to LSU in week 2, and their only other loss has been against the team that they stomped in their conference championship game. VT didn't have to squeak out 11th hour wins against inferior opponents. Their two losses are to highly ranked teams, and neither of those losses came as close to the end of the season as LSU's did... UGA didnt win their conference - don't deserve to go, don't care how "hot" they are playing right now. Honestly, I am with all of the people who say that Hawaii should play for it if they win as the only team to make it through the season unscathed. I think if they don't go, the VT should go because it seems to me that of the 2 loss teams, they are the only one to win a conference crown that never was 'upset'So LAU fans claim that VT going to the game before the would be "elevating VT over LSU" but fail entirely to see that (a) LSU is already ranked below VT in the BCS standings and to sen LSU would actually be the "jumping" scenario and (b) that VT lost to LSU in week 2, and their only other loss has been against the team that they stomped in their conference championship game. VT didn't have to squeak out 11th hour wins against inferior opponents. Their two losses are to highly ranked teams, and neither of those losses came as close to the end of the season as LSU's did... UGA didnt win their conference - don't deserve to go, don't care how "hot" they are playing right now. Honestly, I am with all of the people who say that Hawaii should play for it if they win as the only team to make it through the season unscathed. I think if they don't go, the VT should go because it seems to me that of the 2 loss teams, they are the only one to win a conference crown that never was 'upset'Anyone looked at the BCS bylaws. Nowhere does it mention that a team must win its conference to play in the Championship game. Twice in the past non-conference winners have advanced to the title game.I hope that 4 or 5 teams in the human polls all have a good chunk of 1st place votes each.All the announcers are leaning towards OSU vs LSU. Which truly depreciates the value of the rankings based on Georgia's current position. I do think you should win your conference to play in the NC, but Georgia had some weird tie-breaker thing, which is why they didnt play in theirs. It's amazing though, the Buckeyes have been in the NC 3 of the last 6 years. Tressel amd Carroll are the coaches of the decade, even with that loss to FL last year.As a die-hard dawgs fan, I have to say I honestly don't believe we should play in the NC game. I've been reading alot of posts from people who agree with me. If it happens, we'll take it but it won't be the same. LSU deserves to go whomp down on OSU just like UF did last year. I'm in it for the SEC when its all said and done!We all know the pollsters are gonna put Ohio State in the national championship game.
My wish is that their opponent NOT be any of the following:
Oklahoma, West Virginia, Georgia, LSU, Virginia Tech, Kansas, USC, or Florida.
The reason is simple; this was ANOTHER weak year for the Big-10 and ANY of those eight teams would/will mop the floor with OSU.
Since OSU ruined the national title game last year. Since it's a given their gonna be there again this year.
PLEASE for godssake, match them up with somebody they can beat. What about Oregon? (No offense intended toward the Ducks)This post has been removed by the author.Just would like to point out that UGA is Eastern Conference Co-Champions with TN ;-)Yes UGA didn't win their division, wait, isn't it the TOUGHEST division in NCAA? Yes, this year, last year..... They beat last year's champion. They'll beat OSU...Then again, most BCS teams will do that, they better hope for Hawaii!All I have to say is... you have to play the system. And the way the system is set up, UGA should go to the national championship. Let alone the fact that thwy could beat anyone in College football right now (including USC). PERIODtressel is a solid Christian, that's why. he is one to count on and loop up to. he could be the governor or senator if he runs.It's bad enough LSU would be at home for the title game - shouldn't they have to EARN it?
LSU never played UGA, LSU has slipped by way to many teams playing sloppy this year and LSU was lucky to win again today.
An LSU team in the title game would be an absolute joke.I am sick of the SEC saying how great they are. If LSU jumps Georgia after all the voters put Georgia ahead of LSU the system sucks. LSU has looked like trash since they beat Va Tech (and let's not get into a discussion regarding Va Tech's merit). I find it humorous how the media fell in love with LSU before the season started and now they feel the need to defend their decison. All I have to say is after watching the LSU/Tennessee game today I would welcome playing LSU if I were OSU.LSU has lost twice since UGA lost6 Major Conference Winners (Conferences actually mean something)
2 At-Large Teams
= 8 Team Playoff
(If you can't win your conference OR be a Top 2 at-large team, then you're S.O.L.)
*And they'll still have the bowls, because fans still love traveling during the holidays, and people would still love watching a Florida-Illinois matchup
GET WITH IT BIG TEN & PAC 10 COMMISSIONERS, you are the obstacle!Every team has close wins and close losses, it's almost impossible to blow out every team every week. I think the hard decision for everyone is do you put in a team that has been playing good recently, or a team that has had convincing victories over that same opponent (LSU, VT). I think Georgia or Hawaii should play NC game against OSU, b/c of the current rankings, but it won't prolly won't happen that way. Go Buckeyes O-HCBS SPORTSLINE just predicted their pics for all BCS games... and they have the Rose Bowl as snubbing their nose at everyone, not yielding to pressure, and making the game USC vs Illinois, instead of Georgia, kansas, etc... Good for them! Obviously the BCS system doesn't work, so the Rose should just stick to tradition!! Go Rose Bowl.I posted this in part IV but it sounds like y'all need it here as well:
It is absolutely ridiculous, after all that has happened this season with unranked teams beating top 1 and 2; that there is very likely going to be a 2-loss team in the national championship; and that Stanford beat USC and Cal this season ...
that any of us can say for sure who will win any matchup. I mean, seriously. You think you can predict the outcome of the national championship game? Based on what? Momentum? Record? Conference?
If you think so, you haven't been paying attention to this season.Can we get a freakin' 16 team playoffs? That's all I want for Christmas.
While we are at it I might as well add to the list since I'm in such a festive spirit after watching the bcs system collapse today.
1. No voting until mid-October
2. Limit the rankings to computers and the coaches poll.
3. Lean on conference presidents to become uniform.
4. No more warmup games in early sept.
5. Force Notre Dame to join the big 10
6. Play the bowl games on Christmas week and start the playoff on new year's day so that the bowl tradition remains intact.
7. Play the bowls and then let the computers decide the top 16
8. Limit the amount of bowls to the old traditional conference matchups and drop the sponsor names. Do they call the super bowl the tostitos super nacho bowl? Or the world series the pepsi world series? Its amazing that NCAA doesn't allow re boys to play for money but sells out all its tradition. Lame
Wow, my Christmas list was long. Sorry. I guess my favorite sport has a lot of flaws!!!Hey Idiots. Georgia did win their division. They tied with Tennessee, but the Vols went to the SEC Championship game b/c they beat Georgia a long, long time ago. LSU has lost twice since then, to one team Georgia throttled a few weeks back. Didn't LSU need a last second TD pass to beat an Auburn team that Georgia walloped? If a conference championship is a title game requirement, I've missed it in the by-laws. Further, Georgia differs from earlier non-conference winning, BCS-title game partcipants in that Georgia did not lose its last game before the title game. It's been two months since Georgia lost.This post has been removed by the author.Now that BCS No. 1 ranked Missouri and No. 2 ranked West Virginia have been dispatched, 3rd ranked Ohio State should play 4th ranked Georgia in the BCS Championship game - no question. When you lose late in the season like LSU, you pay a price. Until or if there ever is a playoff system in Division I, winning your conference don't mean squat when it comes to BCS ratings. So now don't you agree that the people should demand a playoff system? It's really really stupid that Divsion I doesn't have one.I think OSU can hang with anyone in the BCS. As can LSU, VT, OK, MZ, USC, or GA. I find it funny you people try to predict the NC game a month before it'll happen, and before we know who is playing. On any given Saturday any team can win....hence, Stan over USC, Pitt over WV and Colorado over OK.
Go Bucks!! Tressel is the best coach this decade!Most people seem pretty confident that UGA won't make it because voters will have a "change of opinion" and push someone else ahead of them. And, with all the things that happened today, that very well could happen.
But unless the voters band together this evening and choose a team to work on pushing ahead of Georgia, it's not going to happen. Some voters will push Kansas, some will push LSU, some will push VT, some may be ridiculous and push USC. But it's not as clear-cut as last year, when they could go for Florida or Michigan--they have 4-5 different teams this time. Those votes will likely get split, the computers will have a stronger influence, and Georgia will get in because of that.Putting a GA team in that couldn't even win their own division much less their conference title would be an absolute joke. And as for VA Tech, all I have to say about that is 7-48. It clearly should be Ohio State vs LSU for the national championship.Stu,
as a life long college football fan, this is not fun it is frustrating. I could make an argument for and against a lot of teams. I love the bowls but this is just stupid. Bring on the playoff.Excuse me "Wood" and other Hawaii fans. Are you arguing for the team that is losing 21-0 in the 1st quarter to an unranked team to be in the national championship? If it were the national high school championship, you might have an argument; you just haven't played any top teams."Gary Chou
tressel is a solid Christian, that's why. he is one to count on and loop up to. he could be the governor or senator if he runs."
Dear retard,
Please don't disgrace Buckeye Nation. As an OSU grad I'd appreciate it if you kept you're slack-jawed comments to yourself. Go Bucks! Beat whoever the hell you have to play in this years National Championship!
StefanTo chrth:
As others have noted, the computer rankings are only 1/3 of the formula. The other 2/3 are human polls (media and coaches). Those voters are likely to engineer the game they want just as they did when they moved Florida over an idle Michigan.
Ohio State's one loss was by one score against a Top 15 Illinois team likely headed to the Rose Bowl.
LSU's two losses were in overtime, but to two teams that aren't likely to be in the final Top 25.
Oklahoma's two losses were a) in September and b) without their starting QB, but c) they did manage to destroy the #1 team in an extra (conference championship) game.
I think the human voters prefer Oklahoma over LSU."Gary Chou
tressel is a solid Christian, that's why. he is one to count on and loop up to. he could be the governor or senator if he runs."
Dear retard,
Please don't disgrace Buckeye Nation. As an OSU grad I'd appreciate it if you kept you're slack-jawed comments to yourself. Go Bucks! Beat whoever the hell you have to play in this years National Championship!
StefanLSU is better than Georgia.
Georgia LOST to Tennesee this year, and LSU beat Tennessee, VA Tech, and should definitely play Ohio State for the National Championship.Matt, UGA is better than LSU, because LSU lost to Kentucky and UGA beat Kentucky.I can't believe I'm defending a lame conference co-championship, but here goes:
UT beat us good at Knoxville. OK.
Then:
We finished our SEC schedule ahead of them.
Vandy had to miss a last second field goal and then next week KY had to miss a short OT kick for TN squeak by to represent the SEC East in the SEC title game.
That said, UGA should have beaten Spurrier (!%$#@!) and this would be moot.
LSU is lucky they got UT tonight instead of the Dawgs.I'm not an OSU fan, but they will be #1 with only 1 loss. Doesn't seem fair they don't play in a conference championship.
I would hate to be the team who finished #2. There will be lots of fans who feel their team deserved that right.
OSU vs. a team that everyone will hate except their own fans.Its funny that noone is wanting to even bring up the name Oklahoma. You know why. . cause you cant argue with the facts. . 1.)Ohio State plays the same weak schedule that the Hawaii team keeps getting punished for and they dont have a conference championship. . 2.)Georgia wasnt good enough to even go to the conference championship so why are they good enough to go play in a national championship. . 3.)Kansas wasnt good enough to even go to their conference championship. . 4.)LSU doesnt deserve it becuase they are just a popularity favorite. . they lose to Arkansas last week and didnt drop out of the top 5. . WHY? THATS WHAT I THOUGHT. IM SICK AND TIRED OF KIRK HERBSTREIT TALKIN ALL THIS CRAP ABOUT LSU. THEY ARE THE ONLY TEAM TO NOT DROP OUT OF THE TOP 5 TWO TIMES! WHEN THEY LOST LAST WEEKEND TO ONE OF THE WEAKEST SEC TEAMS. . WHY? PLEASE IF SOMEONE CAN ARGUE THAT THEN ILL GIVE YOU A MILLION DOLLARS B/C THERE ISNT AN ARGUMENT.. AND DONT GIVE ME THIS CRAP ABOUT THE SEC BEING THE TOUGHEST CONFERENCE WHICH MAKES THE LSU DESERVE TO STAY IN THE TOP 5 WHEN THEY LOSE. . WELL IF THE SEC IS SOO STRONG THEN WHY IS LSU BARELY WINNING EVERY WEEK AND EVERY OTHER TEAM HAS ATLEAST 4 LOSSES. THE SEC IS THE MOST INCONSISTENT CONFERENCE SO THAT ARGUMENT WONT CUT IT. 6.)Virginia Tech has also played a nobody schedule that consists of BC AND BC so their conference title doesnt mean as much as Oklahoma's. 7.)USC is ranked to low now to make a move since they played a unranked team and they dont even play a conference championship. . Which brings us to an Oklahoma team that lost just as many games as everyone else, went to a conference chamionship, won the conference championship. . OH AND BEAT THE TOP RANKED TEAM THE LAST WEEK which was a bigger win by more points than anyone else above. . The only reason OU is ranked lower than LSU is because they get preferential treatment that is unfair to everyone else and this is also the reason that Ohio State is so high. Therefore OU HAS NO REASON TO BE KEPT OUT OF THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP EXCEPT FOR POLITICS. YOU CANT ARGUE WITH THAT.Yep, nothing keeping OU out of it except politics, exactly.
...And Colorado.
...And Texas Tech.
You can complain about it (and you will) but they don't have even the most remote shot at making the championship game.Isn't it about time to quit assuming that (based on last year's performance) Ohio State is going to get wasted in the BCS title game? I do not know if anyone else happened to notice but in their last game that held a ranked team to 90+ yards of total offense. Compare that to the LSU defense who turned out to be as porous as the French army in '40.I am sorry, but UGA needed UT to beat LSU to even be in this discussion. The reason is that by beating UT, LSU beat, in the conference championship, a team that throttled UGA. Further, LSU's two losses were in overtime. And LSU did not lose to a team as bad as South Carolina. End of story. UGA lost to UT. That was their season, and they got killed. Stop your whining and enjoy the Rose or Orange. You don't belong in the Sugar over an LSU.
Now, as to VTech, OK or USC over LSU, I don't know. Personally, USC loss to Stanford. That should disqualify them. As such, it should be one of VTech, OK or LSU. I think LSU has the most impressive resume.To Boomer:
Check yourself. I've been arguing for Oklahoma since the 3rd quarter.why should Georgia skip over LSU when LSU beat Georgias co-conference champs, the vols.
I don't like it but georgia doesn't deserve it if they didn't win or even play for the SEC championship. If you can't be the best amongst your peers you don't deserve to represent them or vie for a national championship. Its only fair.
Its also unfair that OSU gets to sit and let others play themselves out of contention. You should only be allowed to move up based on performance...not others' failure that you played no part in bringing about.
Even though I don't like saying it, the championship should be one of these four teams:
1 Virginia tech
2 Oklahoma
3 LSU
4 Hawaii (if they can win tonight)
You pick. I'm going with the first two on my list. Any four could get in the big game.If the primary argument against Georgia is that they couldn't even make it to their own conference, consider the following:
Nothing in the BCS rules states that has to be the case, remember '02 and '03???
If you truly believe GA needs to prove themself in their conference, then just let the championship be GA and LSU
BCS stinks to high heaven, but it's about time it works to the advantage of an SEC team (Georgia). It's not like there is a solide argument for anyone!That's fine, LSU can have the sugar bowl. UGA will just go to the national championship game instead.Netizen: IT DOESN'T MATTER.
1) Oklahoma is 12th right now in the computers. 12TH. They'd have to leapfrog at least 8 teams to get to the top 4 to have even a hope of a chance (or a chance of a hope).
2) The computers don't consider margin of victory. So 21 or 1 points, all they care about is that OU beat Mizzou.
3) The computers consider each game equally. The fact that today was a conference championship has no bearing on the computers. It's just 1/13th of OU's performance.
33% is huge. The voters will not all unite behind Oklahoma, so even if they squeak into 2nd, it'll be by a bare margin (remember, its percentage of points, not position, that's averaged). And whoever is #3 will have a much better computer ranking than Oklahoma.
If you are an OU fan, beat the rush and book a flight to Arizona.The most important thing in college football that NOONE HERE IS TALKING ABOUT IS MONEY. Remember this folks: we have no
playoff system now because of IMAGINED LOSS OF REVENUE. With this in mind, one component that should be kept in the back of peoples minds (including coaches and sportswriters) is the amount of cash that can be made off of the National Championship game. How much money can be made off commercials, how much merchandise
can be sold leading up to, during and after the game, HOW BIG IS THE POINT SHARE GOING TO BE FOR FOX THIS YEAR? Let me tell you
one thing noone can dispute: offense fills the seats, keeps the viewers in their chairs and keeps the annnouncers nattering
on and on. Anyone here see LSU play tonight and think that's going to happen is delusional. Their starting QB is injured,
Dorsey is injured, i could go on forever but frankly, i couldn't care less about the Bayou Bengals. Thank God computers comprise only 33% of the vote. Noone jumps 5 spots over an idle team. Georgia was put at #4 for a reason, AFTER THE VOTERS, COMPUTERS AND COACHES KNEW THEY WERE NOT PLAYING IN THEIR CONFERENCE TITLE GAME. They won't penalize Georgia for their
questionable voting practices when it matters the most. Remember this, LSU LOST 7 days ago. Dir!!! Think people!! This vote will be split, and THE DAWGS WILL COME
OUT ON TOP. One final point: The third highest profitable football team in the country is Georgia. Everyone, and i mean EVERYONE else in the National Title discussion, is not even in the top 5. $45
million profit last year and growing. Big money will be leaving swiss bank accounts
tonight folks. Call it what you want, but fair is fair. Every other sport that uses rankings moves up the next team in line.
We are next.I also don't believe that the SEC deserves an automatic berth in the BCS NC game. I watched quite a few SEC games this year and frankly was only impressed by Florida (against FSU) and Georgia (against FL). LSU just looked overrated, especially their defense.
A good case can be made for Oklahoma or USC vs. OSU in the title game. Frankly, loyalities aside I think that OU vs. OSU would be classic-one for the ages. Granted OSU played a weaker but that defense is special.I'm with Michael it would be nice for the SEC to finally benefit from BCS wackiness.
P.S. Hawaii has three turnovers and is down 21-0. Exposed.Dear Dez Nutz,
Awww, Jesus loves you tooo!Hawaii is losing big... so the BCS Teams are likely to be set. It's just how they sort out.
My best guess if Hawaii loses tonight and falls out of top 12...
NATL: OSU vs LSU
Rose: USC vs ILL
Fiesta: OK vs ASU
Sugar: GEORGIA vs Kanas
Orange: WV vs VTech
(if rose selects Georgia, Sugar will then go instead with Kanas, likely vs Illinois)tampadawg-
Interesting game, isn't it. That Washington team was one of the cupcakes on OSU's schedule.what #1 team has lsu,osu,vt,ga, or usc beaten. oh yeah, they didn't. Boomer Sooner!I think my team should be in the NC.....no, I think it should be my team.....no, I think it should be my team.
Let's hear some objective comments.OSU vs ?????
LSU was not impressive any way today against the Tennessee defense that was ranked 11th in the SEC.
OU or USC - both of these teams looked good.
I think ESPN pays corso and Kirk to say the stuff about LSU. Kirk got to watch OU dismantle the #1 team in the country and he still talks up LSU. What a crock.OSU has the best claim for a shot in the NC game, I'll give them that. LSU has what I consider to be the best, well-rounded team and best overall performance. No team beat LSU in regulation time.In response to Rayray's comment:
I'm watching the game now, and it's 21 to zip in favor of the Huskies midway through the 1st quarter. That's why the Rainbow Warriors ain't going to the big dance or any of it's parties. As to Colt whoever - he might make a good q-back in Div. II or III, but he ain't on the radar in Div.1.OSU has the best claim for a shot in the NC game, I'll give them that. LSU has what I consider to be the best, well-rounded team and best overall performance. No team beat LSU in regulation time.I'm sorry, I can't remember when LSU did not go to overtime.
Not going to be LSU.
Tiger fans...go to bed.To Michael:
You're right, the BCS rules don't prohibit a non-conference champ from playing, but politics do. That's why Florida was moved over Michigan last year, despite Michigan's only loss being by a field goal against the #1 team. Michigan didn't win its conference, so the voters dispatched them from the national championship game.
To chrth:
I'm not going to claim I know more about computer rankings than I do, but I have to think they will reward OU's 21-point win over a one-loss Mizzou, over either Va. Tech's 14-point win over a two-loss BC or LSU's 7-point win over a three-loss UT.Hey LSU fans, you're we're-undefeated-in-regulation argument is laughably stupid!!!
I thought LSU was in the delta of de-Mississippi, not de-Nile. You lost twice. Deal with it. Accept it.
When Division I-A (FBS) got rid of ties and adopted overtime, you lost that argument.
You're 11-2, not 11-0-2. Shut up!"I'm not going to claim I know more about computer rankings than I do, but I have to think they will reward OU's 21-point win over a one-loss Mizzou, over either Va. Tech's 14-point win over a two-loss BC or LSU's 7-point win over a three-loss UT."
They will reward OU more based on the fact that Mizzou is a better team (record-wise). But the margin of victory is NOT ALLOWED to be part of the formula. BCS forbids it.
BC is also loved by the computers so VT will get a bigger bump than LSU will.Isn't it ironic that it might be an SEC team BACKING into the BCS NC game? Poetic justice.chigger wrote - "I'm sorry, I can't remember when LSU did not go to overtime."
Duh, how about today against the Vols? Seriously dude, get back on your meds.Hey Netizen,
You're 10-3. You shut up!Well college football fans, we were handed one of the craziest years I can think of.
I enjoyed every minute of it.
I'm not predicting which team or conference is better, but wouldn't it be a great game to watch two old school football teams play ?
Throw out the fancy running quarterbacks and let's see some football.
Ohio State Vs OklahomaTo Randy:
How am I 10-3?Ooops, that was for Chris.Ok, if we are going to use the "LSU didn't lose in regulation argument" we should also consider other cirumstances:
1) USC's loss to Stanford should be disregarded because of JDB's broken bone.
2) Ohio State is really undefeated because Illinois' first touchdown against OSU wasn't really a touchdown because the refs missed an obvious fumble immediately prior to the touchdown
3) Oregon would still be #1 had Dixon not been injured
4) LSU would have beaten Arkansas had McFadden not played in the game
5) LSU would have beaten Kentucky had the game not been played in Lexington
6) WVU would have beaten USF had White not been injured
7) WVU would have beaten Pitt if the zebras could have twisted a few more critical calls.
8) Texas' 2005 National Championship should be scrapped because Vince Young's knee touched the ground before his pitchout to Selvin Young for the early touchdown against USC.
9) Ohio State's 2002 National Championship should be negated because of the bogus interference call in overtime, the overtime that resulted from a bogus call against OSU at the end of regulation
10) and other SEC smoke and mirrors.The SEC is a good conference, but that much stronger than everyone else??? Nahhhh... The bottom line, NO TEAM in the SEC can claim an undisputed spot in the national championship game. Strength of schedule? All the teams schedule patsies. Ohio State did play Texas this year, and these games are schedules so far in advance who was to know Texas wasn't going to be a good team this year.... Ohio State's one loss was by one touchdown and a questionable call to Illinois, who came on strong at the end of the season to finish 15th in the standings. The way the SEC has played lately, Illinois would make a good game against anyone in the SEC. The fact is, Ohio State is the ONLY team with one loss to win a major conference.
Yes, they were beaten badly last year, but this is a new year, a new team...and one that was supposed to be a rebuilding year. Ohio State will make it to the national championship game this year - there is no one else more deserving - and I do believe this will make three times in the last five years? Ohio State has a good offense and a great defense. All the team bashing that takles place here is most amusing, and I can't wait until the last bowl game is played to see who gets the last laugh.....I can't believe it's 1:39 AM and I'm reading all of these crazy opinions about who should be in the NC game. It's been a a crazy season. Those that say we should have a playoff don't realize that every game is a playoff game in the current system. Win all of your games and you are in.
Having said all that, I think winning your conference is essentially a playoff game and a qualifier. LSU, OU, OSU, USC and VT are the only real contenders. OSU is automatic having only one loss. The rest all have 2 losses, so it let's look closer:
USC: Even though they probably have the most talent, they didn't show up for 2 of their games. They lost to Stanford. Out.
VT: Lost to LSU by 41 points. Out
OU: 2 losses, but beat the #1 team when it counted. Pretty good.
LSU: 2 losses in tripple overtime and a couple of other close calls. Given their strength of schedule, I would have to give them the edge over Oklahoma and the other 2loss conference champions.
OSU vs LSU (at home) Go Bucks!This "not losing in regulation" argument doesn't fly with me. It can just be turned around into "hey, you didn't WIN in regulation either!"It's very simple: 4 team play-off, Conference Champions of SEC,PAC10, Big12 and Big10 (LSU,USC,OU,OSU)- they should do this every year, anyway; take the 4 Conf Champions with the best records and let them have at it. And what happens to teams like ND etc (independents?); well they can go to Tokyo and play the Japan Bowl, for all I care!!!...The Book
Stewart Mandel's first book, Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls: Tackling the Chaos and Controversy that Reign Over College Football, is available now. Click here to order your discounted copy.CommentsAll user comments must be approved by the moderator before being published. Due to time constraints, comments will only be published for the first several hours following a new post.More MandelRecent Posts
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