Every season the naysayers come out and say a team really isn't good because their schedule is weak. I include myself in this group, but am I really correct in my assumptions? Absolutely not. Partiality clouds my judgment, sorry. As the 2007 season heads into November, I wonder why not Boston College and Kansas playing in the BCS Title game? Arizona State?
The season is a body of work with many challenges. Some games are tough, others are pretty easy. Winning is the key ingredient. If you are a championship caliber team, you win despite the schedule. No team plays 12 cupcakes and no team plays 12 top ranked teams. The schedules are generally balanced.
This article is taking aim at the SEC. I am not suggesting that the SEC is an easy conference because it is not. The SEC is the best conference, but it is not so far ahead of the other conferences that a loss gives the top SEC team an automatic pass. Using last season's BCS title game as proof that the SEC is so dominant does not hold water. The Buckeyes never play SEC teams well, the layoff was brutally long, their egos were too large (see The U in 2002) and the team was out of shape. Plus, Florida had a chip on their shoulder because the experts said they had no chance. Furthermore, Wisconsin and Penn State took care of Arkansas and Tennessee in their bowl games and by my calculation, that make the Big 10 2-1 against the SEC during bowl season. Does this mean the Big 10 was better than the SEC last season? Maybe.
If Kansas, Arizona State and BC run the table along with Ohio State, and LSU does not lose again, who should make the BCS Championship? There is no winnable answer. The coaches, players and fans of these schools will say they belong in the game, and deserve a chance to win the title. Who can argue with that? Unfortunately, team history and conference affiliation play a major part in determining the game. As a die hard Buckeye fan, I know my team would get the benefit of the doubt based on school tradition. LSU would leap frog undefeated KU, ASU and BC because they play in the SEC. Neither situation is correct, just fact.
I am not going to hammer away at the BCS or argue for a +1 system because that is not going to happen anytime soon. Instead, give some of these teams some respect. Staying undefeated in any conference is very difficult. Ending the regular season undefeated is a major accomplishment. Keep in mind, November has a funny way of changing the landscape. No team has won a thing yet, and in three weeks, we could be talking about Missouri and West Virginia in the title game. Laugh if you want too, but this season has shown anything is possible.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Congrats to Division III Trinity University for winning 28-24 against Millsaps yesterday. The ending surpassed the Cal/Stanford game. Trinity had 14 lateral passes over what seemed like 15 minutes to score a touchdown with no time remaining.
Recent Comments