There COULD be an Alabama-Florida rematch for national title
Don’t look now folks but we COULD have a rematch of the SEC championship game for the BCS national title.
I know I’ve said for weeks that this cannot happen, that the voters in the human polls would not allow a team that loses on championship Saturday to turn right around and play for the national title a month later. But now we are looking at the real numbers and the numbers do not lie.
Florida and Alabama are 1-2 in the latest BCS Standings. They are tied for the No. 1 spot in the computers. Look at the gap in the total rating between No. 2 Alabama (.9513) and No. 4 TCU (.8689) and No. 5 Cincinnati (.8547). Alabama has almost a full one-tenth of a point over TCU and Cincinnati. In this system that is huge! TCU (12-0) is done for the season and Cincinnati (11-0) plays a Pittsburgh team (9-2) that lost last week to West Virginia.
What does this mean? It means that if Texas loses to Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game, the SEC championship game loser, if it is a really tight game, has a real chance to finish No. 2 in the final BCS Standings. That’s because the computers will still love them because their only loss this season was to a team ranked in the top two.
It will all come down to the human voters and how far they drop the SEC championship game loser. If the loser of that game only drops to No. 3 or No. 4 in the human polls, then it can finish No. 2 in the BCS standings because of the computers. So it could be that a 12-0 TCU, a 12-0 Cincinnati and a 13-0 Boise State get squeezed out.
Remember this: The voters in the human polls realized in 2006 that their votes set up the BCS championship matchup. That’s why they moved No. 4 Florida ahead of No. 3 Michigan in their final polls. Michigan had had its shot and lost to No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 USC had lost.
This also has a chance to be a repeat of 2003 when Southern California finished No. 1 in both human polls and did not get into the BCS championship game. If Texas loses on Saturday, then TCU or Cincinnati could finish No. 2 in the human polls but get left out of the big game in favor of a one-loss team from the SEC.
If Texas takes care of Nebraska on Saturday we will not have this argument. But if Texas loses, look out. If Florida and Alabama have a rematch for the national championship, those who want to blow up the BCS system will have a lot more ammunition that the system unfairly favors the elites of college football.
And boy, will that be a fun argument.
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306 comments Add your comment
N.GA.DAWG
November 30th, 2009
10:59 am
m, the best team won sat. night. acc is the joke and tech still sux.
There COULD be an Alabama-Florida rematch for national title : Football Rumor Mill
November 30th, 2009
10:59 am
[...] Don’t look now folks but we COULD have a rematch of the SEC championship game for the BCS national title. I know I’ve said for weeks that this cannot happen, that the voters in the human polls would not allow a team that loses on championship Saturday to turn right around and play for the national title a month later. But now we are looking at the real numbers and the numbers do not lie. Florida and Alabama are 1-2 in the latest BCS Standings. They are tied for the No. 1 spot in the computers. Look at the gap in the total rating between No. 2 Alabama (.9513) and No. 4 TCU (.8689) and No. 5 Cincinnati (.8547). Alabama has almost a full one-hundredth of a point over TCU and Cincinnati. In this system that is huge! TCU (12-0) is done for the season and Cincinnati (11-0) plays a Pittsburgh team (9-2) that lost last week to West Virginia. What does this mean? It means that if Texas loses to Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game, the SEC championship game loser, if it is a really tight game, has a real chance to finish No. 2 in the final BCS Standings. That’s because the computers will still love them because their only loss this season was to a team ranked in the top two. It will all come down to the human voters and how far they drop the SEC championship game loser. If the loser of that game only drops to No. 3 or No. 4 in the human polls, then it can finish No. 2 in the BCS standings because of the computers. So it could be that a 12-0 TCU, a 12-0 Cincinnati and a 13-0 Boise State get squeezed out. – Atlanta Journal-Constitution [...]
LizDawg
November 30th, 2009
11:00 am
Tony, so let me get this straight. You use your podium (as do Bradley & Shultz) to bash UGA and when the Dawgs run over the maggots to the tune of 349 rushing yards and a 30-24 victory you don’t say a word about it? Now I remember why I dropped my print subscription. Meanwhile we’ll enjoy 30-24 ALL YEAR LONG!
Doggie Style
November 30th, 2009
11:00 am
For the past 13+ weeks we have been treated (I use that word euphemistically) to an assortment of “why the ACC is better than the SEC” as well as the inane “45-42 hahahahahahaha” and on and on from some of the Technoids. Well, so much for the “superiority” of the ACC let alone Tech. To all of you who spent countless hours trashing the Dawgs. Let me just say it this way: STFU!
Got 12?
November 30th, 2009
11:00 am
The BIG 12 championship game will air at the same time as the ACCC game Saturday night. I’m sure the Big 12 would like to thank S. Carolina and UGA for their wins on Saturday.
N.GA.DAWG
November 30th, 2009
11:01 am
30-24 hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha…..lmao!!!!!!!!
M Ramble On
November 30th, 2009
11:01 am
Yeah right … thinking about Clemson. and I guess Clemson was thinking about Ga Tech. HAHAHAHAHA what a joke you are.
hci
November 30th, 2009
11:03 am
UGAY still not ranked in any polls!!!
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/polls/bcs/
Tide Rising
November 30th, 2009
11:03 am
m,
Glad to see you showed up. I thought we were going to have to put out a missing person’s report on you or an amber alert.
Still talking about last year? BTW, it was 6-6 since the sec took two bowl games from the acc last year. But if you still want to live in the past because the sec is showing its dominance over the acc this year then go ahead.
bamafan
November 30th, 2009
11:06 am
M – oh there you are. Nice to see you. Lame excuses for ACC performance after telling us all year that the SEC was down. You were right, but it means that the ACC is worse…….Enjoy the ACC Championship Game. Let’s hope Tech and Clemson don’t mail it in like the fans not in the empty stands.
N.GA.DAWG
November 30th, 2009
11:08 am
and tech lost to a unranked 5 loss team. says alot about those acc div. chumps.
Tony, no mention of your alma mater's win over Tech?
November 30th, 2009
11:12 am
Enter your comments here
Observor
November 30th, 2009
11:12 am
Tony-
Bama has almost a full one-tenth of a point lead over TCU and Cincinnati, not one-hundredth. One-hundreth would be basically nothing. Here’s a little lesson for you lame brain J-School grads….
.95 is one-hundredth more then .94
.95 is one-tenth more then .85
Your stat knowledge is about as credible as your predictions or general journalism acumen.
Gen Neyland
November 30th, 2009
11:14 am
Matching up two teams that finished the season against one another in a bowl has been experimented with some years ago. It’s was failure in every whichaway. You lose the SECCG, you lose your shot. Move on down the list of unbeatens. IMHO, a UF-AL rematch in the BCSNCG would totally discredit the BCSCG theory.
GT53
November 30th, 2009
11:14 am
There is no doubt that our defense has GOT to get better. Georgia’s offensive line won the game for the pups. PJ will fix the problem. Give his time. I would suggest there is a GREAT defensive coach sitting over in Lake Martin Alabama that would make Tech’s defense as good as their offense and he had a pretty good record against Georgia.
So what
November 30th, 2009
11:16 am
Wow, Georgia fans really seem obsessed with Tech. I guess the blog about Tech not being their biggest rival was b.s. You’d think they’d just won their greatest game of all time, having a running game like they did, winning by a whopping 6 with Tech’s QB out for a quarter. Quite an accomplishment, I must say.
jimmy
November 30th, 2009
11:17 am
tony remind me who your pick on ga-ga tech was
Gatorzip74
November 30th, 2009
11:19 am
Dear Crybabies,
Why would Tony waste his time and energy writing about the garbage on display in Atlanta Saturday night? Atlanta residents don’t worry though, real football will arrive this Saturday. Go Gators!!
Hack bowl
November 30th, 2009
11:20 am
how about a rematch with UGA and OK ST? hahahhahaahaaahha
mexdawg
November 30th, 2009
11:22 am
Good morning m and stinger how’s your day going.I guess we won’t be hearing much from you guys till next year.I’m gonna miss ya.SEC 3 ACC 0,clean sweep.I hope you now understand why the SEC is the best confrence in the country hands down.Don’t feel too bad you guys did get lucky and win one out of the last 10 vs the DAWGS. Great job by our offensive line.I haven’t seen holes like that in a long time.Maybe instead of a bowl we should play South Carolina for the ACC championship.Order in the great state of GEORGIA has been restored.LET THE BIG DAWG EAT.
SecIsFootball
November 30th, 2009
11:23 am
To you UGA fans whining abou it…the Sunday Paper was all about this game. Congrats on an impressive win over a good GT team. Your team earned it. However, this weekend there is a match up between the #1 and #2 teams in the country right here in Atlanta so forgive Tony and most any other normal thinking human being who believes the SECCG is more news worthy than a 7-5 UGA team beating GT.
PS….not lumping all of you UGA fans in here because most of you get it. This is just for the whiners who cant leave it alone.
can you spell D A D D Y
November 30th, 2009
11:23 am
yeah mutts have something to finally brag about, glad all those 5 star players were good for something..go G A T O R S haahaahahhahaha
Starring Kam Fong as Chin Ho
November 30th, 2009
11:23 am
m, your guys had 2 weeks to prepare for a middling Ga team and still got the Thanksgiving stuffing beaten out of them. If I were you I’d worry about the fish that’s in front of you, not the one you might catch in a year or 20. You lead the league in excuses and drivel. That “new sheriff” ya’ll have just let the bad guys run roughshod all over your town. It’s just a continuation
5 star recruits equal 7 wins
November 30th, 2009
11:28 am
it is so comical for UGA fans to beat their chest and strut over beating GT, now get out of the way pipsqueaks, let the real men play some ball in Atlanta….Tebow rules
Sanford Drive
November 30th, 2009
11:31 am
The national title IS the SEC Championship. They just play that other game in January to make the teams from other conferences feel better.
athensdawg
November 30th, 2009
11:33 am
tech is to uga what uga is to florida.
their b**ch.
it is sad to see the uga fans all worked up in a lather over beating ga tech. it is a sad commentary on the state of our program. thanks to the gators for the dose of reality……
tech has nothing to do with winning the SEC…..if our sole focus is beating one ACC school every year, lets go join the ACC. our goal should be win the SEC and thereby contend for the NC. but no, we are dancing in the streets because we beat georgia tech.
a sad commentary it is….sad. this is the equivalent of the florida people dancing in the street when the Zooker beat us….
lets go on to shreveport and hope that Mark Ray Donnan can right the sinking ship next year….
Gen Neyland
November 30th, 2009
11:33 am
m had a (slight) right to talk smack before Saturday. Now, m has becomes as irrelevant as the kid getting beat up on the playground still talking smack. He may learn to respect his opponents before the game instead of denying the reality afterward.
As the two division Champions of the SEC head into the GA Dome undefeated and ranked nationally 1 and 2, the ACC champs limp into their championship game having lost their regular season finales to an SEC opponent. That’s the bottomline to the whole issue of SEC vs ACC 2009…
And a Big Congrats to Tennessee and CLK for finishing 5th in the SEC in CLK’s first year Atop Rocky. BTW, preseason I had UT going 4-4 in the SEC and for that I was scorned by members of my own teams fanbase. I am a Volunteer thru and thru but I like to think it’s more about logic than rah-rah…So in that respect, I pick a healthy Florida to beat a healthy Alabama in the 2009 SECCG. GBO
FactuAll
November 30th, 2009
11:35 am
Every fan base has them, but it still irks me that my school (Bama) is saddled with so many sidewalk alums who are classless jerks. How does rubbing it in on a rival make you superior? Go pull for Notre Dame, they need fans.
This is what a true football fan should say:
(1) Congratulations Auburn. Your team played a great game. Your coaches did an excellent job of putting AU in a position to pull off an upset.
(2) Good luck Florida. Hope we all get to see a classic.
GeoffDawg
November 30th, 2009
11:35 am
Didn’t realize that a third-tier conference title was considered “bigger fish”. Live and learn I guess.
G8R GRAD
November 30th, 2009
11:36 am
Hear, hear, Sanford Drive!
GO GATORS!
DirtyDawg
November 30th, 2009
11:38 am
Where do I start…rambleon, m, stsimons, told you it was gonna be a pisser. Admit it, you’re hurtin’ for certin’ and can only come up with – we wuz looking ahead to that other team that was lookin’ ahead too, or ‘ya got lucky’, or…well, you know what I mean, I mean that your ‘Year of Living Arrogantly’ has come to a close…whataya bet nobody’s gonna be wearing those rings? Shoot, I bet I can go down the Fulton Loan Company and pick up a couple of ‘em today.
As for Tony’s thought that UF and AL might play again for the NC, just think if they had a ‘One-Plus’ playoff in place. Then they could play in the SEC, the top-spot in the BCS and again in the NC game. Now how idiotic would that be and just how poor would the ratings be for either of the two, other, games? Think about it, back when Texas beat USC in a great game, if they had had a 1-plus they’d have played again and it would have been so anti-climactic. No, there has to be a way to eliminate a losing team – either Alabama or Florida – from the NC, even if it means playing an inferior team like TCU, or Boise, or whoever. It very well could be a blow-out but the ‘up-front’ hype would be far more interesting.
As for me, I still say that you can’t do an eight or 16-team playoff without screwing up the bowl ’system’ to the point of changing how fans enjoy this time of year. The way it is now 15 or 20 teams get to go home winners…fans, players, coaches are happy and coaches get to keep their jobs. An eight or sixteen-team playoff, whataya do about the bowls? Which ones move their game a week, or two, or three, away from their traditional New Year’s Festival? You really think the Rose Bowl will move their game away from the Tournament of Roses Parade and Festival to mid-December or January? And how many games will fans be able to travel to with time off, before or after the Holidays, plus all the extra expense? So you only go to one game…which one? If you would prefer to see your team in the Championship game – then you buy tickets for that and then try to get rid of ‘em when they lose in the first round…how much fun is that?
Seems to me that the best, next step, would be a four-team elimination using two, rotating, bowl games with the two winners playing one more game. Of course you’ll have those complaining they should have been in one of the games, but so what?
MoDawg
November 30th, 2009
11:40 am
“m” says, “The SEC is as weak as I have seen it in years…”
So, 2 middle-of-the-road (this year), weak SEC teams beat your 2 ACC Championship representatives.
I guess a “weak SEC” is still better than the best the ACC has to offer.
TommyP
November 30th, 2009
11:41 am
No way that Bama and Florida should play again for the national title. So let’s say Bama wins Saturday and they meet again for the national title. Say Florida wins in January….Florida wins the national championship? If you’re going to do that, make it a best of 3 from the start. That’s just as absurd as having back to back Bama-Florida games. And Tony…quit friggin’ talking about it ’cause it seems like you WANT this to happen.
Might sound crazy but I feel Dan Mullen deserves some SEC coach of the year talk. What he did with that team is amazing, in my opinion.
As a Dawg fan I’ll be pulling for Bama Saturday. (sorry Charlotte Gator…your posts are classy but just can’t pull for Florida)
Jury
November 30th, 2009
11:42 am
Thank you for writing this. I’m sure you no longer take this personally, but you saying this lends credibility to my assumption that it will not happen. No college football team should have to beat another team twice in a season to determine the national championship, certainly not within the proximity of a couple games. We have enough problems without having Bama or Florida winning the SEC and the other winning the national championship. That would leave the mess entirely unresolved.
n
November 30th, 2009
11:44 am
Poor old m, still talking about last year…..
Comin' Down The Track
November 30th, 2009
11:45 am
“Want to know what makes a rival the most upset? Acting like the rivalry isnt [sic] one anymore because you always win…”
Thanks, 1L. You’re right because it isn’t.
Gator bait
November 30th, 2009
11:46 am
wow by reading these comments I would think UGA would be ranked in this week’ top 5 poll. hell your not even in the 25 thanks to KY. Well, if it makes you rednecks feel better about yourselves, afterall you are the state’s university with the largest enrollment in the state. Not to mention your top 5 recruiting ranking. Yep, your Daddy aka FL Gators will show you what it is like to be in the big leagues.
excuses
November 30th, 2009
11:47 am
well aj did not play. rambo did not play. we still played cox and willie was calling the plays on d. and you played on your home field. thats more excuses for tech to win and not lose. suck on that for a year and have fun in that half empty stadium next week. for that all important acc “chumpionship”.
bees sux
November 30th, 2009
11:48 am
M- you have got to be kidding me. You beat us last year and gave the players a ring??? and you try and tell us that you were looking over the Dawgs. Tech never looks past the Dawgs. That is there most important game of the year.
reminder
November 30th, 2009
11:49 am
Since all you UGA fans want to jump on GT fans today…here is a little humility to bring you back to earth. 45-19! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! And we handled BUSINESS in LEXINGTON this weekend…something you could not do at your OWN place! Take your great pride in beating an overrated ACC team…we will take pride in beating you 3 of the last 4. Rocky Top!
Sam Robards, Dawg Fan
November 30th, 2009
11:49 am
First of all, sports writers never go back and dissect how right or wrong their picks were. There’s no real point, unless it’s a huge upset win or something. Even then, they talk about what actually happened in the game instead of what they thought would happen in the game.
Second, in NO WAY is there a rematch. Tony can throw out all the numbers he wants, but the current BCS will not support the possibility (especially with the possibility of FIVE undefeated teams at the end of this year). They also won’t let a non-conference champion play for the NC. For proof, look at 2007 when UGA was #3 going into Championship weekend, and after WV (who was #2) lost, we somehow dropped to number 5 behind LSU, OU and VT (all of whom won their respective conferences) despite the fact that UGA was clearly one of the best, if not THE BEST, teams in the nation.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the SEC, but until college football gets a playoff (which I am HUGELY in favor of), you only get one chance.
Gen Neyland
November 30th, 2009
11:51 am
LizDawg : Although Mr CFB doesn’t make a habit of pleasing all the people all the time, he does make an attempt to offer up a fairness to the game as a whole. That is what seperates him from the rest. If you want to get really PO’ed from a Dawg’s perspective, listen to Terrance Moore…
Nachos
November 30th, 2009
11:53 am
Bring it on haters!!!!!!!
and stop with the Utah jokes… and focus on 2009
G8R GRAD
November 30th, 2009
11:54 am
UF’s Riley Cooper (WR) on Saturday’s SECCG:
“It will be a backyard fist fight.”
The SECCG IS the National Championship!
GO GATORS!
Gen Neyland
November 30th, 2009
11:54 am
reminder : I’m sure they remember the game. Take the high road unless you’re attacked.
SEC Fan
November 30th, 2009
11:55 am
The real national championship game will be played this Saturday in Atlanta, anything later will be anticlimatic. However, Florida best be careful because Alabama and Texas are both better.
Eric P
November 30th, 2009
11:57 am
30-24
CharlotteGator
November 30th, 2009
12:00 pm
TommyP,
Totally agree with you. No way should a rematch be allowed, even if UF loses on Saturday. I would hate to see that, just like I’m not terribly proud (although I’ll take it) of the 96 MNC.
Mullen for Coach of the Year would be something I’d back as well. He’s done a great job with a young team at MISSISSIPPI STATE of all places.
As far as Saturday’s rooting interest as a Dawg fan, I totally understand. Even though I wanted the SEC to have a good showing, a small part of me was deflated when #8 dropped the ball. Somehow, like gravity, I find myself wanting to root for UGA opponents.
It’s easier to pull for the Dawgs OOC, but almost impossible in SEC play. I guess its the nature of the rivalry, regardless of the series record at whatever chunk of time people want to use (last 20 years, all-time, back to 1937, etc.).
GeoffDawg
November 30th, 2009
12:03 pm
I don’t think Tony’s advocating for a SEC rematch BCS title game but rather bringing up the distinct possibility of one. Even if the human voters don’t want it, what are they supposed to do? Look like imbeciles and vote the SEC runnerup out of the top ten? Just by the established rules, you may not be able to avoid a rematch.
What a day on Capitol Hill that’ll make come the next congressional session.
ReptilesRule
November 30th, 2009
12:07 pm
Not likely and not very appealing. I would have to say at that point give TCU their shot at the title.