BCS quirks mean Georgia has more to gain with SEC win
This is the time of year when following the BCS is sort of like watching an accident in the making — you know you don’t want to see it happen, but you can’t quite force yourself to look away.
And this year even the so-called truisms that frequently have been applied to the process don’t seem to be holding up.
I keep reading in the national sports press that LSU and Alabama, currently ranked No. 1 and No. 2 with one more week to go, probably will meet in the BCS championship game no matter what, despite already having played each other. The consensus seems to be that LSU will make it to the game even if they lose to Georgia in the SEC championship because of their record, which includes wins over three teams that were ranked in the top three of the coaches poll at the time they played: Oregon, Alabama and Arkansas.
Meanwhile, Alabama, which didn’t even win its own division in the SEC, appears unlikely to be dislodged by No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Stanford or No. 5 Virginia Tech, even if Okie State decimates Oklahoma in its finale or the Hokies do the same to Clemson in the ACC championship.
So much for the reasoning used against Georgia in 2007 when the inactive Dogs were jumped in the BCS standings the last week, despite being the hottest team in the country. At the time, the Dogs not winning their own division was chiefly cited by ESPN’s talking heads as the reason.
Likewise, the old saw that if you’re going to lose a big game, it’s best to do it early in the season apparently has been thrown out the window in the case of the 2011 Dogs, who have reeled off 10 straight wins since opening 0-2 against highly ranked opponents, and yet who seem unlikely to crack the BCS Top 10 even if they win the SEC championship. Having just dominated a ranked Georgia Tech, Georgia proceeded to drop one spot in the latest BCS standings!
Guess that also means the SEC champion is no longer a lock for the BCS title game, as has often been proclaimed in recent years.
So LSU basically has nothing much to gain by beating Georgia in the SEC title match other than preserving its unbeaten record. The Dogs, on the other hand, can secure a BCS bowl (the Sugar) with a win.
I’m not suggesting that the Tigers will be looking past Georgia to the BCS, because LSU by all evidence is a team that shows up ready to play every week.
But it’s clear which team has the most to gain with a win in the Georgia Dome.
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297 comments Add your comment
WDE
November 28th, 2011
3:06 pm
It will be a honor to play the Bayou Bengals of LSU for the SEC championship, they are a true no.1 team and I hope we can make it a great game. We really can’t lose we get a very good bowl game we won 10 games this year and defeated the dastardly foes from UT, UF,Auburn and Tech and we are SEC East champs ! Hat’s off to CMR and his staff and his team that never quit on him or themselves !! Go Dawgs!
Restore UGA
November 28th, 2011
3:15 pm
@WDE
Great point. It is cool playing the #1 team after the bad start we had at the beginning of the season. I hope we make a good game of it. I really hope we win.
If Murray is on and our young receivers are making plays, we are as dangerous as anyone. That 2nd quarter against Mexico State (I know…) was very memorable. 1 touchdown short of an NCAA single quarter record!!!!
I want FB Figgins to get a carry and little Karempolis to get a couple of carries!
fan
November 28th, 2011
3:29 pm
LSU do not have a QB that is why UGA. will win this game LSU QB been doing the same thing for 4 yrs. which is not a lot he would need to do more than just run
Flo-Ri-Duh
November 28th, 2011
3:38 pm
Just the facts. Bama LOST to LSU therefore LSU is better than Bama. If Georgia beats LSU then they will have beaten the #1 ranked team that just happened to beat the #2 team. Therefor, an argument can be made that Georgia is better than LSU and Bama. ESPN does not rank the teams they just give opinions usually based on revenue.
Border dweller
November 28th, 2011
3:40 pm
If the Dawgs smack them coonarses, and I believe they will, why would anyone then want to see a rematch of said coonarses vs the rednecks from Tuskaloose? Last time I saw them play, all they could manage was 15 points between ‘em. The west is overrated, folks.
WDE
November 28th, 2011
3:40 pm
@Flo-Ri-Duh your last sentence said it all! Well done!
Dr. Morpheus
November 28th, 2011
3:41 pm
@Restore UGA. I’ve lived in Baton Rouge these past 30 years and am very familiar with LSU football. I wish you could hear the call in shows- no respect whatsoever for the Dawgs. “They haven’t played anybody” over and over, “Wait until they play a real SEC West team” etc. I hope the LSU players are listening to the shows… Wouldn’t it be something to have that 14 point lead with our D?
Snoop Dawg
November 28th, 2011
3:47 pm
Dr Morpheus.
They are right. UGA hasn’t really played anyone with an excellent team all year.
I know all the koolaid kids are ready to sign Richt to a 25 year extension for going 10-2 with the easiest schedule in the history of the SEC, but the fact is that the teams UGA has played have an overall losing record, and not a single one of them except for the teams they lost to are in the Top 25 of any football poll.
Wake up, folks.
Restore UGA
November 28th, 2011
3:49 pm
@Dr. Morpheus
I am concerned about the SEC officiating. The SEC in general, wants the undefeated LSU vs. Alabama rematch. The officiating has never been overly affectionate to the dawgs.
Look for questionable calls…. not that anything can be done about it.
Snoop Dawg
November 28th, 2011
3:49 pm
Koolaid Nation, attention!
This game with LSU will be a good test to see if da Preacha Man Markt Marjoe Richt is really a coach or just an imposter.
I hope the Dawgs are victorious, but hope is not a method…
Do not bet on the spread unless you have money to burn…
Restore UGA
November 28th, 2011
3:51 pm
@Snoop Dawg
Do you hate Christians?
WDE
November 28th, 2011
3:52 pm
@Snoop Dawg that is a non issue if we beat the Packers with Aaron Murray 10 out of 10 you’d still find fault with CMR…how does it feel that after all your bitter ranting and raving all year we are now 10-2 and SEC East champs…We beat UT,UF,Auburn and Tech this year one of the reasons they had down years is that we beat them….by they way that is something you didn’t think could happen either.
Go Dawgs!
November 28th, 2011
4:06 pm
So here it is Let’s look at the contenders -note: the Coaches Poll as it sits today was used for rankings
LSU, win or lose against UGA they SHOULD go based on their overall body of work. No one else comes close
Ranked wins: Oregon(7), West Va(20), Bama(2), Ark(10)*
Currently; 0 losses
Bama-body of work not as impressive upon closer examination
Ranked wins: Ark(10)* Penn St(22)
Oklahoma St
Ranked wins: Kansas St(15), Baylor(18)
loss: bad one against Iowa St 6-5 have a chance to boost credibilty with win against Oklahoma(11) plus would win conference championship
Stanford
Ranked wins: 0 They shouldn’t go on this fact alone
Loss: Oregon(7)
VaTech
Ranked wins: 0
Loss: Clemson(21)-they do get a chance to redeem themselves, but stil no ranked wins to speak of.
So really it comes down to LSU vs Bama/OkSt-assuming OkSt beats Oklahoma.
If OkSt beats Oklahoma then the question is pretty simple which carries more weight:
1. Bama’s lone loss coming at the hands of the best team in the country and two ranked wins
2. OkSt’s lone loss coming on the road to a poor team, but 3 wins against ranked opponents AND winning their confernce championship.
Should OkSt win it’s pretty much cut and dry that it should be LSU/Bama, no one else is deserving
*Interesting note on Ark- their claim to fame is getting blown out by LSU and Bama by the same margin and their one quality win was at home to SC without Lattimore and against a 3rd string QB most of the game, close wins against Ole Miss and Tex A&M. Not sure they are a true top 10 team.
Thoughts?
Go Dawgs!
November 28th, 2011
4:08 pm
*Should OKLAHOMA win it’s pretty much cut and dry that it should be LSU/Bama, no one else is deserving
If, if, if...
November 28th, 2011
4:09 pm
…IF is the biggest word in the English language…
IF UGA beats LSU, LSU could still play in the MNC, unless UGA blows them out (which is not likely)…or,
IF OKState beats OK, they SHOULD jump AL and play in the MNC, against LSU, IF LSU beats UGA, or loses a close one….or,
IF OKState wins, and IF LSU loses, and IF VATech wins, and because AL did not win its DIVISION (and I do not care who you are, if you do not win your division then you CANNOT play in the MNC), then OKState should play LSU or VATech in the MNC…and,
IF frogs had wings, they would not whomp their azz every time they jumped…
george
November 28th, 2011
4:09 pm
does the crying ever end for you pathetic pups?
Snoop Dawg
November 28th, 2011
4:10 pm
WDE, it’s because of idiots like you and Restore UGA that we will never have a consistently successful program in my lifetime. Too many I love Richt zombies…
Try to look at the situation objectively… Quit drinking the Koolaid… Sober up…
Jim
November 28th, 2011
4:10 pm
When Georgia beats LSU both and OK St wins this weekend LSU should drop to #3 and Alabama should drop to #4. OK St. and Stanford should play for the NC.
Kelly
November 28th, 2011
4:13 pm
It’s a foregone conclusion. The Gods over at ESPN just proclaimed on Palmer/Pollack that Richardson has the edge for the Heisman “because he’s playing for the BCS championship.” The shills have spoken.
Mike
November 28th, 2011
4:13 pm
Quirk? Not a chance. Its called greed and money. Make no mistake, 2007 UGA was held back because, like it or not UGA fans, Georgia is not a national name brand program. Ohio St., Oklahoma, and LSU are. That is why Ohio St. was allowed to play for the championship without having beaten one ranked opponent that year.
LSU and Bama this year? Their first meeting was a TV ratings bonanza. The only teams with a shot at dislodging this are UGA, Oklahoma St., Virginia Tech, and Stanford. What do they all have in common? They aren’t national “name brands” or whatever is perceived as such.
This system is designed to maximize its money and line the pockets of the top programs and conferences…period. That is all they care about, and they will rewrite both BCS rules and their own unwritten ones to that end.
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
4:16 pm
Snoopy Dog will never like Mark Richt as evidence of his “da preacha man” tag before his name .. I think he does have something against Christians but that’s his problem. Like you elluded to WDE, UGA could win consecutive BCS trophies and it wouldn’t be enough for hate filled snoopy dog. He sounds like just a lonely kid who cracks on others to make himself feel better.
arpiem
November 28th, 2011
4:17 pm
ESPN has been biased against the Dawgs for a number of years now. Even though the Kentucky game was for the SEC East championship, it wasn’t shown in the Northeast. Instead, some truly dinky and unimportant games were shown. How can a team thump Tech and drop a spot in the poll? I never liked Mark May and think he’s an idiot who thinks he knows everything.
Go Dawgs!
November 28th, 2011
4:17 pm
No way Stanford should go. They didn’t beat ONE single ranked opponent. Houston should go before Stanford, they will at least have beaten a ranked team in So. Miss in the conf. championship
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
4:20 pm
Snoop Dawg
November 28th, 2011
4:10 pm
WDE, it’s because of idiots like you and Restore UGA that we will never have a consistently successful program in my lifetime. Too many I love Richt zombies…
Try to look at the situation objectively… Quit drinking the Koolaid… Sober up…
——————————–
Unreal. 74 wins in 7 years with 2 SEC titles and 2 BCS bowl wins but the guy says he hasn’t seen a consistantly successful program. Point from earlier proven. Your luke warm support isn’t needed.
JT from Columbus
November 28th, 2011
4:21 pm
Hey Snoop,
Get off Coach’s personal belief in God! If you want express your opinion on his coaching philosophy or lack thereof is your prerogative. I think you go over the line when you get personal about his religious beliefs, they have nothing to to with his coaching. .
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
4:23 pm
Go Dawgs!
November 28th, 2011
4:17 pm
No way Stanford should go. They didn’t beat ONE single ranked opponent. Houston should go before Stanford, they will at least have beaten a ranked team in So. Miss in the conf. championship
——————–
Washington, USC and Notre Dame (I know, but still) were all ranked when Stanford played them. The great Southern Miss lost to UAB. Houston barely beat La Tech, UCLA and UTEP (a team USF handled easily).
AceDawg
November 28th, 2011
4:25 pm
LSU will take the opportunity to prevent BCS controversy seriously – They don’t want a national championship game between two SEC runner-ups either, and they certainly would like to be recognized as having one of the most successful championship runs ever, which can’t be the case if the Dawgs prevail. It’s going to be a knock-down dragout kind of game. LSU deserves to be noticeable favorites, but I think most people who truly know both teams realize the Dawgs have the right kind of ingredients to be capable of winning. If Crowell and/or Samuel can carry a full load, I think UGA’s talent will be good enough to hang in, and either team’s defense is capable of an exceptional game with multiple turnovers.
Denverdawg
November 28th, 2011
4:36 pm
Mark May is the most least like person in all of the ESPN family, when are they going to see that. That’s a no-brainer.
AltamahaDawg
November 28th, 2011
4:37 pm
The problem is not that the BCS system comes to different answers to the same question (one year VS another). It’s that it comes to the same answer no matter what the questions are.
Mark (another one)
November 28th, 2011
4:49 pm
There will never be a FBS playoff. In fact, the BCS is the compromise. Before the BCS, the bowl tie-ins often kept the top two teams in the polls from playing each other. The BCS ended that issue by creating a one game championship between the top two teams. The other BCS Bowls are great but they have no impact on the national championship.
Why did this one game compromise come into play? MONEY! Go ahead and follow the logic displayed in these blogs and play it out. Only conference champions are allowed into the playoffs. Don’t win your conference, don’t go to the playoffs. So, that would put LSU on an equal footing with Northern Illinois while leaving Alabama at home.
Who would watch said playoffs? I can’t imagine anything more lobsided that LSU vs. the WAC champions, Louisiana Tech. When that game happens in the regular season, LSU has to pay LT to play them and LT uses the payout to fund their athletic department.
No system is perfect but the BCS does two things. It puts 1 vs 2 in a single championship game, and it maintains the large payouts from the big four bowls, who get to host the national championship on a rotating basis. Isn’t compromise grand?
Snoop Dawg
November 28th, 2011
4:54 pm
TampaDawg, you can add yourself to the Koolaid crowd of I love Richt zombies like WDE and Restore UGA (whatever that means).
There’s an old adage: what you want to see, you will see more of. All these blind homer zombies are actually more harmful to UGA football than all the opponent teams and booster clubs put together.
They effectively keep the university from being forced to hire top notch coaches to match the top notch caliber of Georgia’s high school football talent.
Keeping imposters like Richt and Bobo around is not fair to anyone…
These guys are costing the university millions and millions with very little to show for it.
If we performed on the job like they do, we’d have been fired a long time ago.
Even the federal government civil service would have fired them by now….
But because he’s “a good Christian man”… btw, how do we know he’s a good Christian man? Because he tells us incessantly. For a reason… So that he can get the zombies to pressure folks to “get him an extension.”
It’s enough to make you sick…
Snoop Dawg
November 28th, 2011
4:58 pm
JT,
I’m not on Richt’s “personal belief” in God. I’m tired of his public campaign plan to wear it on his sleeve. It’s inappropriate. BTW, I am a good Christian man too. But I don’t go around at work every day witnessing about it.
This is nothing more than a Schtick at worst and just amateurism at best. Most likely, it’s just cunning playing to the Bible Belt Appalachian audience…
Rampdawg
November 28th, 2011
5:06 pm
It’s 5:05 and ESPN is practicly fellating Urban Meyer.
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
5:07 pm
Snoop Dawg
November 28th, 2011
4:58 pm
JT,
I’m not on Richt’s “personal belief” in God. I’m tired of his public campaign plan to wear it on his sleeve. It’s inappropriate. BTW, I am a good Christian man too. But I don’t go around at work every day witnessing about it.
————————
Messed up your credibility with this post. A Christian’s entire purpose is to build the Kingdom of God. Wearing it on his sleeve? Every real Christian will tell you that is EXACTLY where you should wear it. What, am I supposed to be embarrassed about being a Christian. No, so I have no problem bringing it up. It’s inappropriate to say you are one and then hide it away. It’s obvious you don’t really know what you are talking about so I won’t go further but honestly, inappropriate? Please? Witnessing to people as a Christian whenever, wherever you can is not only appropriate for a Christian, it’s Biblical.
DAWGBONE79
November 28th, 2011
5:25 pm
No way Bammer plays for BCS Championship!
DouglasDawg
November 28th, 2011
5:40 pm
No bigger CMR supporter than me… and very glad Thomas Brown has been shut up!
But guys, I’m sorry I aint drinking the Kool Aid….. I just don’t see it…… LSU is bigger and stronger in the backfield, has a better defense than ours and down right dominated a good Ark team. Now I think our D is better than there’s but our O…. I don’t see it…
I really want to believe but honestly getting to 10-2 and saving CMR and the program has been great. 11-3 is nothing to complain about! Go Dawgs
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
5:48 pm
@DouglasDawg .. hard for me to see a win in that game as well. But I don’t think it will be the blow out the trolls are predicting. And who knows, bigger upsets have happened. And any team with a really good D will be in the game the whole way.
zbulldawg
November 28th, 2011
5:58 pm
THIS game means everything to UGA !! 0-2 to 10-2 !! A chance to play the No. 1 team in all of college Football !! This is ALL about UGA !! Let LSU , all their fans & all the writers ETC. Keep talking all that mess ” LSU does’nt have to worry Win or Lose ” That does’nt play one play on either side of the ball for UGA !! WE WILL JUST KEPT DOING WHAT WE DO !! SICK EM
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
6:00 pm
nice post zdawg .. and I couldn’t agree more.
EAST TN Dawg
November 28th, 2011
6:06 pm
ESPN is a joke…Mark May/Holtz/Herbstreit/all of them are just scripted. In 2007 Herbstreit was adamant that you needed to win your conference to even have a shot at the NC, not this year. They’re repeating what the execs encourage..Trying to dictate ratings. The UGAA probably doesn’t kiss ESPN’s as* enough, therefore, don’t get enough love. F’em. The BCS is an even bigger joke…
All that matters to me is an Eastern Division Championship/SEC Championship. Those are quantifiable. All the rest is B.S. Politics….
bugsquacher
November 28th, 2011
6:31 pm
Picked this off another blog…..IS IT TRUE?
I have it from a very authoritative source inside the UGA administration that he’s been lobbying hard to suspend Mark Richt for one game because he allowed Branden Smith to play too many snaps on offense yesterday.
bugsquacher
November 28th, 2011
6:31 pm
THE “HE” IS ….. UGA PRESIDENT ADAMS
A-Ville Ranger
November 28th, 2011
6:38 pm
The BCS is a gd joke. If you’re still against a playoff, you’re a complete fool or on the BCS payroll.
maddawg913
November 28th, 2011
6:43 pm
Mike @ 4:13 pm,
you sir are dead on the money (no pun intended)!! I’ve been saying the same for years. The reason the Dawgs didn’t line up against USC in 07 was to keep controversy down; instead we played a weak HI and they played a weak IL. end of argument!
maddawg913
November 28th, 2011
6:46 pm
bugsquasher,
not saying someone didn’t say it but he can’t be that stupid!
Destin Dawg
November 28th, 2011
6:46 pm
NCAA needs a 16 team playoff.. they can all be ” Bowl Games ” @ same locations and close to same Dates.. every other sport has ‘em
Dawg48
November 28th, 2011
6:49 pm
How do we know bama is better than okie st?
maddawg913
November 28th, 2011
6:52 pm
In 07, I told anyone who would listen that this argument about winning your conference would change back. They dismissed that as an argument the year before for Oklahoma and they will use the “not winning your conference” again when it helps bring what they think is the best money making match up. You change the argument to match your wishes; the all should have been lawyers.
Mike summed it up the best at 4:13pm.
maddawg913
November 28th, 2011
7:00 pm
DouglasDawg,
I agree LSU is a better team than us overall. With that being said I think our defense is the equalizer. If, and I think we can, shut down their offense it could very well be a game very similar to the lsu-bama game. We will need Blair Walsh to show up like he is capable.
GATA go now I need to refill my delicious glass of Kool-aid; have some!!
DawgVoiceofReason
November 28th, 2011
7:10 pm
schmeckdawg,
We (UGA) were 10th in the 1981 AP preseason poll and 7th in the 1982 preseason poll, according to http://www.collegepollarchive.com/football/