Georgia fared pretty well in illogical world of bowl pairings
“The first man gets the oyster, the second man gets the shell.” — Andrew Carnegie
“Nobody remembers who came in second.” — Charles Schulz
The SEC no longer allows the loser of its championship game to plummet to a third-tier bowl and Mark Richt’s Dawgs weren’t exactly forgotten as the team that finished No. 2 in the conference this season.
But it’s one of those typical quirks of the crazy world of college football that the SEC runner-up Dawgs and the No. 6 team in the BCS, Arkansas, both were passed over by the Capitol One Bowl in favor of South Carolina, which finished behind Georgia in the SEC East. Of course, the Gamecocks are ranked higher in the polls than Georgia and their fans are known for buying up all the bowl tickets they can get their hands on.
Another oddity: While getting pasted in the second half of the SEC championship apparently knocked Georgia down a notch in the bowl pairings, the ACC runner-up, Virginia Tech, managed to crack the BCS (also on the basis of its well-traveling fan base) despite suffering a similar loss in its championship game.
And, of course, Alabama, which didn’t even make its conference championship game, gets to play for the BCS national title. Basically, the only way making the SEC championship game helps you is if you win it.
One other bowl note: Georgia ended up with a much more prestigious postseason game than Boise State, the team that got the Dawgs’ season off to such a poor start. The Broncos, who only had one regular season loss, will be in the pre-Christmas Las Vegas Bowl.
I actually was hoping Georgia would end up returning to Dallas, where it’s still 10 to 9, but after getting blown out in the second half Saturday Tampa seemed the inevitable destination. The Cotton always prefers an SEC West team for ticket sales and probably would have gone with Georgia only if the SEC game with LSU had been a nail-biter. Which is fine; the Cotton and Outback are on equal footing and both are traditional New Year’s Day bowls (post-New Year’s this year). Plus, with Arkansas and Kansas State, the Cotton gets to match two Top 10 teams, which makes sense.
Also, in Michigan State, Georgia gets a higher ranked opponent than South Carolina, who will play Nebraska, which ranks a couple of spots behind Georgia in the coaches’ poll. And it seems fitting to match the runners-up in the SEC and Big 10 in a bowl game.
While the Spartans are higher ranked in the human polls, Georgia finished just ahead of Michigan State in the final BCS rankings at No. 16. It’s interesting that the human polls, where emotion and perception rule, all had the Dawgs falling to No. 18 (where even their own coach ranked them in the coaches’ poll) while they finished higher in the BCS thanks to the computer rankings, whose detached crunching of the numbers placed Georgia at No. 12.
Georgia and Michigan State look to be a pretty good match, with both having highly ranked defenses and occasionally prolific offenses.
The weekend might not have ended with sugar falling out of the sky like we dreamed, but this year’s bowl picture is certainly a lot brighter for Georgia than the past couple. I’m pleased. How about you?
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740 comments Add your comment
War Dang Dawg
December 5th, 2011
6:04 pm
That’s why the national championship in college football is mythical, a fiction. Always has been, always will be. Fans could save themselves a lot of wasted energy and just root for a conference title, which for the most part has nothing to do with polls except in cases of 3-way tiebreakers. Not perfect, but at least it’s a title that is mostly legitimate.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
December 5th, 2011
6:05 pm
Tampa you are a MORON. Check your facts. There is a Tiffany’s Crystal Football in the Tech trophy Case. You are not too bright.
saint simons
December 5th, 2011
6:05 pm
Georgia has come a long way. From losing a bowl game to Central Florida to losing a bowl game in central Florida. Either way, Georgia is a big time loser. Ask Lou Holtz.
(((((((((( LSU )))))))))) hahahahahaha
TampaDawg
December 5th, 2011
6:10 pm
My apologies on dissing your UPI crystal ball Kool-aid. I think the MORON comment was a bit much even for you.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
December 5th, 2011
6:14 pm
I told you we had one. I think I would know. I hate when people post Rumors or Opinion as FACT. Sorry you made me mad with that one.
Dawg48
December 5th, 2011
6:15 pm
Is it real krystal?
Still@theKool-aidBAR
December 5th, 2011
6:16 pm
The Crystal(waterford) Football was started in 1986 for the Coaches Poll Winner.
http://www.afca.com/article/article.php?id=Trophy
Dawg48
December 5th, 2011
6:20 pm
Can’t wait till next year! We will have us another crystal football!
Idiot Dawg
December 5th, 2011
6:21 pm
just read on espn that Corch meyer might be looking at Gus Malzaan to be his OC @ OSU. Good grief. Don’t they know that Tebow and Newton are gone!
War Dang Dawg
December 5th, 2011
6:22 pm
The fake popularity contest called the “national championship” was a media creation to give independent schools like the press’ darling Notre Dame a chance to claim a title of some sort. We have an AP poll for a reason.
Any system that effectively eliminates over half of the 120 division 1 schools before the season even starts – Boise St., TCU, and Utah in recent years, as well as BCS schools that don’t start the season ranked highly enough – can never be considered legitimate.
Jon P
December 5th, 2011
6:25 pm
Not at all interested in playing Michigan State again (last played them in the 2009 Capital One Bowl)…if we had to play a Big 10 school, I’d rather it be one we haven’t played recently…like Nebraska or Penn State.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
December 5th, 2011
6:25 pm
48 NO it is Oscar Meyer!
ARdawg
December 5th, 2011
6:30 pm
StilltheBar
21? 31? Let’s talk about 11 years ago, wanna do that? I didn’t think so. Yeah the hotdogs and cokes is old but it’s still funny. How about 4 tacos and 4 cokes?
Dawg48
December 5th, 2011
6:31 pm
Still (or anyone else)
Check this out on Clemson football! (recruiting)
Still@theKool-aidBAR
December 5th, 2011
6:31 pm
Why didn’t they do a Sports Vent today? Man it must have been just people abusing the Dawgs & Falcons after the games this weekend.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
December 5th, 2011
6:32 pm
AR………..in Texas that might be Pepsi.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
December 5th, 2011
6:33 pm
48 you didn’t post a link to the Clemson recruiting.
SuperB
December 5th, 2011
6:33 pm
Georgia and Michigan State belong in the Capital-One, not the Outback. South Carolina ought to be playing Nebraska there. Apparently, winning divisions means– nothing!
ARdawg
December 5th, 2011
6:34 pm
4 free tacos and 4 free pepsi’s for all 40 GT fans that make it to the Sunbowl! How exciting!!
Still@theKool-aidBAR
December 5th, 2011
6:35 pm
SuperB………….if you think winning divisions doesn’t matter now just wait until some of you get your wish and we have a Playoff. It will mean even less.
Dawg48
December 5th, 2011
6:36 pm
Here it is
http://brahsome.com/2008/03/27/kenneth-page-appears-to-have-a-large-bag-of-bills-for-an-amateur-athlete/
Still@theKool-aidBAR
December 5th, 2011
6:38 pm
AR right now they are looking to get a charter flight to El Paso. No good way to get there from the ATL.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
December 5th, 2011
6:42 pm
48 nothing NEW. Isn’t that why the SEC wanted Clemson and FSU? Just business as usual. LOL
Dawg48
December 5th, 2011
6:43 pm
All SEC teams but Georgia
ARdawg
December 5th, 2011
6:57 pm
StilltheBar
Isn’t Southwest now hubbing in ATL? Straight to Love Field and on the Old El Paso. SW has daily connections Dallas to El Paso several if I recall correctly
WhyBo
December 5th, 2011
6:58 pm
BoBo…………….we deserve to know……………why? u know what I’m talking about…………BoBo…………..why?
Still@theKool-aidBAR
December 5th, 2011
7:00 pm
WGN is showing America’s Funnest Home Videos @7pm
CSS is showing the same think but it is titled The SEC Championship Game with LSU V UGA.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
December 5th, 2011
7:01 pm
AR you might be right i don’t know, but Some of the tech people are trying to do a Direct flight at a BEST time for There and Back.
ARdawg
December 5th, 2011
7:09 pm
StilltheBar
Now you know you can’t afford a strategically timed Charter on a Wafflehouse fry cook salary. Don’t you have some UGA Grad friends you could lean on for a loan?
LakeDawg
December 5th, 2011
7:10 pm
UGA vs. MSU is a good matchup. I prefer MSU to KSU or PSU. Personally, I would like to have seen UGA matched up against Nebraska, but that’s because I’m an oldtimer and remember when Nebraska was a powerhouse.
Dawg48
December 5th, 2011
7:10 pm
TRU TV is showing worlds most SHOCKING events at 8.
It’s replaying the 2008 GT UGA game.
Still@theKool-aidBAR
December 5th, 2011
7:16 pm
48 but there is the Dumbest Things on Wheels at the same time. They are featuring the UGA Bandwagon Bus. LOL
ValdostaDawg
December 5th, 2011
7:17 pm
Hey “Shut Up” The dawgs played 3 teams from the west in regular season and went 3-0 you moron!!!!!!
Qsar
December 5th, 2011
7:17 pm
Good news? We made it to a nice Bowl game.
Bad news? Aaron Murray, the human sacks machine, Mr. Turnover, will be trying to top last year’s 3 turnovers against UCF in the Bowl game.
How many turnovers will Aaron “Mr. Turnover Sack Machine” Murray commit—3 or 4?
Vagas odds anyone?
LakeDawg
December 5th, 2011
7:21 pm
Man! There are some dumb people on this blog. Qsar comes to mind.
Qsar
December 5th, 2011
7:25 pm
Enter your comments here
Pago Pago DAWG
December 5th, 2011
7:25 pm
ic, the freshman of the year??? How in the world did this happen?
Idiot Dawg
December 5th, 2011
7:25 pm
Man what will we do when football season is totally over. I don’t like basketball that much! Too predictable what with the ball going through the hoop and all.
ARdawg
December 5th, 2011
7:26 pm
Yeah, stupid is indiscriminate and doesn’t care who it affects
Rural Education
December 5th, 2011
7:26 pm
Four SEC teams are in the BCS top ten and Ga is not one of them. I think that pretty much answers the “pecking order” question for this year.
Dawg48
December 5th, 2011
7:27 pm
Qsar is on true TV right now…..
Worlds dumbest!
Idiot Dawg
December 5th, 2011
7:27 pm
When Isaida Cropwell matures and begins to improve next year some of you might be a tad ashamed of making fun of what might be a DGD.
Qsar
December 5th, 2011
7:29 pm
I stilll can’t believe Murray’s indecivieness led to 8 sacks in the SEC Championship game. He killed field position.
And those 2 interceptions, and the fumble in the red zone.
Man, the guy really has a tough time with pressure.
Qsar's mom
December 5th, 2011
7:31 pm
Don’t call my boy dumb!
Dawg48
December 5th, 2011
7:32 pm
Enter your comments here
ARdawg
December 5th, 2011
7:35 pm
“Four SEC teams are in the BCS top ten and Ga is not one of them. I think that pretty much answers the “pecking order” question for this year.”
As if the BCS is the authority and moral compass for college football? Puleeeze
You must be a Bammer
LakeDawg
December 5th, 2011
7:36 pm
After recruiting season, I will be lost.
ARdawg
December 5th, 2011
7:36 pm
Qsar is merely “a widdle bit special”, intellectually challenged?
Dawg48
December 5th, 2011
7:36 pm
ARdawg
Could not be a bammer.
His name would have said NO education
Rocky
December 5th, 2011
7:41 pm
Really doesn’t matter who UGA plays in the Bowl game.
What is Murray’s record all time against teams who finished in the top 25?
0-7.
The kid ain’t got the “it” factor.
Why play the game, we’ve seen what #11 will do 7 times now.
We will lose against any good team as long as Murray’s playing QB.
Just the way it is.
The truth hurts.